Move like a shadow
1077 Words
Since neither Aaron nor his party members had explored the Orc camp before, they had no idea about the camp’s defenses. It was up to Zach now to use his recon ability and paint a clearer picture of the area.
“Activate ability: Conjure Inferior Vision Ward!”
As soon as Zach uttered those words, a thin wooden shaft with an eye carved on one end appeared in his hand. He carefully dug the soft soil and planted the pointed side of the shaft into the ground.
This was no ordinary piece of wood, but an enchanted artefact with a special power. Once fully charged, the ward released a wave of invisible magic energy in all directions. Zach held out his Z-band and selected the holographic map view.
Gradually, the fog covering the unexplored region cleared away, revealing the Dark Orc camp. Now they could clearly see all the buildings inside the camp, as well as other structural defenses and points of interest. Zach reminded Aaron that this was an inferior ward and would only last for a few minutes. He had to be really quick with his planning, since he only had a limited time to view the detailed map. Once the orb disappeared, the fog covering the map would return and obscure all unexplored areas just like before.
Aaron asked Zach to enlarge the holographic display and requested all to pay close attention. The Dark Orc camp was almost 10 times the size of the Cayuga settlement. There was a central wooden hut thatched with tiger skin and corniced with hollow human skulls. This was marked as the Warlord’s personal dwelling. All the other permanent huts made out of bamboo and straw were centred on this primary building. Apart from these permanent houses, there were also scattered temporary straw tents which were used to house the Hobgoblins. These tents formed the outermost ring of the Orc camp.
The map also displayed 3 peculiar points of interest: a large makeshift kennel, a group of 3 small huts made out of mud and a hideous beast totem made of animal bones stacked on top of one another and decorated with human teeth.
When Aaron zoomed in on the beast totem, he found that it overlooked a large depression labelled as a ‘Grog Pit’. Though he would have liked to obtain more detailed information about each building and get an estimate of the types of enemies present there, it was not possible with the help of an inferior ward. Only a Superior Vision Ward could reveal such things.
Aaron studied the map carefully and chalked up a plan in his mind. Normally, they would raid enemy camps with the help of hired mercenaries and a solid team of summoned creatures. However, this time the situation was a lot different. None of them were of a high enough level to use 3rd tier summoning skills and the only team members they could rely on were tribesmen with low level equipment. A stealthy approach was the best option now.
“The camp is pretty big, so we have to cover a lot of ground this time. Our success will depend on how stealthy we are. If we get spotted, they will raise the alarm and that will be game over for us.” Aaron pointed at the kennel and continued, “Mawanko, are you really as good a hunter as you say you are?”
“I am as skilled as my forefathers.”
“Then I’ll leave this task to you. I want you to make your way to the kennel and deal with the beasts inside. There might be dire wolves or even tigers there. I want you to use your skills to tame the animals. Make sure that they do not listen to their Orc masters anymore. Can you do that?”
Mawanko made a mental note of the kennel’s location and assured Aaron that he would handle the beasts. Being the best hunter of the Cayuga tribe, he had great confidence in his ability to tame even the fiercest of wolves.
Next, Aaron turned to Nashoba and his son. “Chief, you said your women are being held here against their will. Try your best to find them.”
“We don’t have time for this, bro!” Zach butted in. “Our objective is to raze the camp to the ground, not rescue hostages.”
“This is part of our objective too,” Aaron replied. “As long as the Orcs have human hostages, they’ll try to leverage it to their advantage. We can’t take that risk.”
“What if they get spotted while trying to rescue the hostages? You ever think about that?”
“They won’t. I have it all planned.” Aaron scrolled up on the map and tapped on the 3 clay huts in the top left corner. “I have a hunch this is where they are keeping the women. Chief Nashoba and his son will search these huts, but they are gonna need your help. Can you create a distraction big enough to get the camp buzzing?”
“I think I can manage that,” Zach replied.
“Good, that will buy me enough time to reach the Grog Pit.”
“And how exactly do you plan to take out so many Hobgoblins and Orcs at once?”
“It’s a brand new strategy which I just uploaded to the forum last night. I’ve never actually tried it in-game, but it’s really the best way to take out a camp full of Orcs.”
“That’s reassuring,” Zach said, shaking his head. Whacky strategies and untested gameplay variations were Aaron’s speciality. This wasn’t the ideal situation for experimenting with new ideas, but Zach knew their options were limited. “I’m not even gonna ask you about your crazy idea. I just hope it works bro. “
“It will,” Aaron nodded. He then turned to the others and asked them to get ready. “Zach is gonna change the time of the day now. Once it’s dark, it will be easier for us to sneak around. If you get spotted, take out the enemy before he can raise an alarm. Be quick and be quiet.”
Zach looked at Aaron for confirmation and then pointed his right index finger at the sky. “Activate ability: Wish upon a Shooting Star. Nightfall!”
- Writer
