| … "Why exactly are we in this tree again?" asked Greenbo, agitated that he had been woken from his deep sleep. "Quiet!" snapped Argon harshly. He pulled the ultra-sight goggles he had around his neck over his eyes. Greenbo sighed and did the same. The old Streag pointed through the thick foliage. Greenbo sighted along his finger and saw why Argon had awoken him. There was a score or more of humanoid shapes creeping slowly through the forest towards the camp. The little gnome could not make out what race they were, as they were still to far away. "Orks." Argon said as if reading his thoughts. "Is that what you woke me up for, you tattooed brox's dropping!" Greenbo was livid "To top it off you drag me up this tree! Do you know what this does to my aller?!" Argon cut him short with a glare and hissed: "Corporate!" Greenbo's little hands shot into his coat and produced a small blue crystal. Argon glanced at him and shook his head no. He realized as soon as he had pulled the crystal that that kind of spell would not do in the forest. They were escorting refugees from a village that was destroyed by the corporation to Hiero's hideout in the Farlorn Swamps. The spell he would have cast would have set the forest on fire thus frightening and possibly killing the refugees. Orks were nasty, fat, repulsive creatures with warty green flesh and pig like noses. A wild tribe of that size would probably not even come near the campfires let alone attack the traveling group. Such was not their way. There were to many refugees for a wild band to attack. They were a cowardly race and only attacked sure victories. Corporate trained orks however were a different story however. They were still cowards but they lived in fear of the corporation and what would happen if they did not follow orders. The squad must have been tracking them. The corporation would not risk giving them firearms but they would be more than a match for the peasants and farmers they were escorting. As it was, He and Argon would be hard pressed to hold off such a large force, being that Greenbo could not use his highly offensive majik. "When they pass under us," Argon whispered and handed Greenbo a hunting knife "cut that rope." Argon pointed to a rope tied to the thick tree limb above their heads. The rope was pulled very tight as if something heavy was weighing on it. Argon pulled his axe from it's place on his back and ran his thumb along its razor sharp edge, drawing blood. "Let a light spell fly" he said, placing his thumb below his eye "and I will clean up the rest." The bloody thumbprint looked odd mixed with his black tattoos. It looked like the corporate colors but despite his hate for the corporation, Argon would not break with his clan's pre-battle tradition. It was all very silly to Greenbo though he would not dare risk an argument with the streag now. Greenbo realized something just then "How long have you known they were following us?" he asked "For about two days." Argon replied, which would explain why he had the foresight to lay a trap for them. Just as the orks were passing below them, Greenbo's allergies got the better of him. His booming sneeze caused him to fall with a thud right in front of the leading ork. The three foot gnome stood and gave the almost six foot ork an apologetic smile. Several of the others began to close in on the little man. "Umm, fancy weather we're having that?" Greenbo said to them as he began to back away and fumble in is coat. Just as the leader was about to thrust his spear into Greenbo, it's skull was cleaved in two by the blade of Argon's axe. The old warrior landed in a crouch and pulled his axe free. Rolling to the left to avoid a spear point, he swept the legs of one of the orks out from under it. Continuing with his momentum he cut upwards between the legs of another, cleaving it from groin to brain. "Goggles!" Greenbo yelled and the grizzled streag pulled his goggles over his eyes. Argon knew the spell had taken effect. He heard the telltale shattering of a crystal and the orks began to cringe and cover their eyes. With yell Argon threw his axe through the air. It's perfect blade cut the rope fastened to the tree they had been perched in. The huge log that it held swung down and with a crack, tore apart several of the orks that were about to attack Greenbo. Indeed, the log had just missed the little wizard's head. "Thanks for the warning." cried Greenbo sarcastically Argon wasn't paying attention. The remaining orks were recovering. His trap hadn't taken out as many as he would have liked. Without his axe they might soon overpower them. He sighed. He did not want to waste his scarce commodity this far from settlement on mere orks but it looked as if he would not have a choice. The night was lit up as if by lightening as the rounds from his bunnygun shredder pistol tore into the screaming creatures. | 
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