Scene One: Wait those can't be orcs.

Sinruth looks from half elf ranger to lady noble,"I agree. I will not raise weapon if it is not raised against me. When I was approached by the Emissary for the mission at Brindol it was to prevent a people from extinction. The people of Brindol where hunting the male goblins to extinction. It is honorable to kill an opponent on the battlefield, but not in the bedroom. What was being done was wrong and I worked to solve it. I was not aware of the second part of his plan. If you recall I helped you fight against demon, Wight, and having the boy possessed." He spits blood to the ground."What I know is that a Shadar Kai arms dealer who only called himself the Emissary and operating out of the Shadowfell is gathering allies from around this world and the Feywild. He was connected to gnomes from the Feywild, I saw him standing with a pair of dark elves during a discussion. I also believe he mentioned the orcs and gnolls. I do not know his full plan, but he was willing to wait to 4 years for the Red Hand tribe to rebuild. The only other item he wanted in the operation was an empty crown from Brindol. That is what I know." He stands before Malik,"I see your hate and the pain behind it paladin. You lost something dear to you to the goblinkind. I can tell. You must know I watched my father, brothers, sisters, and entire people be wiped out after the first Battle of Brindol. Your swords of Magnus took everything I had and loved. So spare me your anger and righteousness. Both sides have caused many families to weep."

Lord Sommerhold listens then adds,"You may continue my retainer Sinruth as you see fit. The orcs do not seem any more organized, but they are better armed and are on the wrong side of the mountains. These bodies will be proof that the Council or Overlook's leaders are not some old biddies seeing shadows, but have a real threat on our hand. The Stonehome Mountains have only one passage from the lands of the orc hordes to the Vale. The Orcs have people of the vale outnumbered 100 to 1 but in the gap of Bordin's Watch those numbers do not mean anything." He nudges an orc body with his foot."If they have found another way across the mountains this could the fate of every town in the vale. Sinruth have the men load the wagons with the orc bodies. See if we can find any evidence of what smith's made their armor and weapons. That could help use know who is behind this Emissary you speak of."

The Hobgoblins find other surviving brothers and the group bring forth wagons from the barn to load orc bodies.

Alexandria debated a verbal dressdown, but instead, plunged her blade into the ground to shake her hair out using the noise of ruffled chain to mask a cross between a scoff and a gnash. "Moralizing? Really?" She muttered, her disbelief was the only thing that was unmistakable. She snatched it back up and sheathed it behind her back. She wore extremely practical platemail, with the only embellishment being an array of hanging tapestry-like pieces of cloth forming a banner as well as a half-skirt, most poignantly was a tiny star burning against a howling abyss of black, though three other such tapestries existed, one depicting a cornucopia and people representative of a community in front of a sun, another depicting a shield wreathed in blue fire, the third was torn apart and bloodied by a forgotten foe, one turned into a braid upon which the others were hung and the last bit of cloth bore a reminder of the founding tenets more puritanical elements adhered to. They were worn low on the body in order to avoid interfering with movement and combat and yet they still showed general wear and tear. She bore only iconography of the sun aside from her colourful tapestries, lacking any stylizing to lump her in with organized religions. She was one of those disgusting agnostics who followed their own moral compass, though it was odd that such a person would fall in line with puritan ideologies. "At any rate, my business here is concluded. I really must get to helping with the repairs, the collateral damage was... not projected." She looked at the burnt battleground, sighing in exasperation before slinging her shield. Her expression showed very stoic acceptance of this turn of events, her vacant frown plastered across her celestial features.

"I am but a humble servant of Lord Cadrick and the Council of Overlook. Our mission was to bring back proof of orcs over the mountain before they make a final vote for the season's mercenary allotment. You can trail the party but you will be an unauthorized free lance group. It may be better to secure payment first." Lord Sommerfield states. "Either way, When you arrive at Overlook the council meet in the High Hall. Missions will be assigned at tomorrows meeting. The Farstriders have already secured our mission, but I could put in a good word for your group."

Sinruth moves away and begins to order his troops around. From the barn come forward a half dozen Hobgoblin shamans who begin moving over the group.

The Dwarven owners come forward and offer you food, ale, and a room to refresh yourselves.

Well, Lord S seems to think we'd be able to get an official gig, which is kinda what we came here for. I suggest that we snack and clean up, and then head to the Council and get an actual contract before we start do-gooding. In practical terms, we should probably try tracking these orcs before the trail goes cold, but Izzy's not a fan of working for free. Also, DO we actually have anybody with decent tracking skills? I forget whether Del's got anything in that line.

Overlook is a half day away. Old Den is the last stop before Overlook.

OOC: Sadly, it's looking like Fargrim's gonna be the default tracker, with his Wis bonus of +3. Given the way I tend to roll, this bodes poorly for our investigations. Speaking of which, that advantage from Del's help resulted in a 9 total alternate roll on that check. See what I mean? Think I'll stick with his original total of 12.