Board Thread:Roleplaying/@comment-12599067-20140119184840/@comment-12599067-20140125214237

Jack payed no attention to Daithi as he trudged up the hill, entering the quiet state of mind that often accompanied deep thought. On one hand, he couldn't let one man stand in the way of millions. On the other, he couldn't hand Mak over to the orcs, not without severe backlash. He was in quite the predicament, that was for sure. When he finally made it to the top of the hill, he found that the bone colossus and all the necromancers had perished, but now a few fight was about to begin.

Makoru snarled at the orcs as they circled the werewolf, none of the fighters willing to attack the other for fear of a stronger counterattack. Jack was still watching quietly from a distance, still thinking about what he would do, when the gate of the stronghold opened and Marulahk stepped out, followed by Narzhal.

"Ha ha! There's my little problem solver! And with new friends, I see," Marulahk observed, looking over the group. "I trust you have a good reason for releasing a werewolf outside our stronghold?"

"Actually, Marulahk, I'll do the talking this time. Although I see you've already met Makoru," Jack replied, trotting over to Makoru and putting himself between the orc and the skinchanger.

"This is the man the bounty was on? Hm. I never would've guessed. But a deal's a deal, you solved my problem and I solve yours. But if you don't mind, I'd like to take him into the stronghold first. I'll just--"

"No, you won't."

"Excuse me?" Marulahk asked, not sure he had heard the Breton correctly. "You want to know about that caravan, don't you?"

"I'm going to offer you a better deal, Marulahk. A gamble, if you will. We're going to have a little fight. We choose one fighter from our party, and you choose one from your ranks. If we win, you tell us what we want to know. If you win we're all your slaves," Jack offered, trying to contain a smile. Marulahk couldn't back down without appearing weak, but he couldn't take the offer without risking his advantage over them.

"Fine, milk-drinker. You go plan some little strategy, and I'll gladly kill whoever you send out. I'm sure this'll be lots of fun," the orc grinned, although there was a glimmer of fear in his eyes. Jack gathered the group (including Makoru, who had not yet reverted forms) and called a huddle.

"You better be damn happy I just saved your ass, Mak, 'cause now we're all in trouble. I don't suppose one of you wants to fight that behemoth, do you?" Jack asked, worry heavy in his voice. There was no way they were going to win, not unless they were extremely lucky.