[The Z]

Hundreds of orcs thundered towards their destination, each equipped with more then enough oil-bundles and torches to burn down an entire elvish settlement. There had been no problems with the outermost perimeter, but by now the druids were probably well aware of the horde that approached. Undoubtedly they would come futilely to defend their worthless plot of forest, but as the spider webs of Ched Nesad had been burnt in the Underdark, destroying the city for good, so too would the trees of Tethyr be lit ablaze for the sake of conquest.

It would only be a feint though. While the bulk of the forces would be confronting the druids with the wrath of fire making it appear as though it was another pointless frontal assault, Erudish would take an elite band of orcs around the battle into the heart of the grove itself and burn the place from the inside out – an extremely simple but effective strategy. The half-orc was banking on the idea that the humans, naturally underestimating the intelligence of the orcs’ commander would think that all the legion could think of doing was send waves of troops into the exact same gap every single time. Still, all of it hinged on how long the main group could hold out against the war-savvy druids and Erudish was never one to trust the resolve of his comrades no matter how trained or combat-ready they were, which is why he designed another facet of attack.

During the earlier assault, the retreating troops had ran back through a clearing that was extremely close to the location of the battle – close enough to be able to use catapults. It was impossible to wheel siege weapons around in the forest, but it was possible to haul sappers’ equipment into the clearing. With enough time, they’d be able to build a tunnel close enough to certain druid choke points and blow them up from below. The bulk of the orcs would have to stall the druids for a long while though. Of course, there was the risk of destroying friendly forces but Erudish had explicitly stated for the cannon fodder to stay far back and not to engage in melee combat unless absolutely necessary, which, unfortunately could tip off the druids that it was no ordinary assault. But it was a gamble he was willing to take.

The scheme was devious and perhaps a little too complicated for most of the orcs’ liking, but Erudish was respected and feared greatly by his troops despite his ethnic proportions. As long as he was on their side, they didn’t care. As the march continued with growing resistance the deeper they trespassed, so to did the anticipation of the legion. The heavy stench of eagerness flooded Erudish’s nostrils and he inhaled it with glee. Ecstasy, the excitement of battle, was the only way to describe how the to-be-besiegers felt. The bloodlust was beginning to boil over and the pace with which the orcs marched at would be unbearable for even the most fleet a foot human; and, well before sunrise the legion found itself at the clearing.

Erudish felt pangs of pride at the brevity of their march. No human army could’ve ever traversed the gap they did in as short amount of time they did. No human army would be ready to fight after moving with such blistering speed. Then again, he wasn’t commanding a human army and was glad for it.

Orcs stood in their positions, jostling and shivering with the urge to maim those who had defeated them earlier. Sappers already were digging furiously at the ground, motivated by the thought of sending creatures to the heavens with a well-placed explosion. Those who were not already enacting the plan awaited the order to bring chaos to the Druid Grove. The half-orc turned to his troops and snarled harsh war cries to send their cravings over the edge of consciousness.

“Let us burn this accursed forest down around us and let the meddling druids suffer for their ways! Let the grass become tainted red with blood! Let us feast on the carcasses of animals and man alike! For the orcs! Burn them!”

With a mighty roar the orcs surged forward into the breach, not knowing how the druids would react to their leader’s assault and not caring for anything but smelling the intoxicating scents of battle and tasting the blood of their enemies.