[Ned Flanders]

Eeeeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! The blade sent the telepathic exclamation hard and loud causing Pharis to stumble. His awkward steps were silent as well and, quickly recovering, poised the blade under the orcs helmet and with a quick stroke, slashed the orcs’ throat. The orc, enrapt by the ornate ebon leather armor before him, turned now to face his assailant, life ebbing rapidly from his body. It's eyes were wide and mouth agape, yet no sound came from the orc. Pharis brought the blade in a second time and buried it in the orcs neck.

The blade drank, sending a swooning wave of appreciation and ecstacy, Pharis’ body a supple conduit for the sentients’ telepathic energy. It felt so right, his own body harmoniously twitched a few times as the blade continued to pulse satisfaction. The orc provided little resistance and the blade was sated quickly.

Next time we feed on elf flesh. Find me the blood I was meant to drink.

Now is not the time. Let's finish the job.

Promise me.

Not a chance.

Then I’m not inclined to give up the orc blood.

Then in a few short moments, your new master will be an orc.

Oh, alright, you win.

As usual.

The blade scoffed at him.

A handful of the pack were now passing Pharis, two wolves coming to a halt by his side. He gave them each a firm pat and grabbed his armor placing his hand over the gem uttering the words zirn uns’aa. As the gem on the armor opened, he gave a gem in the pommel of the kukri a turn and began to drain the orcs' blood from the blade filling the gem in the armor. The ebon leather chest protector started to pulse and where the armor previously appeared strapless, thin straps of varying lengths began to flail, the blood of the orc oozing out of them. Pharis replaced the lid of the translucent gem, now beating as if it were a heart of its own. He put the armor over his head and lowered it onto his body. The veins of the armor dug into his flesh pumping the orcs’ blood into his own while the arteries on the armor began drawing his life force feeding the armor. He could feel the mingling of the blood beginning to manifest the illusionary field around him.

He sheathed the sentient blade and drew a pair of kukris. Pharis urged the wolves ahead feeling safe in knowing the wolves were instructed to defend themselves but not attack during this exercise. In a moment the pack wouldn’t know him from the rest of the orc patrol. He set off, at a sprinters pace, intent on drawing as many of the orcs together as possible and delivering them to Tashara’s fury. He pondered, for the first time, how things would turn out here if she still remained a spider. He dismissed the notion as quickly as it arrived, confident she had figured out the ring powers.

The first orc he spotted was a lone wanderer, desperately searching for his kin amidst the lupine chaos. Pharis raised his left arm and fired one of the darts from the bracer. He caught the orc under the arm plate. The orc staggered for a few more steps, and fell, a lifeless lump never knowing what took his life. Two more orcs fell in a similar manner as he chased the cries of the wolves and the crashing within the forest.

It took him a few minutes to catch up to a trio of orcs. He passed them and cried out in their guttural tongue to ‘run fast, wolves right behind’. Pharis steered the trio towards the bulk of the force and it wasn’t long before he had them all following him into the clearing. He thought to himself how perfect this had gone, and how momentarily, Tashara would eliminate the patrol. His glib mood dimmed as an orc behind him barked out a command of ‘halt’. The patrol slowed to a stop, Pharis included, and he had a sinking feeling as the same orc called out, “Where are you going?”

Pharis turned, and met the gaze of a black orc who appeared to be ‘in charge’, donned in finer armor than the rest and carrying a large two handed sword. He also stood taller than the rest and there was a cunning in his eyes. “Wolves still come, we go.”, he growled back . The black orc charged Pharis and smacked him aside the head, knocking him down.

“I'm in charge here and I'll decide where to send you vermin.”, the leader growled back to the “orc” now lying on the ground. “Erudish will kill us all if we fail to retrieve the woman. I'll take my guard north and then curve back towards the southeast to your position. The rest of you will serve as bait for the wolves. Now move!”

Another orc chirped in, “Me go with you too Zadrk?”

The leader, Zadrk, slammed this orc to the ground as well. “No, I don't think so. Today you're wolf bait.” which he found very amusing to himself other orcs joining the grim laughter.

Zadrk fled to the north with six of his guard. Pharis used his absence to stir up the rest into a paranoid frenzy and headed east, all of them on his heels fleeing the pursuing wolves. A few minutes later he could see the clearing, and sensed Kael at the base of Tashara’s maple. He projected his thoughts to the alpha male instructing him to command the pack to halt. Kael replied immediately baying his commands to the freshly rising moon as dusk gave way to twilight. A horned owl swooped overhead as Pharis emerged into the clearing, some two dozen plus orcs behind him. He continued towards the maple at the same pace, and hoped Tashara was ready.