He saw, to his great dismay, the green column rising out of the mist. They were what was commonly referred to as a 'shoulder' - the orcs used body parts to describe the number of troops in their companies. A 'fist' was only a handful, perhaps three or four. The 'arm' was a dozen. A 'shoulder' was fifty or so. Fifty! He should have known better than to try and take them here. Then again, if they hadn't, they might have lost them for good. It was a moot point now. Those orcs were coming on fast. Their vision in low light or fog was not excellent. That was perhaps the only reason they hadn't been surrounded by orcs just yet.
"Up," Ulbarich urged quietly. "Up!"
They were approaching a broken tower. Meant as a sentry tower, he thought. Perhaps five stories tall in total. Sections of the stone wall were missing. Shattered stained glass crunched beneath his boots as he moved toward the iron-strapped door. This door gave with no resistance, swinging wide to reveal a battered staircase. A staircase that stank like hell and still held the body of a dead soldier. Respects would have to wait for later. Whether he'd died a month ago or two seconds ago, the soldier would stay where he was until this thing was decided. The staircase was simple, a spiral with no additional rooms leading to the very top of the tower.
Ulbarich started to climb.
"Do you have a gods-damned bow?" he demanded of Bravin.
"I do, but-"
"I'm the better shot."
They were on the fourth story of the tower when they approached a shattered remnant of a wall. The orcs would not send more than one shoulder to the site of an old battle. He accepted the recurve of Bravin with no small gratitude. Quiver came next. Once it was done, Bravin drew his longsword and slid past Captain Uthral. He knew his duty well. If they were found out, he was going to keep them from dying as the orcs tried to take the tower. Well, for at least as long as he could. They would have to hope that the fog and the dim-witted nature of the orcs would keep them from seeing this tower.
There they were, peering out through shattered stone walls, almost near the top, gazing down as a group of fifty orcs began to bay wildly. The hunt was on. And there was no need for words.