<b><span style="font-size: 15px">The Barge</span></b><br/><br/>Lydia sips from her glass, listening to the tumult outside. Hmm, interesting.<br/><br/>The situation was likely to benefit her. On one hand, after being challenged to the point of violence, there was no way Grull could back down now – his authority would collapse entirely if he crab-walked in the face of insurrection, probably instantly. Humans or elves could make a peace offering. Orcs … as far as she knew, they didn’t even have a word for “harmony”. Which meant she wouldn’t have to worry about the whole gang getting access to her before she had a chance to thoroughly twist the war chief around her finger.<br/><br/>On the other hand, Grull could – in theory – lose the challenge. But in that case, the new chief would want her for himself first, and she’d just have a weaker, less leadership oriented orc to deal with. That should make manipulating him even easier.<br/><br/>Regardless of the outcome, the gang was certain to be down one orc. A vacancy was something she could use when presenting her argument.<br/><br/>She does peer through the portholes, trying to see if she can figure out which orc came out on top – or if more than one went into the river. Hmm, there’s a woman on the riverbank. Lydia wondered if she’d have the good sense to depart before the orcs brought the barge in her direction. If not, it was likely the non-leader orcs wouldn't have to wait too long for their prize.