Trakas Lionheart, Level 10 Human Druid (http://www.myth-weavers.com/sheetview.php?sheetid=520636), Location: Mountain Cave<br/><br/>Upon closer examination, Trakas sighed, shaking his head.<strong>"I should have known,"</strong>the Druid commented.<strong>"These webs are natural. I jumped to a conclusion because of the runes. And they come from a forest spider... odd to see them here. But a spider this size could easily spin webs faster than a cultist could cut them down,"</strong>he explained, stepping away from the tunnel. He stopped, looking strangely at Roland's intent on the natural corridor. The man made a symbol with his hand and muttered a few words of incantation, enabling himself to speak with animals. When he opened his mouth to speak, it was not words that came out, but reptilian hissing.<br/><br/><em><strong>"Roland, what do you smell?"</strong></em>he asked his pet.<br/><br/><em><strong>"Web-scent, Alpha. Strongest this direction,"</strong></em>the dinosaur replied, though the others only heard a growl. Trakas raised an eyebrow at this. Perhaps the spider was lairing in that direction? If that was true, then the runes might be harmless. Still, he would let Lethiel send her elemental to test them. Though that was interesting information, the Druid had burned his spell. It was prudent to get the most of it.<br/><br/><em><strong>"What from the other tunnels, Roland? Be as detailed as you can,"</strong></em>he requested in that reptilian tongue.<br/><br/>The fleshraker responded by trotting past the other tunnels, sniffing the air to remind himself. Then he stopped, thinking. The spell let Trakas speak with the dinosaur, but it didn't make his pet any smarter.<em><strong>"All smell of Human-stink... this one, Orc,"</strong></em>the raptor replied, standing in front of the tunnel scattered with discarded bits of plunder as he spoke of Orcs before coming to stand by his alpha at a gesture from the Druid.<br/><br/><strong>"Roland tells me that the natural tunnel smells strongly of whatever spun these webs,"</strong>Trakas said to his companions in human speech, gesturing toward the corridor with his staff,<strong>"and he confirms that there are Orcs this way. Interestingly, he smells Humans in every direction."</strong>He turned to Lethiel.<strong>"Agreed, we should see to them first. Though the cult will cause more damage in the long run, I'd be willing to bet the Orcs will do more damage in the time it will take us to cleanse the Tomb than the cultists will do in the time it takes us to root out the raiders,"</strong>he argued, nodding.<br/><br/>Of course, there were two unspoken reasons for his preference for the Orcs. His first was fairly innocent; he wanted to take measure of Lethiel, see how she would fit in with himself and Alice when it was time to stop thinking and start fighting. He'd met more than one learned wizard that had fancied themselves an adventurer, then frozen when the pressure was on. The second reason was a darker one. Though he did not underestimate the danger they posed, he doubted Orcs would be able to bring himself, Alice, or Roland down, and he guessed that Lethiel would be powerful enough to handle them. The Tomb was a deadly, dangerous place; it was legendary for those qualities, even. Trakas feared that if they did not stop for the Orcs now, they might not live through the Tomb to see to them later.