Attack from opposite sides.

With Ramos' skill at stalking, you wonder if he may be able to get himself into a more advantageous position from which to skewer the orcs with his long, grey-feathered arrows. You point over to another large tree, some distance beyond the other side of the clearing, and whisper that he should make his way there, begin loosing shots and in the confusion you would charge in from the other side, taking them unawares. The hunter nods, and sets off in a wide loop that circles at a safe distance from the enemy. You watch his progress until you can no longer see him, indistinct amongst the undergrowth and the shadows.

You lean against the thick gnarled trunk, straining your ears to hear any clues as to what is happening. The heavenly sword's point rests between your feet, and both hands rest upon the hilt. Its weight and power feel comforting to you, even though your tentative reaching out for the Burning Rose is met with profound silence. This fine weapon clearly has no problem being carried by a no-longer blessed woman, and you hope that its purity and enchantments confer some protection on you as well.

So too, the silence around you is deafening. You can hear no sound from the orc camp apart from the occasional snorting snore of one of the ones on the ground. As Ramos said, it seems unusual that they do not speak to each other: when on watch back at the abbey with your novice sisters on guard duty, idle chatter was often the only thing that could keep you awake and vigilant. For barbarous creatures such as these, you would have expected their conduct to be somewhat below that of your professional elder sisters who kept their watch in grim silence.

Peeking around the bole that shelters you, there is a glimmer of movement near Ramos' intended destination. You keep an eye out for a few seconds before the first of his shots darts out of the gloom towards the seated female with the bundle of arrows.

To your great misfortune, she bent down for another shaft at the exact moment necessary to escape the deadly missile, which sinks itself deep into the tree behind her with a resonant twang. In an instant, the orcs have thrown themselves to the ground and are jerking on any sleeping limb within reach. Ramos' second arrow plunges into the ground near her head before she rolls to the side and covers herself by the tree she was sitting against. You can see a powerful looking recurve bow in her hands, and a number of her expertly crafted arrows. Beyond, the other orc on watch is making his way towards the hunter's position, a great two-handed sword in his hands.

Barely five seconds have passed since the first arrow landed. You must charge now or abandon Ramos to the orcs, though the odds are in no way evened yet. As you round the tree, the sword leaps in your hands to an overhand charging position and you close the gap to the clearing with deft strides. As you run, you glimpse the orc archer sending a flurry of shots back towards your friend's hiding place, and one of his arrows bite deep into the charging brute's thigh.

That is all you have time to take in before other things become much more important. You reach the edge of the campsite and bring the bastard sword down in a smooth stroke against the neck of a rising body, severing the head and dropping the rest of him down like a sack of grain. The next one is up and swinging his scimitar at your abdomen in a strike from which you step back and just out of harm's way, returning the attack with a diagonal upwards swing that the monster parries but which sends him sprawling back towards the fire. You notice the lack of arrows coming your way, and assume that the archer is concentrating on Ramos. You must try to relieve the pressure on him, and with the brief moments afforded you by the nearest orc's unbalancing you could leap over to where she is lurking. However, doing so will allow the other two warriors by the fire time to regroup and arm themselves properly.