Continue to scout the valley

Venium gave her brother a glare. “You have done well. But I make the decisions here,” she informed him coldly. The corner of Beldin’ mouth twitched beneath his scarf and he ducked his head. Venium continued to glare, then turned about to the others. “He is correct. We’ll avoid the orcs for now. Better to approach them from a position of power in the valley. They shall fall soon enough, but better we feel out the totality of our new surroundings first.

“As for anyone else we find,” she added with a pointed look at her disobedient sibling. “I will decide what to do when we find them.”

“Yes your majesty,” the twins chorus impishly.

Venium snapped her teeth at the impertinent pair who danced back, giggling among themselves. The warrior sneered. “We’ll go around them,” she reiterated. “We may as well regardless. I doubt much would dare an orc camp. Particularly one so brazen.”

She stepped suddenly towards the twins. They drew back, grabbing each other, alarmed, but were too slow to escape as Venium reached forward, grabbing the sword from Sundal’s side. She ripped the weapon free and turned her back on the startled twins.

“The valley’s not so large,” Venium began, casually scratching a map in the dirt using the blade. She smiled cruelly and glanced back at the pair. The weapon, warmed by the proximity of Sundal’s body, left faintly glowing heat signs wherever it cut, like bloody gashes in the earth to the dark elve’s night vision. “We’ll circle north,” she said, flicking the blade to sketch a sudden arc. “Then loop around south and locate all we can.” She looked up to the others. “We march at once.” She tossed the sword to a surprised Sundal and turned back to Beldin. Her eyes were cool in the darkness. “Go. Scout ahead.”

Beldin bowed in that slightly mocking way of his before dissipating into the forest. Without another word Venium went after him and back into the boreal tress.

As they travelled the dim sounds of the orc camp faded behind them, replaced by the nameless noise of the forest at night. An owl hooted somewhere in the woods. The wind rustled the pine needles and a river muttered as they crossed it. It was not long before again Beldin again melted from the darkness.

The way his eyes sparked excitedly gave Venium pause. “Found something,” he said.

“What?” the dark elf commander demanded.