Seeking answers in the village with Cesar, Deraxle, & Sakura

Cesar, Deraxle, & Sakura watched as a member of the village militia acted as a guide, and took Janissa, Cat, and Trini out of the tavern, towards Oriana's dig site. As the three remaining guild members went to find an empty table with Professor Bartfast, a barmaid came over with some drinks for them. Cesar took a mug full of Lanicore Honeymead, Deraxle took a mug of the Janx Ale, and Sakura took a smaller, lengthier mug full of Lithian Cider.

"Can you tell us more about the abduction, professor?" Cesar looked to Professor Bartfast, while taking a sip of the honeymead.

"All I know is that it happened so fast." Professor Bartfast looked to them. "Oriana and I were doing our normal, routine work deep in the dig site. All of a sudden, we heard a loud explosion, and then the sounds of fighting. From the sounds of things, we knew that the Orcs had come. It was the speed at which they came in that startled me. We both know that their shamans, witch doctors, and warlocks don't have that kind of magic with them, at least on a normal basis, but they came in so fast. They took Oriana, her belongings, and knocked me out. I thought they were going to chop my head off, like they normally do."

"Knowing Orcs and Goblins in this part of the world, with the lack of intelligence coming from Dubrovny, it could be anything." Cesar nodded.

"For all we know, the 'Sabretooth Triad' may have allies with them this time around." Deraxle added in. "We do not know who may be helping these Orcs this time around. Hopefully, Janissa, Trini, & Cat will learn more at the dig site."

"Worst case scenario, if you ask me," added Sakura, "is that we may have a Dark Elf problem, as well as an Orc problem. With the likelihood of ancient Elven relics in that dig site, it would make a high value target for the Dark Elves."

"Let's hope that's not the case, but let's be ready for anything." Cesar nodded, and took another sip of the honeymead.

They finished their drinks, getting as much additional information about the dig site as they could from the professor. Then after they spent some time to get sober, they fanned out, getting any more information that they could from the other archaeologists and farmers taking refuge in the village. They didn't get much from the others, but then Sakura waived Cesar & Deraxle over, leading them to the village's lumbermill. It was there that they got an audience with the few woodsmen that were there--some of them showing signs of an Orc ambush with bandages wrapped around their arms, legs, and/or torso.

"Me and me boys saw some of them Orcs talk with some strange people while we were trying to get some wood from the nearby woods." The foreman of the lumbermill spoke. "It was hard to tell what they looked like, but they looked smaller than them Orcs. Skin as dark as night, hair as white as snow, and they spoke some strange language, and played with some strange magic, I tell ye."

"Dark Elves." Cesar sighed, and nodded to the foreman. "Let's hope those Orcs, and their Dark Elven allies, doesn't find our guildmates in the dig site, especially with Janissa & Cat among them."