Pursuit

Unable to purchase horses, or even 1 horse and a cart, due to being low on funds, the party headed out at first light.

The first 2 days went by; a lone Dire Wolf had crossed their path, but was dispatched through combined effort and with minimal injuries.
The encounter did help them understand each others abilities, capabilities and combat maneuvres.

At the end of the second day, they came upon a fork in the road.
It headed on north, and also went west, toward the settlement of Glister.
According to a 'treasure-map' Jack brought, Orc Ruins should be close by to the east.
The group headed to Glister, to rest and for information.

The scions, and their bearded friend, were known by the locals but haven't been seen in a few tendays.
The next day the party headed to the fork and tried to find clues regarding the scions' destination.
With his uncanny Survival skills the Barbarian found the tracks left by 5 horses and a pony, and was able to follow them east.

The Ninja, leading the party, spotted the hollow first.
They came upon it as a group and saw the carnage in the hole.
Below 6 dead orcs were strewn about, and next to a lifeless horse a dwarf lay still.
Tereus, circled the shallow pit to get a better vantage point, while Rekk and Jack stalked down.
Jack surveyed the wounds and deduced what happened, but before he could inform the others, a shout from above alerted the group.

While pacing the hollow, Tereus came upon a creature hiding for an ambush; an Owlbear.
The Ninja shot an arrow in its thick hide and before the beast could react turned invisible.
Hurt and unable to discern its attacker, the animal charged down and grappled the Half-Orc Barbarian.
In the next frantic 18 seconds, each damaged the Owlbear (or tried to) killing it, gasping for air Rekk extracted himself from under the slain bear.

Each knew that this was what happened here, the orcs probably lay in ambush and when the scions entered the hollow they were set upon and taken hostage.
Jack had spotted that each dead orc was only wounded by a (same) axe.
Tracks led further east, 4 horses, a pony, a score of Orcs and some dragmarks.

Wasting no time at the site, the party resumed their tracking and halved their resting stops.

On their 4th day, they encounted 2 orcs scouting up ahead.
But before they could react to they party's approach, both the Ninja and the Rogue had moved silently and hidden next to the pair and took them down in 1 strike.
The Party decided not to track the Orcs to where they came from, but to continue east, following the trail (and occasional dead horse).

On their 5th day out (while they'd expected to encounter the scions only 2 days out at the 'orc ruins') the group's stealthy characters noticed they were being shadowed.
Tereus dropped behind, while to others continued, to try and spot their pursuer.
To his amazement he saw a wolf going by, tracking his party.
It lasted only until a proper 'ahum' from behind was uttered.

Standing up slowly he looked at a Half-Orc, with arms wide, hands open and a disarming grin on his face.
He carried a longbow, had 2 handaxes by his side and wore a chain shirt of masterwork make.
"I mean you and your group no harm", he explained while the wolf had turned back, joining his master.
"Tell me, what brings you here, and why are you heading towards the Gray Citadel?"

During the dialogue, Tereus called out to his companions, and all joined the conversation.
Apparantly the half-orc, Harvak, hunts Orcs and occasionally helps out travelers.
He even sells them a map of where the Orcs have been gathering for several months, and offers advice on how to approach them.

Reinforced by the urgency of their mission, the party treks another 3 days and spots the Gray Citadel, Xùl-Jarak in the distance.

Sitting atop a low flat hill, it is walled and imposing.
A low-hanging fog surrounds the base from which a long ramp slopes up to the main entrance.
Beyond the hill several Orc camps can be discerned..