“It’s not promising, I’ll admit.” Zachary chimes in, rubbing his beard pensively. “How about this: we take the bird in the hand before going for the two in the bush? If one cadet has fled up to Brackenwall, we ought to try to recover him sooner since he’s an enemy agent to the Horde, and not just a… well, unfortunate prisoner like one might be with the ogres. I’m nervous about Brackenwall - a good orc spymaster will pick me for alliance military, retired or not. But the rest of you can pass just fine; even Marion’s not exactly got the cut of a soldier.”

“Let me do what I do best. I’ll head south toward Stonemaul Village, leaving ranger sign that the elf’s eyes won’t miss so you can avoid the worst of the terrain on the longer journey. The rest of you head up to Brackenwall. Jakk’ari’s a diplomat. He’ll get you in. Heck, if they do have one of the boys, Jakk’ari might even convince the Horde to keep him safe so we don’t have to run him back to the tower before we regroup to check out the Stonemaul lead when you’re done.”