Kern breathes a sigh of relief as Sophy's healing energies wash over him. "Thanks, Sophy," he says. "What would I do without you?"
Despite the desperate situation, she blushes a little. "Better than I'd do without you," she calls back, eyeing the boiling swarm of bloodthirsty monsters being kept away from her by the wall of Kern and Eponine. Seeing that the elf-woman is also dripping blood from a savage bite, she touches Eponine and wills healing energy into her. Every time Kern hits one of the goblin dogs, it falls, but more keep running out of the building. How many more can there be? she wonders. How long can Kern and Eponine fend them off before they're overrun? She wants to suggest a retreat across the bridge, where they can't be attacked from so many angles at once, but Belril is separated from them and the bridge by so many enemies. They can't abandon him....
Kern bashes another of the dogs, smashing it dead again in a single blow. Wren's bolt of force arcs across the gap to the island hill flawlessly striking her target.
Sophy reaches out to keep Eponine alive, curing the elf of the painful rash and fixing up some of her wounds as well. From atop the walls the goblin archers unleash another volley of arrows. Only Sophy is struck as the rest of the arrows fall harmlessly to the ground
Belril snorts in annoyance at the various foes trying to get at him. He fights a little more cautiously, the veteran warrior shifting his grip to a defensive stance while finally finishing off the wounded Goblin before him by ramming his sling staff into its gut to wind it and then winding up for another blow to its head.
Its like swatting flies! he boasts, unperturbed and unafraid of his foes.
Crit threat
Crit unconfirmed
Victor shouts at his foes and looses another arrow at the last goblin on the eastern wall. It thunks hard into the wood directly in front of the archer, close but not close enough this time. Eponine mentally curses herself for dropping her more effective blade and slashes at a goblin, but this bugger is too quick and avoids the blade. Belril has better luck against his enemy and thrusts his staff into the goblins gut. Despite not being a powerful blow, it does cause the goblin to keel over and collapse.
Chaos ensues upon the island as the battle rages on. Goblins and goblins dogs shout and howl with glee as the inhabitants of Thistletop press the attack.
In the thicket a goblin moves towards Sophy, but Eponine is fast and slashes it with her dagger. It spins and tries to bring it's dogslicer down on the elf, but she is to quick and all it hits is air. A goblin between Kern and Belril advances on the halfling letting his guard down long enough for Kern to smash it to death with his flail. On the fighters other side a goblin tries to take advantage of it's companions demise but fails to slash Kern. Belril easily ducks a high blow from the goblin standing north of his potion. Eponine's magic shield takes the brunt of a well placed stab, had it not been in place she would have tasted rusty steel. An arrow flies harmlessly over the fry as the archer in the stockade fires to high to hit his target.
The goblin dogs snarl and leap to attack. The bite and snap at the heroes feet but none are able to find their mark. From the depths of the stockade another goblin dog charges out, with a rider on its back shouting in poor common, "Killz um!"
Startled to see a goblin about to slip past Eponine, Sophy quavers, "Victor," and takes a step back against the rickety railing of the bridge, away from its rusty blade. Seeing the elf casting longing glances at the larger weapon at her feet, she thinks of the malign spirits that seem to delight in flinging her own weapons away from her when they leave her hand. Focusing her mind on Eponine's curve blade, she directs her tormentors to the sword with a pointed finger and fiercely whispers, ""
Damn! Eponine curses as a goblin slips past her. Followed quickly by an exclamation of excitement as the blade starts to rise.
With incredible agility, Eponine threatens the goblins with her dagger while her other snatches up the blade. Then she lets the dagger fall to the ground as she takes up her blade with both hands. With a nimble spin, she strikes out at the goblin behind her Z28.
To hit
Damage
She finishes the spin facing her two dogs and two goblins, but feeling better without a goblin at her back (hopefully!).
Sophy moves back out of the goblins reach, then works her magic to lift Eponine's curved blade up from the earth. It trembles in the air, point dragging in the nettles, but the hilt is levitating high enough for the elf to grasp it.
The archers shout with glee and fire another round of arrows. Arrows targeting Eponine and Kern fly over the battle and down into the crashing surf. One headed straight at Sophy, bounces of the rainbow hue surrounding her, clattering softly to the bridge floor. Belril is not as lucky, as an arrow punctures his armor, jabbing him in the shoulder.
Victor sees the Sophy back off from an approaching goblin, takes aim and fires. The arrow punctures clean trough the goblins neck, spurting blood all over the thicket. Eponine sees the hilt of her sword hovering in the air, grabbing it she spins decapitating the goblin behind her with its curved blade. The goblin's head and body tumble off the cliff side and plummet into the crashing waves below.
Belril spins about, surrounded by enemies, and lashes out at the goblin smashing it in face with his staff. The goblins continue to press the attack. The one facing Belril fails to slash the halfing with its rusty blade. The other two near goblin dogs start chanting, "Bitz Em! Bitz Em! Bitz Em! They poke their blades at Kern and Eponine, but more as an annoying distraction than as a full attack. From inside the stockade another arrows shots high over the melee sailing over the bridge and away to who knows where.
The goblin dogs bite and snap their teeth but again none of them can find flesh. One in front of Belril moves to close him off from the others, Belril takes advantage of the dog's struggle in the high thickets to slap it hard on the haunches. The mounted goblin maneuvers his dog into that now empty space and brings his dogslicer down toward Belril's head, but the nimble halfing avoids the blade as easily as he avoids the bites of each of the three dogs. Despite the distracting goblins, both Kern and Eponine remain bite free as well.
Kern swiftly decimates the skull of another dog, again killing his foe in a single blow. Wren fires another bolt of force, flawlessly striking her target. The goblin dog yelps, then also dies.
Sophy lets out a tension-relieving sigh when Eponine snatches the sword out of the air; she had been concentrating so intensely on controlling the invisible gremlins that seem to follow her around, she never even noticed the arrow being deflected from its course toward her vulnerable flesh. Able to focus on something other than Eponine's blade once more, she quickly surveys the battlefield, and a spark of hope flickers in her chest. There seem to be more fallen foes now than ones on their feet in the area in front of the open doors, and if Kern, Belril and Eponine can just take out a few more miserable little goblins, they ought to be able to dash into the building and out of the range of the archers. She is very much looking forward to being off of the precarious bridge.... Glancing over her shoulder, she realizes how very close to the edge she is and how untrustworthy the railing and quickly steps back to her previous space behind Eponine and Kern. Newly aware of the gap that nearly allowed the goblin to slip past the front line, she holds her dagger at the ready to defend herself.
Sophy moves away from the edge of the bridge, nervous about toppling over as well as worried about getting stabbed by a goblin. She raises her dagger and keeps alert for any movement from the attackers.
The goblins on the western tower, shout and fire more arrows but all of them hit the dirt instead of the party. On the eastern tower the lone goblin there disappears behind the wall, and soon dark smoke begins billowing into the air.
Wren cries out in pain! A goblin has silently slipped up behind her and jabbed his crooked-blade dogslicer in her back. Another on the southern side of the bridge fires an arrow at Victor, but it flies past his head and then bounces of the islands rocky side.
Victor, turns back and moves to about the halfway point of the swinging bridge. He pulls back on the string of his bow, and sends an arrow straight into the goblin that just stabbed Wren. I screeches in pain, but doesn't keel over. Now with her better weapon in hand, Eponine gets to work of eliminating her foes. She easily slashes one of the goblin dogs, leaving a nasty wound across its neck and chest. It utters a painful yelp and shows its crusty teeth showing it's intent to bite her back. Belril taps the shoulder of his goblin enemy again and sees pain radiate across the squat broad face of the creature.
Kern easily avoids another attack by the goblin. The hurt goblin that Belril smacked, flees from the cyclone of a halfling headed back inside the stockade. Next to Eponine the other goblin there taunts the elf chanting, "Ellllvv Zeeeerz.....Ellllvv Zeeeerz, eatz dem up...YUM! The archer inside the arcade lowers his bow and moves towards the doors, pulling the southwestern one closed.
The goblin dogs drool and bite, but none are able to break the defenses of the party. The mounted goblin shouts a war cry as he slashes at the halfling, but his rusty blade swings wide.
Sophy eyes the smoke rising from the eastern tower uneasily. "You don't think they'd set fire to the bridge, do you? Not if it meant they'd be stuck out here, too?" she asks anxiously, hoping someone will speak up and assure her of goblins' overall level-headedness and tendency to think things through. Already uncomfortable to have lost Victor's protective presence over her shoulder, she feels even more exposed when Kern steps away from the end of the bridge. Although she would love to feel firm ground under her feet rather than creaking planks, she can't follow him without getting nearer to the goblins than she is comfortable with. She cringes in place, keeping one eye on the smoke rising over the ramparts to the east and one eye on the battleground just the other side of Kern and Eponine, waiting for an opening to hop onto the island itself.
After liquifying the brain matter of another goblin, Kern takes a few steps forward closing in on another foe. Wren leaps away from her attacker, and blasts him with the last of her force bolts. Already wounded her magical attack takes the last of it's life.
Sophy waits as she contemplates the swaying of the bridge under her feet, impending fire, and deadly goblins.
More arrows rain down from the western wall harmlessly getting lost in the thickets. The goblin on the eastern tower, heaves a large smoking gourd above his head, then heaves it down at Belril. The pumpkin like bomb flings wide smashing to the ground spraying a burning oil like substance over the ground.
The remaining archer that crept up behind Wren takes a shot at her. The arrow finds its mark, forcing her to cryout in pain for a second time.
Belril swings his staff, smacking the goblin dog on the nose. Eponine slashes the goblin, leaving a very nasty wound but not killing it.
The goblin fleeing Belril disappears into the darkness of the stockade while Eponine's newly wounded foe turns and races after him. The Archer then pulls shut and seals the other door.
Both Eponine and Belril dodge the bites of two of the goblin dogs, but Kern is not as lucky. The mounted goblin spins his goblin dog about and they attack the weapons master. The dog bites him on the leg, while the goblin slashes him with its dogslicer leaving a nasty tear along the warriors neck.