"Aye, lets get moving." Kyvanna said.
The alchemist and the others gather up their supplies and disappear into the darkness, hurrying across the Market Green toward the Trading Company. The party quickly gather up their own equipment and head around the Green in the other direction, heading for the shrine on the northwest side of the gathering spot. As they approach the long stone building, they see that the doors have already been smashed down and two bodies lie on the front steps. One seems to be a town guard. The other wears the robes of a priest, and it only takes a moment for them to recognize Father Neolan's very still form.
Sindri moves with the others, but pulls up short when she sees the smashed doors and bodies at the temple's entrance. Her breath catches as she realizes that Father Neolan is one of the fallen, and she curses in Skald under her breath. "Do we go in anyway? If the Father is dead, then... there may not be any reason to look inside. Likely just another fight." The Ulfen woman looks at the others, wondering what they think. She isn't a coward, but she's a pragmatist, and the more fighting the group does, the less likely they make it out of town alive and well.
"Are we certain the man is dead? He could merely be wounded. If anyone saw the man's corpse, they also may have figured the hobgoblins had moved along and the church was safe. I think it could be worth checking."
Slowly Kyvanna moved up to Father Neolan's form and placed her hand over his lips and nose just enough to see if his body still drew breath. She had little worry about another fight at the moment.
As Kyvanna kneels down, she can tell that the Father is dead, and has been for a bit, as his body is already starting to cool.
"There were more people than just the father that stayed here. We need to see if any of them survive. He looks like he's been bitten not slashed. I hear goblin sounds. We need to get inside and see if we can help the other acolytes." She stands up from where she knelt next to Father Nolan's body and readies an arrow as she moves toward the entrance of the building.
Sindri bites her lip and looks from Aegis to Telka, then nods with determination. "Alright. Let's be careful this time." With that in mind, she hefts her shield and steps forward, taking the lead of the party as they move to enter the building.
As the party looks inside through the doors, they catch sight of the attacker. A female hobgoblin in light leather armor has taken an ax to the altar, crushing the wood and leaving it splintered on the ground. The other holy symbols and items seem to have been scattered around the room and many are damaged or scuffed. A grey wolf prowls the room near her, sniffing at the floor and growling softly. The beast's ears perk up and it growls, turning toward the door. The hobgoblin snaps around at the snarl, drawing an arrow and bow in one smooth motion. "Who's there?"
Initiative
Aegis
Sindri
Kyvanna
Wolf
Telka
Hobgoblin
"Vengeance" Kyvanna said as she took aim and loosed an arrow.
Telka fires an arrow at the wolf. "This is for Father Nolan you mangy animal."
Aegis whips his wand hand toward Kyvanna's target, blasting them with a burst of energy.
As the others loose a barrage of ranged attacks, Sindri rolls forward and takes a defensive position, interposing her shield and herself between the foes and her allies.
Both the hobgoblin and the wolf are bombarded with attacks. Kyvanna's shot buries itself deep in the archer's shoulder with Aegis's blast nearly knocks her senseless, but she recovers enough to stay on her feet. Sindri leaps forward, putting herself right in the wolf's path as it charges forward and leaps at her. It's fangs close around her arm despite her attempt to protect herself, but her firm posture prevents the wolf from dragging her down to the ground. Telka immediately follows up with an arrow shot directly to the wolf's chest, leaving a patch of blood on its fur. However, it still stay up as well. The hobgoblin simply releases her own arrow back toward the group, aiming for the archer who challenged her. The arrow flies straight and true, burying itself in Kyvanna's chest and leaving a very painful looking wound. Compounded with her other injuries, the ranger drops to the ground again.
Sindri hisses as the wolf snaps on her shield arm, clamping just above the protective wooden rim. She spreads her feet to keep balance as it tugs at her arm, and she feels her shoulder threatening to give. With a growl of her own, she wrenches that arm back and brings her other forward, using the momentum to add to her heavy punch at the beast's snout.
Aegis lunges forward with his knife hand as Sindri strikes at the wolf, burrowing the blade deep in the animal's neck.
Sindri's blow misses by a bit, but Aegis's does not as he rams the blade into the wolf's neck. The animal howls in pain before it crumples to the ground, bleeding out from the neck quickly.
Telka fires her bow aiming at the hobgoblin. She misses completely, and almost hits Aegis.
Telka overdraws her bow in her haste to try to stop the hobgoblin and the arrow clatters to the ground. The goblin raises her bow again and aims at Aegis, firing another shot. The arrow slams home, burying itself in the swordsman's gut and leaving a bloody wound, though Aegis manages to remain on his feet.
Sindri quickly shakes the wolf to the ground, and gives Aegis a glance of thanks. The fight isn't over, though, and she's too slow to stop an arrow from hitting her new companion. A fierce anger fills her eyes, and she dashes forward, shouting "STOP!" as she slams her shield, two-handed, into the archer.
Sindri leaps forward and delivers a brutal overhand blow, slamming the shield straight into the hobgoblin's chest. There's a sickening crack and the smith can feel the goblin's entire chest cave in at once. The grey skinned goblinoid shudders once and topples to the ground, very much dead. For a moment there's silence in the temple, then the party can hear footsteps from the side of the church and a moment later Rhyna appears around the front corner of the temple. "Telka! You're alive!" She rushes forward and pulls the other priestess into a quick hug. "We heard fighting and thought someone must have come looking for shelter." Behind her, two more acolytes and one of the town's militia men come around the side of the building, along with a family of three townsfolk. "Oh no. Let me help your friend." Rhyna jumps from one person to the next, pulling a wand from her belt and waving it over Kyvanna's body.
Telka hugs the young woman back. "We are so glad you are alright. We're gathering people and getting out of town. Let's grab anything we can and go. You know about Father Nolan? He's gone. I wish I could do something to heal him, but it's too late."
Kyvanna groaned as she sat up, looking to Rhyna. "You've my thanks." She said with a nod before she got up. She gathered her weapon and looked to the others. "I don't know about you but I'm hatred of these creatures has only been growing." She stated before looking to the group. "We've come to sweep the area, gather those who still survive and send them to the Trading Company." Kyvanna explained.
Sindri breathes heavily for a few moments, and nods when Kyvanna mentions her hate for the goblins. They destroy everything they touch. Torag give me strength to build and stand against them.
With that thought in mind, she stands up and regards the townsfolk they just found. "Make your way there quickly and quietly," she says, her voice calm and firm. "Stay off the main road, and don't stop for anything. We need to get out of town, now." She gestures to herself and her companions. "The four of us are searching for others. We'll check the smithy, and then be on our way. We need to move fast, so there's no time to grab many things. Take what you have."
Rhyna swallows hard and her eyes tear up a little bit. "Yes," she murmurs softly. "He said he was running to get something from the temple and told us to hide in his quarters around back. Then we heard shouting and..." She wipes her eyes quickly. "We were just about to try to make a break for it when we heard someone else coming and we decided to come try to help." She nods in agreement at Sindri and Kyvanna's instructions. "There should be a few small package near the altar. I think Father Noelan was preparing supplies for the traveling healers. It might be useful." Still shaking a little, she starts to organize the group, though with you heading to the same place, she elects to wait a few minutes to travel with you.
Inside, the party is able to salvage:
- Handaxe
- Masterwork Battleaxe
- Composite Longbow (+2 Str)
- Backpack
- Bedroll
- Blanket
- Small Tent
- Trail Rations (3)
- Alchemist's Fire (2)
- Potion of Cure Light Wounds (2)
- Silver cup
- Bottle of whiskey (3)
- Case of gold dust
- Sack of semi-precious stones (27)
- Ivory Holy Symbol of Erastil (2), one with the name Lirosa written across the back
- 76 gp
- Silver amulet
- Thick white oak wand
"That's a wand of Magic Missile with 12 charges, and the other is a wand of Cure Light wounds with 21 charges left. I'll take that one."[b] She hands the other wand to Ageis.
[b]If no one objects I'll take the Composite Longbow as well." She tests it and smiles in satisfaction. "Eratil would be proud."
"Is anyone in need of healing before we move out?"
"You're not the only one who uses bows Telka." Kyvanna reminded her. "However I guess with my track record at the moment you'd get more use out of it than I." Kyvanna said, a bit of anger laced in with her words in that statement though if it was address at Telka or at Kyvanna herself it was hard to say.
"And yes, I'm still rather wounded here." Kyvanna answered.
Aegis slides the second wand in next to the first, and checks himself over. "If they can patch you up, that's a good idea. We can check out the smithy before we leave." Aegis frowns, looking around. "Earlier today, I met a traveling swordsman as well. I don't know where he was staying or if he's even still in town, but he was not unskilled. It might be worth looking for him, if possible, if only as another blade once we flee. He'll be another mouth to feed, but I doubt he'll struggle to earn his keep."
"Let me help with that. It's the least I can do." Rhyna taps her wand on Kyvanna's shoulder two more times and seals the rest of her wounds. "There's some food and traveling supplies for the healers in the storage shed behind the building. I believe Father Noelan was going to distribute it tomorrow before we started heading out again. We'll bring as much as we can."
"That's true I'm not the only one who needs bows. I don't think we're going to be so lucky as to not find more of them soon. We still need to get everyone out of town." Telka smiles not unkindly, but does not offer to give up the bow.
"You have my thanks." Kyvanna said with a small smile to Rhyna. Kyvanna made no other comment about the bow and moved to see about this swordsman who might be of some use.
Telka thinks for a couple of minutes as they look for the swordsman, and hands over the bow to Kyvanna. "You'll make better use of this now."
Rhyna leads the acolytes and guards off toward the gathering point while the party heads carefully toward the market green to look for any signs of the swordsman. They find the center of town abandoned, with the stalls and remaining carts from the festival looted and shattered. A few even burn, though they seem far enough from the buildings to keep the entire town from catching fire. There are signs of battle and bodies on the ground, both civilians and guards. Kyvanna spends a few moments examining them and her prodigious tracking skills quickly reveal that a group headed north out of the green not long ago. Their boot prints don't seem to be the heavy iron studded boots of the hobgoblins, leading her to believe they were survivors.
Following the boot prints through the mud and soot takes a few minutes, but soon they can hear voices speaking in Common in a nearby alleyway.
Telka moves up to the alleyway carefully and peeks around the corner. Her bow at the ready.
Aegis keeps covering their rear, the wand he found still in his hand in case of a surprise attack. When he hears the voices muttering in Common, though, a hopeful look spreads on his face. He lets someone else—anyone else, really—take point on going to talk to them, however. It seems the android realizes he might not be the most pleasant person to deal with at the moment.
Kyvanna gave Telka a surprised look when she handed her the bow. "Well... thank you." She said before she took the bow and turned her attention back to the trail.
When she heard the voice she held up her hand to point the way to the voice before quietly moving herself closer.
The party quietly approaches the alley, trying to keep low and quiet just in case whoever is within is less than friendly. As they peek around the corner, Aegis does recognize the swordsman he encountered earlier in the day, along with one of the town guards and a richly dressed, slightly tubby, man. "We need to keep moving," the rich man hisses. "Before more of them come."
The guard shoots him a venomous stare. "He saved your life. The least you could do is help me carry him." At that, Telka's trained eyes see a small trail of blood leaking down the swordsman's side. He seems to be leaning against one of the walls for support.
"Let us help you." Telka whispers to the guard. She moves down the alley to take a look at the swordsman.
"He saved this man's life?" Aegis looks quizzically at the slightly overweight man. "I suppose it's not as if you could save it yourself. If he can't move on his own, you'll need to help him. Make yourself useful, it's not as though you'll be able to help in a fight. Hopefully, we'll be able to get him back on his feet. Is he conscious? What happened here?"
Kyvanna followed behind her friends, bow out to her side. "We have a place you can fall back to. We're getting all we can out of here through there." She told them. "And if you think you can get away on your own might I point out, I a new ranger found you. Their more experienced rangers will easily find you as well."
The swordsman is clearly still conscious, just having trouble walking. It seems like he's broken a few ribs and has what looks like a sword or dagger wound in his side that's very deep. He's lucky that it didn't hit something vital and kill him instantly. "Ugh. I can walk. Just need a minute..." Telka quickly gets to work cleaning and bandaging his wound to at least staunch the bleeding, but he'd need magic beyond her current skills or long term rest to be back at full strength.
"He's the reason we got out of the market alive," the guard says, letting Telka work on the swordsman. "He fought five of the goblins at once, all by himself. He took down three of them before he took that hit, and he still managed to kill his attacker before he collapsed. I've been trying to get him to safety. If you have a rendezvous, then we should get there. I saw another wave of hobs coming as we were fleeing the square. We don't have much time before they overrun the town."
Telka patches the swordsman up as best she can. Once finished she gives him a smile, "Let's get going. Where to next?"
"Sindri, looking for your friend may result in all of us being killed, along with those waiting for us. I'm not sure going to look for him is worth it from a practical standpoint. It may be too risky." Aegis just shrugs, and furrows his brow. "If you were not a blacksmith, finding him would be more pressing. I understand you may have a personal attachment, but I'm not sure it will be worth the risk."
"We need to stop by the smithy anyways Aegis. Look for tools to bring down the bridge so those creatures can't follow." Kyvanna stated as she kept her eyes trained on the area around them. "Telka, Do you believe that man and those here can make it to the safe house without our help?" She asked.
Telka gives the swordsman another look. "I believe he can make it. It will be slow, and he might need help walking." She gives the tubby man a stern look. "Give him a shoulder to lean on so the guard can watch over you all."
The wealthy man grumbles a bit, but reluctantly lets the swordsman put an arm over his shoulder so he can help him walk. The guard just looks appreciative. "Where exactly are we going then?" he asks.
"To the Trading Company. Everyone is meeting there. We're leaving from there and crossing the bridge into the forest. We hope to take down the bridge, and maybe slow down the goblins for a little while." Telka explains as she starts back down the alley bow at the ready.
"Really, hiding out in the woods..." the wealthy man grumbles.
"If you'd rather stay here with the goblins," the guard replies dryly. "Just walk."
The group quickly heads through town, making their way toward the Trading Company. As they near the walled perimeter of the property, they here voices and a familiar face pokes around the corner of a nearby alleyway. "Over here," Aubrin hisses. "It looks like we have trouble." Once the party brings their new acquaintances to join the group, she fills them in. "A group of goblins got here just before we did. Kining and some of the militia put up a hell of a fight before barricading themselves inside the main building. I think they're still alright, but they're stuck in there, along with anything useful. What's left of the goblins are working on either breaking in or burning the place down."
"Then we break them." Kyvanna stated simply. "A small group of us could pull them away from here, loose them, and double back. During that time you could get them out of there along with anything useful." She thought as she bit her lip and toyed with her bow.
"How much time would you need Aubrin?" Kyvanna asked.
"We can't let them catch the building on fire. Let's draw them away if we can." Telka nods in agreement at Kyvanna's suggestion.