Jasper moves, gathering his spell components once more. As he comes around the end of the bushes near Oliver, he suddenly turns and cast an arc of rainbow color in the wrong direction and yells "Hah!" as another goblin is awash in brilliant color.
"Adalwin - there is something else, sneaking up behind us. I thought it was Oliver I heard, but he wasn't moving yet..."
Jasper darts forward to intercept another of the big hairy goblinoids who is sneaking about behind rocks and bushes to the west.
The big goblin averts its eyes against the burst of dazzling colours from Jasper’s spell, snarls, then stalks towards the diminutive orc-kin, morning star swinging.
The badly wounded goblinoid takes a step away from Adalwin towards his snoring companion, the strikes desperately at Eljoy.
The sleeping enemy snorts and begins to stir slightly …
Adalwin is about to step after the hobgoblin attacking Eljoy, when he hears Jasper cry out. Whirling around, the young man makes his decision quickly, rushing to his small friends aid.
As Lightning flies around overhead cawing, Anor stalks forward muttering. As she finishes her move she points at the goblin in combat with Eljoy.
The little fellow shrieks an uncharacteristically loud shriek as he realizes his spell has failed and what's about to happen is going to HURT, followed by a sickening thud and silence as the wind is driven from his frail form at the impact. He stays on his feet, but only just.
Reekis follows Adalwin partway, firing at Jasper's attacker.
Adalwin moves in beside his friend and stabs the large goblin. It grunts but doesn't go down.
Eljoy fares better - the head of his foe goes flying into the bushes as his axe swings past.
The sleeping goblin opens its eyes, yawns, then bellows and tries to struggle to its feet.
Reekis finds it hard to find a good opening between his companions, and his shot is deflected by the dark-furred goblin’s armour.
Oliver's decision is a simple one. Jasper was hurt badly, but he can't allow it to get the others worried. "Stay strong, we will end them in no time, just stand your ground." He quickly focuses his connection to the gods of good, and pushes that energy into the halfling.
Jasper steps back, closer to Oliver, glancing gratefully his way, before conjuring up a ball of acid to fling at the goblin.
Jasper feels like a surge of energy comes directly from his blood and powers the orb directly into his target's face.
Jasper, newly healed thanks to Oliver, hurls a gob of acid right into the bugbear’s face. It howls in burbling pain as its lower jaw melts away, swinging its morning star in blind fury at Adalwin.
The other goblinoid snorts and jumps to its feet
Heartened by Jaspers quick recovery and no doubt aided by his counter attack, Adalwin is easily able to avoid the creatures wild swing. "Great shot Jasper!"
The young man swings again, hoping to put down the hobgoblin for good.
Adalwin and Eljoy finish off the two bugbears; Adalwin stabbing one through the chest while Eljoy puts his axe through the brainpan of the one trying to rise.
Jasper spins on his heel and moves to view the spot where something had been sneaking up on Oliver. "There was another, sneaking about. Don't let your guard down yet."
Adalwin looks over in Eljoy's direction, gaping when he realises the man has taken down both of the enemies there.
"Wow... that was ... wow."
Jaspers words draw his attention back to the present danger, and he peers in the direction Jasper indicates.
Who is there? Show yourself!"
Another corpse lies on the forest floor near the bugbears that Eljoy has felled; a human male, dressed in the manner of a Falcon’s Hollow forester, his head staved in.
"What? Where?"
Adalwin points. "Over there, in the bushes."
A face peers around the side of a tree trunk in the direction that Jasper and Adalwin have indicated. It looks like a human girl, perhaps in her early teens. Her wide green eyes dart about behind the tangle of mouse-brown hair that falls partly across her face. There are twigs and brambles matted into her hair and her face is hollow-cheeked and smudged with dark stains.
“Are … are they all gone?” she asks hesitantly, her voice raspy.
Reekis points his crossbow at her. "Don't trust it! It could be a fey in league with the goblins!"
The girl gasps and ducks back behind the tree trunk.
"For F*+%s sake Reekis.... we are here to find the kids."
Anor will move forward, with her hands raised and no visible weapon, but ready to hex if she needs to....
"It's ok, they are all gone."
Adalwin sheathes his sword, hoping to put the girl at ease. He then rounds on Reekis, standing in front of the loaded crossbow. "What the hell are you thinking? She's a scared little girl!"
Reekis narrows his eyes. "You never heard of nymphs? Looking all innocent and leading you to your doom. Weird stuff goes on in this forest. I'm just being careful." But he lowers his crossbow.
"Ow! Hey, listen, you end up turned into a tree spirit's sex slave, don't come crying to me!"
"A tree what? That some sort of fantasy Reek?"
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Reekis goes red.
The girl peers back out from behind the trees, eyes wide, looking between Anor and Reekis.
For a nymph / tree spirit, she looks remarkably like a young, underfed and dirty human girl ...
Adalwin seems to look past Reekis, a far away expression on his face. "Is a tree spirit more human looking, or more ... tree like?"
Seeming to shake himself out from his reverie, he comes back to the present. "Err..." The young man clears his throat and turns to face the girl. "Are you Kimi? From Falcons Hollow?"
The girl looks nervously at Adalwin. She opens her mouth as if to speak, but only a dry croak emerges. She clears her throat and tries again. "No," she says in a raspy voice. "Do you have any food?" she adds, a tear trickling down her cheek and making a narrow clean line through the grime.
Reekis narrows his eyes. "So who are you, then?"
"Yes. We have food. Let's share some, and we can talk it over." Anor says, looking at their surroundings...
"Reek, you make a fire, and we will get a warm drink inside her, Adalwin, Eljoy, you have a scout about and make sure we aren't attacked."
Anor looks at Jasper, "May be he's right, what do you think Jasper?
Adalwin reaches into his pack for some of his rations, dried meat and hard biscuits. "It's not much, put you are welcome to them. Who ever you are, your safe now. These guys will look after you while we have a look around."
That said, Adalwin heads after Eljoy, trying to contain his own emotions at seeing the distraught girl. Gods, I hope that forester wasn't her father or something...
The young man crosses back and forth after Eljoy, trying to assist in his efforts to pick up the trail of the kids again.
Surprised at being asked, Jasper thinks, frowning in concentration. "Miss, much I'd like to sit at a nice fire and hear your story so we can find your family, I think our gruff friend is right - we need to keep moving, looking for the other missing children... Oh! Have you seen them, by chance?"
He moves over to the fallen forester and starts checking his pockets. "He may have family in Falcon's Hollow, too. We should bring them news of his passing and anything he might have wanted them to have."
Reekis looks relieved at Eljoy's comment as he throws aside the two sticks he was trying rub together to make a spark. "Yeah, let's walk." He pauses. "Er, which way?"