Jeremy deals the goblin a fatal blow. The little creature makes one final attempt to take him down with him...
But...Jeremy easily dodges it and the goblin falls unconscious. Combat ends.
Rynshinn rushes to Jeremy's side. "You're hurt!" she exclaims.
The little boy scrambles away and finds his loving father looking for him. They duck into a nearby building. The cathedral square is still in chaos... goblins everywhere!
Jeremy hobbles over to the dropped crossbow, picking it up and cursing his ill judgement.
"Rynshinn, I need you to take up the quarterstaff on the ground. I'm injured and don't know what's coming. If something gets too close, poke it hard with one end, ok? Dunno what's going on
Jeremy reloads, counting his ammunition. Six bolts... six bolts were all that stood between him and death by goblin hands, but he knew he couldn't just give up on these folk.
Rynshinn nods, and grips the quarterstaff tightly.
Meanwhile, chaos has engulfed Sandpoint. Goblins race everywhere, running amok and singing and slashing indiscriminately. A sudden bloom of fire from a nearby unattended wagon catches your attention. There is a group of goblins that has set the wagon on fire. There are three goblins, along with one female goblin - a warchanter, who sings a vile goblin song that whips her fellow goblins into a furious, shrieking frenzy.
Then, you won initiative, so you can take your first turn as well. :P
Initiative Rolls
Initiative Order
1. Jeremy
2. Goblin 3
3. Goblin 2
4. Goblin Warchanter
5. Goblin 1
6. Rynshinn
I have to take out their leader first, or all of this is for nothing. If they fall, then it will help the larger effort even if they knock me out. Just gotta hope someone ELSE can drive them off of me before I bleed out... bah, can't get close enough to make the shot count! Gotta reduce the numbers if I can.
Moving up, Jeremy takes aim at the southernmost of the goblins, the only one close enough for him to get a solid shot at a vital place.
Gotta save the Eye for defense, I can't take much in the way of direct pain just now...
Jeremy's careful shot flits past his opponent's defenses, ending with a gruesome thunk into the creature's side, knocking it out of the fight instantly. The goblins stop in their revelry and look up to see who dared to disturb them... They toss their torches onto the wagon and move forward, drawing their rusty dogslicers. Anthony's whip shoots out at the fastest goblin, but he is too slow for it. Anthony manages to raise up his crossbow against the creature's attack at the last moment.
The female goblin giggles, babbling something in goblin to its compatriots. The others shriek with laughter. She turns serious, and raises her hand at Jeremy, afflicting him with a spell! Suddenly, Jeremy is wracked with uncontrollable laughter! He falls prone, convulsing on the ground with giggles.
Rynshinn stares at him incredulously. "No! Jeremy, you need to get up! What are you doing??"
The other goblin seizes the opening and rushes in! It stabs downwards into Jeremy's belly, who passes out.
......................................................
Jeremy awakens to Father Zantus and a worried looking Rynshinn standing over him. Sheriff Hemlock stands a few feet away, having killed the small group of goblins.
"Hmph. Get rid of the warchanters, the rest run screaming." Sheriff Hemlock affirms.
Father Zantus smiles as he realizes he was able to save Jeremy. "What were you doing taking on those goblins alone like that?"
Jeremy breathes a sigh of relief at his continued ability to breathe. "Father, I was the only one available. Couldn't just let them run free, and I had my crossbow. There are five fewer out there for the Sheriff to deal with. Speaking of, if there are any still running around, I still have a few bolts left to point in the right direction. Gotta help keep this town clear.
And note to self: Aim for the singers first
Far from the chaos of earlier, the festival square is now barren. Here and there, the sounds of battle, clanging swords, calls of support by the town guard, and shrieking and singing goblins echo through the streets, but at the site of the festival itself, most of the citizens have fled. Sheriff Hemlock aims a bow at some straggler goblins scavenging food, killing one, while the rest run shrieking. There are many goblin corpses (along with a few unfortunate civilians).
"That is incredibly brave of you. We're grateful for the help," Father Zantus replies. The Sheriff merely grunts.
"This area seems clear. I need to get back to the walls and check for stragglers. How in the world did they get into the town past the guards?" the Sheriff grumbles as he trudges off towards the city gate.
Father Zantus helps Jeremy up. "I will be returning to the Cathedral to tend after our wounded. You should consider holing up with us, or finding a safe place to rest. Even though most are gone now, goblins are sneaky little things, and may be laying in ambush in the most unlikely of places."
"Jeremy, I'm going to go with him. I need to find out where my mother is. If I don't see you again tonight, I work at a place called Vernah's Fine Clothing - it's a clothing shop, run by myself and my mother. It's on Mud Street in the southeastern part of town," says Rynshinn.
The pair head into the cathedral. Just as Jeremy is about to decide whether to go with them, or to head elsewhere, he hears the distant sound of a scream and frantic barking from the north.
"Here's to meeting back up soon, then. If I run into your mother, I'll tell her where you are and make sure she's safe. So long as it be within my power, so do I swear."
The thought of cowering in the Cathedral didn't even cross Jeremy's mind. He pauses JUST long enough to make sure his crossbow is loaded and that he has his gear, then takes off at a run to investigate to the North. Someone up there needed help, and he was the one likely best able to give it.
"Okay! Be safe! Don't do anything foolish, please!" she calls to him when he rushes off.
Just east of the White Deer, Sandpoint's other inn, near the north gate, a goblin commando mounted on a goblin dog has bravely attacked a noble and his hunting dog. The nobleman is dressed in fine blue clothes, and has dark hair, and a goatee. He cowers behind a rain barrel, calling out desperately for help, while his dog fights the commando. As Jeremy rounds the corner, he arrives just in time to see the mounted goblin kill the dog with his massive axe. The dog crashes dying to the ground, as the commando's goblin kin (who were themselves cowering nearby while the dog was handled) throw up a cheer and emerge from hiding.
The goblins are still distracted by their kill, and as they turn their attention to the nobleman, Jeremy has the opportunity to attack from surprise!
Initiative Rolls
Initiative Result
1. Goblin 1
2. Jeremy
3. Goblin 2
4. Goblin 3
5. Goblin Commando + Goblin Dog (Mounted Combat)
Jeremy - Surprise Round
Tripping a Mounted OpponentYou may make a trip attack against a mounted opponent. The defender may make a Ride check in place of his Dexterity or Strength check. If you succeed, you pull the rider from his mount.
The field was open. Jeremy could do nothing but pray to whomever was listening that the assembled Goblins would not notice him in time as he moved to his kill range.
Adding the nobleman to initiative:
The fastest goblin does not notice Jeremy, so it moves toward the nobleman! The goblin swipes at him, but he ducks behind the rain barrel just in time.
"Help! Somebody help!" he calls out, crawling into a corner.
"Sir! Get behind me!"
Jeremy takes aim at the Commando and lets fly his opening shot. The blood-red eye on his forehead flares eagerly.
Jeremy didn't even wait for that bolt to land before slapping the next into his crossbow and winching it ready.
"Grab my staff if you can!"
With expert precision, Jeremy's opening shot is sent plunging heinously into the commando, who shrieks in surprise and pain.
One of the goblins comes charging in. Jeremy lashes at it with his light whip, but misses, as he is distracted by the commando. The other goblin follows soon after, but Jeremy manages to trip it before it gets too close to him.
The goblin commando steers his goblin dog away from combat, but Jeremy lashes his whip around the dog's hind leg, toppling it over. The commando falls off, laying prone. The dog stands up. It stands up, wheeling, and mounts the goblin dog once more.
Round 2
The goblin menacing the nobleman stands and notices Jeremy. It moves towards him, leaping over his whip. It lunges at Jeremy with its rusty dogslicer, but it slips and lunges at the air instead.
The nobleman cowers on the ground, too frightened to move.
Good grief, that goblin got back up quick. Need to take him out pronto, looks like he'll be the most trouble... and already has one Bolt of mine stuck in him.
Jeremy takes a quick step back, away from the rusty blades of the two goblins nearest him, and lets loose another shot at the mounted Commando before reloading. His Eye again flares as he takes the shot.
Choosing a vital area, Jeremy's bulls-eye shot knocks the goblin out.
The other goblins, seeing their leader down, panic and flee. Two move too quickly from Jeremy.
The goblin dog snarls at Jeremy, and runs towards him. Jeremy attempts to trip it down, but fails. The dog lunges at him, but Jeremy backs away swiftly.
Round 3
The last goblin attempts to flee, but Jeremy trips him as he scrambles away.
Jeremy stumbles back a pace before the overgrown rat could take his face off. Absent any assistance from the cowering Nobleman, he had only one recourse. The crossbow sprang up as he took aim at the Goblin Dog and let loose.
The bolt flies wide, and Jeremy takes a mental note to see if he can find it later. He prepares himself, winching in another round before the beast could get too close
The goblins run away from Jeremy. The dog remains, moving to keep up with the young vizier, swiftly avoiding his shot.
Jeremy lashes out at the dog as it approaches, but it nimbly leaps over his attack.
Jeremy side-steps the dog's counter-attack. It snarls at him.
Round 4
The nobleman notices that the goblins have all run away, and warily steps out from behind the barrel and picks up the quarterstaff.
"Wow! Thank you so much!" he gasps out.
"Glad I could help. Now, this thing is too stupid to know when to run." Jeremy ducked back to avoid more fangs. "Mind helping me put it down?"
Jeremy fires once more and reloads, his Eye flaring. Let it never be said that he doesn't know how to be polite
The goblin dog spins away from Jeremy's shot, growling. The goblins run away, giggling madly. The goblin dog keeps up with Jeremy, who attempts to pull it down but misses. The dog then lunges forwards, chomping down hard on Jeremy's leg, leaving a deep wound.
Round 5
"Oh no! Sorry if I distracted you!" the nobleman cries out. He steps forward, taking a swing at the goblin dog. He clocks the goblin dog on the side of the head, severely disabling it.
Jeremy suppresses a cry of pain as the bite left a deep wound. He would have to take things more carefully now. He stepped slightly north, dropping his crossbow and drawing his dagger.
"It was a matter of time anyway, now let's get rid of this thing"
Jeremy lunges in, seeking to put steel somewhere that would greatly inhibit his enemy's ability to function.
Jeremy's swing connects with a spine-chilling ripping noise as it shears open the goblin dog's center for all to see. It falls to the ground, dead.
The nobleman offers Jeremy's quarterstaff back to him, beaming, but still glistening from sweat. "Thank you! Oh thank you so much! You are so incredibly brave, and skilled too, to have taken on four at once like that! My name is Aldern Foxglove, who are you?"
Is this guy serious... eh, I'll take what I can get
Jeremy accepts his quarterstaff back. "Thanks for the compliments, you have quite an arm yourself. My name is Jeremy Kithkin, currently in town for the celebrations. Might stay a bit longer if this is a regular occurrence, Sandpoint looks like it could use the extra hands."
"I'm not sure, I'm an out of towner myself! I hail from Magnimar, myself." Aldern Foxglove glances around anxiously, scanning the area for more goblins. "I..certainly hope not! In any case, I want to find shelter. I'm staying at the Rusty Dragon for a few more days, when you get a chance, I'd love for a chance to talk with you more and perhaps reward you properly for saving my life!" He smiles weakly.
"Don't blame you on the shelter part. I know where there are a few holed up with a guard, follow me. They're in the main cathedral."
Jeremy secured his crossbow makes sure his weapon is loaded again, just in case, then seeks his two misses before heading back.
Aldern follows Jeremy back to the festival square. The goblins appear to have all retreated, and the town guard stands watch over several of the captured monsters.
Aldern gives Jeremy a bow with a flourish, smiling at him. "I will be off to find my entourage. I hope to see you again soon!"
In the shadow of the goblin attack, Sandpoint is hardly interested in finishing up the Swallowtail Festival -- citizens are all retreating to their homes to hide and recover from the day's horrors.
Back at the festival square, Jeremy takes some time to help people and gather some information.
After most of the people are safely home, he heads back to the cathedral to see if he can find Rynn. If she isn't there, he heads back to the Iron Dragon, making a note to himself to head to the shop on Mud Street first thing in the morning.
Jeremy spots Sheriff Hemlock in the crowd, though he is distracted by the task at hand.
"Useless pieces of s#+#. Haven't gotten any useful information from any of them." He scowls.
A man approaches Jeremy and shakes his hand. "Hey, I saw what you did back there. My name is Alergast Barett. You saved my son's life back there. I just wanted to thank you. "
Rynshinn is nowhere to be seen, in the cathedral nor in the square in front of it.
Jeremy gladly shakes Alergast's hand right back
"I'm glad that I was in the right place at the wrong time as it were. The name is Jeremy Kithkin, bit of a wanderer at the moment. Tell me, does this happen often?
Alergast beams at him, then his face falls. "I'm afraid we don't have much to repay you with," he apologizes. "But if you ever need anything of me, anything at all, please visit me. I work at the sawmill." He shakes his hand once more, and turns to leave, his wife waiting for him in the distance.
Jeremy nods as Alergast walks off. It was a good thing he could spare that father the pain of losing a child, he seemed to actually care. He looked over at the Sheriff, and walked over.
"Sir, I heard you say that you have a few of these Goblins tied up somewhere? I can be... persuasive... if need be. If you will allow me to talk to at least one for a few minutes, I may be able to get some information
Sheriff Hemlock nods. "Sure. Knock yourself out."
The goblins are near the town gate, fully tied up and under close watch by the town guard. There are four total. They giggle and whisper in goblin amongst themselves, occasionally stopping to yell very rude things at the guards around them.
Jeremy walks up to the first one, casually letting his Light Whip trail on the ground. Intimidation was not his forte, so a slightly different track would be required. Still couldn't hurt to emphasize relative positions, and his crossbow was still visibly loaded. He was a bit... nervous... about venturing into untried waters when so much could be on the line. The conversation, he hoped, would last a while. It wasn't like the Goblin was going anywhere anyway.
"Goblin, it would seem that your friends have left you here. I know that being tied up waiting to be executed and your name written in our records is not what you want, so if you help me with information I may be able to get the sheriff to let you go... or at least not write your name."
The goblins giggle and shriek at Jeremy at first, unimpressed by his attempts at diplomacy, and thoroughly confused by his flowery language.
"Hehehe, funny longshanks with his big words think he so smart!" one pipes up.
"Longshanks not so smart with Blub's doglicer in his gullet. I saw it!"
But once he gets around to the promise of a deal they start to perk up.
"Hmmm... Zobmaggle don't want his name written in no magic book. Longshanks want to steal Zobmaggle's life force??" The other goblins agree.
"Grekna was told to kill all smiley longshanks. Burn stupid buildings to the ground!"
Freaking goblins... and here I thought Dad's customers were dense...
Still, at least he got somewhere. He called out to the Sheriff. "Alright sir, might have gotten somewhere. They'll give you what information they have, you just have to promise not to write their names down in your magic book. Especially Zobmaggle and Grekna, here. They didn't do this alone, someone commanded them to come and attack."
"Hmmm, alright, no magic books here," The Sheriff affirms loudly, as he writes down their names anyway. "I wonder who did that, and why? Still, thank you for your help... Jeremy was it?"
"Yes, Jeremy Kithkin. Sir, I'm not from around here, but will be around for a while at least. If you need an extra pair of hands with anything, I will likely be able to help"
And these things need to burn, or at least be taught enough of a lesson that they don't bother the people here again
He nods. "I heard from Alergast that you saved his son. I for one will always welcome more capable hands around here." The large Shoanti man crosses his arms and scowls at the goblins. "Hopefully we won't need you, but if we do, I'll send for you."
Ameiko Kaijitsu steps over a few goblin bodies as she moves towards the two men, a bloodied rapier in hand. "Jeremy! Hey! I heard you saved a few people today. I'm really impressed. If you're going to be in town for a few days, consider your next week at the Rusty Dragon to be free, on the house!" She grins as she wipes her sword on the body of a goblin and sheathes it.
"And other than saving lives, no better reason has ever been given for helping defeat a horde of Goblins. Many thanks, Ameiko. I'm about to head back there myself, unless you need help cleaning up over here."
And note to self, DO NOT try her patience.
She shakes her head. "Oh no, not here. I wish I could say the same about dinner, though! Let's go... you must be exhausted, and it's getting late into the evening,"
Assuming he is ready to leave, the pair head for the Rusty Dragon on the opposite end of town. The citizens they pass seem dour, a big difference from this morning. However, once they enter the Rusty Dragon, Jeremy is greeted with a loud cheer as many citizens raise their mugs to his name - it seems that word travels fast in this little town. A few even go out of their way to shake his hand, having heard of his actions saving the Barett boy and the nobleman Aldern Foxglove.
It takes an hour for her to get the food ready, but soon Ameiko is serving the hungry patrons smoked veal with radish, along with autumn cider.
Aldern Foxglove spots him the crowd soon after the food is served, and pulls up a chair to sit next to him.
"My good friend Jeremy! I'm glad to have the chance to properly thank you for saving my life."
For his part, Jeremy basked in the adoration and gratefully accepted handshakes.
Seriously, not something I'm used to. Definitely something I COULD get used to, though!
The cider was great, though he avoided ale. He never did drink much, and ruining his newfound reputation by getting belligerently drunk in front of the crowd while proving himself a lightweight would not be good. He did, though, make sure to call out a toast to ALL of the defenders of the town, and the Sheriff in particular. There had to have been dozens, if not hundreds, of the things running around. The paltry six he'd accounted for (ok, nine if you counted the cowards that ran after the commando died... and he did) were only significant because of who was nearby when he did.
"Aldern! I'm glad to see you're here and in good shape as well. Hope you and that arm of yours like spicy food, Ameiko makes the best in town.
Aldern Foxglove grins. "Yes, it is incredible! This is my first time visiting Sandpoint, it certainly isn't a visit that I will soon forget. Before I return to my townhouse in Magnimar in a few more days, I'm hoping to go on a boar hunt in the nearby Tickwood Forest tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that you'd like to come along. It's an hour's ride away, plenty of time to get to know one another. Do you own a horse? Ah, it is no matter, I have a spare, you can have her! A fitting gift for the hero!"
Jeremy's ears perk up slightly. Looks like I saved the rich guy. Seriously, a horse? Hope I can figure out which strap on the saddle is which before I have to do any serious tricks. Still, I have a promise to keep with Rynshinn, so here's hoping I can convince him to chill for just a bit.
Many, many thanks for the gift! I walked here leading a donkey, having four legs to do my walking for me sounds like a slice of the divine. I am occupied tomorrow morning, unfortunately. I promised a friend who was showing me around that I would find her again after the mess with the Goblins was cleared up. Perhaps in the afternoon, or the morning following? I would love to hunt down a boar or two, they make fine eating
"Tomorrow afternoon it is!" Aldern beams. "I'm sure Miss Kaijitsu could do something special with a boar! Now, if you'll excuse me, it's been an exhausting day and I'd like to get some rest for tomorrow. Pleasant sleep." He bows and heads for the upper levels of the inn. He is accompanied to his quarters by a pair of manservants.
"And to you as well"
Gods above, this has been a long day. Freaking exhausting, too, but that's to be expected. Combine that with the good food here and I'm done in
Jeremy finishes his meal and makes sure to thank Ameiko before getting up (slowly, his muscles still ached like crazy) and heading to his room to settle down for the night.
The next morning, Jeremy wakes up to breakfast: creamed chicken over wheat biscuits with poached eggs. The excitement seems to have died down from yesterday as grim reality sinks in - there are more than a couple of funerals to be had today in the wake of the goblin attack. But the townsfolk still find time to offer Jeremy an appreciative smile whenever someone recognizes him.
Jeremy got up early. Before heading downstairs, he meditated to change what he would be bearing mystically. The red eye on his forehead disappeared, its energies flowing down into a broad leather belt about his waist.
He ate his breakfast gratefully (and hungrily), then began heading over to Mud Street. Hopefully, Rynshinn wouldn't be too hard to find.
Mud Street is a busy mercantile street, crowded with vendors' carts and people, though it is still too early in the morning for most shops to be open. Vernah's Fine Clothing, in particular, is between a wheelwright''s workshop and a farmer's market, the latter of which is filled with farmers setting out their wares for the day. The road in front of Vernah's Fine Clothing is cluttered with debris from a turned over wagon (autumn vegetables mostly) and a halfling works at picking the goods up.
As Jeremy approaches the building, a small gaggle of women whisper and giggle among themselves as they pass by. He catches a few snippets of their conversation -
"Thats the one?"
"Yes - took on goblins ten to one I heard -"
"Ohhh? Is he single?"
"I don't know..I hope-"
When they catch him looking at him, they blush and hush up, suddenly bashful.
The sign in front of Vernah's Fine Clothing is still turned to "Closed" but when Rynshinn peers through the window of the squat, one-story, wooden building, she smiles wide and rushes out the door to hug him.
"Jeremy! You're alright! I was really worried when you got up and ran off right after I saw you get stabbed like that..."
The small group of women look visibly irritated at Rynshinn's presence and disperse.
"No way, Rynshinn?"
"Huh...figured she was gay..."
Jeremy was not used to this kind of attention. Again, though, he definitely didn't mind. There were a couple of lookers in the crowd... but on the flip side, he say how his second-oldest brother's first marriage went, so he knew that looks weren't quite everything. He was distracted rather quickly as he walked there.
Glad I'm in work clothes, but that Halfling needs some help.
He stopped by the wagon and spoke in the Halfling's native tongue to him. Hey, need a hand? Name's Jeremy"
Jeremy's smile quirks up a bit more at the hug. "It's amazing what a serious cleric can do these days. The next bunch I ran into wasn't anywhere near as polite as the first" Letting go of the hug, Jeremy turns around briefly to the other women. "And if you would help out the occasional stranger, you might also find one worth having as a friend." He turns back to Rynshinn.
"So, how are you? I was a bit scared when I couldn't find your mother last night, is she alright? Did the Goblins get at your things?"
The halfling looks at Jeremy, surprised. "Ah! Thank you! It would be much appreciated!"
Jeremy stops to help for a few minutes, while the women nearby whisper.
Rynshinn gives the other women a dirty look before returning to smiling at Jeremy. "No! We're all fine, thank the Inheritor. That was all really scary, though. I've lived here all my life and goblins have never attacked the town itself before, only travelers."