After a couple of miles the woods open to a clearing where a large, grass-covered mound, like a small oblong hill, dominates the area.
Aryn spots a stout wooden door set directly into the side of the mound, and a thin trail of smoke rising from the very top. Immediately to the
south is a wooden horse stable, all of its doors closed.
As you approach a tall blond man opens the door and greets you. "Hello travelers!" he looks at the goblins then at you "You shall be the goup of pathfinders we were expecting. The castellan of Trollheim brought word of your arrival and your plans."
The young man receives you with his open hands and shows you the door, then suddenly realizing he waves in respect and says "Sorry, I have not presented myself. My name is Enrik Ironjaw, and I am the Lieutenant of the Blackravens' in the Haagreach."
He then points at the house door again and says "But please, go in, the journey from Irrisen is long and tough and I am sure you are much tired and would enjoy of some hot meal and good drink, maybe even a short rest."
"Sure just enter please" Ironjaw points inside the house.
As you go in, you observe a young and beautiful woman dressed like some sort of Linnorm divine guide, sitted on some stairs at the end of the corridor.
Once inside, Ironjaw explains "It is ok for you to come in and share our dinner. You can also rest in our barraks. Anyway, with respect to the goblins, we cannot allow them inside the house. You can leave them in the sotereroom there, under key." Ironjaw points a door next to the woman. "There are no windows or other ways they can escape."
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Aryn shakes her head in disagreement. "With all due respect, Ironjaw, these goblins are our charge. It's not that I don't trust you, but I don't like it when I can't keep an eye on who I'm supposed to protect."
"If you'd let them sleep in the barracks with us, I will personally make sure they won't cause trouble. Perhaps it'll ease your heart to know I've served the army for 50 years before I joined the Society. It won't be my first time keeping an eye on others."
Enrik Ironjaw seems to go very serious. "You are more than welcome to eat with us. But I would rather burn down my house to ashes than see a goblin sited in my kitchen or eating from my food." The stout man spills next to his feet and moves his eyes staring deeply at Aryn. He seems quite certain about it. "Be reasonable, lock those goblins, and let's have a peaceful meal without being disturbed by monsters." He holds true his eyes at Aryn while the woman approaches.
"There's no reason to get rude. We have stewed potatoes and beer." looking at Henrick she adds "And you can take as much as you need after the dinner. I can understand you are tired of eating the same travel rations during days."
Enrik look at you despised. "That was your choice then. You could have just stept aside and peacefully eaten, but not, you don't." Ironjaw looks at the chaplain woman.
When Enrik resumes talking, Artix and Mido understands something is going badly "Freyr Darkwine is no king," he says. "It is not for him to erase a weregild of a thousand years to convenience the Pathfnders. Kill us all if you must, but you'll not drag us before his justice. Those goblins will die like the monsters they are!" A couple of warriors then burst from the stables, and the chaplain starts to give divine words as Enrik unleashes his greataxe.
All but Artix and Mido are caught in surprise by his moves.
Mido observes the charging warriors and decides to delay his actions.
The two blackravens charge over the goblins shouting "You will pay for killing our friends and family!"
The goblins are totally kept flat-footed, and Corpselicker is surprised by a power swing of the Blackraven battleaxe. Fortunatelly for Killadur, the other warrior is not that precise and the blade just cuts the air next to him.
At the same time Enrik swings his battleaxe agains Artix, overpassing his armor and wounding his skin.
Artix steps back in response, hand to hand with Aryn he casts a pattern of colourfull lines from his hands. The chaplain woman stares blindly to the lines, let her greatsword fell from hands and then she slowly fells to the floor knocked out.
--------------------------------- Round 1 -----------------------
Bloodgash tries to bite one of the warriors unsuccessfully.
Anklenock though, bites the warrior in one of his legs, although the armor protects him from the teeth.
Dunghurler shyly approaches the combat but the warior deflects him easily with one of his arms swings.
Kalidur bites one of the warriors arms as he is attacking him. The teeth go deep into the meat as the warrior screems "Aaaaggh! Beast of the demon!"
The blackravens continue fighting the goblins. The one attacking Kalidur seems now enraged and hits the goblin in one of his arms in response to his bite.
The second warrior though seems determined to end with the goblins, as he finishes up Corpselicker at the very same moment the poor creature fells inconcious. He steps over the dead corpse.
Enrik steps towards Artix shouting "Beast lovers, prepare to die!" At the same time he swings his battleaxe hitting Artix head, opening a terrible wound in his front.
The stout half-orc holds with all his strength avoiding to become stunned by the powerful blow.
Mido stabs the Blackraven warrior from his back, flanking him with one of the goblins. The warrior is taken by surprise, but his armor deflects the blade, though Mido sees the untouched skin in the just new opened hole in the chain shirt.
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Gritting his teeth through the pain, Artix glares from the fallen goblin to Erik. HIs fist clenching down on his blade as his magic pours into it.
Frost frozen cowards! He snarls as he steps back and quickly casts a spell as his blade lengthens and with a flick of his writs, lashes around Erik's foot.
Artix blade become a whip for some seconds, with it the half-orc binds one of Enrik's legs and brings him prone to the floor.
Bloodgash bites one of the warriors.
Anklenock bite fails in the air.
Dunghurler shyly approaches the combat but the warior deflects him easily with one of his arms swings.
Kalidur bites one of the warriors arms as he is attacking him in revenge from last hit. The teeth go deep into the meat as the warrior screems.
The blackravens continue fighting the goblins. The one attacking Kalidur drops him unconcious with a hit of his axe. "You all gonna die for your crimes goblins!"
The second warrior though seems determined to end with the goblins, as he finishes up Corpselicker at the very same moment the poor creature fells inconcious. He steps over the dead corpse.
Enrik stands up and 5-foot steps trying to attack Artix with his battle axe "You don't have to die, help us kill the goblins!"
As Aryn strikes with his big blade in a terrible blow over Enrik, this one drops to the floor with a horrible wound over his shoulder.
Bloodgash bites one of the warriors on his shield.
Anklenock bites on the warrior hand as he attacks.
Dunghurler fails miserably his attack.
The blackravens maneuver surounding Anklenock steping over the bodies of the fallen goblins, and attack him, striking him in the back!
As Anklenock falls the second warrior profits the moment to be merciless with the unconcious goblin striking him brutally with his battleaxe. "Die monster! Die!"
Kallidur is dying.
Artix is dying.
Totally enraged by the warriors trying to make fail his mision, Aryn steps out of the house over Enrik's body and jumps into the first warrior she sees. She swings her greatsword over her and into the warrior's neck.
The blackraven never got to see it coming, the blade smoothly cuts skin, blood and bone, splitting the head from its body.
The corpse fails to the snowed floor miserably, the remaining warrior shouting in fear as a response.
Bloodgash steps next to the remaining warrior and bites him.
Dunghurler goes mad and gives the warrior an incredibly precise bite on the ear.
Anklenock is dying.
Kalidur is dying.
The remaining blackraven shouts. "You will pay for that goblins! You also aasimar!"
Enrik is dying.
Artix stabilizes.
Henrik tries to make a tourniquet to the fallen goblin, but the blood going out is too much and he does not succeed to stop the bleeding.
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Aryn circles around the goblins, and attacks the remaining Blackraven. She swings her greatsword at him, but her aim fails her again.
"You want to make me pay?! How do you plan to do that, weakling?!" Aryn yells at the Blackraven, trying to provoke him into attacking her instead of the goblins. "I'll kill you, like I did kill Enrik and that other weakling!"
Mido moves to flank the Blackraven warrior and tries to sneak attack him with his Wakizashi once and again.
Dunghurler and Bloodgash try to bit the remaining warrior, his morale almost crumbling by the deaths of his fellows.
The warrior armor still succeeds to deflect the attacks from both the goblins and the gnome.
"This is not with you aasimar, those goblins have to die! Even if that's the last thing I do! Stop protecting them, they are just beasts! They killed our families, the burned our houses, would you allow them to continue living? Seriously?" The blackraven warrior, still not intimidated by the aasimar's might, and confident on his odds, launches another attack over Dunghurler. The axe hits over the goblin's face, and this drops inconcious to the floor.
You can see how he steps over the goblin and raises his axe over the helpless creature. Without any doubt he will kill him next round if given the opportunity.
Enrik is dying.
Kallidur stabilizes.
Anklenock is dying.
Aryn crushes the stout northern warrior whom goes down with a last exhalation.
That ends the blackravens company.
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After Aryn stops her bloodrage, and immediately the fatigue hits her like a kick in her guts. She fears for the goblins' lives though, and directly casts cure light wounds several times to stabilize them.
Aryn then moves back inside while breathing heavily, and kneels down next to Artix. She casts cure light wounds twice on him.
"Welcome back," Aryn says to Artix when he opens his eyes again. "Would you mind tying that woman you stunned up, before she wakes? And if the others could tie the unconscious people up, that'd be neat. Pardon me, but I need a moment to rest..."
Their houses were burned, and families killed? Poor people...
Aryn turns around while still knelt, and tries to stabilize Enrik despite her fatigue.
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Artix feels the magic push through him, knitting together his wounds. With a cough, he begins to move and his eyes slowly open up to see Aryn kneeling over him.
Looking around, he takes in the carnage. I see a few things have happened since I've been down.
He then stands and moves to tie up the stunned woman.
So what shall we do with these ones?
Bloodgash shouts "Kill them! Kill them all! Look what thay did ta my clan! Corpselicker's dead!"
The goblin tries to kill on of the warriors taking his own battleaxe.
As the woman becomes concious she starts to fight with her bindings and says "Wha-what have you done to us? F@%+ing monster lovers! Gorum will make you pay one day!"
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Henrick steps in front of the goblin, and tells him "Put the weapon down. Our fight here is over."
"I suggest we lock the angry humans in the cell for the night, get our rest, and give them a chance to free themselves after we leave. We can put food and water in with them and send someone back after goblin delivery to make sure they are free. I don't much care for people that try to kill me, but I also understand the feelings that can take control of some people. I have battled my own inner demons this whole trip. But we still have a job to complete, and complete it we shall."
Henrick looks to the others for comment.
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"I think that's a fine plan, Henrick." Aryn stands up again, having just recovered from the fatigue.
She proceeds to drag the woman and her unconscious companions to the cell where they wanted to lock up the goblins, and locks the Blackravens up there.
"I'll give the key to some at our final destination," Aryn says as she returns from the cells, holding the key up. "Like Henrick suggested, they can be retrieved by others."
"Let us now get some sleep. Tomorrow may still prove to be a long day."
The night goes quite fast. You make shifts to guard both the goblins and the blackravens. Everything stays calm.
Next day you pack your things, eat some food from the Blackravens kitchen and make journey to Trollheim. Just some minutes before reaching the fortress walls you find the extraction team.
They greet you and not very happily take care of the goblins. "We hope the journey was easy and calm. We heard about a big storm at southern Irrisen."
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"Yes, but luckily all of us survived that," Aryn replies.
"We were attacked by the Blackravens at our last stop. They wanted the goblins dead, because their homes were destroyed and families killed by goblins. We locked them up in their own prison. Is there anyone we can hand the key, so they can be released?"
Aryn scratches the back of her head. "I can understand their feelings, but I was the one who cut half of them down... So I don't want to go back there, you see?"
"We can understand that. Maybe you can send note to Trollheim guards or their castellan, I think he is the Blackraven's maximum boss and he gave order to let the Society pass with the goblins unharmed. He won't be very pleased of hearing your news." says the Pathfinder expedition captain.