Izbahn approaches the cathedral square, and looking around at the chaos around him, wonders was it really this morning when I was ready for a relaxing day? Wow who knows what will happen...
The scream breaks his train of thought, and he quickly looks around for the source of the scream.
I walk on with grim determination, anger on my mind.
[i]"Don't let revenge cloud your judgement"[/b]
Izbahn's words keep ringing in my mind.
[i]"How could I not think of payback, these filthy critters came here with only one purpose."
"Mayhem and death ... was the only thing on their mind."
Snapped from my thoughts by the sounds of a scream somewhere, I snap to attention. Looking around the square for the source.
Snapped from my thoughts by the sounds of a scream somewhere, I snap to attention. Looking around the square for the source.
While Syeira can't see the source of the scream and barking, she can tell that the sounds come from farther north, perhaps even has far as the north gate.
"That sounded bad ... it looks like it came from the North."
Quick, to the gate ... maybe someone needs our help!"
I start to run towards the north gate.
Venmirl runs alongside Syeira, morningstar held high.
Izbahn slows up to allow the warriors to go in front and brings up the rear guard.
Dodging anyone running South, Naomi focuses on the screams coming from the North, and can already feel the frail skulls of goblins breaking under her mace...
You rush forward to the North gate. Just before it, in front of the White Deer Inn, a goblin mounted on some sort of hairless rat-like beast is fighting a large hunting dog. The goblin is armed with a weird polearm that has holes in it, same as the dogslicers. As you arrive on the scene, the creature mortally strikes the dog. This draws a cheer from 4 other goblins who were hiding along the inn’s north wall, waiting for their 'cavalry' to deal with the canine. A richly dressed man is cowering behind a rain barrel next to the inn. With the hunting dog out of the way, the goblins seem about to attack him.
Venmirl casts magic weapon on his morningstar and then moves to 5' from the goblin riding the beast.
Moving off to one side, Naomi runs foward, and readies herself for an attack.
"Come on you pox-rotted misfigured cretin, fight me! Or are you so afraid of humans you can only fight dogs?"
Calla will move as close to the hiding man as possible. She wants to eventually get in between him and the four goblins. She is wielding her battleaxe and a throwing axe.
Izbahn will bring up the rear, moving directly behind Calla 10', hugging the wall.
He has his club out, but is readying a spell for next round.
I move with but stay behind Venmirl, and prepare to cast Grease under the mounted goblin.
Most of you quickly advance toward the goblin. Only Venmirl and Zelazny hang back for now. The former intone a spell to enchant his weapon while the latter is still wary since the last combat.
The goblin rider seems more then happy to give Naomi her wish. "Die, dog, die!" He yells out in broken common as he urges his mount forward. The rat thing closes the distance separating it from Naomi with surprising speed. The rider tries to skewer the priestess with his nasty polearm but she dodges the thrust. Naomi can't avoid the savagery of the goblin's mount however. It bites deep into her thigh. The beast shakes its head and tries to tear her leg muscle but Naomi breaks free from the creature's jaws.
Two goblins move from the north, manoeuvring to surround the cowering man. As they approach, they bang their dogslicers on their small shields, probably to try to intimidate their enemies. The remaining 2 keep their distance and pull out shortbows. One of them aims an arrow at Calla but it sails above her head and sticks into the White Deer's outer wall. The other goblin bowman accidentally pulls an apple out of his sack instead of an arrow. He devours it in two bites.
Izbahn sees the goblin rider charge Naomi on the rat beast, and watches as Naomi goes down in a crumpled heap.
Bastard! Well lets see how your rider likes this!
Naomi is shocked by the rat creature's almost muderous bite, and steps back as as soon as she shakes free from it's jaws.
Noticing the other goblins moving in, Naomi hurries to cast a spell to ward off attacks.
As Naomi steps back, away from the filthy rat-like creature, I notice the horrible wound in her thigh.
Another hit like that, and she'll go down ... I must act quickly."
I move back, taunting the mounted goblin, hoping to distract it and lure him away from Naomi.
"You filthy dog ... Try that again ... if you dare !"
"Your mother was a dwarf lover ... !"
Izbahn uses his mind trick on the goblin rider who suddenly looks uncertain and dumbfounded.
Naomi takes a step back, away from the mounted goblin, and asks for the protection of the Gods. A sort of shimmering barrier appears around her.
Syeirna moves back, closer to Venmirl, and starts to chant a magic spell. After greasing her own hand with butter, she puts it in from of her and releases her magic. A thick layer of slippery grease appears under and in front of the rat creature. The oversized vermin slips and struggles to maintain its balance but it manages to remain on its four legs.
Seeing his new friend get viciously attacked, Venmirl runs up to the goblin and swings his morningstar, a faint red glow trails his swing.
Goblin bashing morningstar:
Calla throws her small axe at the nearby goblin attacking the defenseless man, then steps up and swings her battleaxe down with both hands to finish it off...
Venmirl rushes forward, avoiding the grease created by Syeira, and delivers a solid morningstar hit right on the chest of the goblin rider. The goblin remains in saddle but it doesn't look like he can take another hit like that.
Calla throws one of her smaller axe at one of the goblin warrior but the little creature manages to lift his shield just in time to intercept the flying axe. He barely has time to recover since the huntress is already on him, swinging her larger axe. The goblin quickly ducks and Calla's axe only catches the tip of his leather cap. The goblin's cap comes off his head and land on the ground . While Calla didn't hurt the goblin, she definitely caught his attention.
Looking terrified and sweating heavily, the richly dressed man pulls a dagger out of his belt and holds it in a defensive position, ready to parry any goblin strike .
Dazed, the goblin rider can't come up with something to do in his tiny brain. Unguided, the rat mount simply tries to bite the nearest enemy, Venmirl. This time, the creature's jaws only catch the hard skull of the shoanti's klar, leaving him unharmed.
The goblin north of the rich man attacks him with a series of stabs and slashes but the human somehow manages to parry or dodge them all.
The now hatless goblin turns his fury toward Calla. The huntress has little problem avoiding the clumsy blows.
Lastly, the 2 goblin bowmen move a bit to the east to get a better view of their targets. They aim at Naomi and loose their projectiles. The 2 arrows pierce the priestess' holy protection and both hit her in quick succession. She gurgles something, falls to her knees and loses consciousness. The 2 goblins clasp each other hands and do a little celebration dance. "Die, longshank, die!"
Izbahn watches helplessly while Naomi drops to the ground, dying. Crazy thoughts swirl in his mind, revolving around death and wondering if he is next. He utters a silent prayer to whatever gods she invoked earlier, muttering "I'm not going to let her join her brother this soon, gods help me!"
He yells at the others "Keep after them, I will handle her!"
Hearing the goblins do their gleeful chant behind the goblin rider and then Izbahn yelling out that he has it handled, Venmirl has to keep his composure as he aims his morningstar at the rider.
Goblin bashing morningstar: ,
Seeing Naomi go down, I feel my sense of dread growing.
Lots of good people are hurt or dying. And now Naomi too ...
Let's give my newfound allies some hope ...
Hoping Naomi is in good hands by Izbahn, I move behind Calla and Venmirl and start an inspiring song about a group of heroes facing enormous odds against an ever growing evil ...
A whistle of something flying through the air, the "thump" of being hit, and Naomi falls. But when her body stops falling when it hits the groun, her mind and soul rise. Moving fast, to fast to see what's ahppening. A bright light appears, and hundres in not thousands of people stand before. First and foremost being Dramen...
She knows where she is now. It's the Final Home. All the people before, they are Family, most from before it broke apart and spread across the world. She isn't surprised by all the races that have been apart of her family, though she throws a glare at the few goblins she can see, as if they should have stopped thier kin. But then she ignores them, and whacks Dramen upside his head. Or at least she would, if her hand hadn't passed right through it. He smiles, and all of the Family turns to walk into the light.
Dramen is the last one to enter the Light, holding out a hand for Naomi...
Izbahn sees Naomis lifeblood welling under his hands, hardly noticing it soaking into his fine clothing and smearing on his hands and face. Such beauty, such passion! He tries to remember how to stanch the flow, but keeps losing his concentration. Panic starts taking hold as he struggles to save her life...
Seeing Naomi fall to the goblins' arrows, Calla shouts, "Die!" at the goblin she has been attempting to kill and takes another two-handed swing at it.
Calla draws another throwing axe as she moves around the barrel to attack the goblin who is trying to kill the cowering man...
Izbahn rushes to Naomi's side to deliver some first aid. He's hesitant at first but eventually manages to break and pull the arrows out of her body. A good first step, but the priestess is still bleeding heavily.
Venmirl swings his morningstar at the goblin rider again. Unfortunately, the goblin was expecting him this time. He blocks Venmirl's blow with his polearm with more strength then the Shoanti would have believe possible from such a small creature.
Syeira start an inspiring song about a group of heroes facing enormous odds against an ever growing evil. Both Venmirl and Calla renew their attacks with more courage in their hearts.
Calla's battleaxe come around for another swing at the goblin warrior. The goblin once again tries to duck under the blow but Calla quickly adjusts her blow. The axe catches the goblin on the side of his head, opening up the skull. With her axe still covered with goblin brains, Calla moves over her fallen foe and goes around the barrel to face the other goblin warrior. By doing this, however, she exposes her back to the goblin rider who tries to exploit this opening. While his polearm can't penetrate the thick hides she's wearing, the rat mount bites her deeply in the right leg, almost tripping her.
Now that the goblin attacking him is facing another foe, the richly dressed man uses this opportunity to withdraw to the south. He stops running when he comes close to Syeira, apparently noticing her for the first time. He looks at her with complete surprise and murmurs. "Iesha ? No, it can't be ..."
Most of the goblins keep attacking the would-be heroes. Indeed, one of the bowman keeps dancing and singing to celebrate Naomi's fall while the other notices what Izbahn is trying to do. He reposition himself for a better shot and lets an arrow fly toward the wizard. The projectile falls short however and only pierces the dirt road. The goblin facing Calla tries to cut her with his trusty dogslicer. The agile Shoanti steps back, out of harm's way, ready to counter-attack. Finally, the goblin rider urges his mount to attack the one that wounded him. Venmirl is quite busy blocking and dodging the creature's jaws and he's caught off guard when the goblin swings his weapon at him. His hide shirt managed to stop the worst of the attack but he's still cut deeply.
Izbahn is still trying to stabilize Naomi but for all the wizard's effort, he can't seem to stop the bleeding.
Venmirl lets out a loud cry as he is hit with the polearm. His eyes widen to get full focus on the hideous goblin invader. As his scream continues it turns from that of pain to one of vengance, he brings his morning star down upon the goblin's head.
After he bashes the goblin he takes a 5' step south.
Calla grunts in pain as the goblin's mount bites into her leg.
Trying to ignore the pain, she swings her axes at the goblin in front of her.
Screaming, Venmirl brings his morningstar down upon the goblin's head. It hits solidly and the goblin falls down from his saddle, his head crushed. This doesn't seem to bother the rat-thing who continues its attack on the Shoanti. To avoid the thing, Venmirl takes a step back.
While Calla is feeling an itching feeling climbing from her wounded leg, she remains inspired by the bard's song. With a strong and precise strike, she dispatches the remaining goblin warrior. Swinging around, she throws the axe in her left hand toward the goblin archers but it falls short.
I move past Venmirl and try to trip the rat dog thing.
The rat mount is already struggling to maintain its balance when Syeira pulls one of its leg out from under it. The hairless creature falls down on the oily ground, its four legs in the air.
The rat creature tries to get up but it keeps slipping, unable to get any firm footing.
The 2 goblin bowmen are a bit scared that the woman warrior was able to defeat two of their warriors so quickly. They put some distance between them and the huntress and shoot a pair of arrows at her. They both miss by a wide margin, perhaps a bit shaken by the axe wielding woman.
Venmirl takes a 5' step up to the ratlike mount and swings his goblin blood soaked morningstar at the creature.
Izbahn barely notices the fight going on around him. His only concern is to save Naomi's life so he has blotted everything from his mind. Out of the corner of his eye he noices the nobleman moving away from the scene, then he stopped momentarily. Maybe he could help repay the debt Naomi incurred for him, he thinks
"Get over here, and help me save her life!"
:
Naomi tries to take a step forward, to join Dramen and the rest of her Family, but she can't. No matter how hard she tries, she can not move toward the light. Dramen smiles and walks over to her, hugging her tightly.
I hear Izbahn's frantic cry for help and rush over to help him with Naomi.
Hoping to get there in time to save the womans life.
