The goblins across from the sinkhole continue to fire their bows at Larko. One actually manages to hit despite their poor skill and the range.
Larko grunts as the arrow hits him in the chest. He looks like he's barely on his feet following the wound.
The goblin nearest to Larko, Martino, and Mimazaran charges the trio, nearly tripping over himself when Mimazaran utters an incantation and waves his hands before disappearing. He almost shrugs as he follows through on his attack on Martino, grazing his arm.
The three goblins surrounding Tanrov cackle gleefully and slash at his legs.
None of them land a blow.
Tanrov roars trying to ignore the predicament he is in and attacks whitechin
Martino drew and fired on the goblin directly in front of him.
Tanrov's weapon slams hard into Whitechin's face. The raging goblin barbarian remains on his feet, but only just.
Martino's arrow almost misses due to the cover, but the goblin's charge left his defenses wide open and the arrow slams into it's neck. The goblin falls to the ground bleeding profusely.
Whitechin, clearly not in his right mind, presses his attack on Tanrov. He raises his horsechoppa high into the air and puts his full effort into slaying his opponent.
He is unable to hit his target.
Larko slumps behind the cover, bleeding heavily. Mimazaran fades back into view and digs into his bag for one of the potions that Penumbra passed out days ago. He carefully administers it to the wounded human.
Garidan continues to try and assist Tanrov by swinging his bill at the nearest goblin. The small creature seems to be blind to Garidan's efforts though as he pays the big human no mind. That Whitechin has survived some devastating blows. It would seem the bounty is well deserved.
Rurik draws his scimitar and moves to engage one of the goblins, hoping to take some of the pressure off Tanrov.
Tanrov blanches when Whitechin takes his hit and stays standing, luckily he seems to put the goblin off his next swing with his hit though.
Tanrov attacks again
The two goblins armed with bows become frustrated by their lack of targets and drop them in favor of their dogslicers, then move around the sinkhole and exit the building.
The other three surrounding Tanrov continue laughing and ignore the newcomers in favor of slashing at the tiefling.
None of them are able to land a blow, but continue laughing all the same.
Tanrov crushes Whitechin's shoulder, nearly tearing the goblin chieftain's arm off in the process. For a moment the raging goblin looks like he's going to continue his assault, then he abruptly falls to the ground. The laughing goblins stare in fright and cease their merriment.
Rurik carefully pulls his scimitar from its sheath and takes a guarded slash at the goblin next to him.
The goblin, still stunned by Whitechin's mortal wounding, isn't prepared for Rurik's attack. The stunned look turns to pain and shock as Rurik's scimitar finds it's way into his neck, cleanly severing the jugular. His two companions squeal in fear. They look ready to bolt.
Seeing Whitechin fall, Garidan became somewhat emboldened. Rather than help defending Tanrov, Garidan decides to go on the offensive. He swings around Tanrov and squares up against a goblin, raising his bill high in the air and bringing it down on the little pest's head.
Larko tells the wayang, "Thank you for your assistance. Let me try and repay you by stopping those two before they can get close to us." Larko grips his scimitar and stands up. He strides confidently toward the goblins.
One of the two goblins who had until seconds before been laughing with glee while attacking Tanrov gurgles and looks down in fright as Garidan's weapon pierces his chest. He collapses to the floor, dying.
Mimazaran watches Larko provide a distraction and adjusts his position to hide behind the rubble.
The lone goblin in the building whimpers and withdraws from combat, rushing to the other side of the building.
The other two, unaware of the loss of their leader, cackle at Larko. One charges while the other walks slowly up to attack him.
Both miss with their dogslicers.
Tanrov double moves over to the steps and then up them, then he sees Larkos predicament and can help next round
at the goblin withdrawing "Come back you little grub, no need to run because your leader is dead"
Rurik follows Tanrov's lead and turns to head toward Larko.
Garidan begins to pursue Tanrov, but spotting Mimazaran by himself, moves to stand in front of him.
Larko glances back and sees the others coming his way. He knows that they wouldn't be coming his way unless Whitechin had been dealt with. He says something to them in their language as he slashes at the one who charged him.
"Well, that would have been more intimidating had I hit."
Martino turned and approached Larko, then drew and fired an arrow at one of the goblins.
Martino's shot misses, but the goblins seem to have gotten the idea that they're outnumbered. The two facing Larko risk life and limb to simply run for the sinkhole in an unorderly rout.
One screams in pain as Larko's scimitar slashes his back open. They both dive into the hole, likely to crush their skulls falling into the sewer.
The lone goblin left within the building makes his way to the other side of the massive pit, holds his nose and cannonballs into it as though it were a large pool of water.
Seeing the goblins flee and his companions out of danger, Garidan turns to head back towards the body of the goblin chieftain. Upon coming to the corpse, Garidan chants a few words to himself and makes a few intricate moves with his hands activating his spell to see magical auras. He begins to inspects Whitechin's possessions before pulling out his dagger.
Rurik slows, stows his scimitar, and says, "Anyone still injured?"
Garidan sees an aura of magic surrounding Whitechin's studded leather armor. He also sees a vial stuck in his belt that glows. His horsechoppa looks to be better crafted than your typical goblin weapon, but has no aura.
Caster Level 7 or less.
Caster Level 2 or less.
Garidan removes Whitechin's studded leather armor, rolls it up, and stuffs it in his own pack. He grabs the potion, horse chopper, and head-stuffed sack and makes his way back over to check on the others.
"Alright, let's get out of here. We'll head back to our sanctum and then work out the details of collecting the bounty. Is everyone okay?" Garidan looks around at his companions, impressed with their efforts. No casualties, no serious injuries, and the mission was accomplished. All in all, a good day's work. Now they just have to get paid.
"Just a scratch. .. surely Pharasma sent a sign that I am on the right path with you."
Then Tanrov goes back
Everyone is able to regroup successfully without incident, however dusk is coming quickly, and the shadow beasts will be out soon. The hideout is empty when you return, but most of the rubble has been cleared and some cut firewood is stacked in the center of the building. Two barrels sit near the wood, one filled with water, the other dried fruits, nuts, and meats.
"Larko, would you happen to know how to find Tavi? I would like to speak to her tonight, if possible. By the way, thank you for your help today." Garidan goes about filling his waterskin and his pack with some of the dried foods. Never can tell when you'll need a meal. "I'm going to be up for a while if you guys want to get some rest. I'll take the first watch. Tomorrow, we'll talk to Yako and see if she can point us to the black marketeers who posted the bounty on Whitechin and collect it. Then we'll see who's up for hunting shadow beasts." Garidan pulls out the looted studded leather armor and begins to clean it, scrubbing the grime and blood off of it. "Mimazaran, you should take this and wear it. You're the only one it'll fit."
"This time of the day she's probably closing up her family's shop. It is a jewelry shop called Glitter Palace. I can swing by on my way out and let her know you're looking for her. Happy to able to help. Think of me the next time you need to go goblin hunting," Larko grins as he heads out the door.
Sometime later Tarvi arrives with a bag full of parchment, inks, and quills. "If my mother asks, I'm being courted by a wealthy merchant." She is eager to learn some new magic.
Noticing that Tanrov is still a bit banged up, Rurik spends a little while bandaging his wounds and making sure they're cleaned. Then, since he wants to get some sleep himself, he simply channels some of his divine spell power into healing for the gigantic bruiser.
Rurik looks quite tired and nods as Garidan offers to take the first watch. "I could use a little rest. These irregular schedules tend to play havoc with me." He props his backpack in a corner, grabs a pair of dried peaches, and sits down to relax. He unsheathes his scimitar and starts going through the meticulous process of cleaning the blade and the hilt to prevent any pitting, and after that business of a few minutes of work, he pulls his cloak over himself and takes a nap.
"Thankyou good Rurik, I can heal myself, if I have the energies left, does anyone else need healing?"
"I've picked up a scratch that could use healing, Tanrov," Martino said.
"May Pharasmas blessings make you whole and comforted friend
Just after dawn breaks, Yako arrives. She's dressed in flashy colors and is heavily made up. "So, I heard an interesting story from Larko last night. It seems someone took care of a goblin problem? I hope you retained proof. A story alone isn't going to get you paid. I know where the market is setting up tonight, and I know who you will want to talk to. So, head, ears, something?" she asks.
Rurik yawns and jerks his thumb at Garidan and says, "Head."
"Why of course we brought proof. While the streets of our city are just a little bit safer thanks to the demise of Whitechin, the bounty will empower us to be able to more efficiently protect our fair city. So, would you be able to arrange a rendezvous?" Garidan retrieves the head-filled sack from a nook in the wall and presents it to Yako. "Maybe you could help spread the word."
"Thank you, Tanrov. Now I need to get home. My parents would worry if I weren't there in the morning," Martino said.
"I'm scheduled to work tomorrow, but I can try to get out early if we need to bring the head to the market."
With that, Martino headed home to catch a few hours of sleep before starting work.
As the group made it back to the hideout, it was obvious Mimazaran was a little troubled. He had a mixture of disappointment and resentment upon his grey face, his beady eyes squinted as he looked at the floor. A sigh left his long nose before he walked into the main area, shaking his head. "Too scared to fight," he muttered to himself in his raspy voice. "Fighting's all we do...can't even fire my damn bow."
He was pulled out of his thoughts when Garidan offered him the armor, and he obviously was hesitant for more than a few reasons before taking it. He cast prestidigitation on it to make it at least appear clean--as well as remove the smell of dead goblin--but instead just propped it up in the corner of the room. "I'll consider it," he told Garidan, "but I think I'd rather not wear something that had a dead goblin in it unless I really must. Bad for business to smell even worse than a live goblin."
When dawn broke and Yako arrived, Mimazaran just sort of clung to the shadows of the shrine, not really wanting to be seen. A part of him was afraid they'd be asked to start fighting something else, and he still didn't want to be anywhere near a skirmish, even if he somehow felt a little better and stronger than the previous day.
"Better to smell like a live goblin than a dead Mimazaran" Garidan says as he clasps the wayang on the back. "I know what you mean though, but seriously consider it. It could save your life one day."
"Does anyone have any other business to address once we obtain the bounty? Any supplies that come to mind? Also, as we're out and about today, try to learn anything you can about the shadowbeasts. We have some information on them, but more is always welcome. When we meet again tonight, be ready for night hunting."
Yako gags slightly at the sight of the head. "Okay, you didn't need to show me. I know Giovanni will be at the old Martelli place. It's the big building a block from the Obrigan Gate, can't miss it."
Garidan tosses Martino a silver piece. "How's about bringing us something from the bakery when you return? Its not often enough that we get to partake in the tastier things in life."
Garidan spends most of the day studying, reading, and relaxing. Once everyone has returned, he prepares a few select spells and dusts himself off. "Hmm, tomorrow I think I will have to have a bath. But in the meantime, we should be off. I should have figured that a decomposing goblin head would smell worse than the live, intact one."
Tavi has to leave just after morning, but wants to continue as soon as possible. "We can pick this up again soon. I know you have business this afternoon, but I will continue to practice as I'm able. Oh, Penumbra told us when we were cleaning this place up that she's going to be looking for you guys later. She and Arael have been gathering a lot of intelligence on those Bastards of Erebus. I think they're going to want you to run them out of town."