Seeing the better armed warriors heading towards the hobgoblins, Bunko runs towards the fallen girl, checking to see if she still draws breath.
Gareth grinds his teeth in hatred, then the Dwarf runs towards the two hobgoblins with his longhammer in hands.
Gareth, like Job, is now about 50 feet from the hob soldiers. Bunko, for his part, is about 20 feet from the unmoving shape of the fallen girl.
Seeing the others go, Lysander follows, dashing across the way at the half-orc woman's heels.
Bunko keeps racing towards the fallen girl, hitting the dirt next to her, checking her vitals to see if it's not too late to save her.
Gareth charges one of the hobgoblins and, using his reach weapon, tries to smash his head.
He then cleaves at the other hobgoblin.
Jeb sprints towards Gareth and the goblins, but can't quite make it there in time.
Bunko finds that the arrow went straight through the back of the girl's skull - she was likely dead before she hit the grass.
Gareth's savage blow rocks the nearest hob, his hammer allowing him to strike the Ironfang warrior from bottom of the steps that lead up to the porch. Jeb sprints right beside him, taking the steps two at a time with the familiarity that only a lifetime of walking up a set of stairs can give.
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Moving in to where she could easily go after the other hobgoblin should one go down, regardless of the position it puts herself in, Iteb attempt to followup on the one Gareth started, brandishing the sword and slashing at the hobgoblin. Every swing of the blade though, and she resents the sturdiness of such weaponry. She holds her shield at ready for now, but intends very clearly to use it as a second weapon in time.
The unprepared hobgoblin pays for her unreadiness with her life, as Iteb's hob-crafted sword completes the work that Gareth's hammer started.
Angling towards the other goblin, Lysander draws his rapier and strikes in one fluid motion.
He then allows his training to take over, dropping effortlessly into a fighting stance he learned on the dueling circuit at the University.
Lysander's blade strikes a sharp cut into the left arm of the surviving hobgoblin. Seeing herself surrounded and in close quarters, the legionnaire drops her longbow and readies her shield, assuming a defensive stance behind it.
Using his longhammer with reach from 10-feet away, Gareth simply tries to disarm the hobgoblin from his shield, hitting it with a sideway swing.
Ya gonna surrender now, ya piece of dusty booger. 'Aye have all the reasons to pop this watermelon balloon head of 'yars, but I think we could talk instead. 'Dan gimme reason to regret it.
Gareth manages to pull the shield from the gob's hands, but she merely glares at him while beginning to reach for her blade.
Bunko swears silently as he sees the severity of the wound, and does what little he can - he closes her eyelids so she is no longer staring lifelessly at him. Another casualty of war. More blood on my hands.
NO. THEIRS.
Bunko stands, turning towards the remaining hobgoblin. "Your life for hers!", he shouts, rushing towards the warrior, his longsword held high.
Bunko joins the circling crowd all threatening the Ironfang warrior on the porch.
Jeb hacks at the hobgoblin in passing, but is more interested in the farmhouse beyond.
,
She enters, thinking her companions more than capable of dealing with the lone enemy.
"Ma'?! Dad? Ragam?" She calls.
Iteb and Jeb quickly finish off the second legionnaire. From the Gardaxe's front porch, you have a clear view of the chaos that has engulfed Phaendar. The onyx stone tower, 50 feet tall, looms over everything, and the night is lit by flames in every direction. From where you are standing, it looks like the Greensedge and the Market Green itself are the focus of the Ironfangs' interest - the smaller side streets toward the village's outskirts have small units of Ironfang soldiers moving through them, but nothing like the massive mob that has taken over the center of town.
Inside, Jeb frantically moves through the childhood home, calling out for her family. After just a few seconds, she comes up to her brother Ragam's bedroom, where the door is closed but shows signs of having when worked on by hob swords. Jeb calls Ragam's name, and is rewarded with, "Jeb? Father Torag, is that you?" Through the small crack that has been opened in the door, Jeb sees Ragam's eye peering out, and it widens. "Jeb! Oh thank you, All-Father, thank you! Hang on, I pushed over my dresser to block the door... just a second!"
After a few moments of scraping, the door opens enough for Ragam to squeeze through, and the two siblings have a chance for a brief but emotional reunion.
Gareth sheathes his longhammer back on his back, passing through the hobgoblin bodies and doing a small kick.
Disgusting creatures. - he says, finally turning back to some of the other militia members - Would you guys be so kind to please help drag these bodies in the house and gather the useful equipment? I don't a wandering scout raising suspicions, and at the same time we need to salvage what we can in our effort.
The dwarf finally steps in the house, instinctively searching around for signs of other legionnaires - while, at the same time, studying how defensible the place is in case they're attacked. They probably shouldn't stick there for long.
Hah! Nice 'ta see 'yare fine, 'boyo. - Gareth opens a genuine smile when the two siblings hug - Anyone else which should be in 'tha house, Jeb?
Jeb paces impatiently in front of the door while he unbars it. "Ragam, thank the gods." The dwarf wraps her brother up in a tight hug. It was brief though, and she had to release him and move on.
"We have to get moving. Did you see ma and dad, or know where they were when it started?" A thought strikes her. "Look, I'm sorry, but your friend.." She couldn't remember the girl's name, and now she was dead. "She didn't make it."
No further threats appear in the house, and Jet and Aubrin quickly steer the others in a swift and thorough search of the farm. "No... no one else," Ragam says, shakily. "There's no one else here. Ma and Dad, they hadn't come back from the festival yet. Kotri... she thought we could make it out the window while they were distracted by the door - I tried to get her to stay, but she wouldn't listen, and I think they heard her..."
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As instructed, Iteb sheathes her weapon, and uses her free hand to drag one of the two hobs in, as well as the other if nobody else does so. While she moves them, she takes what gear they have to add to their steadily growing pile of arms and armaments. "Need'ta go south eventually. May as well go by houses on west side, may use as cover or find more stragglers on way." She suggests. "Best to go back, get Aubrin and others, and keep moving... Or maybe send out of town to safety now those already gathered alone? May be weak, and not make it on their own though."
How long do 'ya guys think it'd take for us to go 'outta town to escort them? They could start setting up a base of operations while we sneak back in town to save more people.
The dwarf scratches his beard.
However, I reckon this would mean more people could die waiting to be saved. I'm worried about the security of the ones we already gathered, but not sure if we can ignore the ones still suffering immediately with those green overgrown roaches.
I say we clear the bridge as quickly as possible, get our good men to the other side and to rendezvous at a certain point - and then we get back inta' town and deal with the other green 'boyos 'round here. - says the dwarf.
"That sounds like the makings of a plan to me." the elf responds, cleaning goblin blood from his blade before returning it to its sheathe.
Bunko nods in agreement. "[b]This is all for nothing if we can't cut us an opening in their line. Hit them hard, dump their bodies in the river, and start getting people to safety. Otherwise, we're all trapped in this box.[/ooc]" Unlike the elf, he keeps his blade out and ready for further trouble.
"Once we attack the few sentries they put on the bridge, they'll send reinforcements, and we can't take those. There's a clear line of sight from the bridge to the green. It'll be painfully obvious that we've attacked."
She shakes her head at the plan.
"I say we do what needs doing in town, then break through their guard on the bridge without warning. There are way too many to fight."
Then we'd be risking these people we already saved... As in, keepin' them 'round us and risking we're surrounded or something. I'd rather give them a chance to live as soon as possible instead of dragging them 'round the fire with us.
The dwarf lights his cigar and expels a lot of smoke on the room.
We need ta' move, kiddo.
"I'm staying with Jeb," Ragam says flatly.
There are a few other looks from among the civilians, and then Mershan the bodyguard speaks up, "We risk death either way, but a larger force is a safer one."
Clidon and Farrow glare at the floor and each other for a long moment, then Farrow finally says, "You damn well pulled us out of the inn, I damn well expect you to make sure we don't die now. If you can get us across the river safely now, I think you owe us."
Jeb takes the opportunity to gather up her light crossbow and scale mail from her room, ditching the goblinoid studded leather.
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With a grumble as she looked at the group that was gathered, the rest from the inn seeming to join them at this point. "I say stay here. You wanted to hole up before? Do it again, take weapons we found so far, try to avoid needing them. Hide in room in house? Something." She shrugged, "More to try to find, no reason to show hand now by crossing bridge, get it more fortified." With Iteb taking a third side, she certainly didn't seem to add any definiteness to the decision at hand.
"Either way, I'm going to search for my offspring even if alone. And need my own gear too. That's opposite direction from bridge." She stated, matter of factly.
"Two for hitting the bridge, two for staying in town, and one non-committal," glancing back to Lysander. "We need to make a decision now, so I'm changing my vote. We stay here, gather as many townsfolk as we can, then hit the bridge with the lot. Now let's get moving - these bastards aren't going to slow down for us."
Most of your group, Clidon and Farrow only excepted, look relieved by this decision. Good tactics or not, it's clear they feel safer with you than alone.
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"Perfect." She says with a smile, a clear and very directed grin to the small gnome that seemed to approve of her decisiveness. While she hadn't seen the thing fight yet, it was the first time she'd offered any sort of approval to anyone among them now. Maybe besides the amusement of Aubrin's joke followup, being hit by a ballista.
"Since we're on west side of town anyway, we go down to shrine on way to my place and trading company." She stated, checking her gear and moving forward to the front door ready to go. "Move fast." She stated.
As the group assembles and begins moving out into the shadows, the atrocities being visited to this place, home to most of you, get closer and take on new and disturbing dimensions. Phaendar is a maelstrom of blood and chaos. Several buildings are on fire, and troops of hobgoblins sweep through the streets, running down fleeing villagers or knocking in doors in search of captives or treasure to loot from the dying town.
In just under two minutes, you have reached the Riverwood Shrine. A wooden deck surrounds the front of an octagonal structure with broad archways leading into a place of worship. To its left stands a moss-encrusted stone monument. Carved birds, branches, and fruits decorate the wooden supports of the temple’s entryway. A dead villager is curled up on the wooden deck before the temple, and an Ironfang-trained wolf stands over it, savaging the remains to sate a ravenous hunger. Just to the northwest, a small shack is linked to the shrine by a short stone path.
"Gods above and below, I hope that's not Noelan," Bunko says as he lays eyes upon the body the wolf feasts upon. "If you've got ranged weapons, use them - maybe we can scare the wolf off without having to fight it." For his part, Bunko gripped the hilt of Aubrin's sword, ready to move against the wolf, should it decide to charge the group.
I'd rather charge that beast, gnome. - says Gareth, holding himself to give the chance for the others to pull their ranged tricks. He himself was carrying a longbow now, but he didn't believe it was worth to switch weapons at this point.
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While not terrible with the bow she was carrying, she agreed with the dwarf's assessment. "With you on that one Dwarf." She stated, "Let's get there quickly, knock it down, search inside for survivors move on fast." Less able to hold herself back than Gareth, she gripped the longsword in her hands a bit tighter and seemed eager to run after the wolf and drop it before it might have a chance to holler for aid. Still, a surprise attack against it as a group bettered their chance of doing so, hence why she did manage to hold herself back despite the desire to get up to and end it.
She still didn't know any of those with whom she was fighting, which suited her fine... except when addressing them it was starting to become bothersome. At least for the dwarfs, there were two she'd be referring. Maybe i should address them as female and male? Sadly, there was no time to familiarize herself with them.
Jeb judges she can't quite make the distance before it notices her, so she takes a shot with her crossbow, firing a quarrel downrange towards the wolf.
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Righto. - says the Dwarf, immediately charging the wolf with his longhammer, trying to get him by surprise.