Gareth moves and attacks the wolf with his longhammer, trying to stay out of Iteb's charge lane as well.
But the attack of the dwarf is imprecise, and he ends up hitting the floor.
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Feeling the impact of the crossbow bolt, in a location in her shoulder that seems to hinder her heavily, she loses a bit of stride in her step as she stars moving towards the hobgoblin. "Bloody lucky shot," Instead, she settles for the opportunity present to flank the wolf, moving around to avoid a potential reaction from her movement. Once there, she swings her stone warhammer in an attempt to hit the wolf.
Leaving alchemy for later, Lysander draws his rapier and steps forward to attack the wolf.
Iteb's hammer clips the wolf, and it lets out a pained howl before turning its snapping jaws in her direction. Behind the orc, the warrior in the middle of the bridge levels her crossbow and fires it at Iteb again, clearly still considering her the greatest threat. Even as the bolt strikes home again, the Ironfang warrior keeps calling out in Goblin.
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Bunko doesn't hide his frustration when he sees Lysander engage the wolf. "WHAT THE F**K ARE YOU DOING, SOLDIER?!?", he shouts at the gnome, backpedaling away from the wolf. "You have one mission! Do it! Leave the beast to me!" He snaps off a shot at the animal before him, but his fury causes his bolt to fly off wide of its mark. Cursing, he drops his crossbow and pulls his hooked hammer. "Come on, hound. Let's do this."
"I can't do alchemy while I'm being attacked. Besides, this stuff works quick. End the threat, get the townsfolk across while I'm mixing, then run. In that order."
Jeb charges the heavy. "Less talking, more blowing up the bridge!" she shouts at the people behind her.
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The Ironfang warrior avoids Jeb's charge easily, turning toward her and reaching for her scimitar.
The wolf bites at Iteb, reacting instinctively to the source of its injury. The wound slows it, though, and even through the pain Iteb is able to knock its muzzle aside with her pick.
Gareth charges the hobgoblin in the center of the bridge and attacks the enemy with his longhammer.
For Phaendar! - the Dwarf says on his heavy accent, right before lowering the hammer on the hobgoblin's head.
Seeing that he's doing little good with his blade, Lysander sheathes it and takes off for the west-side scaffolding.
Gareth's blow is heavy and savage, and would have been enough to shatter a lesser warrior outright, but clearly this warrior has earned her stripes. Even so, she staggers under the assault. Tossing aside her crossbow, she instead draws her scimitar and readies a buckler, prepared to meet her foes in melee. Her shouts in Goblin continue.
Jeb begins to circle around, hoping to create an opportunity for Gareth to get at her from behind, and levels another blow at the heavy.
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Jeb's slash is deflected by the heavy's buckler.
Bunko's snarl turns vicious as the wolf turns on Iteb. "EVEN THE WOLF WON'T LISTEN TO ME! THAT IS IT!" He steps up and spins his hooked hammer around to slam the business end into the canine's hindquarters.
Bunko's hammer shatters ribs, driving the wolf to the ground before a moment before it struggles back up again. It snaps at Bunko, trying to hold the gnome at bay.
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Lysander climbs down the scaffolding and starts to work.
Suddenly, the door to the shed behind Bunko opens, revealing an Ironfang grunt, longsword and shield at the ready. Behind her, a second warrior scrambles for his gear. The hobgoblin steps up to threaten Bunko, sword at the ready.
Iteb's hammer finally finishes what it began, dropping the wolf to the paving stones among the other dead.
Gareth side steps and attacks again the hobgoblin in the middle of the bridge, together with Jeb.
The Dwarf misses, though, seeming worried about his friends on the beginning of the bridge - and looking around for Lysander to see if the plan was working.
Seeing the Ironfang warrior appear from the shed, the officer on the bridge looks much more satisfied as she turns her attention to the dwarves currently facing her. She takes a step forward and slashes at Gareth with her scimitar; he blocks the cut with the butt of his hammer, though, before squaring up for his counterstroke.
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Jeb continues to circle around, to get at her back while she attacks Gareth.
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Jeb's slash at the Ironfang warrior's back is enough to put her down for good, leaving Jeb and Gareth alone in the middle of the bridge.
Bunko spins as the hobgoblin is upon him, swinging his hooked hammer at his foe's midsection, but he's distracted by Iteb's wounds - how is she still standing? - missing his foe completely. He snarls in frustration, moving to place the warrior between himself and his partner.
Lysander keeps working on the explosive, but the the two remaining hobgoblins - seeming oblivious to the threat the elf might pose - concentrate their attacks on the angry gnome before them instead.
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"That's right. I can take anything you go~~" Iteb begins, taking a few deep breaths, a step back, bleeding some more. "Heh." She grins as she falls over unconscious; choosing to let the pain she was fighting through overcome her.
As she falls over, the bleeding stops, leaving her unconscious in the middle of the battlefield but not at immediate risk, other than the imminent collapse of the bridge.
Gareth charges back down the arch of the bridge, ready to strike at the incoming warriors. He takes a massive swing at the nearer one. ,
Bunko easily parries one of the blows, and almost dodges away from the second, feeling the impact lessened by his armor. "That all ya got?", he spits, spinning his hooked hammer in his hands. "'Cause I've got plenty more." He strikes at the hobgoblin on his right with the blunt end.
Bunko's swing does little more than those of his foes. In the middle of the bridge, Lysander nears completion of his work.
Lysander diligently follows the instructions from Oreld's notes, mixing chemicals as quickly as he can, safely. Thankfully, his decades-old alchemy classes are easy to recall.
The reagents begin to boil, and Lysander knows that it will be 30 seconds almost exactly when the reaction reaches its critical explosive finale.
The two Ironfang warriors decide, rightly or wrongly, that the charging dwarf is more threatening than the gnome with the peculiar double weapon, and turn their blades toward Gareth. They try to flank him, and in so doing one leaves an opening that Gareth's mighty hammer can't quite manage to exploit.
Once in place, they strike together, a clear reminder of their many months or even perhaps years of harsh and rigid training. Both blades find their marks, and Gareth bleeds profusely.
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He steps away, breaking the flank and then swinging at the recruit closest to Bunko.
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Breathing heavily, Jeb repositions to flank one of the recruits with Gareth, and swings her blade at the nearest Ironfanger.
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Gareth's and Jeb's blows are perfectly aimed and leave both hob warriors staggering.
Climbing back up the scaffolding, Lysander shouts to the others "Thirty seconds! Get everyone across!" seeing the half-orc sprawled on the pavement, he adds "Someone grab Iteb!" he then heads back toward the rest of the group, ready to help fend off the hobgoblins if necessary.
A group of shadows detach themselves from a nearby building. They resolve to be a handful of townsfolk led by an elf armed with a bow and a small blade. As they approach the bridge, he points to Aubrin and other injured members of the heroes' party. "Give them a hand. Clem, you're with me. Help them across the bridge, folks, we have to do this now!"
The elf and the burly human he addressed as Clem move up to the prone Iteb and try to muscle her onto her feet so they can bring her along. "Desna's tears! She's heavier than she looks, and that's saying something! And all these weapons..." Spotting a familiar face, Aerel calls to him, "Mako? Is your dad here? Come, we need to get your mother across. Carry some of her arsenal, would you? No doubt, they will be needed later."
He shoos the pensive villagers to the south side of the bridge. "Quickly, cross while the warriors have them occupied! Don't stop until you reach the trees! Help each other as Erastil teaches us!" If Clem and Iteb's family take her off his hands, Aerel will take up the fallen heavy's scimitar and join the melee, as well.
From the shadows east of the bridge, the Phaendar refugees begin to creep out - at first moving slowly, but seeing that Gareth, Lysander, Jeb, and Bunko seem to have the last surviving hobs corraled, they start running for the freedom north of the bridge.
The new arrival - accompanied by three more refugees - swoops in to help with Iteb and Aubrin. Negan and Mako come forward to help Aerel and Clem as they lift up the unconscious Iteb, while the others are more carrying than supporting Aubrin. With the aid helping her get close enough to Iteb to help, Aubrin lifts her tankard and murmurs a blessing,
"Get across the bridge!", Bunko shouts, looking back at the people they've shepherded through the night. "Don't look back, just keep running!" He turns his attention back to the recruit. "HEY! DHOLAAR!", he shouted back at the hobgoblin, enjoying the pettiness of swearing at him in his own tongue. He swings as the larger foe turns to him, slamming the business end of his hammer in the hobgoblin's back.
Bunko's hammer cracks the hobgoblin's spine, and he crumples to the ground. The lone survivor makes a desperate swing at Gareth; the blow strikes home, but Gareth - freshly healed by Aubrin - stands up under the wound.
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Gareth backsteps and swings his hammer, but the legionnaire dodges the strike.
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Jeb follows the pair of them.
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