Quinn barely had time to blink before Edvard slay the creature.
"I know a lot of things, and one of them is what hobgoblins look like. That was not one."
He looked down to see Felix poking his head out of his satchel, his nose twitching furiously, "No, you can not go roll in that."
He could feel disdain coming from Felix.
William watches the pair come down and leave and says to them, "There are plenty of hobgoblins out there probably more than you can handle. You might want to stick with us as we make our way out of town. You'll get your chance to kill a few I'm sure." He then makes his way into the smithy and takes a look around.
In addition to Kining's keys, which Raska scoops up for possible future use, he recalls Aubrin saying that something would have to be done about the Marideth Bridge - and the slate in the smithy contains detailed analysis of the bridge's current state of repair and possible weaknesses.
"Wait! Why not join us? There will be plenty of hobgoblins to kill before we get out of town and we could use more capable hands to help ensure we make it out safely. What do you say?" They would also get themselves killed or captured if they went out with just the two of them but better not to focus on the negative.
Edvard will poke his head into the smithy and look around for weapons to arm the people they are protecting with.
The half-elves exchange a few glances, then nod together, in perfect sync. "Good point," Lirosa agrees, and Taidel continues, "There will be hunting aplenty soon enough we expect."
After stuffing the smithy keys into his pocket he nods in approval. "A few extra bows couldn't hurt. Welcome aboard. I'm Raska."
If they take his outstretched hand he'll give them a quick shake and give the others an inquisitive look, indicating that he is ready to depart.
He'll take point for their little caravan, keeping his eyes trained for movement while trying to stay as quiet as possible.
Quinn had begun to say something snarky regarding the siblings joining them and how a bigger group would attract more attention but, he opted to keep his mouth shut in favor of not being kicked from the survivor group. After all, he had to remind himself, a group may be more noticeable but an individual may be more dead.
When the party headed out he made a point to let a few walk ahead of him before picking up his pace to place himself somewhere in the middle of the group.
William grabs the everburning torch from the wall and looks at the bridge drawing and notes. "Hey Raska, you wanna take a look at this. It might help in destroying the bridge.", he says pointing at the slate. Then to Calliae he says "Can you search the hobgoblin for anything useful?"
A couple more minutes' travel brings you to the Riverwood Shrine. As you go, you hear a loud roar and the clatter of lumber from the north; Ironfang siege engineers have begun knocking down buildings for wood and stone to build fortifications out of.
Fortunately, there is no sign of such activity nearby when you reach the Shrine. A wooden deck surrounds the front of the 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.
Earlier that day, Quinn had broke his fast with two quail eggs, a rasher of bacon, a hunk of black bread and a small glass of cider. All of it threatened to come up at the sight of the villager's corpse being mauled. He focused on his feet for a moment before speaking in a hushed tone, "Stagsward lives in the parsonage. If we're going to be saving everyone and their grandmother we should at least try to save one of Erastil's followers."
Edvard will go up to the door and knock quietly, saying "Noelan, my name is Edvard Maldeen. I have group of people who are leaving the city, and I would like to have you come with us."
Baffled that the large human would approach the door as the wolf ravaged the entrails of a fresh corpse, Raska unsheathed his dagger and approached the beast, trying to get a sense of whether or not they were to be it's next meal.
Baffled that the large human would approach the door as the wolf ravaged the entrails of a fresh corpse, Raska unsheathed his dagger and approached the beast, trying to get a sense of whether or not they were to be it's next meal.
Baffled that the large human would approach the door as the wolf ravaged the entrails of a fresh corpse, Raska unsheathed his dagger and approached the beast, trying to get a sense of whether or not they were to be it's next meal.
The shack's door opens, but it is not the face of Noelan Stagsward that greets Edvard, but that of a short, round-faced woman with curling blonde hair and an intense air. This, Edvard knows, is Noelan's acolyte, Rhyna. "Where's Noelan?" she asks. "Are the looters at the shrine gone?" Behind her, Edvard can see a few other figures crowding close to hear his reply.
"I do not know where Noelan is, but we need to get you all out of here. This town is not that long for the world."
Quinn watched as Edvard headed around back to the shack and Raska went to greet the wolf.
"We really should be checking for Stagsward," he thought, "but that Raska is a bit of a hothead."
He let out a soft chuckle, "I made a pun." and crept forward, keeping close to the wall, preparing to launch a dart of acid at the wolf if spotted the party.
William stands next to Raska as he approaches the wolf, "I'm with you. If it charges us it will have to make a choice. There may be people in the shrine."
Raska approaches the beast, hoping to end it's life quickly and without suffering.
The wolf looks up with a snarl as Raska gets within 30 feet, but the fast-moving ifrit is on the animal before it can do much more. Sadly, Raska' knife-blow catches only fur, and the wolf's gore-covered snout snaps toward him.
William rushes up and attacks the wolf.
Quinn cursed and loosed his acidic blob.
Calliae hung back, trying to hit the wolf with a shot from her sling and then she loaded it once more.
William's staff lands a solid blow on the wolf's hide, but Quinn and Calliae cannot quite manage to hit it as well. The wolf turns its bloody teeth on William, but he manages to wedge his staff between its jaws and keep it away from him for the moment.
"Please wait here a moment. My troops are having a bit of a problem." says Edvard before joining the fracas.
Moving around the corner, Edvard will say "What the heck is...is that a wolf?"
William yanks the quarterstaff out of the wolfs mouth and attacks it with both ends and then says, "Yes, I do believe that they call this a wolf!"
Two more crushing blows from William - the second to the wolf's skull - end the animal's threat forever. Now that they are standing over the body, Edvard and Quinn can recognize the corpse it was feeding on as belonging to Noelan Stagsward. He is quite dead.
With the wolf dead, Quinn approached and saw who the body had once been, "Stagsward deserved better than this. For all his talk of protecting and serving the community, Erastil has done little for this one." He paused and took a deep breath before turning to Edvard, "Anything in his shack?"
Seeing Noelan's ravaged corpse, the realization that their town was lost hit Raska square in the face. He grasped his stomach as the iron grip of dread clenched down on him like a smithy's tongs. Through clenched teeth and watery eyes, he managed to say, "We've got to get out of here. This place is lost to civilized men. Hope has abandoned us this day."
Bending down to retrieve his dagger a tear falls from his face to spatter against the floorboards. He looks at the miniature puddle a moment before righting himself and sheathing his weapon. He looks ready to depart and for the moment he has no words to offer the current situation. A blazing fire rages in his eyes.
"Some survivors, yes."
Returning, Edvard will say to Rhyna "I have some bad news; Noelan is dead. We need to get you out of here, however, so that you do not join him."
"Edvard get the people out of the cottage and get anything useful from there. Raska and Quinn help me take a quick look in the temple for anything useful, especially anything that might be magical Quinn." William then goes to the temple doors and opens them his eyes resting on Noelan for a moment.
Rhyna nods, carefully stepping out of the shack and into the narrow alley between it and the shrine. Behind her come a motley assortment of parishioners, including two humans, an elf and a dwarf. They are carrying some supplies with them. "He hurried us into the shack," Rhyna sobs, "and went to try to defend the Shrine alone. I knew it was foolish, but he wouldn't... he wouldn't..." She can't finish the sentence, and grabs hold of Aubrin for support while she sobs briefly.
One of the humans, a taller man with a shortbow over his shoulder and a scimitar on his hip, speaks up. "There are hob looters inside the shrine. We saw them go in. Rhyna and I were... about to try to avenge Noelan." He doesn't look sanguine about the idea, but there is a fire in his eyes too, not unlike Raska's.
"I'm not very fond of the idea of going into the shrine. The gods and I don't....we don't really see eye to eye." Quinn took a moment to straighten Stagsward's corpse as Edvard went around back and William moved to the doors.
"Calliae, do you know any prayers?"
"Nothing dedicated to Erastil. I do know some others though."
She knelt down next to the corpse and closed Noelan's eyes before saying a prayer in her own tongue "Déithe mór an talamh, le do thoil a sheoladh ar an anam an seirbhíseach onórach le réimsí na úd thall. Lig dó a bheith ar an taobh a mháistir go deo níos mó."
"Do we have any idea what is left within the shrine? Do you Rhyna? While it would be good to remove the looters I'm not sure it's worth risking lives for."
"I'm sure there are some supplies we could use," Rhyna sniffles, getting her emotions under control. Aubrin is still hugging her fairly tightly, though, her expression grim. "And maybe offerings... Under the circumstances, I really doubt Erastil or Desna would begrudge us."
"For ever more." He repeated in the common tongue before standing to face the open doorway and whatever hobs were inside.
William throws the doors wide. Wooden statues of both Erastil and Desna — both now chopped and marred by hobgoblin weapons — stand in their own alcoves in the northwest end of the shrine, while alcoves on either side serve as general shrines to the variety of other gods and spirits worshiped by the locals. A dozen human bodies lie scattered across the floor and pews, and have been left to rot as invaders go about tearing apart the building. There are two: an Ironfang recruit dressed and armed as the others you have seen so far have been, and a hobgoblin female in padded armor, carrying a pair of axes (one larger than the other). They appear to have been busy tearing down colorful banners, smashing offerings, and chopping at the statues and altars with their weapons. Now, though, the recruit stands facing you with sword and shield poised, and the Ironfang scout behind him levels her bow at you, string about to loose. (There is a large handaxe, blade buried about an inch deep, in the altar behind her.)
Raska silently moves along with the rest, his heart and mind elsewhere. But once Rhyna announces that looters are still holed up in the shrine, he moves to the front of the pack, flanking the double doors.
As soon as they notice each other, Raska rushes the swordsman, hoping to take him out before he has a chance to react.
"You will not do any more harm!"
Quinn met eyes with what he assumed was a female hobgoblin. With hobs, it could be difficult telling the genders apart. He squeezed the trigger of his crossbow, hoping his bolt would fly before her arrow.
Raska and Quinn both manage to draw blood with their attacks; the fury of Raska's assault in particular seems to take them off-guard and chills their hot blood.
Semfet 13/19hp, shaken
With Raska right before him, the recruit tries to recover the momentum of the battle and strikes out at the ifrit. The thrust is true, and Raska's fiery blood spills out over the Shrine's wooden floor.
,
William moves forward and attacks the recruit as he can't safely move past him and attacks.
Edvard moves and threatens the archer, ignoring the recruit.
William cracks his staff across the legionnaire's jaw, sending teeth and blood flying. Edvard takes the opening to dart past the legionnaire; despite the wound, the hob warrior manages a well-aimed shot, ruined only by his still shaking hands.
,
Edvard races forward, his blade ready to make the scout regret letting go her bowstring.
Calliae moved next to Quin, sling in hand. She takes a shot at the recruit but instead of the recruit she hits one of the pews, causing a tiny dent to appear.
With Edvard in her face, the scout nonetheless fires her arrow right at him. Edvard can't quite manage to stop her before she releases the shot, but he does ruin her aim.
,
When the shot goes awry, she tosses the bow aside and pulls a handaxe from her belt.
Semfet 13/19hp, shaken
Not feeling all that comfortable with trying to reload the crossbow, Quinn dropped it and pulled the wand from his sleeve and focused on the same hob. It would hurt less but there was no risk of missing.
Raska's vicious blows are slowed as the hobgoblin's blade finds a crease in his leather armor. Attempting to stifle the wound with one hand, Raska redoubles his efforts, trying to put the swordsman down for good.