At the lull in the action, Seraka takes the opportunity to stretch, rotating her arms and neck, doing lunges, and cracking her hands. She carries on with a complete lack of concern, her brow raised and her mouth in a slightly-amused smile.
"You know, stretching's the most important part of exercise. Gotta stay limber when you're separating heads from bodies and blood from veins. Hampers the fun to have a pulled tricep tearing at you every time you swing."
Rokan patches up Sonya, while Seraka takes a moment to stretch in preparation for further goblin slaughter!
E and Sonya-- anything you wish to do before red death and mayhem calls you by your names?
Sonya nods gratefully when Rokan heals her, and wonders if a shield might be a good investment for her plans on continuing to be alive and breathing.
She scans the square for any injured villagers or skulking goblins.
|
The samsaran hops to his feet and cups the side of his mug with an open palm. Whispering some words, he taps it to his forehead.
"Right. Are we all back in fighting form? I want to prove I actually know how to use the business end of my pointy-stick here."
He scans the battlefield for the fallen but not dead, and cast's stabilize on the first one to meet the criteria.
As Sonya looks around the now-abandoned square-- littered with dropped foodstuffs, a few articles of clothing, a dead dog and a dead chicken and more than a few goblin bodies-- it looks empty and clear of other threats. The fighting seems to have moved on, judging by the shouts and the clashing of steel you can hear elsewhere.
Then, abruptly, there's an orange blossom of flame on a tarp-covered wagon some sixty feet away! Glancing that way, you can see tiny goblinoid figures climbing out from under the wagon, cackling giddly to themselves as they look upon the cart and its small, spreading flame with glee. One of them, scrawnier than the others, taps a crude beat on a human skull that dangles from a cord.
"Thistletop goblins are the smartest!
"Hide so good in smelly cart-est!
"Wait and wait and wait til quiet!
"Then Thistlegoblins go and LIGHT IT!"
This is answered by shrill cheers from the other goblins, shaking their dogslicers in the air and madly cavorting around the cart.
Sonyas eyes dart to the fire and the chanting goblin and his excitable crew. The sudden appearance of goblins earlier had shocked her and she hadn't had time to process their song's words - but now they rang through the square quite clearly. "Smelly... cart-est?" Well, as clearly as a goblin can sing.
Sonya's armor announces her presence as she rushes towards the stage between the two groups.
Rokan's eyes snap over to the awful singing, then widen slightly at the display. "That cart is full of fireworks." He blurts out, "We have to keep it away from people and homes."
The goblin who is leading the chant points a black-nailed finger at Sonya running towards them in her golden armor. "Stop that one! Keep sacred fire for US!"
His hands return to tapping a beat on his skull-drum. "Stupid longshanks! Wearing gold! Your flesh will taste good! When it's cold!"
He hunkers down behind the cart for cover, but the sounds of his drumming continue. The other goblins turn as one, grinning and swaying to the beat...
Seraka swivels towards the goblins at the first sound of them. She grins her wicked grin as she focuses at the little creatures.
She suddenly dashes off towards them, ready to strike at any that have the gall to move within her reach.
Rokan rushes forward, jumping and shoulder-rolling to his feet atop the stage the speakers had used only minutes before.
E runs after the others, but his near-death brush leads him to take up a slightly more defensive tactic this time-- he stands behind Seraka and Sonya, ready to attack anything that makes it past their front line.
The first goblin charges forward, shrieking wildly-- only to encounter Seraka's bardiche... painfully. The blow cuts the goblin in twain... and sends the pieces flying several feet across the square. Ew.
The other goblins hesitate a moment, but the one in the back is still drumming, and they decide to go for someone other than the huge tall grinning half-orc woman. Rokan! Surely he's an easier target!
The goblin with unusually lime green skin screams maniacally as she charges at Rokan's... ankle, more or less. The blueish goblin approaches a little more cautiously, and swings as well-- missing-- but the crazy green goblin manages to sink her dogslicer into Rokan's shin.
There's a snapping and popping sound from within the cart as the flames continue to eat away at the canvas...
"Someone put out that fire!" Sonya yells as she runs towards Rokan. She embeds her axe in the stage with a thud and pulls herself up before yanking it back out. The paladin holds out an open hand towards the goblins - "Hey! Over here!" - before another flow of ever-changing colors blasts out at them.
One of the two goblins stares enraptured at the pretty colors for a moment before keeling over in a floppy pile of limbs; the other shakes it off.
The chanter hiding behind the cart takes offense to this. "Hey! What you doing, Goldie-locks? I'll beat you black and blue and pink and orange for that!" he shrieks shrilly, chucking a handful of feathers into the air.
[spoiler=GM screen]
Sonya watches the goblin flop over like a ragdoll and starts giggling. Then she starts laughing, and then she's clutching her ribs in a mixture of discomfort and amusement, and before you know it she's rolling on the stage laughing, tears streaming from her eyes.
Grimacing against the pain, Rokan steps back from the little biters, clearing enough room to fire pair of arrows down at the green one.
Seraka closes an eye and bites her lip, mentally estimating a distance. She looks up at the goblin by the cart and grins.
"Your turn."
She launches herself at full speed towards the cart and the goblin behind it, her muscles bulging once more.
Rokan sends one arrow into the goblin who charged him, but his second misses! E looks around and notices... a large cauldron of fish stew that might do the job, if he can move it anyway, and runs toward it. Seraka charges like a lion, like a tiger, but--! doesn't connect. Her bardiche crashes into the tarp-covered pile of smoldering fireworks, sending some sparks flying as the goblin ducks.
The goblin caught by Sonya's spell earlier drools, insensate to the world. But the other sees a prone target and giggles madly as she circles the stage and hacks at Sonya!
Sonya rolls as best she can through fits of laughter to avoid the goblin's slashes, but isn't quite quick enough.
The pain is enough to break her out of the magic's hold, and she throws a glare at the goblin standing above her.
The goblin who's chanting and still-tapping the skull edges out from behind the cart, uncoiling a whip-- which he swings at Seraka's legs, trying to coil the leather around her legs and pull her off balance!
The whip manages to coil around Seraka's leg, but the enhanced strength of her rage allows her to rip her leg right out of the whip's coils. She stomps after the goblin, swinging her bardiche again.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU LITTLE SHIT."
E manages to hoist the cauldron-- impressively, as the blue-skinned man's slender arms don't seem to have much in the way of bulk to them! He stagger-walks with it over towards the smoldering flaming canvas, with fish-stew slopping out the sides with every step he takes...
Rokan grunts at Sonya's predicament. "Hang on." He takes a step nearer the stage, trying to negate the advantages the small creature has from the stage's edge, but both arrows that he looses towards the goblin miss. The Shoanti man's face goes grim with frustrated anger.
The goblin laughs madly as the arrows fly by. It locks eyes with Sonya and bares a mouthful of jagged teeth. "Going to wear your haiiiir!" the vicious creature hisses, before hacking at her again with the rusted knife. Prone as she is, the blow strikes.
Sonya yells out in pain again as the goblin lands another hit. She holds her axe in front of her as she shifts to her feet, trying to use it to deflect the green menace's swings like a shield. If it was so dead set on attacking her, she was going to make it difficult.
Sonya pulls into a defensive crouch, as she stands up...
...and easily avoids the goblin's dogslicer swing. The chanter, meanwhile, realizes he's about to get backed into a corner by the mighty Seraka, and steps away before swinging again, desperately, with his wee whip.
With a gleep, the goblin botches the attempt and winds up dropping his whip!
"Hang in there, Sonya!" Rokan grunts as he sends another pair of arrows down at the Green Goblin.
... then he steps forward, intent on at least providing the woman with the advantage of positioning as soon as he's able. "I'll help surround it!"
Seraka drops out of her rage, preferring to save it for later battles. Her muscles return to their normal, albeit still significant, size. Breathing heavily, she presses the attack.
Rokan clips the goblin with an arrow, but the creature doesn't drop. Seraka tries to compose herself for the marathon rather than the sprint, as it were... but for the moment, is having no better luck than she did in the actual footrace.
E hurls the fish stew atop the wagon with its flaming tarp! There's a hiss and sizzling noise, and blorts of stew pop off. The air gets distinctly fishier smelling, but most of the flames lick out and dark greasy smoke spills off the cart.
E maneuvers into position around one of the little goblins, who shrieks at him and backs away from the stage to take a well-aimed hack at him.
Sonya
Goblin chanter
Rokan
Seraka
E
Goblins - green has 3 damage
Sonya's heart still races, leaving small drops of blood in a trail as she jumps down from the stage to run behind the surprisingly nimble and unfortunately durable goblin. She grits her teeth and ignores the pain, swinging her axe at the green menace.
Thanks to the goblin being distracted by E's coming up on its flank, Sonya's greatsword just manages to clip it! Thanks to its existing injury from Rokan, the little beast goes down.
The chanter with his skull-drum, who just dropped his whip, looks around worriedly to see all his minions have dropped. With comically big eyes in his green face, he stops the beat of his hands on the skull and looks around for an exit. To the south of him , he sees the alley blocked by a knot of struggling towns guards and goblins-- so he sprints the other direction, racing across the steps of the new cathedral.
"Oh no you don't!" shouts Rokan as the tiny whipper bolts. He rushes around into its path, cutting off its escape.
Seraka heaves herself towards the surviving goblin, the one that has survived her attacks so far.
She manages to get out a few words to her companions as she pushes herself along.
"Beat...that bastard...as blue...as E...."
The Shoanti and the Caydenite surround the last goblin, leaving just Sonya to act!
Sonya staggers forward, leaning against the stage with a grimace. Her expression goes calm and she focuses on the goblin, taking a deep breath. She blinks and her eyes shine with a purple light as she sends psychic energy, assaulting the goblin's mind.
This goblin appears of robust will, even surrounded by foes wielding terrifying powers and purple eyes. The little beast runs, shrieking shrilly to itself.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Rokan tries to sweep the leg .
Sonya flips the unconscious goblin over and puts her knee between its shoulder blades as she holds its wrists.
She keeps a watchful eye on the others while they chase down the remaining the goblin warchanter.
Rokan sticks a leg out and the goblin goes sprawling in the dirt!
Sonya quickly works on locking the other goblin up bodily.
Seraka finally catches up to the now-prone goblin, though her bardiche is dragging along the ground by the time she gets there. She spits on the ground near the goblin.
"No more running."
She pulls her bardiche up and over her head in a massive arc, bringing it down directly on top of the goblin.
Rokan follows his leg sweep by dropping his bow and trying to grab the little runner.