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Staring down the holy symbol, Zache makes the sign of the evil eye and shudders. "I'll take it," he mutters, snatching it hastily from Kaede's hand and wrapping it in a scarf, which he tucks into his shirt, unwilling to let it touch his skin. "As Desna fights against nightmares, so too shall I."
Letting a deep breath out in a rush, he smoothes his clothes again. "I can probably keep going," he affirms, eyes set hard with determination.
Kaelaah, still feeling admonished and slightly guilty that his actions had put the group in danger, mumbles something along the lines that he sees no great benefit in resting, "...better to strike now whilst the goblins are in disarray".
Regrouping and taking the long way back to the foyer, to make sure the injured goblin isn’t hiding behind them, the godmarked find that the door to the courtyard has been left standing open. The open door on the far side, through which they had spotted the other goblin earlier, is now closed. After a quick check, Sal finds a subtle blood trail leading across the entryway, through the courtyard, and into the now closed room...
"I don't know if we can abandon stealth just yet. We don't exactly have a heavy punch," Tera replies. After a moment she shrugs and turns back to Sal.
"Wanna just see if the door's locked first?"
Tera stalks across the courtyard with her hood down and her face covered by the scarf she'd borrowed from Zache. Once across, she checks both doors, and if she hears nothing, sneaks a peek inside.
Tera hears nothing behind the door to the right and a quick check reveals a meandering hallway beyond it with two doors branching off and another staircase down at its end .
Behind the left door she hears rapid, nervous breathing somewhere nearby, and farther away a scraping sound like someone, or something, spinning the tip of something metal against a stone...
Tera returns to the others and relays what she's found.
"Fortunately, I have a plan," she says before holding out the Pumpkin King's crown to Kaelaah.
Kaede looks at Tera, then the crown, then Kaelaah, and just starts laughing.
A quizzical look on his face, Kaelaah takes the crown from Sister Flinders... his eyebrow raised, he wonders what Tera's plan actually is - before a smirk, growing to a broad smile as Sister Mayumi laughs along...
Slowly raising first one eyebrow, then the other, Zache slowly shakes his head incredulously. "I hope you know what you're doing!"
Kaede stops chuckling after a couple moments. "I'm sure that Kaelaah going all fire and pumpkin seed will at least pause the goblins long enough for us to get the drop on them," she says, hoping that this actually works. "Besides, it sounds like there's not much else up top here."
"Oh I do! So, I think you all know what the basics are. Kaelaah plays the part of the Pumpkin King. If we can, I'd love to fill the courtyard with smoke or fog. So, if we can, we do that, then I make myself invisible and open door, then Kaelaah scars them silly and starts the fire party before we follow in and make sure he doesn't get hurt."
As everyone gets ready and Tera fills the courtyard with low-hanging, billowing fog, she pulls Kaelaah aside.
"Kaelaah, when the door opens, say this as you set the eyes and mouth alight, The Pumpkin King will devour your souls! Got it?"
Kaelaah, squeezing the pumpkin into place over his long scarlet hair, tries to stop himself from giggling too much... already, he is tossing orbs of fire between his hands - a juggling display that he proposes to turn from fun to fear the moment that the door is opened.
Once everything is in place and everyone is ready, Tera turns invisible and the door begins to open.
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As the door creaks open and Kaelaah steps through, Zache, back to the wall, begins a chant, his voice low and raspy, a chilling mockery of the songs from the goblin raid.
"Pumpkin king with eyes that burn,
Fear the pumpkin king's return!
Pumpkin king with pumpkin head,
He be angry! Make you dead!"
Kaede slips to the side of the courtyard, taking cover along the side wall. With a brief prayer, she gently places her hand on the blade of her glaive, leaving a white glow on it before dropping into a ready position.
Tera tenses as she starts to pull open the door.
Keeper of the Vault, I hope this works!
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As smoke billows through the courtyard time seems to slow to a crawl... the anticipation quickly dissipates as an invisible Tera swings open the door and steps into the room to clear the way for her companions.
Waiting at the far wall is a giant of a goblin--nearly the size of a dwarf--with a humped back and a lazy eye. Sal's arrow whizzes into the room and sinks into its shoulder a split second before Kaelaah steps through the door. The goblins eyebrows go up and its face twists in confusion as the 'pumpkin king' appears and blasts him in the chest with a gout of flame.
The missing goblin soldier suddenly appears from the shadows next to the door to slash at the pumpkin king...
,
the sneak attack does not last long though as Kaede cuts down the soldier with her glaive before he's even recovered from his swing.
In the moment they have to take in the room, the godmarked see what appears to have been some sort of kennel: a twenty by twenty-five foot chamber with the remnant of stall walls protruding from the western wall and old leashes, bridles, and muzzles strewn about. The reason the goblin-dogs were forced out is obvious; near the center of the room a tanned and weathered, raven-haired boy of perhaps 13 or 14 years lies unconscious on sturdy wooden table. His feet are pinned in stocks, as are his neck and right arm. His shirtless torso is badly bruised and his ribs are visible under his skin, a sign of some combination of hunger and thirst. The thing which most stands out about the boy, however, is on the back of his left hand, which is tied to the edge of the table sticking out from his body... a birthmark in the shape of a leaf... the very same shape as the mark Brother Roakkad carried...
Before anyone has time to process this revelation the hulking goblin charges forward and brings down his two-handed sword on Kaelaah.
Feeling an indignant rage well up inside him, Kaelaah shapes a blade... an oversized dogslicer... and swings it at the large goblin, "Fear Me!!! Fear the King of Pumpkins!!!"
Tera uses the last few seconds of her invisibility to skirt around the table to take the burly goblin by surprise. She draws the iron wand and feels the tingle of the spell it holds in her fingertips.
With the goblin's attention firmly on Kaelaah, Tera almost feels sorry for the stupid beast.
Almost.
She snarls the command word, completing the spell, and jabs the goblin in a kidney. The sizzle of burning goblin and the smell of lightning fills the repurposed kennel.
"FOOL! You dare defy the Pumpkin King!" Tera's anger is not at all feigned as she readies herself for another strike.
Stunned by what lies on the table before them, Zache and Kaede don't regain their wits as quickly as they might normally .
The brutish goblin grimaces as Kaelaah's fire-sabre scorches its chest again and Tera's jolt surprises it. Sal's arrow, careful placed between Kaelaah's torso and arm, flies wide of the sentry as it raises up its sword and swings it at the Shoanti again...
,
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Tera goes to stab Barrk again with her wand, but has to duck Sal's incoming arrow as it streaks past the goblin's head. She let's out an undignified squeak at the close call.
Kaede slides into the doorway, glaive extended. After a second of studying the postion of the remaining problem, she cries out, "Kaelaah! Go right!," and hunkers down, waiting to spring into an attack as soon as the path clears.
Sal’s arrow finds it mark this time, barely, and slides between two of the brute’s ribs. As Kaelaah steps to the side and manifests his flame-sabre, Kaede’s glaive opens up the large goblin and crumples it to the ground before the Shoanti can even make his attack.
Tera jabs the wand into the neck of the downed goblin, making sure that it won't be getting up again before turning her attention to the injured boy. She mutters a prayer to the Keeper of the First Vault. Her hands glow gold for a moment as she tries to mend some of his wounds.
She then turns to Kaelaah and gives him a sheepish, worried look.
"I'm sorry Kaelaah. I was hoping that we'd be able to take care of them quickly enough to avoid getting hurt," she says as she pulls out the other wand and begins to heal the fiery shoanti's injuries.
Looking to the others, then to the boy, she asks, "What should we do with him? I mean after we get him free."
Tera moves to begin undoing the bonds that hold the poor boy to the torture table and then struggles to get him off without hurting him.
The boy winces and groans as Tera lowers him to the ground... his breathing quickens a little as he struggles to open his eyes...
Tera grabs her waterskin and pulls the stopper before lifting the boy's head up and gently getting him to drink. Once he's awake, she puts some bread and dried meat from her provisions in his hands.
"Eat that and then drink some more water. Trust me, you'll feel better," she tells him gently.
Marcus rubs his eyes when his hands are freed. Looking around cautiously at the strangers and the food, and then to the fallen goblin, he seems not to process too much. Nearly missing his mouth, he takes a bit of the bread, then drinks deep from the skin, spilling much of it.
Still trying to take in the scene, he mixes common and goblin, saying "Where is she?" before looking down at the wounds on his chest and legs.
Taken aback that the boy speaks goblin, Kaelaah urges the boy to be calm, "Who? You're safe now... who is it that you are expecting?"
"Can you tell us what she looks like," Tera asks as she takes note of his injuries and sighs. He was hardly in any shape to be alone or come with them. She pulls out the wand she'd asked for from Brother Faustwick and begins mending his wounds.
The boy's bruises fade away and his breathing becomes far less labored as Tera pumps healing energy into him. Unfortunately it seemingly does little to restore his energy.
Still looking around, as if seeing the surroundings for the first time, Marcus answers "That woman who lives here and hates me......" he finishes, taking more labored breaths.
As to what she looks like, he looks haunted when he says "Her arm.....worse than my leg...."
Snapping back to the present, he continues "My name is Marcus. I was captured by these goblins when I brought my skiff too close to shore. They brought me here...to where She was. I'm not sure how long ago that was.....too long"