Ten minutes ago Halvor would have said he would rather have enjoyed the blackberry wine and offerings of the Festival. Now, with his adrenaline rushing through him, his mind focused, doling out justice to these wretched little creatures, he would have to agree with Cerin.
He grins at the thought as he trusts his armor and shield to keep him safe while dishing out pain. Yes, it was nice to be fighting beside them. Even the one who had shot the villager.
Krissina's eyes are burning with anger, it's obvious to all present that she really hates goblins with a fiery passion.
Shifting back once again to avoid the goblin's manic swinging, Kyrian manages to draw another arrow while fighting the pain from the flame. "Hell, anything would be better than that drink you mentioned earlier, no offense little guy..." he says as he lets loose the arrow at the goblin.
Cerin quickly circles around behind the wounded Goblin threatening Kyrian, nimbly leaping over the awkward swipe of the Goblin’s torch. His own efforts to land a telling blow with his scimitar prove futile, however.
Kyrian steps back and puts another well placed arrow into the already wounded Goblin. Overcome by the accumulation of his wounds, the Goblin slumps to the ground lifelessly.
Lynnda prepares to throw her dagger at the wounded Goblin engaged with Kyrian and Cerin. However, after she sees Kyrian drop this adversary, she spins and hurls her missile at the Goblin engaging with Halvor. The dagger drifts slightly wide and with a pronounced “thunk” sticks into the wooden stand mere inches from the Goblins head.
Halvor and Krissina press their attack on the remaining Goblin. Halvor sidesteps and swings his long sword low and catches the Goblin in the legs with a gruesome slash. The Goblin is flipped over onto his back blood streaming from his mortal wounds as one of his legs is hewn from his body and tumbles through the air to land on the dirt a few yards beyond. Then, for good measure, Krissina delivers a lethal strike as she drops her Morningstar down onto the luckless Goblins head.
The battle in the square is over. Most of the townsfolk have evacuated this area. Many have taken refuge inside the Cathedral which Sheriff Hemlock and members of the town militia have secured. Everywhere one looks, evidence of the carnage wrought by the Goblins can be seen: wrecked merchant stalls, overturned tables, broken windows and burning wagons. Finally, several injured villagers (and a few unmoving bodies) litter the square.
In the distance Goblin war chants and the screams of the innocent can still be heard. From the north comes the unmistakable yelp of a wounded dog. From this direction a man screaming “HELP, HELP ME!” rise above all the other sounds.
Halvor turns from the downed goblin, wiping the blood off of his sword on the warchanter's cloak. He winces as the barmaid sends her morningstar crashing down on the head of the downed goblin. He asks softly, "Are you ok?" There was a lot of anger pent up, there. He turns to look around and make sure there are no other threats and nearly runs into the lovely brunette behind him, complete with cat accessory. He steps to the side, inspecting the scene briefly, smiling a bit at Cerin, glad to see the gnome was unhurt. He notes the other goblin has been downed by the archer, and nods at him.
As he starts to make his way towards Cerinnibert, he hears the yelling. He flashes a quick look to the guards and sees that they are tied up, so he starts rumbling down the street to aid whoever needs help.
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When the last goblin falls, Cerin smiles and nods thanks to Krissina and Lynda as he quickly cleans off his rapier. He walks towards Kyrian and summons another small rainstorm over a fire that looks to be getting too close to a building.
"Now, what did you mean about my remedy? I've used-"
The yelp of the dog cuts him off and his expression turns serious. He starts to run towards the sound and yells to the militia in a voice that sounds too loud to be coming from such a small form, "The goblins are finished here, and there's wounded! Someone help them inside while we see to the rest of the attackers!"
As the last goblin goes down, Lynnda remarks, "Haven't been in a fight like that in a while. I think we make a pretty good team!" As she retrieves her dagger, scanning for more goblins, her cat jumps down from her shoulder, weaving between her ankles. Somehow, she never seems to trip over it or step on its tail.
Noting the anger in the barmaid's eyes, she pauses. "Hey, Red, it's dead now. Are are you OK?" she asks softly. Suddenly remembering the two goblins she knocked out with her magic, Lynnda makes sure that they won't be waking up.
At the sound of the nearby voice shouting for assistance, she looks to her new-found companions, and sees Halvor running toward the sound. With a fleeting hope that these people might just be the new surrogate family she desperately craves, she follows the swordsman into more danger.
Shadow trots along at her side, never straying more than a foot away.
Halvor shakes his head in dismay at himself at Cerin's words. He had to expand his focus at these times. He was glad the clever gnome had the presence of thought to enlist aid for those wounded in the square as he also ran towards the sound of the commotion. Halvor had just been intent on the newfound danger and had completely forgotten to tend to the aftermath of this past fight. He resolves in his mind to do better next time, feeling his blood start pumping again, pleased to hear the sounds of the others running with him (and likely passing him).
"I doubt that this few goblins would attack sandpoint, there'll be more, we should see if we can help further."
She sets off quickly towards the new commotion, without waiting to see if anyone's following.
As the sounds of the battle calm down for a moment, Kyrian takes a moment to breath, and relax. Tending to his wounds in a quick fix sort of way, he slowly walks over to everyone else as they gather up. "Yea, I have to agree with Red on this one. If we're gonna stick this one together, may as well help out the town. Not exactly the first thing on my to do list, but I've got a drink calling my name tonight now and I intend on meeting with it." As the screams for help cry out, he shoulders his bow and draws his blade, gripping it tight. "And I gotta say, that drink isn't getting any colder..." he says as he takes off towards the screams.
As the group rushes North the screams die down to be replaced by bestial growling and gleeful, vile laughter. Presently you can hear the sounds of a man begging for his life. As you round the last corner you spot a trio of repugnant dog beasts circling around a terrified nobleman. One of the beasts is being ridden by a well armed Goblin. On the ground between them lies the lifeless body of a hound. The beasts seem to be waiting for a signal from their master. The Goblin remains fixated on his prey and none of them notice your approach.
Surprise Round: Lynnda, Kyrian, Halvor, Cerin, Krissina
Halvor glances over at Cerin, nodding at him briefly as they hurry. "It appears as though this year's festival is a bit livelier than usual!" He catches the other three running along in his periphery, and is heartened at the sight.
Halvor's eyes widen at the sight of the man about to be torn apart by the canines as he huffs his way around the corner. He yells wordlessly, "Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!", anything to take the cruel creature's mind off of the poor man. He charges ahead, focused on the goblin leader.
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As Halvor turns, he sees that Cerin is barely listening as his short legs pump furiously. For the first time since they met, the gnome does not have his characteristic smile; his face is twisted into something dark and feral.
Cerin charges around the building, his jaw tightening as he sees the body of the hound. Searching for any sign of life, he tries to call back it's soul if it has not already travelled to its final reward.
Failing that, he is going to make the goblins pay...
Gripping his blade, Kyrian follows the other two into battle against the beasts, attempting to plunge the cold steel into one of them.
assuming she can't charge? Krissina spends her surprise round moving up towards the goblins (40ft).
Running alongside her newfound companions, Lynnda turns the corner, and sees the goblin rider and three rat-dog-things. Her cat, still trotting beside her, arcs its back and hisses menacingly at them.
--Hate!-- Lynnda felt Shadow's emotion, and shared her pet's feelings toward the horrid things.
With a grim expression, she stops a few yards short of the beasts and intones magical words, tracing glowing runes in the air with her left hand. Her voice takes on a magical echo-y quality as she speaks to the goblin rider, attempting to cloud its mind into hesitation.
Maybe I can distract him enough so that he doesn't give his beasts the "attack" command!
The entire party pushes forward intent on getting to grips with the enemy. For their part the Goblin and his pack of Goblin dogs seem oblivious to advance of the party. As the heroes approach, Halvor lets out a ferocious war cry. This alerts the adversaries and they wheel around in surprise to face the oncoming party.
Combat Round 2: Lynnda, Kyrian, Halvor, Goblin Commando, Cerin, Krissina, Goblin Dogs
Lynnda approaches the Goblin leader and attempts to cloud his mind with an enchantment. For a moment the Goblins' eyes glass over and he seems to slow, but then he shakes his head and his evil grimace returns as he resists the effects of the spell.
Kyrian presses the attack on the leader as he swipes viciously with his blade. The Goblin Commando manages to deflect or avoid most of the blows but he gets slashed painfully across the shoulder.
Halvor continues his advance and crashes headlong towards the Goblin Commando. The Goblin rears his head back out of reach as Halvor's sword narrowly misses the vile creatures neck.
The Goblin launches into a flurry of blows against Halvor. The counterattack catches Halvor off balance and the warrior is struck several times by the sweeping blade of the enemy. Bloodied and exhausted Halvor wavers and appears ready to topple at any moment.
Cerin observes that it is far too late to save the downed hound (the poor dog is cleaved apart) so he focuses his attention on the Goblin Commando. He summons a startling thundercloud over the vile Goblin. The enemy is hammered by intense wind and rains and the Goblin nearly succumbs to this magical assault.
Krissina engages one of the Goblin Dogs with her morningstar. As she sweeps her lethal weapon in a wide arc she catches the beast full in the side. It lets our a loud yelp and collapses over sideways disabled.
The remaining two Goblin Dogs leap into action and assault the heroes. One dog approaches Cerin from the flank and manages to clamp its jaws painfully around the Gnome's leg and pull him to the ground. The other Dog snaps at Kyrian, but attacks are clumsy and easily avoided.
Round 3: Lynnda, Kyrian, Halvor, Goblin Commando, Cerin, Krissina, Goblin Dogs
Halvor's gaze seems to double for a moment. Losing Blood. He shakes his head, clearing his vision. To fall down now was to doom himself and perhaps his companions. He nods to Kyrian, and starts to sidestep, setting up a flank with the rogue on the goblin leader.
He sees Cerin go down, and screams in panic at Lynnda "Help him!"
Depending on where she can move to without attracting attacks, Krissina will try to move up to the Goblin Dog attacking Cerin and beat it. Give the Druid time to back off and heal himself.
If that's not feasible, then she'll move to cure Halvor instead.
"Halvor! Behind--" she cuts off her warning as the goblin unleashes an unexpectedly savage series of blows against the swordsman, just as she notices one of the rat-dogs oull down the gnome.
Seeing her new friends get mauled, Lynnda grits her teeth and runs into the thick of the battle, positioning herself to catch as many goblins and rat-dogs in her blast-of-colors spell as she can. She tries to avoid catching any of her friends in the cone of the spell effect, if she can. In particular, she wants to catch the goblin and the rat-dog that's mauling Cerin, hopefully buying her friends more time.
Lynnda, sensing the situation is desperate, lets fly with her magical color spray attack. In an instant the Goblin Commando and the Goblin dog are enveloped in the dazzling array. The Goblin Dog seems stunned by the blast but the Commando and his mount appear to be unaffected.
Kyrian continues to hack and slash at the mounted Goblin but the vile creatures' quickness is considerable and he avoids all the blows.
Halvor, although wounded and staggering on his feet, still has the presence of mind to side-step and outflank the enemy. He assaults the Goblin Commando with his sword but once again the enemy proves adept at avoiding the blows.
The Goblin Commando, perceiving the critical condition of the warrior before him, savagely attacks Halvor. The injured warrior is still up to the task however, and none of the Goblins attacks get through his expert defence.
Cerin takes advantage of the Goblin Dog's momentary confusion and clambers forth, thrusts his sword out and impales the beast right through the mouth. The twisted creature lets out a guttural howl as it tries to yank itself free. Cerin grimly holds tight to the hilt of his blade and the Goblin Dog remains stuck fast.
Krissina quickly closes on the stricken beast and brings her weapon down onto the Goblin Dog. With a vicious snap the Dog back is broken and the creature expires, Cerin's blade still stuck into the maw of the beast.
The Commando's mount twists and turns at all the surrounding foes and it snaps at Kyrian in an attempt to draw him down underfoot. The archer manages some quick footwork and avoids the snapping jaws.
Round 4: Lynnda, Kyrian, Halvor, Goblin Commando, Cerin (grounded), Krissina, Commando's Mount (Goblin Dog)
Halvor raises his shield just in time, the goblin's attacks slamming against it. He had helped repel a goblin attack, but never against an enemy this formidable. As his adrenaline continues to keep him up, he thinks back quickly to training on how to fight mounted creatures. Number one was to always take out the mount, first. He shouts, "Take out the dog!" to Kyrian. He moves as needed to maintain the flank, where the enemy can only see him or Kyrian, but not both. He glances over and is relieved to see Cerin and Krissina bring down the goblin dog and gives a quick smile of appreciation to Lynnda for her colorful display. Satisfied, he redoubles his efforts against the persistent goblin and his mount.
Hearing Halvor's command to "take out the dog," Lynnda attempts to cloud its ratlike mind with magic. I hope its mind is weaker than its rider's!
"Why won't you drop yet?" Kyrian shouts at the commando, as he shifts his focus to it's mount, attempting to plunge his blade into it's flesh. "That's what I'm already trying to do here!" he shouts in response as Halvor shouts to him.
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Cerin grabs his scimitar with both hands and yanks it free. Raising himself up to a sitting position, he gives Krissina a grateful smile, then reaches down to lay his hands on his twisted, bloody leg.
"Gozreh, grant your servant your power to overcome his infirmity!"
A trickle of water falls down the injured limb, appearing from thin air and cleaning off the blood, leaving it whole and unblemished. He stands, a bit shaky, but ready to continue the fight.
When it gets around to Krissina's turn, she tries to get to Halvor and cast Cure Light Wounds.
Lynnda shifts her focus and targets the Goblin Dog with her enchantment. The beasts' weak mind succumbs to the magic and it appears to be confused and disoriented.
Kyrian shifts position and outflanks the Goblin Commando and his mount. He hacks away at the Goblin Dog's legs. The beast is caught unaware as it is and faces the full wrath of Kyrians blade. The creature topples to ground dead and the Goblin Commando is almost tossed prone. The quick footed Goblin recovers however, and lands on his feet.
The suddenly un-mounted Goblin Commando doesn't have but a moment to react though as Halvor swings his sword around in a lethal arc and cleaves the Goblins head from the rest of his body. The Goblins' remains fall in a pile on top of his steed.
Cerin completes his incantation and heals his leg. He puts weight on it and feels satisfied that the magic has done its work. Krissina stands ready to assist him but since Cerin appears to be fully recovered she decides to conserve the healing flames for now.
As the Goblin Commando slumps lifelessly to the ground you quickly assess the situation. The din of battle has died down and an unsettling quiet has settled over the town. Several billowing columns of smoke can be seen rising over the rooftops from various points around town. Villagers and guardsmen scramble throughout town putting out fires and tending to the injured. The nobleman you have saved introduces himself:
"By the stars I share my most welcome thanks. The Foxglove family owes you a great debt this day! Ah...perhaps introductions are in order? I am Aldern Foxglove. I have business dealings here in Sandpoint and its thanks to you that I now have my life with which to continue those dealings."
Strangely, he seems to be addressing only Lynnda when he speaks. He seems oblivious to the rest of the group.
"Alas, you were too late to save my trusty hound. I'm certainly going to miss him on my boar hunt. Wait, you must accompany me on my hunt! This will be the perfect opportunity for me to repay my debt to you. Besides monetary reward the least I can do is to show you around the hinterlands of Sandpoint. Soon I'll depart these lands but before I go but I would be honored to entertain one such as lovely and as proficient as you. I'm staying at the White Deer Inn. Look me up in the next few days and we'll plan our expedition together."
His words are well spoken but still, the man seems remarkably nervous.
The Foxgloves were a moderately wealthy and influencial family from Magnimar, but their fortunes have waned to the point of obscurity in the last 30 years or so.
The Foxgloves were once a wealthy and influencial family of nobles from Magnimar. They maintained a lavish mansion on the coast south of Sandpoint. Years ago the family met with disaster and their fortunes declined. Several members of the family have met with mysterious and grisly ends. The manor was subjected to a fire, fell into disrepair and was abandoned. The Foxglove family business also declined. Recently, young Aldern tried to rebuild the manor and reclaim his family's former glory. He visits Sandpoint from time to time to purchase supplies, pursue business interests and hire workers. He has a reputation for having a mean steak and a temper.
As the last of the menaces seem to fall lifeless, Kyrian catches his breath for a moment. "Well then, that was fun..." As the man introduces himself, Kyrian quietly listens to him as he tries to listen past the shakiness. "A hunt eh? If I weren't so exhausted, I would've figured we just made it out of a hunt already, so making it two in a row would be pushing it."
Halvor breathes slowly and deeply, setting his point of his sword on the ground in front of him, closing his eyes as he hears the blood rushing in his ears. He can feel the first flickers of pain from the deep gash the goblin had given him, flickers that would likely be roaring fires by tonight if left untreated.
He opens his eyes, surveying the surrounding carnage with dismay. He manages a weak grin at Cerin, glad to see the gnome walking around on his injured leg. The tavern girl had proven she could swing that morningstar with a punch, and the archer had shown his mettle, as well. The auburn-haired sorceress...she had likely saved them with her mystical colors. He opens his mouth to thank her, but is interrupted by the forgotten nobleman.
Halvor's first reaction is a distant amusement. Leave it to one of the upper crust to worry about a boar hunt when he had been a few mere seconds from a grisly end. His brow furrows in puzzlement, and he cocks his head to the side as the man continues, seeming to only address Lynnda. He nearly laughs aloud as he thinks of the situation...who would he rather address in this situation? A big smelly man leaning on a bloody sword who was steadily bleeding, or a comely young woman who had also fought bravely. Chuckling under his breath, he wipes his blade contemptuously on the commando before sheathing it.
"Halvor Tanner, at your service, my lord." He says quietly, not expecting the nobleman to really respond anyway. Halvor checks over the commando for anything of value while hopefully his more social comrades deal with the man.
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Cerin walks over towards the man and gestures towards the fallen dog.
"You should give your prayers to this brave animal. His noble sacrifice saved your life long enough for us to reach you."
"Cerinnibert Daergel, at your service! I have heard of your family, you are originally from Magnimar, am I correct?"
Krissina dusts herself off, while seeing if she can pick up any further disturbances nearby. Seeing Halvor bloodied reminds her she can do something useful st least. "Halvor, wasn't it - you're wounded, if you'll let me, I can help."
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"Yes, my lady. I won't deny any help at the moment...that goblin was mighty for one of his kind!" He blushes slightly as he begins the onerous task of removing his armor, not understanding.
As the goblin commando falls to Halvor's sword, Lynnda, still tense, scans the area for more enemies. Seeing none, she relaxes, and exhales slowly. She then picks up her cat, holding it tightly against her chest, stroking its head.
"Purrrrrrrrrrr"
"Is everyone OK? I think that might be the last of them, for now at least." She pauses, regarding all of her new-found allies, "I said it before-- I think we made a pretty good team! I'm..."
At that, she's interrupted by the nobleman.
--Huh. This is new. I'm the one who comes on strong, and that's usually a distraction to nab a purse. I wonder what this guy's up to...?
With a cautious smile, she replies, "Nice to meet you, Mr. Foxglove, though I wish it hadn't been during a raid. I'm Lynnda, and this is Shadow. A hunt sounds... interesting, but there may be more pressing things to consider. Let me think about it, and I'll let you know. What sort of business are you in?"
--If I recall correctly, the Foxgloves are in the business of wasting money...
Krissina gives a nervous laugh "Easy there big guy, I don't need you to strip down." She lays a hand across his wound and a brief lick of flame seals and purifies the injury.
A more witty, suave individual might come back with, "How about later?" or "Are you sure?" Instead, Halvor chooses to start arguing with the pretty woman, brow furrowing in consternation, his blush spreading from her statement. "I'm sure I'll need at least a couple of stitches, and Ahh!" He breaks off, recoiling reflexively from the burst of fiery energy spreading from her hand. He stares at her with a hurt expression for a moment as he feels his skin growing warm, thinking she had cauterized the wound, before he realizes that it actually hadn't burned. He looks down and is greeted by the sight of new pink flesh where the gash was, a thin white scar the only reminder he had been wounded. He of course had heard about magic healing before, but it had never been described like this.
Even more embarrassed, he mumbles, "Thanks, my lady."
Krissina blushes brightly at Halvor's thanks, "really, it's nothing."
Halvor shares blushes with the red-haired healer, the moment getting awkward enough for him that he breaks eye contact and walks over to Cerin.
"You are full of surprises as well, Cerinnibert. Good fighting!" He looks closely at the gnome's eyes now, no longer dismissing the flashes of...something in them.
He overhears that the nobleman will be staying at the White Deer Inn. A nice place, the rooms were actually better than Ameiko's place. Not the food, though.
The sorceress seemed really intent on continuously mentioning how well they worked together...Halvor pondered this, but did not find any answers. Not everyone was clammy around company, he supposed.
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Cerin, who has been wearing a wide grin as he enjoys the almost-flirting going on between his friend and Krissina, decides to hold off on teasing them.
"And you did an excellent job of dispatching these freakish firebugs yourself! Miss Lynnda speaks true, with her magic putting them in a daze and the three of you knocking them down, those goblins never stood a chance! Since the constables seem to have the clean-up well in hand, what say we return to the Dragon for a victory celebration? The first rounds on me! And Miss Krissina, I must insist that you join us, not serve us." he adds with a mirthful twinkle in his eye.
"A few rounds at the Dragon? Good idea!"
Speaking in a playful manner to Krissina, Kyrian looks at her. "A simple barmaid eh? That's a thought to laugh at. I agree with our little associate here. You should share a round with us and not serve it to us. What about you Fox? You care to buy the first round?" he finishes saying as he turns to the nobleman.
Halvor stands off to the side, nodding agreement with all the suggestions flying around. As his nerves calm down, the fires of battle receding inside of him, his joy at victory is once again replaced by puzzlement. A slight crease appears on his forehead as he thinks. What had that caravan master called this kind of attack??? That's right, he had called it a 'feint'. He shrugs...he was likely giving the little monsters too much credit. Senseless violence was the end for these things, not the means.
He prepares to accompany his comrades back to The Rusty Dragon, hoping the nobleman declines to join them. In the heat of the moment he had had to try to save the man's life, and would again. He had no desire for his company, however.
"Are we sure they're done, perhaps we should find Hemlock and ask if he needs any help?"
Krissina looks around nervously.
Kyrian sighs a little at Krissina's words. "The sheriff? Eh, yeah, I guess so. We could let him know what happened here, and figure out what else happened. Drinks after though, right?"