Kyrian hears the sound of combat as he moves up, but finds himself blocked off, having a hard time trying to find the attacker. "Try and see if you can get it out into the open, I can't get a good shot from here!"
The walking dead goblin shambles toward Cerin and Gwyn, but the gnome and elf move toward it first with blades drawn. As the goblin swings its tiny but powerful arms at Cerin, the two adventures manage to cut it down before it can connect. Red-black, half-congealed blood seeps from the gashes, and it collapses in a stinking heap.
At the sound of battle, Shaleu closes in.
From up the dimly-lit path in the hedge maze, you all hear the sounds of moaning and shambling, and you see more of the walking dead goblins ahead!
At this point, everyone can hear the sounds of battle. Shalelu turns to Helena, says, "Come on!" and enters the maze.
Round 2:
Gwyn looks at the advancing horde in dismay, and perhaps a little panic.
"Didn't we kill these guys already? Use things that cut. Things that bash and stab won't work as well," she warns the others, before looking to Helena.
"Sorry, you're spear isn't going to work as well this time, Helena.'"
She readies herself as she hears the goblins get closer.
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Cerin takes up a position opposite Gwyn, ready to surround the putrid creatures. Lightning flashes across his eyes and everyone can hear the anger in his voice as he growls "It isn't bad enough these monsters are attacking innocent folk, but now they are committing this affront to the natural order!"
As the first one shambles closer, he takes a mighty swing with his blazing scimitar to return it back to the grave.
"It will do enough," Helena says in grim defiance, stepping up between and behind Cerin and Gwyn, readying her spear. After a moment, she adds sheepishly, "Though if you had a spare dagger..."
"Hanging from my hip," Gwyn answers with a grin as she cants her hips so the dagger is easier to see.
Round 2
...miss
Monster status:
Zomblin 2: hp 6/16
Zomblin 3: hp 9/16
Zomblin 4: hp 16/16
Zomblin 5: hp 16/16
Zomblin 6: hp 16/16
...hit
...hit
You hold your ground as the zombie goblins shamble toward you. Shalelu and Kyrian let arrows fly, but the tight space makes it tough to target them, and both shots are wild.
Cerin hits one of the zomblins with a wicked blow from his flaming scimitar. However, the undead creature continues to press its attack.
Gwyn slashes at the other with her gladius, cutting a deep gash across its arm. Blackish blood oozes from the wound, but it keeps attacking.
Striking with reach from behind Cerin, Helena skewers the zomblin that's attacking Gwyn. It seems far less affected by the stab than the white-haired woman expects.
The zombies on Cerin and Gwyn slam their fists into you with a force that's unexpectedly powerful for such small, and dead, creatures.
Two more zombies rush from around the corner behind the first two, and one more appears from a side-passage behind Kyrian!
Gwyn lets out a gasp as one of the zomblins delivers a blow to her belly. Fighting through the urge to just cough, she brings her blade down, but fails to get through the things hide.
"Uh oh."
Holding her spear in one hand, Helena snatches Gwyn's spare dagger from her belt and steps up. If nothing else, she could provide a third target. "Hold on!" she hisses to her friend, striking out savagely with the dagger.
Round 3
Monster status:
Zomblin 3: hp 1/16
Zomblin 4: hp 16/16
Zomblin 5: hp 16/16
Zomblin 6: hp 13/16
...miss
...miss
...miss
Hearing another zomblin approach from behind, Kyrian and Shalelu both turn and fire at it. The arrows stick into the the walking goblin corpse, but it continues to advance as if it does not notice.
Cerin hits the zomblin he's fighting with a wicked slash of his flaming blade, severing the thing's head from its shoulders. The monster staggers forward swinging blindly, but then falls over, twitching.
Gwyn's gladius glances off the hide of the zomblin she's fighting, but Helena manages to slash at its neck. She severs the things throat, and its head lolls then snaps backward, still connected by its spine. The thing continues fighting, although you're not sure how much longer it can go given the damage it's received. It swings feebly at Helena, but missed completly...perhaps because only one of its eyes remains above its shoulders.
The zombie approaching from behind lurches toward Kyrian, aiming a blow at him. Thankfully, the strike is deflected by Kyrian's armor.
The zomblins approaching from the north move in. One charges at Cerin, but stumbles on its fallen comrade and its blow is wild. The other moves closer but can't get withing striking distance.
Helena yelps in shock as her clumsy blow slices through the zomblin's throat, and nearly drops the dagger. She's so preoccupied with her target that she doesn't notice Kyrian and Shalelu behind her in melee. Everything blurs around her, focusing in on the zombie and her borrowed dagger.
"Well, I was hoping that I wouldn't have to use this yet," Gwyn says as the zomblins begin to close in.
"Dốt mỏ kẻ thù," she chants. Flames dance on her fingers before flickering out when she snaps them.
"Wha-what?"
The normally unflappable mage finds herself shaking in fear as her spell dies. She looks at her hand and fear begins to sink its claws into her heart.
Taking a step back, Kyrian quickly knocks another arrow and lets it loose at the creature in front of him. "Gods these little bastards are annoying! Why can't they just stay down?"
Round 4
Monster status:
Zomblin 4: hp 11/16
Zomblin 5: hp 16/16
Zomblin 6: hp 7/16
...miss
...miss
...hit
Gwyn attempts to cast a spell, but the nearly headless zomblin bumps her arms while trying to attack her. This flusters the young elven wizard, and her spell fizzles.
Helena slashes at the exposed neck of the nearly-decapitated zomblin with her borrowed dagger. She connects, severing its head. It lurches at her and Gwyn blindly, falling between the two women, twitching harmlessley.
Cerin slashes wildly at the zomblin attacking him, and connects, both cutting and burning the walking corpse. It does not appear to react as it presses its attack, clocking Cerin across the face with a powerful strike.
Kyrian and Shalelu each step backward, firing at the approaching zomblin. Both arrows sink deep into the undead creature's body, but despite the six arrows protruding from its corpse, it continues to advance. It strikes Shalelu, but her armor deflects the blow.
The remaing zomblin moves forward and aims a swing at Helena. Despite her poor vision, she anticipates the blow and ducks at just the right moment.
Kyrian attempts to tumble past the zomblin. It attempts to hit him, but misses.
Fluff, sensing her master's fear, gently pecks the elf on the cheek.
"It's okay Gwyn, calm down,"the little thrush says.
The elf takes a breath in and lets it out.
"Thanks," she says before stabbing at the zomblin in front of Helena.
Helena yelps as the zomblin collapses in the ground next to her, quickly shuffling her feet out from under the twice-dead body. She glances down at the dagger in her hand, then at the ground beneath her, and a thought enters her mind.
"Oh, please tell me this will work," she mutters feverishly, quickly digging the toes of one boot into the soft earth. It works better with bare feet, but this was desperate. She closes her eyes, feels the ebb and flow of energy in the living things around her, and allows the pulse to release in a burst of white light.
Round 5
...Nat 1! Miss!
Saving throws vs channel (DC 15)...
...all fail & take 7 hp damage
Monster status:
Zomblin 5: hp 8/16
...miss
Cerin catches the zomblin he's fighting across the neck with his flaming scimitar, neatly severing it. The monster collapses in a twitching heap.
Kyrian and Shalelu find the zomblin they're fighting eerily nimble, and it manages to somehow dance around their dagger attacks.
Gwyn nicks the zomblin she's fighting on the arm, drawing a line of brick-colored blood.
Channeling the power of the spirits of life, curtains of yellow-green energy the color of spring grass rise from the ground around you all. The energy feels bright and fresh to you all, but seems to burn the undead creatures you're fighting. The zomblin fighting Kyrian and Shalely bursts into flames and falls over. The remaining zomblin cringes as it smolders, and it lets out a hoarse, high-pitched groan. It strikes wildly at Helena, but she easily deflects its blow.
Gwyn stabs wildly at the zomblin, her strike having about as much of an effect on it as her spell had.
"It worked?" Helena murmurs in dumb amazement, before her awestruck face breaks into a grin. "It worked!" she exclaims, filled with renewed hope. Gripping her borrowed dagger tightly, she strikes out at the last remaining zomblin, hoping to end it.
The Heroes of Sandpoint turn on the remaining zomblin. Cerin and Gwyn feint, giving Helena an opening. She slashes viciously, decapitating the undead thing. It collapses into a twitching heap.
Although the sound is muted within the dense brush, you hear the sound of surf crashing against the cliffs below, the sound of wind through the branches, and the calls of seabirds. You also hear a sloshing sound to the east-- probably coming from that hole in the ground you'd seen in your previous exploration here.
Gwyn gives Helena a hug around her shoulders, asking, "Are you okay?"
A little bit later, the others can find the young elven wizardess a little ways down the path by herself, Fluff looking tense on her shoulder as the elf mutters to herself.
You can hear a near incomprehensible stream of technical terms and arcane formulae, but the gist is pretty clear after a few minutes. Gwyn had changed something with her magic, and she was very, very worried that her spell fizzled.
Shalelu sheathes her dagger and nocks an arrow without fully drawing her bow. "I really don't like this. I've never met undead goblins before."
"I... I'm fine," Helena manages, turning her clouded eyes on Gwyn. The congealed blood of the zombies stands out starkly on her white skin, a few drops clinging stubbornly to one cheek. "I didn't know that would work," she adds quietly. "I'm not sure how it did. There's so much about it I don't understand."
Gathering herself, she wipes her face on her sleeve, leaving ugly stains on the green cloth. "Cerin, where should we go next? You seem better-equipped for this maze than the rest of us."
Too preoccupied with her own thoughts, Helena hears little of Gwyn's mutterings. Noticing that she's strayed from the group, however, she walks alongside the elf, as if afraid of losing sight of her. "This is yours," she says after a few moments, holding out the borrowed dagger.
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"Yes, they must have another spellcaster aside from the druid we encountered yesterday." Cerin muses in response to Shalelu.
"The path is this way, let me scout ahead first; We don't know what other surprises they might have in store for us!"
Cerin heads off into the foliage to the east and peeks out into the next clearing.
Kyrian nods at Cerin's statement. "I certainly wouldn't put it past me that there's another caster here. Although I highly doubt this one is a goblin. Which means we need to keep our eyes open now..." as he follows into the brush slowly.
Gwyn shakes her head at Helena when she tries to hand the dagger back, instead handing her the sheath.
"Hang on to it," she says, a quivering note in her voice, "better to have it and not need it than to not have it and need it, right?"
Fluff, meanwhile, looks worriedly at Gwyn.
Watching as Cerin and Kyrian disappear into the brush, Helena then turns her attention back to Gwyn. "Gwyn, what's wrong?" she asks quietly. "My eyes may not be sharp, but my ears are fine, and your voice is usually clearer and more confident. You sound troubled." When Gwyn hands over the sheath, she grips the elf's wrist, gently yet firmly.
"It just fizzled," she says quietly, her eyes half-lidded as she looks away from her friend.
"I thought I'd figured something out, how to keep the spells I cast in my mind, but..."
The elf looks off after the others, before looking at the blade she still held in her hand.
"Maybe Proventus was right. Maybe I'm nothing more than a common, second-rate thief," she says sadly. She just stands there, letting Helena hold her wrist.
Fluff nuzzles against her master's neck. For all the arguing and teasing the two did, she really did care for Gwyn, and to see the elf so despondent was worrying to the thrush.
Following Cerin through the brush, Kyrian lightly sighs at the conversation behind him. "Stuff it. Not everyone is perfect, and we don't always do the smartest of things. So you think you had something figured out, but you didn't. That's not something to get upset over, use it to drive you forward and be better. You're here with us moving through this zombie goblin infested crap hole right? I've yet to meet a second rate thief do that before, just sayin..."
"It is when it makes you little more than dead-weight," Gwyn mutters just loud enough for Helena to hear. She doesn't say anything else, just following the others and helping Helena pick her way through the maze.
Cerin steps into the eastern wall of the hedge maze and quickly disappears into the thorny brambles. Kyrian attempts to follow his gnomish friend, but finds the dense wall of thorns nearly impenetrable. Muttering to himself, Kyrian follows Gwyn up the northern passage, ducking through the goblin-sized tunnels. Shalelu follows as well. Turning east, the adventurers see a large chamber, partially open to the sky above. There is a large, round hole in the rock floor of the chamber. The sound of sloshing water can be heard coming up from the hole.
There is a passage out of the southern part of the chamber leading east. Another leads southwest.
With a sigh, Helena wraps an arm around Gwyn's shoulders as the party presses on. "You tried something new, and it didn't work the first time," she says gently. "You just lost your focus. It happens, it's hard to concentrate when there are zombie goblins swinging at you." She tightens her hug, giving the elf a playful jostle. "Kyrian's right. You're better than you give yourself credit for. Of all people, I should know."
After a moment, hoping to bring back some of Gwyn's energy, she asks, "So, how did you do it? Keep your spells in your head?"
When the group reaches the hole, she shudders, staying well clear of it. "What's in there?" she asks no-one in particular.
Gwyn returns Helena's hug, cheering up a little, but not to where she's her normal self.
"Sorry, it's just I don't know if that's why it failed, or if it's because of the changes i made in how I do things," she tells her friend. "And I'll be happy to tell as soon as I figure out if it works," she adds with a laugh.
Gwyn guides Helena around the hole, not trusting the ground near it before checking the path ahead.
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Cerin edges around the hole and hurries east to catch up to Gwyn. "Don't worry about it, nothing works every time! I had a friend, Barelyth, who was a wizard for longer than you've been alive, I daresay. He told me that magic is an Art, and like all art takes practice and a willingness to experiment with new things. You will have some fantastic discoveries, but a lot of failures as well. Failure is nothing to be afraid of, it's how you learn! Everyone has a problem now and then, even me, if you can believe that..." He says the last line with a haughty air which quickly dissolves into a sly grin and a low chuckle before he moves ahead through the brambles to the east.
"Experiment, huh," Gwyn says, a sly grin of her own spreading across her face. She let out a quick whistle and snapped her fingers over Cerinnibert's head. He can feel something like a playful tugging on his hair.
Gwyn smiles even wider and touches her thumbs to Cerin's sideburns. A second later, they are a brilliant violet color.
"There we go! Now, if only this worked to make goblins more pleasant to look at," she says before getting a little more serious and scouting the path ahead as well.
Kyrian chuckles at the statement. "Now you if you could find something to make these little pests pleasant to look at, I'd say you were the best spell caster in the world. Not that I'm not glad to have you smile again there, but I would like to figure out what our next move is going to be here. I get the feeling that they know we were here and that they expect us to come back. Whoever is leading them isn't going to be stupid enough to not think anything different."
Shalelu shakes her head at Gwyn's attempt at hairdressing, but can't manage to suppress a smile.
She chortles at Kyrian's comment. "I think arrows or a good blade are about the only thing you can use to make a goblin more pleasant to be around. They are a lot less dangerous when dead..." she pauses, looking back the way you all came. "...unless they're working with a necromancer..."
"That's why I prefer to torch them," Gwyn whispers back to Shalelu, "My mentor always said it's a lot harder to bring a pile of ashes back than a gutted corpse. Though, to be honest, I don't mind gutting them either," she adds with a wolfish smile, "it's not as bad when you can clean the blood off with a flick of the wrist."
Cerin glances down the hole and is a bit surprised to see that there is a bit of light down there. The crevice drops about eighty feet down to a cave filled with sloshing seawater. He figures that there must be a cave opening at the water level to let in the light.
Pressing on, you continue through the narrow passage through the hedges, finding yourselves in a cramped passage that leads east and west. To the east is a large chamber where you killed some of the goblin's prized animals: their ugly, rat-like "goblin dogs." It looks like two of them are still here, now animated as walking corpses, along with another zomblin. They lurch toward you menacingly.
Round 1
...miss
...hit
Monster status
z-dog 1: 13/17 hp
z-dog 2: 17/17 hp
zomblin: 16/16 hp
As the zombies lurch forward, Shalelu managed to get off a single arrow and shoot one of the zombie goblin dogs. The arrow protrudes from its decaying shoulder, but it presses on. One of the zombie dogs tries unsuccessfully to bite Shalelu, and the other turns its attention on Cerin. The undead dog savagely bites the gnome.
"Shalelu! Cerin! Get behind me!"
Gwyn readies another spell. This time, she'd be sure it worked.