Shessik snarls as the hobgoblin batters him, and renews his attempts to bring his foe down.
Shessik hauls his significant load back onto his back and winces slightly (an odd sight on a lizard face) before saying in a clipped voice, "Must get out. No time left. Running out of options."
Ko'Faahin nods her agreement and lifts a bag of supplies over one shoulder before helping their newest charges to their feet and pointing them onward through the smoke and devastation that once was their home.
Thakus kicks the body of the hobgoblin to ensure he doesn't move. Satisfied, he turns to the others. "Let's go."
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As the group attempts to quietly make their way through the village, you note that the fighting seems to have all but died away. Small pockets of resistance can be heard in the distance, but not much else. And try as you might to avoid them, the hobgoblins seem to be everywhere now. Every road you look down, every corner you turn seems to have at least a half dozen of the monsters in clear view. Luckily most of them seem to have turned their attention to looting and repurposing the buildings, though some still look for survivors.
That point is made clear as you come into view of the temple. As you round the corner of a building, Thakus practically bumps into a dark-furred goblinoid that stands at least a head higher than any hobgoblin you've seen yet. His tiny milky-white eyes look at you in confusion before turning to one of vicious joy. He lazily begins swinging a morninstar as he grumbles "Hmm, goodie. New toys to play with!"
"You're done playing with these people," Thakus growls as he hoists his massive shield. "Forever."
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Ko'Faahin rushes around the side of the building, spear raised for the kill as she pushes towards the flank of the team to keep the hobgoblin penned in. She stabs at it, hoping to score a deep enough wound to end this fight quickly.
With the bugbear coming around the corner at Thakus, Shessik wastes no time in launching himself into combat against the thick-set, sneaky goblinoid.
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Karist drew his sickle when he heard the odd voice and realized it was yet another one of the invaders that had lain to waste the trading village and the market.
He slashed out at the creature, but before he could do so, his lizardfolk companion did a slash with his blade that bit deep into the attacker. He followed through with his own effort.
But he fumbled his sickle.
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The bugbear's sudden appearance catches most of the group by surprise. Only Shessik is able to recover quickly enough as he slashes the creature across the throat, emitting a spray of blood and killing it instantly.
Looking beyond the fallen foe, you see a building that appears to be the temple. A wooden deck surrounds the front of an octagonal structure with broad archways leading into a place of worship. To it's 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. Standing over the corpse is another large wolf-like creature. It initially gorges itself on the man's flesh with little regard to anything else. Upon your arrival, however, it lifts it's head to sniff the air before turning to face you. The beast emits a low and thunderous growl as it bares it's teeth at you.
Shessik flicks his falcata once and bugbear blood sprays the grass. "Last call," he rumbles. Then he cocks his head at Karist and says, "Unless you can talk it out of fighting, nature-speaker."
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Karist turned back to the wolf and looked at it. Really looked at it. He let the sling go slack and continued to look at the creature.
"We don't look like the type that you want to bother with," Karist said calmly and with a strong tone in his voice. "The big one there just isn't worth the effort and there are pigs and such about that are easier to eat."
Ko'Faahin stands ready with her spear in case the animal attacks!
Ko'Faahin raises her own hackles at the wolf and moves forward menacingly, trying to scare it off.
Shessik's snout seems to crumple oddly, and you realize that it's the same expression as when a human screws up their mouth with disappointment. Then he lashes out at the wolf as it charges toward the team.
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Karist spun the sling in faster and faster circles as he watched the beast and his colleagues. He watched and gauged the distance of the beast waiting to see if it approached even closer.
But his shot went wrong, the sling wrapping about his arm and the bullet went shooting off into the darkness behind him. His face flushed with embarassment.
Shessik moves closer to the wolf, waiting for it to charge him, and keeps his falcata ready to bring down in a hefty swing.
Shessik easily blocks the wolf's charge with his shield and brings his falchion down in a heavy blow.
[ooc]Wolf moved on map, per request![ooc]
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Karist watched the wolf try to snap again at the lizard man's leg, and then back up slightly. He untwisted the sling, dropped a bullet into it, and whipped it quickly around sending the bullet flying.
This time the bullet went wide and the sling fell to the ground. Karist let out a sigh of exasperation at his two miserable attempts to use his sling.
Shessik steps up to continue to threaten the wolf and brings down his falchion in a heavy chop.
Thakus hustles forward, placing his shield between the wolf and his allies.
Ko'Faahin steps back away from the fight to get more room to work her spear, and stabs out at the wolf. The blade sinks into the wolfs flank with a satisfying meaty thunk.
Shessik pauses as the wolf falls, and seems to take a moment to catch his breath before he growls, "Must keep moving."
Ko'Faahin sighs as the creature falls, then turns her attention to more important matters at hand.. like surviving. She approaches the temple door and listens quickly before gesturing at the others to see if one would like to lead the way.
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Karist watched the creature finally succumb to the attacks of his colleagues. When Ko'Faahin pauses to look at the door of the temple, and then back at the rest of them, he realized what she expected.
"Let me get that," he said as he closed the distance to the door in a hurry and made an effort to open the large door.
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Ko'Faahin hears absolutely nothing from the other side of the door, prompting Karist to open it. Inside the shrine, you see wooden statues of two deities, both now chopped and marred by hobgoblin weapons, stand in their own alcoves in the northwest end of the shrine. Alcoves on either side of these two 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, their faces contorted in looks of terror.
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Karist looked over the grisly scene and his stomach cramped, but he moved into the room and started to scan each of those killed. Then he saw it, movement, slight it seemed. He held up his hand and stared intently at the body and saw it again. "Help me, there is someone alive here. Help me get this other body off of them."
He moved quickly and tried to lift off the corpse of the dead adult. "I need help, quickly."
Shessik responds quickly to Karist's call, putting his powerful frame to use moving the debris and the fallen.
Ko'Faahin rushes over to help the others, but the survivor is already free when she gets there. With a quick burst of golden light, she takes this opportunity to heal not only her companions, but also the townsperson.
Ko'Faahin nods to Karist and bends to help him lift the person onto the pew.
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The body of the adult male is easily removed by Thakus and Shessik and the young boy underneath is able to be pulled to safety. As Ko'Faahin offers a burst of positive energy, the boy's breathing becomes more easy, though he does not wake. Looking around the room, it appears that the hobgoblins made off with everything they could take, and destroyed what they couldn't.
"Cannot fight if carrying him. Your choice," says Shessik.
Ko'Faahin shakes her head as she reaches into her pouch for one of the vials given them by the alchemist and carefully lifts the boys head to pour the liquid down his throat.