"One of the hobgoblins thought they heard something," Kudera says, as quietly as she can, to the others. "We can't give them a chance to hurt that villager who's still alive."
Rayne nods her acknowledgement to Kudera as she waits for the hobgoblin to come to the doors. She's torn between hiding and attacking, but that indecision is very brief. Using the rage inside her as her driving force, she swings around as soon as the door opens, driving her daggers into the unsuspecting hobgoblin.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Dalvin quickly follows suit, swinging his sickle into the hobgoblin's side.
Dalvin orders Drako to attack the second hobgoblin about to execute the villager.
Drako tries to take a bite out of the female hobgoblin.
The hobgoblin opens the door and is immediately hexed by Kudera. Grunting in surprise, the hobgoblin turns to face the witch, giving Rayne an opening. Her dagger slides into the warrior's kidney, leaving a bloody gash. Dalvin lands a grazing blow as well.
The wounded hobgoblin steps back from the doorway, allowing Arthorion to rush forward, Aubrin's sword in hand. He too lands a blow on the poor wretch that opened the door, slashing the Ironfang's arm to the bone. Despite this, the pot-bellied hobgoblin still stands defiant and raises its longsword.
The female hobgoblin, eyes wide in shock, tries to pull her axe from the altar she had been hacking, but the weapon is firmly wedged in the wood.
Kudera reaches for the wand of magic missile in her pocket. Pointing it at the hobgoblin, she tries to bring him down.
Kudera walks to stand in front of the open door and casts her gaze at the hobgoblin still inside.
Rayne shoves past the mortally wounded hobgoblin and stalks towards the next, twirling her daggers menacingly in her hands as she stares at the creature with an unsettling grin. As the goblin struggles with her stuck weapon, Rayne darts forward and plunges her weapons into her target's torso.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Watching for a moment with awe as Rayne eviscerates the second hobgoblin, Dalvin pulls back his sickle and swings again at the solider at the door.
Kudera's wand spits out a bolt of arcane energy, knocking down the wounded hobgoblin.
Up close, it's obvious that the female is a different sort of warrior than the hobgoblins encountered earlier. Her armor and kit are lighter and camouflaged, her face is painted to blend into the surroundings.
Rayne's knives slash into the female hobgoblin, although the warrior is able to square herself up to the rogue, preventing the devastating strikes to vulnerable areas that Rayne was able to land earlier.
Dalvin surges forward as well, landing a glancing blow with his sickle.
Arthorion moves around the edge of the shrine, unable to reach the scout due to the pews blocking the way.
The scout tears her axe from the altar and swings at Rayne's head, but the rogue is easily able to duck under.
Ducking under the swing of the hobgoblin's axe, Rayne lashes out again, swinging her blades upwards.
Dalvin whistles for Drako to follow him into the shrine. Pushing back his curiosity at the difference in this one's appearance, he takes another swing at the hobgoblin.
Kudera nearly drops her wand as the hobgoblin falls before her.
Did I... did I actually do that? she wonders.
She looks down to see her hands are shaking. She had killed someone. Granted, that someone was an evil hobgoblin, but it was still a someone.
Kudera shakes her head in frustration. She couldn't afford to be weak. Not now. There was still another hobgoblin inside.
Her hands still shook as she tried to activate her wand and her efforts fell short.
Rayne and Arthorion combine to cut down the hobgoblin scout, adding one more body to the carnage of the room. The man being held hostage, now free from his captors, scrambles across the room to collapse on to Rayne.
"Thank the gods you've come," he stammers. "They took half of us away and was killin' the rest. I were next!"
A burlap sack, filled with loot, lies in the center of the shrine.
As soon as the second hobgoblin falls, Kudera stows her wand and runs over to the surviving man, grabbing him by his arms in what she perceives as a forceful manner.
"Have you seen my brothers? Daxton and Gilroy? We've been looking everywhere for them. Did they... did they pass through here?" She refused to ask outright if they were among the slain.
Nevertheless, Kudera finds herself turning over bodies and examining each one, hoping against hope that none of them are either of her brothers. Kudera tries to convince herself that she's merely searching the bodies to see if any of them are still alive, but deep down, she just wants to make sure her brothers aren't among the slain. She really isn't sure what she'll do if her brother or brothers are among the fallen.
Please, guardian, she begs again for at least the dozenth time, let me find them alive.
Rayne leaves Kudera to her investigation and makes her way to the burlap sack in the middle of the shrine, stepping carefully over bodies and blood. She didn't know how to handle other people's emotions, but potential valuables? Those she knew what to do with. As she nears the sack, her practiced eyes take in their surroundings, looking for something that could indicate a trap.
Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, Rayne opens the bag and peers inside.
Dalvin puts his sickle away, grimacing at the grim scene of the shrine now that he wasn't absorbed in the fight. "Do you know where they were taking them?" he asks, knowing the question is futile. They were probably being led straight to the tower like all the others. At least one person was alive and safe.
He cautiously approaches the freshly slain hobgoblin and searches her corpse for anything they might be able to use.
"We're gathering any survivors we can find and sending them to the bridge to cross into the forest," Dalvin explains after he's done his search. "Aubirn the Green will be there. Are you able to walk?"
The man gapes at Kudera. "Oh, gods. Kudera. Daxton and Kilroy were here. They were here, but when the hobs came, they fled out the back."
a silver cup, a hand-sized darkwood carving of a butterfly, three bottles of Oldlaw whiskey, a pouch of gold dust, 27 small semiprecious
stones, and 76 gp, as well as a round ivory amulet engraved with Erastil’s bow-and-arrow holy symbol strung on a leather thong.
Among the dead hobgoblins, Dalvin finds a longsword, longbow, studded leather armor, padded armor, masterwork battleaxe, composite longbow (+2 Str), handaxe, backpack, bedroll, blanket, mess kit, small tent, 40 arrows, and 7 gp.
The man nods and rises to Dalvin's question. "Aye, I can walk."
Rayne takes each item from the sack one by one, examining them before placing them on the floor next to her.
The gems and gold she silently pockets before turning to the rest of the group.
"Hey, Kudera. Catch." She tosses the wand to the witch. "I don't know what it is, but it looks like it could be helpful for you." After inspecting everything to her satisfaction, she returns the rest of the loot to the bag. "Nothing else seems useful. There's what looks to be a holy amulet of some sort, some booze, a cup, a butterfly carving, a pouch of gold dust... nothing to write home about."
She walks over to Dalvin. "Nice find. We need all the help we can get."
Dalvin grins as Rayne walks over. "Some of that might help morale when we get to the forest," Dalvin says with a hint of humor in his voice as he looks at the whiskey. "There's some good stuff for camping. We'll need it. Blanket, bedroll, a mess kit, a tent... Some weapons too, if you wanna look through them quickly. I think they're too big for me," he adds, shrugging.
Dalvin looks over at Kudera. "Do you... do you want to go look at the caretaker's place? Maybe they hid out in there."
Rayne hefts the bag onto her shoulder, chuckling at Dalvin. "Right you are. Whiskey is good for the soul, after all." She looks over the loot. "Yeah, camping supplies will probably come in handy. As for the weapons," she says, patting the dagger on her hip, "I've got what I need. We should distribute these among the group we've collected though. They aren't fighters, but better safe than sorry."
Kudera is filled with a sense of relief and dread at the same time when the man tells her that Daxton and Gilroy had left.
Her emotions almost keep her from hearing Rayne and she barely manages to catch the wand. She glances at the wand for the briefest of moments, but she's too concerned about her brothers to discern the wand's use. She stows it away for later.
She runs to the back entrance and cautiously looks out, hoping by some miracle she'll see her brothers hiding somewhere nearby.
Kudera glances back at Dalvin when he asks about the nearby building.
"Yes, yes, I think we should take a look. If they're not in there, perhaps we'll find someone else."
Kudera frowns as the whiskey joke passes between Dalvin and Rayne. Uncharacteristically, she finds herself saying, "How can you joke about whiskey right now? There are other people besides my brothers out there still."
The witch pauses for a moment before blushing and saying, "I... I'm sorry. I just can't stop worrying about my brothers. Come on. Let's check out the caretaker's place."
"We should distribute these among the group we've collected though. They aren't fighters, but better safe than sorry."
Dalvin nods in agreement. "Yeah, I agree." He looks to the man they rescued. "Sorry, we haven't even asked what your name is! When you go to the bridge, can you bring the weapons with you to Aubirn and the others?"
Kudera frowns as the whiskey joke passes between Dalvin and Rayne. Uncharacteristically, she finds herself saying, "How can you joke about whiskey right now? There are other people besides my brothers out there still."
The witch pauses for a moment before blushing and saying, "I... I'm sorry. I just can't stop worrying about my brothers. Come on. Let's check out the caretaker's place."
Dalvin looks apologetically over to Kudera. "Sorry, Kudera. Didn't mean to upset you. Alright, let's head over there."
Kudera sees no sign of her brothers outside.
The man looks at Dalvin. "My name's Dendour, and yeah, I'll carry it with me." His eyes widen. "Hold on a minute, you're coming with me, right?"
The small shack nearby belonged to the shrine's caretaker Noelan. The door hangs open. No sounds come from inside.
Glancing back at the others, Kudera recognizes the ivory symbol. "That's a symbol of Erastil. It belongs to Lirosa, the half-elf hunter we rescued back at the smithy. I'm sure she'd be happy to have it back."
With no sign of her brothers, Kudera sees the door to the caretaker's shack open nearby. She draws her wand of magic missile from her pocket and waits for the others to lead the way, knowing she's ill-equipped to do so.
Dalvin looks at Dendour with surprise, but then remembers the last several times they found survivors they had been in groups or Aubirn had been right behind them. "We need to check out the caretaker's shack," he says slowly, looking at the others. "But if you wanna stick by us you can. Just be careful and stay quiet."
He pulls out his bow and readies an arrow as they approach the shack.
As Kudera chides Rayne and Dalvin before apologizing, the rogue studies the young witch for a moment, her face unreadable. Watching Kudera unravel was an uncomfortable reminder of Rayne's current circumstance and her very recent past, which she was doing her best to quietly, privately, deal with. Seeing a bit of herself mirrored in Kudera was... unsettling. After a moment she moves to her side. "Look, I know what you're feeling right now, Kudera," she says softly and matter-of-factly, placing a hand on the girl's shoulder. "I've been in your situation." More recently than I'd like to think about. "And one way or another, you're going to get through it. You just need to stay focused." She gives her shoulder a squeeze.
"That's a symbol of Erastil. It belongs to Lirosa, the half-elf hunter we rescued back at the smithy. I'm sure she'd be happy to have it back."
"Well, we'll have to get it back to her, then." Rayne takes the amulet and slips it around her neck for safekeeping.
She then points at the man. "You. Dendour, you said? If you're coming with us while we check out that shack, grab a weapon. We'll try to keep you out of any fighting, but you need something to defend yourself with, just in case." Readying her daggers, she follows the others to the shack.
Noelan's shack is a rustic affair; a humble wooden abode with little beyond a bed, a writing desk, and a crude iron stove.
Rayne stops abruptly when she hears a noise, looking over her shoulder to her companions and pointing silently at the bed. As she slowly circles the bed, her foot lands on a hollow-sounding floorboard. She kneels and pries it open with one of her daggers, making sure to keep an eye on the room. After a moment she hauls a sack from the floor and dumps its contents onto ground in front of her, quickly checking out its contents. She can't tell much about the items that come tumbling out, but some of it looks like it could be helpful.
She grips her daggers tightly, staring hard in the direction of the noise. "Hey. You under the bed. Is this stuff yours?" She stands and takes a step towards the bed. "I suggest you come out from under there now," she says sternly. "I've about had it up to here with surprises today."
Dalvin enters cautiously behind Rayne, bow still drawn. The noise passes by him unnoticed, and he's about to drop his weapon down to his sides when Rayne calls out. He turns his attention to the bed, not wanting to take any chances.
"We're here to help," the gnome calls out, trying to cover for his drawn weapon.
With no sign of her brothers, Kudera decides to let Rayne and Dalvin deal with whoever or whatever is under the bed while she examines the contents of the sack.
Arthorion hangs in the back of the group, close to Flora and Rowena. He motions for Dandour to approach them, and holds up a hobgolbin sword. "Here, take it" he urges the man, before giving him a few tips on how to properly wield and swing a sword. He then drifts off staring at Rowena, who seems distracted while gently rocking Flora back and forth, singing a soft and sweet lullaby. Her voice has always had a soothing effect on Arthorion, and for a moment, the miller lets go of the tension and rage that have taken hold of him this night. The moment is fleeting: he soon snaps out of this trance, striving to stay fully alert. He approaches the cabin's door, waiting to see how things play out, his sword ready. "Come out, please," he says with a tired voice.
The silver dust is worth 150 gp.
A pair of young boys slide out from under the bed, their clothes grimy from soot and blood. One of them sees Kudera sifting through the bag and shouts, "Kudera!"
Daxton and Gilroy rush towards their sister, bowling her over and on to the floor.
Arthorion sighs in relief, happy for Kudera and her brothers. He approaches the kids and rounds them up as soon as they are all done hugging their sister. "Alright boys, we need to get going," he says gently, helping Kudera to her feet. The miller looks around the room. "That's it, I guess. Time's up. We must get to the bridge now and hope the rest made it."
Arthorion heads walks up to the door and tries to get everyone together in a block formation. Heading out of the cabin with sword and shield ready, he takes the front of the group. "Rayne, you have the explosives, right?"
Dalvin quickly lowers his bow as the two children come out from under the bed. When it becomes clear these two are Kudera's missing brothers, the gnome takes a step back to give them space. While they have their moment, Dalvin takes a look at the magical contents of the bag that Kudera had been examining as well.
"That's it, I guess. Time's up. We must get to the bridge now and hope the rest made it."
"I'm sure Aubirn got everyone to the bridge safely," Dalvin replies, though his face betrays the uncertainty in his gut.
Kudera was so focused on the contents of the bag that for a moment she thought she was being attacked when her brothers leaped on her.
Then she heard them calling out her voice simultaneously and a huge grin spread across her face. Tears of joy soon followed and a sense of relief flooded inside her. She was finally reunited with her whole family.
Grabbing each with one of her hands, she wrapped her arms around them, embracing them in a group hug. It was so good to have them so close again. Kudera thinks it'll be a while before the grin on her face goes away.
Then she remembers the state Phaendar's in and realizes she could still lose them at anytime. All it would take is a legion of hobgoblins coming along. They wouldn't stand a chance.
Looking at them both in turn, Kudera says, "I love you both, so don't you ever do that to me or our parents again. I couldn't live with myself if I lost either of you."
"Yeah, I already had to save one of you before," Moz adds. "I don't know if I could do it again."
Kudera scowls at Moz for interrupting her moment with her brothers. But, to be fair, this is just as much a reunion for him.
Looking back at her brothers, Kudera says, "We have to go now. No more hiding. We have to run if we want to survive. Nowhere in Phaendar is safe now. We're making for the Phaendar bridge and taking everyone we can along with us. It's time to be brave."
Looking at Arthorion, Dalvin, and Rayne, Kudera smiles and nods at them, knowing this reunion wouldn't have been possible without their help. Most of all, she is thankful to the guardian. He hadn't let her down, so she is determined to see her parents, her brothers, and the other survivors of Phaendar over the bridge to safety.
Standing to her feet, Kudera says simply, "Let's go."
Rayne eases up on her daggers as the two young boys crawl out from under the bed and knock Kudera to the floor. She watches them for a moment with mixed emotions before turning her attention to the miller and his question.
"I do indeed," she replies, patting the small sack of powder. "Let's get to the bridge, and quick."
Colorful gobs of lichen and moss dapple the ancient, basalt bridge here at the Marideth’s narrowest crossing. The ravine below drops twenty feet into raging whitewater and jagged, exposed boulders. To the northwest stands a ramshackle shed and a weathered but sturdy-looking wooden crane. The doors to the shed are smashed open. Twenty some bloody and motionless bodies litter the ground, and above them flap banners painted with an ominous, fanged red shield. To the north, three hundred feet past the bridge, a wall of trees and ferns marks the edge of the Fangwood.
A female hobgoblin, the fires in Phaendar reflecting from her steel armor, stands guard on the bridge. A hulking wolf sits next to her, ears perked. When she spies the approaching group, she cries out in alarm and fires a crossbow towards the party.
The bolt takes Kudera in the shoulder, punching through her clothes.
Kudera cries out in pain before biting her tongue and putting a hand over her mouth. She can't afford to attract the attention of more hobgoblins.
Focusing her attention on the female hobgoblin, Kudera draws a wand and points it at the hobgoblin.
Her efforts to activate the wand aren't quite enough to get it to work.
Dalvin's head swings towards Kudera as she takes the bolt in the shoulder. Eyes wide, he steps out to get a better shot at the hobgoblin and points for Drako to attack.
Snarling, Rayne rushes forward, daggers in hand as she focuses intently on getting to the hobgoblin on the bridge.
Brandishing his sword and protecting his advance with a shield held up in front of his chest, Arthorion dashes into the bridge to meet the hobgoblin that blocks their way.
The hobgoblin ducks under Dalvin's arrow and drops her crossbow. She reaches to her belt and pulls free a vial of green liquid and hurls it towards Arthorion.
The bottle breaks against Arthorion's shield, but the contents immediately catch fire, bursting into brilliant green flames. The flaming liquid splashes on to the miller's arm, flames licking at his face. Globs of burning goo hit Rayne as well, leaving small burn marks across her clothing and armor.
The wolf surges forward and snaps at Rayne, catching the rogue's wrist in its jaws. It tries to drag her to the ground, but Rayne stays on her feet.
"No!" Kudera can't help but call out as Arthorion and Rayne are injured. Rayne looks particularly hurt from the dog's bite.
"Hang in there! I'm coming!"
Dalvin quickly moves up and takes another shot at the hobgoblin.
And curses as he misses by a mile.
Drako continues running to the wolf and tries to take a bite out of its neck.
The splash of acid hurts, but Rayne has felt pain much worse than that. The large wolf attempting to tear her down is another story, however. Swearing angrily in every language she knows, she struggles to break free from its jaws, acutely aware of its teeth ripping through her armor and skin. She finally wrests her arm free from the beast's mouth and drops into a defensive stance, glancing back and forth between the wolf and the amount of blood pouring from her mangled arm as she makes her way to Kudera.
"Kudera..." she mumbles weakly, her eyes glassy as she looks at the girl. "Little help? Please?"
Arthorion asnwers Rayne's call and stops his advance towards the goblin to focus on the wolf that threatens the half-elf. His own blood seems to boil with rage, a burning sensation from within that helps him ignore the fire that spreads from his shield to the clothing of his left arm. Stepping sideways, Arthorion swings his sword, bringing the blade down against the ferocious beast.
Arthorion slashes the wolf, slicing through fur and flesh. The beast whines in pain, retreating with its tail between its legs. The hobgoblin warrior steps forward, drawing a wickedly curved blade and hefting a heavy shield.
"I am Kergri," she declares to Arthorion.
In the back of his mind, Arthorion acknowledges the hobgoblin's name. Kergri. Maybe he should talk to her. Parley. Tell her to back off, let them through... let her live. Normally, that is what he would do. But it is the dragon who is in control now; the feral, murderous legacy that ignites every ounce of his blood and that commands his actions. The rider to whom he is merely a passenger. The miller can barely articulate a reply to Kergri's introduction, and the words that crawl out of his throat are anything but concilitaory. "I don't care," he growls, raising the sword above his head and bringing it down almost blindly.
Dalvin pauses for a moment as the wolf draws back, and watches the hobgoblin and Arthorion with anticipation, unsure of what would follow. Seeing his friend disregard Kergri's declaration, Dalvin decides to follow suit and runs up to get to the other side of the hobgoblin warrior.
Now standing next to Rayne, Kudera uses the last of her prepared spells to heal some of the rogue's injuries.
"Hang in there, Rayne. We're going to make it through this night alive."
Rayne gasps as the healing magic courses through her, bringing her back what what could have been, in her opinion, a very unsatisfactory death. She gives the witch a shaky grin and a quick squeeze on the shoulder before turning and rushing back towards the hobgoblin.
Dodging around Arthorion, she lashes out with renewed vigor.