While trying to paddle to the best of his ability, Juid injects, "That temple to Pharasma might be a wondeful target. Not only might we free up some resistance fighters but they might also have some useful resources hidden away."
Czein, Crystal, Flexx, and Sutandir all dress in their crude hobgoblin uniforms while Juid and Ragnar play the role of prisoners. The boat starts to paddle ever closer to the cathedral of Pharasma.
Both of the hobgoblins at the gate seems to notice the boat coming in from a good distance out. The walls of the town extend well out into the lake, and one of the hobgoblins runs out along the edge of the wall to stand on a somewhat crumbling turret. He calls something out in his coarse language.
"I don't speak goblin, do any of you?"
Sutandir pretends that he hasn't heard the guard calling out yet.
Crystal keeps her eyes down and shakes her head.
Dammit. Dammit. Dammit. We're compromised... or are we?
The group continues to paddle closer, saying nothing as the hobgoblin on the turret continues to call out. The boat continues to move in closer as the hobgoblin calls out. After a while, it shuts up and instead trains a longbow on the boats, but does not quite fire. It calls something out once more.
[small]"We are too far off for me to charm him,"[/small] Ragnar whispers, letting the others know he won't be of any help at the moment.
Since he doesn't speak any goblin, he at least tries to help by playing prisoner. Ragnar stretches his arms, so the lookout might spot the rope with which they are loosely bound.
"First captured, now shot? What kind of idiots are you!" the mage shouts in common, hoping to get put down by one of his 'guards'. Hopefully this little show will distract the hobgoblin long enough for them to get close.
Sutandir tries to look the part, but keeps one hand on a small vial.
You catch, repeated over and over, 'who', and the plural second person 'all of you'. Basically - identify yourselves.
Sutandir puts on a face of total dejection as he stares down at the water, doing his best to help with his role as prisoner while Ragnar puts on a convincing show of brutally lecturing his prisoners in common.
"They want to know who we are, "Ragnar whispers.
Dann it, now would be a good time to remember what even 'shut your trap' means, let alone 'we are the patrol bringing in prisoners', Ragnar thinks.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Having a gift with languages, Ragnar has picked up a certain amount of goblin on the way already. He's fairly sure the word for prisoners is banduan.
"Banduan!" Czein repeats Ragnar's word, trying to sound like the ones from earlier.
-Posted with Wayfinder
After a long, hard stare at the group the hobgoblin on the turret grunts and calls something back out, waving his hand.
"Mengapa anda pada bot? Membawa tawanan ke pantai. Saya akan mendapatkan mereka ke penjara, kemudian melaporkan kepada ketua pasukan dalam pada mana askar anda lain!"
He then turns and marches back to his post.
He was speaking quickly, but you get the impression you have permission to come to shore. Something about taking the prisoners. ANd then go to the inn.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"I think he bought it. We may dock and... well, something about taking the prisoners and coming to the inn I guess. He spoke pretty fast, I'm not sure I got everything he said," Ragnar explains to his comrades.
-Posted with Wayfinder
The group manage to bring their boat to the shore. Dozens of boats are beached on the shore throughout the town, and a variety of different huts of varying construction stretch out before them. A major road through the town is a little ways to the south, leading west and east. A big building is to the southeast, which Marit identified as the textile factory. South of that is the enormous cathedral of Pharasma.
One of the hobgoblins on the city walls has descended to the ground floor, with the obvious intention of approaching the group.
Czein keeps his back turned as if tightening Ragnar's bonds once they are off the boat. "how many?" he whispers, "can any besides that one see us?" What he was actually fidgeting with was his axe, hidden from the approaching threat.
After a beat he adds "I think I have a plan... Beardy, once we see a good blind spot, you shove me away and make a dash for that area, then everyone has an excuse to follow. Once the guard catches up, we relieve him of his duties."
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Understood, will do. "
-Posted with Wayfinder
Sutandir maintains a sullen expression and nods slightly to indicate he understands the plan.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"big building to your left, good spot. Ready? Three, two, one... Oof!" after a nod from Ragnar, Czein counted down and fell onto the other "guards" as if shoved effectively by the Witch. As the clamor happened, The huge ranger scooped up Juid, hauling him like another prisoner.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"You can count? Backward?" Juid stammers out as he's lifted and hauled forward.
With Czein's arms full, Ragnar gives him a rough shove and then makes a break for it. There's a cry from the turret and the hobgoblin wandering over breaks into a run as Ragnar cuts behind the building!
Having been quiet the whole time, Crystal seizes the opportunity and chases Ragnar behind the building. After moving 30 feet, she stops and readies an arrow to loose at the hobgoblin as it follows.
Sutandir grunts and gives chase, waiting until he is behind the building to draw his very un-hobgoblin-like rapier.
With Ragnar charging off, the group immediately give chase while Czein has Juid ingloriously thrown over his shoulder.
The hobgoblin charges around the edge of the building, cutting off its line of sight with the other hobgoblin on the wall. It races around the corner, and staggers back as an arrow flies into its chest!
The hobgoblins stares in shock at the group, clutching at the arrow but remains upright.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Knowing he doesn't look much like a hob guard, Sutandir nonetheless pretends to be moving up to help corral the escaped prisoner as he advances.
After unceremoniously dropping Juid, Czein returns the free hand to his axe and barely breaks stride to charge directly at the poor schmuck rounding the corner. About two steps in he sees the Hobgoblin fighting off sleepiness like the one earlier and does a stutter step to give time for the effects to either kick in or fail before his swing.
Flexx will reposition himself in case of reinforcements and wait.
Juid will use his move action to rise inelegantly and dust himself off.
The hobgoblin rounds the corner, stops in his track as an arrow hits him in the chest, and then passes out, snoring peacefully. All of this happened before he was able to make a sound.
End of Combat
You now stand on the western wall of the textile factory. The cathedral sprawls out to the south. Another hobgoblin is still on the gate, but has not responded to anything yet.
"Let's go get the one at the gate. Same trick as here? " Ragnar asks, then adds, pointing at the downed Hobgoblin "Someone take care of this one? I'm not sure I can handle my mace well enough to make it quick. "
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Let's go get the one at the gate. Same trick as here? " Ragnar asks, then adds, pointing at the downed Hobgoblin "Someone take care of this one? I'm not sure I can handle my mace well enough to make it quick. "
-Posted with Wayfinder
"Take care of ... you mean, just finish him off?" Sutandir looks a little pale at the thought of killing the guard outright.
"You were with us in that fishing village now weren't you?" Ragnar states as if it would explain everything.
Well, for him it does. The village changed everything. While he knew before, that Hobgoblins were bad news. The pile of dead bodies at the small fishing village showed the true horror of their crimes to him.
That Hobgoblin guard was a monster, nothing more. And monsters are to be put to the sword.
With that he advances to the corner of the building and takes a quick look around. The plan is to charge out and flee along the road towards the gate. The guards, meaning his friends, follow him. As soon as they get to the gate, they kill the Hobgoblin stationed there. But all of this relies on teh fact, that the guard is alone and won't sound an alarm before they reach him...
Crystal evidently agrees with Ragnar--she walks up to the hobgoblin guard and coldly puts an arrow through his eye.
She then bends over and rips her first arrow out of the guard's chest. She tries to do the same to the second arrow, but it's stuck too deep to get out.
"They have attacked, enslaved, and murdered innocents. They have also desecrated a holy cathedral to my Lady. They are reaping what they have sowed, nothing more." Her voice is devoid of emotion.
Crystal's arrow kills the hobgoblin instantly, whose body gives an unnerving jolt as the arrow pierces his heart before he goes still.
Vi flies up and can spot some activity from something she feels is dangerous far down the road on the other side of town. Still, not too far if an alarm is raised.
Despite Ragnar's own distracted thoughts, he can spot the hobgoblin on the gate. The hobgoblin is intently peering out to where his companion ran. He hasn't raised any alarm, though, and does not see Ragnar peering around the edge of the building.
Crystal readies another arrow and sidles up against the building.
"So, how are we going to do this?" She whispers.
"Street looks pretty clear, we can try the same ruse again."
"I'm ready, let's hope he's not a good shot. " Ragnar says, swallowing down the fear that's crawling up and making his skin crawl.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Ragnar inhales deeply, and then charges southwards across the street. However, the hobgoblin, having grown suspicious at his companion's disappearance, simply looses an arrow at Ragnar! Vi chrips in fear as the arrow rips a hole in Ragnar's arm, causing a shallow, but nasty wound.
The hobgoblin roars something out from its tower, but otherwise does not move.
"Grodunk, apa yang sedang berlaku?!"
It seems to be calling out to its companion to ask where the hell he is.
Juid gasps as Ragnar is hit but settles down when the caster remains on his feet. "So now, we run?"