Czein lifts his axe, ready to come crashing down on the unsuspecting goblin.
The goblin scampers eagerly towards the door, alone. He looks over his shoulder to see he's being ignored by the others. With a shrug, he cheerfully scampers over to the door. Suddenly, a big meaty fist sticks out through the doorway, yanking the goblin into the passage. There, Czein calmly sweeps his head off.
Despite being in clear view of one of the goblins, the party is still noisy enough that nobody has noticed.
Whispering, Hector asks, "So what's the plan? Are there anymore where that poor fella came from?"
"Recommend we find out quickly and deal with them, or else retreat and leave," Raven hisses. Despite the urgency of her voice, her expression is abstracted at best, even slightly distracted.
Crystal nods at Juid as she hands the reins of his donkey off to him before noticing Czein beheading a stray goblin.
"Ready to go." She twirls an arrow in her fingers before nocking it.
"there are a lot in that room, and I don't fancy fighting all of them in this narrow place. I'd bet we could take them in the open. Maybe we do crash that big door and run in this one at the same time?"
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"I'm really not an expert on that matter, but I have read some of the great generals' work. Since they outnumber us, wouldn't we an advantage in a narrow space, where their numbers don't matter? "
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"I might also remind us of the weather outside and the rather long fall should anyone come too close to the edge. I, too, am no expert on the art of fighting, but I think we would gain more advantage in their larger room, where all of our warriors could act in consort."
"I'm nearly two feet taller than this hallway, and Goblins can stand two wide here. If I could get a proper swing, maybe, but I'd still end up one on one with each Goblin and that Bugbear." Czein retreats back into the circle room to adress the others. "Looks like we're going to end up against those goblins one way or another, I say we do it on our terms. I should be able to smash through that door, which should get the party started. Beardy and the pale one, on my side shooting and whatever you do. Twinkletoes and metal girl, go around to the main door and, when you hear me yell, toss in some fireworks and flank them out. Baldy.... try not to get hurt, but I'm sure we'll need whatever it is you can offer to survive taking that big one down." Czein is obviously extremely excited about fighting and the strategy thereof.
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"Sounds like a plan. I will try to charm, that is with a spell, the big mean one. It shouldn't get him on our side, but at least put him off a bit. After that, well, let's say I'm good at making people be less effective. I also have one, but only one, aggressive spell. I'll wait for you, Czein, to tell me when to use it. You're leading this assault after all."
Ragnar stands now ready ten feet from the stuck door.
"Hold on, hold on," Raven says. "I think the room with the pit might be good. If we hold position on the side opposite the door and one of us lures the Goblins in, we can fire a volley of projectiles at them as they approach. Even if they split their forces, they will not be able to flank us."
"Hmm. I do not favor fighting from a defensive position, but I see the merit. What say you, Twinkletoes?"
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Raven blinks. "There will be plenty of excitement," she says, encouragingly. "Someone has to be the bait and keep ahead of the Goblins long enough to lure them into our trap."
Crystal snorts at Czein's name for her.
My name is Crystal. It's not that hard to remember.
"either way, I'll stay in the back rows. To me, luring them hear sounds like a good plan."
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”I’d prefer to make our stand here. We would still have the chance to escape through the secret passageway I guess and we would limit their movability more than ours.”
Juid's mind spins in confusion from all the options for clever killing.
"Are you certain we even need to go through all this trouble? Perhaps if the strongest among us challenged the bugbear to hand-to-hand combat and won, they would honor us by granting a request? Or, if these creatures are as dishonorable as their reputation, then maybe we should simply take out the big boss and his followers will scatter in fear? That's my two coppers, however, and perhaps that's all it's worth, given how little experience I have in such fights. Just place me where I need to stand with Pîsim behind me, and I'll do my part, be it healing or fire."
Crystal stands on the opposite side of the well, her arrow readied in her bow.
Raven goes to stand beside Crystal, another of her explosive flasks ready. She inserts the metal rod into the clay stopper, but does not drive it home into the syrupy liquid yet...
Juid nods and leads Pîsim beside Raven and stands next to him. He prepares himself mentally and breathes deeply to control his emotions. His hands are already warmer, even more so that usual, and he has a firebolt at the ready.
The group positions themselves in preparation for an onslaught from the goblins to the north. The door itself is still stuck fast.
Once everyone is set, Czein Kicks the door.
Czein throws up his enormous foot and the door manages to slide partway open. With the door ajar, there is a sudden shrill sound of panic from the north. Although the door has not opened entirely, it is wide enough for a small creature to squeeze through. Czein can see some barrels that were packed against the door as a weak barricade.
Most importantly, the group has now been noticed.
The goblins and bugbear all charge for the door! However, the pile of debris used as a barricade have made things difficult. Still, an enterprising but not-too-bright goblin starts to squeeze through towards Czein.
The goblin in the front tries to squeeze through and stab out at Czein, but only manages to bang its hand on the wall. The remaining goblins just crowd into the passageway.
Red
Grey
White
---
Czein
---
Green
Purple
Yellow
Blue
BUgbear
---
Crystal
Raven
Ragnar
Hector
Juid
Czein splatters the little thing and backpedals out of the way of his teammates' attacks, laughing the whole time.
Czein swings his axe down and splatters the goblin. The others shriek and start trying to push through until the bugbear roars a command at them in their language. They stop and the bugbear snarls at the group before taking off out of sight to the west, followed by some of the goblins. One other goblin charges off northwards further into the dungeon.
Crystal lines up a shot on the closer of the two goblins still in the hall ahead of them and lets it fly!
Crystal snaps off an arrow, which takes a goblin in the throat. It collapses to the ground, gurgling it's way to the afterlife. The goblin behind it gulps nervously.
Juid shifts his weight back and forth trying to get a good look at the foes. The pesky little green ones seem to blend well into the shadows, even when they're bleeding out. Knowing how poor his aim his, he delays until he has a better reading on the situation.
Some of them might be coming around the long way. I can't see them in the shorter tunnel any longer. Juid states the obvious with absolute conviction.
"Quick! Someone put a sword or anything in the gap under the secret door to block it! "
Ragnar then makes way for any of his comrades that want to pass. He himself doesn't appear to have a dagger or anything else that might help.
He also shoots the first goblin in the tunnel a mean look, unsettling it even further.
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The goblin meets Ragnar's eyes and then shrieks, covering its own face. It is having a bad day.
Juid readies an action to cast burning disarm on the bugbear when it appears.
Hector and Raven look around at move over to the door at Ragnar's suggestion, hauling a large, rusted-out gear. They use it to block the door. As they block off the door, the group can hear the bugbear barking out orders of some kind.
A goblin appears in the passage, and points at the group, jabbering something at the bugbear. Your hear a roared command from the bugbear echo down the passageway. The goblin to the north scampers off, groaning and holding its head from Ragnar's hex. The bugbear and the other goblins do not advance.
End of Combat
You hear a click and the sound of a door opening.
Crystal's pride in her accurate shot is dampened by the sound of a door opening.
"Door opening. Be ready--I think they're trying to go around."
"Is it just me or did out plan fail spectacularly? As it appears, we are trapped and they are up to something we surely won't like."
"I don't like this. Now our backs are against the wall and they have the advantage. There is a reason I suggested assaulting them."
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No enemies remain within sight. A quick peer in the peephole shows an empty hallway.
"If we make haste, we yould make it outside through the secret tunnel," Ragnar starts, adding: "Or they are sitting in the main hallway wayting for us... I think we messed that up pretty good."
"Perhaps we should have taunted them to approach, rather than scaring them off? I really don't know. It's fairly clear that standing around this well isn't going to help much. Czein, your instincts appear well-suited to fighting these creatures. Why don't you tell us how to proceed and I'll do my part?"
"Someone with a bow follow behind me. Twinkletoes, bring up the rear. Might as well go hunting, I want the big one. No more defense." Czein snarls.
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Crystal nocks another arrow. "Oh, why not?" She moves to follow Czein.
Which way is the group going? You can see at least two options, the secret passage to the northwest, and the formerly blocked off passage to the north.
Juid falls in line with Pîsim right behind him. "We might have actually scared them off. I mean, who but the most powerful of individuals would be expected to just appear on the mountain like that and enter their lair unseen?" Juid ponders.
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Czein heads to the north door, squeezes through, and easily tosses aside the debris and goblin corpses. The group make their way into the main area where the goblins and bugbear were enjoying their feast of pickled fish.
The room contains a variety of barrels that look to have once contained food before it was messily upended and devoured.
Exits lead in all four cardinal directions. A distant giggle echoes through the halls, though from where it is difficult to determine.
Crystal aims her bow everywhere, trying to determine where the giggling is coming from.
"Giggles? These creatures are disturbing in the extreme. What manner of horror do they have in store for us?" Juid says softly.
As Ragnar enters the room, he takes a good look around and tries to estimate the enemy's numbers by the used dishes and mugs on the tables, or at least by the space available in here.
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