Zig uses his longsword to cut bindings and free prisoners. His face looked extremely troubled, though...
it'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'sn otmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyfaultit'snotmyf aultit'snotmyfaultit'snotm-
nononononononoitwasn'tmeitwasn'tmyfault...
Distractedly, once the prisoners are freed, Zig starts looking around, seeing if there's anything he can find or do that will make up for his incompetence. He can't bear to look at the figure who hasn't yet moved.
Ian extends a hand to help CLaustipher to his feet, grimacing at the old man's wounds. "You look terrible, old man," he says. "And you need to be more careful. What were you thinking, just taking on a wolf like that? You're no hunter."
Claustipher nods.
"Yes, yes. I forget that I am not what I once was it seems. Still if this" he gestures to his wounds "is the price of saving people, like your parents...." he trails off in obvious pain.
Solace looks at the faces of the bodies they pass, sad because she knew them both from her times visiting the Shrine. Yet glad that she has yet to come across any bodies belonging to her family members.
The gruesome sight spurs her into running faster and trying to match speeds with Sander as they continue on to the Shrine.
:: Riverwood Shrine ::
As Sander and Solace round the Shrine, they can see the others of their group untying people inside. On the trip Sander will see that the spire is still in the center of the Market Green, with a few hundred armed figures surrounding a clearing around it. It looks like the clearing is full of townsfolk and plunder. Smaller groups still leave and depart the circle regularly, but it doesn't look like there's any sign of a concerted push outward with the main body of forces yet.
In the Shrine, the group frees Senna, Soria Turancross, Braeden Pravost, Lars, Sariah (Solace's Mother), Lorne (Solace's Father), Father Shamus, Maleen, Vero Caligni, and Steff Moss from their bindings.
Lars is unconscious, having taken the direct hit from the alchemist fire. Everyone else is awake and shows signs of having been tormented by their capturers, leaving them in a weakened state. Soria, Braeden, Sariah, Lorne, and Father Shamus also look slightly singed from the splash, but there look to be no lasting wounds.
Once the townsfolk are free Zig looks around the Shrine. On the bodies of the hobgoblins he finds:
3 sets of studded leather
2 longswords
3 light steel shields
1 longbow
1 composite long bow (+2 str)
35 arrows
1 masterwork battle axe
1 hand axe
1 set of padded armor
2 potions (Spell Craft DC 16)
1 Alchemist fire
30 lbs of food
6 gallons of water
Once again the evidence points towards a more prolonged stay, and not a quick raid. These hobgoblins have the same insignia as the last ones, with the leaders being more embellished.
There is also a pile of loot on the floor with the following:
A wand (spellcraft DC 16)
a silver cup
a hand-sized darkwood carving of a butterfly
three bottles of Oldlaw whiskey
100 gp worth of gold dust
27 small semiprecious stones
76 gp
a round
ivory amulet engraved with Erastil’s bow-and-arrow holy symbol strung on a leather thong
Outside, Ian, Marcus, and Claustipher hear a commotion and the sound of people moving withing the shack.
"Who's in there! Speak if you're friend!" Marcus yells at the door while brandishing his sword and raising his shield.
"Claustipher get behind me. You can't take much more old man." Marcus continues, affection in his voice. He is clearly impressed by your actions when he could muster naught but fear.
"Are you fine? Can you walk? You need to go to then forest, you'll meet others there.", she says to the captives. "You'll be fine once you get there, I'm sure the hobgoblins won't stay here for long, we might need to rebuild some thing but we'll be fine...", she tries to reassure them before turning to the rest of the group.
"We'll need every bit of supply we can carry, specially food and water, I know some of us can forage, but not for this many.", she'll take some water and food and put in her backpack.
"I can carry more, but it'll probably slow me down."
Outside Shrine:
"Yes, yes. You are right, I have no business in front."
Replying to the voices inside "We are friends I think. It is Claustipher as several others. Come out, we will help you get out of town."
He holds the wand of magic missile at the ready in case this is a trap.
Sander and Solace enter the shrine as the group is freeing the capture villagers. Seeing that most of the villagers are not in immediate need for medical care, Sander speaks up. "We need to move these people across the bridge with haste. The attackers remain in the Market Green in numbers greater than we can confront."
He points at the insignia on one of the fallen hobgoblins. "It is the Ironfang Legion that attacks....the butchers of Ramgate. They will show us no mercy. We need to check the other large buildings...where is Claustipher? And the boy?"
Elyas has started sorting the equipment and organizing the group of rescued townspeople, once again stepping in to organize quickly.
He hears Sander's words about the legion, and then realizes he hasn't seen the old man and the boy for some time.
"oh no, we lost them! Come on, they're outside!
Elyas grabs the composite bow and 15 arrows and runs towards the back door.
Ian pokes Claustipher. "I dunno if you've seen that massive horde of hobgoblins on the Market Green, but... Um... Are we gonna be thinking about going anytime soon? We're not soldiers, we're not heroes. At a certain point, we need to save ourselves."
Solace lets out a cry of joy at the sight of her mother and stepfather and rushes to hug them both, being mindful of any injuries that they may have. "Oh thank Erastil you both are alive. I've been searching for signs of anyone, but haven't found any yet."
Solace will help finish untying the former captives and make sure that they are all still capable of walking so that they can make the trek away from their pillaged city.
"We should try to find a campsite at least a half-days walk from here. Preferably one with a stream or other water source nearby. That length of a walk is likely more than the raiders would bother searching if they bother to patrol the outskirts of our city. Once safe we can take a little time to come up with a course of action of what to do about this whole situation."
Ian pokes Claustipher. "I dunno if you've seen that massive horde of hobgoblins on the Market Green, but... Um... Are we gonna be thinking about going anytime soon? We're not soldiers, we're not heroes. At a certain point, we need to save ourselves."
Clautipher nods as Ian speaks.
Yes, yes. We will flee but first see what is going on with the people in this building. We may not be heroes but we are no better then are attackers if we do not help people."
He calls to the people in the building again before moving to the door.
"Again this is Claustipher and Ian. We are opening the door to get you out."
Zig takes the Masterwork Battleaxe, silver cup, whiskey, gold dust, the semiprecious stones, the gp, and the carving of the butterfly. He takes the Erastil amulet to Daniil and sheepishly says,
"Umm... here. I think it's probably best if you have this one..."
At the alert from Marcus at the door, Zig once more braces himself for an attack, newly found battleaxe in-hand.
:: Inside the Shrine ::
"Solace, we had hoped you were still free! Why haven't you fled to the forest already?!" Sariah says to Solace, clearly more worried for her daughter than herself. As the three embrace, Lorne says"And have you seen Garth?"
When the embrace is over, Lorne sighs "I may be old, but I will be accompanying you if you go to rescue people. I haven't had to in a long time, but I can bring a bow to bear on our enemies." Lorne will put on a suit of studded leather armor and grad the remaining longbow and 10 arrows.
While Solace's reunion happens, Sander notices a small alcove where there should be a floor board under the center alter. He moves over and pulls the board away, revealing a pile of goods.
150 gp worth of silver dust
An Aegis of Recovery
A wand of cure light wounds (21 charges)
When Zig picks up the amulet of Erastil he recognizes it as belonging to a hunter named Lirosa who leaves it here in the Shrine to "charge up" when she is in town. It is one on Lirosa's most prized possessions.
The townsfolk pick up the remaining food, Maleen and Vero lifting the unconscious Lars up.
"We should all head to the bridge." Father Shamus state "There is not much any of us can do here. Though I will have to pray for the souls of those left behind for many days to find any solace in our survival." His voice is tinged with sadness and despair, but it remains strong because he must stay strong for teh others.
:: Outside the Shrine ::
"Claustipher, Ian, is that really you?" A muffled voice replies from beyond the door. You hear a lot of scrapping and a bit of crashing, as though a barricade is being moved, and hte door swings open. The face of Rhyna greets you, with a smile tinged with sadness. Behind her, you can see a crowd consisting of Kalleb Bellarue, Jaena Rowan, Elim Barlowe, Cynne Nemma, Garth Evenstride, Teaheel, and Helena Valdemar.
"Oh thank the gods! We thought for sure the hobgoblins would get us." Rhyna says."Unfortunately, they did manage to drag Erwyn Moss, Bail Tamran, and Simon away to the Market Green before we could block ourselves in." Tears well up in her eyes as she says this.
"It looks like you plan to keep saving people..." Kaleb says, "If thats the case I will be coming with you." With that Kaleb walks over to the Shrine to see whats left, and grabs some armor and weapons while he does so.
Claustipher looks at the group of 'heroes' that has been thrown together and realizes that with age comes some wisdom and even more expend-ability.
"My young friends. I feel compelled to save as many people as I can. At my age it is easy to put others first, they may even remember me well after I am gone. I would like to check a couple of other places."
He smiles. "Please take Ian to safty and see to his education. I will try and sneak to the Trading Company and, though it will be a greater risk, the Fine Shop. I owe it to some of them and I am just a foolish old man at this point."
Secertly he hopes some will come with him but he will go none the less.
Ian shakes his head. "No, we should all go together," he says. "There are literally hundreds of hobgoblins just around the corner, and there's only... what, ten, twelve of us? We need every person we can get."
"So, we're going to the shops? Makes sense that people would be there..."
Daniil takes the amulet from Zig, painfully smiled, and hopefully added, " I'll hold onto this until we find Lirosa."
:: Inside the Shrine ::
Curious. Sander removes the floorboard and lifts the items out. He hands off the pouch to Father Shamus, and offers the wand and Aegis to the gathered group.
"Those heading to the forest rendezvous should do so now. Every minute may count. As for the rest, I intend to continue on to the Trading Company and Oreld's."
Daniil examined the items that Sandor found and grabs the wand, "I'll take that, I should be able to put it to good use." He nodded his head in thanks at Sandor offered healing.
Seeing the look on the boys face Claustipher steps in. "Ian, take the wand. We will see if you can make it work. If not you can hold it for me to use later, I am already carrying a lot and have lost some blood."
Ian takes the second wand, looking at it with puzzlement. "How do I use it, Claustipher?" he asks, his eyebrows furrowing.
"Everyone gather up, it's time to move on before reinforcements arrive. Let's move on to the Trading Company, same formation we used to get here. The quicker we check the last two buildings, the quicker we can join the group we sent to the woods!
As everyone gets in position to move out, Elyas channels healing energy one more time, seeing how many of his companions are bloodied from the last skirmish
Olivia will take one of the potions.
"I'll be going ahead to see if there is any trouble, please don't take too long.", Olivia will sneak ahead as usual, heading to the Trading Company.
Responding to Ian "It should not be hard for you boy, you have the knack for this sort of thing after all. I think you will find that simply pointing the wand and repeating.." Claustipher makes sure he is not touching the wand and whispers the word. "Simpler then a spell you see but you must have the knack and when it is out of power it is just a stick. Use it carefully."
Ian nods vigorously, pointing the wand and mouthing the words. When he's sure that he remembers, he stuffs the wand into his pocket. "Ready."
Daniil indicated he was ready to move out. He notched an arrow and took his position in the formation.
:: The Phaendar Trading Company ::
The trip to the Trading Company is quick, though not without stress as the group of hobgoblins in the middle of the town slowly grows.
When you approach the Trading Company, you can see five hobgoblins standing outside the smithy. They all look scorched, stressed out and scared. However, they are laughing halfheartedly, pointing at the roof which is starting to smolder, a torch sitting in the thatch.
On the ground around the hobgoblins are bodies.
In the windows of the Trading Company that you can see, there are piles of boxes, furniture, tools, and other items barricading any way in or out.
Ian squints and looks forward, but then springs into action immediately, recklessly moving forward without regard for safety. "Somebody close in and douse that torch with water! Somebody else break open the back door... Zig? You're hurt and tired, you can do heavy lifting. Everyone else - help me take out those hobgoblins, there must be people in there."
Daniil nodded his his head at Ian's suggestion and started to creep forward using the building as cover. Once he gets within 30 feet of the torch he will cast create water on it.
Seeing the roof smolder Claustipher will, as quietly as possible, go to the devine casters in the group.
"Can any of you create water? Might be good to put that out, i am guessing they have someone trapped in there and whoever it is has put up a devil of a fight."
"Maybe we shouldn't do anything to attract the hobgoblins attention. Is there a back way to the trading company that we can sneak any survivors out of? Or even just a window they can crawl through?"
"Let's move in as quiet as possible, but be ready for trouble!"
Elyas gets his sword ready and watches the group of hobgoblins as the group makes their way towards the building.
Elyas has never been in a situation like this, and his inexperience is showing. His armor has several long scratches on it from today's fighting, the only mar on his spotless and mostly ceremonial armor.
As he attempts to walk quietly, his armor clanks and jingles, and his sword makes a loud noise as he tries to free it from his scabbard. Elyas feels his cheeks growing red as he fumbles with his gear, looking around at the others in the group....
"I... but I can fight... uh, okay I guess this is important too..."
Zig wasn't sure how to feel about someone younger bossing him around. Especially someone so... small. However, Zig was cognizant of the fact that he wasn't the smartest, and so submits to his allocation as a battering ram rather easily.
Zig makes his way around to the back door stealthily and, if unmolested en route, kicks the back door square in the hinges.
Unfortunately, his foot slips a little as he attempts the maneuver.
Sander draws his scimitar once again.
"One can't fight fires with an audience of hobgoblins. We must neutralize the threat before attending to the Post."
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Olivia hides herself in the corner of the building and waits for everyone else to catch up.
:: Approaching the PTC ::
Approaching the PTC you can now see that all of the animals brought here for trade are either dead in the pen or scattered. The torch properly catches the thatch on fire and it starts to burn.
As your troop try to sneak towards the Trading Company, two of the hobgoblins point and shout in surprise.
Rushing forward, Kalleb says "I'll try to keep them away from you two." to Claustipher and Ian.
As well as the five singed hobgoblins, you notice two more coming over from the Market Green, either keen to take your possessions or trying to aid their comrades.
Solace has her bow at the ready, waiting for a chance to fire on the hobgoblins.
Olivia will move closer to the hobgoblins.
[u] Suprise Round Action [/u]
"Ian here is a good lesson."
He gestures with the wand and fires a bold to energy at a hobgoblin {lt. blue}.
"The range on a magic missile is quite long. You can hand back and still contribute."
Daniil launches an arrow at the advancing hobgoblins.
Zig sprints to the back-door, following Ian's plan.
Before Zig sprints off, Sander reaches out and calls upon the Goddess to protect him. "The Goddess watch over you, son."
_________
:: Assault on the Phaendar Trading Company ::
As Olivia and Kalleb move forward, Daniil looses an arrow, and Claustipher fires a magic missile. Unfortunately, Daniil's arrow hits the fence, Claustipher's missile strikes true however.
One hobgoblin moves forward, while the other moves to the side and pulls out his bow.
From where she is now, Olivia can see that there are seven dead bodies, two of which are hobgoblins. Who the other dead are she can't tell, but they all look like townsfolk.
As Zig runs toward the backdoor, Sanders protective magics take effect. As he runs by the building, Zig notices the windows are blocked by shelving, heavy furniture, and the like. When he reaches the door and gives it a slight push it doesn't even wiggle in the frame.
Kalleb moves forward, intent on closing with the hobgoblins. When he reaches one, he strikes but misses.
Marcus looks at Claustipher, impressed by the magic. Marcus moves up a bit, but makes sure to keep himself near Claustipher and Ian, incase then need help.
"It's time they taste our arrows!" Lorne says to Solace as he hustles forward and fires a shot. Unfortunately, it flies low and stops in the dirt.
The fire catches properly in the thatch, looking like it could spread over the whole roof any minute now.
"Well we have their attention. Ian, remember this is about saving people not these brutes. Remember how to use that wand? Hit the lead."
"We should move towards the house once they get closer and let the others deal with them."
Olivia will walk up to the closes Hobgoblin and strike with her halberd.
Daniil moves closer to the building and lets loose another arrow, "Use the building as cover."