With a change of plans to an ambush, Flo gives the group another blessing of butterflies before nodding her head to signal she is ready too. "For Sandpoint!" she whispers.
________
"Er...dwarf." Kargas begins, with a significant glance at the small blade in Guiness' hand. "You can use my spear instead of the butter knife if you give me your word not to get beard grease or whatever all over it."
"Everyone, stand away from Kargas. Apparently he attempting to lure all the monsters on this island to him with his bardic voice." Kellek says quietly to the people next to him, before turning to Kargess and urgently whispering "Kargas, when the first goblins arrive say 'bree-yark'. It will magically draw them to you like a siren's song, and make the rest of us nearly invisible."
Colvyn signals Phasgan to hide in the bushes. He then looks at Kargas and the dwarf arguing. Shrugging, he then decides to silently move in the next bushes, making his way to the bridge.
It takes a fair amount of concentration for Rig not to burst out laughing. Seriously?! He thinks the dwarf has cooties?!
With a snort, Kargas turns away from Kellek and turns his attention back to the goblins' palisade, javelin ready. Noting Colvyn's trajectory the half-orc hugs the palisade, trusting it's bulk to shield him from his enemies' gaze.
Kellek inspects the bridge from a distance and spots something rather interesting (thanks to his training in engineering). One side of the bridge has been carefully rigged up such that a creature standing at the end of the bridge can pull a single knot and loosen the bridge. One whole side of the bridge will fall slack, turning all the horizontal slats vertical and dumping any people on the bridge into the water 80ft below!
Other than this cunning arrangement, the bridge is surprisingly solid construction for a group of goblins, featuring sodden wooden planks and thick hempen rope.
----
Having heard action from the goblins inside the fort, the group begins to get ready. Barring Kargas and Flo's word of activation for her bless wand, the rest of the party is fairly quiet and stealthy, or at least they don't raise their voices too much. Regardless, the discussion and moving into position doesn't raise any alarm from the fort.
The goblins inside the fort audibly grumble and whine for almost a minute more before the first one exits with a tall, wrinkly-skinned dog at his heels. In the shadows of the doorway there are at least two more goblins on the way out, but it's only a matter of seconds before the one in the lead spots the fairly exposed Kargas.
|||| INITIATIVE - SURPRISE! ||||
Everyone
Goblin green
Weird dog green
More goblins from inside???
Everyone has a move or standard action for the surprise round!
"Hop to it Brother Guiness!" Flo says as she swiftly bends down to tap his grieves, a shimmering aura now enveloping them. "That won't stop the thorns, but it'll make it much easier to step through the bushes!" she explains. Thanks to the prayers the party at least pretends to listen to in the morning, most of their boots are enveloped in a similar aura.
________
Though he tries to be quiet, thorns dig in to his exposed arms and legs, making Kargas grit his teeth in irritation--until the goblins appear, wiping away other concerns with the promise of battle.
Rising from his crouch, Kargas calls upon the storm-spirits to wreathe his weapon in crackling blue lighting and he looses at the doglike creature.
As the weapon strikes home Kargas grins fiercely. he roars.
With Flo's blessing, Rig gracefully moves through the bushes, practically dancing on top of them.
The team unleashes their surprise attack! Or at least, they move out of the spiky thornbushes and Kargas launches his javelin. The lighning-imbued weapon sails through the air and strikes the creepy dog squarely in the side. The creature is left barely standing and writhing in pain as it squeals. Kargas' roar startles the goblin almost as much as the attack on his favored pet.
The goblin squeals out "EIIIIAHHHH!! LONGSHANKS! LONGSHANKS OUTSIDE!"
----
---
Goblins spill out of the antechamber to the fort, shortbows already in hand. They all turn to look across the bridge, then spin in shock when the longshanks are ALREADY ON THISTLETOP!!! They let loose a volley of arrows that rain down upon the group, with Rig and Guiness as the primary targets. Rig ducks to the side to avoid one arrow but takes another across the arm , while Guiness stands firm as his armor easily deflects the poorly aimed shafts.
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 1 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x5
Flo
Colvyn (Colvyn, please take both a surprise round action and your Round 1 action)
Goblin Dogs still inside
Green Goblin Dog (9 dmg)
Kargas
Rig
Kellek
Guiness
Bold are up!
"Take a few of those things out Colvyn!" Flo shouts as she funnels a swarm of ethereal butterflies around his bow, taking a small step forward to the edge of the bushes.
________
-Surprise round-
Colvyn stands and sends an arrow at the first goblin out of the fort.
-round 1-
Noticing the severely injured goblin dog, Colvyn changes target and send his nest arrow there. He keeps an eye out on the other side of the bridge, making sure that no other goblins are coming from that way.
With a blessing of luck from Flo, Colvyn lands a pair of quick arrows, one into the first goblin out of the fort and the second into its hairless doglike pet. The second arrow proves too much for the dog and it collapses. As the goblin dog bleeds out, its master screams "Noooooo Pupper!" and turns hate filled eyes on your group.
At a command from the assembled goblins, a pack of four more goblin dogs rush out of the fort and smash against the party's front line. The blue goblin dog circles around Rig to establish a flank . The malformed dogs snap and bite at Rig and Guiness, but have some difficulty landing any real injuries upon the two. Only one goblin dog manages to get past Guiness' defenses.
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 1 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x4
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Flo
Colvyn
Uninjured Goblin Dogs x4
Kargas
Rig (2 dmg, AoO on blue dog available)
Kellek
Guiness (4 dmg)
Bold are up!
Eager to join the fray, Kargas barely even tries to avoid the thorny bushes in favor of speed, taking up his falchion and moving to Rig's side. With a bellowing laugh the half-orc's tattoos begin to glow with azure light and the acrid scent of ozone fills the air around him.
Kargas' attack smashes into the goblin dog's head and sends it flying into the wooden palisade, where it slumps and lies still.
Guiness' bite wound rapidly begins to itch...
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 1 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x4
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Flo
Colvyn
Uninjured Goblin Dogs x3
Kargas (1 dmg)
Rig (2 dmg)
Kellek
Guiness (4 dmg; need DC12 Fort, see above)
Bold are up!
Rig's longsword gets the familiar St.Elmo's fire as he charges it with magic and swings it in a precise arc toward the nearest goblin dog(red).
---
Guiness, perhaps not comfortable with the tiny weapon he's borrowed, misses his swing. But Rig lands a powerful slice across a goblin dog muzzle! The dog stays standing, but its badly injured.
The goblins retaliate while shouting unintelligibly at the top of their lungs. Its hard to tell if they're excited, afraid or angry, but the noise is deafening. Of the group of them, only pink notices the longshank in the back begin to read (ick) from a scroll.
The red goblin steps in to stab at Rig with his shortsword, but almost hits his own goblin dog in the process. Green tries to arc a shortbow shot to strike at Kargas, but misses terribly. Orange and blue send fire towards Colvyn, and while orange's shot veers wildly off course, blue's finds a weak point in the ratfolk's armor and buries itself in his chest!
The pink goblin cries "NO NO NO NO" and fires an arrow at Kellek. The shaft arcs true, cutting into his leg and possibly disrupting his concentration .
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 2 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x4
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Flo
Colvyn (4 dmg)
Uninjured Goblin Dogs x2
Red goblin dog (7 dmg)
Kargas (1 dmg)
Rig (2 dmg)
Kellek (3 dmg; need concentration check vs. damage)
Guiness (4 dmg)
Bold are up!
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Taking a deep breath, Flo pushes her way through the thorny bushes until she reaches Kargas' back. They're taking them down quickly, but there are quite a few of them. I should stay close just in case I need to keep them up with Desna's favor! Having reached the frontline, she sends her butterflies from Colvyn to Kargas.
________
Looking for an easy target, Colvyn notices the goblin next to the bridge. He raises his bow once more and sends another arrow flying in that direction. Come on Erastil, bless my arrows so that I can protect Sandpoint.
"CURSES!"
Colvyn's arrow skims past the pink goblin, leaving him unharmed but definitely spooked. Meanwhile Kellek's concentration is disrupted by the arrow wound.
The three goblin dogs continue their attacks against Rig and Guiness, the red one first moving carefully around to establish a flank. But once again their slobbering jaws can't quite reach flesh - either getting dodged outright or clamping down on solid armor. It's a wonder than the goblins managed to capture Guiness in the first place, considering how well he's protected!
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 2 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x4
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Flo
Colvyn (4 dmg)
Uninjured Goblin Dogs x2
Red goblin dog (7 dmg)
Kargas (1 dmg, bit of luck)
Rig (2 dmg)
Kellek (3 dmg)
Guiness (4 dmg)
Bold are up!
Roaring as tiny arcs of electricity dance across his knuckles and up his spine, Kargas brings his falchion down on the beast between Rig and Guiness in a spray of blood. Kicking the still-twitching form off his blade, the half-orc steps into the gap. "Bree-yark," he chuckles, barely audible over the screaming din of combat.
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Doing a better job of defending himself against the goblin dogs after the initial onslaught , Guiness' eyes light up when he sees a path cleared to one of the goblins by Kargas' fearsome strike. As he prepares to step into the gap, Kargas moves in first.
Instead, he pivots and tries to use the dagger on the purple goblin dog to his left.
Rig's not sure he's ever seen Kargas as happy as when he's smashing goblins. But more keep coming. "Let's go for a little boost for the good guys," he says as he starts to sing and dance.
Seeing as how the bushes didn't provide enough concealment Kellek dives for cover behind the wall and begins the spell anew.
Kargas absolutely pulverizes a goblin dog with a raging swing of his falchion and advances. Meanwhile Guiness gets a good stab in with his dagger and Rig begins providing inspiration to the party. Kellek begins to cast anew from his hiding spot in the back.
The goblins don't take much notice of their pets being slowly destroyed. A chant of "DIE LONGSHANKS DIE!" rises from the pack of them as they attack with shortswords and shortbows. Red tries a shortsword stab towards Kargas, getting an upwards stab into the groin region that thankfully misses anything vital An arrow from green sails over the bloodrager's head. Orange drops his bow and advances with a shortsword to stab at the bloodrager as well, landing another small cut .
Pink and blue return shortbow fire at Colvyn, one missing terribly and the other striking with his arrow.
"Longshanks Dumbshanks, Longshanks Dumbshanks!" The goblin chant turns to a sing-songy teasing in broken Common.
----
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 3 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x4
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Flo
Colvyn (7 dmg)
Pink goblin dog (4 dmg)
Red goblin dog (7 dmg)
Kargas (6 dmg)
Rig (2 dmg)
Kellek (3 dmg)
Guiness (4 dmg)
Bold are up!
Seeing the globin getting on the bridge, Colvyn fires another arrow at it, hoping to stop it from crossing to the mainland. Oh no you don't! Sadly, while the aim was good, the arrow doesn't sink deep enough to be a fatal shot.
Unsure what to do, Flo waits just a moment to let the battle unfold further before deciding how to respond.
________
Colvyn grazes the pink goblin with a quick shot while Flo surveys the battle to understand where her aid is needed.
The two goblin dogs continue their savage (if often ineffective) attacks. The red goblin dog manages to land a powerful bite on Rig that immediately starts itching , while the pink one is stymied by Kargas' armor.
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 3 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x3
Pink goblin (3 dmg)
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Colvyn (7 dmg)
Pink goblin dog (4 dmg)
Red goblin dog (7 dmg)
Flo
Kargas (6 dmg)
Rig (9 dmg, DC12 Fort needed)
Kellek (3 dmg)
Guiness (4 dmg)
Bold are up!
Caught up in the heat of battle, Kargas scarcely registers the multiple stinging hits, fully intent upon his next targets.
Glancing back at Guiness the half-orc barks out, "Why didn't you grab the spear?!"
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Lost in the joy of battle, Guiness grunts back the first thing that pops into his mind, "Sometimes I'm just Hard-Headed!"
Guiness punctuates his retort with a whip-like motion of his body, bringing his Dwarven Boulder Helm down on the skull of the purple goblin dog he just stabbed with the dagger.
Guiness steps over the dead body of the goblin dog after he decapitates it by blunt force trauma.
The goblin dog's bite mostly makes Rig mad. "Oww, you mangy cur!"
Rig, Kargas and Guiness each take out their targets with powerful blows, caving in goblin and dog heads and breaking bones. As bodies go sprawling, the trio have far more room around them than before. Meanwhile Kellek's sleep spell takes effect! The blue goblin sways a little before returning back to alertness, but the pink one drops onto the surface of the bridge (his shortbow dropping between the slats and into the water below) and begins to snore loudly.
Only four goblins remain, and they pause their exuberant chant to exchange wide-eyed glances.
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 3 ||||
Uninjured Goblins x2
Pink goblin (3 dmg, sleeping)
Green goblin (3 dmg)
Colvyn (7 dmg)
Flo
Kargas (6 dmg)
Rig (9 dmg)
Kellek (3 dmg)
Guiness (4 dmg)
Bold are up!
Flo steps back to not inadvertently heal the injured goblins, than releases a wave of healing energy.
With the goblin dogs dying grisly deaths, the remaining goblins lose a lot of their confidence. The green goblin flees into the fort proper. The red goblin lands a quick shortsword stab on Kargas and then screams at the top of his lungs while fleeing into the fort. . The blue goblin is a little clueless and stays in place, firing its shortbow at Colvyn and missing terribly. The pink goblin continues to snore.
|||| INITIATIVE - ROUND 4 ||||
Red goblin (fleeing)
Blue goblin
Pink goblin (3 dmg, sleeping)
Colvyn (2 dmg)
Flo
Kargas (3 dmg)
Rig (4 dmg)
Kellek
Guiness
Bold are up!
With his target now sleeping on the bridge, Colvyn changes his target to the idiot that didn't run back into the fort. He then moves out of the bushes. "Kargas, make sure they don't get a chance to block that door."
While Guiness misses a pair of helm smashes, Colvyn skewers the blue goblin through the chest with an arrow! He tumbles off the bridge.
Grunting when the goblin sticks him, Kargas retaliates with a brutal sideswipe when the wretch treis to flee. Striding past its bloody corpse he shoves the gate wide and scans the fort interior for more enemies.
Kargas slaughters the red goblin, leaving only the snoozing pink one remaining on the bridge. You can hear the green goblin tripping and falling right inside the fort, he gasps for breath in his panic to get to safety. When he sees Kargas beheading the red goblin he begins to gibber in fear.
Combat Over!
When you peek into the open entry hall, you see that the floor of this room is hard-packed soil, as if the builders either ran out of lumber after building the walls and roof, or as if they simply never thought about building a floor. A number of poorly preserved horse and dog heads are mounted along the eastern wall, while along the southern one hangs a pair of large black-feathered wings tacked to the wall with fine looking daggers.
A set of double doors exit to the west, another set of double doors are closed to the north, as is a single door to the north. The room is open to a hallway that turns towards the east as well.