Paul's swing neatly decapitates the Goblin. Neatly. There's been beheadings performed by trained executioners that weren't so neat. Fortunately for Old Basso, the critter has time to stumble off the table before its head rolls off.
A ragged cheer goes up from the center of the square. Incredibly, even as the town guards are fighting off the raiders, people are watching the party's fight with interest.
Meanwhile, in the Valdemar tent, Janaga's dagger bounces off the Goblin's skull, leaving a wound that looks more serious than it is. The Goblin blinks, turns its head up to meet the cleric's eyes, and snarls.
The Goblin on the table ducks and peeks over the edge for the dog, and Viorec Liberty's shot flies overhead. It also, just barely, misses the eagle that dives into the tent and buries a talon in the Goblin's rucksack.
After finally hitting the little bugger Paul takes a step back and looks at the creatures that were previously attempting to pummel him with rocks.
He pulls out his Longbow and fires a shot at the one directly ahead, hoping to have better luck than it at aiming.
Not quite yet, sorry.
Paul's shot flies true and buries into the Goblin's stomach, all but killing it.
Below, Basso grabs his grand-nephew by the wrist and hauls him away from the battle. Their lives are more important than their wares.
The Goblins in this part of the square seem to be loosing steam. Their mad chittering has slowed, and their saunter is a little less arrogant, a little more wary. But the song continues from an unseen singer, and they press their attack.
Chase the baby, catch the pup.
Bonk the head to shut it up.
Bones be cracked, flesh be stewed,
We be goblins! You be food!
The Goblin that Janaga stabbed whirls around and slashes at her knees.
And the dogslicer bites into robes and the flesh underneath. "Die, tallshanks!" it screeches with unnerving glee.
The other Goblin in the Deverin tent bats away Abbicka's eagle and staggers off, wandering around the table until it reaches the portable stove. As its beady eyes track between Viorec Liberty and the hot coals, something in its greasy little mind clicks and it shoves one shoulder against the stove.
And almost slips on a pile of scales.
The Goblins on the roof continue their fruitless assault on the ranger.
Give it a few minutes, and it might occur to them to throw something heavier. Probably not.
In Abbicka's corner of the square, the Goblins are pressing in. None of them seem to notice the little Gnome, so focused are they on the town guards and the civilians behind them.
"Nasty little freaks!" the warcry carried out as Janaga feinted a strike from above only to curve back upward at the creature's throat.
The Goblin jerks its head back from Janaga's dagger, throwing its arms up to protect itself.
Paul takes a step back and fires at the healthier of the two goblins on the roof hoping to at minimum have both of em to injured to continue fighting while he goes to others in need of help
Abbicka continues running towards Northgate.
Free Action: Whistle
The Goblin on the roof skips in place as the arrow buries into the thatch at its feet. Its injured mate flinches, but continues to rummage through a burlap sack for another rock.
By now, Abbicka is halfway up Church Street, which is thankfully bereft of raiders. It's also empty of townsfolk, save for one farmhand lying limply against an olive cart. She's alone, she can't tell whether the deinonychus has heard her yet, and she thinks she can hear the sound of battle near the gates.
Viorec almost casually steps away the grill and the goblin
Before flicking another stone from his sling from almost point blank range
[ooc] Viorec attacks the goblin at P-1 with his sling [ooc]
Meanwhile Aislin, his owl familiar, flutters protectively beside him
The stone smacks the Goblin square in the forehead. It blinks and has time to teeter back and regain its balance before it slumps over and dies.
The last Goblin standing takes a step back from Janaga, warily eyeing her dagger.
Up on the roof, the injured Goblin draws a rock and throws it at the ranger.
It thumps lightly against the ranger's armor, scarcely more than a nuisance. The other Goblin slaps the first, takes the burlap bag, and vaults over the ridge.
On Church Street, the Goblins continue their blessed absence, though Abbicka thinks she can hear chittering coming from an alley she passed.
Looking back Paul sees this group of fighters and how much trouble they are having and charges the last goblin switching to his greatsword and strikes.
Abbicka continues to run towards Northgate.
Free Action: Whistle
Clash, crash, shiver and smash
A bit of steel and a taste of my lash
All Goblins shall hear my cry
Topple the tallshanks and make them die!
The tempo of the song has changed and the singer is getting closer. Her voice is reedy and cracked, and could just as easily belong to a Goblin as any other monster.
No sooner than the Goblin's upper half hits the ground than a shout of triumph rings out of the crowd. Over in the skirmish by the platform, Paul sees Daverin Hosk waving and grinning fiercely. Hosk is a retired hunter who slaughtered hundreds of Goblins in his prime and drove a tribe to extinction almost singlehandedly. But age hasn't removed his ability to fight his favored quarry or appreciate the skillful, bloody dispatching of them.
Paul, Viorec, and Janaga find themselves alone. Now that they are sheltered under the canopy of the Valdemar tent, the lone Goblin on the roof doesn't have a clear shot and retreats.
To the north, things are not looking good. The Goblin raiders around Maver Kesk's Jewelry have hemmed in the crowds and are pressing in. There's not many of them, but there will be a massacre if they get to the defenseless citizens.
In the relative peace of the past few years, the town guard has dwindled to an all-time low. Never more than five are on duty at a time, usually posted to the walls or on a beat in the southern end of the town. Anyone at the festival is going to be off duty and lightly armed.
Fortunately, Sheriff Hemlock saw the lean times coming and deputized some of the more levelheaded members of the militia. The sort of person who can break up a barfight or restrain a drunken sailor is the sort of person who can rally to action during a raid. Men and women are emerging from the crowd with tent poles and kitchen knives, daring the Goblins to come closer.
Now's the time to regroup, rearm, and save the day.
As Abbicka passes the Thorn household, she sees that something is odd about the North Gate, but she can't put her finger on what's wrong.
But before she can devote any serious thought to the puzzle, she notices two other things. The first is Lashtail rushing through the gates, hooting and cackling in response to Abbicka's whistle. The other is Albert Yates and two farmhands fighting at the doors to the White Deer Tavern. They're a tough bunch, with cartloads of experience with Goblin raids, and they're smart enough to have blocked the doors with tables.
Opposing them is a small squad of Goblins, including a Goblin commando riding a mangy, rat-tailed dog. They seem overconfident for not having their prey outnumbered. Then again, a farmhand is already bleeding and dying where he was stashed behind a bush.
"I did the heavy lifting on these three, seems only fair to get first pick of the loot no?" He says with a smirk. "You lot handled yourself well enough though, experienced in fighting these pests?"
Abbicka closes her eyes and channels the remnant magic of her fey origin. I hope this works, she thinks to herself, rushing forward to further assist the farmers.
Dancing Lights (E12, Humanoid)
A glowing, vaguely humanoid shape made of faint light seems to step out from the dying farmhand and walk towards the goblins (into E13).
Move Action:
20 feet (M19 to J16)
Lashtail starts to run towards Abbicka but, as it rounds the corner of The White Deer, it spots the goblins, and instead rushes at them.
60 feet (Q2 to P14)
Move Action:
55 feet (P14 to E15)
"I'll have no part of looting the dead, nor shall I pretend to intervene either. Help yourself."
"Suit yourself, more for me" Paul remarks as he carry's the last corpse into the pile and searches it for more useful gear.
"If you lot want to help the town it might be good to search the booths for some useful stuff. I know most of the people around here, i'm sure they wouldn't mind."
Paul finds that the Goblins were mostly carrying junk; gate latches and clothespins and parts of a brass bird feeder. Stuff that must be valuable to Goblins, but the ranger is hard-pressed to imagine why. Each of the critters was armed with dogslicers of various makes, and the one that fell from the roof was also carrying a pair of torches. Three of them (The fourth may have lost his) have little paper pouches of a grayish powder.
Of more immediate interest to the Ranger are the two silver pieces and brass bracelet that the bisected Goblin must have snatched when it ran through the crowds.
As Lashtail rushes past Abbicka, she sees something that stops her cold. Blood has stained his red plumage scarlet, and his talons are caked with blood and dirt. The raptor is running too fast to be injured, so the blood is probably not his. It finally occurs to Abbicka that she didn't see any of the town guard at the gate.
The apparition takes all three Goblins by surprise, and Lashtail's sudden appearance sends them into a panic. While they are distracted, Albert Yates steps forward and swings a hand axe at the nearest Goblin.
The other farmhand is petrified by the sight of a murder-bird in a bloody rampage, but a shove from the woman behind him spurs him into action. The dying man is hauled out of the bushes and dragged into the tavern.
Viorec looks over the bodies but doesn't touch them, seemingly out of disgust for the dead rather than respect. He does take up Paul's prompting and looks around for a better means of defending the town though.
As he does, he defers to Paul. I've been through a few caravan raids, but I've never been out front. How many more do you think there are?
Then an alarmed expression emerges.
And do either of you need to get to the stables?
Neither the ranger nor the cleric has a solid idea of how big the raid is; they tend to range from a handful of drunken miscreants to full sieges that can last for days. In the Church Square alone, they can count about thirty Goblins. Who knows how many more are running amok elsewhere?
Can't tell from here, but it seems like it could be a full invasion. Pretty ballsy of em to attack a festival otherwise.
Paul sees if he can determine what the powder found on the goblin's corpse is after taking the silver coins and bracelet.
Not to say that Goblins aren't clever in their own violent, chaotic way, but the mounted Goblin outside the White Deer seems a little smarter than the rest. Abbicka can see it sizing up the situation while its cohorts stumble and babble.
"Stay and fight!" the mounted Goblin snarls as he slaps his mount's neck. The dog turns about and charges down Cliff Street while the rider pulls out a horn and trumpets away.
The remaining Goblins seem torn between absolute confidence that the raid will succeed and the fact that a Deinonychus has blindsided them.
The first raider takes a split second to decide who to attack, the farmer who stabbed it or the forest demon that is about to rip it apart. It flails wildly and Lashtail easily dodges the blow.
The other one slashes at Lashtail's throat, but draws blood from the muzzle instead. The flow is paler than what is already caked on Lashtail's feathers, but otherwise imperceptible.
Back in the Church Square, Viorec combs through Hannah's booth, looking for anything that could help in a fight. The pickings are rather slim. Hannah Velerin is the alchemist that Sandpoint depends upon to treat illnesses and minor injuries. There's dozens of vials on the table; hangover cures, hemorrhoid ointments, extra-strength contraceptives and burn poultices. Many of the glass bottles are knocked askew, a testament to her panicked flight from the festival.
It's not a complete loss, though; a pair of potions lay undisturbed on a bundle of bandages. They are a light cherry red in color, and whereas wall the other jars and bottles bear witty names in white paint, these glass bulbs simply have a white cross.
Just before he turns to leave, the sorcerer spots something else. There's a slender vial between a pair of pink philters, containing a yellowish liquid that sparkles too vividly to be a mundane substance. Like the healing potions, the bottle bears no title but a simple sketch of a Minotaur bearing the world upon its back.
Considering all the horrible things that can go wrong with sniffing a mysterious powder, Paul comes out pretty well. The initial smell reminds him of the nastier substances he's ever used to tan hides, and there's an afterscent that makes him see stars. He's not quite sure what the powder is, but he doubts anything that got a good whiff would be smelling much else.
While he's recovering from his alchemical exploration, the ranger hears the racheat of a hunting horn. Three sharp notes, and a deeper, prolonged racheat in reply. Paul recognizes these as calls that groups of hunters use to stay coordinated while driving game out of the bush. The first call was a rare one, a signal that a group of hunters had encountered dangerous pack hunters like wolves, while the second call was an order to press deeper into the bush.
Paul has never heard of Goblins using horns to coordinate a raid, but something taught them to do so. And judging from the suddenness which the Goblins leave their looting and charge toward the people of Sandpoint, whatever is giving the orders commands by fear.
Standing in the tent, Janaga sees the Goblins drop their plunder and charge into the defenders with reckless abandon. Many Goblins die, but brave folk are falling too, hamstrung or opened at the belly.
At her feet, Alvin Valdemar stirs. The fall against the table opened a deep gash in his forehead, which is bleeding profusely.
Is this really the end that fate chose for these people?
"That horn!" Paul yells out "they're gathering them up for a slaughter!"
Paul takes off into a full sprint to defend the people from what can soon be classified as a Goblin Horde.
Viorec hesitates for a second, then runs off after Paul.
Janaga wastes no time in tearing off after Paul.
Lashtail sizes up the two goblins with the cold, calculating visage that only an avian can achieve, seeking some momentary weakness to seize upon. One goblin looks briefly over his shoulder at the Albert, ready to wheel around on him if he's pressing his advantage. That is all the distraction Lashtail needs, and he surges forward at the momentarily distracted goblin.
Abbicka looks on in horror as Lashtail talon cuts a deep gash in the goblin. Swallowing the bile in her throat, she takes a determined step forward and begins chanting.
5-foot Step (J16 to I16)
Full-Round Action:
Spontaneous Casting Summon Nature's Ally I for Hide from Animals (Celestial Eagle in D17)
Free Action:
Survey surroundings
The ranger, cleric, and sorcerer aren't the only ones rushing to the town's aid. Sheriff Hemlock is also fighting his way across the square at the forefront of a column of clerics and citizens who decided to stay and fight. But he has further to go and more enemies to contend with, and the most he can do is bellow orders to his distant deputies.
"Stakker! Magravi! Push on through, dammit! Lead them down Junker's Way!"
Paul has a moment to dwell on that order. Junker's Way was plenty wide for the town to evacuate through. Sure, he can remember a few booths clogging the street, but they ought to be child's play to push aside. But the crowd is milling around as if they have something more than the Goblins on the roof to worry about.
Before the ranger can pursue that line of thought further, the three reach the fight. Many of the Goblin attackers lie dead and trampled, but they've fought their way past the defenders. One such unlucky bastard found himself flanked by two Goblins and didn't stand a chance. The Goblins cut him down and then turn, eyes bright and smiles wide, to face the new arrivals.
Meanwhile, back at the White Deer...
One Goblin feebly pushes away from Lashtail and tries to retreat, but blood is gushing between the fingers it clamped over the wound. Through a stroke of effort, it manages to free itself from Lashtail's claws...
... and dies to a powerful blow from Albert Yates. Blood splatters on the other Goblin, which shrieks "Ripper!" and runs away.
"Gods do not forsake us now!" Janaga begins a prayer.
Casting Summon Creature: Dog for square L18
"Gods do not forsake us now!" Janaga begins a prayer.
Casting Summon Creature: Dog for square L18
Correcting post due to surprise round.
"Die vile creature!" Janaga fires her crossbow at the goblin.
Firing xbow, target I17
Seizing the opportunity Paul moves into a better position and delivers a Powerful Strike to the Closest Goblin
Abbicka rushes up to the White Deer. "Do you have a first aid kit? I've some training in herbs and medicine, so I might be able to help any wounded here."
20 feet (I16 to F14)
Move Action:
15 feet (F14 to E12)
Free Action:
Speaking
The sight of fleeing prey triggers an instinctive rise in Lashtail as it makes a sort of throaty cawing noise at the summoned eagle. It turns about, savoring the moment as the eagle flies about and cuts off the goblin's retreat and rakes at its unprotected face, before lunging forward at the goblin's exposed rear.
Communicate with Lashtail
Move Action:
60 feet (D17 to L20)
Standard Action:
Attack Goblin in K19
Communicate with Celestial Eagle
Full-Round Action:
Charge 30 feet to Goblin in K19 (E15 to J18)
Viorec looks over the scene, then looks to the left where there seem to be no guards between the crowd and the goblins. He thrusts his splayed hands in front of him, fingers dancing in a rough facsimile of a marionette controller.
As a black clad figure steps from the among the crowd.
It appears to be wearing a full set of HellKnight armor, including an almost laughably large sword which it extends towards the goblins as a silent challenge.
The Goblin trips and falls face first into the dusty street. Instantly, Lashtail is upon him. A single talon buried in the upper back takes the fight out of the critter instantly.
Yates retreats into the tavern and wedges a table into the doorway. "We have wounded, but I'm not sure about healing kit." His eyes flick from the many smears of blood over the threshold to the Goblin being mauled by Lashtail. "Abbicka, get your pet raptor out of the town before anyone gets hurt."
Meanwhile, a little to the Southwest...
The group's assault is as spectacular as it is deadly. One Goblin tumbles backward with a crossbow bolt protruding from its forehead, and the other is converted nigh instantaneously to a pile of loose meat and broken bones.
The sudden turn draws shouts and applause from the crowd, though a few are quick-witted enough to make a run for it. But the real shock comes when the warrior in fire-blackened armor strides out of the crowd.
Silly Goblin, why do you flee?
Stupid Goblin, won't you learn?
Goblins fight and tallshanks die
Goblins fight and tallshanks burn!
"PRESS THE ATTACK" Paul yells as he turns to his next target "i'll take the right side, you two protect the left"
Paul spots the lone goblin fighting against a guard and sees his opportunity. Going through the crowd they split to make him room as he comes up behind the goblin in perfect flanking position.
Lashtail leaps atop the goblin, putting it's full weight onto the poor things back, and then clamps its jaws tight around the goblins throat. It applies pressure until finally, with a sickening pop, the neck gives and the head lolls unnaturally to one side.
5-foot Step (J18 to K19)
Full-Round Action:
Coup de Grace the Goblin in K19
Abbicka turns to regard Lashtail just in time to witness the brutal execution of its prey. "Lashtail no!" Abbicka shouts, rushing over. "Bad! Goblins are not food! They're thinking creatures just like me!" Trying to effect a stern look, Abbicka points at Lashtail and reiterates. "Bad!" Turning to face away from Lashtail (and the quite dead goblin he's still standing atop), Abbicka pauses to regain her composure.
Run 45 feet (D12 to J18)
Free Action:
Speak
Looking over at the work of her crossbow she reloads.
"There will be no more death today! You can't die!"
She leans over to the aid of the downed farmer, seeing to his wounds.
Free 5-foot step to K18
Reload crossbow - move action
Casting Stabilize on Farmer J17
Viorec's indecipherable mutterings continue, while his gesturing switches from a pantomime of a marionette to a pantomine of a sockpuppet, the universe 'talking' hand gesture.
This goes unnoticed as the sinister looking figure 'speaks'.
You would attack those who the law will preserve . It growls, gaining volume and tempo as it continues. By Asmodeus your lawlessness shall be purged!
14
Abbicka's admonitions have some effect on her companion. Lashtail momentarily halts his feast and stares at her with curiosity in his eyes and a grayish-green ear hanging from his teeth.
Back in Chapel Square
What Viorec means for the figment to say and what is heard are two different things. The volume of the Hellknight's challenge is fine and the timbre is truly menacing, but the words themselves are garbled and incomprehensible. Worse, the sound is emitted ten feet behind and to the left of the armored warrior.
Fortunately, Goblins are exceptionally stupid creatures. While the Hellknight doesn't quite strike fear into their hearts, they don't see through the illusion.
The farmer gasps and his eyes flutter as Janaga's spell courses through him. She can practically taste the presence of anger and confusion and death in the festival, but not from this man.
Naffer Vosk appears from the crowd with a bundle of makeshift bandages. Seeing that half his work is already done for him, he takes the farmer by the arms and prepares to drag him into the crowd.
"Janaga, we've got a lot of injured people in the center where the Goblins can't get them. But if this crowd panics and stampedes, it's going to get ugly."
Paul's attack, again, utterly demolishes the Goblin. The carter it had been menacing smiles in relief and waves a cattle prod with fresh teeth-marks in the end.
"Thank Gods, I thought-"
Sheets of flame erupt at the far side of the crowd. Goblins with torches atop flammable carts must have kept the crowd bottlenecked, and they made good on their threat when a few brave souls tried to break through. The pitched wood would have caught fire immediately, and embers are now landing in the thatch of a nearby house.
Amid the commotion and panicked cries of the crowd is the sound of a mule braying and a whip cracking. Janaga is the only one to hear it, and she has just enough time to turn and see a mule racing through the square with the wagonload of bonfire wood behind it. In its panic, it gets tangled in a fallen tent and goes down hard. The cart shudders to a halt with the snapping of timbers, but the Goblin riders dismount gracefully with lit torches in hand.
There are three stages to every Goblin raid. The first stage is characterized by the little freaks running amok and committing theft, assault, and petty vandalism. The second stage occurs when the Goblins calm down and organize enough to inflict serious property damage.
The new arrivals fan out with wicked grins and gleeful thoughts of arson dancing in their heads.
Average 10
Average 14
Goblins go first.
Two of the Goblins gang up on Paul and two go for Janaga, wielding torches in lieu of the Dogslicers tucked into their belts. The fifth Goblin, armed with a whip and dressed in leather scraps, dances away from the wagon with beady eyes fixed on the ranger.
Whoops forgot I can't do summoning in surprise rounds.
"You shall not harm any more innocent people!" Janaga steps back over towards the fallen farmer. She assumes a defensive stance to protect the fallen farmer.
5-foot step to J17
Total Defense +4 AC
Embers soar from the crackling fires, and the thatch of a nearby building roars and catches fire as well. Over this, Paul can hear the low trumpet sound again, calling for beaters to move faster.
As if their capacity for wanton destruction wasn't great enough, Goblin tribes will always have shamans with some small measure of magic. Their capricious nature, of course, precludes the serious study and fine control of wizards. Goblin magic is always innate like that of a sorcerer or granted to them by dark gods. But far more common are the Goblin Warchanters, who combine their race's penchant for catchy tunes with the subtle magic of Bardic performances.
Many learned mages consider Bardic performances to be scarcely magic at all, but everyone can feel a hunger for more violence as the Warchanter resumes her song.
"We like the chase, but humans run faster
We be smart and pen them up for slaughter!
They fear knives and dogs but fire works better
Raise your torch to the sky with smiles and laughter
Raze this town to the ground for your master!"
"Burn, burn!" another Goblin giggles in a singsong voice as it and it's mate attack Janaga.
One of the torches catches on her robes, but the fabric does not catch fire.
Paul is not so lucky. The Goblins land two solid hits, one of which hits his unarmored forearms.
Viorec is untouched, though the Goblin in the sandpit has picked up a brace of horseshoes and is eyeing the illusionary Hellknight thoughtfully.
Paul yells out in pain as he is hit by the two grinning goblins and with a fire in his eyes he puts all of his possible strength into a horizontal slash.
Paul chops right through the first creature and the sword keeps going until it hits the next one
And chops right through it as well
There's something to laugh at he says before spitting some blood on the ground and eyeing the one with a whip.
[*edit] HAHA, F~&# YOU GOBLINS[edit]
The illusion in place, Viorec cast a quick look around at where the goblins and the fires are, ending with a frustrated glance. He then abandons all conventional sorcerous wisdom and moves towards the nearest goblin
Pulling a dagger from it's sheath mid-stride
and slashes at the distracted goblin
.
As Abbicka is trying to clear her thoughts (and not look at the dead goblin), the area brightens, drawing her attention towards the square. As she turns to regard the sudden increase in ambient light, small gusts of wind begin to pick up. "Right! We need to go help the other townspeople, Lashy!" Without another word, she takes off towards the source of the explosion, which is clearly marked by a growing pillar of black smoke rising into the sky.
Talk
Full-Round Action:
Run (16 squares; off map)