The rest of the afternoon is spent enjoying the sounds and sights, eating the fine cuisine, and participating in the various games. Eventually the day draws on to early evening, and the town’s populace gradually begins to congregate in front of the new temple, one of the few stone-built buildings in Sandpoint, its shining limestone walls reddened by the sun as it sets beyond the horizon out to sea. The crowd falls into a respectful silence, as the day’s climax, the recitation of the Seven Prayers of Dreaming, is about to commence.
You all find good spots in the square and prepare for the evening festivities. The robed Father Zantus makes his way to the central podium and beside him an acolyte strikes a large bronze bell that hangs from a wooden frame, its dolorous note echoing across the square.
As the notes from the bells ides away, a stray dog that has crawled under a nearby wagon to sleep starts awake, and the buzz of two dozen conversations quickly hushes as all heads turn toward the temple, where a beaming Father Zantus stands on the temple steps. He clears his throat, takes a breath to speak, and suddenly a woman’s scream slices through the air. A few moments later, another scream rises, then another. Beyond them, a sudden surge of strange new voices rises — high-pitched, tittering shrieks that sound not quite human. The crowd parts and something low to the ground races by, giggling with disturbing glee as the stray dog gives a pained yelp and then collapses with a gurgle, its throat cut open from ear to ear. As blood pools around its head, the raucous sound of a strange song begins, chanted from shrill, scratchy voices.
"Goblins chew and goblins bite.
"Goblins cut and goblins fight.
"Stab the dog and cut the horse,
"Goblins eat and take by force!
"Goblins race and goblins jump.
"Goblins slash and goblins bump.
"Burn the skin and mash the head,
"Goblins here and you be dead!
"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!"
(Myrn had spent the better part of the afternoon angrily rubbing his bruises and keeping an eye out for the fleet-footed child who liked to throw rocks, but never quite spied him again.
Tazdara found fine company in a troupe of adventurers whose tales spanned a handful of countries; as well as a heartfelt poetry recital by none-other-than a tipsy Cyrdrak.
Erfer took in the sights and made sure not to cross paths with the silver-tongued behemoth lest he be recognized and again face mortal danger.)
Tazdara and Erfer can act in the "surprise round" since they passed their spot checks. Myrn can act in the regular round #1.
Positions: Tazdara-C6:Erfer-E8:Myrn-F12: Goblins: K7-K8-L9
1. Goblins
2. Tazdara
3. Myrn
4. Erfer
Goblin 2 moves from K8 to I9, attempting to slash at a town person who narrowly evades the attack and runs off screaming in terror.
Goblin 3 moves from L9 to J9, climbing on top of the wagon and begins picking up apples and gleefully throwing them at the crowd.
Tazdara mumbles something under her breath and throws her arms up into the air.A brief swirl of soft light surrounds her and then quickly fades away.
Erfer spots the Goblin under the tent and dashes to H5 in an attempt to flank him. With the goblin currently preoccupied with engorging, Erfer tries to conceal himself within to prepare for a sneak attack.
Erfer uses the shifting chaos of the crowd to dip behind the table and sneak up behind the unaware goblin who is chowing down on a chicken leg.
Goblin 1 picks up a mug of mead, takes a chug, and hurls the rest of the brew and the heavy mug into the fleeing townsfolk, cackling excitedly all the while.
The middle goblin sets his beady, red eyes on Tazdara and charges in at a full run, brandishing his cruel-looking blade. He takes a wild swing!
Tazdara gets pushed forward by the mob just as the goblin slashes at her. Unable to dodge effectively, the blade tears into her skirt and runs the length of her thigh as blood starts heavily running down her leg. He grins wide-eyed, bearing his ugly fangs and readying his sword for the next attack.
The goblin leaps off the wagon and unsheathes his crooked sword; He waves it threateningly in an attempt to terrorize any onlookers. As he scans the area he sees a lumbering figure close by. This longshanks is BIG! I will be chief if I kill this one!
He raises his blade in the air and sprints forth, slashing at the air. He manages to reach Myrn's stomach and strikes him with a lucky blow, drawing blood(and Myrn's attention.) He cheers in victory at his sure kill!
Myrn lets out a blood curdling roar as he begins to swing his sword above his head. The power behind the sword made a deep whooshing sound that cut through the commotion of the panicked townsfolk.
"Aaahh!! Tazdara cries out in pain and stumbles backwards, clutching at her leg as dark red blood seeps through her skirts. She tries to hold back tears as she mumbles an incantation; a soft yellow light envelops her hand as she hovers it over her wound.
With the goblin cackling maniacally, he is completely distracted and vulnerable. This is the perfect chance for Erfer's strike. He unsheathes his weapons, jumps out from behind his cover and lunges towards the goblin with both weapons poised to strike.
Myrn swings his gigantic sword around over his head in a dazzling display of martial prowess. His neck muscles strain and flex as he roars a loud battle cry that echoes throughout the square. The nearby goblins are immediately snatched from their euphoric frenzy, and seem disheartened.
The goblin that struck Myrn is frozen in fear for a moment. His eyes go wide and he cries out in a startled panic, his shrill scream intertwining with Myrn's deep roar. He looks at Myrn, looks at his sword, looks at Myrn again, and then tosses his blade up in the air before attempting to dash in the opposite direction.
Erfer (seemingly inspired by the battle cry) leaps from hiding and swings his small hammer with deadly precision. The blunt, metal edge slams hard against the skull of the unsuspecting goblin, making a cruel knocking sound. The goblin's blade falls from his fingertips and clanks against the dinner plates as his knees buckle. He tumbles lifelessly from the table and lands face-first in a heap as the sand beneath his head is dyed by a crimson pool of blood.
Tazdara takes a step back, casting her spell of healing. The goblin snarls and pursues, striking out once again with his sword, missing this time.
- level 0: guidance, light,spark,detect magic
- level 1:burning hands, sleep
The gash in her leg slowly comes to a close and stops bleeding, leaving a trace of a scar. " Ah, much better."
Now I can take care of this pesky goblin who thought it wise to attack me...
Myrns rage overwhelms him as he notices the goblin who struck him attempt to flee. Myrn raises his giant sword above his head and strikes down in a full arc aiming for the top of the goblins head. I WILL SPLIT YOU IN TWO!
Tazdara backpedals from the goblin while readying her light crossbow. She points it at the goblin and pulls the trigger. The bolt speeds the short distance to the goblin's throat and embeds itself. He clutches at his throat helplessly with a total look of shock. His screams amount to no more than a wretched gurgling sound as a fountain of blood sprays in the air. He finally falls backward and slams against the earth, still and silent.
Enraged, Myrn yells out and brings down a massive blow from behind the fleeing goblin. The greatsword begins its journey by entering the crown of the goblin's wide skull and slices cleanly through its entirety before following a path down the spine; the steel blade then slams into the ground with a cloud of dust. A short, silent moment passes before the gruesome scene unfolds to its climax as two equal pieces of the goblin begin peeling apart and fall to either side, emptying the contents within onto the town square.
Your immediate area calms down a bit, but around you the town is in chaos. You can hear the terrified screams of townspeople and strange goblin war chants carry above the din. Plumes of smoke rise from several locations in town.
Father Zantus ushers the nearby crowd into the Cathedral and slams the door. He rushes over and thanks you all profusely for defending the town, calling you heroes, and then looks on in silent awe as three butterflies (whom the children tried all day to catch to no avail) flutter down and land on the shoulders of the three of you. They stay still for a moment before flying off into the evening sky. Zantus seems truly taken aback. I've never seen anything like it before. A good omen sent by dear Desna to be sure! He then notices Myrn is dripping blood quite profusely, and rushes to his side.
You have a grievous wound there, friend. Let me help you. He clasps the silver pendant around his neck with one hand and with the other hovers over the wound, which then begins to close.
The sounds of metal against metal ring out in the distance. I must attend to the wounded. God speed to you! Zantus rushes through the Cathedral doors behind two acolytes who are carrying an injured woman.
Myrn, so feeling the affects of the half keg he polished of just before the attack mumbles, Bleeding? I... Mine not blood...
Tazdara walks over to Myrn. Azgar flutters back to her shoulder and quawks,"Goblin! Saw you coming! He split! Split!"
Tazdara smirks,"Don't mind Azgar. That's his way of thanking you for your help back there. I suppose I should thank you as well, and your quick halfling friend. It seems we are a good team."
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Feeling uneasy near Myrn for the events that had recently transpired, Erfer realized that he had not yet been recognized from the tavern. Thank the heavens... Even with his wound he could strike me down with a single blow! If I had been just a bit slower, my fate would have been in this man's ridiculously large and masculine hands.
That was quite the display big guy, with one mighty swing he was halved completely! Of course, a goblin is no match for someone that defeated a large serpent at such a young age with only his thumbs and a dagger!
The moment he finished the sentence, despair washed over his person.
This is the end... His memory had certainly been jogged and I will face swift separation. My left and right sides had never been separated previously. I hope they don't get anxiety..
Erfer quickly turned to Tazdara, That was very quick thinking falling back to heal yourself, it seems you are no stranger to combat!
With the adrenaline flowing through Myrns veins he begins to see a bit more clearly now that the fighting has ceased. Why hello there beautiful. Myrn sends a sly wink in Tazdara's direction. What are you doing out here little lady? You could get hurt!
Myrn turns his attention over to Erfer, Hello little man. Thank you for the compliments. You two are lucky I was happening by. Not sure you would have made it out of here otherwise. Myrn pulls out his polished silver mirror adorned with great detail and scrollwork, then begins fixing his hair. That little man seems familiar to me. Hmm...
Azgar rolls all three of his black eyes. Tazdara also seems unmoved by Myrn's blatant flirtations and self-flattery.
"In fact I did get injured, but I handled it. Women aren't just good at stitching cloth and scrubbing pots, you know! I'm not your average damsel-in-distress type, anyway."
Her eyes catch a glimpse of Myrn's stomach where the goblin's blade made a strike. Although healed, there was still some dried blood on the armor.
With a bit of a smirk she points out,"I see you got scraped up a bit yourself."
Tazdara turns her attention to Erfer, and with a smile,"It seems you are no stranger to combat yourself. You made quick work of that goblin!"
Your conversation is cut short by a thunderous explosion. As you turn your heads toward the sound (to the south of the festival grounds) you see a huge plume of fire rising up into the evening sky, followed by the sound of goblins cackling and chanting.
Myrn turns his head abruptly toward the sound of goblins. YOU TWO! IF YOU WISH TO LIVE, STAY BEHIND ME! Myrn swings his blade behind his back, over his head, then with one fluid movement it falls into the leather sheath by his side. A loud roar bellows from his lungs as he charges toward the danger.
You spring back into action and head to the southern part of the Cathedral. What you see is a number of goblins with blackened, sooted faces sitting semi-circle around a wagon; fire eating away at its hay contents, eagerly trying to make its way to the surrounding structures. The goblins quickly rise to their feet cheering at the conflagration whilst pumping their dog slicers and torches into the air, chanting repeatedly, "Fire it up! Fire it up!". One among them lowers her whip and directs it towards the party and eerily the rest of the goblins turn their heads in unison.
Round order:
Goblins
Goblin w/ Whip
Tazdara
Erfer
Myrn
G1: Move - Run - C18 -C9
G2: Move - C19- C15
G3: Move - D20 - D16
GW: Move - C21 - E18 - Bardic Performance Fascinate(DC 11)
The goblins scramble forward from behind the wagon and hide behind the tents. The one with the whip moves forward and begins to chant a strange song. A swirling pattern of enthralling colors and lights rises up over her head mingling with the fire behind. Myrn seems to slow his run and stare at the patterns for a moment.
For a moment Myrn is mesmerized by the display over the goblin's head, but quickly shakes it off and focuses on the battle ahead.
Tazdara draws her crossbow. Aiming the tip of her arrow at the goblin leader, she fires. Let's see how you like this...
Tazdara fires her crossbow. The bolt whizzes towards the female goblin who barely manages to dodge out of the way at the last moment; the bolt sticks into the flaming wagon with a THUD.
Erfer moves from J7 to H5 with the intent to conceal himself under the tent.
Myrn begins to move toward the goblins with extreme confidence. As he struts toward them he pulls his sword from his sheath and slowly and methodically effortlessly twirls it between each hand as he locks eyes with each enemy. Myrn stops, thrusts his sword into the ground and begins flexing his muscles as he snarls ferociously at the tiny creatures.
A couple of the goblins appear intimidated by Myrn and look back momentarily to the goblin with the whip. She sneers at them and cracks it in the air with a loud pop; the goblins visibly cringe and look back at Myrn, charging in, and swinging for the fences with their blades. She turns to Myrn and begins chanting words of magic.
Tazdara focuses her sights on Myrn and chants under her breath while holding out her hand in Myrn's direction. A ray of yellow light swirls from her palm and wraps around him before it dissolves into the air.