After a moment of silence, the war titan decided he would need to move ahead, if at least to help Sindri clear the way for his companions. None of the little green monsters had appeared yet, leading the construct to believe they'd be safe here, regardless if they could see. "Request: Stay here. I shall assist our little friend clear the path. I will return to guide and inform of what I see," he'd quietly tell the group before moving forward, forced to keep low. While not optimal for combat, he did count his graces he had no muscles to get stiff in such uncomfrotable positions.
"Very quiet for someone of his size." Silas whispers.
There is noise from the cave, or other indication that they heard Sig moving forward.
Sindri will sign," I guess it's just you and me, our companions appear to be rather cowardice or perhaps intelligent. May we strike true."
Sindri will blend against the cave walls, using his dark clothing and gray skin to blend into the cavernous environment.
Peering around the corner to try and get an idea how far the goblins are how the lone warriors.
Sigfried wasn't the assassin type like some of his kind. They were made smaller. Faster. They blended better and could kill and get out without a trace. Instead, the construct kept his stealth as long as he could, moving and creeping in the shadows while looking for a target.
He would search for a goblin, and get as close as he could. Once close enough, he'd strike, he knew other goblins would hear him and come. He's just have to be sure by then he'd have enough open room to handle them.
Sindri noticing that Sig the machine walked up towards the first goblin.
'No point in lurking in the shadows now I guess.
Sindri will hop into the opening and launch two arrows at the goblin adjacent to the commander and the commander himself.
With his lone cyclopian pink eye glowing in the darkness, the strength and brutal efficiency of a machine, Sig would swing his falcata down upon his target, looking to end the goblins life quickly. There was no room for error, and he needed to prepare for others that would likely follow.
When he hears the sounds of the beginning of combat, Silas turns to the others and says: "Can't let them have all the fun."
He begins duckwalking down the passage, keeping his head low to avoid banging it on the ceiling.
Lucuis will follow. "Yeah, we're not paid to wait. Well we're not actually paid, but whatever. "
As Sig moves around the corner and rushes forward as best he is able, several arrows fly toward him. Unable to move effectively in the tight tunnel he takes three hits.
He immediately cuts down the lead goblin.
Sindri lets two arrows fly, the first misses its mark. The second strikes the goblin captain a grazing wound.
The goblins all take a step backward as their commander shouts at them. "Nužudyk tai. Budėjimo savo žemės ir nužudyti ją." A second volley of arrows proves ineffective.
Sindri will hop to the right behind Sig.
"Are you alright?
Using Sig as some sort of wall, Sindri will pull two arrows from his quiver. hastily drawing them he will let the arrows fly at the goblin captain and the underling the arrow missed.
'Damn, wasted those perfectly good arrows. If this keeps up, I may need to draw my blade.'
Lucuis will continue to move up slowly in the cramped space (double move for 20').
The sounds of straining gears echo'd in the cave slightly for a moment before being followed by snaps of wood. The arrows had caused some damage to his parts, but the magic and working gears kept the war titan in working condition. "Assurance: Fear not. The damage is minimal at worst. I am still operational enough to continue!" he called out in reply. Rather the fly into the fight against odds vastly outnumbering his own, he had seen some of the goblins penchant for teamwork. He was sure his allies would arrive soon, but for now he needed to play this cautiously.
In his same monotone robotic voice, he would begin the incantations of a spell, calling out to his robotic goddess Brigh in order to grant himself the shield of faith. With the defense in full swing, he would move in close to the enemies, prepared to punish them for attacks with a bow at close range or parry their tiny strikes.
Moving as quickly as possible, the group rushes into the cavern where the ceiling opens up and allows them to stand at full height.
The front two goblins drop their bows and grab for their short swords, screaming in goblin are more people push in the cavern, swinging at Silas and Sig.
Sig takes a hit. The other two goblins step back to the north wall, taking shots at Sig again with their bows, though the presence of their allies makes it harder for them.
Sindri will examine the goblin tactics,'they appear to be well trained, maybe there is something I could remember from recon and research of the goblins before heading out with my companions.'
Sindri will focus with his arrows, concentrating on his foes. He will draw two more arrows, continuing to engage the enemy from afar and supporting the front line fighters. Sending his first arrow after the captain and the next arrow after the goblin that strike Sig.
Lucius swings his cutlas at the goblin in front of Sig.
power attack
Silas cries out "Burn!" and thrusts his left hand forward, projecting a cone of fire to engulf three of the goblins.
Burning Hands - DC:16 -
Sindri wounds the captain further, and finishes off the goblin standing next to him, while Lucius cuts down one of the closer foes.
Silas unleashes a blast of flame, engulfing the goblin in front of him and the captain.
The goblin collapses, its face and arms badly burned, its clothing giving off wisps of smoke, but in dying it protects the captain from the worst of the blast.
Again the hull of his body is assaulted by the wicked little creatures, their mad swinging actually managing to accomplish some manner of damage to him. Repairs will need to be made later for sure. For now though, Sigfried would finally go on the offensive, swinging down hard against one of the little monsters.
Landing another successful strike, he'd watch as he buired the axelike head of the sword into his enemy, feeling the resistance of meat and bone. The machine though would not hold back though, this being Sigfried's purpose.
Between Sindri's arrows, Silas spell, and Sig's falcata, the goblin captain crumbles to the ground with a groan.
Silas moves to keep watch on the tunnel while the others check the goblin bodies and guardpost.
Seeing Silas take position as a guard, Taejin moves to check the bodies, looking out for arrows that Sindri could utilize in particular as replacements for the one the shadow-gnome fired earlier.
Lucius will keep watch the way they came in to make sure nobody sneaks up on them.
The cave is silent, save for the slight noise made by those searching the dead goblins.
The captains blade is of fine workmanship, a masterwork longsword made for a small creature. Also discovered on him and quickly identified by those with magical aptitude is a potion of cure light wounds and 2 potions of endure elements.
Among all the dead are 200 gold pieces worth of coins in various denominations.
"And who said we weren't getting paid." Silas says to the group.
"Sindri, you want to check up the passage for more bad guys?"
"We can divide this up later, but the important things right now are the sword and the potion of healing. Sindri, do you have a use for the blade? And... Sig, not to be rude, but can a healing potion work on you? I'm not entirely certain, having never seen a being such as you before."
"Observation: The items we have procured from the goblin in charge suggest that we might still have more adversaries ahead. While this cannot be confirmed, caution should still remain a priority for us," the construct would tell the group as he approached.
Hearing his ally inquire on the use of potions on him caused the wooden being to glance down at his damaged, a hand gently touching one of the broken off pieces of his body. "Assurance: Not to worry. While my inorganic body cannot be heal similar to your own, the diety of my kind, Brigg, has bestowed upon me way to repair some of this damage to my person," Sigfried would add. His voice would grow quieter in the soft chant, calling forth the ring of channeled postitive energy. When it finally burst from his being, it would heal those around him in its warmth, but also close up some of his own damage.
Sindri will loot as many arrows as his quiver could hold, he lost many before the two skirmishes.
Sindri will agree to the request of the Elf.[b]" Well I'm built for the job, that's why we're being paid right?" the svirfneblin says with a chuckle.
Sindri will investigate the passage with as quietly as he could, all the while listening and trying to get a better layout of the passage.
Sindri creeps forward, and the air becomes warmer, almost like a sauna with the high humidity. And the sound of running water can be heard.
Fortunately the cave also widens giving the other members of the group space to move more freely.
Sindri comes upon a larger cavern with a stream running through it. Steam rises from the water in twisting curls. Overhead in the cavern a few small spots of daylight shine down. Three men, nearly naked, their skin bruised, lie unconscious in the south end of the cavern.
Opposite the cavern another passage runs along north, and upward, next to the stream. A set of crude stairs chiseled out of the floor leads the way up next to it.
Assuming Sindri comes back to us and reports, Silas accompanies him back to the entrance to the larger cavern and looks about for sign of another goblin ambush.
"The captives might be bait for a trap. Sig, do you have to power to aid them?" he asks the large cleric.
"I could heal them possibly as well, though it is a bit different. There is a cost to them. "
He will move into the room and check out one of the humans.
"Perhaps we should interrogate, if they're a trap we can use them as shields, if not we let them go." The small gnome will smirk at the idea. Taking out his wakizashi look at the sharpened blade.
While there are clear indications of goblins using the area, there is no sign of any goblins currently present.
The three men wake with a bit of shaking, all look exhausted, sweat and water dripping off them.
They are more than eager to leave this cavern behind and get out of the area.
"I do hate getting sweaty....." Silas says as he wipes his forehead with a cloth.
Sindri will laugh at Silas's remark," the sweat is the least of our worries when underground, trust me on that. We could get caught by slavers"
Lost in thought, Sindri remembers that there is a stream," I found running water, go cool off and grab a drink, I will go investigate our new found "friends"."
Rather than waste time picking at Sindri's suggestion, Taejin will move to investigate the stream, trying to determine if it is a hot spring suitable for non-fire resistant humanoid usage. Might be worth noting the location for later; whatever that... thing had been, its bite had left the human feeling like rust was creeping up his muscles and joints. He was stiffer than usual, and the discomfort was wearing heavily on his nerves.
Silas moves up to the stairs and takes a look.
"Concern: These men indeed need to be tended. My knowledge to normal methods of healing are limited, but my magic should be able to tend to any wounds. It is recommended we get these men out of this cave and on the way back to the town," Sig would suggest to the group, motioning towards the captives and then towards the exit. While goblins were still on his mind, he knew the men would only serve as a hinderance and a liability to the group to keep them safe.
Sigfried would give the three shivering men a look over, his single eye scanning over their form in a strange robot way to see if they would require him to channel energy to heal their wounds. He would save any cure spells he had for dire injuries, being that he only had two spells remaining for this day.
Sindri will approach the men after Sig has watched over them.
"Well my metal friend, it's about time we ask them some questions. We don't know who they are or why they're here." the small gnomes says adamantly.
Sindri will approach one of the men, his weapons are sheathed but his hands don't linger far from them."You there human, who are are you and why are you here, Goblins like to raid but they don't take hostages that's more in the business of Drow and Duergar."
Sindri will pace back and forth waiting for an answer,"where are you from?"
Hideaki examines the stream, sniffing the air for traces of sulfur or other contaminants. Except for the near boiling temperature, it is potable.
At the same time Sig examines the three men. Their wounds appear to be largely superficial.
Sindri begins to question the first one awoken. The man blinks a few times, trying to clear his head, "Gumlat. We came from Gumlat to deal with the goblins and claim the reward... but there were to many of them. They killed Durn and Kexon and captured the rest of us. And now they are taking us one by one up the stairs..."
While this is going on, Silas begins moving cautiously up the stairs. About two-thirds the way up there is a click, and the step sinks into the ground slightly. At the same moment a block of rock rises up out of the stream, forcing the water in the stairway where Silas stands, and tumbling down the stair case.
"Ouch! That stings!" Silas exclaims.
"Diagnosis: Their wounds are minor at best. Bed rest and real food should be plenty to cure these men of their wounds. With the small weapons lying around, there isn't much doubt they could make their way back to town," Sigfried would tell them dark gnome at his side, confident in his readings. Their information was interesting to note, now curious of what enemies would be located upstairs.
The small gnome will think after hearing from Sig,"you think even with the small weapons, it would be too dangerous to make it back for them?"
Sindri addresses the humans,"well you're in luck, as it turns out we need you as much as you need us. Rest up, we're going to need you to guide the livestock back to Gumlet." barked the gnome.
Heading over to where the elf winced, having worked with stone, Sindri understands it and it speaks to his touch. Sindri will examine the stonework, looking for triggers and potential ways to destroy or weaken the trap for his companions.
"Be careful, everyone, it's-"
Taejin's warning is cut off by the sound of stone grinding against stone and the stairway flooding with water, and Silas' accompanying exclamation of pain. "Dangerously hot," the man finished lamely. Sindri seemed to have the trap well in hand, so he walks over to the captives. "Did you hear anything from upstairs that might indicate what's up there?"
"If any of you need healing, I am able. However it will leave you, um, tired. "
"We haven't heard anything from up the stairs. To much noise from the river there, but none of our companions have returned in two days time." the men respond.
They decline Lucius offer. "The last thing we want right now is more sleep - maybe when we are far away from here. Just getting out of this heat will help."
Lyra speaks up, "I will get these men, and the cattle, back to Gumlat. I still want my share of the reward though." she looks at the three men. "But these three should just be happy to be alive for their own portion of it." A clear indication she won't accept them trying to claim a portion of it for the returned livestock.
Sindri making a close examination of the trap finds it wouldn't take much effort jamming a few thin shards of rock between the steps to prevent it from moving. He quickly does so, disabling the trap.
"Let's let Lyra see to the prisoners and keep moving forward to see if any of the other captives are still alive."
He nods as his offer is dismissed.
Then to Silas.
"That seems reasonable. "