"Bounty hunter, eh? Interesting."
Eostre strokes her chin before frowning.
"Probably should see if the danger's passed. We handled this lot pretty smoothly, don't know if the sheriff's men are having as easy a time of it."
The goblins aren't really carrying anything of worth--at least, nothing of worth to normal people.
Zord, on the other hand, after being hogtied, is carrying a small whip, a small shortbow with 20 arrows, his holed blade, and a potion of some sort.
A minute later, Sheriff Hemlock arrives, a pair of guards on his heels. His breastplate is spattered with blood and his two deputies even more so.
"Goblins. Of COURSE goblins would pick this day of all times to attack." He kicks a dead goblin's head before looking up to the team.
"You did all of this?"
"Well to be fair the goblins did help" Answered the man with the unruly mane of black hair , an all too jovial expression decorating his face, which was especially strange considering what they all just went through "Also I killed one, so I'll gladly pick up the bounty of one goblin at your office later on sherif" He added before he crouched and liberated Zord's equipment from his body and placed the pile of loot next to their group.
"Of course we got you a present sheriff" He lifted the prisoner up with one hand till it was at eye level with the sheriff "He seemed to be in charge...saying a goblin was in charge of goblins is a little pushing it I guess" Fulko's free hand began scratching his beard as he semi considered the idea of goblins and leadership.
"Well you'll have fun talking to him" He finally said before laughing the idea off "Cause I am guessing the ones that spilled blood all over your armor aren't in a talking mood" He added before going into a full blown laugh, that was a lot lighter than than the fit that overtake at the end of the battle.
Nicat admires Fulko's neat trussing of the goblin leader, then turns to Eostre in surprise, asking "You can speak goblin? Wow, how'd you learn that? I bet they have crazy things to say, if what we heard today is any guide!"
He gestures to Zord as Fulko hoists him in the air to show to the sheriff, saying "Let's see if we can wake this guy up and talk to him!"
Ilya intones a spell. His eyes glow briefly as he glances into the future, flowing along the possible currents, until he sees one of his new companions drinking the potion. He watches as the magic of the potion knits together wounds, and staunches bloodflow.
His gaze returns to the present. "That potion has the power to heal you from some slight injuries. Unfortunately, I suspect it will be needed, at some point."
"And you..." Ilya bends down next to the trussed up goblin. "Ne yazık ki, ben sizin için bir gelecek görmedim. Tabii ki, ben daha önce yanlış oldum..."
"Goblins. Of COURSE goblins would pick this day of all times to attack." He kicks a dead goblin's head before looking up to the team.
"You did all of this?"
"It's as Fulko says," Ekan said, pointing to the ones he slew himself, "Each of us did our best to work together. Sheriff, were any innocents hurt in the raid? Is everyone alright?"
"It's true, Sheriff, it was an amazing fight!" Nicat says enthusiastically. "Sylvia was swinging around her big spear-thing, and Ekan was punching goblins in their fat heads and Ilya put a bunch of 'em to sleep, even! Fulko scared them good and pounded a couple of 'em, and Eostre, well, I don't really know what she did, she punched one, even though she wasn't anywhere near it. And, uh, you should have seen my sling bullets flying around!"
Zord doesn't respond to Ilya's threat. He's still out cold.
"Yes, I noticed the sling bullets flying around, Nicat. Thanks for reminding me." Sheriff Hemlock dryly quips.
"As for anyone else being hurt Ekan--" He starts, but is abruptly cut off by a scream from the north, followed by barking.
"--the raid is still going on. We're dealing with the goblins as best we can. We need to get going, and you've done an amazing job here. Can you deal with the stragglers to the north? We'll handle the leader." He motions for one of the deputies to pick up the trussed up Zord, still as multicolored as when Eostre sprayed him. The deputy heads into the cathedral with Zord under his arm.
As soon as he hears the scream, Ekan is already running North, the sheriff's voice fading behind him.
"Wait up, Ekan!" shouts Nicat, taking off after the monk. He's surprisingly quick for one with such short legs, though it may just be that he's glad of an excuse not to discuss sling bullets with the sheriff.
Nicat admires Fulko's neat trussing of the goblin leader, then turns to Eostre in surprise, asking "You can speak goblin? Wow, how'd you learn that? I bet they have crazy things to say, if what we heard today is any guide!"
He gestures to Zord as Fulko hoists him in the air to show to the sheriff, saying "Let's see if we can wake this guy up and talk to him!"
"Riddleport's got some roving gangs of the little blighters. They'd sometimes hang around the Gas Forges' waste dump. Picked it up while I was growing up."
As she hears the stragglers need work, she follows after Nicat and Ekan.
Fulko runs after the martial artist, doing his best not to fall behind while he hooked his two-handed axe back in its spot and picked up his fallen ranseur "And here I was worried about not finding work quick enough in Sandpoint" He comments as he runs close to Nicat.
"Hah, this is fun!" Nicat responds as Fulko runs nearby. He slows briefly and looks up at the brawny barbarian running along next to him, saying, "You mean people get paid for doing this?"
Sylvia first checks on the people in the church to make sure that they are alright, "Is everything okay in here, Father? Did any pass us? The Sheriff is here now, he should be able to keep you safe."
She then notices her friends running off to some sound in the distance and sighs, "I guess this isn't over, yet." She then moves off to catch up to them, but slowly falls behind the quickly moving, lightly armored group.
Fulko's smile widened "Nicat, I will have to introduce you to bounty hunting when we are done here, I am sure you will both grow to like each other" Answered the barbarian, Ranseur held by one hand and balanced on his right shoulder, the blade swaying as Fulko dashed across the paved streets of Sandpoint.
Father Zantus answers the door when Sylvia knocks on it. As she peeks inside, she can see several people, most of them unharmed. A couple are lying off to the side, holding their wounded limbs.
"We're fine, mostly. Thank Desna for you and your friends! I need to remain here and see to the wounded. Please, do what you can to stop those goblins!"
The sound of screaming & barking comes from the north, at the White Deer Inn. When the party arrives, the sound of meat being sliced followed by a high-pitched whine echoes through the street.
Before the party is a grisly scene: three goblin warriors are arrayed before the White Deer, with a studded-leather clad goblin mounted on what appears to be a cross between a mangy rat and a dog standing 10 feet before them. The mounted goblin is standing over the corpse of a dog, holding a wicked-looking halberd with holes in it, and a hook opposite the blade. Hiding behind a barrel before the mounted goblin is a sandy-haired noble clad in finely-tailored blue clothes, looking terrified.
The goblins are cheering over the dead dog, and don't appear to have noticed the party arrive.
Syvlia immediately calls upon the aid of Shelyn, "Guide our arms on the path to the Light so that those in the Darkness shall tremble at our Beauty!"
She releases another wave of positive energy, giving those around her a feeling of luck! But excluding those three jerks ahead of them. Sheesh, what's up with all these goblins!?
As his friends reach the scene of the goblin attack, Nicat winds up his sling and fires a stone at the mounted goblin, drawing on his own innate luck to make the stone strike true.
Ekan rushes up and strikes at the first goblin he gets to. His Kama lashing out
"Let's add a little height," Eostre says with a smirk as she begins to cast another spell, pointing at Ekan.
He feels a sudden lurch in his stomach as the ground and goblin seems to recede. The others see Ekan grow in size until he towers over the goblins and them.
Ranseur in hand, Fulko moved forward and halted with a skid when he was in range to attack with his pole-arm "Alright, goblins its either me or my giant friend over here" He said as he spun the ranseur over his head in a display of skill and without warning brought his weapon in a downward angle at the goblin to his left, pulled back and sent another stab that flew down a straighter route and finally arced the weapon to the left, aiming to slash at the goblin before returning 'Victor to a prepared stance'.
"--the raid is still going on. We're dealing with the goblins as best we can. We need to get going, and you've done an amazing job here. Can you deal with the stragglers to the north? We'll handle the leader." He motions for one of the deputies to pick up the trussed up Zord, still as multicolored as when Eostre sprayed him. The deputy heads into the cathedral with Zord under his arm.
Ilya draws an old and quite worn crossbow. It is quite clear from the way he holds it that he is not at all comfortable with the weapon. He manages to struggle a dart into place before he follows the others to the north.
When he arrives at the scene of battle, Ilya's focus suddenly glazes over again.
He steps in front of Eostre, leveling his crossbow at the goblins. Then suddenly he turns, points the bolt straight into the sky and fires.
A few seconds later, a bolt from the heavens streaks down, piercing one of goblins in the shoulder.
Sylvia channels good hope and luck to the party, aiding them in their fight.
Nicat's sling bullet flies straight and true this time, hitting the mounted goblin squarely in the head. He screeches, his mount wheeling around to face the party.
Ekan's kama rakes across the goblin's armor, tearing it and the flesh beneath. The goblin cries out as well.
Ilya's crossbow bolt arcs into the sky and comes down directly in the goblin's eye, who promptly falls over dead.
Fulko's theatrics with his ranseur prove to be devastatingly effective as 'Victor' bisects the goblin across the middle. The goblin doesn't even have a chance to scream before he falls in two bloody pieces.
Eostre's spell takes effect, turning Ekan into a giant of a man!
The party gets to act again!
Moving in arc to stay away from the battle of now giant Ekan and his puny foe, Fulko lets out a loud whistle "Hey rat rider" As soon as those words left his mouth he let out a sudden stab aimed at the feet of the mount and not the goblin.
After firing his first bolt into the sky, Ilya loads another and levels it at the final standing goblin. Suddenly, he drops his aim to the cobblestones, and launches a bolt that skips off of the street and flies towards the hideous rat-dog.
It takes a moment for Ekan to realize what's happened to him as the world seems to dwindle. His reaction may not be what anyone expected. He goes white as a sheet, and for a second his hands tremble with uncharacteristic emotion. Only the sound of still continuing battle seems to snap him out so he can focus once more on the fight. Raising the now huge Kama, he strikes again at the one he wounded.
Nicat's eyes widen in amazement as Ekan grows to gigantic proportions and for a moment he's too stunned to do anything but but sputter and say, "Ekan! What happened? Wow!" His shock gives way quickly to excitement as he realizes they've now got a giant on their side in this fight. "Ha! And I thought we were bound to win before! Those gobbos don't stand a chance, friends, Ekan's gonna squish 'em! Let's finish this!" He then moves forward to where he'll have a better shot with his sling.
"I'm not sure..." Ekan says, still pale and clearly disturbed as he fights, "But I wish it had not." Those who know the monk can tell he is quite shaken by this even though he fights on.
Sylvia steps forward, still clutching her holy symbol, and shouts out, "May the Eternal Rose protect us from these beings, who prey on the defenseless! Turn their weapons aside, so that we may give this village peace on this holiest of days for them!" An aura of silvery light encompasses her, surrounding her allies as well.
Sylvia channels holy energy, providing a protective aura to her teammates. They briefly glow a rainbow of colors as the magic settles in.
Nicat's taunts give the team an edge!
Ekan's giant kama doesn't even cut the goblin: it comes down on the poor thing with a *SQUISH*.
Ilya's bolt skips off the stones, arcing towards the goblin dog...
The mounted goblin tries to move his mount from the bolt's flight path, and to his credit, almost succeeds. Keyword being almost. The bolt sticks into the beast's side, causing it to squeal.
Fulko's swing of his ranseur goes wide of the goblin dog.
Eostre steps up next to Fulko, and calling on the power of her bonded glaive, points it at the goblin & its mount. An arc of wild colors sprays from the end of it...
The mounted goblin is unaffected by Eostre's color spray.
The same can't be said for his mount. The goblin dog rears back and falls over with a squeal. The goblin is thrown from his seat!
The goblin bounces off the road, unhurt. He brandishes his horsechopper and charges at the woman who unseated him, yelling at the top of his lungs.
"I'LL PEEL OUT YOUR EYEBALLS!"
He manages to stick Eostre in the gut with it.
Sylvia once again grasps her holy symbol and holds it aloft, eyes glowing with a lavendar light, "Heal us of our earthly wounds and grant us your sight to end this fight against these vile creatures!" A burst of energy emanates from her, affecting everyone but the goblin and its puppy!
A bonded object can be used once per day to cast any one spell that the wizard has in his spellbook and is capable of casting, even if the spell is not prepared. This spell is treated like any other spell cast by the wizard, including casting time, duration, and other effects dependent on the wizard's level. This spell cannot be modified by metamagic feats or other abilities. The bonded object cannot be used to cast spells from the wizard's opposition schools (see arcane school).
...I didn't know bonded items could do that.
"Wow, you really did squish 'im, Ekan!" Nicat cries out. "You're the last one left, and your doggy's taking a nap, gobber!" He considers trying a bank shot off the side of the White Deer, like Ilya might do, but decides against it. Even I'm not that lucky.
Instead, he whirls up his sling again and lets a stone fly, through a brief gap that opens between Fulko and Eostre.
"I'LL PEEL OUT YOUR--"
*SLICE*
Needless to say, the goblin doesn't get to finish. What he planned to peel out of Eostre's head shall forevermore remain a mystery.
The noble behind the barrel peeks out at the carnage.
"Oh... oh my heavens..."
"Nicely done Ekan, I think your giant form is growing on me" Said Fulko as he gave the martial artist a grin before walking forward to what appeared to be a fear stricken civilian.
"Why are you still here? Didn't you hear me on the podium shouting about things sneaking in the shadows?" Fulko tapped the body of a nearby goblin with the butt of his ranseur "Well I don't think they'll be doing anything anymore" The warrior was now just a hands length away from the nobleman.
"Stop looking so scared they're all dead" Fulko let out a chuckle as he slapped the the smaller man on the shoulder with a bit too much power.
The noble winces and almost falls over from the force of Fulko's shoulder tapping. Surveying the carnage, a look of awe crosses his face.
"You did all this?" He steps out from behind the barrel, looking around. When his eyes fall on Sylvia, he immediately approaches her.
"I'm sorry, I've completely forgotten my manners. I'm Aldern Foxglove. I'm not from around here; I only just arrived for the festival. And you must be the fine lady in charge here." He says, bowing to Sylvia.
"And you, sir..." He turns to Ekan. "I believe I owe you a debt, especially. May I know your names?"
In the distance, the sounds of battle are fading. It sounds like the battle's outcome has been decided.
Fulko binds his fingers together, stretches his arms forward and the soft sound of cracking knuckles fills the air "Alright Nicat lets get to work" After he hooked 'Victor' in its place next to his pack, Fulko began rummaging through the belongings of his attackers, checking their packs, lifting their fallen weapons and trying to measure their quality, he had so far developed a bit of loathing to the poor quality of the 'dogslicer', it made him wonder how anyone could fight with such weak weapons.
Fulko & Nicat find:
--> A suit of studded leather sized for a Small creature
--> A vial containing a deep blue liquid
--> The goblin commando's horsechopper, which is (surprisingly) of masterwork quality
--> The goblin commando's shortbow with 20 arrows, sized for a Small creature
--> 3 dogslicers of questionable quality
The noble winces and almost falls over from the force of Fulko's shoulder tapping. Surveying the carnage, a look of awe crosses his face.
"You did all this?" He steps out from behind the barrel, looking around. When his eyes fall on Sylvia, he immediately approaches her.
"I'm sorry, I've completely forgotten my manners. I'm Aldern Foxglove. I'm not from around here; I only just arrived for the festival. And you must be the fine lady in charge here." He says, bowing to Sylvia.
"And you, sir..." He turns to Ekan. "I believe I owe you a debt, especially. May I know your names?"
In the distance, the sounds of battle are fading. It sounds like the battle's outcome has been decided.
"Ah, a newcomer like myself! It is an honor and a pleasure to meet you Lord Foxglove. I am Eostre Roldheim, practitioner of the arcane craft and apprentice in the Order of Cyphers. Though I doubt Ekan here'd be hardly as effective without my spell granting him that "not-so-little advantage." She chuckles, apparently amused at her own joke and not realizing the distress it may have given Ekan.
Nicat hesitates for a moment, more used to searching washed-up wrecks than dead bodies, but his inquisitive nature quickly takes over and he helps Fulko rifle the goblins' pockets and pouches.
The search complete, he picks up the goblin commando's weapons, giving the bow a test pull and setting it down, then giving the horsechopper an experimental swing. "Wow, this thing's got a great feel to it! What was a gobber doing with such a nice weapon?" He looks at the size of the weapon, then at his friends towering around him, and says, "Any of you have a use for this? In case you have to fight sitting down? Or do you think I could hang on to it?"
Hearing Aldern's comments, Nicat makes his way over to the man, saying, "Not from around here? Well, welcome to Sandpoint! Sorry if the welcome party was a bit, er, rough, but as you say, we've got everything taken care of."
With a graceful bow, made only slightly awkward by the pole-arm he's still carrying, Nicat introduces himself, "I am Nicat Brightluck, blessed by good fortune where'er I roam! And you, sir, what is your name?"
"You did all this?" He steps out from behind the barrel, looking around. When his eyes fall on Sylvia, he immediately approaches her.
"I'm sorry, I've completely forgotten my manners. I'm Aldern Foxglove. I'm not from around here; I only just arrived for the festival. And you must be the fine lady in charge here." He says, bowing to Sylvia.
"And you, sir..." He turns to Ekan. "I believe I owe you a debt, especially. May I know your names?"
"My name is Ekan Waterfield, and ... you're welcome." Ekan says, and he takes a deep breath to calm himself.
"Nicely done Ekan, I think your giant form is growing on me" Said Fulko as he gave the martial artist a grin before walking forward to what appeared to be a fear stricken civilian.
"That makes one of us," Ekan mutters wincing at the word 'giant'.
"Ah, a newcomer like myself! It is an honor and a pleasure to meet you Lord Foxglove. I am Eostre Roldheim, practitioner of the arcane craft and apprentice in the Order of Cyphers. Though I doubt Ekan here'd be hardly as effective without my spell granting him that "not-so-little advantage." She chuckles, apparently amused at her own joke and not realizing the distress it may have given Ekan.
Ekan glances at her, "Take this spell off. Now please." His tone is a bit clipped.
As the nobleman schmoozes Sylvia, and Fulko and Nicat sort through the fallen goblins' gear, Ilya sets about analyzing the new potion. His eyes glow in the magical spectrum again as he swims through the currents of future events again. No sooner has he entered the possible time streams than one nearly certain event jumps out at him...
Without hesitation, Ilya draws a dagger and offers it to Fulko. "Someone should dispatch that rather... mangy creature, there. I think he'll be pretty out of control when he's no longer stunned."
Ilya dives back into the time stream, swimming through it once again, though nothing so certain or so immediate jumps out at him again. With the patience of one who knows how uncertain the future can be, he peels the layers for a while. But, eventually he accepts that none of the likely futures he can see at the moment will show him the answer he seeks.
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Ekan glances at her, "Take this spell off. Now please." His tone is a bit clipped.
"Oh, relax. It'll wear off in a minute or two. You sound like I ate your puppy or something."
Ekan scowls, then tries to master it, "No, it is perhaps unreasonable, but I have no desire to be made to resemble my parents' killers."
Sylvia smiles at Aldern, "Lord Foxglove. It is a pleasure meeting you, but a shame it is under these wretched circumstances. I am Sylvia, a humble priestess of Shelyn, here on a pilgrimage. My friends here are Ekan, he's the large one arguing with Eostre, she's the dwarven lass that was throwing those magnificent and colorful spells around. Over there, admiring the goblins loot are Nicat, the lucky halfling, though the sheriff would seem to think otherwise, and Fulko, he's the one with all the weapons, and I believe each has a name... The blue one here is Ilya, though he'll likely say that you two have already met, or will meet, or are currently meeting, all at the same time. It's all a little confusing, I must admit, but also endearing."
She looks Aldern over, looking for obvious wounds, "Are you hurt, m'Lord? We should get you to safety from these wretches before more come. It would not do to have such a prestigious man assaulted on the open road! It sounds as if the battle is drawing away, but stragglers can always be found. Would you allow us to escort you to the chapel? There are civilians who could surely use your aid there in defending it."
An open palm motioned Ilya to stop, then Fulko's other other hand produced a punching dagger from a sheath to the side of his belt "Too bad we can't sell the thing off, would probably bite off the fingers of anyone who tried to tame it" The well armed warrior walks to the goblin dog and in one swift motion plunges the dagger into its exposed neck.
"The blue one here is Ilya, though he'll likely say that you two have already met, or will meet, or are currently meeting, all at the same time. It's all a little confusing, I must admit, but also endearing."
Ilya's glowing eyes fade, as his focus snaps back into the present. He blinks in slight confusion. "How delightfully linear! As if one wasn't the same as the others!"
"A pleasure, Lord Foxglove." Ilya gives a slight nod. "And no, I have no recollection of my having been going to have met you. Did we already meet?"