Amélie tries to follow up Jie's shot with one of her own.
Her arrow is on target, but it only adds another wound to the leader and fails to drop him.
Benedict moves up, drawing his scimitar. He uses Total Defense as a standard action (+6 AC for a total of 28 vs hobgoblins).
Amkarang drops his sling and runs forward, drawing his meteor hammer as he goes, holding it in meteor style. He stops next to Benedict and yells, "Come on you ugly bastards. I haven't got all day, by Lao Shu Po's teeth!"
The leader hobgoblin sends an arrow back toward Amélie, then hustles out of her line of sight.
Amélie cries out as the arrow strikes her thigh and leaves a bloody wound.
The Ironfang recruits accept Amkarang's and Benedict's challenge, dropping their bows and drawing swords as they move up to engage.
One manages to get his blade past his defenses, and draws blood from the Unsinkable.
Two more attack Benedict.
Neither are able to get past his defensive stance.
Grum's target dies messily, in a single stroke of his falchion.
Jie continues to shoot at the lead hobgolin as she charges Feng towards him.
Amkarang lashes out with his meteor hammer, trying to wrap the chain around the ankle of one of the hobgoblins and trip it.
Amélie limps out from her cover to try to get a good shot on the next Ironfang recruit.
Her arrow strikes true, but only wounds the hobgoblin.
Amkarang trips one of the two hobgoblins rushing toward him.
One falls, but the other manages to strike him.
Benedict slices at the hobgoblin Northwest of him.
Then he steps North so he can also threaten the one that Amkarang tripped.
Amkarang shifts his grip on the meteor hammer and attacks the hobgoblin nearest to him.
Benedict manages to strike the one sporting an arrow wound from Amelie. Amkarang just barely misses with his two strikes. The hobgoblins shift into flanking positions. The one Amkarang tripped stands up cautiously, eschewing any opportunity for attack.
The wounded one steps in between Grum and Benedict, taking a swing at the flanked warrior.
Then the one that sidestepped takes a swing at Amkarang, also using his allies presence behind his foe to gain an advantage.
Benedict is again missed, but Amkarang, despite using his weapon as a partial shield, is struck with a vicious blow.
Benedict attacks the one that was foolish enough to step between him and Grum.
Jie moves Feng to try and cut off the hobgoblin's line of retreat and lets an arrow fly into the one fighting Amkarang.
Amélie targets the last hobgoblin, after Grum and Jie drop two more foes.
Grum moved to attack a fresh warrior and cut him down in a single slice. Jie's arrow punches through the hobgoblin's armor to find his heart.
With a twang from Amélie's bow, the last hobgoblin falls.
A tense quiet descends upon the cabin. Aubrin speaks first. "Well done!"
She moves up and channels healing energy across the wounded.
Benedict adds his voice to the chorus of cheers. "Well done indeed! Is everybody okay? Let's get a head count."
Satisfied that the group is intact, Benedict replies to Grum. "It's getting late now, and not everybody can see in the dark. Let's find what we can from the hobgoblins, like you said, then rest up and head for the caves tomorrow morning."
Benedict volunteers to take the middle watch.
"Magnifique!" Amélie cheers, both at their victory and the able healing she received.
"Zhat would have been hard, killing all of zhem myself," she says with a grin as she surveys the carnage. "And I think you would have been upset zhat I left none for you? You came at ze right time."
She and Aubrin make a swift check of the perimeter to make sure there are no more hobgoblins on their way.
They come back reporting all's clear.
A search of the hobgoblins yields:
studded leather armor (6)
light steel shields (4)
long swords (4)
long bows (4)
arrows (104)
composite longbow (+2 Str)(2)
mwk battleaxe (2)
handaxe (2)
potions (4)
alchemist's fire (2)
backpack (6)
bedroll (6)
blanket (6)
mess kit (6)
small tent (6)
spyglass
50 ft hemp rope and grappling hook
fine woolen cloak
provision points (16)
76 gp
Each member of this expedition force carried a battered notebook with rough maps, noting locations of game trails, water sources and ideal locations for marching large groups of troops (all in Goblin).
The two leaders each carry a copy of a notice.
Phaendar has not been secured to our glorious general's satisfaction, and in her name I now offer a bounty of 25 pieces of gold to any member of the Ironfang Legion who returns reliable information regarding the location of fugitive human-likes who fled Phaendar. The payment is doubled if you instead return their heads. Live captives may be claimed as slaves!
All rewards are doubled for the impudent ringleaders of this band!
Return all information or heads to my cur of a son, Sergeant Scarvinious.
-- Lieutenant Scabvistin.
Amkarang thanks Aubrin warmly before picking up the logbook. He flips through it and nods thoughtfully. He then closes it and says, ”This means nothing to me. Benedict, you can read their language, yes?”
"Oh, yes. Hmm. There's a bounty for information on all of us refugees. Doubled for just our heads, doubled again for the 'ringleaders', so that's 100 gold bounty on you, Amkarang. Is that it? Surely they must not know who you are!
Information, or our heads, are to be delivered to a Sergeant Scarvinious. Maybe something in these maps tells us where this Sergeant is?
Well, that's a nice haul of gear. Bows, rations, tents.
Rhyna, can you tell if anything here is magical? The potions, I expect. And maybe this feather the troglodytes were carrying?"
"No, it just says 'fugitive human-likes'. The nerve! Nothing more specific, other than doubled rewards for 'the ringleaders'. They do not yet seem to be aware of Sir Kingston. He is a secret weapon."
Jie seems pretty happy about everyone's performance including herself. She feeds Feng an apple as a reward. She joins the celebration and the healing.
Rhyna identifies the potions as simple cure light wounds.
Her brow furrows when she identifies the feather. "It is magical. It's a feather token, that's for sure. Snap it, and it'll bring forth a small bird that can carry a message to a location. So the troglodytes had this, not the hobgoblins? Interesting."
Amkarang chuckles at Benedict's remark, "I believe we are all the ringleaders. I'd think it best we keep our heads away from them. Don't want those hobs getting any rewards at our expense."
"Activate the token, then follow the bird? We can try that tomorrow, see where it goes. If to this Scarvinous, we can scout out what forces he has. If to the caves, even better."
"That's a great idea." Jie says, agreeing with Benedict. "I think it will lead to the troglodytes, though. Unless you think that the two groups are aligned."
"You're probably right, they would be unlikely to work together.
When we go to the caves, is there any sort of protection against the stench?"
Jie looks over the spoils of war. She asks Amélie for her advice about the bows. They have just a little to strong a pull. She does take one for practice. She then seeks out Minshiel and asks the elf if he/she can make barding for Feng out of the studded leather armor available.
With the battle won and the sun sinking beneath the horizon, it's time for the refugees to get ready for night.
The sick have been tended continuously while the heroes were away.
While Theros appears to have fully recovered, Rori is getting worse and worse. Unless he manages a turnaround, he'll likely not survive.
Provisions: 38 - 31 + 18 = 25
Plus Hobgoblin rations: 16 = 41
Livestock 22
Refugees 31
Shelter for 30
Rori has both the Aegis of Recovery and the healers' attention, but with the progression of the disease the man is finding it harder and harder to recover. Benedict says a prayer for him, thanks the healers for their efforts, thanks the gods for Theros's recovery, then turns in for the night (ready to take a midnight watch again).
Clouds arrived over the course of the night, and the sky is dark and overcast in the morning. A light drizzle of rain and patchy fog makes the Fangwood a damp and chilly place.
Aubrin joins you at breakfast. "As much as I hate the thought of eating hobgoblin food, it's better than starving. They did us a favor by being so well-provisioned. We didn't have a lot of success foraging yesterday, and I'll want everyone to stay close with this rain and fog," she says.
Stirring the thin soup around in her bowl, she looks concerned. "The hobgoblins haven't forgotten about us, that's for sure. Hopefully that was the entire scouting force that you slaughtered last night. Because if they sent a messenger back to their leaders, we may be in for a much bigger fight. Call it a hunch, but I think we need to find those caves soon."
Before the breakfast is done, Rhyna and Jet approach the group with a number of the refugees behind them.
Rhyna looks a bit nervous and wrings her hands, but she seems to be speaking for the group. "Um, hey. I-- I mean, we," she glances behind her, "we wanted you to know, we wouldn't have made it this far without you. Everyone wants you to know how much we appreciate what you've done for us. And how you fought and killed those hobgoblins last night -- it made us feel like we really have a chance. We're going to keep pulling together with you until we find a place to call home. In the meantime, we've got something to show you."
A staff is passed up from the crowd. Rhyna and Jet hold it upright in their hands, planting the end in the ground. A crossbeam has been tied to the top of the staff and a green scarf hangs down like a banner. Two bristly pine branches lie across the top, tied down to the crossbeam with twine. "We decided we needed a symbol," she says proudly. "We call it the Hemlock Banner. Something to rally us. What do you think?"
"I think it is excellent," says Benedict. "and I am very proud of how well you all have done out here. This isn't easy for any of us, but we are Nirmathi and we persevere. Under the Hemlock Banner!"
Jie's eyes actually seem to fill with tears at the refugees' symbol. "Yes." she replies, full of pride. "Under the Hemlock Banner!"
Amkarang smiles widely before saying, "Ha, indeed! For the Hemlock Banner!"
"Do we need a name for our group to go with our banner? The Hemlock Brigade? The Scions of Phaendar?" Benedict ponders this for a while.
"If we make for the caves today, I think we would seek to bring everybody else along as well, the main body far enough away to be out of danger but close enough to shout for help if needed. Amélie in the vanguard with us. I wouldn't want the hobgoblins coming back and finding you all while the five of us were away."
Aubrin looks uncertain, as do several of the refugees. "Move again? Before you even find the caves, much less clear them out?" She shakes her head. "Rori's not fit to travel. And while I know I just said we need to hurry to find the caves, even if they hobgoblins sent a runner they're at least two days from marshaling a sizable force and getting them here."
"Okay. I was just concerned about the hobgoblins returning. If you think they cannot return in force today or tomorrow, then you all stay here and try to build up our food supplies. Let's try to get as many people foraging as possible."
"The Hemlock Militia perhaps? In any case, I agree with Benedict. We can scout for the caves while the rest find supplies."
Jie wants to find the caves today also. She reluctantly decides not to take Feng with her. "I don't think you will fit in the caves." she says as she gets ready to leave.
Benedict is ready to leave. "As many as needed to watch the animals given the weather. Some strong arms and sharp eyes on watch duty. Healers, do your best. Everybody else, gather what food you can, but stay near camp. We'll return by evening."
"First get to where the troglodytes were, then use the feather?"