Gruhx moves into the area as Eli whacks Tallvar on the back of the head and points. No, shoot there....there!
The goblin archer clambers up onto the walkway opposite the party to get a higher vantage point and perhaps a better escape route. He then lets loose with another arrow, this time at Tallvar. The arrow sticks in Tallvar's chest, off-center to the left. It should have missed a lung, but is still a wicked wound.
Seeing his friend receive another wound, Oren sends his sands blasting towards the goblin on the opposite walkway. "I'm quickly starting to not care so much about this other threat," he mutters out loud.
Seeing his companions in bad shape, Gruhx looks from the smelly creature in his hands to the ranged threat. He's frightful gaze passes over the field once more before he raises the goblin up high.
Bringing his arm forward, he releases the beast in a perfect spiral of soiled mess...sending it soaring across the field at the archer.
"YOU NO 'URT GRUHX FRIEND!"
Tallvar nods at Eli, and takes aim to let loose with another bolt, aiming where the cleric indicated.
This shot takes one of the goblins in the head, though a bit off center. It sends the little creature careening into the wooden walkway behind it, before it falls to the ground, dying.
The other remaining "lesser" goblin lets fly an arrow in return, seeming to want to take revenge. Tallvar ducks aside as the arrow thuds into the wood near his head.
Gruhx hurls his goblin across the path at the archer, but the oddly graceful goblin is able to duck the living projectile. This does not work out as well for said thrown weapon, as the flying goblin instead comes down neck-first on the opposite side of the walkway. A sickening crack prefaces his fall into the muddy ground.
If possible, Madir rushes through the building back outside, attempting to close the gap between the remaining goblins and himself. He also orders Black to attack the goblin closest to him!
The vulture swoops towards the goblin to make his next victim!
Black swoops down and slices the goblin's forehead with a raking claw, drawing blood on the suddenly confused little fellow. As he does, Madir moves into and through the room, seeing little more than some empty pallets and barely usable goods in what is obviously a living space.
Eli draws his scimitar and follows Madir into the hut, ready to guard his back.
The goblin archer, seeing this perhaps not going in his favor, charges back into the next building, leaving his ally to fend off the massive goblin-hurler Gruhx and his entire party.
Oren fires another blast at the goblin below, while yelling at Madir, "Don't go running off on your own!"
Oren's blast takes the goblin and completely scours the skin from its body, revealing the blood and bone underneath. The thing previously know as "goblin" falls face down into the mud. Black seems to shrug, if his anatomy had allowed it, and returns to Madir.
With a nod to Oren, Gruhx calls out "I's go boss. I's 'elp 'em."
He quickly moves around the side of the building. He bends down and pulls a cauldron out of his pack.
Tallvar winces at the goblin's demise, while Ember circles around beside him, yipping softly in excitement. "Glad someone's having fun," he mutters with a sidelong glance. The half-elf loads a new bolt in his crossbow, then looks to Oren. "Where to? Into the building?"
The group moves around to follow Madir.
Madir, having heard Oren's instructions, will wait a round for the others to catch up.
Seeing that the immediate threat has been dispatched, Oren hurries to catch up with Madir, expecting more trouble behind the next door.
Madir leads the way through another of the living areas and into a small room that smells even worse than the rest of the area - its seems to have been a storage room for what could loosely be considered "food" for the goblins.
Opening the next door, you're greeted with the sight of the goblin archer, who is holding his bow at the ready. He lets loose the arrow immediately, aiming for center mass. The arrow whizzes forward and slams into Madir, just where it was aimed.
Frustrated with his slow response, Oren gathers more power from the elements and aims straight at the goblin, hoping to overwhelm the green gnat before it did any more damage.
Move Action: Gather Power
Standard Action:
Madir falls to the ground, bleeding heavily...
The goblin dodges aside Oren's blast easily enough, proving quite nimble even in these close quarters.
Realizing his mistake as a wall stands before him and the sounds of his friends ring from beyond, he quickly moves back to the courtyard and hops the walkway into the courtyard.
Spotting his companions, the Trox squeezes onto the platform behind the flying companion, shoving his fist into the cauldron he carries.
Seeing Madir fall, Tallvar feels frustration and anger welling up in him despite himself. "Die already!" he shouts as he raises his shaking hands and steadies them long enough to fire again.
The goblin seems to take your words to heart...or maybe it's the crossbow bolt that slams into its chest. Either way, it stumbles back into the wall of this shoddy wooden structure and slumps down, dying.
Checking to make sure that there are no more immediate surprises, Oren asks Eli to tend to Madir as he searches the goblin corpses and goes back to ear-collection.
Oren looks about the wooden structure, but finds it to be little more than a rather shoddily built home for some grimy goblins.
Eli moves forward to Madir's aid. Stand back, I've tended these types of wounds before!
Seeing Madir starting to come to, he uses another, more potent calling upon his patron.
Eli then stands up from Madir and looks around. Everyone else okay?
Cringing at the sounds of goblin speak, Gruhx turns to the far side of the complex. "Boss deys plans yous dead! Dis ways!"
Hand firmly shoved inside the cauldron, he takes off for the far building.
Oren gives Madir a moment to collect himself, thanking Eli for his good work, before they follow after the trox. "Careful, Gruhx. Who knows what other surprises they have for us."
"... I... live." Madir gets up, unsure what to do or say, until he vaguely mutters a "Thank you."
Upon Gruhx's warning, he snaps back to attention and stands ready to bust the door open.
"I'm glad the Dawnflower's light can be of service to you. Let us move on"
Eli will move to follow.
You make your way over to the largest, enclosed building, each converging upon it in your own manner. Madir and his man-sized companions follow the walkways over to stand to the north of the room, facing two closed doors. A quick test shows them to be held in place somehow - you believe barred from the inside.
Gruhx's heavy footfalls slap mud up and about with each step as he makes his way to the western end and stops there, facing that wall of the hut.
You note that as you advance upon the hut, it goes quiet.
Oren watches Gruhx, ready to tap Madir on the shoulder when the Trox bust through the wall.
The recent falling of his companion crossing his mind as he moves across the city, Gruhx begins to breathe heavily...ears turning red...claws extending from his hands.
"OPEN SAY ME!" shrieks the creature, tearing at the wall with his claws. "KNOCKY knock!"
Gruhx slashes through the wall as if it were thick paper, his claws ripping a big hole in the west side of the hut. Inside, he can see a large room with walls decorated by numerous poorly preserved horse and dog heads, along with other trophies like broken weapons, brine-pickled bodies of brutally slaughtered furry animals, and other bits of grisly ephemera. There's a 5-foot tall rickety chair with a ladder attacked to it sitting against the southern wall. A fat goblin with a crown of bone and wood sits there, directing the other goblins in the room - all five of them.
It seems as if Grux has broken into the throne room of Chief Gutwad, and here's where they've decided to make their last stand.
The goblins inside act first! The two at the northern side of the room stand ready to guard those doors, their fear of their Chief apparently enough to keep them from running at the sight of Gruhx. They hold their swords aloft, ready to strike any who come through their door.
The two goblins in the center of the room light the small tubes that they'd been readying, and point both them at the massive Trox that had just torn down their wall. The last - the poor fool that just happened to be closest to the wall when Gruhx broke through, shrieks and attacks! His sword slashes through the damaged wall, but catches on a jutting chunk of wood and is turned aside.
Tallvar
Oren
Eli
Gutwad
Gruhx
Madir and Black
Eli will hold his position and pray to Sarenrae for blessings upon the party.
Oren aims his hand at the door. "Keep your head down Madir," he says just before he unleashes a blast of sand, trying to aim for where he figures the bar may be positioned.
Tallvar loads his crossbow and stands ready as Oren makes an attempt on the door. While the gap in the center is enough to let some of the blast come through, it is not enough to break open the doors. Oren gets the idea that it may be easier to find a way to move the bar than to try and destroy it....unless of course Gruhx wants to reach around and punch it.
As the massive Gruhx looks into the room as if he'd just opened a tin of jerky, Chief Gutwad snorts and, from his perch on his "throne", fires an arrow at the giant foe.
With a roar of pain, Gruhx lashes out with his claws at the nearest foe. "Dat hurt! Mes gun pays ya fer dat!"
for
for
Madir grunts at the closed door. He turns to Oren and says "I can't open this. I will join Gruhx."
He then moves past Oren, placing a hand on his shoulder. Before moving further, he tells Oren, "Good fortunes." and jumps down the walkway to get closer to Gruhx. Black follows.
Gruhx swats away at the goblin with sweeping claws, but the little creature proves to be too nimble and it dodges under the sweeping claws. As Madir moves around, the two goblins at the front doors turn and seem to want to rush at Gruhx, but shouted orders by the chief force them to turn back to guard the northern doors, to stand guard there.
The goblin nearest to Gruhx slashes again with his sword at the giant form before him, seemingly bolstered by his ability to dodge the previous attacks. He once again seems to be confounded by the rip in the wall, and his blade only strikes wood.
Just after the goblin attacks, his companions fiery weapons go off! The rockets launch at Gruhx, though the mighty Trox stands partially covered by the newly rent wall.
Both rockets hit the wall and fall to the ground ineffectually. The chief looks so mad at his goblin minions that his bow drifts towards them...
Tallvar
Oren
Eli
Gutwad
Gruhx
Madir and Black
Lacking any other ideas, Oren looks for something that he can use as a lever to slip between the doors and lift the bar away.