"Then we fight. If we can kill the chief quickly, then we may be able to cow the remaining goblins. Let's make sure Ruka and Sam are ready to go."
They had given the goblins a chance to end this peacefully. The goblins had not taken it. If the rest surrendered once the chief was dead, they could be spared. If not, they would die. The goblins had made their choice. Now they must accept the consequences.
Kaji will examine the door to see if it is locked or if it might be barred in some way. If so, they will have to all come through the rear, which would slow them down.
While they confer that the rear guard is in position, Kaji checks the front door and finds it's secured and won't budget despite no lock evident. He seems confident it is barricaded from the inside.
Ruka nods as she hears that negotiations failed, not at all surprised. Well, that's not quite true. She's somewhat surprised that the goblins didn't 'agree' to the terms just long enough to get them to go away. Maybe they have enough honor to not make a deal they have no intention of keeping. Or, more likely, they're too stupid to be afraid of us killing them.
"Just yell or something when you're ready to burst in. We'll be right there with you."
Hearing that negotiations had apparently broken down, the wizard wondered at how best to approach the situation. Kajiwara's suggestion of a two-pronged offense was still a good one, but if the front door had to be breached, then perhaps a shuffling of the pieces was in order; he looked to Ruka, far and away the most powerfully built of the party.
"Ms Kaijistu," Sam ventured, the deferential appellation sounding particularly odd given the two's age, "Are you up for breaking in the door? I have a spell or two that would help, and goblin engineering being what it is, it shouldn't be unfeasible."
Of course, forcing the doors would leave the young woman the first and primary target of the goblins; Samton thought back to Ruka opening a door earlier and nearly being turned into a pin cushion. He didn't much like leaving any member of the group vulnerable.
With the front door securely barred, Kaji looks at the others, then says, "Perhaps we should all go in through the back instead?"
Ruka considers both suggestions. While she's fine with the goblins targeting her rather than the more vulnerable members of the party, they're likely all aiming whatever ranged weapons they have at the front door. One or two well-placed arrows (or fireworks) could knock her out of the fight. Possibly permanently.
"If we all go in through the secret entrance we'll probably get in each other's way. But breaking down the front door, which is what the goblins no doubt expect us to do, seems too risky." She shakes her head. "Unless one of those spells protects against arrows, I think we should just go in from the back. Hopefully they won't be expecting that, and we can catch them off guard."
Not being one to argue with other peoples' lives, Samton nodded and followed.
Ruka takes up her position at the front of the group. Once everyone's ready behind her, she pushes the door open and heads inside.
Kaji looks at the others and says, "Ruka first, then Asuka, then myself and Lor-Sinn. Poppy, Samton, as you have the least protections, you'll bring up the rear. Can either of you cast a protective spell on Ruka so she's protected as she moves into the room?"
Poppy whispered seemingly to herself briefly before shaking her head to Kaji's question. "I am depleted of relevant combat vitchcraft. Only utility spells left for the day, but I can stabilize any of you who fall." She hefted her crossbow into view, patting it assertively. "But Poppy can work magic with steel and feather if need be." The goblinized gnome glanced at Kaji's bow. "Though it's probably nothing compared to your skill, I vill do vhat I can."
Asuka nods to Kaji, then holds her sword in both hands, breathing steadily and consciously as she tries to calm herself. Ever the dramatist, she feels the anticipation build the longer they wait, the rush both exhilarating and stressful.
When everyone is ready, Ruka throws open the secret door and scrambles up the ladder and into a ... small 5'x5' dark room with no visible exits.
Ruka immediately looks around for the other exit. There has to be one, otherwise there wouldn't be a point to the secret room.
The darkness envelops all.
Asuka scrambles up after Ruka, finding herself also dreadfully confused as to what is happening.
Asuka is able to point out the opening in the darkness to Ruka, showing her where to push and how to open the door. With the plan intact, she climbs out of her way and lets her go to work.
Ruka opens the door to find a room roughtly 15' x 15' filled with six goblins. Two stand in front of the barricaded double doors to the north, one directly in front of her in the room and another in front of that one.
In the south center of the room is a 5' throne made of wooden sticks an brambles, a goblin sitting on top with various teeth and bones hanging from his neck. He has a crown with spiky nettles pained red on it, various piercings on his ears and a spear in his hand which is bangs on his throne repeatedly.
The goblins are talking among themselves when Ruka slides the door open, bumping it into a nearby goblin in the process. The goblin looks over at Ruka, slowly moving his head up to her towering frame with the blade gleaming in her hand
Ruka looks down at the goblin. They're too clustered together; right now she can't even get into the room. "You're in my way."
Then she swings.
Goblin dead at her feet, she steps further into the room and glares at the chief. "You should have negotiated."
"Poppy, Samton, as you have the least protections, you'll bring up the rear. Can either of you cast a protective spell on Ruka so she's protected as she moves into the room?"
Samton looked up the rickety ladder to the hidden passage. Doubt could be seen on the earnest face. He could indeed weave a little protective enchantment around the woman, but the emphasis should be on 'little'; it wasn't likely to last more than a single minute. The wizard was unsure whether this would be long enough to matter after climbing the steps, opening the door, and actually finding the goblins.
Murasamemaru drains the life from the goblin before her, his blood splattering into the face of the goblin standing directly behind it as his dying body drops to the floor.
Kaji moved past Asuka and up the ladder as quickly as he could to join Ruka in the room.
Kaji sees the space is more cramped than he though, and he kicked out at a goblin to try and make room for the others.
Kajiwara's foot slams into the goblin in front of him, sending it stumbling back into the wall with a loud thud.
The Chief stands on his throne and starts barking out orders at all of the goblins below, telling them to attack the intruders. He nearly bounces from his animated stance, taking his spear and thrusting it towards Ruka ineffectively. The remainder of the goblins in the room are equally terrible at their retaliation as they bump into each other, fall over each other and generally make a complete mockery of a defense of the throne room. Four attacks against Ruka all miss as does the single attempt against Kajiwara.
Aim low and topple him from his throne.
Trying to get an overview of the tightly packed battle inside, Samton was wringing his not inconsiderable brain for how to best help. As it stood, it seemed space was at such a premium that the tengu couldn't even get at the goblins. With only two combatants within, this was a problem. But reach was less of an issue for ranged weaponry, the wizard thought, looking over to the bow wielding Lor-Sinn.
One hand went over to the paladin's shoulder, sending a strange rush of energy throughout her; every muscle felt more limber, spry and confident.
"Ms Imass, if you can shoot the goblin blocking the path, then Ms Narukami can get in to join the others."
Ruka's eyes narrow further as she studies the chief. Take out the chief. I can do that.
She isn't entirely sure what the voice means when it says to aim low, (and later, after this fight is over, she's going to have to worry about why she's hearing voices in the first place), so for now she just puts as much power as she can into the attack.
Finally, time to fight! Lor-Sinn unshoulders her bow and moves through the back door, climbing the ladder one-armed and a little awkwardly. Once in the small antechamber, it becomes clear that the room beyond is quickly becoming quite crowded, so she flattens herself against a wall as she takes aim at the closest goblin, the one she can see through the door over Kajiwara's shoulder.
"Don't move," she whispers as she pulls on the bow for full draw.
Lor-Sinn's projectile flashes forward into the room and flies over the head of her target, misses by several inches and slams into the wooden wall behind it with a twang.
Ruka's expertly executed attack on the the goblin Chief rips open a wound across his whole body. As blood flashes out and spills down his lower half, he howls in pain from the strike.
Kaji saw that they were getting bottled up. Fortunately, he also saw a way to give Asuka a chance to enter the fray. Bracing himself for the possibility of injury he stepped towards the goblin in the center of the room before attempting a leaping somersault over the goblin's head.
Once on the other side, he adopted a defensive stance to see how the goblins reacted.
Poppy waited nervously at the bottom of the stairs, as the sounds of battle clashed from above. There was no room for her to ascend and the room must have been fairly small if everyone was taking their time to enter. She hoped she'd be able to aid her allies quickly enough.
The goblin swipes at the man as he moves past him, but he's too preoccupied by the bump on the back of his head from where Kaji threw him into the wall.
Asuka takes her opening and scrambles up the ladder, pulling out her sword with fake-out iaijutsu move. ”Do not trust your eyes! Steel Slicing the Veil!”
Asuka's swipe is on track to hit the goblin, but it's woozy and leans out of the way just as her blade should have cut into it. Dumb luck saves the goblin.
The goblin to the north of Ruka attacks Kaji first. Swinging it's blade towards Kaji, he tries to jump and swing at the same time which causes him to miss when he otherwise should have the man.
Back by the entrance, the goblin in front of Asuka that bumped his head earlier tries to swing a the tengu, but he still sees stars and can't even see straight and ends up swinging behind him instead of towards Asuka, getting his blade stuck in the wooden wall.
Then Chief Gutwad speaks in goblin, shouting what is assuredly a curse down towards Ruka as he points at her with his spear. He then thrusts his spear into her neck, puncturing her skin.
The other two goblins try to follow the Chief's command and attack Ruka, but one of them swings its blade between her legs and the other tries to turn around in circles multiple times to get more momentum but just gets dizzy and falls down.
Asuka does her best to try to strike true on the goblin in front of her, but she finds herself choking under pressure, feeling tense out of a need to match her earlier successes.
Asuka's entry leading with a feint was a good move - until she told the goblin not to trust his eyes and yelled out a name for the attack. Kaji couldn't talk about it now, however, as another goblin tries to stab him. He turned his attention to that goblin and lashes out at it with an open palm.
He misjudged the gob!it's height, however, and missed.
With no space to advance into the room without trodding on people's toes, Lor-Sinn remains in the doorway, firing arrows at the goblin in front of her and trying very hard to not hit Asuka instead.
Ruka barely even notices the goblins trying to hit her. Her attention is focused entirely on the chief. All the more so when he jabs at her with his spear. She's able to dodge enough to keep it from puncturing her windpipe, but the wound is still fairly deep. I need to finish this quickly.
As the chief dies, she turns her gaze to another goblin.
The chief leans down towards Ruka, taunting her with his spear, laughing.
Now. His neck is exposed. Don't swing too hard. Follow through.
Murasamemaru flashes in the slayer's hands towards the chief at blinding speed and tremendous strength. The blade severs the goblin chieftan's head from his body, both pieces falling forward off the throne onto the ground at her feet. Blood quickly pours from his body, staining the wooden floor. Outside, all Poppy can see is streams of blood leaking from the floor of the room above with her party.
The goblins all gasp when Gutwad falls, screaming out in confusion and panic at their leaders quick demise at the hand of Ruka.
Perfectly executed. Ruka's voice tells her.
Not knowing how else he could help, Samton climbed the stairs high enough to give Lor-Sinn a light tap to the ankle, once again empowering the paladin and steadying her aim.
A queasiness overtook Poppy as she watched the blood pool out of the building outlined by the low hanging sun, sloshing morbidly artful patterns on the earth. Like something out of a campfire story.
She stared at the haunting image and wiped the sweat from her forehead as the shouts of pain and panicked screams in Goblin descended from on high. Gore was common in her line of work, but this... this was one of those moments she'd probably remember till her last. I could've stopped this. If only I'd been a little more convincing. Poppy swallowed her guilt, and ascended the steps behind Sam.
Ruka is the only party member who successfully lands a blow on the enemy goblins, the rest of the party unable to execute as planned.
Of the four remaining goblins, only two land hits. The goblin in front of Ruka stumbles into her with his blade in sheer dumb luck and the goblin by Kajiwara thrusts his blade into Kajiwara, oblivious to the death of their chief.
The other two goblins stare dumbfounded at the Chief's head has rolled a foot away from his body.
Asuka feels the rush of battle as Ruka claims the chieftain’s head. ”Wow! That was super cool!” Emboldened once more, Asuka makes an adjustment to her earlier feinting technique, holding her sword up above her head and feinting to the right before bringing the sword down on the left.
Striking true, Asuka then turns her back and flicks the blood off her sword, as cool people don’t watch explosions or enemies falling down dead. ”Kitsune’s...Mystique.” Having the move name at the end seems to work a lot better, so she remembers that for next time.
"Aaah! Something touched my leg!" The tiefling jumps at Sam's touch, turning quickly and then relaxing as she spots the wizard. He seemed stuck there, which was no wonder, but now that a couple of the goblins had fallen, there was a little more room to maneuver. Lor-Sinn looses another arrow at her target, then steps into the room to make space for those behind.
With Asuka taking care of the goblin in the middle of the room, Ruka turns her attention to the one in the corner. She doesn’t put anywhere near as much strength behind this strike. It would be overkill, she hears in her head, and she can’t tell whether or not the voice is hers.
As she goes to strike she slips in the blood underneath her feet. The slash, rather than take off the goblin’s head, goes harmlessly over it.
Ruka and Lor-Sinn both are unable to strike a goblin this time, but Asuka strike one down with expert precision. Similar to Ruka, Asuka removes the head of the goblin in front of her, the green and bloody red object rolling up to the feet of the goblin at the north.
Kaji wasn’t quite able to avoid the sword thrust from this one, but with Asuka decapitating another, the goblins should be vulnerable. ”Poppy, try to get them to surrender!”
He then adopted a defensive stance to evade further attacks.
Goblin-Poppy jumped at hearing her name cutting through the chaos above her, and climbed faster to get as close to it as possible. At least Kaji is alive...maybe more can be saved! She cleared her throat and loudly croaked out a peace offering.
She wasn't sure if Muckbreath was even alive but her words hung in the air, and she hoped they would be enough.
"Aaah! Something touched my leg!"
"Sorry! Sorry! That was me. Trying to help," the young man said as he shot another salvo of strengthening sorcery through the tiefling.
The goblins either can't hear Poppy or choose to ignore her. Perhaps it's the fact that heads are literally rolling inside of the Chief's throne chambers. Two bodies drain their contents of blood, spilling the sticky liquid over the entirety of the floor of the room. With blood splashed on the party, the wall and literally everywhere, it's quickly becoming a true massacre.
The goblins shout something in goblin!
For their part, the remaining goblins lose their shit. One of them goes and picks up the Chief's head, holding it out in front of him and trying to talk to it in goblin. The other two however, drop their blades and pull out their skyrocket fireworks from their belts and pull out flint and steel as they prepare to light them both!
Asuka is appalled at how well her strike went through, even as she congratulates herself for perfectly executing a new move. She has little time to muse, though, as the goblins escalate the situation drastically. She strikes out at the goblin in front of Lor-Sinn, trying to clear an opening for her to shoot without getting attacked in retaliation.