Norde moved down the steps, trying to herd the goblins before him. "Thank you Zordt."
Gitana reached out and touched Norde, delivering more healing energy to her friend, horrified to see him so badly injured.
She shuddered at the sight of the carnage. She was already queasy from all the dismembered body parts she saw entering the village. She kept it together but had a moment when she thought she might add her breakfast to the mess on the floor.
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"Thank you Gitana."
Zordt stared at the goblins for a moment, then nodded when they threw down their weapons. Then he addressed them in their own tongue. "Starit ket el fal ek move, ti promise nie harm vol come tam kahl."
Goblin:
"Stay here and do not move, I promise no harm will come to you."
"Kar dan ek?" Asked the goblin, pointing at the entryway, where two of the goblins who had surrendered were eyeing the doors on the far end of the hall.
"What about them?"
Hedrak climbed the stairs two at a time, coming to a small landing with several doors and another staircase leading up. The moaning was coming from above.
As you climbed higher, the moaning seemed to get louder. The steps beneath your feet creaked, and the rhythmic noise suddenly stopped. The third floor was much like the second, with various doorways leading out from a landing. You could tell which door the noise had been coming from.
The door led into a workroom, with a desk, several small bookshelves filled with a few moldy books and some cracked scrolls, a large set of drawers, and a small fireplace. Two humans had been bound to a wrought iron arm designed to help someone cook over the fire, and had nearly pulled it free of the brick hearth. They were gagged, and one of them made a desperate choking sound when he saw you, backing away as far as his bonds would let him. Unlike the other prisoners you had released earlier, these two didn't seem to have been abused.
Downstairs, as Gitana healed Norde and Zordt talked with the Goblins, Willie ran to the front door. "Hope we aren't about to have more company," he said, not too loudly. Tom went through the door by the stairs that two of the goblins had gone through. Robert and Elaine, both heavily wounded, sat wearily at a table, while Jane poked at Bolg's unconscious body.
"I think I should make sure he never wakes up," she said, making eye contact with Zordt.
"We have more prisoners up here!" - he shouted to the others downstairs.
Zordt glanced at the goblins eyeing the doors. "Ak kahl flee kahl vol likelrit be cut di. Kahl'iy choiji."
Zordt responded to Willie. "Keep an eye out, give us any advance notice you can."
Zordt turned to Robert and Elaine, over Bolg's body. "I have no love for the ogre tyrant who united these clans. We should take his head, use it to strike fear and obedience into any who would challenge our presence."
You pulled off their gags, they had had large rocks stuck in their mouths and then bound over with cloth. The man worked his jaw as you cut his bonds, "are we saved? Have you killed them all?"
The other prisoner, a woman with grey in her hair, wasted no time. As soon as you cut her bonds she made for the door. "They gathered much of our wealth here, though I'm not sure where they stashed it. Probably with the ogre."
The two goblins by the door looked at Zordt. "Entä jos piiloutumme? Meillä ei ole vaihtoehtoja, ellet suojaa meitä."
"We must run or hide. We have no options, unless you will protect us."
Willie brushed by the two of them with a sneer, walking to a window on the front face of the house and cracking the shutters. After a moment, he turned and called back. "I see a group of orcs and goblins forming up in front of the house to the north. Not too many yet, but more are surely coming. And the sentries that were guarding the southern house are gone. Perhaps they went to wake more, perhaps they're trying to avoid any bloodshed."
Jane rolled up her sleeves and drew a dagger. Bolg's face looked strangely human now that he was unconscious, but she shook her head and set about the grim work.
"We have more prisoners up here!" Came Hedrak's voice from above.
"Ti vol protect kahl, until not ha farr from ket, el ti vol tell kahl when kahl vie flee po hide. Ten itst, starit quiet el listen tam sto kahl'ke told."
Zordt pumped his last bit of magic into Norde.
"Prepare for another fight! Gitana, heal as quickly as you can. Barricade the doors with the tables. I will try to talk our way out of this, but prepare for the worst."
Norde started moving tables to the door, as directed. "If those goblins want to survive, they should be prepared to shoot at whatever comes through these doors."
"Hedrak maybe should take the other side of this door. Anyone have any caltrops?"
The goblins did not look ready for a fight. It was clearly going to take more convincing if you wanted them to help you get out of here.
Willie and Tom helped Norde move tables towards the door. You were able to brace them against the handle to make a fairly sturdy barricade, but it wouldn't hold for long without someone there to back it.
The windows in the main hall were high and thin, but there were two fairly large and low windows in the entryway. They were not paned with glass, but had reasonably sturdy wooden shutters that locked from the inside.
You weren't sure if there was a back entrance.
Gitana moved over to Robert, making a slight detour to pass close enough to hand Zordt the healing wand, in case he wanted to use it while she worked her hex magic. When she reached the human, she let the healing energy build around her hand, glowing like a swarm of fireflies, and then touched Robert to deliver it.
Each time she reached out her arm to touch someone while delivering her healing, she was startled to see her arm covered in greenish skin and course hair, with bigger muscles than her arm displayed as a woman. But she shook it off and prepared to heal Elaine next.
When she heard word that more enemies were approaching, she muttered, "Fate preserve us."
"We have cut off the head - Bolg is down - but I am sure there will be others" - Hedrak replies, making sure they are both fully released, then following them downstairs.
"Hmm," frowned the woman. "No time for treasure right now then, I expect. Have you fortified the entrances, or shall we cut our way out?"
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Gitana healed Elaine of some of her hurts, the big woman lifting her head and keeping her chin up. Tom came to check on her, and they clasped hands for a long and quiet moment. Robert helped himself to a little candied fruit which had survived the fight.
"Come with me," said Willie, beckoning Jane. They went through the back doors by the stairs, then came back. "One door, one window. No sign of the goblins that ran that way, they must have fled, though I cannot imagine they will escape." They started dragging tables through the door at the base of the stairs.
A young man came down the stairs. "Robert, is that you?" He said with joy.
Robert stood, smiling, and went as if to hug the other man. He stopped short when he remembered he was covered in blood. "Glad to see you alive and unharmed."
Zordt and Gitana took Bolg's severed head and went upstairs. They led to a small landing with two freshly painted doors that led back in the direction of the entrance and one that led away from it. There was also another staircase going up. They went through a door that led back towards the entrance, passing through a long room with two rows of beds, messy and unmade, and several packs and weapons slung on the floor. There was another door at the far end of the room that led out onto the balcony.
The balcony was high and fenced with wood, with painted red boards and several large wooden chairs clustered around a table. There were a pair of mugs on the table, one of which was half full and smelled faintly of honey and apples. The edge of the balcony was flush with the face of the house, and it would be difficult to climb up from the ground without a ladder. Across the square, in front of the northernmost house, you could see a gathering mass of several orcs and at least a dozen goblins, three of whom were armed with the same flaming vials you had seen on the goblin you ambushed to save Willie. You could not see into the house to the south, but you knew by the absence of the sentries that had been there before that they were aware of you.
Upon seeing you, one of the larger orcs called out with a voice like falling rocks.
Hedrak moved downstairs, passing by Zordt and Gitana as they headed to the balcony. He continued further down, and noticed Norde ready to defend the front door.
"Do you want me here Norde? Or at the back door?"
"Here I think, if we die, we can die together. Did you bring the heal stick?"
Zordt looked over the balcony, then boomed a laugh out in response. Zordt then hauled up Bolg's head, raised high so call could see. He waved the head in a taunting manner.
A murmur passed through the group when Zordt lifted Bolg's head, and they turned to one another in confusion. What would this mean for them? You didn't recognize any of these orcs, which meant that the one who had been guarding the gatehouse was still at his post. They didn't know what forces you had inside. And Bolg's head was terrifying.
It looked as though you'd stirred them. Another orc and several more goblins came out of the house. The orc raised his hands in outrage, pointing at you with his sword and speaking a few forceful words. You caught a few: coward, pale-skinned, kill. The new orc even started walking towards you, but stopped when he realized no one was following him, not even his goblins.
They gathered together and whispered among themselves. After a moment, two goblins went out at once at a run. One was heading towards the east gate, the other towards the southern house.
Gitana stood stone-faced next to Zordt, scowling and showing her teeth in what she hoped was a convincing show of resolve. When the lone orc tried to start something, she began to estimate which of her spells might reach him. She had a few left and hoped if the defiant one could be dealt with in a flashy manner, it would convince the rest to stand down.
"Here I think, if we die, we can die together. Did you bring the heal stick?"
"I did not, but will get it now. And then we fight side by side" - Hedrak grunted and went to get the magical healing wand from Gitana.
Sensing the orc was too far for her spells, Gitana called out,
The big orc bristled at Gitana's words. "You're welcome to try!" He stood stock still at the front of the group of them, stretching his arms out on either side of him so that his shield wouldn't protect him.
One of the goblin runners went into the house to the south, the other ran down the lane to the east. You could see him go into the second house on the north side, which looked to have sustained less damage in the assault and had smoke coming out of a chimney. The orcs and goblins that remained split into two groups. The smaller one, an orc and four goblins, stayed in the square. The rest, two orcs and seven goblins, including both of the ones that had the flaming vials, went around towards the back of your house, giving you a wide berth. The balcony was high, about fifteen feet off the ground, and you could only see around the side of the house by leaning out over the railing, which exposed you. You couldn't help but think that some tables along the railing would be helpful against arrow fire. For a moment, nothing happened.
Inside, an older woman descended the stairs, Hedrak recognizing her as the woman he'd freed. She'd slipped away for a moment, and was only just now coming down the stairs. She surveyed the carnage. "I thank you for helping us, though we are strangers to you." she said to Norde and Hedrak. "I am Elizabeth," she said, curtsying before grabbing a sword and shield from a dead body. She joined Tom and Willie by the back door. The other recently rescued prisoner, who had so warmly greeted Robert, grabbed a bow from one of the goblins and stood with Jane on the stairs. Robert and Elaine, wounded as they were, stayed seated at a table, though they were ready to reinforce either entrance should they become needed.
After some time, three more orcs and seven more goblins came out of the house to the south. They went and spoke with the orc and four goblins by the northern house. A short while later, the forces you recognized as having been guarding the gatehouse when you entered came striding down the lane, moving towards the growing throng in the square.
Gitana looked at Zordt and said softly in Orcish, "Can you take him out with your bow? It might intimidate the weaker ones. Otherwise, I think it is time to fight or flee. It seems they are not going to disband and if we give them enough time, they'll surround the house and burn it down, to flush us out."
Zordt draws his bow, stretching it back far and closing an eye. He drops his voice and gives a somber few notes, then fires.
The orc stood tall and proud...as two arrows punched right through his mail, sticking in his chest. Surely he could have deflected one of them with his shield, had he not been so stupid. Cheers went up as he endured them bravely, and were muted when he stumbled and nearly fell, blood splattering on the snow. Still, he refused to be carried by his allies, liming his own way back inside, followed by a white haired goblin who shook her head wearily. The other orcs and goblins seemed impressed by both Zordt and the orc he had shot. After that they made double sure to stay far away.
Gitana's words steamed in the morning air. There was little wind, and the stink of death still hung heavy about this place, once full of life and laughter, now dreadful and dire.
Zordt smiled, letting his sound fade out. "Gitana, update those downstairs, and see what other healing you can do. If this doesn't work we need an escape route planned. I will stay here, I will let you know if anything new happens."
He took another deep inhale, then shouted out in orcish again.
Hedrak moved toward the balcony, and after taking a moment to appreciate the forces arrayed against them, whispered to Gitana - "Will you hand me the healing wand? It may be needed. Me and Norde will be holding the front door as we can"
Before Zordt made another attempt at diplomacy, orc and goblin style, Gitana stepped slightly behind Zordt, placed her palms together, and said, "Te duce sors," and touched him as if giving him a reassuring pat on the back. A surge of fate-filled energy infused his next action. As he spoke, she stood confidently behind him, adding what force of personality she could to his words.
Then Gitana left the balcony to talk with those below.
She detailed the events she witnessed from the balcony and then added, "I have but a few tricks up my sleeves now, so unless you feel really confident you can defeat all comers, I'd suggest we try to use the lull to beat a hasty retreat. We might be able to get to the hole in the wall to the southwest before they give chase. But you guys are the experts when it comes to combat strategy, so do what you think best and I'll do my best to support you. Just don't expect any fireworks from me. I've got a couple of spells that can do some serious harm, but after that, it's mostly distraction fire using my deck."
Zort's words rang across the courtyard, passionate and filled with fervor. The orcs listened to his words, turning to one another and talking amongst themselves. After a moment, one of them stepped forward and raised her voice.
Even as she finished speaking, more forces began coming out of the southern house towards her. Perhaps these were the ones she wanted to speak with?
Zordt remained on the roof and watched the gathering orcs and goblins. His concern grew with the crowd size. Really stuck your neck out this time, didn't you? Leave the desert, leave all the politics of orcs behind, just go and fight more savage ones elsewhere. Such an idiot. Still, it was no use sulking. He watched them closely to make sure they weren't trying to pull some kind of trick, and waited to hear their offer.
It wasn't long before the forces from the gatehouse arrived. All the orcs and goblins except the ones who went to the back of your house gathered in a circle, voices rising and falling. After just a few minutes, they reached a conclusion. A large orc, one who had come out of the southern house, stepped forward to offer you a deal. There was a moment's silence, and she looked almost about to turn away. But then she raised a long green finger and pointed right at Zordt. she called out, sneering cruelly.
Inside, Elizabeth stiffened. She seemed to be able to speak orcish, though none of the other villagers could. The goblins made silent faces at her, and she backed towards the stairs. "Oh please," she said to Hedrak, "don't let them take me."
Zordt shouted back. He paused and grasped his heart as if in pain. He called with mock laughter.
Inside, Elizabeth stiffened. She seemed to be able to speak orcish, though none of the other villagers could. The goblins made silent faces at her, and she backed towards the stairs. "Oh please," she said to Hedrak, "don't let them take me."
"That will never happen" - Hedrak replied calmly, as he laid the morningstar to rest on one shoulder - "Why do they want you?"
Raziel seemed to note the tone inflections on the half-orc's voice, and came out of the backpack. He just sat on his shoulder, staring at the woman.
Elizabeth glanced around at the other villagers who were nearby. "I'm one of the oldest people here. The ogre wanted me for his own reasons, and they want me because he wanted me." She winced as Zordt called back to the orcs. "I'm not so sure you and your friend are on the same page."
The orc tapped her fingernails against her helmet as Zordt called back. She thought for a moment, and there was some whispering among the others.
You found some coins distributed throughout the packs and corpses of Bolg's minions, worth a few dozen gold. Bolg's room held more wealth than you would have guessed a town like this to have: a few silvered salt boxes and some fancy holy symbols, assorted baubles with thin gold plating or lesser gemstones, and another set of figurines which matched the ones you'd found earlier. Now that you had all of them, you could see that each one was slightly larger than the last. They would look nice if they were all lined up together. The real prize was Bolg's helmet, which he hadn't been wearing when you'd killed him. It was enormous and fabulously inscribed, and had a solid silver giant set on the top that had eyes of ruby and held a club of gold.
How-...how would that prevent me from stealing something? I have to go down into the building to get it anyways. Zordt bit his lip from making a smart retort to the orc; he did not need to sour relations now.
And with that Zordt went downstairs.
"Alright. I've negotiated the release of everybody here. We won't be able to get any of the other captured villagers right now, but we need to quit while we're ahead. I need all you villagers to scour this building, find anything of value and pile it up." Once they started mobilization he found Elizabeth and walked over to her, not knowing that she understood orc. "They also wanted to keep you. I told them that's fine, but I lied. I'm going to get you out of here. But I need you to trust me, and I need you to answer a question; are you better at climbing, or sneaking?" He said with a roguish grin.
Elizabeth breathed a sigh of relief when Zordt delivered the news. "I am better at sneaking but...what do you have planned?"
The villagers scattered about the house. One righted a table, and they began to pile up assorted riches on it. Willie fleeced the live goblins and found a few coins. When everything had been piled, Tom went over it, muttering to himself. [smaller]"Here is Juliet's brooch, so they must have found her, but where is her ring? And there is Ned's bracelet, but his earrings are gone, little things with black diamonds." Robert came and stood beside him.
"They got my grandmother's plate, with the gold leaf on the rim, but I don't see her slender spoon of silver anywhere. They would've been in the same place." He scratched his head. "This is a puzzle even I cannot solve," he said, shrugging. "Guess we'll never know."
"Hedrak, see if there is anything magical amongst the goods. Gitana, keep pumping out that healing. Norde, I need you to pack a bunch of heavy crap into some bags. Don't fill them up all the way, leave some room at the top." Zordt clapped his hands. "Come on, we're on a time crunch! Hup to hup to!" He laughed, as if he were organizing a play, rather than a potentially deadly escape from a band of thugs and murderers.
Grateful to have something she could contribute, Gitana took the wand of healing and sought out any who had wounds and applied charge after charge starting with the most badly wounded, and ending when everyone was healed or when it was time to go, whichever came first.
While she is attending to the wounded, she feels the magic disguising herself as an orc fading. She alerts those around her before the change. "Don't be surprised, but I'm not really an orc. Let me show you my true form." Her hairy green skin turns smooth and dusky colored, her hair grows out to full head of raven black locks, and her clothes change to her traveling togs.
Hedrak used his arcane knowledge, and cast a dweomer which allowed him to detect magical auras.
He then surveyed the gathered loot, and the bodies of their defeated foes, particularly Bolg.
Hedrak discovered nothing magical in the looted items, or on Bolg. Elizabeth and Robert's new friend looked at Gitana strangely, a hint of fear on their faces, but they swallowed it quickly. Soon everything was ready. "What do you want me to do?" Asked Elizabeth.
Norde gladly starts filling bags and such with the loot from the villagers, unless stopped.
"Thank you for the healing!"
"Norde, no! I need junk in one bag, leave out the good loot for now. Just something heavy that fills the bag, but make sure there's some room at the top." He went over and started to help him to make sure he got the concept.
"Alright, good good. So here's the plan."
Zordt lowered his voice to make sure any outside eavesdroppers would have difficulty overhearing. "Everybody else, you will be hiding most of these goods on your person. Inside jackets, in your underwear, I don't care. Take things that are small and precious first. Lean towards caution, I'd rather we lose some baubles than get caught."
Zordt leaned over to snatch up Bolg's helmet, then with a strained face snapped off the silver giant on top of the helmet, then tossed it to Norde. "You will wait for the orcs and goblins to follow us to the west wall, and then you will make your escape. That's all the rest of you have to do, nice and easy."
Zordt gathered together the larger and more cumbersome pieces of loot, then took the bag he had Norde prepare as well as the remainder of Bolg's helmet. "Elizabeth and I will be meeting them at the west wall. Once we have our backs pressed against the wall, where there is no easy way to get out of the village, that's when the critical moment is."
Zordt took Elizabeth by the shoulders. "You are going to be carrying the bag of goods. When I put my hand on your shoulder, I need you to throw the bag at them and shout as loud as you can! Be as loud and distracting as possible, even better if you can hit one of them with the bag, especially if you can throw it at that little old one who seems like a spellcaster. In fact, make sure to throw it at that one, I need them to miss what I do while you're distracting them."
Zordt reaches into his pack, taking out a scroll. "When you do this, I'm going to make you completely invisible. You're not completely in the clear thought, because of all that damn snow out there. It may even be best to just place yourself flat up against the wall and wait for them to leave. I'm going to try to convince them I teleported you away, but if there's any spellcasters among them they might see through that."
"Meanwhile, I'll climb over the wall. Then I'll come back and meet everybody at that lodge we cleared out." Zordt throws his hands out as he finishes his master and daring plan. "Any questions?"
Norde nods, and packs the bag properly.
"I have no questions on your plan, but I do have about this silver giant." He holds up the piece broken off of the helmet. "I believe dragons come in silver, are there different metal giants in this world too?"
"Oh, right. The invisibility: don't attack anybody while under its effects, and it will last precisely 3 minutes, so silently count that so you know how long you have."
Zordt stared at Norde for a moment, then laughed and shook his head. "Oh probably, maybe we'll find a gold giant next?"