Shal's page

Yod

It's about an hour before midnight, after the dinner party and the conversation with Ameiko.

"I'm less worried about the Hellknight spotting us than the town guard. The White Deer is close to the wall, and the watch is still a little edgy since the goblin attacks."

She leaves the bow behind and throws on a heavy cloak to soften her silhouette.

"Hellknights are rare along the lost coast. There's a few in Magnimar, as Ameiko said, but the order is housed in a castle south of Korvosa - a long way off indeed. This one may be one of those who sometimes serve Lord Mayor Grobaras or the Justice Court in Magnimar."

"They're a disciplined bunch. They revere the concept of Law to the point that they scare the people around them. You can be sure he is strictly following the law, but what law is the question."

"And I've heard they go into battle in ceremonial black armor. Extremely scary fellows in a fight."

She's an elf, and has quick ears. Though Yod and Cha are discreet with their side talk of excursions, Shal overhears and slides into the conversation.

"You need someone to watch your back, Yod. Let me tag along. On a night like tonight I can probably see better than you outside.

"It does seem as though the organizing force behind the goblin attacks has been neutralized. We know that the hero kings of the Thistletop, Birdcruncher and Mosswood clans are dead. The Brinestumps left most of their warriors dead on the banks of the Turandarok. I have no clue as to their real numbers, but surely they have been crippled by their losses here."

"So the Brinestumps attacked as well. It seems that all of the local tribes were united for this attack. And that Nualia was controlling them from Thistletop. This is one of her accomplices."

She shoves Lyrie toward the guards that flank the mayor. Deverin orders her jailed and the guards lead her toward the garrison building.

Shal stands from her examination of a goblin corpse and wipes her hands with a rag.

"These are Mosswoods. Obviously Belor's ambush went off well. This one here is the Mosswood king. Judging from the numbers here I'd say they were decimated by the attack. But I don't understand the fallen riders. It's not like him to leave the dead lying in the road like this, particularly his own."

"I think we need to get back to Sandpoint."

Anything you wish to do here before moving on?

Shal takes a step back and wastes another shaft on the invincible dog from hell. She'd like to blame her shameful shot on her concern for the mercenary, but the truth is her shot was dreadful.

Oh so close... failed to confirm a critical with a longbow (a triple damage weapon).

A now recomposed Shal seeks a shot in the scrum. Yod and Cha's low profile help as she slides up the right flank of the party and is lost among the pillars. Her perfectly placed shot skips off the beast, caroming into the crimson shadows beyond.

"Damned braised demon flesh!" she curses.

Shal comes running back into the fray by the way she left.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't get its maddening barking out of my head. It was like a echo trapped in my skull."

She retrieves her long bow from where she dropped it and nudges the other door open with her hip.

Shal turns the corner, levels her longbow and sends a shaft flying straight into the same hound. If the monster felt the blow, however, it did not show it.

"Are there ways we can tell what goblin comes from what tribe?

"Of course. Sometimes its hard because the tribes are close kin, then you have to read fetishes and such. But its very simple to see the difference between Licktoads, for instance, and these highland goblins with the long noses. Licktoads look more... toady. Damned treacherous creatures in a swamp."

"The Mosswoods are nearest and dearest to my heart. Definitely the most numerous. They look really just like this lot to me. The fetishes they wear are wooden, though. Hopefully they're being massacred by cavalry somewhere this morning."

"All the goblins we faced here were Thistletop goblins - loyal to Ripnugget, and apparently to Nualia. There were some bird-cruncher goblins out by the shaman. And you found the remains of their leader Koruvus."

Shalelu rummages in her pack and produces a coil of rope.

"We could bind her. And possibly lock her up in one of these rooms. Or someone stays and guards her."