Tulle continues to monitor the back and read of the formation.
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Tulle stands guard, keeping his shield and hammer at the ready. Covering the rear of the group as they progress towards the tunnel. Never can be too careful. We made a bunch of noise and a second band of baddies could be on their way. Stay vigilant.
Tulle turns to the beast that has been bludgeoning him. He winds up his warhammer and swings at its left leg.
Take that you hairy meatsack!
Tulle is rocked by the blow and clearly bloodied. Hurting over here! Turning to the nearest Goblin Tulle takes a sweep with his warhammer.
Yikes! Tulle explaims as he dodges out of the way of the beast.
Not sure what it is, but its big! As Tulle shouts to the others, he raises his warhammer high above head in an attempt to "whack-a-mole" the goblin (not the large beast) that just struck at him.
These damn beasts are wiry. Keep formation and stay aware.
Tulle blocks the attack from the goblin who swung at him with his shield. He steps to the side and brings down his hammer.
If it hits: Hearing the monk ask about keeping one of the Goblins alive, Tulle shouts above the sounds of battle. Monk, grab one and maybe we can break its legs or interrogate it or something!
Tulle wants to draw their attention to Tomak, Axlem and himself. As Tomak said, we will try and wait for the others to move around into position prior to moving forward.
Moving forward from the boulder they were hiding behind, Tulle steps out and advances forward toward the goblin camp shield held ready. He stands just outside of swinging distance from Tomak and Axlem, watching each of them as they all advance in a line together. Easy Tulle, just like you've done a thousand times in the militia. Don't get ahead of anyone Tulle looks to his left and right at Axlem and Tomak: Alright boys, our strength comes from our ability to advance in a uniform and deliberate manner. Do all you can to push the enemy back...right into our flanking troops. Screaming at the goblins, in an attempt to distract them he shouts: HAAAH! TO ARMS VERMIN!
Axlem, looks like the rage bit is covered pretty well here: For level 1 it looks like you could "turn-on" rage and get 7 rounds of rage. During those rounds you would have a +4 to your strength and constitution, +2 to any Will saves and -2 AC. You can end rage whenever you wish, as a free action. Whenever you end your rage you are fatigued for 2x the number of rounds you remained in rage. While fatigued, you cannot run or charge and you take -2 to strength and dexterity. Hope that helps.
Tulle takes Petian's words under consideration for a moment before taking charge of the situation. While he himself had never been a leader of troops in his time in the militia, Tulle had seen many others do it. We need to search the camp and those goblins are in our way. Let Axlem, Tomak and me form the front line....um...we will engage the goblins and draw their attention....then, uh...Petian, Markas and Adokul move around to flank them. Yea that sounds right. That should throw them off and open their defenses. While he didn't sound very confident Tulle knew the tactic was textbook and should work.
Seeing and hearing the clumsy dwarf make the enough of a racket to wake a city block Tulle follows behind readying for a fight.
Tulle jumps the stream, warhammer and shield at the ready. Not seeing anything at the camp ready to strike at him, Tulle looks back to assist anyone who may fall in.
Having climbed the rope Tulle turns to Axlem whispering, Thanks Dwarf, you did well on those rocks. Tulle pears around the boulder taking in the scene.
Tulle looks to the grove of the waterfall, looking to see if there is any trail or cave. He is also keeping an eye out for any scouts.
In a hushed voice Tulle whispers: Petian, with the camp at the top of the cliff, having you scout ahead may not be the best plan. From here we should be able to find a way up together and I would rather not have you that far away from the group. Does anyone see anything?
Tulle takes lead again as the group forms in a column behind him. Holding his neck where the bug got him, he feels the bleeding stop and the spot begins to swell under his hand. At least I wont bleed to death. This bulge will not be comfortable with my pack strap rubbing against it... Turning his head back to the column: Well Petian, once we hear the waterfall perhaps you can sneak ahead and scout the area. We will stay within range enough to hear if you are in trouble. When you do go and scout, look for any avenues of approach that are not straight into the front gate. See if you can spot any area where our driver may be held at.
Tulle feels the life drain from him as the foul bug sucks from his neck.
As the monk connects with his many fists, Tulle is relieved to feel the big go lifeless. Get this damn bug off of me! Tulle says, as he pushes the creature up and out of his neck, dropping the creature to the ground. That creature took more from me than a little blood, I feel weak... Is everyone OK? If so I say we keep moving toward the waterfall.
Tulle acts quickly against the incoming creatures. With his shield readied and his wahammer raised he charges toward the closest bug. Closing the distance quickly Tulle swings his hammer with force and power. Aiming for the bug's head Tulle hopes to end this quickly. Act swiftly friends, they seem sluggish! Like hammering a nail...strike once...follow through...
Goodness what are those beasts!? Although Tulle doesn't know what the creature is, it doesn't look friendly. Tulle readies his hammer and shield.
Tulle seems content with Adokul's pummeling. I suppose that will work, although I still do not know what we will do with him once we are done. Petian, you had a good point about using him as ransom, however I suspect that these foul creatures value the life of one of their own on the same level as a human. Turning to the direction the goblin pointed, Tulle begins to step into the forest. Turning over his shoulder he states: I suggest we get a move on, the clock is against us. It would be beneficial to place our softer targets in the middle of our group. This forest is too dense to travel in any other formation but a column.
Tulle has been riding as a guard escort in carriages in and around this area for a few months now. The work has been boring but it gives him some time to talk with the other guards and sometimes a nobleman or merchant who isn't too pretentious. Tulle tries to recall if he has ever heard of a waterfall in the area: I understand some of your concern regarding killing the bound and gagged goblin. Seems not too sporting. However I dont understand what we would do with him when we return to town. This is not a friend of this town. It is an abomination who has killed and terrorized anything it can get its sword into. I am fairly certain the town magistrate will order it killed. That is the typical law of the land as I understand it. My concern with keeping it bound in the carriage is that we may be away from the carriage long enough to give it a chance to squirm free and steal our ride, or worse...
Axlem speaks goblin I think. Tulle is a bit shocked when Petian and Axlem return with a bound and gagged goblin. That was not what he had expected. This seems most irregular. Axlem, lets find out what he knows and find out if he has seen the driver anywhere. Aware that goblins rarely travel or adventure alone Tulle turns his attention away from the group as he checks the surrounding area for anything suspicious.
Still far too dark out to spot anything. It doesn't seem like anything is making noise in the area, other than the bound and struggling goblin.
Tulle pulls the carriage over to the side of the road as the others step out to search the road ahead. A little behind Adokul and Petian, Tulle does not hear the noise, but does notice Adokul and Petian alerted by something. As they stop and begin to peer into the dark Tulle's instincts take over. He draws his war-hammer and readies himself for whatever is in the dark. What is it?!
Tulle squints his eyes, as he sits in the driver's seat, attempting to make out the shadows of the night. Is that a tree...or is it someone standing there? Is this where we were attacked? Get ahold of yourself, trust your gut.
Tulle can't make out anything in the shadows. Does anyone down there see anything that looks familiar? I don't know where to stop.
I want to see this man alive if at all possible. I could not live with myself if there was a chance he could have been saved. I don't mind taking the carriage if more than 1 of you cares to join me. I understand that some of you are wounded and may need to seek care for your wounds. I won't hold that against you. However I will not wait for morning to find that this man died a slow and painful death out there. Do any of you want to join me? After receiving the answers from the others, Tulle turns to the businesswoman and asks, What was the driver's name? If he is alive, perhaps we could call out to him. Tulle lights his lamp and prepares the horses for the journey.
To be honest ma'am, I cannot say definatively that he is dead. Thinking about it now, I don't think I ever saw a body, I just assumed... Tulle feels a sense of regret for potentially abandoning this man. I think I owe it to the man to go back and see if he is alive. Turning to the carriage Tulle addresses his fellow adventurers, Well new friends, I will head back and check for the man, hopefully he is still alive. If any of you care to join me I would certainly appreciate the company. Turning back to the business woman Tulle asks, If I may, I would like to borrow your horses from the carriage to ride back. Is that alright with you? With the animals disconnected from the carriage the trip should be shortened quite a bit.
Tulle disembarks the carriage and steps in front of the questioning woman and the gathered crowd. Aware that there may be some sensitivity with this issue, Tulle takes careful consideration of the words he is about to speak. I regret to inform you all that this carriage was attacked by a group of goblins about a half hour from town. We were unaware of anything going wrong until it was too late. By the time we reacted to the attack the driver was already dead...It appeared to come quickly for him. His body was not found, I assume it was lost over the cliff's edge. Although we never looked. I hope he isn't rotting down the road, serving as a feast to local creatures. Tulle thinks to himself. We are simply a group of unacquainted travelers who happened to be on the same carriage during this tragedy. I was more we could do... Did you know the driver?
Tulle pulls the carriage to an appropriate location within the city (a stable or maybe a carivanasary). Well crew, I agree with Petian. I saw a tavern a few blocks back. Let's go relax after that ordeal. See if we can get our bearing in the process. Hopefully we can find out who hired that driver and give them the bad news.
I say we drop the goblin off the cliff, put as must distance between its stink and us and get a move on to the town. Tulle finishes his inspection and adjustments with the harnesses and mounts the caravan into the driver's seat. He appears driven by something. His movements are efficient and his manner exudes "discipline". The sooner we get to town the sooner I can get away from this ragtag bunch and get on with the next job. Hopefully its something easy like escorting a maiden or two...
I can continue driving the carriage. Let me check the harnesses on the horses first. Tulle disembarks the carriage and checks the harnesses, brushing the horses to calm them. Do you suppose those Goblins were merely attacking us for a few gold pieces or is there some sort of evil afoot?
These horses are very nervous and for good reason, it appears we are not in friendly territory. I need to find out where we are and how far we are from the nearest settlement.
For now I guess I will just continue down the road until there is an appropriate area I can pull off. "Are those damn goblins taken care of yet?!"
These horses are going to run us off a cliff, we have to get them under control Tulle pulls himself into the driver seat of the chariot. Grabs the reigns and attempts to control the horses to stop them. Woa, easy girls
Tulle draws his warhammer and attacks the creature in front of him yelling Damn Goblins!
After Tulle has secured his hands and feet to peer out to see what is happening with the carriage Tomak attempts to squeeze past. There is not enough room for the 2 of us!
Tulle scrambles past the fumbling and slipping bodies to grab ahold of the frame of the carriage door and hoist himself into a vantage point. Move aside and make room!
How did I get roped into this mess. This chariot is liable to snap an axle under the weight of this group. There is most certainly an odor that has been building in this cramped space. I can usually catch some rest on long journey's but something about this trip has my stomach tying itself into knots. Perhaps its just that smell. I might as well break the tension in the air. It seems like we have been traveling quietly for far too long. We might as well get to know each other. I'm Tulle Falk, former militiaman, now serving as a hired hand. How about the rest of you? |