Gallus doubles back and runs through the driving rain past Gravus and circling around that last Goblin engaging the brave Dwarf on his way to reach Veleda and the mules .
Along the way he spots a Goblin sneaking through the rubble trying to get at Gravus's back unnoticed .
Valka presses on toward the scorpion .
Cassia reaches the side wall to the inner Temple area . Though her angle is limited (she can't see the east side of the basin) she is able to make out a half-dozen Goblins assembling (making it 8 total with the 2 Javelineers visible on the map) and one truly monstrous four-armed Goblin (4' tall only but thicker in built):
Bjarturius now prepares himself for the final confrontation at the Temple where the many Goblins huddle together: he raises his great club in the air, and with one hand on his Holy Symbol, addresses the elemental fury of the Storm created by the Lord of Might:
"Korruudd! Grant me te strengfh to vanquish my enemies! I paint Ûruz on me!" With his Holy Symbol, he makes an upward and diagonal downward gesture on his chest, painting a simple figure...
He then moves towards Cassia, stopping for now at (15,12).
Gravus swings his axe once more in a deadly arc towards the goblin engaging him. Breathing deeply through clenched teeth, he seems to be falling back onto drills repeated often enough to become simple instinct as he battles the creatures his people have fought against for as many generations as any could recount.
KORD Almighty answers the call of his chosen with the roar of thunder, loud enough to deafen all for a few seconds: the strike must be close.
Close indeed, for when Bjarturius traces down the ancient Coruskian rune 'URUZ' upon his broad chest, lightning slashes the sky and strikes the ground before him. Electricity arcs and traces in all directions, infusing the metal loops of his raised great club, the breastplate, the man himself. Bjarturius screams threw clenched teeth, every fibrous muscle in his body tensing and flexing with God-given might. The grey eyes spark with lightning.
At his side, Gravus's frame is haloed in lightning, temporarily blinding his Goblin foe. The drilled precision is flawless: Gravus's axe chops through the rain and wind in a fluid arc, cutting the spine between the 3rd and 4th cervical vertebrae, severing the head cleanly.
For an instant, the duo of Coruskian and Dwarf, fighting side by side sheathed in lightning, is reminiscent of an epic Nordic Myth. But the moment is soon past, and a semblance of normalcy returns. Bjarturius begins a slow pace forward, Korud flowing in his veins. Gravus follows behind to his right .
The cowardly Goblin Javelineers have backed up deeper inside the inner Temple.
The Goblin sneak that was attempting to get at Gravus's back loses heart when he sees the decapitation. He retreats west.
The Goblin archers are back on top of the pillars.
Gallus considers bringing the mules to the temple but thinks better of it. Too many ambush points.
Grabbing the leads, he brings the girl and the frightenened animals to the relative shelter of (19-20,5-6) and then stands at the doorway, alert for more green skins.
Gallus begins leading the mules and their precious cargo to the relative safety of the only intact (and now empty) structure.
Valka starts to make her way up those steps that go to the scorpion.
When she sees the lightning almost hit Bjarturius and Gravus: she pause just long enough to give a good long look from my high position!
Valka is Coruskian too so somehow what she sees MEANS something to her!
But being practical, Valka remembers how dangerous this all is and how much is left to do! She continues up until she gets to that scorpion (x14,y19)
She stays low and doesn't peek over the wall yet (taking no chance to be spotted from the Goblins getting ready below!). She gives a look to the Goblins next to her: are they alive? Sleeping (like at the Inn)?
Cassia remains where she is, the cold rain lashing her pallid face, her eyes glaring fixedly at the monstrous foe that pollutes the ancient holy place.
"Then Erythnul brought forth the giants who she had by Night. These were matchless in the bulk of their bodies and invincible in their might; terrible of aspect did they appear, with long locks drooping from their head and chin, and with the scales of dragons for feet."
Bjarturius, at least, will recognise this part of the tale, for the giant spawn of Erythnul were invulnerable even to the weapons of the gods except for the great club of Kord which ultimately laid each of them in the dust.
Cassia crouches low, the metal buckler held in front of her, the sharp pugio ready to strike forwards. Her movements are hardly the fluid actions of a seasoned warrior, but at some point in her life someone has taught her which end of the dagger to point towards the enemy.
Bjarturius advances to stand near Cassia and with his great club raised high over his towering presence, issues a challenge:
"Te chossen of Korud gifes you challenche, koplins! Vho dares stant in his pafh!"
Releasing a hand to shield his eyes from the storm, Gravus hurries forwards to keep up with the others.
Bjarturius's challenge is answered: the Goblins have finally rallied to mount a semi-coordinated counter-attack.
The Goblin Shaman, behind his Goblin bodyguard (better armed and armored in mix chain and plate), points his staff, urging his troops forward.
"dhaach daan hac or Hextoru!" The Goblin Shaman's invective, by staff point, seems to be addressed at the Priest of Kord.
The Goblin Monstrosity fires his crossbow at the Priest. Archers and Javelineers do the same. The pillar-top Archers fire at Valka. A Javelineer that had approached stealthily out of the eastern ruins tries to surprise Gravus. A slinger emerging behind the structure south fires at Gallus. All these missiles fail to find their mark, mainly because of high winds and heavy rain.
The Goblinoid Infantry is next: another Goblin oddity, a giant fiend (almost 7'tall) with four forearms (2 on each arm), wearing legionnaire full chain mail and wielding 4 bone daggers, leads the charge to get out of the inner temple grounds.
Another group circles north-east.
A Goblin rider mounted on a Goblin Dog is arriving from the north-west.
Gallus notices that elusive Goblin sneak re-emerging next to a damaged wall, hoping the slinger caused enough distraction for him to move unseen.
MAP ROUND 6 (after Gallus's move)
Valka, while she is still low, drops her gladius (free action) and her shield (move action) right at her feet. She gets up slowly, all soaking wet from the rain, like that furie Cassia keeps calling her! :)
She grabs the scorpion and swings it to aim down. For a micro-second she looks at ALL those opponents (ouch!!!). But any immediate fear is more replaced by who her target will be!
She thinks about the Shaman first, but remembers Gravus's wise words: we may need him alive to save Veleda!
She looks at the rider. Tempting, but probably too fast and hard to hit (she doesn't know how to use that scorpion after all!).
She decides: the 7 foot tall goblin dagger freak!
... WAIT!!! ...
She hesitates for another micro-second, her mind still fresh with that sight of Bjarturius in the lightning storm!
NO ... she thinks ... "This one is all YOURS Bjarturius. Show them what Coruskian blood is made of!!!"
She swings the scorpion to aim at the Goblin Monstrosity and FIRES!!
Valka rises, appearing over the stone wall, a ghost in the showering rain.
She tilts the scorpion to point down. A Goblin screams in warning. The monstrosity sees it 'in extremis' (last moment), raises his shield in instinctive defense. Not the wisest of choices: the steel bolt traverses the metal shield easily and skewers the creature through the torso, pinning it, dead, to the wet ground.
Bjarturius stops dead in his tracks. A sudden sense of dread overtakes him: 'Veleda, I left Veleda defenseless. She's doomed. We are all doomed.'
Bjarturius turns around and runs back to her .
"As a result of these tactics, the earth was empurpled with blood and men fell in heaps, the Ilians and their haughty allies mingling their corpses with the Danaan dead. They remembered their duty to each other, and in the hurly-burly friend saved friend from death."
For a heart beat Cassia makes to follow the chosen of Kord, seemingly abandoned by his god, then glances up at the platform from which the iron dart flew. Lost to her family she may be, but the Cassii never leave their companions to die. She tugs on Gravus' shoulder as she passes him, pointing to the narrow staircase, and takes station at its foot, glaring defiance at the oncoming army of verminous goblins.
GRAVUS' ACTION: Gravus' eyes widen in concern, perhaps even hinting at fear as first Bjarturius flees towards his sister, then Cassia falls back to the stairs. This does not last long though; he quickly reaches into a pocket to toss a vial towards the hulking figure before him with a snarl, and without waiting to see if his missile finds it's mark, the dwarf whirls around to follow Cassia to the foot of the stairs.
"The Earth" Cassia speaks. It always comes down to the Earth. For the Dwarven race it does. Old teachings given to Dwarven youths: 'should the deepest halls be overrun by the greenskins, grab a stone, the simplest of gifts Moradin has given us, and throw it while retreating back. Aim dead center but adjust: check for the twitch in the Goblin's ears, it will tell you if he will dodge and if left or right.'
Gravus, without thinking, puts into practice those ancient rehearsed lessons. But it is not a stone he tosses in retreat. It is a potent vial of his own concoction. Though deviated slightly by the winds, the well aimed toss nonetheless hits the giant Goblin in the chest and explodes with violent incendiary force. The 3 Goblins surrounding the fiend are blown off their feet: one hits the near wall, crushing his face, another has his legs swept up from under him and the third catches an incendiary gust that consumes his lungs. All 3 collapse to the floor, unmoving. The four-fore-armed Goblin is badly scorched, his red cape catching fire and his entire body showing grievous burns, but he nonetheless pushes onward, enraged, eager to enact some revenge on the Dwarf.
The Goblin Shaman exits the inner temple basin, urging in the Goblin tongue his faithful onward.
The slinger unsuccessfully continues his attempts at hitting Gallus. His latest bullet strikes the wall a foot to the left of Gallus. The sneak Goblin runs off north to join the Temple battle.
At the scorpion, the combat intensifies. Arrows and javelins rain on the 3 heroes there from all directions, including from above (the pillar-top archers have resumed firing on Valka). A javelin hits Cassia's newly acquired chain mail armor. She barely has time to register the pain of impact when the Goblin rider comes at her dead on. Displaying defensive fighting skills surprising for a patrician lady, she fends off both rider and hound.
Gravus is soon overwhelmed from all sides, suffers a superficial cut on his left arm and a bruise on his shoulder from a small mace impact.
"VELEDA!" Bjarturius shouts in his retreat. Gallus sees clearly a face contorted with anguish and worry.
Those close to Cassia sense an eerie calmness in her, the words she speaks emerging clearly as if she were reciting in a formal odeon rather than in the midst of a furious battle. Kord having abandoned his followers, she evokes Hextor himself who must surely be smiling that his temple once again is filled with carnage and war.
"Hextor brought low another, Ekhidna's son, the gods' enemy who fell before the god of war and destruction - Hextor, destroyer of the Titanes, the gods' champion, who lifts a proud neck in heaven, still holding that shield ever soaked with gore."
Inside herself, Cassia has realised this is all just a bizarre dream, perhaps brought on by the drugs the dwarf gave her. Perhaps this has all been a dream and Viusenius, Severina, even her husband, were just fevered fantasies sent by Boccob or Vecna. Maybe she will wake up in her father's arms again.
Dreams have to play out as they will, the gods send them and they cannot be fought, though she wishes she had dreamt a spatha instead of the pugio she stabs into the face of the rat-hound, surely another creation of a fevered mind, warding her right flank with the steel buckler and edging slightly forwards so that the dwarf can pass behind her.
Gallus completes his intent. He gets his bow, and fires at the slinger.
She is here friend, let not your heart be troubled! he yells to the priest of Kord.
Valka can't believe her eyes! Bjarturius ... fleeing??!?!?
She looks at where he seems to be going ... at the Shaman after ...
"That Shaman MUST have said something about Veleda to make him run there!!!" The only explanation valka can come up with!!
Valka looks at Cassia and Gravus quickly: she is impressed by their bravery!
Valka breathe out once, crouch low, picks up her shield and gladius, and puts them both on.
"Alright ... its time to get REALLY nasty!!!" she thinks to herself, motivating herself to get MEAN.
Gallus fires his longbow at the slinger, but the Goblin ducks behind his wall cover: the arrow hits stone.
Bjarturius, convinced something terrible happened to Veleda, finally enters the structure where the mules are now sheltered . Bjarturius looks at Veleda, hears Gallus speak:
"She is here friend, let not your heart be troubled!".
She is here. Sick, dying, but not dead.
'What in Korud's name was I thinking?'
Bjarturius turns to look at the battle beyond. Barely visible in the rain, he sees brave Cassia and Gravus struggling for their lives. Something must be done.
GRAVUS' ACTION: Gravus winces at the blows which land upon his stout frame, but he otherwise barely registers the dull pain as it tries to break through the almost trance-like focus brought forth from his childhood lessons. Seeing the hulking figure with its vicious blades, he realizes that it won't take much for it to unleash a whirling onslaught of steel and death... Higher ground is the only way to face such a creature; to drive it back to the terrible depths from which it sprang. Acknowledging this fact, the dwarf raises his weapon in a wide, warding arc and backs up the stairs.
Gravus' sudden wide arc of his battle axe does ward off the lesser Goblins, giving him time to start up the steep earthen stairs. The giant four fore-armed Goblin is, however able to reach the Dwarf higher up during his retreat. Using the full extent of his left arm, the twin bone daggers slice up, aiming at the thick legs. One of the 2 blades cuts Gravus deep, drawing blood and INJURING the Dwarf.
The slinger retreats west and disappears.
The Shaman shouts a high pitched "mech daan rher!" and Valka soon finds herself the target of all the missile fire: a hail of Javelins (4) and arrows (3). The Spartaca crouches even lower and raises her just recovered scutum in a Testudo ('tortoise') defense. Numerous impacts on her shield. A single Javelin hits her breastplate hard from a side angle not covered by the Testudo.
At ground level Cassia, now alone, finds herself attacked from all sides: 3 Goblins, the Goblin Rider and his Goblin Dog mount, and the giant four fore-armed Monster. A challenge worthy of Hextor and Roneus combined. Though unable to deliver an effective counterstrike, Cassia is a she-devil possessed, ducking under a swing, blocking a blade with her buckler, dodging a slash, avoiding a vicious bite. The furious injured Giant Goblinoid even unleashes a flurry of death: four daggers whirling in all directions. Cassia evades each dangerous slice, blocks a hack meant at her face and survives 10 organizing long seconds of overall brutal onslaught. Nothing short of miraculous.
The Goblin Shaman, shadowed by his bodyguard, moves to the south tall pillar, swinging above his head that sack of strange eggs he is carrying (see pic). He throws the sack at the top ledge of the scorpion. The eggs in the sack break on impact, releasing nauseating vapors that quickly spread.
Valka, as soon as she feels there is a break in the arrows and javelins, holds her breath when she sees the vapors around her, and ... BURST UP!!!
ONE ... TWO ... THREE steps (passing right next to her faithful Gravus!) and she LEAPS off the ledge, gladius raised high!!!
She leaps from the stairs and tries to land right on top of that Giant Goblin, hacking him as she falls on him with her gladius!!
Bjarturius roars out of the structure and moves fast and resolutely towards combat
He bellows, his great club an ominous promise of goblin destruction:
"All your tricks vill not stop te chossen of Korud!"
Now, with Bjarturius with his sister, Gallus moves towards the fray. Yelling, in an attempt to either scare of the weak willed creatures, or to at least draw some of them off the others, he releases an arrow into a group of them.
Move to 12,10 and shoot at 15,14.
Inspired by Cassia's valiant stand, Gallus moves forward , notching an arrow doing so. He fires an catches the Goblin archer in the shoulder blade. The arrow plants deep, the Goblin screams in agony.
Bjarturius rushes forward , exiting the structure just in time to see Valka leap off the ledge.
A dramatic sight. Like a Valkyrie in the heavy rain, Valka launches herself in mid air, shield held to one side like a steel wing, sword raised high, her legs flailing long strokes in the winds before she crashes down on the Giant Four Bladed Fiend. Death from Above comes crashing down with devastating effect, the Spartaca's gladius splitting the skull of the Goblinoid on the downward hack.
"...destroyer of the Titanes..." Cassia says at that moment.
That particular titan topples over, lifeless.
Gravus, having just reached the ledge, catches a whiff of the nauseous vapors. He quickly holds his breath, suppressing a reflect to vomit. Renown Dwarven fortitude against toxins and a lifetime of being exposed to all manners of chemicals allow him to overcome the foul fumes' effects.
Dancing through the storm of swords, Cassia's recognition of all this as a dream sent by the gods is confirmed when Tisiphone herself stoops out of the sky onto the giant goblin.
"Metellus was supported by a powerful following of Ilians, who were led on by Hextor himself and the goddess Enyo, with shameless Panic in her train. Hextor brandished in his hand a spear of monstrous size and strode, now in front of Manricus, now behind him. "
Cassia herself continues to dance, striking again at the rat-thing whose foul smelling fur is competing with the cloud of noxious vapours above her.
GRAVUS' ACTION: Gravus frowns at the stench from the eggsacs, his eyes stinging slightly, but he doesn't let it distract him any more than that. Reaching into a pocket for another vial of the unstable mixture, he tosses it into the swarming mass of goblinoids below, before starting slowly back down the stairs, axe held firmly.
Gravus' throw sends the vial directly inside a loose fold of the fur-hide patchwork that serves as armor for the Javelineer .
The Goblin wonders for a millisecond what went in his clothing. He gets his answer immediately. The vial explodes, sending green blood, gore, the odd member and shredded bits of Goblins in all directions.
The good news for the surrounding Goblins is the explosive blast was somewhat contained by the vial's smothering close proximity to its initial target.
The others around the exploded Javelineer all survive, but not unscathed.
Cassia uses the distraction caused by the explosion to her advantage: she not only stabs repeatedly the startled Goblin Dog with her pugio, scoring a series of hits on the flank of the vermin beast and drawing long trails of blood, but also maneuvers to effectively block with her buckler a spear thrust that was otherwise almost sure to skewer her.
For an instant it looks like all attacks had been yet again avoided or blocked, but a wounded animal can be a dangerous foe. The Goblin Dog reacts with desperation and snaps at Cassia with a bite. The teeth rip through the leg's stola and scrapes flesh, the revolting stench of the maw so foul it stings Cassia's senses.
A Javelineer, fear in his beady eyes, throws his weapon at the advancing Bjarturius. He misses by a wide margin. Out of javelins, he takes out a spiked club.
Arrows and Javelins are fired at Gravus . A Goblin arrow plants on the chain shirt, barely penetrates armor and, thought the wound itself is not dire, causes much blood loss. Gravus, glancing at the injury, assesses the bleeding will continue unless stopped.
The Shaman's Bodyguard joins the fray by engaging Valka, yelling high pitched war cries, his battle-axe slashing wildly . His attacks are easily blocked by Valka's scutum.
The Goblin Sneak steps over the corpse of the Goblin Giant to flank Valka . His short sword lunges with precision, aimed at Valka's exposed outer thigh. Valka recognizes a shot meant to cripple and maybe even kill should the femoral artery be hit. She reacts fast, parrying the lunge with a downward block of her gladius. That was close.
The Goblin Shaman waited to see how his troops fared. The result is not to his liking. With Gallus and Bjarturius about to join the fray and only one scared spiked-club wielding Goblin to stand in their path, the Shaman wisely decides to retreat, running back down towards the inner temple and disappearing from immediate view.
Valka, attacked from both sides, thinks about who will be her target. She also sees Cassia who has been fighting so bravely against soooo many for soooo long: her luck cant last forever!
The bodyguard Goblin can wait, she decide. That sneaky Goblin can cause a lot of damage if we let him run around doing his thing!
"Let's see how good you are when your enemy sees you, Goblin!!!" Valka thinks to herself as she attacks him with her 2 weapons (gladius and shield). Valka pushes towards him, trying to get closer to Cassia at the same time to help her.
Bjarturius again runs past Gallus. In confusion and amazement, Gallus turns and heads back to his rearguard position to protect Veleda. (17,9)
If Gallus sees the slinger he will loose an arrow at him. Other wise he aims at 18,21, praying that his arrow finds purchase.
Bjarturius hesitates between going after the Shaman or killing some goblins. Tough choice... Finally he takes the wise decision: make sure the Shaman is captured so the goblins may act as the cowards they are and stop fighting...
He moves towards the inner Temple
Valka at a glance evaluates the Goblin rogue. The Goblin is fast and she cannot focus all her attention on him, her scutum busy warding off the Bodyguard. She needs to cut away his speed. A mistake: the Sneak is ignoring the cadaver over whom he stepped to attack. Valka kicks one of the Giant Goblin's arm: the twin forearms tangle in the rogue's legs. Thrown off balance, the Sneak cannot dodge the follow up gladius slash that carves a wide gash on his chest. The Goblin falls. The Spartaca pivots and steps over her newly slain foe, bashing his skull with her scutum's edge for good measure to make sure he stays down.
Gallus returns to protect Veleda. The Slinger is nowhere to be seen.
Bjarturius presses on after the Shaman. He sees a large entrance, a full 3 paces wide (10'), that slopes down. The Shaman is also nowhere to be seen, though the angle prevents the Priest of Kord to see down the slope.
The scrapes on Cassia's flesh, though not deep enough to injure her, do provide enough contact for her to contract 'Goblin rash', an itching condition that is beginning to both irritate and distract.
Gravus at first shrugs off the impact of the arrow, confident that it is of little importance, but as he proceeds to make his way down to stairs towards the fray he stumbles a few steps from the sudden loss of blood. Throwing his weight against the earthen wall to stabilise himself, he takes a few deep breaths and looks down to the widening bloodstain on his tunic.
Pressing the hand holding his axe against the stones behind him, drawing from their steadfast resilience, he reaches with his other to retrieve the small container of ointment he prepared before breaking camp earlier in the day. As the sound of battle around him falls away, he forces himself to continue with his task, slowly breaking open the wax seal and applying some of the thick substance to the wound through the tiny hole in his armour. The sudden burning sensation cuts through his daze, and his eyes widen with the pain, though he knows that he is not yet finished, he scoops out the remainder of the ointment and grits his teeth before reaching down to the nasty gouge on his leg.
The pain from the ointment is well worth it: the bleeding from both wounds stop, the wounds cauterized and cleansed.
Cassia's strange calm is disturbed by the itching sensation, unlike any dream injury, and her words almost falter, is this real after all? She backs away from the creature till her trailing heel meets the stone steps. Steadied, her mind searches for the passage she needs.
"The Lightning flies not faster than the fall; Nor Thunder louder than the ruined Wall:
Down goes the top at once, the foe beneath; Are piecemeal torn, or pounded into Death.
Yet more succeed, and more to Death are sent; We cease not from above, nor they below relent."
With a savage, wordless cry she hurls herself at the rat-thing, driving her dagger again and again at its eyes and gaping maw.
Cassia lashes out with savage fury at the rat-dog mount. A sudden tinge of itch overtakes her infected leg. Cassia slips and fall in the rain-soaked ground, still bellowing out her poetic verses, still flailing her pugio wildly as she stumbles back up, her dark hair now caked in dripping mud.
'What manner of she-devils and dwarven demons are we facing?' the eyes of the Goblin rider speak.
The remaining Goblins have had enough. With their Shaman retreating and not a single enemy defeated, they see no reason to continue this fight. They disengage north and east.
All save the Goblin Bodyguard who retreats towards the inner Temple and attacks Bjarturius as the Priest of Kord negotiates the Temple stairs. His hurried hack is weak and deflects off the breastplate harmlessly.
Gallus nocks another arrow and runs toward the fallen Cassia. He calls to the others as he runs, Shall I move Valeda up there? I can defend her better here, but what good can come of being seperated?
Valka's got like half a second of enjoying herself when she sees the Goblins RUN! She even kinda smiles :)
She toss her head back to flick wet hair out of her eyes and looks around.
Ok back to work! This isn't over yet!
What to do ... what to do ...
Valka hears Gallus and yells at the top of her lungs so he can hear:
"Go back and get the mules!"
She looks up at Gravus still on the ledge stairs and says:
"Take care of those 3 up there. And remember there are still the archers on the pillars!"
She looks for that Bodyguard: where did he go? THERE!
She goes after him and stabs him with her gladius!
Valka's stab is a clear miss. The bodyguard is not only a small, well armored, quick target protected by a large shield, but in this instance also benefiting from cover of the nearby wall against the Spartaca.
Bjarturius considers the lowly lit passage... He will need light... He flexes his muscles, and tensing his hands on the hilt of his great club with the hot tingle of divine lightning coursing through his veins, turns around with irresistible momentum he hopes will be enough to catch the fast goblin unaware...
A single word escapes his mouth:
"Korruudd!"
The strategy to catch the Goblin unaware was a fair one, and could very well have worked, but this Goblin is showing a decent mix of skill and armor/shield protection. The Goblin defends with a shield block.
"...or pounded into Death." Cassia's words seem carried by the winds.
Bjarturius refuses to let it stop there: 'So be it: pounded into Death!'. Infused with the might of Korud, the great club mercilessly pounds on the shield yet again, with such unimaginable force it bends the steel shield in two, breaking the arm. Without a shield to defend, the next blow hits the helmet with such power it caves inward until it is almost fully turned inside out. The skull of the Goblin inside is utterly crushed.
"Naaaaaaaaaghhhh!
Cassia snaps back to reality and cries out in anguish, hurling herself against the unyielding stone wall beside her as if it were a door she could force, her armoured body crashing against it once, twice.
"No escape. Lucius Gallus, bring down those cursed archers before you do anything else!"
She limps over to 18-18, scratching furiously, to stand beneath the lintel where the archers can't shoot at her and where she can observe the retreating goblins.
The pillar-top archers are not visible at this point: the pillars broad enough to give them full cover from below should they decide to lay low, as it seems they are doing now.
Bjarturius, after dispatching the Goblin Bodyguard, moves to the wide Temple underground entrance. The 3 paces wide passage slopes down a good 10 paces before disappearing into total darkness. A light source will be needed to pursue. The lantern and torches Valka acquired in Loutharnium are with the mules.