Ears back, hackles raised, fangs bared; Sandstone growls for a moment before swiftly closing the distance between himself and the goblin warchanter. Once within reach, the viscious canine lunges to tear at the small creature's soft neck with powerful jaws. The rough collie flies to a position just past Elyra and clamps its fanged maw 'round Goblin3's fleshy neck, biting for 9 points of damage. As Sandstone's teeth rend the goblin's flesh, the goblin goes limp as a rag doll in the collie's mouth, blood coursing from a gaping wound. Goblin3's whip falls in a sodden bloody mess to the ground.
"Good dog," Elyra tells the dog, her tone flat and her features poker-faced. She notices Tac closing with the goblin on the other side of the bonfire, and skirts around the blaze. She comes up behind the foul creature and swings at it.
OOC: Moving clockwise around the fire. If I've counted spaces right (depending on where the edge of the bonfire sits) she can move and attack. If necessary, she will just make a double move and try to set Tac up with a flank.
Having lumbered down the byway from the north, Sivan thrusts his glaive past Tac at Goblin2 but misses; Goblin2's leather jerkin, now fully on fire, causes the vile creature to yowl in fear and pain. The fire on the southwestern side of the bonfire creeps up the pile of wood, igniting a hollow log on top and sending a shower of sparks raining down below.
On the dry side of the bonfire, Elyra congratulates Taran on his kill. "Good dog," Elyra sas, her tone flat and her features poker-faced. She notices Tac closing with the goblin on the other side of the bonfire, and skirts around the blaze. Elyra comes up behind the foul creature and swings at it. Goblin2 thrashes wildly, unaware of Elyra standing behind it; the creature's wild sporadic movements render Elyra's swing with the longsword a miss. Unable to put out the fire in its armor and uncaring of the double threat to its front, Goblin2 darts forward and attempts to run away, shrieking as the fire seeps consumes the last of its leather jerkin and begins to work on skin and flesh. The goblin's heedless attempt to flee presents Sivan, Elyra, and Tac with the opportunity to strike again. Sivan is the first to react, jabbing his glaive forward a second time--this time catching the goblin for 7 points of damage. The goblin's fire-crazed eyes sigh with surprise and near relief as Sivan's glaive slices open a vital wound, causing Goblin2 to collapse in a burning heap of blood and entrails at the base of the bonfire.
A quick check of the public green reveals no more signs of goblins at hand. Cries of danger, however, still ring throughout the town from all sides. Doors thud closed and are latched and barred from the inside, and the Sandpoint Bell tolls warning peals from the direction of the city offices further west on the bluff overlooking the dock by the river. The sound of mens' voices, eager to fight, and the din of clanking metal resonate, even from the quiet of the public green. The fire atop the bonfire finds fresh fuel on the northern slope of sticks and fully ignites, sending smoke and sparks heavenward.
Status: Elyra K11, Goblin2 dropped.
*******************************Initiative over, please post at will*****************************
As the armored man takes down the final goblin, Tac gives a heartfelt, "Thanks. I'm not much of a fighter, myself."
Now with the cackle of goblin speech silenced, he looks about.
"That has to be all of them, right?" he says, clearly unconvinced. "I mean, any more and surely the guard would have spotted them? Speaking of ... where is the town guard?"
"That has to be all of them, right?" he says, clearly unconvinced. "I mean, any more and surely the guard would have spotted them? Speaking of ... where is the town guard?"
"Good question," answers Elyra. Sparing another look at the dog, she looks around the square again.
"Where does the militia muster?" she asks her cousin.
"Good dog," Elyra sas, her tone flat and her features poker-faced.
As the violence abates, the tawny collie lets its long tongue dangle from its lips before responding with a resounding bark. Panting, Sandstone peers around the green intently with its ears cocked as it searches the surrounding area for wayward goblins.
Quote:
Originally Posted by mfloyd3
"Where does the militia muster?" she asks her cousin.
Assuming no other goblins are in evidence, the canine lopes westward along Tower street towards the nearby city offices.
As the armored man takes down the final goblin, Tac gives a heartfelt, "Thanks. I'm not much of a fighter, myself."
"My name is Sivan. And you did good."
Quote:
Now with the cackle of goblin speech silenced, he looks about.
"That has to be all of them, right?" he says, clearly unconvinced. "I mean, any more and surely the guard would have spotted them? Speaking of ... where is the town guard?"
"I don't know. But if they infiltrated the ceremony, they could be everywhere. We should band together and look for others who might need our assistance."
__________________
Signature
Hi I'm a comic and rpg nerd. Don't hurt me, please.
Tac blushes. "No, really I got in one lucky shot. Oh! And I'm Tac, and this is my cousin Elyra, and he's Grokk--we just met."
Quote:
Originally Posted by mfloyd3
"Where does the militia muster?" she asks her cousin.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Ambrus
Assuming no other goblins are in evidence, the canine lopes westward along Tower street towards the nearby city offices.
Tac is about to answer his cousin when the dog starts off. He closes his mouth a moment, looks to Elyra, then shrugs.
"Actually ... that way," he says, pointing after the dog.
"That's Sandstone, by the by." Tac informs Sivan.
"Um, also, I seem to have misplaced Talashia again. I saw her when we were running to the fire, but ... I hope she's okay."
Quote:
"We should band together and look for others who might need our assistance."
"Well, I'd hope other folks would be seeking out the guard, too. We should have a better idea of any other trouble spots by talking to them. It's not a big city, but it's very ... twisty. I wouldn't want to go wandering around blind trying to figure out where goblins would pop up."
As she runs back towards the bonfire, Talashia is relieved to see that the goblins appear to have been dealt with. She slows to a trot as she comes nearer to some people she recognizes from the debacle at the feast.
"You got them! Good work! Have you heard or seen any more around here?"
"Actually ... that way," he says, pointing after the dog.
"That's Sandstone, by the by." Tac informs Sivan.
"Is it?" Mutters Elyra darkly. This draws a querulous look from Tac, but he continues.
Quote:
"Well, I'd hope other folks would be seeking out the guard, too. We should have a better idea of any other trouble spots by talking to them. It's not a big city, but it's very ... twisty. I wouldn't want to go wandering around blind trying to figure out where goblins would pop up."
Elyra looks at the goblin corpses. While hardly fat, the goblins do not show signs of starvation. And they are sufficiently well-armed to make her think they are not poor, at least by the standards of their kind. So what would drive these creatures to attack a town of this size?
"There's something funny here," she observes, "Let's see if we can find out what before we meet up with the militia." She walks over to the whip-wielding goblin and begins checking over the blood-stained corpse.
OOC: Search of the body. Anything odd? Also, I think Sandstone killed this one. Elyra would be looking to see if anything seems strange about the wound.
Sandstone pads along Tower street until the curve of the road allows him to see the city offices building; perhaps a hundred feet away from the bonfire. The tawny collie is curious to see the crowd assembling there, who appears to be in charge and what kind of action is being organized. All the while he remains vigilant for signs of skulking goblins in the area.
Tac blushes. "No, really I got in one lucky shot. Oh! And I'm Tac, and this is my cousin Elyra, and he's Grokk--we just met."
The burly half-orc nods when he hears his name and walks toward the others. "This attack makes little sense." He looks around for signs of further trouble, scratching his chin and the small patch of dark hair there. "It could be a distraction for something else going on. It could be a warning of further attacks. It could be the act of a rogue band of gobbies looking to stir something up, but I doubt it. I get the sense that there is something darker at work here."
Grokk wipes the gore of off his hammer and slides it back into the sling on his back. "We should make sure nothing else is going on right now." He pauses, looking around, thinking. "And then I think we need to talk to the mayor...and the Sherrif. See if they have heard anything or know anything about this incident."
"Oh, thank goodness," Tac says when the familiar white-haired woman comes into view. "Between my conscience and the Chief Engineer, you have no idea how much misery I'd be in if you were hurt."
Quote:
Originally Posted by Shayuri
"You got them! Good work! Have you heard or seen any more around here?"
Tac shakes his head. "That's all we've seen. We were going to find the guard, but El wanted to look over the bodies. She knows a lot about gobbies, so I figured that was best."
"The bodies are dead. They're not going anywhere," Talashia points out. "The live ones are the one killing people. We need to keep moving!"
Elyra looked up. "Can you tell me what they're after?" She asked the white-haired woman irritably. "Because they don't usually charge into a town like this. They're cowards -- They attack when they have numbers, and run before there's a real fight."
Elyra walks over to the whip-wielding goblin to check the blood-stained corpse. Perception 7/17 (inclusive of +2 vs goblinoids). The wound on the goblin's neck is ragged where sharp teeth ripped through sinew and muscle. The force behind the pair of jaws that did the damage is evident; while certainly strong, the creature who killed the goblin could have been a very powerful dog, or perhaps something stronger. Elyra finds no convincing evidence one way or other, save that the "dog" is a fierce warrior, and cunning, for it bides its time to wait for the opportune moment.
Aside from the mortal neck wound, Elyra finds other aspects of the dead goblin to be interesting. For starters, the goblin is a she-goblin. Judging by the breast barding and bones intertwined into the she-goblin's lanky hair braids, the creature is some sort of shaman or warchanter whose role during battle is often to inspire the troops through song. The she-goblin's dogslicer is of the normal quality carried by most goblins, which is to say that the wrong angle on a poor blow would decimate the hilt and mangle the blade. A quick search of the she-goblin's nattered leather pouch reveals a small glass jar with a rusted metal lid, the contents of which look to be a clear green liquid. Other than the studded leather armor worn by the she-goblin, the whip, and the dogslicer, the dead she-goblin also sports a shortbow, a quiver containing 20 arrows, and 20 gold crowns. The gold coins are freshly minted, local, and shine brightly in the late-afternoon sun...quite a prize for a goblin.
With no other goblins are in evidence, Sandstone lopes westward along Tower street toward the nearby city offices. Padding along the street until the curve of the road allows him to see the city offices building--perhaps a hundred feet away from the bonfire--the tawny collie spots a throng of 40 armed locals, all of them men, and most of them poorly armed. Here and there, the remains of 16 dead goblins litter the cobblestone byway of Tower Street; from the goblin carcasses, it is clear that the town guard has been at work.
The crowd of volunteers in front of the city offices is unorganized but stands murmuring quietly as Sheriff Hemlock, who appears to be in charge, issues orders. As Sandstone and the others approach, the sheriff send knots of men in pairs and threes off into the city in various directions to scour the town for last vestiges of goblin devilry. With each cluster of volunteers, the sheriff sends one official town guardsmen as deputy. Kendra Deverin, the mayor of Sandpoint, sands quietly just inside the open doorway of the main city office buiding, nervously fingering a gold signet ring 'round and 'round on one finger.
Sheriff Hemlock looks up and grunts as Grokk, Elyra, Sivan and the others round the bend in the byway opposite the gathering in front of city hall. "You there, you've the look of fighting sorts. We need a hand what with the White Deer. Grover here," the sheriff points the end of a club at a middle-aged man with a shriveled right arm before continuing, "thought he heard sommat amiss over there. I'm sending this lot," the sheriff gestures to the men gathered in the byway, "down ter the junkyard ter see what's what. If yer not badly injured," the sheriff eyes each and nods, sure that no one is hurt, "we'll be needing someone to have a look at the White Deer, just up the road a bit." The sheriff crosses his arms and waits for a reply, clearly expecting a yes. From the darkened doorway, the mayor pushes off the wall and eyes Talashia with interest.
Last edited by CanadienneBacon; 13th July 2009 at 08:54 PM..
"You there, you've the look of fighting sorts. We need a hand what with the White Deer. Grover here," the sheriff points the end of a club at a middle-aged man with a shriveled right arm before continuing, "thought he heard sommat amiss over there. I'm sending this lot," the sheriff gestures to the men gathered in the byway, "down ter the junkyard ter see what's what. If yer not badly injured," the sheriff eyes each and nods, sure that no one is hurt, "we'll be needing someone to have a look at the White Deer, just up the road a bit." The sheriff crosses his arms and waits for a reply, clearly expecting a yes. From the darkened doorway, the mayor pushes off the wall and eyes Talashia with interest.
Elyra wipes her bloody blade on the she-goblin's dirty breeches, then cuts its pouch free from its belt. "I'll go," she says flatly. She tosses the pouch to the sheriff. "But there's something wrong here. That's 20 crowns, all new and shiny. Looks like a payoff." She lets the sheriff digest that, then gestures to the pouch and adds, "Think you can get that to the wounded? I think the goblins owe 'em."
The tawny collie turns his head to follow the pouch as it arcs overhead. A brief canine whine escapes his lips as the sheriff catches the tossed purse. Looking back mournfully, the tawny collie pads off to the right along Main Street as if heeding the sheriff's order. Continuing up the sloping road, the dog crosses Junker's Way onto Cliff street as turns eastward towards the city gate. All the while, Sandstone continues to peer around with ears cocked, on the lookout for goblin raiders in every shadow.
[color="Cyan"] "You mean someone paid the goblins to attack? Are you sure? They could have looted those coins from townspeople, couldn't they?"
"Looted 'em when?" Asked Elyra. "These guys seemed to spend the whole time dancing around the bonfire. And if they did make a score like this in the first few minutes, why'd they stay?" She shakes her head. "Something stinks." She picks up the goblin's jar of green liquid but does not comment on it, focusing instead on Talashia and the Sheriff.
With no other goblins are in evidence, Sandstone lopes westward along Tower street toward the nearby city offices. Padding along the street until the curve of the road allows him to see the city offices building--perhaps a hundred feet away from the bonfire--the tawny collie spots a throng of 40 armed locals, all of them men, and most of them poorly armed. Here and there, the remains of 16 dead goblins litter the cobblestone byway of Tower Street; from the goblin carcasses, it is clear that the town guard has been at work. 
Kendra Deverin, the mayor of Sandpoint, sands quietly just inside the open doorway of the main city office buiding, nervously fingering a gold signet ring 'round and 'round on one finger.
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
