Growling, Phythas yells at Rainer, "Fight your own damn battles, human, instead of trying to fight mine!" Slipping on his shield, the gnome steps toward and climbs up the short stature of the wagon in time to attack the second goblin, wincing once at the pain in his stomach. Once on top of the wagon, Phythas stabs the goblin once in the gut. The wound proves good for 3 points of damage, leaving the goblin to finger its blood and look up in shocked, sad disbelief at Phythas.
Watching Rainier at work, Penn silently muses, "Hmmm, that guy with the big sword seems to be stealing the show. I had better do something before he finishes all the goblins off!" Climbing on top of the low wagon, Penn takes up position to the rear of the goblin--the better to flank the beast. Penn ripostes and lunges but narrowly misses impaling the goblin with the tip of his rapier.
The goblin, recovering from its initial surprise and finding itself flanked by a hobbit and a gnome, snarls in fear. The beast picks up the end the rope attached to the canvas lying atop the wagon and moves to flay Phythas with it, but both Penn and Phythas prove the quicker. Phythas slashes with his doglicer a second time just as Penn lunges in with his rapier. While Penn manages to scratch the goblin's leathers with his rapier, Phythas misses badly as the wagon lurches under the combined weight of the three creatures. The goblin, having lost all of its former fancy while attempting to catch and eat doves, hisses and vigorously lashes at Phythas with the length of rope in its clawed hand. The rope acts like a whip but the goblin is obviously unaccustomed to the impromptu weapon and misses Phythas.
From behind cover, Gron lets out a breath and releases a new arrow from the string of his longbow. As the goblin is engaged in the to and fro of battle atop the wagon with what appear to be a halfling and a gnome, Gron has difficulty placing his aim and the arrow misses but falls intact and recoverable near this side of the wagon's rear wheel.
Ignoring the yapping gnome near his knees, Rainier climbs up onto the driver's seat of the wagon, intent on finishing off the last of the creatures that dared to interrupt the ceremony. From the driver's seat, Rainier pushes past Penn and swings at the goblin but misses as the wagon tilts backward and groans under the weight of the new addition.
When three assailants miss in rapid succession, the goblin lets out a yawp of a trill and an excited look of daring bravado lights up the creature's ungainly visage. Fairly well dancing a jig, the goblin turns its back to Phythas and taunts Rainier and Penn, pantomiming their poor combat prowess. From across the church square, however, the goblin's bane quickly draws a bolt from the pouch on the side of his backpack and reloads his crossbow. Giving another quick mental prayer as he takes careful aim at the wretched goblin, Ravi shifts slightly to get a clear shot. Please, please, don't let me miss, the priest prays, then pulls the trigger and looses the bolt. The bolt streaks with unerring aim across the open air of the church square and lands with a wet squelch in the goblin's temple. Fully burying itself dead on inside the goblin's brain, Ravi's shot deals 14 points to the already injured beast and instantly kills the creature.
The last goblin, dead at the hands of the cathedral's acolyte, falls like a limp rag onto the cobblestoned church square. By now, nearly all the crowd has fled on foot, leaving only a shocked Mayor Deverin, the grim-faced Sheriff Hemlock, and Ameiko Kaijitsu to stand in wonder, gazing at Penn, Rainier, Phythas, and Gron. Sheriff Hemlock frowns and moves to cross the square to the wagon. Ameiko is the first to slowly turn toward the cathedral and stare at Ravi. Elsewhere in the town, shrieks of human echo and the horrid high-pitched goblin chant echoes from somewhere in the town's lower tier closer to the docks. One of the merchant's tables nearer the north gate bursts into flame, prompting Sheriff Hemlock to break off his approach of the wagon in favor of breaking into a run alongside the Mayor toward the burning table.
Ameiko draws a silvered dagger from a sheath at her hip and warily crosses from her buffet table to the wagon where Rainier, Penn, and Phythas stand. "Scarnetti." Ameiko nods her head once at Rainier. To Phythas, the barkeep extends a hand up. "You took a bear of a slice there. Here, have a step down and we'll take a look at that, if you're willing."
End of initiative, for the moment. Post at will, please.
[sblock=Die Rolls]Phythas, dogslicer AC 18, 1d4+1 dmg (die rolls = 14, 2)
Penn, rapier AC 14, (die roll = 12)
Phythas, dogslicer AoO AC 8 (die roll = 2)
Penn, rapier AoO AC 14 (die roll = 12)
Gron, longbow AC 11 (die roll = 10)
Rainier, greatsword AC I-can't-believe-he-missed-but-he-did (die roll = 2)
Ravi, light crossbow, AC 20, confirmed critical AC 17, 2d8 dmg (die roll = 19, 16, 6, 8)[/sblock]
