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<blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 7158507" data-attributes="member: 143"><p>Chapter 53</p><p></p><p>Eight goblins emerged from the hidden door, rushing toward the companions with weapons drawn. Most held hand axes or small swords, but the last two carried bows with readied arrows that they raised as soon as they were through the door, looking for targets.</p><p></p><p>Quellan cursed and tried to get back to meet the rush, but the creatures were fast, too fast. The goblins’ unexpected appearance had left Glori and Xeeta exposed; Bredan was just coming into the room, and while he drew his sword it didn’t look like he’d be able to stop them before the ambushers got to their friends.</p><p></p><p>But neither woman retreated. Glori strummed her lyre, her fingers producing the soft melody of a lullaby. Both of the archers slumped to the ground, along with the two rear-most of the charging warriors.</p><p></p><p>The remaining four warriors kept on coming, unaware that the bard’s <em>sleep</em> spell had cut their numbers in half. But even as Bredan and Quellan rushed forward to meet them Xeeta tucked her rod under her arm and held out her hands toward the goblins, her thumbs touching and fingers outstretched. Even as the lead goblin closed to striking distance she smiled and spoke a word of power.</p><p></p><p>A sheet of flames erupted from her hands, extending almost to the back of the room. All four of the charging goblins—and two of the sleepers—were engulfed in the <em>burning hands</em>, which mercilessly seared exposed flesh. Goblin screams filled the chamber, echoing off the close walls. Bredan and Quellan drew reflexively back from the flames, though they did not spread past the sorceress and did not persist. As the spell faded they stepped forward again, but their weapons were no longer needed.</p><p></p><p>“Damn,” Glori said.</p><p></p><p>Kosk came around the others and went forward to inspect the fallen goblins. A few were still on fire, their clothes burning and filling the room with tendrils of smoke. Quellan unfastened his cloak and hurried to douse the flames before the smoke could make the air in the cellar unbreathable.</p><p></p><p>Bredan looked at Xeeta. “That was… impressive,” he said.</p><p></p><p>“Thank you,” the tiefling replied.</p><p></p><p>Kosk went over to the archers, who were the only ones of the ambushing party still alive. He bent and grabbed one by the head. “Any objections?” he asked. Quellan looked troubled, but none of them said anything. Glori looked away as the dwarf snapped the goblin’s neck.</p><p></p><p>“Maybe we should leave the last one alive…” Bredan suggested, but too late to stop the dwarf from killing the other archer with a blow from his staff.</p><p></p><p>“There may be more of them,” Quellan said. “Perhaps guarding the boy, if he is here.”</p><p></p><p>“And no bugbear,” Glori pointed out.</p><p></p><p>“If our captive wasn’t lying about that,” Bredan reminded them.</p><p></p><p>“Only one way to find out,” Kosk said. “Let’s go.”</p><p></p><p>He was again the first through the hidden door. It had been built into one of the racks, clearly designed to conceal whatever lay behind. It was low enough that only Kosk could pass through without bending down, and it took Quellan a few seconds to negotiate the tight space. But behind the door was another room almost as big as the first cellar.</p><p></p><p>The room might have been spacious in dimensions, but at the moment it was full of an awkward clutter. Quellan’s light revealed an impressive collection of assorted furnishings, obviously relocated here from the house above. None were in any better shape than the ones they’d already encountered, and most were covered with fresh stains and other messes left by the goblins who’d made this space their lair. There were also more crates and barrels, these more intact than the ones in the last room but hardly in good condition. Narrow paths had been arranged haphazardly through the confusion, turning the room into a sort of maze. On the far side of the room they could just make out a passage that exited near the end of the wall to their right.</p><p></p><p>The stink of sweat and rotting food filled the air, causing each of them to recoil in turn as they stepped through the door. This time the room was so obviously full of potential ambushes that Kosk waited for all of them to make it through before he started into the labyrinth. There were two main paths forward through the heaped junk, and he chose the one on the right that veered closer to the far corridor.</p><p></p><p>Glori strummed her lyre to summon <em>dancing lights</em> to illuminate the far corners of the room. But this time she didn’t get a chance to finish her spell.</p><p></p><p>A huge figure rose up from behind a broken couch along the left wall. The couch had been arranged, by happenstance or design, away from the denser clutters of furnishings and storage containers, so it hadn’t drawn the adventurers’ attention the way the more ominously large mounds had. By the time any of them detected the threat the stealthy foe was already launching his first attack.</p><p></p><p>Glori heard a warning shout from one of her companions, but caught up in the critical moments of the spell she had no chance to react in time. Then she felt a terrific impact and a massive explosion of pain that shot through her body. For a moment, everything drifted out of focus.</p><p></p><p>When she came to again, she was lying in the shattered remnants of an empty barrel. When she lifted her hand, she saw fresh blood glistening on her fingers. She tried to lift her other hand, but it was tangled in something. In dawning horror she realized that the mess was the wreckage of her lyre.</p><p></p><p>Her terror was complicated by the fact that a massive battle seemed to be going on in front of her, and that her friends seemed to be in just as much trouble as she was.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lazybones, post: 7158507, member: 143"] Chapter 53 Eight goblins emerged from the hidden door, rushing toward the companions with weapons drawn. Most held hand axes or small swords, but the last two carried bows with readied arrows that they raised as soon as they were through the door, looking for targets. Quellan cursed and tried to get back to meet the rush, but the creatures were fast, too fast. The goblins’ unexpected appearance had left Glori and Xeeta exposed; Bredan was just coming into the room, and while he drew his sword it didn’t look like he’d be able to stop them before the ambushers got to their friends. But neither woman retreated. Glori strummed her lyre, her fingers producing the soft melody of a lullaby. Both of the archers slumped to the ground, along with the two rear-most of the charging warriors. The remaining four warriors kept on coming, unaware that the bard’s [i]sleep[/i] spell had cut their numbers in half. But even as Bredan and Quellan rushed forward to meet them Xeeta tucked her rod under her arm and held out her hands toward the goblins, her thumbs touching and fingers outstretched. Even as the lead goblin closed to striking distance she smiled and spoke a word of power. A sheet of flames erupted from her hands, extending almost to the back of the room. All four of the charging goblins—and two of the sleepers—were engulfed in the [i]burning hands[/i], which mercilessly seared exposed flesh. Goblin screams filled the chamber, echoing off the close walls. Bredan and Quellan drew reflexively back from the flames, though they did not spread past the sorceress and did not persist. As the spell faded they stepped forward again, but their weapons were no longer needed. “Damn,” Glori said. Kosk came around the others and went forward to inspect the fallen goblins. A few were still on fire, their clothes burning and filling the room with tendrils of smoke. Quellan unfastened his cloak and hurried to douse the flames before the smoke could make the air in the cellar unbreathable. Bredan looked at Xeeta. “That was… impressive,” he said. “Thank you,” the tiefling replied. Kosk went over to the archers, who were the only ones of the ambushing party still alive. He bent and grabbed one by the head. “Any objections?” he asked. Quellan looked troubled, but none of them said anything. Glori looked away as the dwarf snapped the goblin’s neck. “Maybe we should leave the last one alive…” Bredan suggested, but too late to stop the dwarf from killing the other archer with a blow from his staff. “There may be more of them,” Quellan said. “Perhaps guarding the boy, if he is here.” “And no bugbear,” Glori pointed out. “If our captive wasn’t lying about that,” Bredan reminded them. “Only one way to find out,” Kosk said. “Let’s go.” He was again the first through the hidden door. It had been built into one of the racks, clearly designed to conceal whatever lay behind. It was low enough that only Kosk could pass through without bending down, and it took Quellan a few seconds to negotiate the tight space. But behind the door was another room almost as big as the first cellar. The room might have been spacious in dimensions, but at the moment it was full of an awkward clutter. Quellan’s light revealed an impressive collection of assorted furnishings, obviously relocated here from the house above. None were in any better shape than the ones they’d already encountered, and most were covered with fresh stains and other messes left by the goblins who’d made this space their lair. There were also more crates and barrels, these more intact than the ones in the last room but hardly in good condition. Narrow paths had been arranged haphazardly through the confusion, turning the room into a sort of maze. On the far side of the room they could just make out a passage that exited near the end of the wall to their right. The stink of sweat and rotting food filled the air, causing each of them to recoil in turn as they stepped through the door. This time the room was so obviously full of potential ambushes that Kosk waited for all of them to make it through before he started into the labyrinth. There were two main paths forward through the heaped junk, and he chose the one on the right that veered closer to the far corridor. Glori strummed her lyre to summon [i]dancing lights[/i] to illuminate the far corners of the room. But this time she didn’t get a chance to finish her spell. A huge figure rose up from behind a broken couch along the left wall. The couch had been arranged, by happenstance or design, away from the denser clutters of furnishings and storage containers, so it hadn’t drawn the adventurers’ attention the way the more ominously large mounds had. By the time any of them detected the threat the stealthy foe was already launching his first attack. Glori heard a warning shout from one of her companions, but caught up in the critical moments of the spell she had no chance to react in time. Then she felt a terrific impact and a massive explosion of pain that shot through her body. For a moment, everything drifted out of focus. When she came to again, she was lying in the shattered remnants of an empty barrel. When she lifted her hand, she saw fresh blood glistening on her fingers. She tried to lift her other hand, but it was tangled in something. In dawning horror she realized that the mess was the wreckage of her lyre. Her terror was complicated by the fact that a massive battle seemed to be going on in front of her, and that her friends seemed to be in just as much trouble as she was. [/QUOTE]
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