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Milo Windby's Collected Story Hour
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<blockquote data-quote="Milo Windby" data-source="post: 1680" data-attributes="member: 202"><p><strong>Keep of the Borderlands -part six (session 2)</strong></p><p></p><p>Keep of the Borderlands -part six (session 2)</p><p>--------------------------</p><p>They decided to check out the secret door in the room of caravan goods first. Milo lit his lantern once again and the group moved down the tunnels. When they arrived in the goblin warrens they noticed that once again the bodies had been removed. While this didn't really surprise any of them, Milo heightened his senses even more, tensing in preparation for any action that might come their way. They continued down the hall to the storage room and the secret door that waited there. The group was treated to a minor shock when they entered the room, all of the goods were gone. Not even a single cask of wine or bolt of cloth was left behind. Milo rushed to the door, checking for any newly laid traps. After he found none he tried to open it, and discovered that it was bolted from the other side.</p><p></p><p><em>"Well, I think we know who's been cleaning up after us now,"</em> he said. <em>"Looks like the hobgoblins have more than one way into the warrens. Let's keep on guard."</em></p><p></p><p>The only other unexplored area was the door they left on the other end of the cavern, up the ramps. </p><p></p><p>So up the ramps they went after a non-eventful trip back through the tunnels. If the hobgoblins were out and about they weren't making themselves known. Milo reached the door and listened in. He heard faint scuffling noises and guttural grunts from through the thick, heavy door. Before doing anything else he decided it'd be best to check for traps. There was obviously someone behind there, he thought, and they were probably waiting for the adventurers. He motioned back to the others to hold off and keep quiet while he ran his hands over the rough wood door and its frame. His keen eyes picked up no sign of tampering or treachery, but he did notice that the door was locked. Ahh! Finally a chance to use his shiny new lock picks. </p><p></p><p>He rifled through his pack and produced the small leather pouch with the delicate tools inside. Milo peered at the crude lock on the door and chose the sturdiest of the picks. He carefully pushed the pins of the tumbler until he heard the familiar <strong>'click'</strong> of an open lock. Just as he was about to flip the last tumbler his grip slipped and all of them snapped back to place. Milo started again, and hoped that the creatures on the other side of the door didn't overhear the small noise he made. That time he easily moved the pins and the door opened just a little bit. Milo leapt back, fearing a charge by whoever was in the room. He gave the go ahead signal to Brigit and Jeremiah then pressed himself against the wall as they ran past him. </p><p></p><p>Jeremiah booted the door and paused for a split second at the sight that met him a few feet into the room. Over a dozen hobgoblins stood arrayed in the large room, they growled and snarled and were obviously intent on taking a chunk out of the infidels that invaded their caverns. They had been waiting for the group. There was another passage leading away on the opposite end of the room. As soon as the door had been kicked open Mazi let the arrow from her bow fly. It whizzed by the head of a particularly ugly hobgoblin near the front of the mass. It didn't stand long though, as Jeremiah's slight pause came to an end and his greatsword met its neck. Through one hobgoblin and the next it went, one clean arc as if there weren't two thick creatures in its way. As he swung Jeremiah let loose a loud battle cry, his ferocity startled the closer hobgoblins. </p><p></p><p>Maruf worked his way up to the front lines, he looked eager for battle. He missed as his initial attack was a far space from the first hobgoblin. Milo took advantage of the gap between Maruf and the beast as he fired off a bolt into the hobgoblin. It lurched back, wounded. Brigit, Jeremiah, and Maruf blocked Thorgrim from reaching the front lines so he held back a bit, waiting for his chance to enter the fray. </p><p></p><p>As Milo watched, Brigit swung her mighty dwarven axe at the goblinoid in front of her. The axe head made an even uglier mark on the shocked looking hobgoblin as it fell to the floor. Three more hobgoblins moved up to the front line to fill the space and attacked Brigit and Maruf. One of the monsters facing Maruf made contact with its weapon, inflicting some minor damage on the man-at-arms. The other three hobgoblins' attacks were far too clumsy to hit the front line fighters. </p><p></p><p>Mazi, who was still in the back, let another arrow fly into the battle, grazing the face of one of the monsters near Jeremiah. The beast howled with pain. Jeremiah moved in to attack it but was brought up short by the next hobgoblin, snarling and baring its fangs. Nearby, Maruf regained his composure and expertly sliced the beast that attacked him previously, he wounded the creature badly. </p><p></p><p>Milo took a moment to survey the scene before him, including the three that were down he counted thirteen hobgoblins in all. He hoped it wouldn't be an unlucky number as he pulled the trigger on his crossbow. He cursed as the mechanism jammed and crouched down to work on the jammed string. Ahead Brigit had worked herself into a frenzy, swinging her ax from one side to the next. The pathetic hobgoblin in front of her didn't even see the blow coming as the waraxe sliced through its belly, spilling its innards to the floor. The body followed soon after as the dwarf snarled her distaste of the vermin before her. </p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, the hobgoblin that blocked Jeremiah's attack countered with its own, slicing its longsword along his exposed arm. Jer hissed at the wound and drew back his sword to retaliate. Near him one of the hobgoblins attacking Maruf actually swung its weapon back too far and bashed its companion in the head, it was temporarily stunned. The following swing was successful though, as the blade cut Maruf through his chain armor. He groaned, heavy on his feet. </p><p></p><p>Mazithra again fired an arrow into the fray, wounding another hobgoblin with her expert aim. She had enough time to see Jeremiah finish his back swing and slice through not only the hobgoblin that wounded him, but clean through the one next to it. His greatsword was shiny with the creatures' blood and his face had a feral look to it. </p><p></p><p>Maruf was already weakened by the wounds he had taken before he made his next attack. His sword was unable to land a blow on the hobgoblins before him. They grinned as they pressed their advantage. Thorgrim finally reached the battle next to his fellow man-at-arms. His weapon also fell short of the mark but he hoped to at least draw some of the goblinoids' attention. </p><p></p><p>Brigit hacked away at any hobgoblin stupid enough to get near her. Her swinging blows felled another as more of the monsters moved up to the front of the fight. The four that were engaged failed to hit any of the adventurers at the forefront. </p><p></p><p>Another arrow flew from Mazi's bow as she took careful aim. Not careful enough though, her target moved at the last moment. Jer had no such problem, dodging or no, the next two in front of the 'Hobgoblin Killer' went down in a spray of blood as his huge weapon sliced through the air. Maruf didn't fare so well, he swung his sword hard at the hobgoblin attacking him and overextended himself. Just as the hobgoblin's blow was about to land, Milo sprang into action, rolling along the floor to stop behind the attacker. He was too late though, the creature moved with uncharacteristic swiftness and delivered the crushing blow that knocked Maruf to the ground. Thor shouted as he saw his friend fall, he swung his sword wildly to fend off any hobgoblins that might try to finish Maruf off. </p><p></p><p>Milo began to prepare a spell to aid the fallen Maruf but was pierced by a longsword before he could get the first words out of his mouth. The hobgoblin grinned as it withdrew its sword from his side. Milo ignored the pain and began the mantra that sprang to his mind, determined to use his newfound power to save his newfound friend. </p><p></p><p>Brigit dispatched her latest victim as she had the others, with another vicious blow of her axe. She grinned to herself as she realized that not one of the hobgoblins had made it past her defense. </p><p></p><p>Determined to finish off the beasts, Mazi fired another arrow, this time exclaiming in satisfaction as she saw that it pierced the throat of her target. The hobgoblin loosed a breathy sound as it tried to scream its death cry. </p><p></p><p>Up ahead Jeremiah moved behind the hobgoblin that mortally wounded Maruf, intent on finishing it off. Near the floor Milo crouched down as he finished his chanting and placed his hands on Maruf's wounds. A warm tingling sensation traveled from his spine down his arms and through his small fingers. He watched in amazement as Maruf's wounds stopped bleeding and the skin stitched itself closed. <em>'So this is what the healers feel'</em>, he thought, <em>'I could get used to this.'</em> The sensation left him before the wounds were completely healed, but Maruf's eyes fluttered open and he had the strength to stand. </p><p></p><p>Just as the hobgoblin near Maruf and Milo was about to strike the woozy Maruf down again, Brigit's thirsty axe found its mark again. The last beast fell, nearly on top of the still crouching Milo. He scarcely noticed, still thinking about the amazing feeling he just had. <em>'I'll have to figure out how to make the healing more effective'</em>, he thought absentmindedly to himself. </p><p></p><p>Maruf thanked Milo profusely. He told him that he could feel himself slipping farther away from life before the halfling brought him back. Milo, feeling a little self-conscious from everyone's attention, played it off. </p><p></p><p><em>"It was nothing, I did what I had to do. We're just glad you're still alive, right everyone? Hey, is that a money pouch I see on that hobgoblin?"</em> Milo swooped down on the corpse that Brigit created and pulled up a little bag of silver. <em>"See, money! I bet the rest of them have some too!"</em> He started industriously searching the rest of the bodies lying about the room. </p><p></p><p>Eventually the rest of the group joined in and they pooled the various coins they found together. They would split the loot later. </p><p></p><p>Satisfied that attention was sufficiently distracted away from him, Milo handed Maruf one of the potions that the priest had given him. He told the man-at-arms to gulp it down before anything else happened. He gratefully complied and the rest of his wounds were soon healed. Milo couldn't find anything else of interest in the room besides the money they found on the bodies. The adventurers readied themselves to continue on through the passage leading out of the room and into unknown danger ahead. </p><p></p><p>The tunnels were extremely dark this far in. Milo, Jeremiah, Maruf, and Thorgrim were unable to see anything past Milo's lantern. They decided that Brigit, being the only one of them with the ability to see in complete darkness, should go ahead to scout out the way. She moved up a bit, her armor jangling. <em>'It's either me blind and silent or Brigit loud and aware'</em>, Milo thought to himself, <em>'we can't win.'</em></p><p></p><p>After some slanting passageways and a couple of straight tunnels the group found themselves at a fork. The passage continued west and the side passage veered south. They decided to head down the left passage and headed south together. After a couple of curves the passage opened into another cavern. </p><p></p><p>Two large and very surprised hobgoblins stood in the middle of a grisly scene. One had a sword and a whip, the other just a longsword. Across the room, chained to a wall were three human men and one woman as well as an orc and a gnoll. Before anyone could react Milo started rummaging through his pack. </p><p></p><p><em>"Ahah!"</em> he shouted as he found one of the divine scrolls he carried. He quickly chanted the contents of the scroll and pointed his finger at the hobgoblin carrying the whip. The creature made to move, but was frozen in place. A look of surprise crept across its dull features. </p><p></p><p>The other hobgoblin jumped into action. It lunged at Brigit, its hated enemy. She easily fended off the blow as the other four adventurers closed in. Attack after attack rained down on the hapless hobgoblin. Thorgrim finished off the beast with a stab of his longsword to its chest, right through the chainmail. Milo sauntered over to the frozen hobgoblin and pulled out his dagger. He walked behind the straining monster and took aim, right through the thin muscles in the back to the monster's black heart.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Milo Windby, post: 1680, member: 202"] [b]Keep of the Borderlands -part six (session 2)[/b] Keep of the Borderlands -part six (session 2) -------------------------- They decided to check out the secret door in the room of caravan goods first. Milo lit his lantern once again and the group moved down the tunnels. When they arrived in the goblin warrens they noticed that once again the bodies had been removed. While this didn't really surprise any of them, Milo heightened his senses even more, tensing in preparation for any action that might come their way. They continued down the hall to the storage room and the secret door that waited there. The group was treated to a minor shock when they entered the room, all of the goods were gone. Not even a single cask of wine or bolt of cloth was left behind. Milo rushed to the door, checking for any newly laid traps. After he found none he tried to open it, and discovered that it was bolted from the other side. [I]"Well, I think we know who's been cleaning up after us now,"[/I] he said. [I]"Looks like the hobgoblins have more than one way into the warrens. Let's keep on guard."[/I] The only other unexplored area was the door they left on the other end of the cavern, up the ramps. So up the ramps they went after a non-eventful trip back through the tunnels. If the hobgoblins were out and about they weren't making themselves known. Milo reached the door and listened in. He heard faint scuffling noises and guttural grunts from through the thick, heavy door. Before doing anything else he decided it'd be best to check for traps. There was obviously someone behind there, he thought, and they were probably waiting for the adventurers. He motioned back to the others to hold off and keep quiet while he ran his hands over the rough wood door and its frame. His keen eyes picked up no sign of tampering or treachery, but he did notice that the door was locked. Ahh! Finally a chance to use his shiny new lock picks. He rifled through his pack and produced the small leather pouch with the delicate tools inside. Milo peered at the crude lock on the door and chose the sturdiest of the picks. He carefully pushed the pins of the tumbler until he heard the familiar [B]'click'[/B] of an open lock. Just as he was about to flip the last tumbler his grip slipped and all of them snapped back to place. Milo started again, and hoped that the creatures on the other side of the door didn't overhear the small noise he made. That time he easily moved the pins and the door opened just a little bit. Milo leapt back, fearing a charge by whoever was in the room. He gave the go ahead signal to Brigit and Jeremiah then pressed himself against the wall as they ran past him. Jeremiah booted the door and paused for a split second at the sight that met him a few feet into the room. Over a dozen hobgoblins stood arrayed in the large room, they growled and snarled and were obviously intent on taking a chunk out of the infidels that invaded their caverns. They had been waiting for the group. There was another passage leading away on the opposite end of the room. As soon as the door had been kicked open Mazi let the arrow from her bow fly. It whizzed by the head of a particularly ugly hobgoblin near the front of the mass. It didn't stand long though, as Jeremiah's slight pause came to an end and his greatsword met its neck. Through one hobgoblin and the next it went, one clean arc as if there weren't two thick creatures in its way. As he swung Jeremiah let loose a loud battle cry, his ferocity startled the closer hobgoblins. Maruf worked his way up to the front lines, he looked eager for battle. He missed as his initial attack was a far space from the first hobgoblin. Milo took advantage of the gap between Maruf and the beast as he fired off a bolt into the hobgoblin. It lurched back, wounded. Brigit, Jeremiah, and Maruf blocked Thorgrim from reaching the front lines so he held back a bit, waiting for his chance to enter the fray. As Milo watched, Brigit swung her mighty dwarven axe at the goblinoid in front of her. The axe head made an even uglier mark on the shocked looking hobgoblin as it fell to the floor. Three more hobgoblins moved up to the front line to fill the space and attacked Brigit and Maruf. One of the monsters facing Maruf made contact with its weapon, inflicting some minor damage on the man-at-arms. The other three hobgoblins' attacks were far too clumsy to hit the front line fighters. Mazi, who was still in the back, let another arrow fly into the battle, grazing the face of one of the monsters near Jeremiah. The beast howled with pain. Jeremiah moved in to attack it but was brought up short by the next hobgoblin, snarling and baring its fangs. Nearby, Maruf regained his composure and expertly sliced the beast that attacked him previously, he wounded the creature badly. Milo took a moment to survey the scene before him, including the three that were down he counted thirteen hobgoblins in all. He hoped it wouldn't be an unlucky number as he pulled the trigger on his crossbow. He cursed as the mechanism jammed and crouched down to work on the jammed string. Ahead Brigit had worked herself into a frenzy, swinging her ax from one side to the next. The pathetic hobgoblin in front of her didn't even see the blow coming as the waraxe sliced through its belly, spilling its innards to the floor. The body followed soon after as the dwarf snarled her distaste of the vermin before her. Meanwhile, the hobgoblin that blocked Jeremiah's attack countered with its own, slicing its longsword along his exposed arm. Jer hissed at the wound and drew back his sword to retaliate. Near him one of the hobgoblins attacking Maruf actually swung its weapon back too far and bashed its companion in the head, it was temporarily stunned. The following swing was successful though, as the blade cut Maruf through his chain armor. He groaned, heavy on his feet. Mazithra again fired an arrow into the fray, wounding another hobgoblin with her expert aim. She had enough time to see Jeremiah finish his back swing and slice through not only the hobgoblin that wounded him, but clean through the one next to it. His greatsword was shiny with the creatures' blood and his face had a feral look to it. Maruf was already weakened by the wounds he had taken before he made his next attack. His sword was unable to land a blow on the hobgoblins before him. They grinned as they pressed their advantage. Thorgrim finally reached the battle next to his fellow man-at-arms. His weapon also fell short of the mark but he hoped to at least draw some of the goblinoids' attention. Brigit hacked away at any hobgoblin stupid enough to get near her. Her swinging blows felled another as more of the monsters moved up to the front of the fight. The four that were engaged failed to hit any of the adventurers at the forefront. Another arrow flew from Mazi's bow as she took careful aim. Not careful enough though, her target moved at the last moment. Jer had no such problem, dodging or no, the next two in front of the 'Hobgoblin Killer' went down in a spray of blood as his huge weapon sliced through the air. Maruf didn't fare so well, he swung his sword hard at the hobgoblin attacking him and overextended himself. Just as the hobgoblin's blow was about to land, Milo sprang into action, rolling along the floor to stop behind the attacker. He was too late though, the creature moved with uncharacteristic swiftness and delivered the crushing blow that knocked Maruf to the ground. Thor shouted as he saw his friend fall, he swung his sword wildly to fend off any hobgoblins that might try to finish Maruf off. Milo began to prepare a spell to aid the fallen Maruf but was pierced by a longsword before he could get the first words out of his mouth. The hobgoblin grinned as it withdrew its sword from his side. Milo ignored the pain and began the mantra that sprang to his mind, determined to use his newfound power to save his newfound friend. Brigit dispatched her latest victim as she had the others, with another vicious blow of her axe. She grinned to herself as she realized that not one of the hobgoblins had made it past her defense. Determined to finish off the beasts, Mazi fired another arrow, this time exclaiming in satisfaction as she saw that it pierced the throat of her target. The hobgoblin loosed a breathy sound as it tried to scream its death cry. Up ahead Jeremiah moved behind the hobgoblin that mortally wounded Maruf, intent on finishing it off. Near the floor Milo crouched down as he finished his chanting and placed his hands on Maruf's wounds. A warm tingling sensation traveled from his spine down his arms and through his small fingers. He watched in amazement as Maruf's wounds stopped bleeding and the skin stitched itself closed. [I]'So this is what the healers feel'[/I], he thought, [I]'I could get used to this.'[/I] The sensation left him before the wounds were completely healed, but Maruf's eyes fluttered open and he had the strength to stand. Just as the hobgoblin near Maruf and Milo was about to strike the woozy Maruf down again, Brigit's thirsty axe found its mark again. The last beast fell, nearly on top of the still crouching Milo. He scarcely noticed, still thinking about the amazing feeling he just had. [I]'I'll have to figure out how to make the healing more effective'[/I], he thought absentmindedly to himself. Maruf thanked Milo profusely. He told him that he could feel himself slipping farther away from life before the halfling brought him back. Milo, feeling a little self-conscious from everyone's attention, played it off. [I]"It was nothing, I did what I had to do. We're just glad you're still alive, right everyone? Hey, is that a money pouch I see on that hobgoblin?"[/I] Milo swooped down on the corpse that Brigit created and pulled up a little bag of silver. [I]"See, money! I bet the rest of them have some too!"[/I] He started industriously searching the rest of the bodies lying about the room. Eventually the rest of the group joined in and they pooled the various coins they found together. They would split the loot later. Satisfied that attention was sufficiently distracted away from him, Milo handed Maruf one of the potions that the priest had given him. He told the man-at-arms to gulp it down before anything else happened. He gratefully complied and the rest of his wounds were soon healed. Milo couldn't find anything else of interest in the room besides the money they found on the bodies. The adventurers readied themselves to continue on through the passage leading out of the room and into unknown danger ahead. The tunnels were extremely dark this far in. Milo, Jeremiah, Maruf, and Thorgrim were unable to see anything past Milo's lantern. They decided that Brigit, being the only one of them with the ability to see in complete darkness, should go ahead to scout out the way. She moved up a bit, her armor jangling. [I]'It's either me blind and silent or Brigit loud and aware'[/I], Milo thought to himself, [I]'we can't win.'[/I] After some slanting passageways and a couple of straight tunnels the group found themselves at a fork. The passage continued west and the side passage veered south. They decided to head down the left passage and headed south together. After a couple of curves the passage opened into another cavern. Two large and very surprised hobgoblins stood in the middle of a grisly scene. One had a sword and a whip, the other just a longsword. Across the room, chained to a wall were three human men and one woman as well as an orc and a gnoll. Before anyone could react Milo started rummaging through his pack. [I]"Ahah!"[/I] he shouted as he found one of the divine scrolls he carried. He quickly chanted the contents of the scroll and pointed his finger at the hobgoblin carrying the whip. The creature made to move, but was frozen in place. A look of surprise crept across its dull features. The other hobgoblin jumped into action. It lunged at Brigit, its hated enemy. She easily fended off the blow as the other four adventurers closed in. Attack after attack rained down on the hapless hobgoblin. Thorgrim finished off the beast with a stab of his longsword to its chest, right through the chainmail. Milo sauntered over to the frozen hobgoblin and pulled out his dagger. He walked behind the straining monster and took aim, right through the thin muscles in the back to the monster's black heart. [/QUOTE]
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