April Fools:Return to In Search of the Unknown part 9 “Battle Frenzy, Orcs? naww.”
With the quick death of the Dire Weasels and their riders, the warband is confident to take on any kobolds that might be beyond the door. Gorga takes stock of the warband. Tyco is badly wounded with multiple bites and scrapes, Scrag is a little better off, and Gorga as hurting some as well. Adrenaline is pumping through them all and the fury of battle is like a bandage to their wounds. Gorga listens at the door the Kobold was trying to get through, and hears barking and yipping in Draconic. He nods to the warband.
“I don’t know what they say, but more kobolds are beyond the door.”
Scrag steps forward. “Scrag will open door and kill kobolds first.”
Gorga steps aside and lets the proud Orc pass to the door.
“They will likely be ready for us. Rush the room and spread out to fight as many as you can. They will fall like tears of a young human.”
Scrag flings the door open to a hail of sling stones, one knocking him solidly in the shoulder. He steps in and finds a makeshift 4'wall of cots, wood, and stools. Kobolds are behind it, reloading their slings. With a yell of rage, he rushes into the room and at the barrier to meet his foes, ferocity beginning to cloud his judgment. More than thirty kobolds await the rush, on the other side of the barrier. Wait two barriers. The room is quite long, and two barriers have been put together across the room to afford the kobolds some protection from the invaders.
Gorga moves into the room on the wake of the stones pounding in around Scrag, and makes a quick assessment of the situation. A fortified weak enemy, it will be tough, but we should be able to take them. Gorga moves in, and takes a position against the far wall, and begins shooting arrows at the kobolds, making himself the primary target for the next barrage of sling stones. One knocks him in the head, blurring his vision some.
The first row of kobolds drops their slings, and grabs spears, to fend off Orcs at the front barrier. Hobna moves into the room, and takes up a position similar to Gorga’s, loosing arrows as quickly as he can, taking one kobold by surprise, turning his left eye into the latest target for his arrows. Gilnak rushes in, and swings his axe wildly against the barrier and kobolds, trying to find a way through. Shglsnor comes rushing up beside Gilnak, grabs a hold of the nearest piece of the barrier, and begins shoving it back towards the kobolds. He does not get far, before two spears reach over the top, transfixing the Orc like a scarecrow guarding a crop.
Gorga grimaces at the loss of his first warrior, it won’t be that last this day. Tyco takes a seat on the floor outside of the room, and Sharraxtharkul snorts at the orc as he rushes by with his wolf Margrax. Entering the room, the canny goblin calls a ball of fire into existence, immolating one hapless kobold on the far side of the first cot barrier. For his part, the wolf attempts to jump the barrier, but is met with a spear, impaling the wolf with a sharp cry of pain. Sharraxtharkul feels the loss of his trusted companion, and directs his ball of fire towards the kobolds that did the deed. With everyone in the room but Tyco and Rhgl, Iirkh squeezes his way into the room, to a hail of sling stones. With little more than bruises to show for it, he rushes the barrier, slamming part of it back five shins into the room, bowling over half a dozen kobolds in the process.
Three kobolds closer to the far end of the room, direct the actions of the militant kobolds, ordering slings shot at one foe, and spears to thwart another. Gorga spots them from the far end of the room, with the keen eye of a leader on the battlefield, and begins direction his bowfire into that area.
With a great swing of his axe, Gilnak splits the barrier in two. Scrag wastes no time in grabbing a piece of it, and charging forward, igniting it on the ball of fire controlled by Sharraxtharkul, who curses in disgust. A rush of flame causes Scrag to pull back in pain. Followed by a rain of no less than 15 stones, which bloody his face, and crack open his skull. Gorga curses again, and changing weapons, rushes up to stand beside Iirkh, who is being swarmed with kobolds. With a single swing of his club, Iirkh crushes two of the pesky kobolds with a sure finality. Hobna brings down another with his sure shooting, and Sharraxtharkul manages to redirect his ball of fire towards another kobold, who manages to drop and roll out of the way.
Chaos in the large room is as sure as any battlefield, enhanced by the thick smoke coming from the burning furniture. Gilnak rushes through the smoke to take the place of Scrag in the line, and the warband loses sight of him for a moment. When the smoke blows back the other way, his body is seen slumped over the crouching forms of two kobolds, with spears set into notches in the floor. Gorga grabs up a kobold, and grappling the struggling creature, takes a bite out of his neck, ending his miserable life. Using the body as a club, Gorga begins beating at the kobolds around him. Iirkh begins to take the brunt of sling stones now, and begins to get angry. A kobold directing his soldiers looks up at Gorga, with grim determination on his face, and takes a jab at the impressive orc with his spear.
After being attacked by a kobold Sergeant, Gorga glares at him, wipes the kobold blood from his chin, licks it and barks at the kobold. Seeing the lifeblood of his companion on the face of his adversary, the kobold blanches and begins backing away towards another group further back.
Gorga barks out. “Those kobolds that surrender will live, all others will be eaten sloooowwlyyyy.”
Finally getting the kobolds that killed his faithful companion, Sharraxtharkul begins to scream. "Burn, s c u m, burn!" making himself the target for a dozen stones hurled from slings. This is too much for the up and coming shaman, and he falls to the hard floor, bleeding from multiple blunt force wounds. Gorga begins to realize the depth of his danger, as he looks around and only sees, Iirkh, himself, Hobna, and Rhgl sneaking over to stick a blade in an inattentive kobolds’ back. There are still nearly twenty kobolds remaining. Realizing most of his backup is now lying either dead or dying, Gorga yells to his warband.
“Kill them faster.”
Iirkh taking the queue smashes two more of his opponents with a back-handed blow.
“They keep coming Gorga, Iirkh kill them when they stand still.”
A sling stone cracks the wall near Rhgl, and his attention is grabbed as he pulls his dagger from the back of a kobold warrior. Using the body as a shield, Rhgl hunkers down behind it, awaiting another chance to sneak around the battlefield.
Iirkh is bleeding from multiple wounds, and begins to feel the rage of battle fill him, as he sweeps his greatclub around killing at least one kobold with every swing. Taking a look around the room, and being able to count to five, and know when there are more, Hobna begins inching towards the door, while loosing arrows at kobolds around the smoky room. Reaching the door, he sees Tyco sitting against the wall, with a small creature perched upon his chest. He’s never seen a Quasit before, but the paralyzed form of Tyco, and the creature disappearing before his eyes, firmly implants the image for the rest of his short life. Not paying attention to the battleground has cost him a spear to the kidney, and a dagger to the stomach from two stealthy kobolds. They turn and rush back in to attack the raging half-ogre from behind.
The din of battle manages to drown out the sound of flapping wings. Gorga looks up suddenly, as Iirkh swats at the back of his neck. His resistance all but useless, the large creature feels a sting again, under his left ear. With his blood pumping quickly from the heat of battle, Iirkh is quickly overcome by the paralyzation poison injected into his bloodstream. His body goes inert, and the creature, visible now, swoops down at Gorga.
Rhgl, from his vantage point, relatively close to the door, realizes that the battle is over, the Eagles can not win this fight now. It is up to Rhgl to escape to tell the tale of what happened. Using all the skills taught him; Rhgl sneaks to the door, and hides behind the fallen body of Hobna to view the final moments of Gorga Man-Hunter. With a small crowd of kobolds surrounding the large muscular Orc, a low growl can be heard from him, as they approach on all sides. With a cry from the kobolds as a group, Gorga is swarmed, a dozen kobolds pulling him to the ground, stomping his face, stabbing his arms, crushing his kneecaps with rocks. Incapacitated, Gorga lies there, as the kobold leader steps forward. Kneeling down, speaking directly into Gorga’s face, the kobold says, in halting orcish, with a toothy grin on his face.
Orc S c u m, we eat YOU now.
Gorga spits a bloody trail at the kobold, who ends his existence with a dagger thrust under the chin. With the battle dieing down, the kobolds move around to finish off any lingering Orcs. Rhgl takes his queue to sneak off to the exit of what has become the death of the Eagles. But not Rhgl, he will survive. Goblins are survivors.
Next Up: Rhgl makes his way home. Alone.
