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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Amaroq" data-source="post: 1281215" data-attributes="member: 15470">Issue #4: Southport. Episode 1 of 519th of May, 2002Issue #4SouthportWe were at the Laughing Ogre Inn, when the innkeeper, our good friend Fox Dunharrow, learned that his adopted son, Reginald, was kidnapped by some sort of goblin. We set out immediately to rescue the boy. We found the tracks of the goblins, leading us deep into the Spiderwood in pursuit.  When we caught up to the goblins, we found them hidden in an enclave protected by a wall of thick spider webs. They were spider-eye goblins, a mutant crossbreed of spider and goblin. We fought them to a standstill, only to learn that they did not have the boy any longer. They had left him in a great cave, atop a hill deeper into the Spiderwood. We advanced into the cave, where we found the boy, and discovered a giant spider. After a vicious fight, which tested us to our limits, the elf Goldpetal slew the spider. We slept the night in the cave, resting and recuperating after the battle. Now, we have a poisoned child to return to his adopted father, and a tribe of twenty spider-eye goblins stands between us and safety.Dawn breaks on Vanday, the 8th of Charder.  Miriel and Goldpetal take their dawn rituals, offering thanks to Madriel and Denev, respectfully. Their prayers are particularly heartfelt after our narrow victory.When she is finished, Miriel finds the rest of us awake as well. “Let’s head back to town,” she suggests.As we pick up the packs we have set down, and ready ourselves for the journey, the elf, Goldpetal asks, “What about Fergus?”  Fergus MacAllister had been part of our company when we explored the ruined tower, and set out to rescue the boy. He grew frustrated with us when we were determined to attack the titan-spawn spider-goblins, and left us as we prepared to fight them. Miriel says, “He’s with the horses, if he’s anywhere to be found.” “Who cares?” asks Stone, bluntly. The pugnacious half-orc’s patience for the argumentative highlander has run out entirely.As we head away from the cave and down the path to leave the woods, the goblins are peeking with all their eyes around the trees, watching us. We circle the web-walls of their compound cautiously, but neither side makes any move.When we get to the path that we took into the woods, Chuck looks for Fergus’ tracks, and sees them heading back down the trail. He’s a good choice to lead, being slightly built, with dark leather armor and dark hair that make him tough to see in the woods. We all trail along behind him in single file, with Miriel watching the goblins behind us. Stone, the most muscular member of the party, walks in the middle, carrying the unconscious teenager. Paks, with her chain mail, brings up the rear in case we are attacked from behind. We hurry quickly out of sight of the goblins.About ten minutes after we pass out of view, we hear a screeching yell from behind us. We’re perhaps a quarter of the way from the webbed enclave to the edge of the woods.“The goblins,” Goldpetal says.Paks looks behind her, but she can’t see them. “They sound really upset,” she says with a shudder.“Pick up the pace everyone,” Miriel calls, and we start walking faster.“And draw your weapons,” adds Goldpetal grimly. Everyone who carries a bow draws it.A few minutes later, we hear the ominous beat of goblin drums war drums behind us. We walk even faster. Shortly, we hear all sorts of goblin screams and yells; from the sounds, there may be dozens of them coming after us. “Reinforcements?” Paks speculates.  “They seek revenge for the slaying of their spider god,” says Goldpetal.We up our pace, jogging now as quickly as we can, down the path. We can hear them crashing through the underbrush, gaining on us, but now we can see the edge of the woods. We reach the edge of the woods, running for the horses. We reach them just as the goblins burst out of the woods. They’re shouting angrily after us, though none of us understand the goblin-tongue. There’s a small horde of the hideous creatures, too many to count. “We won’t have time to mount up!” shouts Miriel. “Protect the horses!”The goblins charge at us, the shaman in the lead. Javelin-sized spears held high, multi-faceted arachnid eyes glittering with anger, they bear down on us. We turn to face them, arranging ourselves in a line between the enemy and our horses. Chuck, and Miriel form the center of our line, with Paks and Stone together on our right, the north side, and Brunhilde and Goldpetal on the left. Behind us, the horses rear in terror, fighting against their tethers.Paks fires her short bow at the shaman, wounding him.  Chuck and Goldpetal also aim for the shaman, but miss badly. Stone sets down the boy and loads his crossbow, while Miriel slings a bullet and hits one of the goblins on the south end. Stone fires just before the goblins reach us, wounding the goblin right in front of him.As the goblins reach us, Paks drops her bow and steps forward. Her longsword rings as she draws it from its scabbard. She swings it at the shaman, hitting him hard. He jabs at her with his spear, and it pierces easily through the chain links of her shirt. Goldpetal drops his bow and rushes to meet a goblin with his scimitar, but his wild swing misses. Brunhilde engages the goblin which Miriel hit, fighting at close range with her quarterstaff, while Chucks steps back and continues firing his bow, at the same goblin.  They both miss. Suddenly, the left hand side is overrun, as three goblins attack Goldpetal, and two have reached Brunhilde. Goldpetal dodges the javelins of the first two goblins, but the third hits, wounding him badly. Brunhilde parries the blow from the first spear, but a second stabs her. Three more run past the elf and mage, heading towards our horses. Two of the horses break free and bolt.At the right edge of our line, the goblin next to the shaman strikes at Paks. Both of his javelins pierce her side, injuring her badly. She slumps to the ground, unconscious. Another goblin reaches Stone. He steps forward, letting it stab him in the chest, and hits it with a flurry of blows. His first punch doubles it over in pain, and his uppercut crushes its skull.  The shaman steps over Paks and stabs Stone, wounding him again. The half-orc is staggering, but still on his feet.Miriel steps back from our ragged line of battle. “Madriel!” she calls, standing over the body of the youth. “Bless my allies!” Goldpetal and Brunhilde fall back towards each other, fighting back to back in a sea of spider-eye goblins. Goldpetal cannot seem to connect with his scimitar, but Brunhilde bruises one with her quarterstaff.Chuck draws both swords, and cuts off the three goblins that are attacking the horses. He disembowels the first with his long sword, and spins forward to the head off of the second one with his short sword. For a brief moment, he loses track of the third; it stabs him in the back. He plunges face forward as darkness overtakes him.As if things weren’t going badly enough, they take a sudden turn for the worse. One goblin spears Brunhilde, and she collapses bleeding on the ground. Goldpetal, surrounded, is stabbed in the back; he, too, doubles over and slumps to the ground. Miriel reels with a sudden feeling of déjà vu, reliving our collapse at the hands of the ratmen. She looks right, where she sees Stone stabbed through the stomach. He falls as well. In seconds, Miriel is the only one still on her feet. In despair, she can do nothing but pray to Madriel for salvation. “My Goddess… please…”Even before the words escape her mouth, a man appears from the edge of the woods. He raises a magnificent long bow, and aims for the shaman. He shoots two arrows in quick succession. The first penetrates through the eye of the shaman, while the second takes another goblin through the throat.  Both collapse, dead. Miriel leaps to Stone’s side, and calls, “Madriel, heal this monk.” As Stone opens his eyes, she says, “Quick! Give me your healing potion!”The spider-eye goblins, on the verge of victory only moments before, look from the stranger to their dead shaman, and begin to bolt. Our mysterious rescuer fires several more shots at their backs, killing two more before they get deep enough into the woods to be safe from his bow.Meanwhile, Miriel performs triage. Chuck is bleeding the worst; she administers a healing potion. Brunhilde isn’t hurt too badly, but Miriel takes a moment to bandage her wounds. Goldpetal needs the other healing potion. When she looks up for Paks, she sees the stranger expertly bandaging the mercenary’s wounds. “This won’t hold for long,” he says. “She needs healing.”</blockquote>

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