Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="spyscribe" data-source="post: 1726255" data-attributes="member: 5808">Part the Fifty-FifthIn which: Goblin territory ain’t all it’s cracked up to be.Zrod pushes the party on at a grueling pace, alternating short runs with even shorter breaks.  After a few hours, many members of the group are starting to feel the strain.  No breath is being wasted now for talking. Lira even finds it difficult to summon the energy to mentally communicate with Euro.  Thatch is doing fine, much to Lira’s consternation.  It’s not fair, Lira thinks.  I can drink him under the table.  You’d think I could keep up with him in a run…Eventually, Zrod stops them.  They can all hear the hundreds of goblin voices coming from a chamber up ahead.  “We’re passing outside one of their main markets,” Zrod whispers.  “With any luck, they won’t notice us.  It’s about 40 feet to get past the entrance.  Be fast and be quiet.”Lira watches as Zrod goes first, creeping along quickly and quietly, hugging the wall of the tunnel farthest from the market.  Anvil follows, using the same route as Zrod.  Then comes Eva, moving as comfortably as if she were in a back alley in Dar Darine.  Reyu is equally stealthy.  Lira is up next.  She shoots a nervous look at Thatch.  Stealth is not her strong point.Don’t worry, boss.  Just follow me.I’ll be sure to, Lira thinks.  And, with a deep breath, she runs. She glances to her side as she quickly scrambles past the entrance. Dozens of goblins swarm about. The walls and ceiling seem to be full of small holes, probably leading to other caves.  A nightmarish scaffolding of ladders connects these entrances together, giving the impression of nothing quite so much as a beehive full of goblins.Fortunately, these goblins seem occupied by their business, and no one is looking carefully at the dark passage the party is crossing through.Before she knows it, she’s past.  The sound of goblin alarms she had been dreading never come.Thatch crosses next, making it safely as well.  Hue runs by with no incident, and the party doesn’t even notice when Benedic crosses.  Dennis takes a deep breath, runs… …and trips over a stone that send him tumbling. Dennis scrambles to his feet and scampers to safety on the far side of the passage.  He slams himself against the wall, cursing at himself quietly enough that the others barely notice.  They listen intently, waiting to hear if their cover has been blown.There is no reaction from the goblins.  The party lets out a collective sigh of relief.  Zrod takes the lead again and the pace resumes.**********Lira has no idea how long they’ve been running.  She has completely lost track of time down here in the dark of the goblin caves.  They had a quick bite to eat three… no, four stops ago.  Or was it three?  And what did they eat again?  Should she be hungry now?  Or would she rather sleep?  Lira’s not the only member of the group flagging.  Despite Euro’s hearty, Come on Boss, you can do it! she knows she can’t keep up the pace much longer.  If she could just catch her breath, she could ask if they could stop to catch their breath.  Perhaps if the terrible stitch in her side would go away, she could manage to ask.  Yes, that seems best.  Wait for the stitch to go away, then ask if they can—Suddenly, she hears Zrod let out a war-cry followed by the unmistakable sound of axe meeting goblin.  Forcing her head up, she realizes that they are in a small chamber, with passages leading out in four directions.  It looks just like the guard-post they attacked when they entered goblin territory.  We’ve been going in a circle, she thinks, momentarily panicked, before she realizes that this isn’t the same guard-post.  It’s a different one.  They must be at the far end of goblin territory.  Once they get past this point, they’re free.  Energy renewed, she joins the fray.Thatch, Anvil, and Benedic have their swords out and swing with vicious accuracy.  Eva leaps, twists, and tumbles past the goblin guards, avoiding their attacks and placing herself in front of the alarm horn, darning anyone to get by her to use it.  The chamber is too choked with bodies to give Lira a clear line of sight to any of the goblins, and so draws her dagger, ready to cut down anyone who comes near.  Assuming she can manage to stay on her feet.Three of the goblins are dead before they realize what hit them.  The remaining two take stock of the situation and run for their lives, shrieking the alarm.  One flees down a side tunnel, the other runs ahead of the party, out of goblin territory.  Thatch starts to head down the side-tunnel, in pursuit of the fleeing goblin.“Where are you going?” Zrod shouts. “This way is out!”“If he gets back to sound the alarm, we’ll be up to our necks in goblins,” Thatch replies.“No, we won’t,” Hue declares.  He turns and casts.  A small white ball appears, floating in the air in the center of the chamber.  As Hue finishes casting, the ball abruptly explodes into hundreds of sticky strands, filling the room and blocking off all four tunnels that lead to it.Thatch considers the tangled web.  “Or not.”Without wasting time on further chit-chat, the group barrels on.  They quickly pass the fleeing goblin and Zrod takes its head off without even slowing down.  And they keep running, hoping to find a safe place to rest.That’s funny, Lira thinks.  The cave is getting longer.  That really doesn’t make any sense to her, but it’s the only explanation she can think of for why her steps don’t seem to be taking her as far as they ought to.  She’s pushing herself to the limit, but she doesn’t seem to be getting anywhere.  Everyone else is still moving normally.  Even Euro.  He’s jumped off her shoulder, and is running pretty fast now.  Towards Benedic.  And now he’s jumped on Benedic’s shoulder, and is pulling at his hair.  Euro, she thinks, leave Benedic alone.  He’s trying to run and has to concentrate. It’s very hard to concentrate while running.  Very, very, very, very…But Euro ignores Lira, and continues tugging on Benedic’s hair until Benedic turns around and looks at Lira.  And suddenly Lira must be running very fast, because the next thing she knows, Benedic is right beside her.“I think we’d better call a halt,” he says to the others, concern on his face.Okay, Lira thinks.  Then, she collapses from exhaustion.</blockquote>

Verification