Expecting something to happen doesn't stop Aramil from jumping when Ozzy calls out about the goblins. Unready for the attack, the half-elf is left pulling out his sword, rather than firing with the shortbow he is better at using. Shame is was not strung as they walked along the path.

Aramil moves towards the nearest goblin with his drawn sword. Even though he wished for his bow, the half-elf swings the blade and feels the joy of it connecting with the goblin's flesh.

OOC: Init: 15 Attack: 15

(NPCd)

Alerted by Eilieen's warning, the Nameless Monk is ready when Ozzy's shout identifies the watchers.  While not as quick to react as some, she still manages to use her sling to send a stone whistling through the air.  Unfortunately it doesn't even come close enough to make her target duck...

Ozzy cringes as two of the five turn to confront him personally. His small hand grabs for the dagger at his belt, holding it up defensively as the two goblins come within reach. Then he lashes out like an angry cat, spitting and slashing in an attempt to look bigger than he actually was.

INIT: 15 / ATTK: 15 / DAMG: 3

Colwyn snatches an arrow from his quiver and nocks it hastily...  Too hastily!  He ends up fumbling with both bow and arrow, and drops them on the ground at his feet.  Cursing loudly, he stoops to pick them up.

"Ye gods and blue arsed monkeys!"

At the same time he promises himself that he'll remember to go to a real temple, as soon as they get to a proper city again, and ensure that he is on the good side of Tykee, or Zors, or both...

Corian throws out a hand in the direction of the goblin leader, and the tongue-twisting words of magic spring to his lips, "Taflegryn yn y tywyllwch!"  A pulsating orb of sizzling energy darts away from him, zig-zagging through the air, before looping around to strike the foul creature in the chest with a flash of golden light.

The goblin bellows in anger, but does not fall...

Erista finds herself reconsidering her decision to be in front as the large goblin bears down.  "暈眩!" she declares, thrusting a hand out towards him, as she reverses direction and tries to put some hardier folk between her and the ambush.

"Oh dear," Eilieen whispers.  The huge goblin bearing down on them seems quite...well, huge.  She quickly runs through her options, wincing as Corian unleashes a brilliant blizzard of magery and Erista prepares to do the same.

And the group without its front-line warriors, save for the Nameless Monk!

The Priestess steps foward, spear in hand, and grips her holy symbol tightly.  "Zadastha," she whispers, "show your care for those who fight for the love of all good things."

...possibly a touch exaggerated given the motivations of part of the group, but it's the thought that counts.

Power flares about her as the minor miracle manifests.

With commendable swiftness, Colwyn reacts to the ambush.  Unfortunately his fingers are less nimble than his mind, and he drops the bow and arrow in the mud at his feet, cursing as he stoops to retrieve them.

Eilieen is only marginally slower.  She calls upon Zadastha, and a shaft of sunlight breaks through the overcast, illuminating an area of ground, where mist promptly rises and starts to shift and swirl into a shape... the shape of an animal!

Meanwhile the goblin's leader starts to advance, its face twisting into a leering grin as it spots Erista and calls out more orders, "Tjak dar huruzd!".  It pauses in its advance just long enough to hurl his javelin.  Luckily its aim is off, and the weapon sails a good two feet above the halfling's head and disappears into the undergrowth on the opposite side of the track.  The Nameless Monk steps aside at the last moment and a javelin from a second goblin narrowly misses her.

Too late that second goblin realises its mistake.  Aramil hurries forward and his sword flashes in a horizontal arc which ends just above the creature's ear.  It falls backwards in a welter of blood, a cry of pain frozen on its lips.

The last goblin that remains close to the track veers in its course, heading now towards Erista...

Further away, Ozzy finds himself hard pressed by two of the ugly creatures.  One over-extends as it attacks, and the halfling uses the opportunity to slit its gullet.  The hideous thing falls, a death scream gurgling in its ruined throat.  The other aims a powerful swing at the halfling's skull with its club, but something warns Ozzy, and he dodges, receiving only a glancing blow to his shoulder. 

Erista notes the goblin which is heading towards her.  She starts to retreat, trying to put bodies between herself and the creature.  Just for good measure she hurls a spell at it,   The goblin stops in its tracks, blinking stupidly, then topples over.

On the trail, Corian speaks the words of a spell, and a scintillating bolt of energy streaks from his hand to strike the largest goblin in the middle of its chest.  It cries out, in pain and anger, but remains standing.  A sling stone from the Nameless Monk does nothing to change that.

The goblins who are part way between Ozzy and the rest of the party continue to hurry forward towards the trail.

Eilieen's shaft of sunlight fades away and the patch of mist clears to reveal a dog with golden fur, which barks once at the priestess, and then sprints towards the goblins...

OOC: Well... this is all going... er... swimmingly.  I said to get 'em!

Combatant         Init
Colwyn Akbar       23
Eilieen            19
Goblins            18  AC=15
Aramil             15
Oswald Osbourne    15
Erista             15
Corian             14
Nameless Monk       9

Characters' Apparent Health
Aramil:           Good
Corian Barade:    Good
Colwyn Akbar:     Good
Eilieen:          Good
Erista:           Good
Nameless Monk:    Good
Oswald Osbourne:  Hurt

Ozzy recoils from the goblins nasty scratch, growling at his own sluggish feet. He barks, " Fingernails?! You fight like a girl!" stabbing at the air between them. He had always been better at throwing the knife than cutting with it, and now regrets not bringing the whole cutlery set.

ATTK: 9 ..miss.

Feeling rather more comfortable now that she's not at the forefront, Erista pulls out her slingshot and settles a stone into it.  Moments later, she sends it whistling towards the closest goblin's head.

Retrieving his weapon, Colwyn looks about for a target.

People, he notes, seem to be concentrating on the nearer goblins, which makes sense.  But there are others that are hurrying closer.  The rogue reasons that sticking an arrow in one of them might encourage them to keep their distance.

He raises his bow and sends a shaft in their direction...

The goblin is still standing.  Corian frowns, this one is obviously stronger than others of its ilk.  Again he raises his hand and chants the incantation, "Taflegryn yn y tywyllwch!" and sends another bolt of energy at the disgusting creature.

If it's still standing after that, it might be time to let others handle it.

Watching the face of the goblin in front of him as it realises his mistake was enjoyable. Feeling the sword so through the goblin and the drop dead also made the half-elf pleased. With his buoyed self confidence he moves up to the nearest goblin. Swinging again, Aramil hits with a satisfied grunt, but is unable to make the clean kill of last time.

(NPCd)

The Nameless Monk calmy drops another stone into her sling, whirls it about, and unleashes it in the general direction of where Ozzy is fighting his lone battle.  There is a certain amount of satisfaction on her face as the stone strikes its target, although it is but a glancing blow.

The dog dashes across the field of battle, its four legs carrying it far faster than any mere biped could hope hope to manage, and with far greater certitude of footing among the ferns, bracken and brambles.  It leaps, jaws agape, and its teeth fasten onto the goblin's arm.

The foul creature gives a scream of pain as it is knocked sideways into a briar patch.

"Go, doggie!" Eileen cries as the hound leaps to the defense of the beleaguered Oswald, attacking his opponent and driving it into a briar patch.  "Oh, well done, brave doggie!"  Then her eyes fall upon the advancing goblins.  Oh, dear.  They could very well be rather beleaguered themselves in a moment, especially when lacking their heavy fighters.

Best to try to break their morale, she figures.  And what better way to make a mob run than to make one of their people do the same?

"You dare?" she cries, turning to face the advancing (and small) mob.  "Those without love in their hearts earn Zadastha's wrath!  Beware, else you suffer that end!"  With that prayer (or curse...), her gaze falls upon the lead goblin, and before its eyes Eilieen seems to grow into a towering shadow, blotting out the sun and glaring down at it with fiercely burning fuscia eyes.

The battle continues...

Being more careful this time, Colwyn launches an arrow which takes one of the goblins square in the chest.  It looks at the shaft stupidly for a couple of heartbeats before toppling over backwards.  Colwyn chuckles as he reaches for another arrow.

Eilieen takes a moment to cheer on the summoned hound as it races towards Ozzy, then calls out for more aid from Zadastha.  Her intended victom falters, then shakes its head and continues forward, brandishing its club as it does so.  It then gets knocked right off its feet as a stone from Erista's sling smashes straight into its face, hurled with all the force that the halfling can muster...

Some distance away, Ozzy and the goblin circle each other, both of them searching for an opening, but neither able to find one in their deadly dance of thrust and parry, feint and counter-feint.  From the corner of his eye the bard sees something large and golden rushing towards them...

Aramil moves among the goblins, his gleaming sword seeking a new target.  A goblin leaps at him, slashing with a curved knife which opens up a deep cut in the half-elf's thigh.  His own blade flicks out in response, leaving a smaller wound in the goblin's chest.  The horrible creature snarls in pain, but doesn't fall. 

A second goblin closes on Aramil, swinging a cudgel at him, but the half-elven bard sees it coming and manages to avoid the blow, stepping aside at the last instant.

The leader of the goblins looks about, assessing the situation.  At least half of the attackers are down.  The ambush may, it realises, have gone horribly wrong.  With a final order to its followers, it starts to turn away.  And at that precise moment it is struck by another searing bolt of energy from Corian.  Its eyes roll up in its head, and it falls, dead before it hits the ground.

A slingstone from the Nameless Monk whistles past above Ozzy's head, also missing its intended target.  Which doesn't matter, because the dog arrives a moment later, and doesn't miss.  The goblin screeches, briefly, and the sound is cut off sharply as it crashes in among the brambles...

The only two goblins left standing are facing Aramil.  Until they suddenly notice that they are the only two left standing.  Wailing in terror, they turn to flee.  Aramil, now bleeding profusely from his injured thigh, slashes at them, but misses...

OOC: Only two goblins left standing, and they look to be trying to escape.  Really, a GM just can't get decent staff these days.  Time was when minions would have fought to the death.  To the death, I tell you!  On an empty stomach.  And they would have loved every minute of it.  These days they all expect three meals each day, and decent wages, and a "statutory right to flee" clause in their contracts... mutter mutter bloody monster bloody union mutter...

Combatant         Init
Colwyn Akbar       23
Eilieen            19
Goblins            18  AC=15
Aramil             15
Oswald Osbourne    15
Erista             15
Corian             14
Nameless Monk       9

Characters' Apparent Health
Aramil:           Critical
Corian Barade:    Good
Colwyn Akbar:     Good
Eilieen:          Good
Erista:           Good
Nameless Monk:    Good
Oswald Osbourne:  Hurt

"Bother," Eilieen mutters, readying her spear as her curse leaves the goblin shaken, but not stirred.  Then, "Yes!" an instant later, and she snaps her fingers as the goblin falls to Erista's slingstone.  "Aramil!  Accursed goblin!" follows as she spots the beleaguered half-elf's plight, and begins a sprint in his direction.  "Go doggy!" she cries, halfway through her second step as the golden hound piles into the goblin battling Oswald.

Emotional ups and downs being par for the course when it comes to this particular priestess of Zadastha.

"Run," she cries, literally sliding up to Aramil on her knees in the muck, "you loathesome...oh, Aramil, plese do not move!"  Her hands clutch his thigh above and below the wound - considerably above and below, to avoid pain, and hopefully not giving the wrong idea despite her affiliation.  "Zadastha, grant your blessing upon those loved by your own!" she cries, summoning the power of the goddess to her palms.  Power pours down her arms in a silvery stream, sinking into Aramil at two points (behind his knee and, well, just behind) to join at the wound.

"Apologies for the imposition," she mutters.  "Or intrusion.  Whatever."

OOC - Cure light wounds, 6 + 2 = 8 healed!

Erista trots after the two fleeing Goblins, sending a final rock hurtling after them.  "Yeah!" she calls out.  "Run! We fight for love!"

Colwyn aims his bow at the goblins, as they run off, "They's goin' ter fetch some mates!", he yells, releasing the arrow.  The goblin replies with a scream as the arrow strikes it between the shoulder blades, and it falls, face-down, on the ground.

Eilieen ignores the erstwhile attackers, and runs to assist Aramil, summoning more aid from Zadastha as she concentrates on healing the bard's injury.  Through the gaping hole in his slashed trousers, the flesh can be seen knitting together, closing the wound completely.

The other goblin continues to flee, pursued by Erista, who soon puts an end to any idea it may have had about fetching allies (and, incidentally, any more ideas that it may have come up with in future).

In the stillness which follows, a sound comes from somewhere nearby, like the snarl of some vicious animal.  One of the unconscious goblins clearly has a severe snoring problem...

OOC: Just the five snoozing goblins left.

Characters' Apparent Health
Aramil:           Good
Corian Barade:    Good
Colwyn Akbar:     Good
Eilieen:          Good
Erista:           Good
Nameless Monk:    Good
Oswald Osbourne:  Hurt

This message was last edited by the player at 20:16, Fri 15 June 2012.

Ozzy stands a moment, rubbing his shoulder and scowling into the brush where the dog had torn it's throat out. Thankful to still be alive, the little bard looks up the sky overhead and breathes a heavy sigh of relief. Then the snoring reaches his little ears. He scowls another moment, looking around for the sound of the repeating noise. Focusing in on the sound, the little bard trudges over with blade in hand and does his best to cut the sound off, " Ye Gods that was an awful tone." he says as he stands squidging one little finger in his ear. The pain in his shoulder hits him again and he winces, lowering his arm slowly to his side.

Coup De Grace on snoring goblin: 8 damage

"Indeed we do!"  Eilieen gives a gratified thumbs up to Erista, then hurries for Oswald.  Poor, beleaguered Oswald.  "So sorry, Oswald, that my doggie didn't arrive in time to prevent a savage wound!"

Moving up, she crouches to place a hand on his arm.  "Zadastha bless those who battle for her favour," she murmurs, enacting an orison to stop the bleeding.  It might be a good idea to maintain her more potent spells for later.  "Zadastha's hand fall...goodness, was that absolutely necessary?"  She blinks down at the injured goblin for a moment, then shrugs.  No sense arguing about it NOW.  "Zadastha's hand...bother, where was I?  Ah!  Zadastha's hand fall upon you with the warmth of her care."  Another orison follows.

OOC - Cure Minor Wounds, Cure Minor Wounds, 2 HP cured.  We'll keep going if necessary, but I'd like to save the big stuff for when I don't have time to cast up to four minor cures.

With only four unconscious goblins still alive now, and those apparently having learned their lesson about snoring, Colwyn retrieves the troublesome box and moves over to investigate the bodies.  They're wretched creatures, and unlikely to have possessed great wealth, but one never knows.

Soon his efforts are rewarded...

"This'un 'ad a nice coloured rock." he declares, holding up a reddish brown pebble for all to see.  "It're worth bugger all, mind.  Less 'an the three pennies an a bit o' broke glass what 'e 'ad as well."  The rogue scratches at the back of his hand, "Prob'ly worth less 'an 'is lice."

OOC: Anybody feel like searching the bodies for valuables (and vermin)?

<Backpost>
Feeling the sting of the blade as it slices the half-elf's thigh, Aramil is contented to see and feel his blade slice the goblin in return. Soon enough though the stinging becomes a full on burning pain which Aramil is unprepared for. This sort of pain is not what the half-elf is used to. He drops to the ground on his knees, feeling the wound pull open slightly and the blood flowing freely.

As the shape of another person moves up to Aramil he lifts his sword, only barely realising that its a friend not foe. Eileen rests her hands on his leg, though the half-elf doesn't notice it at first. Quickly the burning subsides to an itch and as both look at the wound healing through the breaches, the half-elf notices just where the healers hands are placed. Not moving at all he first looks a little shocked, and then amused. Looking into Eileen's face shows her fully concentrating on the task at head, literally, rather than any other activity that this situation could lead. A witty remark quickly enters the half-elf's head, along the lines of "what exactly do they teach in temples these days?"* but he dismisses it, as it would seem disrespectful to the priestess, who is more of a lady than most of the women the half-elf has meet.
<Backpost>

Only when Eileen moves away to help Ozzy does Aramil see the situation around him. There are several bodies of the goblins around and everyone is still standing. He watches with interest as the little man heads over to the snoring goblin and slits its throat. He almost snorts in amusement as Eileen comments about Ozzy's latest attack.

Hearing Colwyn the half-elf rises from the ground and walks over to the bodies. "I agree that there is likely to be nothing on them of value, but nothing ventured nothing gained, as the saying goes." With that comment the half-elf walks over to another body and checks it for valuables.

OOC:* No witty comment I'm afraid. The old brain is just not firing on all cylinders at the moment.

"Well, if any of them had anything, the big one probably took it," Erista notes.

Taking her own advice, she moves to the biggest goblin to check for valuables.