II. Battle on the Hill
(Nice!)
Kerkrin puts a bolt right between the goblin's shoulder blades. It's dead before it hits the ground.
The old man grabs Lam's hand and shakes it vigorously. "Thank you, oh thank you very much!
"My name — haven’t needed it in a long time — is Keestake, and you’re the first human faces I’ve seen in more years than I can remember. It’s true. And you wouldn’t know it to look at me now, but in my day, in my day, I was personal
groom to himself — to Viledel, the Sea King. Yes, this is the Island of Viledel — you didn’t know that?
"But himself died when the pirates crushed the island, years and years ago, when my hair was still black and my face unlined. I didn’t fight on the day the pirates came, just hid in an overturned, ruined boat no one looked under, while the murdering and the burning went on day after day. And finally the pirates were all gone, and I’ve been here alone since then. Living in the house of the Sea King, protecting the treasure left behind — for the pirates never found the real goods of Viledel, just some of the trinkets and baubles kept in the manor—and becoming tired and gray. How long has it been?
"The orcs came a few days ago. They captured me, and said the stories said that the treasure of the Sea King had never been found, which was true enough, I guess. And they said I knew where it was, which was true, too, but I never told them so.
"The goblins came two days ago. The orc chief and the goblin chief talked, and the goblin chief said they were there to claim the island as their new stronghold, but the orc said they were there for the treasure too, and as soon as he said it the goblins wanted the goods, and there’s been war ever since.
"The orcs are all set up in the old soldiers’ barracks, and the goblins are all in the old stables, and the manor in the middle is where they hunt around for treasure and fight one another most of the time. But there’s another place, where they went once but leave alone now — the temple of the goddess. It’s on the far side of the hill overlooking the manor, and if you and your friends want to take shelter there, no one will bother with you."
Rebeccah is stable but unconscious. The only thing to be done for her now is to keep her wound clean and some rest.
(I'll have a loot list for you all later on.)