An eerie silence broken only by the occasional chirping of birds descends as your companions head below and each of you takes up your position. Zarth attempts to blend in with his surroundings,  but his bow sticks out prominently, clearly visible to all but the most casual glance.

Daniels points north with the tip of his bow, "A couple of humans and a hut of some sort. Could be the exit. Odd that they would be so well established so close to the entrance of it isn't. I'll return shortly." he heads north, putting his bow an arrow away as he does.

Zarth silently curses himself for being so out of practice, it had been so long since he'd done some real thievery. Lost in thought he reminisces on previous heists, wishing for a return to that rush of adrenaline in the heat of the moment. Perhaps goblin killing would alleviate his boredom. Probably not, goblins offered little challenge and dispatching creatures was never his interest. His unrest coming to a head Zarth looks north after the scout to see if he can spot something - ANYTHING - to do.

OOC:

12:13, Today: Zarth Willowstriker rolled 17 using 1d20+4 ((13)). - Perception

Daniel strides off northwards and quickly disappears out of sight over a ridge.


The rest of you faintly hear a cry of 'hello!' from the direction he went.

Dorian was already a far from the tracker man to hear his words, but followed him with his eyes. It seemed that he had spot something, so Dorian crouched down and waited for any sign. Until he heard another voice. Could it be another rescue group? Unlikely. So he headed toward the place where the tracker disappeared, trying to not draw much attention. Perhaps the adrenaline of the hunt overcame his drunkenness.

OOC:

14:53, Today: Dorian Payne rolled 15 using 1d20+6.  Stealth.

Daniel nods at the person hailing him, "Hello. This is a mine? I had no idea one was out here. What does it produce, if I may ask?"

"Tracker! Tracker!" Raven called out, trying to keep her voice low and stealthy, to the one who'd left the rocks to go investigating something apparently very shiny over the ridge. Her efforts to get the tracker's attention failed, and it also seemed that Zarth had abandoned his position by the rocks to go hang out with Dorian. Mahna's light! Does everyone in this land have the attention span of a honey-buzzed squirrel?! She thought, stubbornly maintaining her position next to the far cluster of trees. "Zarth! Zarth!" She tried again, hoping that her low voice carried enough across the distance to the other trees. "The rocks!" She continued, pointing back to the rock cluster where they'd found the goblin tunnel. "Someone's gotta stay by the rocks!"

OOC: I'm only basing Zarth's movement in this post from his position on the map changing. If that was a mistake and Zarth didn't move, then kindly let me know and I'll rewrite this post. Thanks!  ... Also, I'm not sure if I ever caught Daniel's name IC, so hence the reason I didn't use it.

(OOC:Sorry for any confusion - Zarth's wandering ways on the map were due to my misreading of an earlier post. I've moved him back where he belongs - feel free to edit your post Raven.

Don't drink and DM, kids.)

Dorian advanced quietly in the direction Daniel had vanished off to, keeping his head low and peeping over a rise in the ground.

Daniel grins,"Oh, I'm not. I'm the guy that saved some locals from a goblin attack last week. Feyblessed they call me for some damned reason. Well I'll leave you to it." Daniel gives a wave and starts heading back, then stops and turns back, "Say, you folks haven't seen any signs of goblins, have you?"

Zarth and Raven can both hear the sound of conversation drifting across as the mine foreman raises his voice.



"Filthy things are all over the place these days it seems. I heard they took a baby from right under it's mother's nose down in Waterfud!" He shudders slightly. "Just last week we sent word to Lord Aris. Something needs to be done."

Daniel nods, "Just outside, or are they troubling you down in the mines, too?"

"They're cowardly little buggers. They pick on children, not grown men with hammers and picks. We've had no trouble here. It's our families we're concerned about."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the GM at 20:13, Sat 24 Aug 2019.

Daniel, "Good enough. Sorry to have bothered you." He heads back to his rock outcrop.

Zarth's impatience comes to a head and he begins taking a silent inventory of his things in an attempt to distract himself.

"Two daggers... twenty arrows... shortsword..."

His voice becomes faintly audible as he speaks quietly to himself. His counting completed, he begins to tap his fingers against his bow and staring at the hole the rest of the group went into.

A buzzard circles overhead in the late morning sun, looking for prey. The sound of a bell rings out from over at the mine you now realise is surprisingly close to the goblin lair. A squirrel quickly dashes from the safety of one tree to another.

Once Daniel returns to his perch and preps his bow and arrow, he gives a short report, "Iron mine. I assume goblins have an entrance into it, as close as it is to this entrance, but they don't seem to have used it. Well, assuming the miners can be believed, and  I suspect they can. Odd they haven't investigated the activity they've seen, nor been directly bothered, however.

"Still, it's a route out we can't cover. No idea how extensive the mine is, nor where the goblin access is inside it. I'll be able to see odd activity from here, though."

Dorian stays hidden behind the trees as the tracker leaves. The suspicious look traded by the mine workers suggested that they were aware of the goblins after all, but Dorian needed to be sure, so he tries to overhear any conversation taking place once they're alone. It is hard to believe that a mine wouldn't cross path with a goblin's cave so close to it.

Raven gave the tracker a disapproving look as he returned to his post, but she at least had to give him credit that he did return. She pursed her lips in thought at the news he relayed to the rest of those watching above-ground. Surely the miners must had encountered the goblins before if their mine was so close to the goblins' burrow. She glanced at Dorian and could tell by his body language that he shared her suspicions. Thinking she and her happenstance companions might be facing more than just goblin trouble, she moved to find a place to conceal herself in the tree-cluster next to her...

OOC: Moving to E-23-ish

The miners look a bit quizzically after Daniel as he leaves, and then return to their work. At the sound of a bell ringing above the furthest back of the three shafts, two of them head over dragging an empty cart, and begin turning the winch to pull up whatever is below. It's obviously a considerable weight based on the effort they're putting it.

Dorian watches the movements of the miners with attention. What could possibly be that heavy? Perhaps iron, as they said so. But maybe dead or tied kids? If that was the case, the group would have to move fast, since they were already aware of at least one person nearby. Dorian, still hidden behind the trees, turn to the space where the group is spread. He does a some gestures, suggesting a careful approach as something is happening.

OOC:

I'm not sure if all the characters can see Dorian, I'm basing my action in the fact that Raven seemed to have some vision. Dorian is doing some specific gestures (Thieve's Cant), it's just natural for him, so he doesn't think in the possibility that not everyone can understand it.

Zarth hears the bell and having become increasingly agitated at having nothing really to do moves closer to the shaft as stealthily as possible to get a better look. Readying himself for a fight, just in case, he strides toward the treeline nearby where the vantage point seems better.

OOC

Stealth forward, perception to look closely at the miners/attempt to see what they're dragging up.

Stealth: 20:23, Today: Zarth Willowstriker rolled 23 using 1d20+5 ((18)).
Perception: 20:24, Today: Zarth Willowstriker rolled 14 using 1d20+4 ((10)).

Both well hidden from the miners' view, Zarth and Dorian observe as they cooperate to work the winch; while the foreman exhorts them to put their backs into it. One shoots him a look of venom while sweating from the exertion, but says nothing.

Soon enough, the end of the rope comes into view, pulling up a wooden crate loaded with red-tinted rocks. While one miner holds the winch, the younger of the two grasps the crate and pulls it off to one side, tilting it so as to allow the contents to drop into the waiting cart. The empty basket is dropped back down the mineshaft, having apparently brought up nothing but rock.

(For clarity, Dorian, if you were behind the trees you wouldn't be able to see the mine. You are currently peaking over a low ridge, with the trees to the left of and behind you)

Daniel points at the tree line, "Something goblin sized, more or less, moving around over there." Daniel keeps scanning all about, just in case there's more than one event to be concerned about.

Raven noted Dorian's weird hand gestures, but they meant nothing to her. Then he and Zarth moved up to the ridge and watched what she could only guess were some miners on the other side. She sighed in frustration that everyone seemed to be abandoning their lookout posts... and just at that moment the Tracker spoke up, pointing out a possible goblin sighting. The woman ground her teeth at the irony of something happening and half her above-ground companions off miner-watching.

She tried to see where the Tracker pointed and hoped to catch a glimpse of whatever had caught his eye...

All the suspense watching as the miners brought the crate up, the breath holding, the muscle tension, preparing for a quick thrust...and in the end, just a bunch of rocks. Dorian almost cursed out loud. He looked at the red in the rocks, perhaps blood? Yes blood. Bloodstones, not bloody stones. Just some ordinary ores for iron extraction. An iron mine after all.

It was still weird that they were working so close to a goblin hole. And the suspicious look in the miners eyes. But, it seemed that they were only doing their job. Dorian was unsure what to do next, perhaps if he left he would miss something, but also he could be already missing something elsewhere.

Perhaps knockout the miners until the situation was over? To intense. And he wouldn't be able to do it alone. So Dorian decided to leave the miners alone for now. Just as he was slowly leaving, he noticed the presence of the non-tracker human beside him. He whispered to him "I'm going back to my post, shout if these guys do anything weirder than picking up rocks". And back to his position he went.

OOC

12:19, Today: Dorian Payne rolled 17 using 1d20+2.  Rock knowledge
17:14, Today: Dorian Payne rolled 20 using 1d20+6.  Stealth.

Again I'm assuming that I'm too far from Daniel to hear what he said. I'm not sure to where he pointed, but if it is the treeline that I'm heading into (D2), then I assume that I'll stop if I see something moving.

Quiet hangs over the hillside, interrupted only by occassional sounds of labour from the mines. The minutes tick by with no sign of those who entered after the goblins.

OOC: Daniel is less than 20 metres away from you, Dorian - you could probably hear him okay.

The gentle peace of the late morning is burst by a sudden, plaintive bleating; followed by a series of high-pitched voices quickly gibbering to each other in an alien language. You can see a party of six squat, green-skinned figures advancing up the hill towards you, most of which have a small lamb trussed and slung over one shoulder.

As you look, the only unencumbered one of the six is quickly running a curved, rusty sword across the neck of the lamb that had made the noise, while quietly but forcefully adddressing its bearer. A fountain of blood streams from the butchered animal's neck; spraying the two nearest goblins.

Distracted by this, the goblins are yet to notice any of you.

Daniel pulls back on his readied bow and shoots the unencumbered goblin. He immediately readies another arrow.

OOC:
I wasn't sure what you needed, so I tossed in initiative, just in case.
15:26, Today: Daniel rolled 17,10 using 1d20+6,1d6+4.  Shortbow attack and damage.
15:25, Today: Daniel rolled 5 using 1d20+4.  initiative.

10 damage, assuming a hit.

Hearing the bowstring nearby, and seeing the goblins Zarth realizes how far out of range he is and sprints toward the rock outcropping.

OOC:
Move southward and toward the rocks in the middle(ish) of the map using action to move as well. Should end up around G10.

Raven spotted the little creatures after the noise of the bleating lamb alerted her. She wrinkled her nose in disgust at the sight of the creatures around the lamb. So those are goblins? She thought, having never actually seen a goblin before. They do kinda look like the descriptions in the stories. For a moment the young scholar wished she could understand what they were saying. But then she snapped back to the reality of the situation and quickly sorted through her options. There wasn't much that she could do with them so far away... but there was one thing that might work.

Payne was almost falling sleep while hidden in the trees waiting for some movement, maybe because of the rhythm of the mine, maybe because the tension of earlier, maybe because the alcohol effect was fading away. Anyway, a sudden different sound awoke him. He readily put himself in guard position as looking for the source of the noise. A lamb. But not alone. A whole group of goblins arriving from the south. Finally they would have some real action! But just as Payne was starting to move, something occurred to him: if rats feel threatened, they will run for their hideout. As the main entrance was being covered by the tracker, maybe they could find the direction of another entrance by simply scarring the goblins. So instead of running towards them, Payne stayed where he was, just sheathing his rapier and readying his Hand Crossbow.

The bickering of the goblins is suddenly cut short as a spectral hand suddenly materialises in their midst. They jump backwards with surprise, and stare in baffled fascination as the ghostly skeleton flails around trying to reach them.

The only goblin not carrying a lamb opens his mouth to speak, but before any sound emerges, an arrow penetrates its neck, silencing it forever.

There is a brief pause while the remaining goblins stare in confusion at their dead colleague, before they leap into action, frantically working to free their movement by untying the lambs strapped onto their backs. The first to free itself jogs eastward up the slope while unshouldering its bow.

The goblins definitely didn't see that coming, the spectral hand together with a precise shot kill would make any creature pee in their pants. And they got the desired effect, the goblins were surely scared. Though instead of running, Payne saw one of them pooling a bow. "Damn, they're up to a fight?!", he murmured. From the goblin perspective, they were five against two that they could readily see...But Payne was not ready to give up on his hideout just yet, so there he stood a little longer to see how things would develop.

"Dammit!" Raven swore softly, her conjured spectral hand missing its mark. She was sorely out of practice from refraining using her magic in this superstitious land. Taking renewed aim, she tried again...

The phantasmal hand rematerialises in the midst of the pack of goblins and grasps at the nearest one, which lets out a shriek and starts hopping around, vainly clasping at it in a desparate attempt to remove it. Dropping it's lamb, it runs in panic downhill in the direction of Dorian's hiding spot.

The other three look at other nervously, and quickly ready their weapons.

Zarth sees the trees ahead of him and makes a slight change in plans. Edging forward he tucks himself into the small grouping of them and prepares to fire at one of the goblins.

OOC:
Move to L15/L16.
Fire at goblin 1.


20:53, Today: Zarth Willowstriker rolled 22,6 using d20+5,d6+3.  Shortbow Atk, Dmg.

The goblin claws at its face in rising panic, futilely trying to pry the ghostly hand away from itself. Its shrieks are abruptly cut as an arrow thuds into its chest.

I will update the tracker later. Goblin 1 is dead, Daniel to go.

Daniel fires at the closest goblin quickly, quietly, and efficiently. Hopefully.

OOC:
Not sure which gob just died. Targeting #4 if it's alive, #1 otherwise.
09:23, Today: Daniel rolled 20,7 using 1d20+6,1d6+4 ((14,3)).

7 damage

With unerring accuracy Daniel sends another arrow through the neck of the goblin running uphill, dropping it to the ground. This leaves just three, huddled close together and reach readying their bow to shoot
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:47, Sat 07 Sept 2019.

Payne smiles as he finally sees that the chaos caused the goblins to spread. One of them was moving directly to his direction in panic, so there was probably an entrance to the cave in his position after all, but where. Unfortunately Payne didn't get his answer due to an arrow to the chest of the fleeing goblin "Damn!". And now the remaining little ones were preparing to fight back, so there was no point in keeping his position. Better end this quickly and then investigate the area. So he leaves his hideout behind the trees and runs toward his companions. He was still far away from the goblins but risked a shot anyway. He should have waited a little longer.


OOC
17:00, Today: Dorian Payne rolled 11 using 1d20+6 with rolls of 5.  Crossbow to Hit with Dis.

Now that's more like it! Raven thought, seeing her conjured magic have more effect the second time around. Concentrating to tweak it just a little more, she cast the same spell again, aiming for the goblin in the middle...

The mysterious ghostly hand rematerialises in the midst of the goblins, and even from this distance you see the colour drain from the middle one of the three, before it suddenly drops, lifeless, to the floor.

With a frightened squeal, the rightmost of the three jogs forward, letting off an arrow at the nearest human as it does so. The arrow penetrates Zarth's armour with a thunk, digging into his side.


Zarth to act

"Damned creatures, just begone." Zarth swears under his breath and fires again aiming for the one that just struck him. After firing he scurries behind the rocks nearby, favoring the side in which he was hit.

OOC:

08:09, Today: Zarth Willowstriker rolled 18,6 using d20+5,d6+3.  Shortbow Atk, Dmg.

Move to J17 in an attempt to gain some cover from the rocks.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Thu 12 Sept 2019.

Zarth's shot pierces the goblin in its side. It staggers and screams in pain, but remains standing on shaky feet.

The other goblin, seeing it's companion hit, pivots on the spot and fires off an arrow at the human it sees firing on them from the top of the rocky outcrop, hitting Daniel square in the shoulder.

Daniel to act

Daniel drops unconscious.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:56, Fri 13 Sept 2019.

"Mal!" Raven swore in her native tongue, seeing the tracker fall from a goblin's arrow. Breaking cover she ran toward the fallen man, hoping that her skill with the medical arts could help save his life...

Payne curses for his missed shot and even more to see that the goblins were able to do some damage to the group. But there were only two left. Now that no goblin would run to their secret passages, Payne knew that it would be easier to find it if they managed to take one as prisoner. He drops his crossbow and readies his rapier, running toward the closest goblin (5) and stopping just a few meters from it, readying himself for the incoming shot.

OOC

Dorian runs to Q9 and assumes an dodge posture as his action/reaction.

Stopping as it sees Dorian jogging towards him, rapier at the ready, the foremost goblin quickly pulls another arrow and turns towards the immediate threat. His shot is good and heads straight for Dorian, but with the adrenaline of the fight driving all signs of drunkenness away, the sailor nimbly skips out of the arrow's path.

17:25, Today: The Voice of Fate, for the NPC Goblin 5, rolled 8,17 using d20+4,d20+4.  Attack on Dorian (disadvantaged).

Zarth sees Daniel drop and realizes their best option in the scenario is to remove the goblins from play. "Do what you can to help him, Dorian and I will try to finish off the goblins." He turns to Raven and nods. Stepping out quickly he fires a shot at the goblin he'd already wounded and returns back to his cover behind the rocks.

OOC:

Move to J15, fire, move back to J17.

12:28, Today: Zarth Willowstriker rolled 19,4 using d20+5,d6+3 ((14,1)). Shortbow Attack, Damage

Zarth's shot takes the already weakened goblin right in the throat, instantly finishing it off.

The only remaining goblin stares very briefly at its comrade's corpse, before spinning on its heels and running hell for leather back down the slope from where it came.

"Ellantha's mercy!" Behind you on the ridge, the three miners are stood, eyes wide and open-mouthed in surprise. One wields a hammer in an instinctive defensive posture; while the foreman hugs his slate to his chest. His mouth moves without any sound coming out for a moment as he glances about the scene in confusion.

OOC: I’m assuming we’re in the next round...

”Don’t let it get away!” Raven exclaimed to her two remaining conscious companions, indicating the lone fleeing goblin before she turned her full attention to the wounded tracker. ”Stay with me! You’re going to be okay! Just hold on!” She encouraged the unconscious man, unsure whether he could actually hear her or not. Using her dagger she began by cutting away the tracker’s shirt and used the rags from the ruined garment to staunch the bleeding...

OOC:  02:13, Today: Raven rolled 15 using 1d20+3.  Medicine skill check.
              (I don’t know the DC to stabilize, but hopefully that’s high enough)

Breaking off the arrow, Raven quickly staunches the bleeding and bandages up the wound well. Though still pale, Daniel's breathing seems to be coming easier.

More than enough - Daniel is stable, so no more saving throws needed, but is still unconscious

Payne smiles after successfully dodging the arrow, his reflex were still sharp, and now it was his time to knockout the goblin so it could then be forced to give some information. He readied his sword and just as he was going to move, an arrow trespassed the goblin's throat taking its life with it "Damn! Not again!" he looks furiously to the archer that killed the two goblins that Payne was hoping to get some information from. And now he was too far from the other one that started to run. But he was not willing to give up just yet, and the black-haired woman's words gave him the extra energy to go for the goblin. And so he ran. Not even paying attention to the newcomers miners.

OOC:

Spending movement and action to chase the goblin

Dorian sprints rapidly downhill after the goblin, atruggling to keep his balance as hops over sticks and rocks on the downward incline. As he pursues the goblin into a wooded patch, he is briefly distracted by a oppressive buzzing noise, and is forced to skip aside to avoid the hive of wasps he'd disturbed.

Spinning back to scan the trees and continue the chase, he can see no sign of the goblin...

Further up the hill, the three miners have overcome their momentary shock, and come running over to the rest of the group. The foreman pushes himself in front of the other two in an attempt to exert some authority. His eyes fall first on Daniel's form. "My word! That's the young man we were just speaking to. Is he.. still alive?"

Raven stood from her ministrations and faced the miners. What a sight she must look! -- white skin, black clothing, hands covered in blood and red lips the same color. But her voice was very much human when she spoke. "He'll live," she replied, taking a moment to wipe her brow with the back of a hand, heedless of the red smear it left on her forehead. "But he's still badly hurt and hasn't regained his wits yet. Have you a cart and mule we could borrow to take him back to the village?"   

Zarth stops to ponder a moment. "Since we saw goblins coming this way I wonder if the others were successful." Eyeing the entrance the four had used to descend downward he continues to contemplate. "Whatever the case the tracker is down for now and I'm a little worse for the wear, so I don't know if there's much we'll be able to help them with now." He eyes the wound on his side and decides to have a seat, lost once again in his thoughts.

The foreman's face blanched slightly as he got a better view of the blood on Raven's hands, eyes going wide in evident discomfort. "W-w-well yes of course!" he eventually managed to stammer out, waving at the miners behind him. "Heiber! Radek! Give the lady a hand!"

Before he had started speaking, the two younger men were already at Raven's side. The younger of the two, a freckly youth with auburn hair, nodded at Raven as he bent down to put his hands gently under Daniel's shoulders. "Let us help you, miss. It's a good lng walk to the big cart - the way's too uneven to wheel things up the hill."

The foreman averts his eyes from the sight of Daniel's wounds and turns to face Zarth, only to gasp as he notices the other man's serious wounds. "Oh my! What on earth is happening here, sir?"

Payne chases the goblin as fast as he can, though the creature has the upperhand. He tries his best to focus, but wasps came into play. And in that glimpse of a moment he lost the goblin. "Oh you damned creature!" he says out loud, though his thoughts were much dirtier. But it would be to shameful to go back empty-handed, so he does a quick scan around to look for the goblin's trails.

"Some goblins wandered up here and started a fight. We were watching the entryway the poor unconscious fellow saw some goblins that abducted a child run away into while some others ventured down. I'm not much help right now due to my injuries but I can still stand and move." Zarth speaks from his sitting position, not much interested in moving at least for a little while so he might regain some strength. He maintains as vigilant watch he can though, due to the sudden appearance of the goblins that they'd fought.

"You can see the goblins' bodies, yonder," Raven confirmed, waving in the general direction of the ones they'd slain earlier. "One escaped and our companion, Dorian, is chasing it."

"Careful! Careful!" She cautioned the men who began to pick up and carry the wounded tracker. "You'll start those wounds to bleeding again!"

"You're wounded too, Zarth?" she questioned, seemingly just now noticing that he had been hit with goblin arrows as well. "Here, let me see what I can do."

OOC: You're already conscious and stable, Zarth. I can't do much of anything else with a Medicine check, but just for roleplay grins and giggles...
   06:41, Today: Raven rolled 10 using 1d20+3.  Medicine skill check (Zarth).

Dorian carefully searches the area where he lost track of the goblin, but as a man more at home on the ocean's waves than tracking around the forests he doesn't know the subtle traces that indicate a creature's passage, and can see no sign of where it went.


The two young miners carefully start carrying Daniel back the way they came, the foreman looking at him with worry as they pass. "Now I see why the young man was asking about Goblins! Oh dear me - right by the mine!" He rubs his hands together in worry and looks back to Zarth, as Raven inexpertly bandages his wound.

"Let me go and summon the lads up from below - we can take you back into town for some help as well!." He starts to turn and dash away, but the two men carrying Daniel pause and look at each other.

"An abducted child? Do you know who, sir?" He nodded towards the opening "And they're in there?"

Payne searches, looks and frowns. Nothing in that area caught his attention, making him very frustrated. And still a little mad with the companion that shot the goblin next to him. He kicks a little rock and open his bottle for a little sip o wine while making his way back.He stops as soon as he can see the crowd close to the goblin's cave entrance. He recognized the new man as the miners he had seen before. They didn't seem to be looking for trouble. They were actually helping with the unconscious tracker. Still Payne decided to stay out of look just yet, observing.

Zarth grunts as he looks around at the miners. "I'll survive it, more important are the children. Two of them in fact, Ami and Todd. As far as we are aware they were taken below yes, 4 others are in pursuit of them underground." He repositions himself to be a bit more comfortable on the ground and continues to rest.


OOC

Essentially trying to toss in a short rest here if nothing else crazy happens.

The two miners carrying Daniel share another look. "Todd and Ami! We have to go and help!" They glance at the unconscious figure, and the sandy-haired youth looks back to Raven. "We can bring your friend back to town soon miss, but we can't leave the little ones down there with these animals!"

The two men nod at each other and gently lower Daniel to the ground.

OOC: No problem to take a rest, but since the party's split it will actually need some real world time to pass in order to keep you synchronised with the other half of the group.

Raven frowned at the thought of leaving the tracker out in the open, especially since the miners had just moved him, even if was just a short distance. However since she couldn't very well carry him herself, there was little she could do. "Very well," she conceded. "The goblins' hole lies yonder in the rocks," she added, pointing back to the rock pile behind them. As she looked back, she spied Dorian hanging back and waved him over. "Zarth," she continued, turning to the wounded man. "Would you be willing to stay with the tracker, while we see what's keeping the others down below?"

"Of course, I can watch him." Zarth moves closer to where the tracker is resting unconscious and prepares to be alert and attentive. "Hopefully the other 4 have fared better than us down there." Zarth appears a bit apprehensive at the state of the rest of the group, fidgeting rather rapidly with his hands.

"Well, we're fixin' to find out," Raven replied to Zarth. "You ready?" She asked Dorian (if and when) he rejoined the group. Then she addressed the two miners. "Alright, you two know this area best. We'll follow you down and see about the children and our companions."

The quieter of the two nods. "Bear with me a minute miss. Let me grab some things. The other lads will be along in a moment. They can keep an eye on your friends and your things."

He dashes off quickly in the direction of the mine, while his companion holds out a hand to Raven and nods to Daniel and the resting Zarth. "My name's Heiber. Pleased to meet you, despite the circumstances." Looking worriedly back and forth between Raven and the hole, he adds with a note of worry. "I'm not sure that's any place for a lady, miss."

The movement of the miners suggested that nothing really threatening was happening, and as Raven spotted Dorian, he saw no point in keeping the distance. So he does the walk of shame "That disgraceful thing managed to get away." he says and then turns to the miners "Hello to you all, I'm Dorian, Dorian "The Snake" Payne. Tough place to work, huh? It doesn't seem very safe with goblins wandering around, I suppose" he added ironically. As Raven asks if he is ready he replies "To go down there? I still don't know if we would be able to see far ahead, but yes, we can go. I just wanted to double check the place where I was before, I believe that one of the goblins was heading that direction. Maybe there's another entrance after all."

Heiber turned to Dorian with a welcoming nod. "Wellmet, Master Payne. Take my word, this is is not normal. Goblins are always about, sure, sometimes they might nick a sheep or two, but now you're telling us they're living here, right by a mine with a bunch of blokes carrying picks and hammers?" His brow creased in worry. "This in't normal at all."

”I’ll be fine,” Raven assured the miner, making her way over to the hole; hands still stained with the tracker’s blood. ”Let’s get this over with so we can get the injured ones back to the village.”

OOC: unless someone else decides to go first, Raven will head down the hole.

Radek, the young miner who'd dashed off, returned at a jog, carrying with him a lit lantern and two picks, one of which he handed off to Heiber. "Light won't be a problem," he said to Dorian. "Let's go get the little bastards!"

OOC: are you following Raven down, Dorian, or did you want to go in investigate where you think another entrance may be first?

Dorian was starting to move as he saw that Raven didn't seem to be interested in joining him. As the miner brought the lantern, Dorian shrugged "Huh, okay then, lets enter the hole". He grabbed his crossbow from the ground and put it back in the pocket on his back, can't shoot what he can't see, the rapier will be of better use. "After you, my friends", he says waiting to be the last one to enter.