by Ryan Rimmel
Moving closer to the cages, I realized that they were all locked with some good, quality locks. I doubted my bow would be able to do much to them. Then again, I did have that goblin crossbow with its magical properties.
Before I saved the people, I needed to try to thin out the goblins some more. I started with my bow, looking to the western wall. I observed the goblins for a few long seconds. They were divided into three groups. The first group was largest; they were talking and watching to the west. The second was further away, but both goblins were bent over dicing, seemingly totally distracted. The final group had one goblin watching the cages and one looking over the wall.
I shot the goblin looking over the wall first. The shot was challenging, as my Aiming ability showed true. Things like the wind blowing through a mountain pass caused it to dance everywhere. I was just about to try something else when I noticed that there were several flags whipping around and I could base my timing on that. I launched my first arrow and then had the second one away toward the cage guard before the wind picked back up. Both struck true and the goblins collapsed, which was both good and bad. It was good that they were dead. It was very bad that the one watching the cages fell off the wall and landed with an audible crack that everyone in the fortress could hear.
I loosed another arrow quickly, before anyone could act on the loud bang of the body. Just as I was firing my arrow, the dicing goblins looked up. The arrow pierced the left foe’s eyeball and impaled his skull, causing his head to spin around 180 degrees. It looked horribly gross and unnatural but was presumably fatal. The wind picked up before I got another arrow away. His game partner started screaming. Everything broke into confusion. The majority of goblins in the courtyard had run over to see who fell by the cages, with two still too engaged in digging through the carts to care. The group of four goblins still on the wall had begun to look into the courtyard. However, upon noticing another goblin gone from the wall, they immediately moved under cover. They were pressing against the Western wall searching for an attack from outside, while actually presenting their backs to me.
The only goblin who knew for certain they were being attacked from inside the fortress, the still alive dicing goblin, was actively looking around. He was trying to get everyone else’s attention, but everyone was yelling too loudly for him to be heard. I took aim at him. However, the wind picked back up, making my aiming mark impossibly erratic. Remembering that the Magic Shot was immune to gravity, I guessed it was immune to the wind as well. I readied a Magic Shot, watched my aiming point neatly solidify, and fired.
As I watched it explode into a magical flare, the goblin picked himself up and dove behind cover. I instantly recognized that I had screwed up badly. The other goblins on the wall all saw me glowing blue and they all ran to the battlements. Wow, I really am a strong kind of moron, I thought, as I stared at the neat blue trail running the length of the courtyard, giving the goblins an exact aiming location.
Grumbling, I dug up my combat log. All of my other arrow strikes had been sneak attacks, while the glowing blue arrow had not been. Without the bonus Sneak Attack damage, I couldn’t quite do enough to kill a goblin in one shot, unless I got a very good shot. Because every center of mass shot I’d done had killed a goblin, I hadn't bothered to aim better. Now, I was going to have to aim much more carefully without that damage bonus.
Flipping back to real time, I figured, at the very least, the goblins would have a difficult time hitting me at this range. Their crude weapon sites, in addition to the wind, should provide me with a degree of safety from their arrows. As their volley of unerring death raced toward me, I was able to use the Dodge skill to dive behind the battlements on my side of the fortress. That dodge had cost me over 40 Stamina, though.
How the hell did they shoot that accurately with those crude sites, I wondered. The strong moron in me then realized Hey, Dum Dum, they probably have the same aiming skill I do. Their crossbows were also going to be much less affected by wind due to the heavier, faster bolts. You didn’t need a good site if you could just rely on a magic dot to see where your shot was going to land.
I stood back up. The goblins who were firing at me had all hidden to reload their crossbows. I knew from experimenting with mine that I’d have at least 12 seconds before they managed to get them wound. The single goblin I’d hit before spotted me the moment I spotted him. We both fired simultaneously.
This time, I aimed for his face. The Magic Shot wasn’t a laser; the arrow still took a moment to cross the distance between us and, in the meantime, he’d released his own bolt. My arrow, unimpeded by wind, exploded into his face. This explosion caused his brain to boil and liquify, oozing out of his nose and mouth. His bolt flew at me, but it was a single shot at range. My Dodge skill allowed me to easily avoid it. It only took 4 Stamina, too. The battlements were giving me a bonus for dodging into their cover, it seemed.
Meanwhile, all six goblins on the ground had merged back together. They were screaming to the, unbeknownst to them, dead goblins on the eastern wall. All of them began pulling out shields as they ran towards me. I took a moment to fire several arrows, both magical and normal, at them. Their Block skill allowed them to swing their shields around. Despite me finding ‘openings’ that should have allowed hits, my arrows amounted to nothing.
I chewed on some Blue Moss while allowing my Mana to recover. I readied another shot as the goblins on the west wall all stood as one and took aim. I was faster than them; my Magic Shot released, striking one in the head. His crossbow fired erratically, flying off into the woods. The other three fired as one.
I again dodged, ducking under the battlements as the bolts struck all around me. Shards of rock pelted my face, but it had only cost me 18 Stamina to dodge this time, due to fewer shots being fired. With my herbs, that was almost manageable. I felt the quest marker change in my vision; that meant that the goblin boss had come within the radius of the quest. The goblin boss had realized, all too soon for my liking, that while he was searching for me, I had avoided him in my trek to the fortress. That put a timer on this. I had only a few more minutes to finish this battle before he came back.
With my Perception, I’d been keeping tabs on the cages. The two medium sized cages on the south wall were filled with women and children. There also appeared to be some older and possibly sick people in with them. The third cage stood by itself on the north wall. As soon as the first arrow flew, at least three of the men and one very burly lady in it had instantly moved to the door, trying to break it open.
The shielded goblins were running up the stairs towards me. They’d still have to deal with the stairs in the dark, so I had a few more seconds. While the crossbow goblins were reloading, I dropped my simple bow and grabbed the goblin crossbow. The goblins charging at me slowed. The crossbow could penetrate their shields, meaning they had to be more careful. However, they were not my target.
Lining up on the lock for the northern cage, I fired the crossbow. The bolt slammed into the lock, ruining it. Unfortunately, it still held. One of the men was kicking the cage with everything he had, trying to break the door open. Focusing, I charged up a Magic Shot and fired a second time, feeling my mana seize up as I did so. This time the bolt hit with enough force that the durability of the lock was reduced to zero and it broke apart. The man’s next kick caused the door to fly open.
Being unable to use magic, I did the next best thing. I charged towards the six goblins running up the stairs. Drawing my short swords, I launched myself at the first one feet first in an impressive drop kick. The goblin responded by activating his Shield Block skill. It was an odd sensation as my feet slid off of the shield, diverging almost all the force of my strike elsewhere. I landed on my feet, but was dramatically spun around, causing me to slam my elbow into the shield.
Of course, the shield struck my funny bone. There was no way that wasn’t going to happen, given my luck. However, I still applied most of my large body’s mass against that shield at a good rate o
f speed. The goblin was knocked backwards. Several things happened in quick succession. My left hand lost the grip on my sword, which clattered down the stairs. The goblins on the stairs were all bowled over by the lead goblin being knocked back into them. However, my feet were well outside of what would conventionally be described as ‘solid ground.” With my left arm temporarily useless, I had to drop my other sword to free my right hand. I heard the sword land somewhere on the walkway as I grabbed the edge of the wall to avoid falling 30 into the courtyard.
This terrible position gave quite the target for the goblins on the western wall. They all fired their crossbows at my exposed, nearly impossible to miss self. I sensed that the cost of dodging would be extreme. Swinging my nearly useless left arm around, I somehow managed to knock one bolt out of the air which caused a glancing wound. Another just missed burying itself into my crotch. The third slammed into my right leg, again. In total, I’d lost fifteen points of health from the attacks.
“I could use some help right now,” I called out to my dipshit demon.
“You got this,” replied a voice that sounded like it was coming out of a barrel nearby, “I believe in you!”
Growling, I pulled myself up with my right arm, flipping onto the top of the stairs. The goblins on the staircase were still trying to right their balance and reorganize. A dagger would be a poor choice to deal with their shields, so I cast around for a larger weapon. I spotted a barrel and one of my swords. Grabbing the barrel, I lobbed it at the third goblin in the line. The barrel was half empty and half full of worthless garbage, but it hit with enough force that the goblin was knocked off the stairs and down to the courtyard below.
As the barrel continued to fly into the courtyard, I heard a little demon voice, growing fainter as the barrel flew further away. “You son of a bitch.”
“You got this!” I called after him, “I believe in you!”
The humans breaking out of the cage had run everywhere. There were at least a dozen of them. Several were digging through the wagons and a few more had grabbed anything they could use as clubs. One was already at the fallen goblin, grabbing at his sword and shield. Unfortunately for the escapees, the western wall goblins had momentarily decided that they were easier targets and had begun firing at them. I saw at least one go down as a bolt slammed into her side.
I moved to block the top of the stairs. The five remaining goblins were back on their feet and trying to force their way onto the battlement. While the stairway was big enough for one man to ascend safely, goblins were smaller. Two could fight almost shoulder to shoulder. However, between battlements, there was a walkway that was wide enough for two men to stand. That would allow just about every remaining goblin to rush me at once.
I’d realized that kicking was out of the question, as the shields would be able to knock me seriously off balance. That left me with my sword and hope. I held the top of the stairs as both goblins surged forwards, slashing low and to the middle with their short swords. I couldn’t give any ground, so I relied on my Parry skill and footwork to keep the goblins from advancing. They scored several strikes against my legs, but those didn’t cost me anything more than a few hit points. I scored on one as he slashed at me, cutting a bloody wound down his sword arm.
The other lunged at me, but I blocked it with my bracer. That left him fully exposed to a powerful thrust of my own. Twisting the blade as I pulled it loose, the goblin collapsed to his knees, gurgling in front of me. As another goblin rushed to take his place, I grabbed the shield of the newly fallen goblin and pulled his body forward. The shield came off easily enough, but I didn’t have time to put it on. The next goblin moved forward, finding a gap in my defenses. He used his momentum to drive a power strike into my chest, piercing my armor and wounding me.
However, now I had a shield. This was useful, as I could already sense that the crossbow goblins were ready for another shot. As they fired, I ducked down, covering as much of myself with the shield as possible. The goblins who were rushing forward didn’t quite understand, as the one on the end was skewered by a bolt. The other bolts both struck the shield, piercing it. Whatever the rank was to redirect the force, I did not have.
Goblin Shield, Defense 10, Deflection 6, Durability 2/20. Deflection contacts penetration attacks on a point by point basis.
Suddenly the goblin in the rear screamed, as a heavily bearded man charged up behind him with an axe. Before the goblin had realized what was going on, the lumberjack had chopped down into his shoulder deeply enough that it must have cut through his clavicle. It really didn’t look like a survivable wound, especially considering all the blood and meaty bits flying through the air as Mr. Lumberjack fought to get his axe unstuck.
The goblin agreed with me, promptly dying.
The scream of their comrade distracted the other two goblins attacking me. This was not good for them, as I managed to drive the short sword into the side of one’s neck. He survived the initial strike somehow, but fell several seconds later, bleeding everywhere. The final goblin found himself outnumbered and I managed to strike at his head. It’s pretty easy to deal head wound damage when you are three feet taller and on a higher step than your opponent.
“Don’t try it. I have the high ground.” I warned.
He stumbled towards me, leaving his back exposed for the lumberjack to hack apart. Huh, I guess high ground doesn’t matter all the time. Suddenly, I was in the clear. Grabbing another shield, I looked up to the ramparts where several other humans, including the rather burly lady, were throwing the screaming goblins off the western wall.
“Well, that was easy,” I said, tearing the crossbow bolt out of my leg.
“You damn fool,” stated the angry lumberjack.
Chapter 19: Rescue
Two minutes later, and at the urgent insistence of a very angry lumberjack named OttoSherman, I had been brought down to the central part of the courtyard. The locks were being hacked off of the two cages at the southern wall. A dour looking bearded man was standing there with the burly woman. She also looked dour, but you can’t just describe everyone as dour.
The dour looking bearded man glared at me for a long moment, so I used Lore on him.
Fenris: Warden, Level 6.
Hit Points: 76/80
Stamina: 70
Mana: 25
Warden is a sub-class of Woodsman, who stand to defend the forest and nature. They are skilled at defending an area. They prefer to use traps, swords, and shields over more common woodsman weapons.
“Who are you?” he barked.
“You can call me Jim.”
He inhaled sharply, “I’m in no mood for games.”
The woman elbowed him, “He’s telling the truth. Poor guy.”
I frowned at her and she just shrugged.
“I am Fenris and this is SueLeeta,” he said gesturing at the woman, “What were you thinking?”
Fenris was a tall, dark rock of a man, with broad shoulders that seemed unbowed from his captivity. He was glaring at me with piercing brown eyes. SueLeeta, on the other hand, was looking at me far less angrily and far more curiously with her own green eyes. Her auburn hair was in a tight braid that went just past her enormously well-muscled shoulders. She was almost pretty, but her shoulders were so ripped that I wasn’t sure it was appropriate to think of her that way.
“Well, I was thinking that you had been captured and thrown in cages, so I should probably rescue you,” I replied. He seemed madder than I would have figured. I pondered why. Breathing in deeply, I suddenly recognized the smell. It was the odor of Wargs. Looking around, I could see many Warg tracks. One of the buildings nearby had the smell of a kennel, meaning it smelled like shit. Literally.
“Do you realize what you’ve done?” asked the burly woman.
SueLeeta: Hunter, Level 5
Hit Points: 73/75
Stamina: 60
Mana: 25
Hunters are a sub-class of Woodsman, who travel the forest searching for animals to
hunt. They are skilled at picking out targets and eliminating them. They prefer archery but are skilled with a spear. They frequently have animal companions that assist them in their adventures.
I frowned, “I attacked when the Wargs left. They posed minimal danger to you.”
She paused for a moment before examining me more critically, “They will come back. They tangled with something in the woods tonight. Ten Wargs went out this morning with riders, but only five came back. All five were wounded and returned without their riders.”
“Yes, it was a bad fight,” I stated.
Fenris’ eyes narrowed, “You know who fought them?”
“I fought them,” I replied coldly, “I came here to kill the leader of this place.”
Fenris’ nostrils flared, “You came to kill Grou’tuk, the Warg Master? Well, why didn’t you say so? That’s just easy peasy. It’s a wonder no one has ever thought to kill him before.” Rolling his eyes, Fenris continued, far more seriously, “You do realize how many men have died trying to kill that bastard, right? Only the Weird Sisters are worse.”
“They are pretty tough,” I replied, spitting out my healing herb and chewing on another. Fenris glared at me, while SueLeeta continued examining me with her own Lore skill. “Are we going to get this place defendable or do I need to do it myself?”
“Well, I suppose we’ll have to,” stated Fenris, “given that we don't have any other options. A bunch of unarmored humans with goblin weapons vs Grou’tuk’s best Wargs. Should be real fun.”