A Clash of Steel

Brenna knelt in the soft white snow, studying the tracks of the goblins they were following. They were two hours behind their quarry and needed to find them fast. With her observations she was able to determine that although the goblins had a two hour head start, they were hauling something extremely heavy that forced them to move slowly through the snow. They had a chance yet, of catching up to the scavengers and taking back the rightful property of the dwarves that paid them for the recovery. 

Moving quickly behind their missing ore, the group managed to shave off about a half an hour from the trip. This saved them time and effort as they might also have to fight the creatures and needed their strength. They have been traveling for an hour and half when Brenna stopped the group just before they went over a rise in the landscape. She crouched down and had them huddle close to avoid having their voices carried by the wind. Brenna explained that it was most likely that the goblins would be visible just beyond the rise. Lullaby chirped up with, “Ahh! Not likely!” Brenna chuckled a bit and reassured the Kenku that she was sure they would be close. The goblins were moving slowly because they were dragging the heavy ore across the snow. They had to decide now whether they wanted to ambush them or just rush in. 

The group was torn. They wanted to go into this encounter with stealth and what little protection it gave but Brenna was clunky in her metal armor and the noise it set off when she moved could give them away. Dvalin was in a similar position. In the end they agreed that it would be best if Brenna and Dvalin stayed at the back of their travel line. Almost ready to go, they peaked over the top of the rise to get some vision of their quarry. The goblins were tiny specks on the ground below and in front of them. They were pushing a sled piled high with something. It was draped with blankets and cloth to obscure any sight of the metal. Six goblins were managing to move the ore through the snow. The group had five members. They were confident that they could have a reasonably fair fight if they had to engage the goblins.

Zephyr tried to argue for them trying to head them off and set a trap ahead that would eliminate more goblins. They were armed to the teeth and did not look as if they would be willing to talk let alone negotiate for the ore. The group of reluctant adventurers decided they would probably have to fight and prepared to kill if need be. In the end they decided on a hybrid approach. The sneaky, fast people would go ahead to cut off the goblins while the two heavy people would bring up the rear, trapping the goblins in a pincer maneuver. Silently, the stealthy folks moved forward and moved to get in front of their opponents. Brenna and Dvalin moved forward after the goblins completed the trap. If anyone could give them away, one would expect it would be the two bulky people in the back. It was not them that gave the group away but Zephyr, the Bard. 

Zephyr was running as quickly and quietly as he could through the snow but was moving so fast that he smashed his shoulder into a tree as he ran. This shook the snow from the branches and it came crashing down. The goblins all turned to look for the source of the disturbance. Instead of seeing the now bald tree, they saw Brenna and Dvalin trudging slowly after them with even measure steps. The goblins raised the alarm and began pushing their sled even harder. Some of them took out their weapons and readied themselves for a fight. The only thing they didn’t know was that the other three were still out there somewhere, catching up to them through the snow. Though they were slow, Brenna and Dvalin started catching up to the sled. 

Some of the goblins brought out bows and began trying to pick off one of their pursuers. They were caught completely off guard when Mythe’s knife whizzed out of the tree cover and embedded itself in the arm of one of the goblins. Lullaby used her darts to shoot another goblin and nearly took it out. Instead the dart went into the eye and half blinded that goblin. An all out battle broke out when the goblins saw that others were with the slow, clunky ones. Zephyr seemed to turn one of their brains to mush as he called out an insult and blood began oozing from the goblin’s head as he clutched at it. Lullaby danced among the goblins landing punch after punch. Each hit seemed to come from such a fragile creature so the goblins were taken unawares that the hits hurt so much. Bones broke as she glided through their midst. Dvalin hammer one in the head, turning it into mush. Brenna took her own hammer to a couple of goblins that had rushed her with scimitars. 

There was so much confusion. Another wagon that had apparently been waiting for the six goblins just out of sight, came looking for them and even more joined the fight. It was no longer as fair as Brenna had thought it would be. Goblins dove in and out of the snow, hiding and coming back up to attack. Daggers from Mythe flew through the air. They narrowly missed his allies to land on their real targets with deadly precision. Zephyr stalked the perimeter of the fight casting magic and trying to level the playing field for his allies. Dvalin and Brenna swung wildly, catching skulls and bodies with their hammers. Lullaby darted everywhere, landing blows where she found an opening. The flurry of the fight consumed everything until all that was left was the battle and the next person to kill.

Soon a heavy quiet filled the valley that had, just moments ago, rung with the clashing of weapons. Blood was sprayed all over the snow, marking where the goblins had been slain. Their bodies littered the ground. Everyone stood still and breathed in and out. As they recovered from their battle they surveyed the marred snow around them. Lullaby had almost lost her life in the fight as she went down to a knife in the belly. It was just by a hair that they managed to win and survive to tell the tale.