While passing through the dwarf town, Storm takes a moment to step into the local armory. He seems to feel much more at home in this setting than in any of the other small towns through which the group has passed. He wanders around for a few minutes, checking out the dull swords on the wall, and the fine suit of plate mail hanging over the desk in the back of the shop.

Then, Storm approaches the shopkeeper. "You the backsmith?" Storm inquires, tactfully as always.

"Yep, I am. You lookin' for somethin'?" The dwarf responds. He looks about the same height and approximate age as Storm, though with dwarves it's always hard to tell.

"How much fir a suit a chain mail fittin' me?" Storm asks, holding out his short arms as if he were being measured.

"Well, I have to take ye numbers, you know, round the waist and shoulders. But I could have it fir ya in a week or so. Maybe ten days. Ya want it? It'd cost ya 95 golders. Will ya have it?"

Storm rubs his chin for a moment, then scratches his head. Raising his eyes, he looks directly at the blacksmith and answers. "Make it."

Storm squints and grumbles lightly. He then grabs Edryd's arm and pulls him close as he whispers. "I be movin' around back of 'em. I'll wait for the bashin' to start then give 'em some bashin' o' my own." He winks and smiles broadly, then turns and begins to creep throught the woods, attempting to make it to the other side of the clearing without sound.

Edryd grabs Storm's arm, whispering, "We have to keep one alive. We've got to find a way to interrogate him and find out who's financing these rodents." He lets go, watching Storm stump with unbelievable silence for any creature, let alone a dwarf. He can't help but smile. Then he turns to the others, "We've got to capture one of them, but none can get away. These bottomfeeders usually hang about in larger communities than this, and I'm concerned that we are not too far from a lair of some kind." He shakes his head and mutters, "I thought these things were eradicated from Rinder!" He looks each person still with him in the eye, "Okay, no escapes, oneprisoner, agreed?"

Canter nods his head, slowly drawing his new Bastard sword.

As Edryd, Storm and the rest discuss attacking the large party of beasts before them, Guilliam looks up to the stars and nervously whispers "Don't go leaving me alone down here. Have a feeling I'll need a lot more luck before the evening's through." Suddenly getting serious, Guilliam looks to the warriors. They are strong, well armed and have proven themselves in battle before. It makes Guilliam feel better to go into battle with these men. "Do we have a plan or are we just going to rush in and attack?" he asks in a hushed and hurried voice. "I know that I am not nearly as skilled as Crayne, but I think that with what he has taught me, I could blow a little smoke from their fire into their eyes. Would that help?"

Cy then adds his opinion, turning to Guilliam. "Maybe you really will be useful in battle. I was beginning to have my doubts. Besides, I want to see this parlor trick of yours!" He smiles and winks to the bard, then wipes the smirk from his face and prepares himself for combat.

Crayne, whispering to the rest of the group says, "Right then!" Rubbing his hands together, "Lets circle the camp and slowly approach inwards towards the camp. Guilliam you give us the sign to charge by using cantrips on the fire. All of you should see the fire flame up! Then lets charge in and kill these evil vermin! Does that sound about right!" Crayne says raising an eyebrow. Crayne pulls his dagger out and makes his way off through the trees keeping as silent as possible.

Moments later, the small campfire suddenly erupts, spouting flames as tall as Cy. The hobgoblins jump at the sight, poking their sleeping companions to allow them to see the sight. Guilliam smiles and pats himself on the back; Crayne, too smiles as he sees his pupil's first true magical efforts.

But Crayne doesn't waste any time. As soon as he sees the signal, he begins casting his Sleep spell, intoning the now-familiar words of magic and pointing at the center of the clearing, trying to effect as many of the monsters as possible.

As Crayne is casting, Edryd rushes forward, sword at the ready. He finds the closest enemy and attacks. The hobgoblin, however, sees Edryd's movements as he approaches, and manages to just barely roll out of the way, saving himself from Edryd's blow.

Storm follows Edryd, letting out his familiar war cry. He rushes toward the next closest hobgoblin, but his cry gave him away. He finds his enemy ready. The hobgoblin growls at him as he approaches and fends off Storm's two-sworded attack with his polearm.

Cy and Canter are the next to enter the area that is the clearing. Cy quickly moves to strike a nearby hobgoblin, sinking his fine broad sword deep into the monster's neck. Blood spurts out of the wound, covering his sword. As he pulls the sword from the hobgoblin's body, the monster falls to the dirt in a pool of blood. Canter cuts from Cy's flank and attacks, but finds his attack thwarted.

Then Crayne's spell kicks in. Immediately five of the monsters fall to the ground, seeming to just float down into a blissful sleep. The noises of the battle looming around them have no effect on their slumber. However, the remaining four hobgolbins are quick to the attack: The one opposite Edryd jabs with his short sword, catching the Paladin in the stomach (3 hp damage). Edryd flinches in pain, but his momentum is not lost.

The hobgoblin opposite Storm attacks the dwarf, its eyes widening at the spectacle that is Storm in Fury. He swings his club hard, but Storm parries, blocking it with his blades.

Canter's adversary, too, attacks, but Canter manages to dodge the blow, calling out to his companions, "this is fun....." The last remaining monster kneels at the side of two of his sleeping comrades and begins to shake them, trying to wake them up.

(22.1)

Edryd then takes the offensive, calling on Anhur's power beneath his breath. He attacks with his sword, and with two quick blows, razes the hobgoblin to the ground. Storm, too, attacks. This time his swords strike their target, slicing deep into the monster's thick hide. The monster then drops to it's knees, spitting a little blood and covering his wound with his hand. Canter continues to duel with his foe, but finds his attacks blocked.

Guilliam now emerges from the trees, ready for action. Winking one last time at his lucky star, he moves over to the hobgoblin who is trying to wake the others. He swings his scourge high in the air, but his foe sees him coming and raises his leg, kicking Guilliam away.

Crayne steps into the clearing, dagger in hand. Moving to the closest sleeping foe, he moves to slice him. Trying to stay out of the way of Canter's duel, however, causes Crayne to slip--his blade falls into the moster's stomach. While the wound quickly fills with blood, the hobgoblin is also awakened from his magical sleep, and begins to sit up, reorienting himself. It quickly grabs it's nearby club and swings it at Crayne's awkwardly positioned body. The club catches the mage on the shoulder (2 hp damage). Crayne lets out an "oomf!" and swears under his breath "that'll bruise..."

Cy, too, moves to kill the sleeping hobgoblins. He manages to slit the throat of one, killing it. And his slices another, waking it, but not killing it completely. It then grabs its weapon, and attacks Cy, hitting his legs, opening a small wound (4 hp damage).

Canter's adversary scores a hit on the leatherman's son, and reeling from the impact (3 hp damage), Canter let's out "lot's of fun...."

The hobgoblin opposite Guilliam rises to his full height, and stares down at the bard. Growling at him he lets out a string of ugly sounding words, which Guilliam can't comprehend. He then attacks with his sword, slicing into Guilliam's skin (4 hp damage). Guilliam let's out a yelp, crying "I could use a little help over here!"

Currently, 3 hobgoblins have been killed. One (Storm's target) is mostly disabled, spitting blood. Two are still asleep, as per Crayne's spell. That leaves 4 still attacking.

HP Status:

Storm: 20, Canter: 12, Crayne: 4, Cy: 11, Guilliam: 5, Edryd: 7.

Please send your next two rounds of combat (22.2, 22.3). Also include details as to which hobgoblin to keep alive, if you care to specify.

Storm, looking down at the beaten hobgoblin below him, grins as he tastes victory. With one swift movement he leaps forward and connects his right foot with the monster's head, sending it reeling backwards and hitting the ground with a loud thud. Needless to say, that hobgoblin was beyond dead on arrival.

Guilliam's gulp and cry for help quickly grab Storm's attention, however, and he spins around, preparing to stab Guilliam's foe in the back. Seeing Storm's intention out of the corner of his (frightened) eye, Guilliam begins to shout at the tall monster ("Filthy, stupid creature. Your mother was a rat haired skunk and your father was a spineless snake. The best thing you ever did was kill your parents on your day of birth from the sight of ya! I'd piss on your grave but my piss doesn't deserve such a cruel place to come to its steamy end!") He also raises his scourge and whips it around in front of him, catching the hobgoblin on the cheek, drawing blood. Before long, Storm pounces from behind, driving his swords deep into the monster's back. The monster lets out a cry of pain, looking up to the stars above with bloodshot eyes. It this spits up a large amount of deep red blood (some of which splatter's on Guillaim) before falling to the ground, dead, in a heap.

Edryd, who had also turned around upon hearing Guilliam's call, had been moving toward the situation. But upon seeing Storm's vicious attack, Edryd decides simply to cut down a closer hobgoblin, his long hair whipping in the cool night breeze and Anhur's fire in his eyes. He swings his trusty sword, slicing clear through the neck of the closets monster, sending it's decapatated parts to a bloody end.

Crayne, in the meantime, is still sqauring off versus his foe. He is tense, looking for a good shot. Lunging forward with his blade, he tries to slice or stab the monster, but finds his attack thwarted.

Canter, too, is still dueling. He grunts with effort as he craftily swings his sword at the hobgoblin. But the enemy, too, is trained (if you could call it that) with the sword and manages to block Canter's attack.

Cy, responding to Edryd's order, "Somebody tie one of these vermin up!", moves to a nearby, waking hobgoblin. Finding himself without any suitable rope (all the gear is still at the camp!), he does the next best thing: With a closed fist he punches the hobgoblin square across the face, knocking it out, at least for a little while.

With one hobgoblin knocked out and one more still asleep, the two left standing seem to decide that enough is enough. One calls out to the other in their native tounge what seems to be the order to withdraw. Hardly a withdrawal, though, they really turn on their heels and race into the dark woods as fast as their large bodies will travel. Crayne and Canter breath sighs of relief, their foes having departed.

Cy looks up from his unconcious hobgoblin, catching Edryd's face in the firelight. Edryd simply nods to the warrior, as if to say, 'well done.' Storm is breathing heavy, still charged from the short battle. Guilliam wipes some sweat from his brow, noticing the blood. For a moment he is afraid he is hit, but soon realizes the blood is not his own. This, of course, is not such a pleasant though, and Guilliam reaches for his stomach, murmuring something about being sick....

At this point, there are six dead hobgoblin bodies (or parts thereof) lying in the clearing around the small fire. Two hobgoblins are still alive, one knocked out and the other still magically asleep. Two hobgoblins are fleeing into the woods.

Do you follow the fleeing hobgoblins? What will you do with your two prisoners?

If you decide to interrogate them, what do you ask, and what will you do with them after you're finished?

HP Status: (no PCs were hit this round)

Storm: 20, Canter: 12, Crayne: 4, Cy: 11, Guilliam: 5, Edryd: 7.

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