//------------------------------// // (10) The Great Goblin Raid // Story: Canterlot High's D&D Club // by 4428Gamer //------------------------------// Story's POV Ms. Cheerilee's Classroom 3:59 PM The large vinyl map laid out before everyone as went over everything that happened up till now. So far, I had peeled away three pieces of paper that hid the layout of the area. Two for outside the cave and one for the wolves' den just inside the mouth of the cave. Now there were only six pages covering the cave proper and the girls had taken that as some massive hurdle to carefully jump over. From my perspective all of the approaches, scenarios, and positioning they were workshopping amongst themselves didn't matter to me. Before they even reached the cave I already had my allowance of goblins and set them up ahead of time. I knew what each one was doing and where they were. To change that now based off the girls' plotting would just be unfair. Doubly so considering that this was their first dungeon. Then again, I thought. They're talking as though they've dealt with this kinda stuff before. Twilight and Sunset were the ones spearheading the plans but occasionally Rarity, Pinkie, and Applejack tossed in some creative ideas as well. None of them had any idea how this game worked a week ago and already their problem-solving and teamwork made me feel like I was underprepared. Maybe I should give them a better challenge. So far I had used a pre-built story the game's creators built for new players and just plugged it into my own personal world. Aside from moving and adding a few more goblins, I followed the book exactly. I decided that, for the cave, I'd stop pulling punches. Instead of playing goblins sub-par I'd use them to their fullest. If the girls end up overestimating combat then they might get lazy later on when the real threat shows up. Especially since my ambush on Pinkie shattered. I glanced down at the miniatures that the girls' characters were representing. At some point, Sunset hoarded them in front of her and was conferring with the others about their marching order. I introduced that idea with the wagon on the road and now Sunset took to it like a general. Sunset adjusted the minis one last time. "Okay. So then Pinkie and Fluttershy take point, Twilight and Rarity behind them, Rainbow and Applejack in the rear and myself in between. Everyone okay with that?" "So we are abandoning stealth from here on out?" Twilight bit lightly into her knuckle. Applejack frowned. "Ah think it's more keepin' our heads low fer as long as we can. We got no clue where them varmints are. And if even one has a chance ta hollar, cat's outta the bag." "If we spot a goblin before it sees us, we act first," Sunset instructed. "At this point there's no time for questioning." "Well, hold on. There are a few things we need to figure out," Rarity reminded them. "For one, this— what was it again? Bugbear? Yes, we need to find out where that is. If that horrid thing can command all these goblins then I can only imagine it's stronger than them." "If we spot the bugbear we regroup. Then we determine the best option. We should make sure everyone's completely prepared," Sunset explained. "Why not just charge him?" Rainbow crossed her arms. "If this bugbear-thing's supposed to be their king then if we can take him down the goblins will probably be too scared to take us on." "That bugbear's not their king." Twilight shook her head. "Their king," she said with air quotes. "Is King Grol. I think the bugbear that leads the goblins is called...erm." Twilight paused. "Kellogg," Pinkie answered in a giggle. "That's a cereal," I cut in as I pretended to read a random textbook I pulled out from my bag. "Well yeah! That's what I put in my notes!" And as though to prove it, Pinkie held up a notebook that had a drawing of a bowl of cereal held by what she pictured a 'Bugbear' to look like. If you ignored the beetle horns branching out of its head and the perfect teeth of its smile, it was pretty close to the real thing. "Oh. Here. It's Klarg," Twilight corrected as she referred to her own notes. Which from where I was peeking from looked a lot like my chemistry notes in terms of amount. "The goblins work for Klarg who, I believe, works for King Grol. Gundren, our employer, and his map was kidnapped and delivered to King Grol." "Wait, so they're not here?" Rainbow blinked. "Then what are we doing here?" "They still have Sildar." "Who?" "The human that was with Gundren," Twilight lectured. "There's so many names," Rainbow groaned. "It feels like I'm in Mr. Doodle's History class." "Well that's also on our list," Rarity continued. "We also need to figure out where this King is. If we find him, we may find Gundren." "I thought Ricven just wanted to bring the cart and finish the job. Now he wants to be a hero?" Sunset smirked proudly. "Well, he got out voted. That and the oxen obey Thorn Wielder so he can't drive the cart," Rarity admitted. "Besides, if Gundren really was taken to this 'King,' that means he might be alive. So might Sildar. Ricven may seem lazy but would never leave someone captive in the hands of such barbaric creatures. He still has his chivalry after all." "Puttin' a lotta thought inta this 'strappin' adventurer' type, ain'tcha?" Applejack snickered. Rarity sat up at that. "C-Certainly not. I am simply...getting in character, as the drama department would say." "I resent that," I lulled from behind my textbook. It had a funny picture of a dog holding four tennis balls in its mouth. Textbooks have the weirdest pictures sometimes. "You're in the drama club?" I shrugged. "A single hobby's an obsession. That's my motto at least." I closed the book fast enough to make a dull bum sound and dropped it back into my bag. "So. Are you all set?" The girls all took a moment to share a look among one another before a few of them answered. "Alright. Then Sunset? I'd like the minis back now." Sunset's eyes shot down at the models in shock as if only now realizing that she snatched them away from the map. "Uh, yeah. My bad." She and a few others giggled along as I made sure the minis were set up in the same way Sunset had set them up before. Well, they have their plan at least, I humored myself. Then I tried to hide my smile as best I could. Hehehe. 'Plan.' Let's see how long that lasts. 3rd Person POV Goblin Cave Midday A choppy spray of water pinballed down the caves main tunnel, flicking small splashes of water against the legs of seven adventurers. Each of them walked further into the darkness as the sun outside, their only light source, faded out. However, with less light to work with, only one party member found himself talking slower steps; nearly tripping on the uneven stone floor tripping altogether. By instinct, Platick reached out for anything to save him. "Wha—hey! Watch it," a Dwarven voice demanded as Platick clutched the pauldron of her armor. "Sorry! Humans can't see anything in the dark." "Well that's not stopping her," Ravathyra said, pointing a finger at Stostine's back. "Well, she's magic. She probably has—" "No spells that grant darkvision," Stostine cut in, glancing over her shoulder at the two. "And if I did, I would gladly help you. Now please? Careful with your voices." Ravathyra hid the lower half of her face in her gauntlet as to hide her laughter as Platick glared towards the sound. "Oh no, keep laughing. It's not nearly as loud as that blocky armor you're toting around." That was the last sound either of them made. About twenty feet up the tunnel's light incline and the path began leaning into a sharp turn to the right. Where the stream shattered against the wall, everyone but Platick noticed a side passage branching away from the tunnel. It was much smaller than the main tunnel but it acted to create a fork in the road. The group stopped shy of rounding the corner with Vareén taking point again. She made a few silent motions to the others before she began stepping towards the stream in the direction of the passage. However, before she could take one step into the running water, Thorn Wielder grabbed her shoulders and yanked, holding a single finger to her lips before carefully pointing further down the main tunnel. Vareén poked her head back out and right away she spotted a large rickety bridge spanning across a wider section of the tunnel, twenty feet from wall to wall and twenty feet above the ground. Vareén tried turning back to the others but again Thorn Wielder stopped her. Without any regard for boundaries, Thorn Wielder turned Vareén's head back towards the bridge with both hands and then rested her pointer finger beneath Vareén's eye to guiding her sight. From there, Thorn pointed out a single goblin nestled at the end of the bridge partially behind the wall out of sight. It was on the west side of the bridge; the same as the thin passageway. Vareén used a few motions to catch everyone else up on the situation. You. Bow and arrow. Goblin? Stostine mimicked to Vareén before getting an uncertain expression. So the two tried turning to Ricven who quickly shook his head before mimicking in return. No! Magic. Need. Voice. Goblin. Hear. Voice. No! Getting the point, they next turned to Thorn Wielder. Those vines. Hit. Goblin? After gauging the distance, Thorn Wielder nodded. Good. Vareén. Bow and arrow. You. Those vines— "Just a fair warning, Thorn Wielder needs verbal components to use her vines. Which means her voice," Story clarified as he watched the girls' motioning. He could have told them they could just talk but it was more fun to watch. "Wait, really?" Applejack frowned. "But Fluttershy's already got her vines armed." "Hehehe. Armed," Pinkie joked. "Them's the rules," Story denied. "I'm fine with her using them for roleplaying the character and some bonuses for flair but as for the spell? Sorry, that's as is." "He's right," Twilight interjected as she read her own book. "It directly explains Thorn Whip needs verbal, somatic and materials...Would the vines cover the materials?" "They're a...Um. It has a name?" Fluttershy tried to find the word. "Her focus," Story answered. "If you have a focus then you don't need materials. Or at least the inexpensive stuff. So if a spell says it needs a piece of cotton or a dead gnat or something, focus covers it. If it needs something like a fifty gold diamond, you're hitting up a jeweler." "Dead gnat?" Rainbow Dash furrowed her brow. "Interesting choice," Sunset admitted, feeling a bit personally offended before chuckling her dumb emotion away. Humans get weird so about magic sometimes. Rainbow sat back. "Can't she just whisper the words then?" Story nodded. "Fluttershy'd have to see if she can pull it off. She may fail the spell though. Which may have the slightest roll-of-the-die chance of consequences," he explained, holding up a die. "And with a, erm, good roll?" Rarity asked tensely. "Nothing happens. Spell works, but nothing 'extra,'" Story explained. "I'm fine with those odds," Ravathyra admitted in a whisper. No. No, no, no, no. NO. NO! Stostine and Ricven mimicked in hard denial. "You got a better idea," Ravathyra challenged. "Yeah. I don't miss," Vareén suggested bluntly before stepping out from the wall with her form close to the ground as she readied her bow. Ravathyra turned to Thorn Wielder and folded her hands, trying to guilt her to be ready. However, Ricven slid between the two of them, using charades with the ferocity of a shouting match to fight Ravathyra off. All that managed to do was make the Dwarf pound her fist into her palm, making a loud clang with her gauntlets that scared Ricven more then the meaning. This time Stostine stepped up, clasping Ravathyra's gauntlets before going into her own tirade of charades that quickly deescalated into more silent arguing now between the Dwarf, the human, and the gnome. All the while, Thorn Wielder took position next to Vareén right as she fired. "Annnnd a two," Twilight deadpanned. "Fluttershy, whisper it," Rainbow cut in. "Fluttershy, you don't have to," Rarity begged. "We else do we have?! Fluttershy, you got this." "Fluttershy, darling, don't feel pressured into—" the clattering die silenced Rarity as every one of the girls leaned over to crowd around the brightly glowing seed pod-shaped die. All of them much more excited than Fluttershy who leaned back with a innocent smile. "Is that?" "Yes!" "Well...that works." "Twen-ty~" Pinkie sang. Twilight frowned. "Wasn't that just to whisper the spell though?" She, and everyone quickly stared at Story who shrugged. "Normally yeah, but...Rule of cool?" Story shrugged sheepishly. In his mind it was let the twenty hit a single goblin or feel the wrath of 'The Seven.' The goblin had it coming anyway. The next few moments were silent. As the three sign language fools argued in the back, with Platick left blindly standing beside them, Thorn, Vareén, and Glemerr stared down the goblin as Vareén took the shot. They watched the arrow sail and clip a thin rope from the bridge before bounding past the goblin, tapping off of the rocks behind it. The goblin stood up and scanned the wall behind him before Thorn Wielder took two steps, putting her lips to the vines and murmuring a Druidic phrase as carefully as possible before flicking her wrist and letting the vine like a yo-yo. The goblin knelt down to pick up the wasted arrow as Thorn's vines wrapped once around the goblin's wrist before wrapping around its neck. The vines then compressed, forcing the goblin's hand, still holding the arrow, into its own neck. The goblin couldn't even scream since it pierced its own Adam's apple. The vines dragged the body across the bridge, pushing the arrow in further before releasing its victim and returning to Thorn Wielder, coiling itself back around her arm. Not a single drop of blood stained the green plant life. Glemerr and Vareén took a moment to take an easy breath. Meanwhile, the moment went entirely unnoticed by the three mimes, and a blind Platick, in the back. And then the goblin started sliding off the side of the bridge. "I got it," Glemerr called out, sprinting as quietly as she could. Although it was already enough to catch the charades game in the background. "Wait, Glemerr, come bac—" "Shutupyoudidnothing," Vareén snapped with gritted teeth. Glemerr slid to a halt inches from the stream and held her arms straight out, barely catching the lifeless body by her fingers. The orc was thrown off her balance for a moment which had her teetering back to fall away from the water. Everyone, except Platick, started sucking in air like balloons as all of Glemerr's strength fell into her toes to stay dry. After moments that felt like hours of bobbing back and forth, Glemerr gave one last heave and caught herself on dry land with her balance regained. She, and everyone else, let out a deep sigh of relief as Glemerr clutched the dead goblin in trembling arms. Glemerr's nerves melted into some chuckling as she looked around her, spotting three goblins staring back at her in complete terror and shock. Suddenly, the group watched Glemerr freeze in place. She was halfway into the tunnel's curve so the others had no line of sight of the goblins. Not that there was much to see. Both sides were fully invested in one-upping the other as living statue performers. Before any of them could figure out whether or not to check what Glemerr was looking at, she finally acted. In a spark of absolute brilliance, Glemerr let the goblin fall into the stream with a splash and reached her hands up to the heavens. She brought them together in a glorious clap as though praying to the gods and stayed stalwart in this new position. Never to move again. "Pinkie...what are you doing?" Sunset, who regretting asking the moment she did, stared at her frizzy haired friend. "Shhh," Pinkie shushed, trying hard not to move. "They haven't caught on that I'm an orc yet." Too easy, Story thought. Then, in as shrill a voice as he could muster, "it's an orc!" "Well, it was worth try!" Pinkie bounced back, taking a die in her hands. "Initiative time?" "Initiative time." "Uh, h-help," Glemerr called out, bringing her hands down in a fighting stance. "That sounds about right," Stostine admitted as she quickly slammed her hand against the wall. Then with a breath she spoke "Hwim oal un hwul," with what sounded like a faint chorus echoing the same words around her. Ricven shielded his eyes, recognizing the arcane words before a bright floodlight of red illuminated the group, blinding most of them for a brief moment. "A warning would be nice," Ravathyra screamed, rubbing her eyes. Man, stupid magic, Rainbow cursed as she and some of the other girls rubbed their eyes. If there was one thing the magic did well with the game, it was a light show. Pinkie, Rarity & Sunset all looked at the others with pity and guilt before Story picked up his dice. "A-And I move back a few spaces," Sunset tacked on, moving her mini behind Rainbow and Applejack. "Sorry! Sorry," Stostine muttered as she ducked behind the armored Dwarf. "Don't be. This helps," Platick admitted as he closed his eyes tight for a moment. "Drezza! Release water! Ronga, get Yeemik! If Klarg see intru—" "Guuugh!" The goblins commands, as faint as they were to the party, were covered up by the loud cry of Glemerr as a black-feathered arrow found its way in her shoulder. "Y'all hear that?!" Ricven shouted. "I see it, Glemerr's hit!" "Not that, the commands," Stostine shouted. She and Ricven were the only ones that heard the goblin. "Release the water. I think they're gonna flood us!" "Terrific," Vareén lamented as she pulled out a fresh arrow. Some of the party were faster to act then others. Ricven and Vareén rushed through the streams water with the later taking a moment to fire further into the cave; shutting in frustration at her wasted effort. Ricven was already in the passage, commanding Vareén to hurry along. Then, in spite of everyone's warnings, Thorn Wielder either didn't understand the threat or didn't care. Instead, she ran further up the tunnel to Glemerr's side as her vines twisted to life once more. With her feet submerged in the water and a hand against the wall, Thorn Wielder threw a punch to throw her vines out, snagging a goblin by the waist and pulling towards her. It screamed and clawed for anything to help, finding one large fleshy stalagmite to cling for dear life. But as the thorns let the goblin shake itself free, it glanced up to find itself grasping Glemerr's leg as she ripped the arrow out of her arm with a grunt. "Glemerr, get outta there! They about ta flood us out!" "No way! Glemerr's gonna be stoppin' 'em," she roared. "You mountain-sized, tusk-totin'...Gah!" Ricven clutched his head and racked his brain for a few moments before clutching the neck of his violin in a death grip. "Fine then," he hissed, pulling out his instrument before pounding his hand on the chin rest with the rhythm of a war drum. "Go! Fight! Be strong~!" "They man-y. You Might-y! Fight ev-er long~!" "So Glem-a! Thorn Wield-a! You MOVE! There's no time to lose...~" With each strike across his violin, a larger chorus of voices and drums joined in as though Ricven formed his own war band. As the beat echoed down the chamber, everyone spotted a terrified goblin run across the rope bridge. "The reinforcements are to the west," Stostine declared. "There's a way up through this passage," Vareén shouted over Ricven's percussion. "We'll cut them off!" "We?!" Ricven parroted, as he kept tapping the end of his fiddle. "You heard me!" "Yaaaarrgh!" Glemerr bellowed as she flexed her shot arm. "This rhythm! Glemerr can take every goblin! Bring it on!" Glemerr striked at goblin beneath, pummeling its shield with reckless abandon as shards of mulch flecked off of it with each swing. By the fifth hit, Glemerr's fist smashed a hole through the shield, inches from the goblin's face, and pulled back. The shield slipped from the goblin's grasp and came with Glemerr, stuck around her wrist like a giant wooden watch. Glemerr pulled the shield free and held it in both hands before breaking it over her head like a karate demonstration before bellowing a war cry that paired well with the drums that only now began to fade. The now weeping goblin watched in terror, now utterly defenseless. Glemerr brought up one last white-knuckled fist to put him to sleep before hearing Thorn Wielder gasp from behind her. "Water!" "Water?" Glemerr blinked before following where Thorn's outstretched finger pointed; a barricade of loose rocks that another goblin had driven a rusted crowbar into. "Water." With one yank, the stones came free and a heavy pool of water erupted straight towards them. "WATER!" Thorn and Glemerr clutched the walls of the tunnel for dear life as the one goblin Glemerr held was tossed away like trash. For a moment Thorn felt her feet lift off the ground as she was momentarily submerged in the dangerous rapids. Glemerr fared better as her height let her keep her head and shoulders dry as she gripped the rocks that weren't slick. Vareén, for the first time in a while, yelped as the current caught her boot and fought to drag her back into the tunnel-proper. Ricven did what he could, desperately helping her to clamber further into the passage like a sewer rat. However, that's where the luck stopped. Ravathyra, for the weight her heavy armor gave her, didn't help her to muscle through the waves. Rather, they worked against her as she tried shoving her shield forward only to catch a massive brunt of force that pushed her under the waves and dragged all the way out of the cave. Stostine had no choice but to retreat further back down the tunnel before ducking out of the way with time to spare. The downside was that she was back in the room with three hungry, wild wolves staring at her. And now none of them had their chains to stop them. "Oh. Um," Stostine breathed. "Good wolves! Nice wolves. Uh, get back now! Don't wanna, um, come any closer, right?" As she spoke, the flood rocketed down the tunnel, forcing Ravathyra to grind against the ground with her metal armor making a sharp grind sound. Not a second later, Platick was washed past with a goblin corpse colliding with his face. The wolves' ears flattened against their skulls and they retreated back into the room to avoid whatever chaos was going on outside. They could probably leave later. Stostine leaned against the wall with a heavy weight off her shoulders whereas the Ravathyra and Platick were just coming to a stop back outside the cave. The water dispersed in every direction, leaving the two soaked to the bone. "Yep," Platick groaned, sitting up with the reluctance of an angsty teen just getting out of bed. "This might as well just happen." He crawled his way back up to his feet and looked at the Dwarf. She was breathing and her eyes were open. That was good enough for him. "We gotta get back in there," he stated, trying to ignore the rolled ankle he got on the way outside as he plucked a dagger out of his boot and started running. Ravathyra was fairing much worse. She turned to her side and forced herself to start coughing out a mug's worth of water as her head was openly bleeding thanks to the numerous rocks she caught on the way out. Her eyes tried adjusting once again to the sun's rays that were in the exact wrong spot as she weakly reached for her shield. "That was so unfair," Ravathyra groaned. "Meeeeeeh," a shrill voice groaned. Over to Rava's left, a still shield-less goblin forced itself up to its feet and surveyed its surroundings. It could hardly realize that it was outside. But what it could realize was a weakened armored Dwarf staring over at it from the ground. "Oh you've gotta be kidding!" Rainbow sat there in disbelief. "It's still alive?! It got hit by Pinkie and washed out!" Story bit his lip and held up one finger. That was how much health it had left. With a frown, Story moved the goblin beside Ravathyra's model. "...It has a sword, doesn't it?" Rainbow asked, earning a nod. With a sigh, she pretended to hold out a shield in front of her. "You know what? Bring it on." Story nodded. "You're on the ground, which means you're prone. When something is prone, attacks against it get advantage." "Of course it does," she quipped. A part of her mind thought that Story might have remembered her after all. That or this was karma coming back to collect. Still, wanting to keep it fair, Story rolled two dice out in the open. One landed on '7' and the other on '13.' "A seventeen hit?" Rainbow looked down at the paper and slowly spread an evil grin across her face as she shook her head. "Eighteen. Gotta shield." What does karma know anyway? The goblin drew a scimitar and stumbled over, swinging down like a guillotine. Ravathyra, with whatever strength she had, grabbed the shield by the edge and swung, batting the sword out of the goblin's hand. "Sucks ta suck, don't it sucker?" She growled. The goblin screamed as it turned to flee, tripping over its own feet. It struggled to get up, its hip badly bruised from the flood, while Ravathyra forced herself onto her iron boots with pure willpower and took up the warhammer in both hands. "You shoulda run. Just ran away like a rat," she breathed, pulling back her hammer as the goblin finally stood up, too tired to shake in fear. "First. I'm taking you down. Then? Then I'm marching righ' back up there." The goblin fumbled around for an option. Its shield was smashed. Its sword was behind the raging Dwarf. The only thing it had left was strapped to its back. "After tha'? Ah'm taking down the bugbear. Remind meh. What was 'is name again?" She asked, an accent rolling out as though it had always been there. "Klang?! Ye, I'm gettin' Klang too! Him an' all'a d'em right dobbers! I'ma give 'em a thrashin' they ain't soon ta ferrget!" The goblin tore free its rotting crossbow and tried to level it at the Scottish lass but she was quicker. With a loud stomp, she drove her hammer like a sledge into the front of that crossbow. The line snapped and the bolt exploded to pieces before the rest of the crossbow folded along. But it didn't stop. With the goblin out of every option, Ravathyra's swing found its mark. It struck the goblin square in its pot-bellied gullet and snapped the spine in twain before the goblin was taken off the ground and sent flying nearly a dozen feet before landing in a heap. "The name's Ravathyra Dagarkin, ya rottin' snot," she screamed before scooping up her shield in her offhand. It was a name she wore with a bittersweet pride. "Ye got it? Betta ta 'member it when whatever goblin god ye got asks why yer body's bent da way it be! He'll set up a grand ol' tab fer me ta sign off on when all's said an' done." With a humph, Ravathyra turned her back to the sorry soul and stormed back into the cave. From further within, Vareén and Ricven peaked back out once the water was settled. Thorn Wielder and Glemerr let go of the walls and Stostine was carefully trying to rejoin them. "Where are the others?" Vareén asked. "Platick's right behind me," Stostine confirmed. "But Ravathyra got washed out." "shit," Vareén cursed. "This is going south." As Stostine finally rejoined them at the turn of the cave, she made note of the allies around them but no goblin in sight. "Where'd they go?" "Ducked out 'fore the flood." Ricven frowned. "They'll be back." "Then stop those reinforcements," Stostine reminded them as embers surrounded her hand. "We were almost routed. If they bring more goblins it won't end well." Vareén nodded, slinging her bow over her shoulder. "Good point. Come on gnome." Without waiting, Vareén reached the steep incline and started climbing, letting a few rocks clatter down past her. Ricven swept a few out of his hair as he stared at Stostine. "Miss Stostine, are ya absolutely sure on this?" A goblin finally peaked out from further up the tunnel, its bravado quickly vanishing as Glemerr and Thorn turned to him with malevolent glares. "N-Not work! Water no work! Drezza! Release MORE wat—" but the goblin wasn't able to finish that command. Before it could blink, a wild ball of flame streaked across the side of the tunnel the light didn't reach before enshrouding the goblin's face. Its skin boiled and flaked as it clawed and rubbed to put it out. It was to no avail. Moments later, the goblin expired and Stostine, her hand still smoking, turned back to Ricven with an expectant look. "...Alrighty then. Right behind ya Lady Vareén!" Ricven proudly sauntered over to the ledges and scrambled up to meet Vareén at the top, leaving Stostine and the others to their job. From above them, a new goblin ran out onto the bridge and loaded his crossbow, taking a moment to choose his target. With Thorn Wielder under the bridge and Stostine clearly spotting him, the goblin leaned over the side of the bridge and aimed. "Glemerr, dodge right," Stostine commanded. And without hesitation, Glemerr slide to the right, shoulder checking the rock wall as a bolt embedded itself in the ground. "Good call," Glemerr replied, looking over as Thorn walked out from under the bridge and fired another Thorn Whip at the new goblin, only for it to bat the end away with the stock of its crossbow. "Hol' up," Glemerr mumbled. "Dat gobbo's da same one dat..." There's was no warning as Glemerr made a dash further into the tunnel where the cave turned again, disappearing for a moment before her voice cried out again. "Hey! You're da one who keeps lettin' ga water out!" "Gah-oow!" "Aha! How ya like dat gobb—Whaaaa-urgh!!" The next thing everyone heard was the sound of a heavy body fall to the ground just out of sight from everyone except Glemerr. Pinkie watched as her entire character and every die ahead of her became a collection of void black shapes that seemed almost...endless...However, none of the others seemed to notice. Only Pinkie Pie could see the vast darkness. "So Pinkie," Story began, earning everyone else's attention. "Glemerr took six damage and you had...three hit points. Yeah?" "Uh. Uh-huh!" she nodded, trying as hard as she could to ignore the disturbing void of light that it seemed that only she could see for some reason as everyone else seemed to go on like everything was fine. However, it was getting harder to do when the table space around her paper and dice slowly lost all color. A lifeless gray space began spreading out from the papers and dice like an ashy virus. "That means you are now at zero hit points. You are dying." The gray color gave off a pulse before it stopped spreading. Pinkie kept her arms off of the table and tried to keep a good attitude. "If, when it comes back around to your turn, you are still at zero hit points you must make a death save. Roll a ten and above and you pass while nine or less fails. Roll a natural twenty, you get one hit point. But if you roll a one?" The gray space pulsed again. "Two failures," he went on. "You get three successes then you can stop rolling cause your safe. Three failures? Well..." Another pulse. Like a fading heartbeat. "Got it?" He asked, trying to make the situation seem more tense than it was. At least from his perspective. Pinkie swallowed and gave a big nod. "Yep and yep! All clear!" From back towards the entrance, Platick slowly stepped forward as Ravathyra had a bit more determination to run up at the same time. "Was that Glemerr?" Platick looked off towards the bridge and up the tunnel but all he could see were silhouettes. The light didn't wrap around the bend of the cave. "Yes. Yes it was." Stostine quickly grabbed Platick's hand and guided it to point up at the bridge. "There. Right there's a goblin. Get ready." Platick licked his lips and readied his dagger in his fingers. "On your mark." Stostine nodded and moved to the darkness, pulling out her small bag of sand. "Hwim oal un hwul," she chanted, a warm yellow shine covering every side of the bag until it became a cloth light bulb. Simultaneously, the red floodlight Stostine had thrown on the wall winked out of existence. Thankfully, the new light was much better; revealing the second half of the cave tunnel to Platick. As it did, he locked eyes with the goblin on the bridge. Or rather, one of its eyes. Before the goblin could stare down at Platick, a flying dagger found its way into one of its beady orange pupils. It went into a frenzy of pain, fighting to stay aware enough no to fall off the bridge. It writhed and shrieked before forcing itself to aim with its only eye on fury alone. Crossbow resting on the rope, it let out a raspy scream and fired, striking the exposed side not of Platick, but Ravathyra. She let out a pained breath and fell to one knee, dropping her shield and hammer as she tried to focus on her breathing and how long she could keep her eyes open. This time, Rainbow watched as her papers and dice became a dark expanse of nothing. Since Story explained the whole spiel to Pinkie, she glanced over to try and see if Pinkie was seeing any of this. All Rainbow got from the party girl was a knowing nod. "Rainbow," Story started. "Same thing as what happened to Pinkie. You are currently down and dying." Rainbow then watched the gray splotch spread from her things before she quickly pulled her arms into her lap before the color could reach her. The others gave her an odd look before she again caught Pinkie's gaze. And again Pinkie gave her a nod and a positive smile. "Somebody. Someone get that rotten baw," Ravathyra groaned as she clutched her side, staring at the ground. "Thorn Wielder?" Stostine turned to the left. "Can you...Ah." Thorn Wielder was no longer there. Instead, Stostine watched the tip of her scythe vanish out of sight the way Glemerr went before a goblin's shrill scream died out instantly. "O-Okay. Okay, this is fine," Stostine muttered, clearing her throat. And then doing it again a little harder.. "We. We can recover. We have options. We just need to. Just need...uh." Platick looked back and forth between the goblin and Ravathyra. The goblin, working on pure anger, tore the dagger out of its eye before tossing it aside and loading the next bolt. It was losing blood fast but it was going to get another shot or two before it was done. Then Stostine eyed Ravathyra. She was too weak to move. Her head, her torso, her hip, all of it was bleeding profusely. Her armor would have been stained if not for the flood that tossed her around earlier. The fact that she took all of that torture and was still breathing was a feat in and of itself. "...Sunset," Story started, getting her attention. "Here." He folded a small note and passed it down, giving her a second to read it all. "We didn't talk too much about it. But I thought I should ask now that it may be coming up." Sunset took a second to reread it, a thoughtful expression on her face. Without knowing what Rainbow or Pinkie's condition was, she had allowed herself to try enjoying an interesting, if not tense, game for the time. "You know...Yeah. Yeah, I think that makes sense." She nodded. Story took a breath. "In that case, go ahead and make me a wisdom save." Sunset looked to her left where Fluttershy offered her the magic die but this time she shook her head and took one of the other ones before taking a breath and rolling it. "...Nine." She read out. Her mouth formed a thin line. Story nodded, thinking his next words over. "...You've always found yourself thinking back to a moment of time." As he spoke, all the other girls heard was that gargling static. Sunset was the only one that was able to hear him. For a moment she realized how useless it was for Story to have even passed a note when the others couldn't read or hear it anyway. "Ever since you were a kid, your imagination's been your best quality. Whenever you needed to entertain yourself, your mind was right there with another idea. And it like a library full of nothing but adventure novels. You went through one story and then put it down knowing that your mind would let you pick up right where you left off no matter how long it had been. "But with such a vivid imagination," he said in a different tune. "It also let you recall your real memories just as vividly. And memories? They're not as cheerful as fiction. So when you see Ravathyra, your mind starts playing out a memory. You first see Ravathyra before you as she is. Doubled over. Bleeding. Short of breath. Traits you had seen in the past. Traits you know very well. Ones you are strangely used to. Then the memories pry further. "Without permission, it replays in your mind. You don't even need your imagination for it to be this vivid. Coughing up blood. Out of breath. Delirious. Unresponsive though still present. Hearing everyone speaking as if you couldn't hear them. Chest crushed like a vice grip. A disease. One too serious to cure. One too powerful to cure. "And sometimes? It's still there." Stostine felt her throat for a moment before she started coughing. It was like small breaths at first but in seconds, Stostine was trying to force her body to stop. "N-no...I'm-I'm. Not again." She coughed several more times, her side aching. "Never. Ne-Nev—" More coughing. "Never again. I can't." Cough. "...no." Platick pulled his next dagger out of his other boot before watching as his first dagger slips off the dagger and beside Stostine who's coughing started to become more violent as she started doubling over herself. It make Platick pause. It wasn't the sickness or coughing or even Ravathyra's condition. It was her eyes. Despite the coughing, Stostine's eyes had this vacant, unfocused look to them as whenever she was between coughs, she was unnaturally fixated on Ravathyra. It was a domino effect. Ravathyra's pain reached Stostine, who in turn reached Platick. He looked at the dagger in his hand one more time before he decided against it. He tossed his dagger to the ground and knelt down beside Ravathyra, pulling the magic berry out of his pocket. It was smashed and waterlogged but the light inside still bobbed around. He lifted Ravathyra's head and rolled the berry between her teeth. "Chew it," he commanded. "Chew it and get up. You need to do something around here, alright?" Ravathyra didn't have the strength to argue. Instead, her jaw obeyed and crushed the berry, releasing the small light before her whole body was given a welcoming warmth. The blood rushing from her head stopped and a deep breath filled her. All at once, Rainbow's part of the table revitalized as Story told the scene, with her dice all springing back to life with color. She couldn't see Pinkie's part of the table but Pinkie gave her a hearty grin. With a heave, Ravathyra forced herself back up to her feet one more time and reached behind her, gripping the end of a long thin handle. "Ye get what ye deserve," she hissed before in one motion pulling the javelin off her back and chucking it, skewering the goblin through its stomach and flinging it up off of the bridge, tumbling down into the tunnel beside Stostine who was still coughing. She forced herself to take a huge gulp of air before that devolved into more hacking. But it was lighter now.Her coughing fit was still there but it wasn't getting worse at least. "Nice...Nice work." "You good?" Platick asked with a weathered expression. "What's wrong with you now?" "You." A few more coughs. "You know how I got tired...from walking along the carriage too long?" "Wagon," Ravathyra corrected. "And yeah. Ya kept takin' mah turn." "Well...Well this is a part of that," she said through her coughs. "Now come on. We need to. Need to go. Thorn ran after Glemerr." Platick turned back to the passage to the west. "What about Vareén and Ricven?" "One crisis at a time," Rava told him. "We can't keep splittin' up. We get the vine lass an' the bigg'un. Then we back up the others." The three started up the tunnel with haggard gasps and limping strides, rounding the corner just in time to see Thorn Wielder feeding a few berries to a groaning half-orc. Glemerr had a gash cut across her midsection from a sword that lay several feet away with a discarded goblin that Thorn had already finished off. "Urgh. Wha. Wut happened?" Glemerr rolled her head around. "We survived," Platick told her. "But I think you and the Dwarf are done now." "Berries," Thorn Wielder told the other. "Berries heal. Eat." "I'm out," Rava said as she wiped blood from her face. "Same," Platick said with a raised hand. "Ah got mine," Glemerr said, reaching for a side pouch. "Who needs 'em?" "You," several voices answered. "...Oh yeah." "Ravathyra," Stostine reached into her sleeve, pulling out her own as she cleared her throat one last time. "Have mine. I'm not hurt." The Dwarf gave her an odd look. "All that coughin' an' yer fine? Ya sure on that?" Stostine took a slow breath and held it. "Yes. It will pass. Take it, I insist." Rava relented, taking the berry and popping it in her mouth. She would have given the girl a sour look but the sour muscles loosening up made Ravathyra feel much less guilty about it. "Good. Now take off your gloves." "Uh. What?" Rava blinked. "Just. Do it? Please? You can trust me." Stostine gave her a small nod before folding her hands together and closing her eyes as though in prayer. The Dwarf juggled the idea for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh. "Ah swear, if ya start makin' this weird Ah ain't ever comin' near ya again." But reluctance aside, Ravathyra slid off her gauntlets and dropped them beside her on the ground before holding out her hands. The human took a few more seconds before opening her eyes again revealing her irises to glow a brilliant white. Like two weak beacons. She then laid her hands over each of Ravathyra's, revealing them to also be glowing the same color. The others watched in awe with Glemerr tossing her two berries in her mouth like popcorn. The light transferred from Stostine's hands to Ravathyra's, further closing up a few more small wounds on the Dwarf and letting some of the blood on her person dry and fade away, cleaning her off in the process. When it was all done, Stostine pulled her hands back and folded them in her large sleeves so that her hands were hidden. Then she blinked and the light was gone. As was any sign of her condition before. "I know that did not help all of it," she started. "But every little bit helps. Right?" "...What are you?" Platick asked first. "Hm?" "What are you?" He said a little louder. "You have magic. You look and act like a noble but you have some goofy acting bug. You're sickly; unable to keep up with a slow moving wagon but you took this job anyway. You can see in the dark without your magic. And then, on top of it all, you have some sort of cleric power like that? What are you?" "..." Stostine lowered her brow for a moment. Almost as though taking stock of Platick himself. "...I'm just one person." "Oh don't give me that!" Platick glared. "You sounded like you had the plague ten seconds ago and all of a sudden you're fine?!" "Your eyes were glowin'. Hands too," Ravathyra tacked on. "The gnome knows 'bout magic just as much as you do. Maybe more. How much ya wager we tell 'im what we saw, he spots ya out real quick?" "Everyone's magic is different," Stostine defended expressionlessly. "Mine is no exception." "Well if it's completely natural, why not just say what it is?" Platick doubled down. "Unless of course it isn't something natural." Her face was still but her eyes willingly rolled to the side. "What is your obsession with me? You try talking behind my back, you keep me somewhere in sight at all times, and you keep insisting that I'm a noble. Why? Why should that even matter?" "It's the way you hold yourself," he explained. "You have this weird air that says your from high class but this obsession about fitting in. Why? Why would someone high-class try relating to commoners?" Stostine took in a breath and huffed. "Fine. Fine! You wanna call me high class? Sure. My dad's a mayor in a town no one has heard of. We have a home with three rooms, no servants, and we sometimes got spices on our meals. Congratulations, you cracked the case. Want a platinum for your troubles? Oh wait." Before Platick could notice, Stostine's Mage Hand came to life and pulled the necklace out from under Platick's armor. A single platinum piece affixed to a thin, tarnished silver chain. "You already have one. Fortuna." "Oooooh," Glemerr hummed, nibbling on some more jerky. "Did not see dat comin'." "What's a Fortuna?" Rava raised an eyebrow. "No idea. Jerky?" Glemerr offered. She offered a piece of jerky to Thorn who gingerly took it between her pointer and middle fingers. She sniffed it for a moment before lightly taking a bite. And then eating a large piece. "It's nothing important." Platick waved the hand away and stuffed the coin back under his vest, red in the face. Stostine sat there without any emotion. "Look. I just want to finish this job and get what I'm owed. Once I have that, I'm out." "In that we agree." Stostine nodded. She never lost that demeanor and that's what made Platick more angry. "We stay amiable until this job is done. Then you can stop glaring at me and I can take care of my own business." "Gladly," Platick scoffed. "Now where's Vareén and the gnome?!" BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM! The entire cave system shook, forcing everyone to watch their feet or lean onto the closest solid object. To the left of the group a second pool of water held by a weak dam of stones released itself and caused another flood into the now empty tunnel behind the group. The rope bridge shook and jostled and small specks of dust and pebble fell from the ceiling in a few places, putting a deep fear in everyone's core. When everything came to a rest, the five of them started looking around them for any signs of the cause. Stostine putting the brightly glowing bag of sand on a new Mage Hand to let it float above the team. "Was dat an earthquake?" Glemerr kept scanning the ceiling. "Nah. It was too small fer that," Ravathyra answered, her Dwarven heritage coming into play. "It was focused too. Like an explosion." "Not an explosion either," Platick spoiled that mystery. "It was more...uh..." "Thunder," Thorn Wielder answered. "Yeah, thunder. Definitely." Slowly, Stostine's shoulders went lax. "Not thunder. Thunderwave." The group took a moment to think before a look of realization wiped across most of them. "Ricven!" Suddenly the uproar of something savage and angry snarled and howled from behind the five. The echo distorted it but as the party turned around they saw a large opening into another cavern with ratty pieces of cloth flanking the side of it. They looked as though they were made to look like war banners with dried blood making some horrid symbol. "Who dares storm Klarg's keep?!" "Klarg?" Stostine's jaw hung low. "I think we found the leader's room," Platick pointed out anxiously. The Dwarf shook her head. "No. No way. We're way too mashed. And he sounds angry as 'ell!" "Even Glemerr knows when a fight'll be too rough." Thorn Wielder simply nodded. But despite how hopeless they felt, they couldn't run. The tunnel was still flowing with a heavy rapids of water and the bridge sagged twice as much as before. They were trapped. Soon the echoing became more crystal and the group undoubtedly recognized crazed barking and the rattling of chains. A mangy wolf's snout and eyes reflecting from Stostine's light tried forcing its way into the room and immediately tried b-lining for the party before a heavy set figure heaved, yanking the massive canine back to its side. Stepping out from his chambers was a tall ferocious beast with hair encompassing its entire body as it stood something over seven feet tall, more than a foot taller than Glemerr. The chained leash of a wild wolf rest in one maw while the other dragged a red stained morningstar across the rock floor. He had a big spiked pauldron on one shoulder and hide armor protecting his lower torso. When he finally breached the room the adventurers were in, his eyes settled on them. Weak. Bloody. Intruders. "YOU," it bellowed. "You stand outside the warroom of KLARG! General of King Grol! I will use your skulls to complete my throne! UUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGHHH!" "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH" The party screamed in equal pitch as the Bugbear let his wolf run wild and bloodthirsty. The boss had arrived.