Nothing good lasts forever, so they say.
It was an ambush. 4 darts flew, 1 catching Roland in the chest, 2 catching Demit and another getting Brewary. Roland gave surprised yell, and round the corner came Goblins 1 and 2, with rope and plate, shield and sword. Behind them, Armoured Goblin and its spear and a Hobgoblin. Some cackling was heard and from the back, Goblins 3-5 advanced, equipped the same way as Goblins 1 and 2. Roland yanked the dart out of his chest with a grunt. Fuelled by adrenaline and fight response, he pulled out a bodkin. Goblin 5 made the mistake of not raising its shield high enough. Penetrator went through the thinner, outer part of the shield and into its face. Brewary had engaged. Demit walked past Roland, twisting and pulling her dart out of her Gambeson.
"Snipers!", she warned. She held down the rear with Smash and Counter-Strike. Roland took out a broadhead and killed Crossbow 1, aiming for Brewary. Still, three darts flew. 1 took Brewary in the back, another missed him by a hair and the last hit Roland in the belly. Remember, they will protect the Armoured Goblin. His breathing laboured from the pain, he pulled out another bodkin. This fight was expensive, but he can't afford to be stingy. Penetrator embedded the arrow up to the fletching of the Hobgoblin's club arm. It thrashed, clubbing Goblin 2 by accident. Brewary took the chance to use Forward Thrust, catching it in the neck. Armoured Goblin made him pay for it with a cut that hit his chainmail. He swiped with his sword to take off the spear head. Roland's next arrow was nocked just in time to shoot the reloaded Crossbow 2. The crossbow goblins were panicking. With one goblin dying after every reload, they were seeing Roland as a bigger threat. 2 bolts flew, one grazing his face and another catching him in the chest. Crossbow 3 was panicking and forgot to hide as it struggled to reload. He yanked out the dart with a grunt and shot the goblin. Adrenaline coursed, which wasn't helping with the bleeding from multiple dart wounds. He nocked an arrow and waited, gambling by ignoring the melee to his left and right. Crossbow 4 showed itself and did not live to shoot its dart. Roland turned to Demit.
Demit had stunned Goblin 3 somehow. Its helmet dented, it stumbled backwards and shook its head. Roland's arrow got stuck in its plate, causing it to panic and turn to run. Demit gave it a Smash from behind. Another arrow flew into its back and it clawed and scratched at the spot as it bled out. Goblin 4 punished Demit with a slice that half cut and half bounced off her Gambeson. Another Smash was taken in the shield. Its counter swing was caught in Counter-attack and redirected, catching it in the unshielded shoulder. The impact made Goblin 4 off-balance, giving Demit the chance to use Smash.
Armoured Goblin delivered some kind of a threat that made Goblin 1 go crazy. It charged forward, catching Brewary off-guard. He yelled in pain when he landed on the dart still stuck to his back. Roland nocked another arrow but something flashed and caused him more pain. His aim was off and the arrow bounced off Goblin 1's plate. Looking down, there was a dagger stuck in his belly, thrown by Armoured Goblin. It was a lucky throw that went between the openings in his padded jacket, due to the way an archer had to stand legs apart and leaning forward when drawing a bow. That was it for Roland. He sank to his knees in pain. Brewary had caught the goblin's leg and stood up. Enraged, he slammed the goblin against the ground. Demit arrived and used Smash, catching Goblin 1 in the face and killing it. Armoured Goblin and Hobgoblin had taken off.
Where was Jakson? Cure had to be dealt on site as Roland was bleeding badly. That curved dagger was not so easy to extract. Then it was Brewary's turn. He had several darts in him the whole fight, stopped by the padded jacket under the chain. The only deep wound was in the back when he fell backwards and drove a dart deeper. Bags were grabbed and emptied while Demit made as many signs as she could for the fallen. They looked for Jakson. Brewary wanted to call out but Roland and Demit stopped him. They didn't want to attract more attention.
They walked as quietly as they could, Roland taking point. Eventually, they heard goblins cackling and Jakson swearing. There were sounds of clashing weapons. Around a corner they came across a goblin with a severed wrist, weeping. Roland killed it before they were noticed. There was another dead one around the next corner, stabbed in the neck. Peeking around yet another corner, he saw Jakson. He nodded at Brewary and Demit. They understood the situation called for the 'advance on my shot'. He stepped out and aimed high. A Crossbow Goblin yelped and fell off. A dart missed and hit stone. Brewary and Demit advanced. Jakson was leaning against a wall, bleeding out and cursing. A different set of Armoured Goblin and Hobgoblin turned to face them and advanced. Penetrator hit Armoured Goblin square in the chest, spurting black blood. It stopped for a moment, took 2 more steps and fell forward. Brewary caught Hobgoblin's club with Wind, driving the Zweihander into its face. Demit used Smash on its knee. They ganged up on the Hobgoblin. The last crossbow goblin poked its head out for another shot and was taken down by Roland.
Time was of the essence and Jakson's screaming was muffled by a bandage stuffed into his mouth as the 2 darts in him were extracted. An arm was broken, its bracer almost shredded by slashing. 2 of his armour pads were no longer usable from damage. Deep and shallow cuts were all over. Brewary moved to gather loot bags as Roland watched the corners. Healing Jakson used up Demit's Cure. She thumped her chest and cussed.
"C'mon you stupid bitch, you can do this. One more. Just one fucking more. C'mon!". She squeezed out 3 more seconds of Cure and became pale. The rest had to be bandaged. Goblins 1 and 2 rounded the corner, dressed in chain mail and carrying spears.
"Down!", said Roland. Demit threw herself over Jakson. Brewary dashed over from the other corner. Roland loosed and the broadhead went through Goblin 1's shoulder. It grunted and advanced angrily. A dart flew and Brewary luckily caught it in his Zweihander crossguard. Rage Blow took out both goblin spears. They tried stabbing with the shafts. Goblin 2 was blinded by a Wind. Goblin 1 stabbed successfully but it didn't work on the chain mail. Brewary took its head off, then the flailing Goblin 2. The crossbow goblin leaned out to shoot again and was killed. Demit finished bandaging Jakson who was still bleeding. He leaned on her as he walked.
"Evac now, Marksman". Brewary was combining loot into fewer bags. Roland wished repeatedly that there were no more encounters as he led them back. They avoided one search patrol. Back at the hillock, 2 more goblins came out of the trees. Goblin 1 also made the mistake of not raising its shield high enough as Roland's last Penetrator punched through the shield and into the head. Goblin 2 blocked Brewary's Forward Thrust with its shield and was knocked on its rear. 2 steps forward and a Rage Blow kept it down. Gripping the blunt portion under the hooks, he speared through Goblin 2's chain mail. The Hillock wasn't safe so they grabbed loot, made the sign for the fallen and left, slowed down by Jakson's injuries. More darts flew in their direction, missing wildly from the distance it had to travel. Roland fired the remainder of his broadheads, aiming to make sure the goblins were kept pinned to the safety of the buildings. The goblins cussed and swore at them in their language but did not pursue.
They collapsed some half an hour limping away, under the shade of some trees. The mid-day sun made it hard to walk from exhaustion. Usually they would take a break in the Hillock before entering New City for a second round. Checking the bandages, Jakson's bleeding had stopped. He had bled into his bag and his food was ruined, so each offered some of theirs. To his annoyance, his alcohol skin had taken a slash. It saved him in the process, but now there was nothing but water to drink. Fireteam Alpha said nothing to each other. Demit and Jakson fell asleep as Brewary and Roland sleepily kept watch. 2 hours later, Brewary nudged them awake. Everyone was sore. Demit had a bit more Cure after the rest, so Jakson could walk on his own, which sped the trip home slightly.
"It's the Goblin Slayers", joked someone in the Market.
"There they go, back from Damrow, with loot to go. Scruffy from the fight, with loot bags light, witness! The Goblin Slayers' Might!", sang someone, pointing to the 2 bags from the hillock goblins carried by Brewary. Fireteam Alpha hadn't the strength to argue and point out the heavier one that Roland had in his carrying bag as a small crowd laughed at them.
The loot would sell tomorrow, which was decided as 'R&R day' by Demit. Today, they returned to their rooms to sleep, repair gear, whatever. Just no more combat. Back at the room, Jakson dropped his bags and gestured downstairs to Roland. Roland told him to be patient and clean up first, much to his annoyance. They spent the rest of the day drinking up the supply of Kvass, going to the toilet, sleeping and yelling out their window at stallholders across the street to deliver whatever they had to sell for eating.
"Da! We pay extra 2 copper, blyat!", yelled Jakson, his frustration matching the vendor who would rather her customers just came, purchase and leave.
That night the Fireteam met at Ruai for the final dose of Cure, a rather quiet dinner of roasted pork, bread and more pork in some kind of oily gravy with the Ruai special grain wine. The 2 then went to the lodging's kitchen to make more Kvass. As long as they didn't make a mess, bought their own ingredients and replaced the firewood for the stove, the owner didn't complain. After all, they pretty much bribed their way into that kitchen with a cast iron cooking pot in the first place.