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Chapter III: The Meeting
Everyone was quiet as we walked towards the exit of the city. It then dawned on me that we didn't know where the Goblins were exactly, so I asked Bardryn what to do about that. She seemed quite confused. 'I hadn't really thought about that I guess.' She replied, and she stopped walking to think. Maragh sighed. 'That's pretty stupid then.' The team looked at him, angrily. He didn't seem to care as he continued. 'While you were praying or whatever, I spend my time finding out more about our mission. It seems that there are five Goblins, lead by one Hobgoblin, who are attacking travellers going towards Iln Cliff. They will first try and take their possessions through intimidation, and if that doesn't work they'll switch to violence. They've been doing that for three weeks now, and they seem to take a break twice a day, although not on regular intervals.' We all looked at him in silent awe. Everybody had assumed that he had just vanished in the Crowd to cut some purses or do something that would amuse him, but nobody had thought of him doing his job so vigorously.
I asked the team what they thought what would be the best action, to talk to them, capture them, or attack them. Everybody was silent for a moment as they thought about it. I told them that I thought the best course of action would be to first negotiate with them, and if that doesn't work to try and subdue them. Asteron nodded. 'I think we should always be ready for a fight for them, even while we negotiate.' Bardryn was reluctant. Dwarves and Goblins didn't go well together, but eventually she agreed. Maragh didn't seem to pay any attention at all, and Surina agreed as well.
So we set off. It took us maybe three hours, of relative silence, before we got close to our goal. By then, it was midday. You could tell something was off. Normally, the route between Ravensburg and Iln Cliff would be busy with merchants and travellers, traffic would be high. Now, there was no-one who used the route. Bardryn decided it would be a good idea to talk about the plan before leaping in.
'Alright, let's do it this way. I'll try and convince them to go somewhere else, but I probably won't be able to handle it myself. Those of you, who find a way to help please do so, but remember that our primary mission is not to kill the bastards but to get rid of them. If we get in a fight, they may prove deadlier than we thought. They do outnumber us.' Everybody, but Maragh, replied that they understood, and so we continued on.
The area was a lush forest with many roads running through them. The part where the Goblins were said to be was a thicker part of the forest. There were many creatures in the forest, although rarely organized.
We kept walking until something came out of the bushes. It was a small Goblin. It looked rather frightened, being surrounded by people almost all taller than he was. The little creature spoke in a high pitched, raspy voice. 'You are surrounded! Give us all your valuables and we will let you live. Refuse and we will kill you all!' It tried to look vicious, but when its eyes met Asteron's, we are send by Ravensburg to negotiate.' The Goblin looked around, surprised by this reaction, obviously not knowing what to do. There was a moment of silence until someone shouted from behind one of the trees. It was a deep and intimidating voice. The Goblin replied with a short, high pitched word, and stepped back. From behind the tree, the Hobgoblin came into view.
'And what does Ravensburg have to offer us?' The Hobgoblin asked, eyeballing the adventurers. The creature didn't look like he was negotiating; its mind was already set on the battle he thought would soon erupt. Bardryn was silent for a moment, and then replied, every word having been carefully considered. 'Ravensburg asks your group to stop the raiding on the travellers and merchants. In return, they will not pursue you.' The Hobgoblin tried to look serious, but failed miserably. It then started to laugh. A few moments later, it finally stopped. 'And why would we possibly be threatened by a city that sends a few errand boys to do the job of persuading us? If they send you to do the job, then I doubt that we should feel threatened in any way.' The small Goblin next to him tried to look tough. Maragh stepped forward, showing a big smile on his face. He bowed for the Hobgoblin. 'But I can assure you, we are just a small portion of nothing short from a skirmish group that is coming to get you. We are just here as civilized people, hoping you will consider leaving before we'll have to… vanquish you.' It was both frustrating and intriguing to see the Kobold work his tricks, for it was a bold move to bluff an armed force coming as backup, but Maragh had done a great job, for I self would've almost believed it. The Hobgoblin's smile quickly faded as he too wondered if the little creature was telling the truth. He looked a bit baffled, even, and for a moment he didn't know what to do. Bardryn quickly followed up with the lie. 'Indeed, and we understand that you just needed to make a living, so we offer you to just pack your camp and go somewhere else.' The Hobgoblin seemed to consider the proposal. It looked up at the adventurers, and nodded. 'Alright, you have made your point. We will pack our stuff and leave. But only if you give us the slave.' Our team looked at each other in surprise, not knowing what he meant, all but Asteron, who charged the laughing Hobgoblin who was pointing at the Minotaur.