Draul hadn't encountered goblins before but was aware of their reputation. They were cruel creatures that tormented anyone they came by, animals included. Although they weren't too great of warriors, they knew how to strike with the element of surprise and came in large numbers. There would be no reasoning with these vile attackers. The only way to stop the goblin's attack was to respond with violence and to drive them off to Sandpoint.
Clutching his greatclub tightly, Draul looked at the trio of goblins, who climbed up onto barrels and raised their blades in the air. They swiped at any townsfolk that ran by as the crowd continued to disperse. Draul looked back at his newfound friends. Although it was his duty as a paladin to help however he can, he couldn't force the others to fight if they didn't want to.
"If anyone wants to leave, now would be the time," Draul told them. "If you stick with me, you're in for a fight."
"And have all of Sandpoint see me as a coward?" Corita shook her head and took out her longsword. "This is my moment!"
"Honestly, I'd be safer with this group than I would be on my own," Razvan shrugged. "You'll find that I'm more than capable of keeping up!"
To emphasize on this point, Razvan took out one of his daggers and tossed it toward the goblins. However, his aim was off and the blade embedded itself into a barrel instead. The three goblins cackled in amusement at the server's failure.
"You were saying?" Mariel smirked.
"I'm a bit rusty," Razvan defended himself.
Kennick didn't bother with theatrics and charged forward with his greataxe. Draul and Corita were quick to follow him in his charge. The two aspiring mercenaries showed no mercy toward their foes. Kennick cleaved through one of the goblins with ease while Corita caught her opponent by the neck with her sword. Draul held back on his swing, and while the greatclub struck with enough force to knock the goblin off the barrel, he was sure the attacker survived and was unconscious. After checking for a pulse, the paladin reached for a pair of manacles hanging from his backpack to bind the goblin.
"What are you doing?" Corita asked, confused.
"Taking a prisoner," Draul answered. "I want answers for why they're attacking."
"I think you're giving the goblins more credit for their plan," Mariel said with a shrug. "It must not be easy holding back with your strikes."
"Thankfully I've been trained in nonlethal," Draul said and stood up after ensuring the goblin couldn't escape.
Razvan walked up and pulled his dagger out of the barrel. "I thought paladins killed anyone who was evil."
"There are different oaths that a paladin can take," Draul started to explain when more cackling and singing interrupted him.
"We can have this conversation another time," Mariel told the others. "The goblins aren't exactly waiting around."
The group turned to where the cackling came from to see a different wagon currently on fire. Two of the goblins by the burning wagon carried a torch in addition to their blade while a third, who carried a whip with her blade, sang loudly and off-key, using the same verses to announce their attack. One of the torch wielding goblins noticed the group of five and pointed them out, preparing his allies for battle.
The adventurers didn't need to say anything to know who they had to fight next. Draul led the charge although his greatclub slammed into the dirt when he tried to attack one of the torch-wielding goblins. Although Kennick tried to join him, the large stable hand suddenly burst into laughter and fell down onto the ground, unable to control himself. Draul blinked in confusion until he realized that the singing goblin had pointed at the warrior and cackled during her song.
"It would seem that there are some spellcasters among the goblin ranks," Mariel noted. "Leave the singer to me."
Mariel chanted in her native tongue and conjured a small dart of blue energy in her hands. She pointed her palm toward the singing goblin and the dart slammed forward, slamming into the warchanter. Although the goblin continued her song, Corita started to sing a melody in turn, inspiring her friends in action. Draul grinned, glad to have allies who knew magic in the fight against the goblins.
Although Kennick had stopped laughing, he was on the ground. It was Razvan who aided Draul against the goblin, charging forward to circle around the paladin's opponent. A dagger jabbed into the goblin's back was all it took to end his life. The two nodded at each other before the second goblin charged forward, dropping his torch in favor of using his blade. Razvan stepped back from the goblin's swing although Draul's following attack missed the goblin by inches. When the server stepped forward to stab the goblin, the raider blocked the blow and jumped up, slashing across his chest.
Razvan gasped in pain as the blow proved to be deep, although it wasn't enough to down him. Although Draul preferred to show his opponents mercy, he knew he couldn't hold back any longer as his friends' lives were at stake. With a single swing, the paladin crushed the goblin's head in, ending his life. The rogue sighed in relief although the battle wasn't over.
The singer proved to be more resilient, healing herself from the damage she sustained before she was struck with another magical missile conjured by Mariel. Corita swung at the singing goblin with her longsword but missed, providing the opposing musician a chance to wrap her whip around the half-elf's leg and trip her to the ground. Kennick, having recovered from his laughing fit, stood alongside Draul and Razvan. The three charged the singing goblin only for her to deftly avoid each strike. Even when Corita stood up and took a glancing blow from the singing goblin's blade, she was unable to land a hit on the final goblin.
It took Mariel conjuring another missile of force energy to slam into the singer to end the battle, silencing the goblin's song for good.
"Is everyone okay?" Draul asked the group.
"Bleeding out but I'll manage," Razvan said with a weak chuckle.
"That's no good," Corita shook her head. "Let me patch you up."
While Corita tended to Razvan's wound, using bardic magic to help treat the cut, Draul took in the scenery. Although the goblins originally had the initiative, the fight was turning against them. The members of Sandpoint's town guard were quick to respond to the attack and fought back. The goblins even proved to be a danger to themselves given how some died from the fires they set or from falling from the rooftops of buildings they climbed. Even with a few townsfolk casualties, Sandpoint wasn't in any danger of falling today.
Draul noticed Father Zantus approaching and waved him over. The cleric joined the group, smiling in relief.
"Thank you for fighting, all of you," Father Zantus told the group. "If anyone needs healing, I can provide it."
"Save it for anyone else," Draul said and shook his head. "We're fine, right?"
"I wasn't able to completely heal Razvan but I don't think he'll die anytime soon," Corita answered. "We just have a few cuts and bruises, that's all."
"The fight is still continuing on," Kennick noted, with the group hearing distant singing from the north. "We should press on."
"Good idea," Draul said and turned north. "We should make our way to the gate. That's likely where the goblins came in from. Father Zantus, do you need anything else?"
"I shall be fine," Father Zantus said. "Go and do what you can."
The group made their way north towards Sandpoint with Draul and Kennick leading the way. Corita and Razvan made up the middle formation of the group while Mariel covered their rear, not really running to keep up with the group. The paladin was proud of his friends for keeping up the fight. Anyone else may have thought that they have done enough or that it was time to get to safety. The group as a whole pressed on, ready for whatever came their way.
A frantic scream followed by barking was what drew the group's attention to their next fight. As the five arrived in front of a building marked by a wooden statue of a white deer, a goblin mounted on some sort of large hairless rat-beast killed a dog with a nasty looking blade. The screaming came from a well-dressed man with black hair who hid behind a barrel. He whimpered as three goblins emerged from their respective cover, cheering at their warrior's victory over the dog. They were so distracted by the fight that the group was able to catch them off guard.
Corita and Draul charged toward the same goblin, and while the bard missed with her longsword, the paladin predicted the goblin's stunned reaction to be able to strike it down with his greatclub. Kennick let out a mighty roar and charged towards the mounted goblin in anger, swinging his greataxe down on the goblin. The rider proved to be resilient even when he couldn't maneuver his way out of the weapon's edge. Mariel continued to rely on her spellcasting and sent a wave of fire that struck the remaining two goblins, burning them. Since they survived, Razvan charged up to attack them with both of his daggers but couldn't land a hit.
Once more, Corita and Draul relied on their teamwork, and while the bard missed one of the burnt goblins with her sword, it provided the paladin an opening to kill the goblin by bashing his face in with his greatclub. Mariel used a small magic missile to strike down the final goblin by Razvan. All eyes turned toward Kennick and the mounted goblin, who struck the stable hand in the shoulder. Yet, he growled, and while keeping the goblin's beast away from biting him, decapitated the rider. When the mount proved itself ready to go down fighting, Draul advanced with Corita and Razvan. After a flurry of attacks, the beast fell dead.
"What was that creature?" Razvan asked, looking at the dead animal.
"Goblin dog," Kennick answered bluntly. "Not really a dog but that's what everyone calls them."
"You've saved me!" the man hiding called out, breaking from cover to meet the group. "How can I ever repay you?"
"It's no problem at all," Corita said with a smile. "We're happy to help."
The man turned to face Corita and spoke with a sweet tone. "The way you faced those goblins with your longsword in such a courageous manner was truly inspiring. There is more than beauty to you as you struck down the goblin."
Corita's cheeks turned red. "Thank you."
"But she didn't kill any of the goblins," Mariel pointed out. "That was mostly Draul."
"I killed the one on the goblin dog," Kennick added.
The man ignored Kennick and focused his attention on Mariel. "But of course! How could I forget the way you weaved such a powerful spell to set the goblins aflame!"
"Please don't bother trying to win me over with words," Mariel shook her head with a sigh. "It lessens the impact when I just saw you try it on another woman."
"I don't mind," Corita laughed. "Please, I'll happily take more compliments."
"Be that as it may, we should make sure that there are no more goblins," Draul told the group.
At the mention of goblins, the man looked around in alarm. "Ah, yes, of course. I'll be staying at the Rusty Dragon. Please, come by tomorrow afternoon and I promise to repay you in full. If you don't see me, be sure to ask around for Aldern Foxglove. That's me. Until then, brave heroes!"
Aldern dashed off, leaving the group of five behind. While Corita waved after him, Mariel was quick to shake her head in disapproval. Draul figured that Aldern wasn't going to be the only one to see the group as heroes. Their actions today would be the talk of Sandpoint for weeks to come. With the sounds of fighting dying down, the paladin knew that the goblins must be close to defeat, and led the group onward to help clean up any straggling raiders.
The goblin attack on Sandpoint ended as quickly as it started. The surviving goblins fled from Sandpoint with those unable to escape captured or dead after trying to jump off the cliffs on the west side of town. Only a few civilians were killed, and while they would be mourned, the town wouldn't fall into a depression. There was very little fighting for the newfound group to take part in but they were able to help out with some of the damage for an hour before returning to the Sandpoint Cathedral.
While Corita, Razvan, and Kennick were speaking with other townsfolk, Draul and Mariel met with Sheriff Belor Hemlock, a stern man of Shoanti descent who had heard of the group's exploits. The trio started to interrogate the goblin the paladin knocked out, who held no loyalty to his fellow goblins and talked without too much prompting. What the raider had to say would turn out to be a great surprise to those questioning him.
"Longshank told us to kill and burn!" the goblin squeal. "Blame longshank, not us!"
"Longshank?" Mariel asked in confusion.
"It's a name, but rather, how goblin addresses humans, elves, dwarves, really anyone taller than they are," Belor informed the group.
"What was the longshank's name?" Draul asked.
"Don't remember," the goblin shook his head.
"What did the longshank look like?"
"Don't remember."
Mariel sighed. "This is getting us nowhere."
"I have to agree," Belor nodded. "I'll have my men take this prisoner with the others. Maybe we'll be able to find out more from the rest."
"Sheriff, if I may, I'd like to take this goblin into my custody," Draul requested, clasping his hands together.
"What use could you possibly have for a goblin?" Mariel asked in disbelief.
"The oath I took as a paladin was an oath of redemption," Draul explained in a dutiful manner. "It's more lax than other codes because we are the ones who recognize that there are those who become evil through their circumstances rather than being born as such. I have to at least try to show them the light?"
The goblin blinked in confusion and Belor looked skeptically at the paladin. "And you think a goblin can be redeemed?"
"He has been very forthcoming with the information he was able to give," Draul said with a nod. "I think that could be the start of his redemption."
"The goblin only told us what he knew because he was afraid," Mariel sighed. "Look at him. He doesn't even know what the word redemption means."
"For now, I will be taking the goblin into my custody," Belor told Draul. "But in the future, we may be able to work out some sort of deal. Prove yourself capable to the people of Sandpoint and I'll be open to some sort of reformation for certain criminals."
"That would be appreciated," Draul bowed his head. "Thank you, Sheriff."
Sheriff Hemlock motioned for two of his guards to come with him to take the goblin away. They were sure to return Draul's manacles to him, which he placed on his backpack. Although he was disappointed that his offer was denied, the redeemer remained optimistic despite the looks Mariel and Belor gave him. He made sure to uphold his oath as best as he could and even learned of the possibility to follow through with his ideals in the future. It was a matter of proving himself to Sandpoint that he was capable of serving as a guide for the wicked.
Thankfully, the new friends Draul had would serve as excellent allies in protecting Sandpoint. He turned to find the others and saw the trio talking with a young woman with long black hair with a few streaks of white shown as well. She was dressed in a red tunic that showed off her arms (including a tattoo of a snake on her right arm) and a dark pair of trousers. When Draul and Mariel walked over to join the group, Draul was quick to notice that the woman was young, closer to the trio in age than she was to him, and didn't show any signs of being Chelixian or Varisian. She was quick to wave at the group with a smile when the two joined up.
"You two must be Draul and Mariel," the woman greeted. "I'm Ameiko Kaijitsu. Kennick's a good friend of mine and he just finished telling me all about your exploits today."
"Really?" Draul looked at Kennick with a smile. "I hoped you told her all the good things about me."
"I said you fought well," Kennick told the paladin.
"You know, I could have told that story and made it a lot more exciting," Corita pointed out with a yawn.
"I'm sure you could, which is why I'm inviting all of you to the Rusty Dragon," Ameiko said with a grin. "You all get free rooms for a week."
"Does that include food?" Razvan asked, then looked to his companions. "The Rusty Dragon's food is some of the best in Sandpoint."
"If you can keep the other patrons entertained, be it with a story or some sort of skill, I'm sure we can work out a deal," Ameiko answered.
"Thank you for the kind offer," Draul said. "I look forward to staying at the Rusty Dragon."
"I could use a room to study in," Mariel said with a shrug. "I suppose I'll take you up on your offer as well."
"Does that mean we're sticking together as a group?" Corita asked, unable to hide her excitement.
"I didn't say-" Mariel started.
"We're going to become some of the greatest and famous heroes in Sandpoint," Corita interrupted her, grabbing the elf by the arm. "Let's head to the Rusty Dragon and celebrate!"
Mariel's protests fell on deaf ears as she was pulled away by Corita. Everyone aside from Kennick chuckled at the turn of events with Razvan being the next to follow the two with his hands in his pockets. Ameiko glanced at Kennick, and with a motion of her hand to signal him to follow, led the way toward the Rusty Dragon. Draul walked alongside Kennick, who remained silent although there was a quiet smile on his face from being able to save Sandpoint.
Draul had to admit that he was starting to like the idea of staying in Sandpoint. The goblin attack didn't make it appear to be a terrible place to live but rather impressed on him how connected the community was. The paladin was interested in becoming part of that community and hoped through his actions and those of his new friends that he would prove himself worthy of his home.
A/N: We have a shorter chapter this time around despite the action present throughout. Turns out fighting goblins doesn't make for too long of encounters.
With two chapters down, I'm going to look into my other projects at this point, including Edge of Anarchy. I will be sure to return to Burnt Offerings soon now with this short introduction out of the way.
Until next time.