"Impossible!" Hobnob exclaimed when the sounds of battle reached his ears "How did the bandits avoid our traps?!". He and his crew immediately took off in the direction of the fighting. When they reached the gully, the gnomes would have fallen in were it not for Hobnob throwing his arms out to his sides to stop his crew from moving forward. 

"Of all the things it could have been, it had to be a gully" Hobnob said. All the firearms that the gnomes carried became useless when they got wet, and there was a lot of water in front of them. But as the rest of the group arrived at the gully, Hobnob wondered if any of them would mind lending a hand. "Would any of you tall people mind holding the guns we can't carry while we cross the water?" Hobnob asked his taller companions "Matchlocks are rendered useless when they get wet and there's a lot of very wet water in front of us".