Boy, oh boy. Smart goblins. Wait, no. That was maybe asking too much. Mildly intelligent goblins. Enough to anticipate an attack. Reeva resisted the urge to sigh. It would have made noise. Instead, she set up a quick and dirty tripwire trap: nothing fancy or especially lethal, but the impact of a goblin falling would make noise. Enough to let her know if any of the little green bastards decided to try and man the wall while she left it unattended.

That done, she went back down the way she came, regrouping with the rest of the party. At least going down was quicker than climbing up. She jogged back over to the group, getting straight to business. Time was of the essence.

"Right, so. Goblins were tipped off even before we got here. They know something's coming. Doubt they know what it is, or they'd be on full alert. But they're ready for a fight. I'll get back up top, flank them when it comes to a fight. Look out for some kind of ambush, maybe a runner that's trying to see what's going on. Either way, expect them to be dug in. We should be clear to get past the gate, either way. Sound good? Great, break!"

Report complete, Reeva made to scale the wall again, repeating the same vigilance she kept before as she clambered back up top, checking on her tripwire and disarming it before creeping further ahead along the wall, trying to see where the goblins were holed up.

"Break?" Corinne asked, tilting her head and blinking a few times. "Break what?"

"She means we should get started," Liliane said, shaking her head at the other girl's odd conclusion, "If they're dug in, you might be the best option to let us get in close. Start casting, Cori."

"Oh, right! Umm…" the mage frowned in concentration, then started chanting something under her breath, the antiquated Talderian flowing smoothly, a chant calling on the sky, and the wind, and the tempest. Light swirled and gathered around the head of the staff, flashing and pulsing erratically. When she was nearly done, the other Hundi nodded and rushed for the gates, daggers in hand.

"Right, fire when I say. Everyone else, cover your ears and don't look," There was no point firing if one goblin just came rushing through on its own, but if there were multiple…

Practically dragging the mage through the opening in the walls, Liliane waited until she could clearly hear the chattering, then ­"Now!"

"Thunderclap!"

Whatever the goblins were expecting, she really doubted the little greenskins would be prepared for what appeared to just be a bright light shooting ahead into the fort. Nor for it to explode with a deafening crack and a blinding light. Much easier pickings for everyone else to fall in on.

Abigail Blackthorn

---

Abigail tapped her foot, not quite impatient but approaching it, waiting for the thief to return. It was the smart move, sending her out to figure out what they were dealing with, but it meant waiting. While waiting the dwarf had chimed in, mentioning the first sight of goblins meant swinging, getting a nod from Abigail in agreement.

"Agreed, only good response to a goblin."

Fortunately they were not waiting long for Reeva to make her way back, moving faster on the return than the trip out. Running away was always the easier route, Abigail thought, though she said nothing out loud to interrupt the hurried explanation from the thief. Goblins were tipped off? That was a new one. Either they had all missed the sentry goblin that had warned the rest of their approach, or someone had told the nasty creatures of their approach and they listened. Ready for a fight just meant earning her coin through honest slaughter instead of completely carrying an ambush forward. Clear to the gate, after that, was steel and blood time. Then the thief was off, and Abigail rocked her head back and forth, loosening up just a bit more.

"Wonder if any evidence of the tip off will survive our little trip..."

Corinne was questioning the use of break which, well, who was a village bumpkin turned axe slinging adventurer to judge how someone spoke? Dug in meant digging them out, though Liliane had a plan for that. Corinne started chanting, magic slinging impending, and Abigail got moving alongside the others, staying close to the front to intercept any sudden danger. Light swirled around that staff head, and by the time she looked nearly ready the otehr Hundi drew steel and rushed for the gate. Abigail followed close behind, two handed axe at a low ready and she nodded along with the plan.

"Got it, I'll head in first before they recover from....whatever spell that is. Everyone else keep my flanks clear, yeah?"

Abigail dutifully covered her ears, turning her head away to put some of her hood between her and the flash, eyes screwed shut. Even then, the impending crack and light would at least bleed through a little. When the spell went off? Abigail would be on her feet and already charging, half watching for traps, half watching for the nearest cluster of goblins she could start hacking into pieces. Time to earn her coin through honest killing.

The Farm
@Rune_Alchemist@HereComesTheSnow@Octo@ERode@VitaVitaAR

---

A competition, really. The tiny paladin and Hrefna were getting into an amusing bit of competition during this whole thing. No doubt the paladins pride was going to be hurt after this, especially after Hrefna's revelation about the source of the curse. The sheep themselves weren't cursed, but rather, something elsewhere had its claws in them. Not much for her to do if everyone else was doing the other work proper, so she contented herself with simply curling up and watching. Fine with her. The less she had to do the better.

"Suppose I'll take the third shift in six hours, then if need be." Hyseliea offered after Pete, coiling up near the pens. It was warm enough in here, and being closer to the sheep would be better in case one started to wander off or something came in and snatched it anyways.

"Yes, tiny one will take first watch," Hrefna agreed, nodding to Pete, "less bad things likely to happen early on. Is easy enough even for Ingvarr calf-child, so little paladin can do."

Hrefna had already taken note of how Rylia reacted to being called 'tiny', and thus had incorporated it more into her speech. She grinned as she enjoyed the girl's seething.

"If Pyotr takes next, and pretty snake whose name I have difficulty pronouncing go last, then Hrefna will see you all in morning. I will prefer to sleep outside, just in case danger appears. Merely call upon my strength and I will crush our enemies," Hrefna said, capping it all off with a yawn. She slept terribly anyways, so to be awoken for combat was a boon. With Csenge doing analysis, there wasn't much for Hrefna to do except get to know the sheep.

If everything else failed, she would be able to track any of the sheep that go missing as long as she was reasonably acquainted with whichever sheep it was. To this end, she would spend her night greeting the creatures just in case. She would probably look like a lazy fool, but being underestimated led to better stories in the end. The Wyrmbender family needed good stories.

She turned to Rylia.

"You hear Hrefna, small one? If things too difficult, come to get Hrefna and she will end your troubles," she reiterated, pulling a flask from a small pouch and taking a swig. It would be without class to not drink at night when you had already drunk during the day, after all.