[IC] Goblin Slayer: Newblood (CANCELLED)

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red's eyes narrowed slightly when the javelin didn't penetrate the goblins body. It flew back almost as if he had hurled a quarter staff end first at it, which would result in a few broken ribs possibly but nothing life threatening. Archer Girl nailed her target as well, resulting in at least one kill in the first 'wave' of attacks. Which seems to have put the fear in the remaining two if their halted charge said anything.

They turned to flee, but one got pelted by another arrow, so only one got away. Getting out of the lunging stance he had been in he eyed the remaining goblins for a moment. Archer Girl was quick to move, going about like a hunter ending their snared prey. While she worked he approached the little green things, eying the one he had hit with a narrowed gaze. His ears twitched slightly, seemingly hunting for any sound other than the groups movements and the trickle of blood from the bleeding out goblins.

Druid Girl asked what they should do, a swarm in an open clearing would be bad. But going in to their home turf was also bad. "We'll have to assume their numbers aren't big since a previous group of four came here before us. He said before tilting his head to look at Archer Girl. He didn't mention how many of them were female nor the stories about goblins. "Unfortunately keeping them locked in there is impossible. They'll tunnel out, they have food since they've been raiding the farms, and judging by their teeth they probably have no problems eating dead bodies." He said, gesturing to the yellowed and rotting sharp teeth of the goblins.

"A small siege is out of the question. But for cave exploring we don't really have the best gear..." He said while eying Druid Girl's staff and Archer Girl's bow. But they did have smaller weapons, knives and a sickle. Reaching behind himself he pulled out a torch and dropped the multiple pronged spear. A few click clacks and the torch was lit up, the studded club in hand, and a more energetic look about him. "We need to go in and clear the nest, they're down five so that's a good start."

[Xaltwind]

It was a bit unsettling for Druid Girl to watch as her companions moved over and slew the helpless goblins. Naturally, she understood that these little blighters had to be killed as part of their quest, but there was just something about killing things that were helpless and unable to defend themselves that made her feel... Bad. Still, she shook those thoughts from her head as the archer and lizard both voiced their personal view on what to do next. Complete opposite oncepts, of course. Still, didn't seem like Big Red was going to be open to debate on the matter, as he'd already struck up and lit a torch in preperations for descending the cave.

"I guess there's nothing for it. Besides, if we spend too long clearing them out, the Guild might think we ended up dying and send a new group to look for us." Druid Girl stated - given that they weren't the first team to have accepted this quest.

That being said, she felt that just having the lizardman's torch wouldn't be quite enough, so she took it upon herself to once again utter the words of one of her lowest-tier spells:

"Lend me your glow, tiny fey, summon pixie!"

Once more, the pixie that had been called upon over by the ransacked wagon, appeared out of seemingly thin air. Or perhaps this was a different one? It was sort of hard to tell, given the creature's petite size and hard-to-distinguish features. With the little fey buzzing around her like a moon circling a planet, the druid went to pick up some of the stones she had thrown and stoved them back into her pouch. She then unhooked her sickle from her hip and made sure the staff on her back was secure and not hanging too loosely. After having prepared as well as she could, the caramel-skinned girl walked over and joined Big Red, though stayed a little ways away, as the big brute was meant to lead the charge and take the brunt of any would-be resistance.

The sun was now almost gone, and night had more or less fallen entirely. The sky was dark but clear, dotted with many of the small stars as well as the two moons. A slightly unseasonally chilly wind was blowing through the clearing, playfully tugging and toussling Druid Girl's and Steppe Archer's long hair. The noises of the day died down and the quieter, softer sounds of night began to slowly emerge. Of course, those who didn't pay attention to the difference in such things would likely not notice anything save for the cicadas ceasing of chirping.

When they all confirmed that they were ready to move, the trio would finally set off into the cave proper. Immedaitely, they would notice that there was a slightly slanted, downwards angle to the dirt and stone-covered ground just inside the opening. The ceiling wasn't very tall, which would make things a bit more tiresome for the lizard, as he'd have to occasionally duck and angle his head weirdly, less he want to bump his noggin on the solid stone walls and ceiling. The walls of the cave weren't anything special, just plain grey rock and stone. There were small, irregular patches of either black-ish moss or fungus growing in places, but other than that, nothing of note.

After a bit of walking however, they soon found themselves reaching a more levelled and more flat bit of ground. The ceiling at this point was also slightly taller and the passage less cramped. They came into what looked like a chamber of some sorts, finding a pile of mismatched bones lying off to one side, and a bunch of broken junk on the other. Among the pile of broken wood, scrap metal and torn rags, they did spot something unusual though...

"Is... Is that a wheel?" Druid Girl asked, blinking at the sight of what looked like a large, wooden wheel, though broken and dented rather severely. At that point, the memory of the poor woman by the side of the road flashed back intot he yuong girl's mind, and she placed a hand over her mouth to quell any noise she might've been about to make. "Is it... That wheel? DOes that mean that... These goblins were the ones who attacked her?" She asked in a low, hushed tone. Her face was a mix of anger and appalled disgust.

While standing in the chamber, not much larger than your average, tiny studio-apartment, the pixie that the girl had summoned went about flying around, inspecting the area and things strewn about. There seemed to be only one path heading further down, and the path they had come from leading back up. There was no sign or indication of any goblins though... They hadn't seen nor heard anything yet... And nothing had tried to stop them. There hadn't even been any traps or obstructions so far. Things were going very smoothly... PErhaps this was just a very small and very weak nest?

[The Irish Tree]

Steppe Archer wasn't a fan of the idea of charging into the den of anything she was hunting, but...she supposed that the Lizardman had a good point. Five goblins down, out of a likely small nest. For all they knew, they could have just wiped out half the nest entirely. Still, it didn't hurt to be prepared just in case. She would hold onto the wooden spear that the fighter had made for her and descend with her companions, bringing up the rear just in case something attacked from behind. She was only lightly armored...but it seemed the druid girl had no armor whatsoever. Regardless, goblins couldn't be such a huge threat that two strong combatants and a caster couldn't take them on in a fight.

The nomad girl would keep her ears perked up as they traveled in the faint darkness, the light of the druid's pixie and Big Red's torch being all that kept them from the endless maw of darkness that was this cave. The wagon wheel was a disheartening sight to be certain, but it would be answered by the Steppe Archer gingerly laying a finger on the girl's lips, quietly whispering: "Shh". They were in the beasts' den, and as such they had to at least not shout that they were right here, right now, and able to be ambushed. Speaking of...Steppe Archer would casually roll an arrow down from her quiver and lay it down upon the ground near the path they'd just come from. If she heard it crunch, then she would know if someone was following from behind.

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red waited for the other two to prepare, which was essentially a change of current weaponry and Druid Girl summoning her pixie thing again. Did it glow that brightly? "If you two have a torch it'd be best to light them. Cave formations cast many shadows..." He said, his voice getting quiet. He didn't have much experience cave crawling, but he had been in a couple and remembered how shadows played a part in the exploration.

Honestly he'd have gone for a lantern, but they were too pricey right now and unsurprisingly fragile. Glass anything could buzz off except as a makeshift blinding tool. Either way it seemed they were all set, so he ducked in and kept the torch raised high. It seemed a partial hunch of his back kept his head free of the ceiling, and given the flexing of his back it didn't tax him to much. But it'd be a satisfying moment when he could stand up straight and give the old lumbar region a good crack.

As they walked he took in the colors around them. Lots of gray stone, brown dirt, blackish moss and fungus. The moss he scraped off some and tucked it away in his satchel to see if it had any use beyond kindling. He doubted it was a rare find, but hey who knew! When the ground leveled off and they came upon a larger more open area his eyes scanned the darkness around them. Piles of junk, a pile of bones, and the broken wheel of the hand cart from earlier. Or maybe it was a spare wheel for the farmer? But that wouldn't make sense, you keep spares on the wagons, carts, and carriages so you can change it and go right then and there.

Druid Girl was getting emotional, but it was to be expected honestly. She was in touch with nature and clearly had a good amount of empathy. "It's almost guaranteed to be the woman's wheel. On the way back we can bury her if you wish." He said as he used his foot to sift through the pile of bones, just to see if the goblins had left anything worth a damn. They seemed wasteful and not too bright. Archer Girl shhed the group which got a light chuckle from him. There was no doubt the goblins knew they were here, and that they were coming for them.

Still it was best they moved on, a casual sweep of the torch allowed him to check out the walls. He was looking for secondary passages, but there didn't seem to be any. Short of knocking and moving on each part of the walls it was clear. So he started forward, progress to make while Archer Girl laid down her arrow.

[Xaltwind]

The Druid didn't say much in response to either of her companions. Her mind was too pre-occupied with keeping herself from both screaming and crying at the same time. That poor woman had just been minding her own business, probably heading home - perhaps to her own family - and then these... Creatures... Had attacked and killed, along with violated, her and stolen every last crumb she had brought with her. She clenched her fists hard for a bit, before taking a deep breath and calming herself down. Now wasn't the time to lose focus.

Prodding about for traps and digging through the pile of bones would turn up nothing however. Apart from some bugs that scattered when Big Red disturbed the clattering, dry pieces of white bones, there was nothing of interest there. Nor would he find anything while looking about with his torch, apart from more rubbish and filth on the ground. The Druid Girl's pixie would circle about the room as well, but return with equally empty hands.

Once agreement was made to press on, the trio began their path down the next incline. This tunnel was a bit taller, allowing for the lizardman to stand fully upright, but it was still narrow enough that neither of the girls could flank him. They themselves could walk along one another just fine, but Big Red was taking up the vast breadth of the tunnel in the front... Which would make it difficult for the Steppe Archer to shoot any arrows at this point, as she was more likely to hit her companion's massive back, less she was skilled enough to shoot between his legs or under his armpits... Or ricochet arrows off of the walls and ceiling...

Still, as they moved, something further ahead caught their eyes. At first, the threat of more goblins put them all on edge... But when the shape did nothing to approach or run away, they slowly inched forward. Eventually drawing close enough to see that the shape was that of a human! In fact, it was a young man, clad in white - albeit now dirtied robes - with wheat-colored hair. Strangely, he was sitting down, slouched somewhat forward with his back towards the tunnel's wall. He didn't seem to even notice the approach of the other adventurers. This was likely one of the members of the previous group that had come down here a day or so ago prior.

However, as they got even closer, and Druid Girl's little fairy flew forth for a closer look, the group became privvy to unsettling developments. Specks and blotches of now dry, reddish brown dotted the youth's apparel. Especially along the arm and his left side. His downcast face also displayed traces and lines of dried blood, and the fact that he wasn't moving, let alone seeming to breathe, gave way to unpleasant feelings and concern. At least for Druid Girl.

Squeezing her way past Big Red, with no real concern for any danger that may lie in ambush just around the bend of the downward sloping tunnel, the young girl hurried over to the boy's side. He looked to be about the same age as both Steppe Archer and herself, perhaps a just a bit older? As she knelt down and lay a hand on him to rouse him, the body of the priest shifted and slid to the side, collapsing in an unceremonious heap. At this point, they could all see what had happened to him though. A long gash ran along his arm, and multiple small punctures and scratches adorned his chest... Worst of all though, was the seemingly torn out throat he had, seemingly having been chewed open.

Again Druid Girl had to clasp both hands over her mouth to surpress both a gasp and a yell. The sight was rather terrible indeed. The boy had been completely and utterly mauled to death. it was likely that he had suffered the gash and the scratches first, only to have had his throat ripped out at the end. However... Wasn't it strange?

If he was in such a condition, why had he been sitting as if he had been resting or using the cave walls as a back-rest? Surely in the state he was in, he would have been panicked and frenzied, trying to do everything to run away... So why hadn't he been lying in the middle of the tunnel, spread out like acollapsed deck of cards?

Thwonk! Thwock! Twang!

The unmistakable sound of bow-strings, coupled with the quickly approaching whistle of arrows, seemed to be a clear indicator as to why... Druid Girl raised her head in surprised terror, as three curde arrows quickly made their way from further down the tunnel towards her kneeling-down frame, next to the collapsed, former adventurer.

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red wasn't surprised by the lack of stuff, the only things the goblins probably wouldn't bother with were baubles anyway. From their looks they weren't vain creatures so what would they do with the ring from a finger, or a necklace of leather and pewter? Since no one in the group found any treasures or traps it was mutually agreed upon to continue deeper into the cave. Was this a natural formation, or had it been dug out by goblins? Or animals? Animals had a purpose, a den for their young and themselves. What was a goblins purpose aside from wanton destruction?

Delving into the next tunnel they went, the only light seeming to be the fairy and the reptilian mans torch. Up ahead was a shape in the darkness, which got him to clench his hand a little on the grip of his studded club. As they got closer it was shown to be the body of a male, a priest judging by the white garb. He'd see it before the others since he took up so much of the tunnel. "Well that's one from the previous group..." He murmured softly just as Druid Girl squeezed her way around him.

He didn't stand idle while she went to the body, he stepped forward, pretty much looming over her as she touched the body. It slumped over to reveal the damage fully, not just some spattering of blood. Considering his throat was torn out, but the front of his robes weren't saturated in dry blood, it might have happened after death. But it was doubtful.

The twangs of bows rung from up ahead making his eyes widen. An ambush had been laid for the group. That massive form leaned down fully, pulling Druid Girl into shielded embrace. While he moved he called back to Archer girl. "Get down!" When the arrows struck, or missed, he'd push Druid Girl back between his legs before grabbing the scruff of the dead priests clothes. Hoisting him up the dead youth would be a shield for them to proceed behind since a buckler was not nearly large enough to even bother trying to block arrows with.

[The Irish Tree]

As the group delved further into the den of the goblins, Steppe Archer couldn't help but feel the hairs on the back of her neck tingle. She imagined the others were experiencing a similar sensation...albeit she didn't know if Big Red had any hairs TO get tingled. Regardless, her anxiety was gnawing at her as they walked along. Her sword was clutched tightly in her hand, the spear she had received in the other.

The sight of the fallen adventurer was a gruesome one indeed, given that he looked to have been injured insanely badly. But...it didn't make sense. His injuries should have thrown him to the floor from their force...yet here he was, neatly sitting as if he hadn't been torn apart. It was then that her eyes widened, realizing that it was a trap. Before she could even yell anything towards the Druid Girl, arrows flew, and Big Red flew into action to block those arrows with body as a shield, and the corpse of the adventurer.

The archer would follow the words of her lizardman companion and get down, readying her spear. She would take up position behind her lizard companion once he was close enough for her to shimmy behind, ready to stab from behind him at the goblin archers. Right now, using her bow was too risky, especially since she could hardly see.

[Xaltwind]

"Hyah?!"

That was all of the noise Druid Girl could make, before burly and scaled arms swooped down, grabbed onto her and pulled the girl into a forceful embrace. It wasn't very pleasant, nor comfortable, but then again, neither was getting perforated by arrows. Speaking of, Big Red would soon learn that arrows already launched from bows moved much faster than even his reptilian reflexes, and een though one of the projecticles missed the mark entirely, the other found their way into the lizardman's massive frame. It seemed that despite their supposed weakness, goblins - or at least their archers - had enough power to pierce the hide and scales of a lizard.

Fortunately for the giant warrior, the arrows truck non-lethal areas of his body, with one imbedding itself in his great, big, broad shoulder and the other in his upper arm. As the giant grabbed the corpse of the deceased adventurering priest before himself and his sheilded maiden-in-distress, another volley of three arrows came whistling. Luckily, these three all struck the rather cold corpse-shield, rather than either of the live adventurers.

Shrieks and garbled noises could be heard from further down the tunnel, and soon the pitter-patter of tiny feet was heard. Within seconds, a group of no less than five goblins, each wielding their own weapon, ranging from a hand axe to what looked like broken-off femur to a dagger dripping with who-knows-what. The goblins using bows however, seemed to have stayed behind, not advancing with their fellow kin to rush in attack their invading enemies. The five attackers ran at somewhat different pace though, meaning they weren't all moving at the same speed, nor were they lined up next to each other in unified order either.

Druid Girl, having witnessed Lizard Fighter's rather macabre use of a fellow fallen adventurer as an impromptu barricade, was about to let loose a barrage of scolding words, but were thankfully interrupted due to the arrival of the new wave of goblins. While she was thankful that the big oaf had saved her supple butt from being turned into a pin cushion, she wasn't exactly thrilled about how he had managed it. Still, now wasn't the time for such matters.

The little fairy that the nature mage had summoned flew off, racing at the goblins and then beginning to however and circle above them, shedding its light over the quintet and making them less obfuscated by the glooomy dark of the cave. Reaching for her hip, Druid Girl unlatched her sickle - the spear she had been given by Big Red wasn't going to do much good right now, nor was she going to have time to start chanting and casting a spell, what with the little monsters almost already upon them.

The young girl scooched a bit away from Big Red, though not far, standing a bit to his left side. As the creepy, long-nosed freaks got close, three of them leapt at the red lizard, yelling and cawing like little madmen, while one raced towards Druid Girl and the other seemed to want to squeeze past the two frontliners to get to their archer-friend in the back.

[Kazemitsu]

Druid Girl let out a strange yelp when he shielded her with his body. Two arrows struck him, in the meatier portions of his arm like his shoulder and the other in his bicep. It hurt but they didn't cause much damage to the musculature beneath his crimson scales. Growling he pushed forward with his meat-shield, which received three arrows from the archers. Technically he could just keep the body up until they ran out of arrows, but they'd probably wise up after the third volley.

More goblin sounds came from ahead, which revealed more goblins. Roughly five more came charging ahead, just how many were there in this cave? Whatever, they'd die and nothing would miss the little green bastards. The mishmash of weapons didn't affect him, they each had their own style of movement and he had a rather large 'shield' that they'd have to work around.

Two of the three, their movements revealed by the little fairy, went for his allies. Sure he could interfere with the goblins attacks, but he'd have to trust the two women to handle themselves as he took on the remaining three. Their move speeds were different than each others, but that didn't matter. If they had clustered up they'd be more difficult to handle, swarm tactics could best the most skilled fighters.

The first goblin to approach was met with the dead body of the priest being dropped on it. A sudden dead weight of over one hundred pounds dropped on a child was a good way to keep it busy and struggle. The second goblin launched itself up, trying to stab his jaw from beneath with its femur dagger. Leaning to the left the crudest of crude knives went past. Whatever sludge was on that thing was pretty damn rank. Still his face turned as the knife went by and with a loud meaty snap his jaws closed on the goblins forearm. The third goblin, that had a rusty hatchet, came up last and swung its small limbing axe at him, only for that buckler to catch the blade. The wood thunked as the blade bounced off, leaving a notch in it.

His leg went forward, kicking the goblin away as its weapon rebounded off his small shield. A clench of his jaw and a bone breaking snap rung out before he grabbed the screaming wounded goblin by its head as he released its arm from his meat-tearing teeth. Without missing a beat the goblin was thrown at the wall.

[The Irish Tree]

There wasn't anything to do, save for kill so that they could not be killed. Her spear in hand, the Steppe Archer wasn't hesitating at the sight of Big Red's onslaught. The Lizard had the three facing him under control, leaving the one coming for the Druid, and the one coming for her up to them. Steeling herself, the Archer would ready her spear and, seeing an opening as the goblin charged. She would step forward and with a twist, run the goblin's chest through with her wooden spear. Letting go, she wasted no time in advancing on the now-dying goblin that was sent reeling from being run through. It wasn't dead, but so long as its hands could move, the archer would fight it. Pulling her sword free of its scabbard to drink of goblin blood, the archer was swift in her movements, cutting the reeling monster's throat before it had a chance to retaliate.

Hurriedly drawing her bow to try and shoot back at the goblin archers faintly illuminated by the fairy's light, Steppe Archer would let one arrow loose to try and thin their numbers before turning to see how the Druid Girl had fared with her goblin, hoping that her arrow in the dim light had met its mark on an archer.

[Xaltwind]

As the three goblins who charged and lunged at Big Red learned the obvious lesson of why you don't attack something that's eight times your own size, the Steppe Archer made short work of the little git who had aimed to attack her. Big Red's corpseshield protected the lizardman against another volley of three arrows, before a gargled outburst of unintelligible noise errupted from further down the tunnel. Apparently, the archers weren't keen on trying to shoot at him anymore, for the moment.

That being said, the goblin that went for the Druid Girl faired little better than its brethren. Although initially forcing the nature mage to evade a shaky shank-attempt by its rather crude weapon, the girl soon gained the upper hand in the one-on-one, due to the simple fact of her longer arms. The goblin managed to stagger back and avoid a swing form her sickle, but was then too eager to charge ahead - finding himself with a new nose-piercing, as the girl swung her instrument upwards once more.

Shrieking and flailing wildly, with the crescent metal tool still protruding from the top of its elongated, ugly snout, Druid Girl proceeded to pull the sickle sidways, ripping through the little creature's nostril and nose, causing it to hang limply like a goopy, drippy, lumpy sock. Screaming in rage and pain, the goblin could do little else than clutch at its destroyed smelling-organ, before another swing of the sickle came from the side and tore through its throat, causing the little greenskin to topple backwards and gurgle pathetically as it struggled vainly to resist choking to death on its own blood.

The archer's attempt to shoot at the goblin archers further down the tunnel proved fruitless though. The pixie had ffollowed the five charging goblins, not the archers, and so the shot had just taken flight into relative darkness, striking against the stone walls of the cave and breaking harmlessly from the impact. Of course, the shot itself had the effect of putting fear into the little missile-slinging wretches, as they squawked and shouted, before the pitter-patter of their tiny feet could be heard.

.. Except the sound was growing distant and fainter... It seemed they were retreating further into the cavern.

With the immediate ambush dealt with, and their foes lying bloodied and broken at their feet, Druid Girl had her little fairy fly about the area around them, looking behind corners and behind small outcroppings. Just to make sure there was nobody lying in ambush just within their vicinity. When nothing was found however, the little glowing thing returned to its summoner, sitting itself down atop her head like a little, glowing light bulb.

Druid Girl let out an apparently held breath, letting her shoulders soften a bit. She took a breath, then another, and then looked around at her companions.

"Are you two okay? Do you neeed any healing?" She asked, voice a bit frazzled but otherwise fine. She hadn't personally killed something in a rather long time, so the actual deed of having taken a life - even if it was the life of an evil, wicked, filthy and unsavory goblin - was something she'd need to get used to again. After all, she usually let the more battle-focused members of her previous parties deal with the actual death-dealing, while she'd focus on support and post-battle clean-up.

"How many... How many is that now? You two downed five at the entrance, and we got another seven here." She asked and monologued a bit aloud to herself. "Hopefully, there aren't many left. "

She then flicked her sickle to remove some of the blood from it, as well as wiping the rest off on the dirty rags of the gobo she ahd herself had killed. Then, the caramel-skinned, golden-eyed lass turned to Big Red, a frown on her face and her eyebrows lowered. If they hadn't been in a situation whert she needed to keep her weapon ready, she probably would have had her hands on her sides as well.

"Also, you!" She said in a serious tone. "I appreciate you protecting me, but you can't do something like that." She said, pointing with her free hand at the corpse with six arrows now stuck in it. "That one was an adventurer, just like us. He deserves better than to be treated like some makeshift shie- What the what!?! You've got arrows in you!! Are you okay!?" HEr upset and scolding lecture and tone quickly changed to that of genuine concern and worry, as she dropped her sickle and quickly ran over to the lizardman to inspect his shoulder and bicep, grabbing gently onto his arm with her soft slender hands..

"A-Archer! Are you okay? You didn't get hit too, did you?" She asked hirriedly, peering around Big Red's side to look at her lion mane-haired friend.

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red eyed the goblins and their feeble movements. One was bleeding out through its mangled arm, another was having difficulty breathing from shattered ribs probably tearing up its lungs. The final was unhurt, just pinned down by a dead body. Easy pickings, and he had been wise to let the girls handle their own goblins. He'd have probably been cut up for splitting his attention three ways.

But the time for congratulations wasn't now, now it was time to make sure these things didn't play dead. The one pinned by the young adventurers body spoke its gobbledegook at him as that massive arm came up. His fist clenched and he slammed it down into its skull, splattering it like a rotten melon. Righting himself, with grey-matter plopping off his mitt, he went to the other downed goblins. The mangled arm was unconscious at this point, from blood-loss and from him chucking it face first into the wall. A hard stomp to its neck made it snap like a twig, killing it like the first.

The final one had managed to roll over and was trying to crawl away, but no amount of adrenaline could pump through a body to get it to counteract a shattered rib-cage and punctured organs. This one met the same fate as the second, a hard stomp to the neck to destroy its spine. Druid Girl was the first to speak now that the fight was over and the goblin archers had retreated. He turned those reptilian eyes towards the caramel colored girl when she addressed him.

"I meant no offense to him, and I'm sure if his spirit were here he'd be glad to have protected us even in death from deadly arrows in a tunnel with no escape." He rumbled out. As pragmatic as he was he would have used something else if it had been available. Aside from his still very living flesh of course, that's an emergency only kind of deal. Of course after a moment she noticed the arrows and halted her scolding.

Her concern earned her a low toned laugh as he shook his head. "I'm fine, we'll remove them after we're done here. Even if they're poisoned I have a natural resistance to such things." He said, disease and poisonous flora and fauna in a swamp were exceedingly common. Granted it was a resistance, not and immunity. This was also why he told her to get potions and antidotes, so if it started to really affect him, or if they got poisoned, they'd have what they needed.

His uninjured arm went up and he snapped a portion of the arrow shafts off so they wouldn't get caught on every little snaggable thing. But there was enough left to aid in the removal. "We should continue since we currently have them on the run." He said once Druid Girl made sure Archer Girl was okay. Stooping he grabbed two of the dead goblins by the ankles, holding them in one great mitt. It looked like they'd be the newest meat-shields despite their lack of covering size.

[The Irish Tree]

Amidst the goblins' hasty retreat, Steppe Archer felt that this was a good sign that they had the upper hand here. After all, Big Red took 3 down on his own, and even the Druid Girl was able to kill one in melee combat. While the Druid Girl was upset, and their lizard companion had taken a few arrows, they all seemed to be relatively intact and well. The thought of the arrows being poisoned hadn't crossed the girl's mind...a downside of her hunter's mentality. She assumed that one wouldn't poison something they were killing with a projectile...but it made perfect sense if you wanted to just kill an intruder.

At the question of her health, Steppe Archer beamed proudly in the dim light, proclaiming: "I'm fine. I'd be ashamed if I was taken down by one goblin, of all things," she said, dusting herself off just a bit. She was surprised that the Druid Girl seemed capable of handling her goblin without much issue. Her father had told her once that the magi could not be trusted when magic faltered, and might was needed...but, it seemed that he was wrong. Despite the blood and odor Steppe Archer would keep smiling even as Big Red got lectured for his macabre defense that he seemed intent on keeping up, grabbing two goblins to use as shields. It was slightly humorous seeing the pale green forms dangling. Minus the whole blood spilt and nose severed.

Following behind the Lizard Fighter, Steppe Archer said: "Tread carefully. I bet they have some sort of traps deeper in."

[Xaltwind]

Druid Girl would sigh a breath of relief at Big Red's low laugh and rumbling assurance that he was fine. Although the mention of possibly poisoned arrrows amde her slightly worried again. From the looks of their little greenskinned foes' weapons and armor, they didn't exactly keep their tools in a state of well-maintained way... More like, they actually seemed to purposefully coat them in... Stuff... And let them rust and get mangled and chipped... Was it some kind of tactic to make their implements of carnage seem more menacing? Or were they just negligient? Questions for later, as the Steppe Archer remarked that she was perfectly healthy, beaming that sunny smile of hers. Druid Girl couldn't help but chuckle quietly at the boundless positivity that the nomad girl had, even in a dark and dank place like this.

Big Red's comment about the priest being 'happy to have protected them in a place with nowhere to run or take cover' did little to ease the druid's displeasure about the whole corpse-shield-deal though. She was pretty sure that, even if she were to die, she wouldn't want someone to use her limp and lifeless frame as a bulwark or cudgel... She'd rather be laid to rest in peace within the comforts of the dirt and soil... Wow, that wasn't a dark and gloomy thing to consider at all. The girl shook her head to shake such depressing things from her mind. Didn't need to think about where'd she end up once she was dead right about now... Especially not now. She stilll had at least another ten decades to go before that was a concern, right!?

It seemed their lizardman-friend was intent on using the corpse-shield-idea further, albeit thist ime he grbbed two of the dead goblins rather than the fallen priest. Speaking of him, Druid Girl approached the dead youth and knelt down. With some shaky and fidgety hands, she gently began to run her fingers and palms across the boy's cold, dead frame, until she finally found something that made her stop. Reaching inside his bloody garb, she withdrew a small item, his tag. It was of porcelain-rank, the same as her and her allies. She looked at it with a frown and sad eyes, before gently tucking it into her belt-pouch and rising once more.

"Yes, let's move on. I can't imagine there're too many of these little monsters left now." She said in agreement with their archer's sugestion to press on now that they had the momentum.

The pixie took the iniative, and zipped on ahead down the tunnel where the goblin archers had previously been, following one of the rocky walls as it descended down an uneven and craggy incline. If one wasn't careful, their foot could easily get caught in a small crevice or trip over a stone or slip on some loose pebbles. Granted, the downward slope wasn't steep at all, so it wasn't like you'd fall to your death if you tripped, but landing face-first on any kind of stoney ground wasn't exactly pleasant. The trio marched on though, their red lizard warrior in the front, followed by the druid and archer in tow.

When the tunnel, which was coiling downwards, eventually ended and gave way to a new chamber, the three adventurers became privvy to an unexpected sight. Apart from the cavernous room having a much taller ceiling than before, there were also an abundance of hay on the floor. Like, a very considerable amout, enough to make the stoney cave floor below it alsmost impossible to see. These goblins must've been plundering that poor, unpleasant farmer's haystacks and barn somehting fierce, if they'd managed to gather enough of this stuff to cover the entire floor. The room was a good size too, though apart form the hay, lacked in any other immediate features or noteworthy assets... Except for one glaring thing.

"... Wha- What?! Where're the goblins who ran down here?!" Druid Girl blurted out, blinking in disbelief at the sight.

Indeed. The room was an uneven oval shape, but apart from the tunnel they'd come doqwn through, there were no other exists or cracks or holes along the other walls. It was just solid rock, plain and simple. So unless the goblins had turned invisible, they should've by all accounts been in this room... But they were not. Why was that?

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red's ear flicked back when Archer Girl spoke up, she was perfectly fine despite having to get into a melee scuffle. That little bit had always baffled him when it came to long range, they normally didn't do well in melee. Why train in one specific way and deny yourself protection when your original way was taken away? Meh, thoughts and questions for later on. As they started moving again Archer Girl spoke up about potential traps ahead. They had already encountered one, more did seem plausible.

He did halt when he took note that Druid Girl was looking for something on the dead young man. Looting a corpse? Doubtful, she found his Tag. With that task done they were able to proceed further into the caves. It was a pretty straight forward cave thankfully, nothing too big and windy. The fairy had gone on ahead to reveal what it could, and what Druid Girl said couldn't be far off. There shouldn't be many goblins left. Five at the entrance, another five in the cave, and however many the previous group had taken out. Although a distinct lack of blood splatters around was confusing to him. The goblins clearly weren't about cleanliness.

Despite the uneven ground he moved well through it. He wasn't a foot dragger and his feet spread out for better grippage on the ground with each step. As they entered the next room his eyes went all over. It was larger, it was ovular, there was hay everywhere, and there weren't any goblins that they could see. The hay on the ground was decently thick, and the fairy traveling the walls revealed no openings or crags.

Druid Girl spoke up questioning where the goblins were. "Light another torch, check the walls. Move the hay as well just in case they have a fire trap. This dry stuff will spread fire like crazy." He said, a lantern would be really preferred right now. But a spark from a torch wouldn't light this stuff up, it was to weak of a starter. Without missing a beat he moved further into the room, actually using the dead goblins in hand to sweep the hay away from himself and to fully reveal the ground underfoot. For the most part, goblins didn't make for good brooms.

[The Irish Tree]

Steppe Archer, seeing the druid girl grab the porcelain tag from the adventurers' corpse solemnly touched her own. ...It made sense to have a method to identify a body, but...it was beyond depressing to imagine that they had miniature tombstones on their person. And someone may never have even found the adventurer's body if they hadn't come along. It sat unwell with her...and she felt that, once this was over, he at least deserved a proper sort of burial. She'd want one herself...or to at least have her body delivered home.

As they made their way down the winding tunnels, the Steppe Archer had to wonder just how large this burrow really was. ...It didn't make sense for a small goblin nest to have so much space. And, once she saw the room, her suspicions only grew. ...The goblins were absent, and there was all this hay. The chamber was devoid of any sort of exits, and there was no way the goblins could have slipped past them. ...She wanted to slap herself for how obvious of a trap this was. "We need to get out of here. I think they doubled back through some sort of passage to avoid us. ...This room is a trap," she said, trying her best to remain calm as she readied her bow. "Can you send the fairy back up the stairs to see if there are any goblins," she would ask to the Druid in hopes that maybe they could catch the goblins in their own trap. If they threw a firebomb in here, or something flammable, they had no chance. ...She also hoped she was right, and didn't sound insane. Animals doubling back over their tracks to avoid being followed was common in nature...and she should have expected for a goblin to think more like an animal when it was on the run.

[Xaltwind]

At the behest of Big Red, Druid Girl took the torch she had hanging on her hip and, with a practiced move, allowed a fresh new blazing star to be born! ... Or, well, a new source of limited light anyway. She also began to move along the edge of the oval-shaped chamber, sending her little fairy in the opposite direction, while Big Red seemed content with just wading into the hay and swinging his goblin-corpse-broom from side to side. It was a bit... Macabre to watch, and while she had begun to understand that this big lumbering lizard was of a very practical mind-set, he seemed to be lacking in the whhole, common sensibility-department. They'd have to have a talk once they got out of this place, or so she thought.

Her search was interrupted though, as the voice of their archer-friend, sounding rather panicked and frantic, rang out across the underground locale. She urged them to fall back and that this place was a trap, which seemed likely enough. Calling out to her fairy, which turned around and tilted its head quizzically, before then zipping on past the Steppe Archer and back and up a bit in the sloping tunnel they had arrived from, Druid Girl began making her way back towards the entrance of the cavernous room. She did not get far though, as Big Red's sweeping suddenly met with an abrupt stop and a very noticeable 'Bonk!'-sound, that sounded far too much like something wooden and far too little like rock or dirt.

Neither of the three adventurers had much time to respond though, as almost as soon as the wooden... Whatever... had been disturbed, a series of shrieky cries were heard. NExt thing they knew, a set of three planks went flying out from underneath the hay in the center-most part of the room, and the three goblin archers from before suddenly popped out like jacks-in-a-box. Two of them let loose arrows aimed at Big Red, while the third was aiming for the stationary Steppe Archer further away. But the ambush didn't end there, for another set of squealing was heard, and four more little green gremlins soon followed out of the hole, each wielding slightly more intimidating weaponry than those before, including an actual hatchet, a longsword and what looked like quality hunting knives for the last two. Without letting a moment after their marksmen had fired go to waste, the four new melee-combatants charged ahead, two on each side, at Big Red straight infront of them - apparently dead-set on bringing the big hulk down first.

Druid Girl let out a mixed gasp of surprise and horror at the sudden attack. Amusingly, the pixie who had flown back up the tunnel didn't encounter any goblins at all... It seemed that these little bastards had hidden themselves under the hay, and then just waited to attack as soon the adventurers got too close. The thing Big Red's goblin-broom had clunked into must've been some sort of primitive alarm or signal that told the goblins when their enemy was close enough! Still, this was very bad, seven goblins were now attacking them all at once! Grabbing the hilt of her sickle tightly, Druid Girl was unsure what to do... If Big Red got injured or knocked down, he might drop his torch, which would set all of the hay on fire - and probably kill everyone here. Even if Steppe Archer and herself didn't get incinerated, the smoke would likely choke them before they could get out - especially since the distance back out out of the cave wasn't insignificant. On the other hand, if she charged ahead and tried to help her lizard-friend, the archers would have an unobstructed path to shooting her down, and she had neither shield nor armor to withstand a volley of arrows, nor any defensive spells.

What was she to do?!

[Kazemitsu]

Big Red glanced back when Archer Girl spoke up about the room being a trap and that they should double back. "I'm not sure they're smart enough to make or hide another passage." He said, she seemed a bit panicked by this thought. Wouldn't that mean it'd be best to just watch their back while they explored the room? Behind they knew was clear, this room there wasn't any way to tell if it was truly empty or not.

He had continued to sweep the floor with the bodies of goblins, getting enough of the hay out of the way to see the ground. It looked like he was looking for a hatch, a fox hole, some sort of opening in the ground that the goblins could have exploited to get away or to try and hide from the trio. A wooden bonk rung out just in front of him, his 'brooms' had knocked something wooden. A plank maybe? He doubted the farmer had a wooden bell.

Either way the sound was clearly a signal since the goblin archers from before just popped up like a cluster of gophers and fired off immediately. Two for him, one for someone behind. Raising his 'shield' the goblin corpses caught an arrow, the second caught him in his gut and earned a grunt of pain. "Get back to the tunnel!" He called back to the girls as four melee goblins rushed out of the archer goblins little peek-a-boo pits. Why did he try to send them back? Druid Girl could keep Archer Girl safe while the Archer could pelt the goblins that she could see.

Apparently he was the target of the four, and it was tempting to just drop his torch and burn the goblins. But it'd wind up being a mad scramble back up to beat the smoke and who knew how far those little pits of theirs went. The cave would never completely fill with smoke, not with something as fast burning as hay but it'd be impossible to fight while prone. A longsword, hatchet, and two daggers...most likely the equipment from the previous adventurers. But where were their bodies? A thought for later.

He rushed forward as a mountain of red-clad muscle to meet the goblins charge and to provide as much light as possible for Archer Girl to work with to nail the goblin archers. Growling the goblins zipped in, each going for a different part of him given the different reaches of their weapons. The knife wielders leaped up to get some height to try and stab him, but they were met with the corpses of their brethren being swung by him. Knocking the pair away and probably discombobulating them a little.

He let the momentum carry him into a spin, normally a bad idea to present your back to enemies. But he had something normal bipeds didn't. The longsword goblin rushed in and swept its blade at his back, but about mid-swing that purely muscled tail caught it in the middle. A sickening crack and it was launched across the room to slam into the wall thanks to the powerful momentum-filled swing from that pure muscled tail. The fourth goblin finally got close enough to get its own swing in as Big Red completed his spin and rise.

The hatchet caught the behemoth in the leg, splitting the leather pants he wore and cutting into the muscular limb beneath. Unfortunately for the goblin that hurt, which pissed off the behemoth. With an animalistic snarl his hand came down, fully engulfing the goblins head. With a harsh thrust straight down his superior muscle power fueled by anger forced the goblin to cave in on itself like an accordion. Except shattered bones exited the skin instead of musical notes. Rage fueled stupid strength, was he just a fighter?

[The Irish Tree]

Steppe Archer had made a critical error in judgement. She'd assumed that because the hay was mostly undisturbed that they couldn't be hiding in it...but now, her error had put her in danger. Even a single arrow, well-aimed enough could kill an experienced adventurer. Its for this reason she was dumbfounded by her luck that it found its painful purchase within her leg, forcing the girl to let out a cry of pain. She could hardly stand, and her hands were shaking from the pain of it. Wincing, she looked back at the Lizard Fighter who, despite his numerous arrow wounds, was fighting on, and fighting as hard as ever. If she were alone, she might have passed out from the pain of it just from lack of experience...but here someone was, fearlessly fighting in spite of what now amounted to over five arrows piercing their flesh. To say that it gave her courage was an understatement.

It gave her resolve.

Gritting her teeth the Archer, now slightly crippled, took a knee to let her injured leg rest to feel a little less excruciating physical agony. Drawing her bow, her eyes hardened just a bit as she saw Big Red take a hatchet to the leg. "Ancestors preserve us...if we make it out of this, I'm never hunting goblins again," she said, fully aware now that they had vastly underestimated these beasts. But still, a beast was a beast. And she was an amazing hunter. One arrow flicked past the lizardman's shoulder, sinking straight into the head of one of the archers. A second arrow from her would drop another. A third followed, this time aimed at one of the goblin knife wielders who, unfortunately, managed to rise just in time to keep from getting stuck with an arrow. Cursing at herself under her breathe, Steppe Archer shuddered. ...If their arrows were as rusty as their weapons, they would need that antidote soon. Especially Big Red.

[Xaltwind]

The ballet of bloodshed that unfolded before her eyes was so intense, that for a bit, Druid Girl could do nothing but stand and stare at the spectacle. Big Red single-handedly fought off multiple assailants, all attacking him at the same time, using every bit of his body as a weapon - and apparently a sponge for sharp things as well. Her archer-friend swiftly took down two of the three goblin archers, despite their low profiles and the relative shoddy lighting in the cavern, this huntress still managed to land her shots! To say these comrades of her wwre impressive was an understatement to no small degree! Were they really just rookie porcelain-ranks?

Druid Girl's internal questions were soon interrupted though, as she realized that her friends were perhaps not doing as well as she'd thought. Big Red was looking like he was getting more and more agitated, acting and sounding more like a wounded beast rather than a warrior. As for the Steppe Archer, she had originally thought the girl had knelt to take better aim... But no, she was hurt! The nature-lover's eyes shot wide as she realized this, and that she had been completely useless thus far in this skirmish. But what was she to do? Big Red seemed to be able to handle the goblins on his own, especially since four of them were already undoubtedly dead, but just how many more cuts, nicks and arrows could he suffer before going down?

As for Steppe Archer... She was a sitting duck. No way could that little lioness run or avoid any incominbg attack now that she'd more or less been hamstrung! She had no spells that could reach the goblins from this distance herself, and no ranged weapons other than the small stones in her bag... No, attacking wasn't what she needed to do now! She needed to tend to her comrades before they became too crippled to defend themselves.

While the goblins who had wielded knives were getting back onto their feet, the goblin archer screamed in anhorrent anger and fear, loosing another arrow - this one aimed at Big Red's legs and feet. It was apparent that after witnessing one of its brethren being squashed into a goblin-patty, it had decided that the big scary lizard was a much more immediate threat than the distant girls. Once the two other gobs were on their feet again, they wouldn't charge at the lizard again, but rather began scrambling for the knives they'd dropped when swatted away. They seemed smart enough to realize that attacking him without any sort of tool would be tantamount to suicide. Not taht it wasn't such in regardless, but at least with weapons it was less of complete suicide.

With sickle in one hand and the torch in her other, Druid Girl ran as fast she could, sandal-clad feet making faint sounds as she ran across the hay back towards the chamber's entry. Once reaching her wild-haired friend, she knelt down, dropping the sickle by her side and extending a hand. An anxious, worried expression plastered across her face, with those golden eyes having a mix of fear and concern in them.

"H-hold still! I'll heal you right now." She said, flustered and nervous in her tone.

With a shaky hand, she placed it close to the archer's leg. Beginning to chant the words to her spell, a soft, white-ish blue light began to emit from her palm. And so, painlessly, the arrow in the huntress' leg began to slowly be pushed out of the wound it had made, seemingly by some invisible force. Once the gritty and shabby arrowhead finally plopped out, the wound itself began to close and the bleeding ceased. Sadly, apart form sealing the injury up and stopping the blood, the magic did little to dull the pain much - it eased it a tiny bit, sure, but it wasn't gone.

Looking over at the bloody arrow that now lay next to Steppe Archer's leg, Druid Girl furrowed her brow and then look straight at her companion's face once again.

"You should drink an antidote soon, just to be safe." She urged, before grabbing her sickle from the ground and rising back up. "Big Red! You alkright? I'll come help you, just hang on!" She called out to the big brute, before - carefully - positionign herself in such a way that the goblin archer wouldn't be able to have a clear shot at the downed archer, as she ran towards the lizard figher's aid.