To her surprise, Hugh volunteered to have Kosara be his partner for the ambush. As far as her physical abilities and skills went, she would agree completely that she would be one of the best people in the group to move in the shadows. The logic behind her suggestion was tied to something else entirely, that she would have thought Hugh would have picked up immediately. Well, it didn't matter to her personally which of them went where as long as everyone could do what they needed to without half-assing it. As far as Kathryn's well-intentioned suggestion went, well she felt like there was more to be said in addition to Hugh's objection.

"In a different situation I might have agreed with you, Kathryn. Vigilantism often works in contradiction to the law and often causing more problems. But even if they were to surrender or we were to arrest them, a power which we do not possess mind you, how would we transport them? We don't have manacles nor enough rope with which to bind them, and our rental wagon wouldn't be able to hold them all. Given that we are in an area where local law enforcement is able to act effectively and we lack the authority or manpower to do so ourselves, the best thing we can do is remove this threat from the road entirely. If during the battle they surrender, then maybe we'll see about arrest. If nothing else we could interrogate any goblins about what they happen to be doing so close to the center of the region."

When Hugh cast his spell, she could see why he wasn't so concerned with how inherently noisy Kosara was. A spell like this forcibly muzzled her. Well, since they were about to move out, now would be the perfect time to Bless those who would stand beside her. Marita grabbed her water pouch and poured a small puddle of it in her palm, just enough so it wouldn't spill out. She placed her other hand over it and locked her hands closed.

"Moon and Star, grant your blessings upon thee."

With the words spoken, Marita threw the water in the air, and the droplets turned to light as they fell, showering her, Kathryn and Victoria. They glowed for an instant before it faded away, leaving them looking normal but the magic could be felt. Even as her words dropped like lead and light flared from her eyes, at the same time Pass Without Trace fought to keep it concealed, like containing an explosion.

With everything set up as well as they could be, Marita was the first to move. She attempted to maintain silence as much as she could. Even though she had taken point, there was no reason to give up the element of surprise while she still had it. However, despite her best efforts she could still hear her mail jitter and jangle far more than it usually did. Were it not for the spell Hugh cast she doubted that she would have been able to sneak up on a deaf mole right then. And for an instant, when that goblin by the campfire stood, she thought her noisy armor had given her away. She stopped dead in her tracks and held her breath as she watched it sneeze and return to its business. In the end, she stopped next to the tree by the road, hidden enough to not be in plain sight, but close enough to be maybe 10-15 feet of any goblin by the campfire, well within striking distance.

With everything set and people buffing up, Kosara sneakily moved like a spy or infiltrator, making it to the set meeting point nearby to the camp of goblins. It was some rather big rock… or two big rocks forming a rock formation. There wasn’t much to be said about it, except the fact that she REALLY wanted to climb up on said rocks in the outset of the battle. It was both a good spot to fire at people from and also a good spot to do a very heroic pose!

The white tiefling carefully took stock of where everybody was situated on the combat field so far. She and Hugh weirdly enough were flanking the rocks on both side, waiting for the thing to start. From what she recalled before moving about the rock, Marita and Kathryn were taking the front with brave Morty and V right behind them to provide them with bardic support! Music was important people! Especially in battle! As such Kosara recognized the value of combat bards. One needed proper heroic background to do heroic things, and music was one part of it! It was why armies marched on drums or other musical orders! Probably not, but she didn’t know that, to her drums plus armies equals very epic scene that must go down in history because heroic tales and stuff. So for the moment, Kosara was in her blissful land of fairy tales and delusions.

Suddenly she heard a sound! Kosara was in attention mode right away! Looking over the rock, sneaking a glance and saw the aftermath of the goblin just sneezing. She stared for a moment at the sneezing green bandit and had the sudden urge to give him good wishes then remembered – green cannibal bandit! No well wishes for them! Everybody seemed to be moving into position or had already moved to position. Now Kosara had the hard thing to figure out, were she and Hugh to initiate or were the melee gals to do so first. Hard to think hard to think. In the end she readied her light crossbow, ready to hop over to the side to have view as soon as the combat starts so she can shoot goblins with sharp pointy objects just as one does in stories!

There existed the briefest of battlefield short-speak which detailed the plan which they had intended to pursue. Things like this happen when new information crept into open knowledge. In this case, the true nature of their potential opponent. And while Victoria wasn't one who usually relied on such silly concepts as concrete plans, a generally agreed upon idea as to how they should proceed was more preferable then not. So what happened next was ever so slightly irksome to the young Bard. Still, it was not entirely without merit, and so Victoria gave a shrug and committed to placing herself where she she might be most useful.

The gift of deepening shadows and other barely tangible obscuring factors came as a welcome addition, even if this took place at the time of day when the sun was almost at its highest. It still functioned admirably to greatly enhance Victoria's stealthier abilities. A brief mental command had Morty following along in her footsteps as to minimize noise coming from the reanimated foodstuff, and soon she was on her way to position as planned.

The very recent conversation about offering surrender and arguments designed to counter said point flashed briefly through Victoria's mind. She didn't agree with the idea, thinking that such an offer was impractical at best and would ruin any chance at surprise. Seeing as they were outnumbered by almost two to one, this might be important. As drunk as the Goblins were all it took was one lucky shot to turn this outing into a tragedy, and they had more chances for this kind of luck that her compatriots. Still, if Kathryn was to deliver terms, she might as well get it over with. Owing to Victoria's nature, she refused to verbally weigh in on the issue. Who knew? Maybe this might deliver another, heretofore unforeseen option to the situation.

It was at this moment that things took a turn. Kosara moved to join Hugh, their resident sneakyperson, instead of backing up their frontliners. Kathryn's movement slowed to a cease along the road, stopping a bit short of taking point. Marita was out front and all alone; not helpless by any means but without someone covering her immediate vicinity. Victoria was no soldier, despite the martial sword at her waist or the well utilized dagger opposite it on her belt. But she was naturally a very dashing looking individual that could exude confidence in ways that seemed like magic. Plus, of course, she knew a bit of actual magic. Her place might not have been at the front of a fight, but damnit, someone else needed to be. She had a clerical blessing upon her, she told herself. Even if it was from Law deity. She would be fine.

Victoria felt a little bad about that last thought. Most of the deities to which she gave homage supported a code of ethic, though it was largely their own principals they upheld and not the concept of Law as its own divinity. It still didn't mean that the bless didn't itch a little, like an unexpected hug. She could sense the underlying power flowing through her, which hopefully she would use with something akin to dignity and sophistication.

These factors in mind, Victoria issued a quick mental command to Morty, subtly changing the nature of its standing orders to assist and bodyguard, and contrary to her usual tactics for health and well-being, moved as quietly as she could to support point by taking Marita's rear flank. Respectively, the walking, mummy-wrapped barbecue known colloquially as Morty took up position at Victoria's side. If they were going to do this, they might as well get this done. Victoria placed the most assertive, unshakable expression that she possibly could and rested her hand on the hilt of her rapier. A quick glance down confirmed the presence of a long, slender bag at her side. Whatever contingencies she could muster were in place. She gave a quick nod in Marita's direction, curious as to what was going to happen next. It was an exciting moment to be alive.

The change in formation was set, and the plan -as much of one as could be had- was settled. With his [Pass Without Trace] technique lying omnipresent over the area and the Cleric’s own “blessing” upon the frontliners, they were as ready as they might ever be. All that was left was to settle into position.

Hugh waited patiently, as his current comrades in arms carefully navigated the radius of his technique towards their respective places of readiness. In turn, once they had settled in, Hugh himself carefully concluded his intended path, pressed up against the side of a pair of large boulders, nestling himself with his back inside the small crevice formed between them, as the pale tiefling made her own way around to the other side of the rocks.

There was a moment of brief restrained panic and a sharp intake of breath that was swallowed by the unnaturally still air, as the Cleric’s armor and rather… absurdly bold open position nearly gave her away. [Pass Without Trace] was strong, but it was the furthest thing from invincible. Testing fate like that… being nearly right up in the enemy’s face… practically taunting them… It set his teeth on edge, but against all feasible odds, the concealment held… if barely. Were it not for the goblin’s sneeze, they’d likely have been made.

That moment of great stress over and done with, Hugh began to take slow, steadying breaths, steadying the beat of his heart to a quiet, familiar rhythm, the rhythm of the assassin.

‘Strike first.’

His right hand crept down, drawing an arrow from the quiver at the small of his back with less than a whisper, the sound swallowed by the Ki-infused environment.

‘Strike once.’

Even though the world around him seemed muffled and distant, he could still hear the steady thump of his pulse against his ear-drums, the absolute lack of background noise only making such a perception all the easier, as his left arm rose, bow in hand, and was nocked with the arrow in his right.

‘Strike last.’

Aiming down the shaft of the arrow with his eyes at the figure of the goblin in possession of a bow, the string drew back silently, as he waited for his agreed upon que, for someone to strike the opening blow.

‘This is the core principle of the art of assassination.’

And so it began. Though Kathryn wanted a chance to let the cruel and inhuman creatures get a chance at surrender, the others made it clear how in this case, it wasn't a feasible option. Some points on the goblins themselves, some on the logistics, and some points on how bringing them to justice how Kathryn proposed would have the same end result anyways. At least by blade it was fast, and they would hold their respective advantages. The half giant of a woman was glad that Marita expressed some sympathy towards Kathryn's proposal. Even if for Kathryn sake it was more so she could say to her own morals that she at least tried. As Marita, Victoria, and Morty the pig moved into position Kathryn debated her approach. She knew she could take a beating, and dish one out. But numbers of bodies and hands were not in their favor. So that was her current priority. Cripple their numbers as fast as possible to limit the goblins main advantage.

Passing Victoria Kathryn let her shield rest into place on her back. Though her chain mail made a decent chunk of noise the pass without a trace held long enough despite some close calls on her part. In her mind she was struggling, this is her first combat encounter with this new party who would clearly operate very differently then those she fought with in the past. She would have to not fight as aggressively as she had done in the past, she would need to keep in mind that as a pure martial she was alone. Though Marita could hold her own in situations like Kathryn was used too, being aggressive held a lot more risks then before. And without her former mentor her judgement in this fight would have to be hers and hers alone. And without a clear party leader there would also be little room to change the plans should things come up. Mentally she was scared, and she was anxious. Mentally she felt like she was unsure of her own abilities and was uncertain of her other party members. And now it was her turn to draw the bulk of the attention from these killers.

Physically her actions played out as one smooth movement. Though the professional killers of unarmed peasants and under armed civilians had won their battle, they were about to face off against a professional killer of killers. As the armored giant took her steps, she rotated her steps to fluidly change into a right handed throwing position sending her hand axe into into the first drunken fool. The axe collided with the target's head sending them to the dirt before he even knew what hit him. Within the same fluid motion Kathryn rotated briefly turning her back to change into a left handed throwing position sending her other hand axe into the chest of a second goblin who had only the split second of watching his friend across the camp fire get lobbed to react before dropping to the same fate.

Starting off her fight with two downed enemies boosted the wavering confidence of Kathryn Pyke. Now she was ready to fight and ready to bring her own former fears upon her enemies. Drawing her long sword with both hands Kathryn let out a blood curdling scream of rage and fury. "AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH" As if daring the next poor bastard to come and face her.

Hugh did not have to wait long for his que.

Kathryn had been rather vocal before about taking a straightforward approach, and it seemed true to form, she was the first to lead the charge. Luckily, she seemed to have forgone such a concept as asking for their surrender, but nonetheless, her approach was about the furthest thing from subtle.

As the towering woman’s throwing axes took a single life each with honestly frightening strength, Hugh’s attention refocused on his own task. The Target had startled with Kathryn’s approach, but even as he fumbled for her bow in a drunken stupor, Hugh exhaled slowly, held his breath and let his own arrow fly.

On a target as small as this in such an inconveniently angled and slumped position as it was, aiming for the head was not the wisest course of action. The skull was one of the hardest bones in any humanoid creature’s body, and reliably circumventing it oft required piercing the eye socket with your projectile. Hugh chose a far safer and larger target.

His arrow whistled smoothly into the goblin’s chest cavity, sliding between ribs into the heart. The Target jerked at the impact and then flopped back atop the rock and went still once more.

Three foes down. Five remaining. Already the odds were evened most nicely. Hugh reached for a new arrow and nocked it quietly, mindful of the fact that his whistling arrow would have well revealed his location, as he pressed himself back against the crevice between the rocks.

Marita waited for everyone else to move into position, doing her best to remain hidden pressed up against the tree trunk. Even with the element of surprise, it was the peak of foolishness to charge in alone outnumbered 8 to 1. That said, it was rather irksome that the person she thought would take point ended up hanging back almost as far as the ambush party. Well whatever, they didn't have the time to bicker over every point. She would have to take the lead and hope that the others would follow through to back her up.

There was a tense moment, and then Kathryn made her move, followed almost instantaneously by Hugh. Her eyes tracked the flight of the axes towards the goblins and began to move herself. As she ran, she turned towards the separate patch of goblins by the coffin and pointed at them with her mace.

"STRIKE."

Her spellcasting up to this point always sounded as if she were commanding reality itself to produce the outcome she desired, and she had been. But this utterance more than any other carried the impression of her barking an order at the cosmos and the cosmos answering. From the tip of her weapon flew out a spectral dagger, long and wicked, certainly not befitting any of the imagery one would associate with Pholtus or the way that Marita carried herself 99% of the time. The blade flew directly into the gut of one of the goblins and split open its bowels before it could even react. Having tasted blood, the spiritual weapon pointed menacingly at the other two, as if trying to determine which it would slay next.

Not breaking stride, Marita stepped over one of the tomahawked bodies to strike at the last goblin around the campfire. The mace found its mark directly in the chest of the goblin. There was no audible crack of bones breaking, but the feedback in her hand told her that it had done quite a bit of damage. Unfortunately her foe was still standing, but expecting every attack to be a one-shot kill was too hopefully naive. There were still quite a few left, but she hoped that they would be dealt with or distracted so that she wouldn't end up getting surrounded.

Victoria watched most of the plan metaphorically dissolve into a puzzling, foamy liquid which pooled disappointingly around her ankles. Somehow she had managed to get herself out in the front of an ongoing melee, where in all honesty Bards dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge should not be when there were warriors and armored clergyfolk about. It was a less than optimal situation, but there they were. Given a lack of options now that she was in the thick of things, it appeared to be the better action to move along with the flow of the conflict, pushing through to the other side as attempting to evade this situation was now impossible.

Given that Victoria was prone to supporting others in a fight rather than taking a more brutal approach, she decided to act in this regard as it came to Marita, as she had made it her priority to act as backup to the one taking point. In this case, it was the Cleric. If only her colleagues could see her now. To her credit, the purple clad Bard was quite the striking figure as she placed one careful, dexterous foot in front of the other in pursuit of her quarry, about a meter length of skillfully forged, sharpened steel clearing the throat of its scabbard with a muted metallic hiss. The cut & thrust rapier swished before Victoria, her face and movements radiating the kind of fearless confidence that only a great hero (or talented performer) could muster.

Meanwhile, the burlap-wrapped monstrosity which Victoria kept as a tusked beast of burden took off at a jerky, uneven gallop, skirting past Marita on the side of the gruesome cookfire opposite of its mistress, bearing down on the injured but not dispatched Goblin. The look of sheer, fearful distraction which crossed the diminutive adversary's face was temporary, as this opening allowed Victoria to plunge her blade into its chest and remove it in a single deft motion. The Bard believed in fighting effectively far more than she did fighting fairly, and would utilize whatever was available in the pursuit of pragmatism for this task. This included but was not limited to the use of reanimated swine.

As the blade exited the creature and its breath gurgled its last, Victoria swept herself into a functional pirouette, spinning a bit for flourish and for the practical effect of a quick survey of the battlefield around her. This fight was not done yet.

Kosara waited with held breath for the combat to start and then it did with a mighty sound of something hitting something fleshy and then Kathryn’s shout. All in all very adventure type beginning though it made her think if the woman was secretly a barbarian princess instead of a knight one. Both were types of warrior princesses so it wasn’t that far off and Kathryn the self proclaimed half giant certainly had the impressive musculature for a barbarian! Nowhere near enough leathers, furs and scars though… So mayyyyyyyybe not.

Suddenly tearing her mind away from academic and philosophical mental debates about the warrior woman’s very impressive body, Kosara took to action as she was hearing more and more sound of fleshy things being hit by stuff indicating goblins were being attacked! Nowhere near enough human groans of main for her party to be the victims. In a display of hurry and haste, the white tiefling threw herself at the rocks she was at and began climbing. Pulling herself up and jumping up along as her feet and tips of her brand new boots found good spots in the rock. Finally with a reasonably impressive flourish she hopped on top of the rock.’ Wow, it’s tall here! Hey I can see all the goblins!’ She thought. Most were read and there were 2 hiding in behind the overturned cart!

The white tiefling proceeded to strike a heroic pose while doing a bit of a turn in an overly dramatic fashion, crossing her arms with a flourish, braid swinging in the motion as she moved, one hand still holding the light crossbow, the other now now making a finger crossbow gesture at the two goblins behind the cart.” Your evil schemes and tomfoolery, shall end now, evil villains!!! In the name of all that is holy and pure and cheese! Especially cheese and maybe bacon, I shall smite you!” She proclaimed proudly.” By Sun that shines across the endless sands so I pray! SACRED FLAME!” Kosara proclaimed, doing her chant, doing the gestures and then making the fire finger crossbow gesture, calling forth a shining bright radiance to descend onto the goblin from on high. Very flashy and flashy was good as she struck a heroic pose despite the fact it didn’t really do all that much to the goblin except maybe annoy him. She had the high ground and if adventures that told her stories as a child have taught her anything, it's that the high ground was the best spot to be and the most heroic! They may also have mentioned the fact that it was the most dangerous spot to be, but that lesson had kinda slipped off her mind given she was a child with more than a few attention issues at the time and paying attention to the heroics of the story not the real lessons really.

But the gut-wrenching, blood-spewing, limb-rending, toe-licking horror of the day wasn't done yet! Oh no, there was more crimson vitality to spill across the fading grass and colorful tree sheddings of the season. The bold and noble(?) adventurers questing in the Avonshire region had done much to run over this green skinned speedbump on their way to glory, but the job had not been completed as of yet.

Likewise, the Goblins weren't ready to back down, either. The surprise had worn off, and there was going too be hell to pay for interrupting their revelry by slaughtering those in their drunken GobSquad. The gloves were off, and sharp, pointy implements were being readied with the intent to add structurally superfluous orifices to the collective torsos of their attackers, numbers be damned! Maybe their confidence came from a wine cask. Maybe they knew something that the party didn't. It was not their prerogative to reveal such secrets, if they existed in the first place, in the middle of this skirmish.

Suffice it to say, those surviving Goblins gripped their stabby things tightly and made horrible, lewd gyrations at the warriors nearby. They weren't going down without a fight, and meant every insult along the way.

Initiative has been rolled. The privilege of first attack goes to @rivaan. Let's see what Kosara the Tiefling has for us today. Your 48 hour window begins now, and remember to tag the next person in the rotation. Good luck!

Having taken a second to study the effects of her attack had brought, Kosara realized that it wasn’t much after all. It had made them angrier!” Ahhaaaa! You still survive, villains!” She proclaimed, pointing her hand at them in loud voice, as the ambush had already ended and they were all well aware they were under attack. Thus without really meaning it, Kosara had turned into the rather vocal point of the attacking force. Taking on a heroic pointing stance at the goblin she had just showered with burning light of justice, she narrowed her eyes.

Her entire form lightly crouched, eyes locked onto the goblin her entire form hunched into almost a leaping stance. Light gestures were made with her free hand as golden sparkles gathered at her center point between her upper horns. Crackling noise of energy filled the air around her.” FACE THE FURY OF THE SANDS! CELESTIAL BLAST!” She chanted as all the golden crackling energy hovering between her horns was unleashed in a golden beam, streaking through the air between her and the goblin she was aiming. It was one of the first spells her Grandpa Horny Golden Horse taught her. To channel the fury of the divine! He later taught her how to make it even stronger and thus they were here. It was the thing he told her to use whenever she REALLY needed to help the people by obliterating forces of evil!

The golden crackling energy impacted the goblin and when it was over, the creature was down! Kosara raised her hand up towards the sun in sign of victory.” One has been smitten off the face of this world! YOU ARE NEXT, VILLAIN! NO NEED TO SURRENDER FOR I HAVE THE HIGH GROUND AND YOU CANNOT ESCAPE MY WRATH!” She added, pointing at the other goblin next to the one she just very bravely whacked with a beam of celestial energy… from over 30 feet away, from a huge tall rock… Like a real darn hero! Just like in the stories she was told(not) as a child.

TAG NOTE: @Lewascan2

From his place behind the rock, Hugh heard the Cleric’s shout and the crackle of magic resolve into a pair of muffled underwater-esce impacts, Pass Without Trace continuing to do its best work despite his current concealment.

As he nocked an arrow and peered back out, He witnessed Victoria’s nimble blade claim the life of an injured goblin, who was apparently momentarily startled by the harassment of her abominable porcine undead.

He could hear the Tiefling’s still thankfully somewhat muffled ranting starting up from above, she having apparently scaled their cover in order to make some nonsense speech. That said, for all the time she wasted, she still managed to claim a greenskin life herself with some remarkable flashy fire and an eye-searing golden light-beam, leaving the team with only three opponents left… opponents in fairly inconvenient positions at that.

Grimacing, Hugh darted from his cover and across the road to seek shelter behind the trunk of a sizable tree instead, a position which also afforded him a much more favorable shot at the remaining Targets, now that the low-hanging canopy and his own allies weren’t unintentionally shielding for his foes.

Nocking his arrow once more, he sighted over the top of Morty and released it at the scrambling goblin that was screeching things he decided he was perhaps best off not being able to translate. Unfortunately, between having to hurriedly reposition and lacking time to properly line up the shot before his erratically-moving drunken target could settle into a more predictable movement, his theoretically equally accurate shot ended up burying itself just slightly into the right side of the goblin’s chest, barely enough so that it seemed to have missed the heart and instead invaded a lung, judging by the bloody hacking his Target was currently doing.

Hugh scowled and set to knocking another arrow just in case, but it seemed like they had managed to solidly command the momentum of this entire fight. He quite suspected the remaining Targets would be dead long before he could even make up his mind on which to shoot next.

@Remipa Awesome

The Chaos began. The goblins Kathryn realized stood no chance to their party. Though they had little experience working together so far they had destroyed the goblins in a single moment, leaving the remaining goblins with a surprising amount of courage to finish the fight. Hugh once Kathryn had kicked things off had taken out the lookout who appeared to have the only ranged weapon. Good, they'd have to get up close to Kathryn if they wanted to deal with her. Marita opened up with her own attacks, as if she commanded the goblins to perish with her words as a spectral blade dropped one, and she finished another. Which Victoria finished off rather smoothly, with assistance from Morty. The many magical lights that came from Kosara as she unleashed hell and fury onto a bunch of the goblins was something Kathryn couldn't even comprehend. And with Hugh still picking off stragglers from his position, these goblins really stood no chance. Any creature with an ounce of wit would know the battle was lost. But these creatures were either too dumb, or too drunk. Either way, Kathryn would oblige.

Kathryn quickly found herself out of position as the battle went on. Instead of being upfront and making sure combat stayed contained she found herself fallen behind. Looking at Marita and Victoria it seemed they held that flank down rather well. TO help wrap things up Kathryn decided she would close in from the other direction. As Kathryn made her way towards her next target she passed over the coffin, briefly wondering what the story around this caravan was before the goblins had attacked it. If any survived she'd ask about.

From the point of view of Kathryn's target, the goblin would get a split moment to see his buddy blasted from a blast of all blasts, and brief moment of smoke and debris as the sound of heavy metal and chains rattled towards him, getting only the briefest chances to see the armored half giant bring her large sword down from above and struck him down. Kathryn stood over last target. There couldn't be many left now could there?

Tag Note:@Sigil(Says DM next but if I need to tag for Marita I can change it)

The push of this blitzkrieg attack against the Goblin bandit squad did very little to despoil the land, and in fact, wasn't doing much to upset the usual sounds of the wind and wood around them. Oh yes, the squirrels and birds of the land did an excellent job getting away from the fray, and Kathryn's warcry from earlier did shatter the slumber of the odd, unwary burrowing mammal nearby. And let's not forget the crackling golden energy blast delivered by the Tiefling atop the high rock, accompanied by various admonishments to the general naughtiness of the ruthless greenskins below. Or the screaming and jabbering of the Goblins themselves as they realized that stabbing was afoot.

So I retract my previous statement. Despite the quiet surety with which this group saw to the combat on its outset, the following moments could have been heard by an elderly Dwarf wearing earplugs, fresh from the pounding, ringing hammers of an active forging operation during wartime.

Yet, even over this, as if finding the one moment wherein loud noises were not happening and attention from the majority of the group had eyes upon, or at least peripheral vision containing, a certain human-sized wooden box nearabouts to the road, one could hear the scrambling of movement coming from within. More than this, an even less astute observer would have had no problems hearing a hollow THWAP as something violently connected with the interior or the coffin's lid hard enough for it to swing up an inch or two before slapping back down.

Following this - silence.

@Dragoknighte Marita is up next. Good luck!

While it was annoying that nobody had actually really followed the plan they had agreed upon, their surprise attack had gone over well. Too well. For her to disarm the goblins they first needed to have armed themselves, and now that they had, the flow of battle was so against them that doing so was more counter-productive than simply pressing the offensive.

She caught wind of Kosara's theatrics and the noise coming from within the coffin; you'd have to be completely daft not to, but she didn't let it distract her from the current goal, wipe out the last goblin she could see. They had the momentum with them and letting it slip away now could provide the enemy a chance to escape and return with reinforcements.

As if still thirsty for blood, the spiritual dagger flew around the tree and embedded itself in the final goblin's throat. Its face was frozen in horror as it died, the only one with enough time to truly process how dire its situation was. Marita felt a twinge of pity, but it passed as soon as she looked away. Now that all the present threats were taken care of, she could turn her focus to the unknown. Although it was a bit rash, it would be better to see what was inside directly, rather than waiting for it to make the first move. Since she was right next to it, she would take the risk. The cleric made sure to keep her shield up and ready as she put away her weapon and flipped open the lid of the coffin.

Aw, they look so cute when they're sleeping, don't they? Wait! It's not sleeping! It's not sleeping! Dear sweet and merciful bacon, it's on my face! AaaaAAAaAaArrRrRRRRrrgle!

Alright, so it's not really on anyone's face, but not for a lack of trying. Yes, this was a Goblin who found a spot to sleep it off. The lightly swelling spot on its forehead might be an indicator as to what happened to the coffin lid a moment before. The deranged and highly confused creature gives a faux-innocent grin which exposes a piece or two of poorly cooked person caught between its pointed teeth. In an instant it springs up and gives Marita a mighty shove. Mighty shove! The mightiest, possibly! Wait, no? Okay, nevermind.

Unfortunately, it didn't realize that there was a bit of a size difference, and he wasn't really at his best, so said shove doesn't so much as move Marita more than it might take to fend off the creature with her shield, if even that. Disturbed at the scene of Goblin carnage around, the small bandit takes the opportunity to Disengage and run for it. Just, absolutely haul his potentially doomed, green posterior out of there as quickly as possible. Before anyone could react, it's shoes were already on the road, headed west, screaming up demons in its high-pitched, wiry voice (which you might swear was nothing but profanity even though no one speaks this language) and waving its arms about like a demented Kermit the Frog.

On the other hand, so far as coffins go, this one actually looks fairly comfortable. Perfectly suitable for a very, very loooooong rest.





The more astute of you might have noticed a discrepancy in the numbers on the map. This was on purpose. In any case, this tiny oversight will be repaid with blood. The tree (specifically, the large one north of the campfire and east of the overturned cart) suddenly rustled with activity, its temporary residents visible for only a moment as ranged attacks were executed. But more to that in a moment. Unlike their colleagues, these two goblins had taken to something of a strategy; their leather armor was plastered with fallen leaves from the foliage of the area and they took to the branches, their lithe and lighter forms better able to maneuver in the branches. Though what they might have used as adhesive might be a question best left unasked.

The duo, silently agreeing that the sight of their erstwhile sleeping companion, Coffin Goblin, running off screaming might just be the best opportunity to launch their counterattack, chose wholeheartedly to do just that. The targets were chosen partly out of tactic and partly out of convenience; the former being the Cleric, Marita, who had demonstrated painful mastery of divine magic which eviscerated two of their companions, and Victoria, who was simply nearby and thusly an easier target.

The first arrow flew from the soft cover of still thick red-orange leaves, shifting its course slightly in the light wind but still making its way to its target. The jagged, irregularly shaped arrowhead found its mark, mailing the Cleric smartly in her center mass with a sudden sharp twinge. Luckily, Marita's armor holds out remarkably, making the attack more of an action that gathered attention.

The second arrow also found its mark, entering Victoria's shoulder in a place where her light armor did not expertly cover. The fletching quivered for a split second as the arrowhead came to an abrupt stop. It might have just settled on something hard underneath her flesh. First blood was drawn against the attackers, and it was drawn from the Bard.

The moment that the arrows made connection, both Goblins issued sinister giggles and disappeared back into the leaves, opting to Hide rather than retreat. Obviously still in the tree, but pinpointing might take a little doing to achieve.

@Sigil - You're up next.

The fight seemed to be ending without undue and/or unfortunate incident. This was good. The fact that Victoria helped to take point was not exactly what she had in mind for her midday activities, but fate had strange ways of changing plans toward the unexpected. Following the dispatch of the Goblins nearest to her, Victoria took the opportunity to scan the impromptu battlefield around her. It looked like things were over, until Marita let the cat out of the bag. Or the Goblin out of the box, as it were. The itinerant Bard switched back to a more martial posture, such as she was capable of demonstrating, until the utterly comical nature of the retreating Goblin was made apparent. There were those in her group who were closer and more capable of handling this one than her self, and so Victoria allowed herself to relax her posture a little and enjoy the show.

A burst of motion from the corner of her eye brought Victoria turning back to the tree nearest her. At this exact moment, she witnessed the arrow which struck Marita but missed notice of the one which found its home within her flesh. She screamed in pain and surprise, almost dropping her slender sword into the grass and leaves below but managing to hold on. It could be noted that, even in the intense discomfort of taking an arrow, her cry was sublime in pitch and melody. Victoria's involuntary calls of distress, inexplicably, were musical.

Gritted teeth held back the smallest portion of a growling, alto seethe as she crudely removed the arrow from herself. The wound was bad, but not mortal. And Victoria was damned lucky that she didn't leave the arrowhead in there with her ill-advised tugging out of the embedded projectile. It definitely hit a bone. This was not great. Even more troubling than the wound was the amount of blood which issued from it. "Bastards!" she asserted through her teeth, much of her distress apparently aimed at the growing discoloration of her fine garment. Addressing the tree, and inhabitants therein, she continued, "Do you have any idea how much that cost?!?"

This outrage renewed Victoria's vigor, which oddly resulted in her vocalizing notes. Scales ascended and descended, showing off her vocal range as she gradually moved to an higher register, each note wholly separate from the last and yet increasing in speed even as she went up in pitch. the determined look in her eyes kept scanning the tree, but not for the Goblins themselves. If she was right, she wouldn't have to know where they were.

For a second, it seemed like her voice came from two different places - herself and the center of the leafy mass. Victoria stopped vocalizing, while the sound issuing from the tree continued, growing to painful intensity. A stillness pervaded the great arbor, broken quite literally by a sound of splintering and cracking; an explosion of autumnal color flitting outward from the tree in all directions before fluttering to the ground. Then several branches, broken cleanly off as if severed by a sword followed, tumbling to the ground. Then the two Goblins. They had what appeared to be cracks all about their skin, clothing, and armor, spiderwebbing out like an organic stained glass window, eyes fixed and frozen except for one, which was cleanly bisected by such a crack. Their bodies thwacked upon the ground with a wet, meaty sound.

With disgust, Victoria threw the bloody arrow onto the ground in front of the corpses.

The Coffin Goblin appears to be all that which remains, hurling himself as fast as its little Goblin feet can go in the direction that it hopes has the most safety. Blood and gore litter the area to the west of the road leading to the Avonshire Township, and the day appears (but that has been deceiving as of late) almost won.

So let's keep this combat update short and sweet, shall we? Our Battle Map has been updated to reflect the new information, and here starts a shiny new round. The ball is in your court, Adventurers.

Goblins were dying left and right, some in places she hadn’t seen, one was in a tree? Well… victory was gained! Kosara proudly grinned widely, taking a heroic posture at the sight of victory. All was good in the world. At least until a whack was heard from within the coffin and Kosara jolted, looking at it with a curious and careful expression. Was this some kind of evil undead? Was it the mummies again? Surely not, mummies this far from the desert shouldn’t be a thing! Ohh it was a coffin so maybe it was one of those vampires she heard stories about, but… it was day? She readied herself to attach as Marita decided to help the thing out and open the coffin with her spiritual dagger.

It was a… “COFFIN GOBLIN!” Kosara exclaimed in surprise as the thing hopped out of the coffin and bolted past the group. It wasn’t very fast, but it was loud and Kosara really wasn’t liking it’s tone! It sounded rude! Then again it was probably drunk. Many drunkards didn’t have nice mouths. Wait she shouldn’t be searching for excuses for the goblins! No, no, no! Then in a shocking surprise more Goblins revealed their presence by shooting at the bard!” V!” Kosara shouted in surprise as the arrows hurt the woman.” I’m going to heal you in a bit!” She called, but before she could actually do anything V whacked the bastards with a spell that did something nasty to them. Actually hearing what the woman said it was understandable! That coat was indeed looking very costly! The replacement cost would be a lot! Kosara would be similarly pissed if her dancing clothes were damaged. Where can she find cloths that thin and soft this far north!?

In any case, the ambushers were executed with shattering efficiency! Good, Kosara then spotted the Coffin Goblin that was running away.” OI! I said not to run!” She shouted after it and focused again. Performing the gestures and chanting the spell.” CELESTIAL BLAST!” The golden energy focused through her horns and then formed a crackling beam of golden energy that zapped through the air from her horns in an instant and struck the fleeing goblin dead center. Kosara made a sign of victory as the coffin goblin fell down not to move again. Maybe he should have stayed in the coffin…? In ANY case, the tiefling smiled, happy with herself. Her first proper fight without grandpa! Her grandpa was going to be so proud and she even struck them down with spells like he does! Horns power for the win! Granted in her mind she was kinda forgetting all the times Grandpa Horny Golden Horse tried to get her to fire spells with her hands instead of horns for versitility. Selective memory and all… weird that.

Still with the goblin down, she immediately turned to the most important thing right now.” Hold on, V! I’m going to heal you now!” She called, looking at which way was the better for descending the rock. She had to heal her new bardic friend!

@Sigil TAG!

The fall of the last, retreating Goblin signaled a greater sense of quiet which befell the once chaotic stretch of lightly wooded road. Blood stained various bits of the detritus of recent combat, showing a clear cut victor in this skirmish. The sound of a light wind through leaves and the creaking of one slowly revolving wagon wheel upon the overturned merchant wagon were the only things to break the quiet of the afternoon, now that the clanging of metal and expressions of the arcane had ceased. In moments that the wind died down a little, the sound of meat sizzling could be detected.

Taking a quick look around the battlefield, one can easily point out eleven Goblin corpses. Mostly because they're out in the open and, let's face it, the party assisted greatly in the decor with this. An interesting item of note for whomever looks over the bodies of the fallen is that, while their armor is unattractive yet functional in the manner of their people, their weapons looked fairly new, uniform, and not of usual Goblin manufacture.

One can also spot the campfire, which still contains a now scorching leg from the knee down. The coffin remains where it was abandoned, now opened to reveal a fairly plush, comfortable looking interior. Between this and the construction noted before the fight began, it could be assumed that the former owner was likely financially well off. Three good hogshead casks could be seen littering the area, two of which are completely intact. One of them bears the obvious marks of having one end pried open, the majority of its contents missing and (one might assume) imbibed by the ropey green bandits.

As for the wagon itself, a cursory examination reveals that damage done to it is minor, and if righted, the vehicle may still be serviceable. Still inside, held by wooden bracing and stout rope, are five more casks, marked in the same manner as the others. For those versed in more epicurean or oenophillic pursuits (or someone whose background has them in taverns a lot), one can point out the words "Fortified Zinnoberrot", indicating an interesting balance to the vintage, and a vineyard name, "Rose River", burned into the barrel staves. As a touch of irony, it might have paired excellently with moderately spiced cannibalism.

In the distance, large herd animal bellowed. The sound of it seemed comically out of place with the surroundings being what they were then.

The day is yours! So far, anyway. There's a lot of daylight left, so... how are you spending it?