Tae moves south through the fog and comes to the edge of it about 15 feet out. Outside of the fog he easily spots the Azure snake. Tae lifts his palm and a beam of blue energy arcs to the flying snake and kills it instantly.
Heec moves to the north outside of the fog cloud and attacks the Onyx snake, which he quickly kicks out of the air.
The Emerald snake sees Tae and flies in for a strike, biting him and injecting a little poison. It then flies directly into the fog cloud to hide.
Tae follows the snake into the cloud and stumbles around until he finds it. Due to the low visibility, the Emerald snake manages to bit Tae another time before it is shot with ray of frost. Tae then shouts to his companion to help lure him to the target. Heec finds the snake and hammer strikes it to the ground.
After the serpentine foes have been defeated the heroes regroup.
The two elves begin to set up camp to rest. As they begin to rest the fog dissipates as quickly as it appeared. There is a faint rustling of branches to the west and the sound of something moving quickly through the woods away from the clearing and the elves.
After four hours of sitting in their trance-like state, the elves feel refreshed. It is still more than an hour until midnight. Crickets and other insects are chirruping loudly.
The Elves regain all hit points and expended spell slots
Heec and Tae set off through the forest at night. The journey through the dark wood is long and filled with hidden snares. The foliage grows thicker and more wild as they move west.
Dawn breaks and thin rays of sunshine poke through the trees. The Crags come into view, huge imposing shapes curving off to the southwest. The Neverwinter Wood is an odd place with its residual magical energies, but even at a distance, the Crags are even more foreboding and Mount Hotenow is particularly grim looking.
The elves continue the journey through mid-morning. The ground begins its slow incline and the trees start thinning again. The treeline eventually stops and open up to a mile wide strip of rocky hills that form a buffer between the Crags and the wood.
Using the crude map, they get their bearings and see a tall hill to the left about a third of a mile away. It is topped slender rocky pillars twice as tall as a man. The path to the hill is strewn with boulders an and rocky formations sprouting from the ground, some are as tall as the elves.
Before they can move, though, shouts echo through the hills. They are coming from the direction of the tall hill.
As Heec and Tae near the hill, they hear shouts from multiple persons. Elf voices echo from the top of the hill. The distinct sound of goblin voices come from beyond the hill. It sounds like a large skirmish is underway. It is difficult to tell how many goblins there are, but there are definitely several.
The hill is a large, rocky mound about 20 feet above the ground. The two elves weave between boulders and approach the mound. There doesn't seem to be any goblins in this area, but they can clearly hear a large number of them on the opposite side.
The back of the hill has many rocky outcroppings jutting out, which would make for a difficult climb, but they find a set of of steep stone shelves that are spaced closely to form a narrow stairway. It is hard to discern if this stairway was intentional or not. With some effort, Heec climbs the stairs, followed by Tae. They squeeze through a narrow hole at the top of the stairs and reach the top of the hill. the hill is easily 30 feet across. Stony pillars, which have been bleached in the sun line the perimeter. Even though they are barely wider than a person they would provide a small amount of cover. At the opposite end (the front side) of the hill there are two Moon Elves dressed in green and tan clothes crouched behind rocky outcroppings shaped like tombstones. They are holding longbows, with arrows knocked and are peering over the edge of the hill. They both draw their bows and point them at Tae and Heec once they have reached the top. A third elf is laying nearby. She has a crude javelin sticking out from one leg. Some type of clothing has been wrapped around her leg and is soaked with blood. She is unconscious but breathing and the ground doesn't seem to be too badly stained from her blood.
A female elf crouched behind the stone on the right addresses Tae and Heec.
Moon Elf 1: We don't have much time. Our raven, Ironbeak, delivered the warning that you two were coming our way. Tell me why a Moon Elf brother travels with a Drow in our wood?
Just then a flight of arrows arcs from the behind the hill. One clatters off of the stone where the second elf is crouched, the other two stick in the dirt close to where the first elf is. The second elf curses in Elvish and turns to loose an arrow over the hill. The first Moon Elf pulls his bowstring taut at Heec.
Moon Elf 1: We don't have much time, so answer quickly.
He is more of a brother to me than any soul in this realm. We were sent from Cragglefrock to discuss business but it appears as though we're needed for other pressing matters.
And please do tell why you feel as though a Drow has no place in your woods.
We came to their woods uninvited. We should not assume we're welcome.
They try what little patience I have with their tone...
Let's show them they have means to trust us. *to the first Moon Elf* How can we help?
ME1: Fair enough! Crawl over here and you can see what you can help with.
Both elves peer over the rocks and loose arrows. Another volley of arrows answers back and a javelin sails over the crest of the hill and plants right next to the first Moon Elves leg. She looks at the unconscious elf and Tae and Heec could swear that her pale skin turns a little green.
Heec carefully slides over to the front of the hill and looks from behind a pillar while Tae wisely stays to the back to save his soft flesh from arrows. The front of the hill has a ten foot opening between the two tombstone-rocks. It is a steep grade that goes fifteen feet out in a wide fan. The loose gravel on the steep incline would make for difficult terrain to climb up or down.
The first twenty feet of ground after the drop is open without any cover. There are a dozen small boulders scattered throughout the next twenty feet. Heec quickly counts ten goblins crouching behind these boulders. They are holding large knives that are roughly shaped like a butcher's cleaver. The next twenty feet of ground has larger boulders that provide much better cover. To the left, there are three goblins holding javelins and to the right there are two with bows.
The next twenty feet has a few huge boulders that would easily hide a human sized creature completely and Heec can't discern if there is anything behind these boulders.
Heec calls back to Tae informing him of the gerblins. He asks the first Moon Elf what they can do to help. She calmly replies that they can help shoot them and stop them from taking the hill. Ironbeak is currently searching the area for any Moon elves who could come to aid them, though the two scouts inform them that this attack was completely unexpected.
Heec carefully retreats back to Tae’s position to wait for the goblins to advance on the hill.
There is no use in attacking these goblins while they have cover. We need to just wait them out. You should retreat back to your camp and care for your wounded partner. Mindlessly flinging arrows into the the sky at rocks will get you no where!
We can handle these foes. Not all Drows are worthless, don't you know.
Don't start with that. We're not here to fight with them. Tend to your wounded. We'll stay here and wait for reinforcements.
With Heec and Tae delaying action at this time the first Moon Elves knock arrows and aim at the goblins with the large knives. Moon Elf One Attack Roll: 20 (16+4) 7 damage (5+2)
Her arrow hits the goblin squarely in the chest and it falls down.
Moon Elf One Attack Roll Two: 13 (9+4)
Her second arrow clatters off the rock one of the goblins is hiding behind.
Moon Elf Two Attack Rolls: 11 (7+4) and 14 (10+4) 4 damage (2+2)
The second Moon Elf releases two arrows at a goblin. The first one is off target but the second plants deeply into its head.
The male Moon Elf looks at Heec.
ME2: We'd never be able to get her out of here in time. If you don't want to stay feel free to go.
During that time two of the goblins with javelins advance forward behind the smaller boulders and throw one at each elf. Their distance makes it difficult to accurately throw their weapons and they both miss. The third stays in its position and also throws and misses.
The two goblins with short bows fire and miss at the two elves.
There is a booming shout in goblin that sounds like commands being given and the goblins with cleavers begin advancing on the hill. The closest of them reaches the bottom of the slope.
Tae springs into action and takes position behind one of the pillars about ten feet to the left and back of the hill entrance. He fires his Ray of Frost at the first goblin at the bottom of the hill and misses.
The two elves slay three more Goblin Cleavers. The last Goblin Skirmisher moves up behind the small boulders and the three together miss their attacks on the Tae and the two Moon Elves.
The two Goblin Piercers stay under cover of the closest medium boulders and also miss their attacks. The Goblin Cleavers run up the hill. The first gets next to the female Moon Elf and attempts to attack, but can't get its footing and slides back a few feet. The next closest Goblin Cleaver makes it halfway up the slope and throws its cleaver. The cleaver finds purchase in the first Moon Elf's shoulder. She grunts and easily pulls it out.
Order of combat: Tae, Moon Elf Scouts, Goblin Skirmishers, Goblin Piercers, Goblin Cleavers, Heec, Unknown Monster.
It is currently Heecrid's turn. There is one goblin five away from the top of the hill.
The goblin at the top of the hill looks surprised when a six inch metal dart sails through the air and pierces its neck. It says "Gurk!" and tumbles down the hill.
The creature behind the large boulder shouts more commands in goblin.
It is now Tae's turn. There are four Goblin Cutters on the slope. The three Goblin Skirmishers have half-cover and the two Goblin Piercers have three quarters-cover. Tae currently has half-cover and is fifteen feet away from the nearest opening to the hill.
Tae unleashes his Ray of Frost and skewers the next goblin coming up the hill.
The two Moon Elves target the advancing goblins with their bows. The first elf misses with her first shot but manages to kill one of the knife-wielding goblins charging up the hill. The second elf misses both of his shots.
The goblins with javelins all advance to the bottom of the hill and throw a javelin at the two elf scouts and at Tae, but none of them manage to hit their targets. The goblins with bows move forward to the small boulders but their shots clatter off of the tombstone like rocks the scouts are hiding behind. The two remaining goblins with knives climb the rest of the slope and attack the Moon Elves at melee range. The first one stumbles and its attack swings in a wide arc. The second goblin slashes the male Moon Elf on the right and inflicts some damage.
Heecrid charges the goblin on the right and misses with his first attack but kills it with his follow up punch. He then retreats out of line-of-sight of any of the ranged attackers.
From behind the large boulder, the deep voice begins shouting in a warchant. It echoes off of the rocks. A hobgoblin emerges and charges as far as it can, taking cover behind one of the small boulders. He is armored in dark and pitted chainmail. He is carrying a round wooden shield reinforced with rusty iron studs. His curved longsword is stained with dark blood, but the tip still gleams wickedly in the morning sun. He turns back to the boulders and makes a long whistle. From behind another huge boulder a sleek, gray wolf sprints out past the hobgoblin in a direct line towards the hill.
Tae reacts quickly to the charging wolf and attacks it with Ray of Frost. The blue lance strikes the wolf and it yips in pain. Ice clings to its fur and slows it down.
The female Moon Elf draws a shortsword and guts the goblin assailant next to her. The other elf kills one of the skirmishers with two arrows.
The two remaining skirmishers run most of the of the way up the slope until they have Heecrid in their sites. The first javelin sails past but the second puts a deep gash in his shoulder (6 damage). The two goblins with bows advance to the bottom of the hill but both miss the elves hiding behind the stones. Heecrid retaliates with a dart, which lodges in one of the skirmishers side (6 damage).
A large black dot appears in the sky from behind the hill moving quickly. It lets out a loud series of “caws”. The male Moon Elf shouts to Tae and Heec. “That’s Ironbeak! Someone is their way to help!”
The hobgoblin shouts more orders and races towards the hill. It is ten feet away from the bottom of the slope. The wolf canters to the bottom of the hill and shakes the ice off its fur before letting out a howl. The two goblins with bows flinch at this and lean away from the wolf.
It is Tae’s turn. Two Goblin Skirmishers are five feet away from the top of the hill, one is injured pretty badly. The two Goblin Piercers are at the bottom of the hill. The wolf is currently at the bottom of the hill and the Hobgoblin is ten feet away from the bottom. It is unknown when help will arrive.
Tae points at the wolf and whispers an enchantment. He emits a green ray of energy from his hand. Slimy looking tendrils spiral around the ray and it glows with a sickly energy. The wolf is hit with the beam and staggers back. It makes a horrible choked growl and collapses. Bright green froth foams at its mouth as it takes a final ragged breath.
The two Moon Elves look at Tae with disbelief. They turn back to the goblins. The female Moon Elf is inspired by Tae’s attack and rushes the Goblin Skirmisher with her shortsword shouting in Elvish...but misses by a wide margin. The second elf also shouts, “What the hell are you doing???” as he shoots at the Skirmisher on the left and slays it with a well placed arrow.
The two goblins with shortbows aim at the female Moon Elf who is now exposed. The arrows find purchase and she falls to the ground unconscious.
Heec dashes to the stone on the left taking cover. He throws a dart at the remaining Skirmisher. The dart sticks the goblin in the side and it begins losing blood. The hobgoblin looks at the wolf and then back at the elves with hatred burning in its eyes. He charges up the hill and ends adjacent to the Skirmisher.
The black speck flies to the hill and Ironbeak lands on one of the plinths. He emits a cry that sounds like a male elf calling “Aid! Soon! Aid! Soon!”.
Tae runs for the stone where Heec is and pushes him out of the way. He spreads his hands towards the two goblins. A cone of flame erupts from his palms. The goblin Skirmisher is killed but the hobgoblin manages to dodge the bulk of the flame and only takes an indirect hit.
The male Moon Elf shoots two arrows at the hobgoblin but misses. Heec moves to the hobgoblin and attacks him, hitting him hard with his martial arts. The hobgoblin retaliates and slashes Heec with his longsword (6 damage).
Another Moon Elf, dressed and armed in the same way as the other scouts climbs up the stony stairs at the back of the hill. He is panting as he surveys the battle scene.
Moon Elf Four: I’m here! What are doing? What the hell is a Drow doing here?
Tae mumbles something less than polite and attempts to use Ray of Frost on the hobgoblin but misses. The male elf behind the right stone draws his shortsword and charges the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin can’t raise his shield in time and the elf cuts him across the throat, killing him.
The two Goblin Piercers see their commander fall and roll a few feet down the slope. The both turn to one another and begin to run. Tae fires a Ray of Frost at the left goblin and kills it. The second Moon Elf and the newly arrived scout both take shots at the remaining goblin. One of the arrows grazes its side but it keeps running and escapes.
The elf who had just arrived shouts after the retreating goblin, “Yeah! Don't come back!” He shakes his bow overhead for good effect.
He turns and nods at the other elf. “Twigs, good to see you”. Twigs shakes his head, “Don't call me that.” Twigs stoops by the female elf and begins to tend to her arrow wounds.
The other elf shrugs and greets Tae and Heec. He seems unsure about Tae but not unfriendly.
Kae: My name is Kaephorn but everyone calls me Kae.”
He pulls a handful of bright red berries out.
K: I've got ten good berries, but we've got to hurry. It's almost been 24 hours and we've got to use them before then.
Heec instructs Kae to give three to each of the unconscious elves. Heec asks for the remaining four after they've been administered. Kae stands up an is chewing on something. A little bit of bright red juice dribbles from his lips.
K: Oh, well here you go.
He holds his hand out with three berries in it.
Good berries restore one hit point each and are adequate food for a creature for one day.
Heec eats two of the berries and gives one to Tae. These should keep us filled for the day.
You need this more than I do.
Don't worry about me. You eat this.
Heec eats 2 berries and restores 2 HP. Tae eas 1 berry and restores 0 HP (had taken no damage since the rest).
So we've got Twigs aka "Don't call me Twigs" and Kae. I'm Heec and this is my brother, Tae. We were sent by Junea, they mayor of out town, to discuss business that will prove beneficial to both Cragglefrock and these woods. We've already been to these first two locations. We have two other locations on our map but not sure where we need to go. Would anyone be able to point us in the right direction? Heec pulls out the map and holds it for all to see.
Tae moves south through the fog and comes to the edge of it about 15 feet out. Outside of the fog he easily spots the Azure snake. Tae lifts his palm and a beam of blue energy arcs to the flying snake and kills it instantly.
Heec moves to the north outside of the fog cloud and attacks the Onyx snake, which he quickly kicks out of the air.
The Emerald snake sees Tae and flies in for a strike, biting him and injecting a little poison. It then flies directly into the fog cloud to hide.
Tae follows the snake into the cloud and stumbles around until he finds it. Due to the low visibility, the Emerald snake manages to bit Tae another time before it is shot with ray of frost. Tae then shouts to his companion to help lure him to the target. Heec finds the snake and hammer strikes it to the ground.
After the serpentine foes have been defeated the heroes regroup.
This fog should provide us at least a little bit of cover while we rest, don't you think?
I agree. I'll prepare my spells for the next day. Are we heading to the second location after we rest?
Yes. We should keep going. I'm not too fond of these woods already.
The two elves rest for 4 hours. Tae prepares Witch Bolt, Burning Hands, Fog Cloud and Unseen Servant.
The two elves begin to set up camp to rest. As they begin to rest the fog dissipates as quickly as it appeared. There is a faint rustling of branches to the west and the sound of something moving quickly through the woods away from the clearing and the elves.
After four hours of sitting in their trance-like state, the elves feel refreshed. It is still more than an hour until midnight. Crickets and other insects are chirruping loudly.
The Elves regain all hit points and expended spell slots
That was probably just another sentry for the wood elves.
Is that a fact? And here I thought they used ravens.
I'm not going to assume I know how they do things. I'm also not going to assume every creature in these woods is hostile.
And that's what gets us in trouble. We should keep moving.
The two elves head for the second site on the map.
Heec and Tae set off through the forest at night. The journey through the dark wood is long and filled with hidden snares. The foliage grows thicker and more wild as they move west.
Dawn breaks and thin rays of sunshine poke through the trees. The Crags come into view, huge imposing shapes curving off to the southwest. The Neverwinter Wood is an odd place with its residual magical energies, but even at a distance, the Crags are even more foreboding and Mount Hotenow is particularly grim looking.
The elves continue the journey through mid-morning. The ground begins its slow incline and the trees start thinning again. The treeline eventually stops and open up to a mile wide strip of rocky hills that form a buffer between the Crags and the wood.
Using the crude map, they get their bearings and see a tall hill to the left about a third of a mile away. It is topped slender rocky pillars twice as tall as a man. The path to the hill is strewn with boulders an and rocky formations sprouting from the ground, some are as tall as the elves.
Before they can move, though, shouts echo through the hills. They are coming from the direction of the tall hill.
This is the spot on the map, right?
Yep. Who is that?
Heec?! Wanting to help someone shouting?! Impossible!!
This is the location on the map that Shae gave us, maybe this is where we need to be.
I'm expecting a council of elves to discuss things with, aren't you? Not some lone elf shouting by himself.
Well, let's make sure it's not the right location and we can be on our way.
*groans*
The two elves head for the tall hill.
As Heec and Tae near the hill, they hear shouts from multiple persons. Elf voices echo from the top of the hill. The distinct sound of goblin voices come from beyond the hill. It sounds like a large skirmish is underway. It is difficult to tell how many goblins there are, but there are definitely several.
Our brethren most certainly need our help!
Survey first, then proceed.
Fine, but we must survey right now!
The two elves head to the top of the hill to survey the skirmish.
The hill is a large, rocky mound about 20 feet above the ground. The two elves weave between boulders and approach the mound. There doesn't seem to be any goblins in this area, but they can clearly hear a large number of them on the opposite side.
The back of the hill has many rocky outcroppings jutting out, which would make for a difficult climb, but they find a set of of steep stone shelves that are spaced closely to form a narrow stairway. It is hard to discern if this stairway was intentional or not. With some effort, Heec climbs the stairs, followed by Tae. They squeeze through a narrow hole at the top of the stairs and reach the top of the hill. the hill is easily 30 feet across. Stony pillars, which have been bleached in the sun line the perimeter. Even though they are barely wider than a person they would provide a small amount of cover. At the opposite end (the front side) of the hill there are two Moon Elves dressed in green and tan clothes crouched behind rocky outcroppings shaped like tombstones. They are holding longbows, with arrows knocked and are peering over the edge of the hill. They both draw their bows and point them at Tae and Heec once they have reached the top. A third elf is laying nearby. She has a crude javelin sticking out from one leg. Some type of clothing has been wrapped around her leg and is soaked with blood. She is unconscious but breathing and the ground doesn't seem to be too badly stained from her blood.
A female elf crouched behind the stone on the right addresses Tae and Heec.
Moon Elf 1: We don't have much time. Our raven, Ironbeak, delivered the warning that you two were coming our way. Tell me why a Moon Elf brother travels with a Drow in our wood?
Just then a flight of arrows arcs from the behind the hill. One clatters off of the stone where the second elf is crouched, the other two stick in the dirt close to where the first elf is. The second elf curses in Elvish and turns to loose an arrow over the hill. The first Moon Elf pulls his bowstring taut at Heec.
Moon Elf 1: We don't have much time, so answer quickly.
He is more of a brother to me than any soul in this realm. We were sent from Cragglefrock to discuss business but it appears as though we're needed for other pressing matters.
And please do tell why you feel as though a Drow has no place in your woods.
We came to their woods uninvited. We should not assume we're welcome.
They try what little patience I have with their tone...
Let's show them they have means to trust us. *to the first Moon Elf* How can we help?
The first Moon Elf laughs,
ME1: Fair enough! Crawl over here and you can see what you can help with.
Both elves peer over the rocks and loose arrows. Another volley of arrows answers back and a javelin sails over the crest of the hill and plants right next to the first Moon Elves leg. She looks at the unconscious elf and Tae and Heec could swear that her pale skin turns a little green.
Heec carefully slides over to the front of the hill and looks from behind a pillar while Tae wisely stays to the back to save his soft flesh from arrows. The front of the hill has a ten foot opening between the two tombstone-rocks. It is a steep grade that goes fifteen feet out in a wide fan. The loose gravel on the steep incline would make for difficult terrain to climb up or down.
The first twenty feet of ground after the drop is open without any cover. There are a dozen small boulders scattered throughout the next twenty feet. Heec quickly counts ten goblins crouching behind these boulders. They are holding large knives that are roughly shaped like a butcher's cleaver. The next twenty feet of ground has larger boulders that provide much better cover. To the left, there are three goblins holding javelins and to the right there are two with bows.
The next twenty feet has a few huge boulders that would easily hide a human sized creature completely and Heec can't discern if there is anything behind these boulders.
Heec calls back to Tae informing him of the gerblins. He asks the first Moon Elf what they can do to help. She calmly replies that they can help shoot them and stop them from taking the hill. Ironbeak is currently searching the area for any Moon elves who could come to aid them, though the two scouts inform them that this attack was completely unexpected.
Heec carefully retreats back to Tae’s position to wait for the goblins to advance on the hill.
There is no use in attacking these goblins while they have cover. We need to just wait them out. You should retreat back to your camp and care for your wounded partner. Mindlessly flinging arrows into the the sky at rocks will get you no where!
We can handle these foes. Not all Drows are worthless, don't you know.
Don't start with that. We're not here to fight with them. Tend to your wounded. We'll stay here and wait for reinforcements.
With Heec and Tae delaying action at this time the first Moon Elves knock arrows and aim at the goblins with the large knives.
Moon Elf One Attack Roll: 20 (16+4) 7 damage (5+2)
Her arrow hits the goblin squarely in the chest and it falls down.
Moon Elf One Attack Roll Two: 13 (9+4)
Her second arrow clatters off the rock one of the goblins is hiding behind.
Moon Elf Two Attack Rolls: 11 (7+4) and 14 (10+4) 4 damage (2+2)
The second Moon Elf releases two arrows at a goblin. The first one is off target but the second plants deeply into its head.
The male Moon Elf looks at Heec.
ME2: We'd never be able to get her out of here in time. If you don't want to stay feel free to go.
During that time two of the goblins with javelins advance forward behind the smaller boulders and throw one at each elf. Their distance makes it difficult to accurately throw their weapons and they both miss. The third stays in its position and also throws and misses.
The two goblins with short bows fire and miss at the two elves.
There is a booming shout in goblin that sounds like commands being given and the goblins with cleavers begin advancing on the hill. The closest of them reaches the bottom of the slope.
Tae springs into action and takes position behind one of the pillars about ten feet to the left and back of the hill entrance. He fires his Ray of Frost at the first goblin at the bottom of the hill and misses.
The two elves slay three more Goblin Cleavers. The last Goblin Skirmisher moves up behind the small boulders and the three together miss their attacks on the Tae and the two Moon Elves.
The two Goblin Piercers stay under cover of the closest medium boulders and also miss their attacks. The Goblin Cleavers run up the hill. The first gets next to the female Moon Elf and attempts to attack, but can't get its footing and slides back a few feet. The next closest Goblin Cleaver makes it halfway up the slope and throws its cleaver. The cleaver finds purchase in the first Moon Elf's shoulder. She grunts and easily pulls it out.
Order of combat: Tae, Moon Elf Scouts, Goblin Skirmishers, Goblin Piercers, Goblin Cleavers, Heec, Unknown Monster.
It is currently Heecrid's turn. There is one goblin five away from the top of the hill.
Heec launches a dart at the goblin near the top of the hill.
He makes an attack roll of 21 (15+6). He does 5 (1+4 piercing) damage.
The goblin at the top of the hill looks surprised when a six inch metal dart sails through the air and pierces its neck. It says "Gurk!" and tumbles down the hill.
The creature behind the large boulder shouts more commands in goblin.
It is now Tae's turn. There are four Goblin Cutters on the slope. The three Goblin Skirmishers have half-cover and the two Goblin Piercers have three quarters-cover. Tae currently has half-cover and is fifteen feet away from the nearest opening to the hill.
Tae unleashes a Ray of Frost at the nearest cutter.
He makes an attack roll of 18 (14+4). He deals 7 damage.
Tae unleashes his Ray of Frost and skewers the next goblin coming up the hill.
The two Moon Elves target the advancing goblins with their bows. The first elf misses with her first shot but manages to kill one of the knife-wielding goblins charging up the hill. The second elf misses both of his shots.
The goblins with javelins all advance to the bottom of the hill and throw a javelin at the two elf scouts and at Tae, but none of them manage to hit their targets. The goblins with bows move forward to the small boulders but their shots clatter off of the tombstone like rocks the scouts are hiding behind. The two remaining goblins with knives climb the rest of the slope and attack the Moon Elves at melee range. The first one stumbles and its attack swings in a wide arc. The second goblin slashes the male Moon Elf on the right and inflicts some damage.
Heecrid charges the goblin on the right and misses with his first attack but kills it with his follow up punch. He then retreats out of line-of-sight of any of the ranged attackers.
From behind the large boulder, the deep voice begins shouting in a warchant. It echoes off of the rocks. A hobgoblin emerges and charges as far as it can, taking cover behind one of the small boulders. He is armored in dark and pitted chainmail. He is carrying a round wooden shield reinforced with rusty iron studs. His curved longsword is stained with dark blood, but the tip still gleams wickedly in the morning sun. He turns back to the boulders and makes a long whistle. From behind another huge boulder a sleek, gray wolf sprints out past the hobgoblin in a direct line towards the hill.
Tae reacts quickly to the charging wolf and attacks it with Ray of Frost. The blue lance strikes the wolf and it yips in pain. Ice clings to its fur and slows it down.
The female Moon Elf draws a shortsword and guts the goblin assailant next to her. The other elf kills one of the skirmishers with two arrows.
The two remaining skirmishers run most of the of the way up the slope until they have Heecrid in their sites. The first javelin sails past but the second puts a deep gash in his shoulder (6 damage). The two goblins with bows advance to the bottom of the hill but both miss the elves hiding behind the stones. Heecrid retaliates with a dart, which lodges in one of the skirmishers side (6 damage).
A large black dot appears in the sky from behind the hill moving quickly. It lets out a loud series of “caws”. The male Moon Elf shouts to Tae and Heec. “That’s Ironbeak! Someone is their way to help!”
The hobgoblin shouts more orders and races towards the hill. It is ten feet away from the bottom of the slope. The wolf canters to the bottom of the hill and shakes the ice off its fur before letting out a howl. The two goblins with bows flinch at this and lean away from the wolf.
It is Tae’s turn. Two Goblin Skirmishers are five feet away from the top of the hill, one is injured pretty badly. The two Goblin Piercers are at the bottom of the hill. The wolf is currently at the bottom of the hill and the Hobgoblin is ten feet away from the bottom. It is unknown when help will arrive.
Tae points at the wolf and whispers an enchantment. He emits a green ray of energy from his hand. Slimy looking tendrils spiral around the ray and it glows with a sickly energy. The wolf is hit with the beam and staggers back. It makes a horrible choked growl and collapses. Bright green froth foams at its mouth as it takes a final ragged breath.
The two Moon Elves look at Tae with disbelief. They turn back to the goblins. The female Moon Elf is inspired by Tae’s attack and rushes the Goblin Skirmisher with her shortsword shouting in Elvish...but misses by a wide margin. The second elf also shouts, “What the hell are you doing???” as he shoots at the Skirmisher on the left and slays it with a well placed arrow.
The two goblins with shortbows aim at the female Moon Elf who is now exposed. The arrows find purchase and she falls to the ground unconscious.
Heec dashes to the stone on the left taking cover. He throws a dart at the remaining Skirmisher. The dart sticks the goblin in the side and it begins losing blood. The hobgoblin looks at the wolf and then back at the elves with hatred burning in its eyes. He charges up the hill and ends adjacent to the Skirmisher.
The black speck flies to the hill and Ironbeak lands on one of the plinths. He emits a cry that sounds like a male elf calling “Aid! Soon! Aid! Soon!”.
Tae runs for the stone where Heec is and pushes him out of the way. He spreads his hands towards the two goblins. A cone of flame erupts from his palms. The goblin Skirmisher is killed but the hobgoblin manages to dodge the bulk of the flame and only takes an indirect hit.
The male Moon Elf shoots two arrows at the hobgoblin but misses. Heec moves to the hobgoblin and attacks him, hitting him hard with his martial arts. The hobgoblin retaliates and slashes Heec with his longsword (6 damage).
Another Moon Elf, dressed and armed in the same way as the other scouts climbs up the stony stairs at the back of the hill. He is panting as he surveys the battle scene.
Moon Elf Four: I’m here! What are doing? What the hell is a Drow doing here?
Tae mumbles something less than polite and attempts to use Ray of Frost on the hobgoblin but misses. The male elf behind the right stone draws his shortsword and charges the hobgoblin. The hobgoblin can’t raise his shield in time and the elf cuts him across the throat, killing him.
The two Goblin Piercers see their commander fall and roll a few feet down the slope. The both turn to one another and begin to run. Tae fires a Ray of Frost at the left goblin and kills it. The second Moon Elf and the newly arrived scout both take shots at the remaining goblin. One of the arrows grazes its side but it keeps running and escapes.
The elf who had just arrived shouts after the retreating goblin, “Yeah! Don't come back!” He shakes his bow overhead for good effect.
He turns and nods at the other elf. “Twigs, good to see you”. Twigs shakes his head, “Don't call me that.” Twigs stoops by the female elf and begins to tend to her arrow wounds.
The other elf shrugs and greets Tae and Heec. He seems unsure about Tae but not unfriendly.
Kae: My name is Kaephorn but everyone calls me Kae.”
He pulls a handful of bright red berries out.
K: I've got ten good berries, but we've got to hurry. It's almost been 24 hours and we've got to use them before then.
Heec instructs Kae to give three to each of the unconscious elves. Heec asks for the remaining four after they've been administered. Kae stands up an is chewing on something. A little bit of bright red juice dribbles from his lips.
K: Oh, well here you go.
He holds his hand out with three berries in it.
Good berries restore one hit point each and are adequate food for a creature for one day.
Heec eats two of the berries and gives one to Tae. These should keep us filled for the day.
You need this more than I do.
Don't worry about me. You eat this.
Heec eats 2 berries and restores 2 HP. Tae eas 1 berry and restores 0 HP (had taken no damage since the rest).
So we've got Twigs aka "Don't call me Twigs" and Kae. I'm Heec and this is my brother, Tae. We were sent by Junea, they mayor of out town, to discuss business that will prove beneficial to both Cragglefrock and these woods. We've already been to these first two locations. We have two other locations on our map but not sure where we need to go. Would anyone be able to point us in the right direction? Heec pulls out the map and holds it for all to see.