Valic & Lachlan

Day Two: Missive for the Magistrate

Midday

"I dunno," Lachlan says with a shrug.

"What do you mean you don't know? What did you see?" Valic asks. His anger toward Garrick has got him tensed for a fight.

"I didn't see what they were, I was just letting you know."

He grunts his frustration lifting his axe and beginning the march toward the unknown situation. Lachlan stays behind Valic's hulking figure. After all, if they start shooting it's always good to have a meat shield. Garrick, on the other hand, is trying to keep stride with him so as not to be shown up. They reach the roadblock in short order and stand just shy of twenty feet away looking the goblins over. Lachlan peers around her cover and doesn't see any weapons ready to be propelled at them so she steps to Valic's side.

She regards them with indifference until she realizes the two riding the dogs are the same two that they let go.

"Wow," She says and points at them, "Our friends from last night."

"Mm." Valic responds, "Ask them what they want."

She looks up at him and raises an eyebrow.

"Please."

She nods at the proper format of the request and steps forward speaking in their tongue, "What do you want?"

"We want shiny armor." says one of the riders. Lachlan translates then responds.

"No."

"Yes, give it or we kill you. There more us's now. We kill you. Give us shinies."

"I don't think you understand what you're-" her sentence is cut when the other rider hurls a javelin at her and it sticks into her shoulder. She yelps in pain at the unexpected attack and retreats back a step.

"You motherf-!" Valic charges at the group with his great axe raised high.

The four on foot charge in front of the riders and Valic meets them first. Swinging hard, his anger fuels the power behind it. His axe sinks into the first of his targets and rips through it, easily cutting it in two. The momentum of his swing carries and the blade bites into the goblin's neck that is second closest to him. It lets out a gurgle as its lifeblood flows freely onto the axe and showers Valic. He points his gore dripping weapon at the other two and dares them to attack. Garrick makes ready to charge in but feels blades scrape against his armor from behind. He turns to see that four more goblins have come out from hiding places in the forest, two from the left side of the road, and two from the right. Taking the more immediate threat, he swings on the one closest to him and his greatsword metes out his brand of justice. The blade slices into the chest of the attacker and it falls clutching the gaping wound.

Meanwhile, Lachlan recovers from the blow and focuses on one of the ambushers that came from the woods. She grabs her crossbow and positions herself behind it. Her bolt hits one of them in the shoulder and she feels somewhat vindicated.

The goblins close in a little tighter while the two riders bark orders from afar. Again, they swing their blades on the group. A couple of them miss Garrick and Lachlan, but one connects with Valic, finding a gap in his armor. He shrugs off the minor damage and brings his axe around for another powerful hit. The first hit decimates his foe, cutting it deeply from shoulder to hip getting no more resistance than if he had been swinging it at nothing. The axe continues into another goblin, but the creature was starting to back up and it only gashes its arm. Garrick's targets have started backing up as well and his swing hits nothing. Lachlan ditches her crossbow as the goblins move away from Garrick and into her. She pulls out her short swords and thrusts hard into a goblin's back. It lets out a wheeze of surprise but it is cut short as her second sword blurs across its neck. The goblins are noticeably shaken at losing more than half of their raiding party in less than a minute. Incredibly forgiving, Valic, through Lachlan, offers them yet another chance to leave. They take tentative retreating steps and he gives them a time limit holding up five fingers then four then three. They all turn and sprint away into the forest.

"What the hell? Again?!" Garrick is not happy with the decision. Valic shrugs and the party riffles through the corpses and finds a small amount of money and some poorly kept armor to sell.