With five goblins surrounding the barn on which he stood, Wade had a go at throwing his knife. His target avoided the hurled weapon. Cursing loudly, the thief took a replacement from his boot, resolving not to bother trying that again. He pulled Auntie away from the edge.
The four goblins followed Christoph over the fence. Turning, he decided he’d die facing his enemies rather than running from them.
His ragged mind failed to piece together what happened next. The two figures who had been closing on him put themselves between him and the goblins, locking their shields together.
With roars of aggression, the goblins fell on Greenblade and Izil. Greenblade took one hit, suffering 3 damage. Izil took two, dropping to 11 hit points.
Behind them, seven more goblins climbed out of the cow field, ready to join the fight if needed.
The five goblins at the barn wasted no time in climbing to the roof, then advancing on the two defenders.
Recognising how badly outnumbered they were, Wade pulled Auntie away. They ran to the far end of the roof, and jumped. Auntie managed to land well, but Wade’s right knee buckled with the impact, and he lost 2 hit points, which in turn reduced his actions to 4.
Ashlyn, knocked down to four action points, struck out with sword and shield. She killed a goblin with the very first strike of Greenblade. In total, she scored three hits with each weapon. When she was done, only one of the four goblins was left standing, on a measly 4 hit points.
Christoph, left with only a dagger for a weapon, lunged forward and managed to kill it with his second strike.
Izil, faced with a gap to the next wave of incoming goblins, used his spear as a throwing weapon. He targeted the strongest of them, barely injured from falling roof embers. It was a good decision and a good throw—11 points of damage dropped it to 5 hit points and only one action point. The Alinko warrior drew his sword, and kept his position next to Ashlyn.
They’d done as well as could be expected. But they still faced seven mostly healthy goblins. The goblins charged their position, each taking one action point to reach melee range. Four still had two actions left for spear strikes, while another two—hurt by a pit trap and one of The Bowman’s arrows respectively—had only one.
Greenblade, the biggest threat, was attacked by three of them. But her armour was the best. Even so, they landed two hits for 7 damage. The two injured goblins attacked Izil. Only the first of them hit, reducing the Alinko to 7 hit points. The last goblin took an extra action to get round the shields and come at Christoph. The spear sank into his side and a woozy feeling threatened to overtake him.
With Wade sprawled on the ground, the five goblins on the barn roof realised they could take their time. It took them two action points to descend and reach Wade and Auntie. But as they readied their spears, they were interrupted by a surprise attack, as two figures darted out from behind the barn.
Eden Wade’s thrown knife struck the goblin already injured by Auntie’s arrow. It was only 2 damage, but enough to reduce its action points to 2, ending its contribution to the round.
Auntie’s brother thrust out a pitchfork at the nearest goblin. The prongs slammed into its back, causing a devastating 6 points of damage. Unfortunately, he failed to pull the weapon free with his final action.
The three goblins with remaining actions turned on Christoph’s father. With his weapon stuck, and no armour, he was a sitting duck. All three landed their spear blows. With only 2 hit points left, he sank to the ground, unconscious and bleeding out.
Desperate, Femke took aim for her next shot. Not only did her arrow hit one of her brother’s attackers, it pierced its ribs, lodging deep, and took 10 hit points. She rushed her follow up shot, a poor nock causing the arrow to die on the string.
Wade got to his feet and stabbed his dagger at the strongest looking goblin. Only one of his strikes got through its hide armour, taking it down to 7 hit points.
At the other end of the farm, Ashlyn had 3 actions to fight off her three goblin attackers. Her first strike with Greenblade was true, killing it with one blow. Two shield slams missed, but they brought the second goblin onto her sword again—16 points of damage enough for another kill. Both shield and sword combined to kill the third goblin with her final action.
Christoph managed to strike the goblin who had him speared, but he didn’t have the strength to cause any damage.
Izil also had only one action point. A shield blow dropped one of his adversaries to 6 hit points, but his sword thrust was evaded.
An awful, high pitched screaming invaded the battle. Among them, Christoph could make out the voices of his mother and sisters. They should have been hiding in the cowshed. For a moment, he feared the worst. Then he realised it was getting louder, and that—for some insane reason—they were rushing the goblins.
He saw his adversary’s eyes widen in alarm. Yes, it had the better of Christoph. But it was the only goblin left on 3 action points. Ashlyn had created a pile of bodies around her. Self preservation kicked in, and it shouted out what must have been an order to retreat.
It looked at Christoph, and a vicious sneer appeared on its face.
The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.
Of course. It’ll finish me off first, he realised.
The goblin thrust the spear farther in, before withdrawing it.
The world disappeared.
***
‘No!’ Ashlyn shouted, as Christoph collapsed. Thankfully, only unconscious. Behind her, his mother and sisters screamed in fear.
The goblin ran for the eastern side of the farm, using two action points to get clear of the battle. Its fellows followed its lead. One had the legs to join it. The one with Izil’s spear lodged in it could only move half the distance. The fourth turned to extract itself from the combat, opening it to a free strike from Izil.
He didn’t waste the opportunity, his sword swing taking 6 hit points, the exact number required for a kill.
Finally, Ashlyn caught sight of a badly wounded goblin in the cow field. It had only just reached the fence, but seeing the others flee, it too turned and ran east.
Meanwhile, it was also the turn of the goblins at the barn. First, Wade had to face a strike from his opponent. He nearly avoided the spear thrust, the blade cutting his arm for 1 point of damage.
The goblin Auntie had shot, lunged forward, getting its revenge by delivering three points of spear damage.
The goblin who had been struck by Eden Wade’s thrown knife also looked for revenge. It took an action to reach the boy, then struck with its spear. It was another successful hit, the blade puncturing the small boy’s frame. 5 points of damage was enough to knock him senseless.
Wade shouted in fury, but two goblins were still to have their turn. One of them, still with three action points, decided to deal with Wade. It could have done better, getting one hit in, for 3 damage. The last goblin, free of enemies, decided to finish Christoph’s father. Considering how easy its task was, its strike was pathetic.
But 2 damage was enough to kill the farmer.
Now in close combat, Auntie was forced to use her bow stave as a fighting staff. Her brother was dead, and it looked like Eden would be next. Fury filled her. She brought the stave down on the goblin's head, cracking her weapon in the process. But she was relieved to see the creature finally collapse to the ground. Using her next action, she ran at the goblin who now stood over Wade’s son. She had no weapon left. She managed to take the creature by surprise, grabbing its spear shaft and yanking it from its hands. With her final action she jammed the spear shaft into its neck, dropping its hit points to 4.
Wade had no choice but to try to land a blow on the two goblins he fought. He was fighting for his son now. He targeted the tougher of the two, but it seemed to anticipate his move, sidestepping the dagger’s arc. When he quickly reversed it, he caught his opponent out. The blade tore through the goblin’s jugular. A fountain of blood spurted out. The goblin somehow kept its feet, but Wade knew it would soon bleed out. His next strike wasn’t nearly as good, but it was enough to take 5 hit points from the other goblin, felling it. He sent his final dagger strike at the goblin that had killed Femke’s brother. The creature blocked it with ease.
‘After them!’ Ashlyn shouted. ‘We can’t let them escape!’ If a single goblin got back to their army, reinforcements would soon arrive. ‘Izil, take the one in the field,’ she instructed. She then ran after the two goblins who were getting away, ignoring the slower third one for now. She caught up to them, but only with a single action point left. Things were desperate.
Naturally, she targeted the goblin who had speared Christoph. Relief flooded her as her crude sword lunge pierced its organs through its back, sending it to the ground. Not only that, her shield slammed into the back of the other goblin’s head, leaving it teetering on a mere 3 hit points.
Izil did as he was told, hobbling towards the eastern side of the cow field, as the wounded goblin inside began to climb the fence.
The goblin who Ashlyn had battered with her shield somehow speared her foot, knocking her hit points down to 11. Not quite enough, thankfully, to drop another action point. The slower goblin she had passed caught up with them, but had no points left for an attack.
The goblin who had killed Christoph’s father now retaliated against Wade. Unprepared, the thief caught two powerful strikes. 11 damage knocked him down to a mere 6 hit points. Fortunately, the goblin whose jugular he had opened finally collapsed from blood loss.
That left the goblin who had floored Eden, and managed to lose its spear to Femke. It tried to grab its weapon back while lashing out with a clawed hand, but Auntie was too savvy to let it back into the fight. She raked the spear blade across its neck, doing enough damage to take it out of the fight. She then used an action to return to the main fight, where only one goblin remained standing. Her first spear strike was good, sinking into the goblin’s back for four damage. The goblin cried out and managed to leap out of the way of her final attempt.
But it only got as far as Wade’s dagger, which he buried into its gut.
The last of the five goblins had fallen, but there was nothing to celebrate. Wade rushed over to his son, while Auntie knelt by her brother.
Greenblade put a sword through the goblin who had speared her foot. A shield barge was enough to finish the second goblin.
The final goblin successfully negotiated the fence around the cow field, only to find Izil waiting for it. The Alinko ran it through with his sword, and the last of the goblins was finally dealt with.
Ashlyn ran over to Christoph.
‘I think he’ll be alright,’ The Bowman’s mother said. ‘So long as Femke gets a look at him.’
‘Femke!’ Ashlyn said, realising that Auntie and Wade had drawn a handful of goblins their way.
‘Over there,’ said Izil, pointing towards the two figures who headed their way.
Wade carried his son.
‘Is Eden alright?’ Christoph’s mother asked with concern.
‘He’ll be fine,’ Femke answered. ‘But I have dreadful news.’
MISSION COMPLETE
SUCCESS: The Gerd farm was defended
Some of your mercs improved their stats:
The Bowman:
Grit +1
Hit Points +1
Greenblade:
Might +1
Hit Points +1
Izil:
Grit +1
Hit Points +1
Some of your ex-mercs improved their stats:
Auntie:
Might +1
Hit Points +1
Action Points +1
Wade:
Skill with knives: expert
Agility +1
Hit Points +1
Some of your ex-mercs levelled up:
Wade is now Level 4
Squad Games. Follow, favorite, or review, to support the story.
Patreon.
Partisans read 8 chapters ahead.
Companions read 30 chapters ahead.
