Acknowledging Hanford's words, Slaen stares at the images infront of her and can't help but feel uneasy. She first looks to the bodies, and then the group and lastly to Archy; taps him lightly on the shoulder and says; "Alright Archy, maybe that's best. I think most of us will be heading into town now, so maybe you can hang in the back, while we go in first?" "Hanford, you got a plan here? I don't like the look of this, those people... if they're still with us, need our help." With that she places her overbearing kit down and gently hops out of the wagon, and crouches down low to stay out of sight; looking for a more concealed path into town.

[You feel like standing here in the open for too long would be a deathtrap]

"Understood, shall we?" Slaen looks to the skies, and mutters some words under her breath, then heads in the direct of the path as sneakily as possible.

Archy stares with frightening awe at the dragon, murmurs a soft acknowledgement at Slaen, and stays behind her, eyes still fixated on the flying beast. Throughout the noise you hear him softly sing a children's rhyme, an odd sober melody, and by the looks of it to keep himself calm for the most part.

Casting Bardic Inspiration, I think Slaen can hear me, and gets a 1d6 inspiration die for the next 10 minutes.

Finally properly awake after the unexpected ride, Garbek hops off the cart, grabs everything he needs for a potential skirmish and starts marching towards the mentioned low path. He passes Archy and slaps him on the back. "Right, stop quiverin' and stick close. You're a big lad, sure ya can keep up with my short-legged march." He gives Archy a wink and joins Slaen at her rear.

Archy gives a startled jump and an uncertain smile towards Garbek "Y-yeah, we can handle this!" He says almost inaudible

Ra'sha is crouching against the cart to stay out of sight. He seems to be observing the situation and listening to Slaen, Archy and Garbek. He's right hand clutching to his dagger and his left holding his Quarterstaff flat against the ground. "A lot to handle here, yet we might have a chance if we move now." His eyes turn Slaen and joins next to Garbek while staying low.

"If we're here for recon, what exactly are we looking for before we gather the rest?" Garbek says to Hanford. "Talkin' to the people of Greenest will expose our asses regardless, might as well do some actual work while we're at it, right? I say we send someone to get the rest, and we start gettin' our hands dirty 'round here. But that's just my 2 coppers"

Hanford lets out a very constrained smile as he looks to Garbek. He turns towards the Keep and the roaring monster around it. css Aye, aye. We came here for recon, send one of our brothers, Alan, back to report when we saw the flames and raiders back at the outskirts, where we set the cart. We already got the rest underway if he was not held up. Hanford scratches his chin for a moment. He gives a quizzical look to the 2 caravan guards. They scan each others faces. Ultimately, Hanford lets out a sigh and faces everyone. He points at one of the armored guards with you. css Alright. Raul, you hold here and watch the gate. If the raiders start coming out on this end, you huddle back to camp. We will start moving inward. We can use the chaos as a bit of cover. Hanford and his one remaining guard start moving towards the side of the West entrance of Greenest. They start scaling the soft hillside and climbing through the thick bushes and roots. Some mumbling and complaints escapes the guards lips as he continues upward. Once they reach the top they hang down a rope and hold to get everyone up to their level. You now find yourself on level ground with the village and can stare down one of it's main roads from the West. Flames rise in the distance as the scaled beast still surrounds the keep like a hungry vulture hounding a coffin. Arrows shot from the East line the ground and some find their place in corpses. The screaming and panic does not stop as the black-dressed groups in the far distance continue to march. From the North you hear screams, louder than others, closer. From behind one of the houses a woman with a large iron shield,an elderly man and 2 children run and scream in blood curdling agony. Arrows land behind their feet as they run towards your group. The woman looks at you and shouts: css Please help me! I cannot hold them myself!

Archy looks around, eyes darting for potential danger and staying behind the other party members, softly humming to himself. When he hears the woman calling for help he looks over and grips his hilt of his sword, his humming becoming louder and filling the air with words: Waving his sword in a magical matter, he sings loudly: "Take thy banner! May it wave, Proudly o'er the good and brave! �� " (casting Heroism) The rest of the words trial off, as Archy rushes head first, weapon drawn towards the woman

Slaen reacts quickly to the women’s cries however becomes distracted by Archies song. She sees him run off in the direct to aid the women and quickly follows suit, staying right in line with him in an almost protective manner. ”Try to stay low and keep behind cover, we need to help them but we can’t do it if we get hurt!” She says with ease while running alongside him. While running Slaen starts fidgeting with the strap attached to her bo staff, and quickly unloops it from around her torso in an smooth manner that ends in a flourish.

Garbek fishes a piece of leather out of a pouch and ties it around his thumb. He then joins the advance, right behind Slaen and Archy. (He prepares to cast Mage Armor on the old man when they get to him)

You rush towards the woman defending other civilians and hold your arms ready in defense. A flash of relief dashes across her face as she waves the old man and children closer. The children manage to run past her and find cover behind you as a group. The old man, slightly crooked over and moving shakenly with his cane appears the slowest. he wheezes as he tries to speed up but finds himself a few feet short. As you now form a defensive line, the woman shouts "Six! there's six of them!" and readies her shield. From the small path between the houses North of you, hisses and a series of footsteps echo. Menacing, pointed spears appear first before the Khobolds who hold them run out. Behind the 3 spear wielding Khobolds, 3 more appear with bows in their claws. They wear rough, black leather armor, crudely fitted for their Small size. The Khobolds attempt to line up in 2 rows of 3, archers in the back and spearmen in the front. Obviously being shocked to find more than just the 4 commoners they were chasing, they are Surprised as they try to stumble into formation. You stand ready, shoulder to shoulder, about 45 feet away from the khobolds who have their back to the large road leading further into Greenest. To your left are the houses, roughly 10 feet away. To your right is more of the open road, currently sparsely inhabited by guards attempting to escort civilians. They seem too far to be of immediate aid. css [Roll for initiative in Rolls please!]

The tiefling runs toward Garbek, keeping an eye out for any arrows that might be coming his way. "I guess I'm getting close this one since you're shielding others. If there's a next time it'll be your turn" Ra says with a rather stoic smile. He fluently grabs a piece of cured leather from his pouch as well and holds it against his chest (Casting Mage Armor on himself.)

Upon seeing the kobolds, Garbek sticks to what he already prepared to do. With the leather around his thumb, Garbek puts his hand on the old man's shoulder and casts Mage Armor on him. An almost hard to notice layer of white and yellow energy envelops the old man. "Keep steppin' ya old stager, you'll be fine" Garbek steps past the man to get in between him and the kobolds. He firmly grasps his axe with both hands and glares at the kobolds.

As the dwarf takes the lead, Ra'Sha positions himself right next to the old man. A blue and thin magic is visibly being worn by the half-demon. "I'll try to take out the archers in the back." Ra then extends his hands out and swiftly makes a circular movement with his hands going into separate directions. His hand meet in de middle, his right hand open in front of the other. His eyes are glaring up with fiery demeanor. You can here him whisper a chant, yet with peaks of hisses and throaty sounds coming through it. (Preparing FireBolt.)

When Slaen spots the kobolds, she start to run forward towards them; staying close to the building while doing so. About 10 feet into her run she grabs at her belt plucking a silver in colour dart adorned with dark green and blue feathers, from a pouch. > Slaen attempts a ranged attack with: Dart After throwing the dart she continues running towards the Kobolds a further 25 feet; while simultaneously readying her Bo staff for a fight.

Archy, still loudly singing, ducks in to a defensive position against the archers behind a small wall "AND SOOOO ,- WE'RE READY FOR BATTLE - IN STRENGHT AND MIIIIGHT"

The old man has passed by you and seems safe enough for the moment. You move up to prepare to meet the enemy up close. The woman with the shield is close by you and moves with your pace.

From your flat hand a fierce burst of fire emerges. It launches towards the South most Khobold wielding a spear. The flaming orb lands on his chest as he shrieks. With manic hand waving and slapping his chest he puts out the starting fire. He puts his slightly burned hands back on his spear and looks in anger at Ra'Sha.

With a sharp 'whifff' the dart rips through the air and finds it's target. One of the bow wielding Khobolds stands still for a moment, blood pours from the corner of his mouth as his eyes twitch and his lips smack. The dart rests cleanly above his brow and is lodged deeply in. With gasping breaths and a finishing slight groan the Khobold falls over on his back. Leaving no time to waste, you rush your way to the front and stand ready with your weapon.

You find cover behind the outreaches of the doorway of the house North of you. You continue your performance.

[ Round 2 ] The khobolds, down 1 in their archer line, are no longer Surprised by the sudden ambush. They face you directly now and hold their arms ready with mad and angered looks in their beady eyes.

Impressed by Slaen's throw, Garbek lets out an excited shout. "Five more! I'll make it four!" Garbek takes advantage of the khobolds' hesitation. His axe pointed backwards and held steady at his side, he runs at the nearest spear-wielding kobold and swings the axe overhead, aiming for the spearman's collarbone.

Without any reluctance Ra'sha joins Garbek in his unrelenting assault. While running, Ra's right hand appears to be swiftly moving in the shape of an octagon. His left hand holding steady in front of him waiting for the right hand to collide with it in a loud clap. The hands meet! Thumbs connecting and his fingers spread. Ra'sha Fingertips now burning up like the charred wood in a hearth. "Ruoburadh Sotan!!" (casting Burning hands; aiming at the two spearmen on the right. )

Slaen smirks, as she watches the kobold archer slump to the ground. "By all means Garbek, show me what you've got!" She then swiftly makes up the remaining distance between her and the Kobold front line. Once in range Slaen attempts to slam her bo staff down onto the Kobolds neck/shoulder area with a downwards vertical strike. She then uses the staff monkey style to hop off and kicks the kobold square in the chest.

The Khobold sees you approach and tries to ready his weapon in defense. His grip is tight until he sees the axe come down from high above. For a brief second his eyes grow large before metal meets flesh and bone. Plunging your axe deep, you see the life drain from the creature as it goes limp.

A wave of intense fire erupts from you fingers and washes over the remaining spearman Khobold. He tries to cover himself with his arms but fails.

The Khobolds eyes narrow as you approach. With a vicious "Hyaaa!" he dodges your downward strike. Griping his spear intently, he steps back enough to also dodge your kick. The creature lets out a snort as it bears it's yellow, pointed teeth. At that very moment, fire covers and scorches him. With gargling hisses, he topples over and continues to burn away.

Your performance goes on as your comrades dive into battle.

The woman with the shield marches along Garbek and swings the cane at the last Spearman. She holds behind her shield until she is close enough and unleashes her might. Before the Khobold is aware of the cane heading towards him, he is struck across the face with it. A wicked snarl escapes his bruised face.

Archy draws his sword and runs up from his hiding spot closer to the kobolds, and prepares to charge any survivers

Garbek is slightly surprised that the kobold hit him at all, oddly enough it seems like he sees it as a pleasant surprise. This probably very short-lived rivalry has him psyched up. "Great shot, lad! Let me return the favor!" The pale dwarf holds his axe with one hand, and cracks the knuckles on his other by making a fist. When he opens his fist, a small ember appears. "Erixe fotia!" With an overhead throw, Garbek aims for the khobold archer. (Casting Fire Bolt)

Slaen seems momentarily taken aback by the kobolds speed in dodging her two blows. She notices a Kobold archer in the back letting loose an arrow in her distraction and moves her body to the side in an attempt to dodge the arrow "Quicker than I thought they would be... but can they dodge this?" She then takes advantage of her forward momentum and throws out a second kick; this time to the base of the throat, followed by a backwards flourish of her staff in an attempt to crack the Kobold in the side of the head.

The burning orb rushes through the air in a clean arc, only to barely land besides the Khobold Archer.

The Khobold prepares for your attacks. He manages to lean to the left and sidestep your kick, but he finds himself unprepared for your follow up. With a muffled crunch the Khobolds head turns forcibly to the side as the staff makes impact and forces itself across. The Khobold drops his spear and falls over with only the faintest noise of it's armor hitting the stone road.

With sword ready, you get behind your fellow fighters and have sight on the 2 remaining Khobolds.

The Khobolds seem to be trying to escape. As they keep moving to the North by about 20 feet, they try to fire arrows at Slaen. In their haste and rising panic, the left archer aims too high and barely hits the broad side of a house to the South. The other, in his fear, stumbles over a discarded piece of trash and fumbles his bow. With a shriek and the clatter of wood, he drops his bow.

Slightly annoyed, Garbek clenches his fist one more time and attempts another throw at the fleeing khobold. (Casting Fire Bolt) "Practice shot, ya bugger!"

Spotting the incoming arrows from the corner of her eye Slaen, readies herself to dodge the arrows, but it is not needed. "Take advantage of the one that stumbled, its panicking!" Slaen then runs out onto the path until she has a clear line of sight; takes aim and throws a second dart at the Kobold archer that Garbek did not attack. > Slaen attempts a ranged attack with a Dart.