[WFRP] The Bloody Crown XIV

[LCP]

While they drew their plans on the edge of the rocks, down in the hollow the chief had managed to push and shove his way through the press to the two goblins who had broken the branch. One of them cringed and cowered, but the other didn't seem in the mood to back down. Instead, a hissing, shrieking argument seemed to be developing, slipping steadily from the goblin tongue into their own coarse Reikspiel.

“...Snagrit! I ain't tellin' you again!” barked the chief. "Get back on dat rope!"

“Wot for? It's busted!” The goblin tore off his hood, threw it on the ground and stamped on it. “Seven stinkin’ dayz we’ve bin doin’ dis! Da Big Wun ain’t comin’!” He pointed a crooked finger at the captives. “She don’t want ‘em!”

“‘Oo’z fault iz dat den?” demanded the chief. “It woz your raidin' crew who brought ‘em back. Two measly humies and dat bag of bones?”

“We wuz da only ones wot brought anyfink back!” shrieked Snagrit, kicking up a scattering of pebbles. “And wot woz yoo doin’, boss? Sittin’ on your bony arse up here, listenin’ to old Weirdie fill your ‘ed wiv ‘is rubbish.” There was a dangerous gleam in the goblin’s eyes - or more dangerous than usual, at least. “‘Ow many cows did you snag?”

A ripple of mutters ran through the goblin onlookers. Certainly something about Snagrit’s complaints seemed to resonate with them.

“Dis woz your plan. Takin’ us out ‘ere ta fry in da sun. And where’s it got us?” The muttering grew louder, interspersed with yeehhhhhs. “She ain’t comin’. Not now, not nevah!”

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo turned to the others with a tone of hushed excitement "Wierdie! That's him, right?"

[rax]

"Could well be," Bardhyl agreed. "And there's a mutiny brewing as well from the sound of it. Now if we could just find a way of exploiting that..." he mused.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Big one was what they called the wyvern, wasn't it?" Sieghard asked. "Sounds like it's abandoned them."

"And there's a mutiny brewing as well from the sound of it. Now if we could just find a way of exploiting that..."

"You fooled them into thinking you were one of them last time," he said to Ludo. "Do a goblin voice and yell something insulting," he suggested.

[-Sentinel-]

"I think we should wait and see, in case Wadim shows up," whispered Elsa. "If the wyvern's not coming, I don't think the two prisoners are in immediate danger..."

[LCP]

“Don’t like da plan, eh?” said the chief, raising his voice to address the mob. “Want to go back ter face da gulnargrotz yourselves, do ya?” The muttering died down a little. “Yehh. Didn’t fink so.”

“It’s not da off'rins she don’t want, boss,” sneered Snagrit. “It’s you. You're cracked. Back since before da red moon. It woz you wot turned your sniffer up at da big waaagh down souf. It woz you wot let da humies into da warrens!” He bared his sharp teeth in a mocking grin. "You’re curseded. She don’t want nuffink you’ve got!”

“You challengin’ me, Snagrit?” demanded the chief, pulling his longest knife from his belt. “You want da boss’s hat? Come an’ get it!”

Snagrit's sneering bravado seemed to wilt now that blades were drawn. Muttering and mumbling, he slumped his shoulders, backing away.

"You shoulda run off wiv Ratgash's lot, you snivellin' runt," snarled the chief. He looked round to survey the crowd, raising his voice to a shrill shout. "Anyone else got any problems wiv 'ow we're doin' fings round 'ere?"

It had been a mistake to turn his back on Snagrit, however briefly . Ludo caught the sudden glint of metal in the other goblin's hand, and then in an instant he sprang. The chief seemed to see it too, but couldn't react fast enough to avoid being knocked off his feet. The two greenskins went over together in an angry ball of knives, fists and teeth. It was difficult to tell which of them had the upper hand.

[LeSwordfish]

"I don't like the look of this," Ludo said, rising slightly above the rock to line up his rifle on the squabbling goblins. "If Wadim's alive because of Glimrut, and Glimrut dies, he'll end up in the cooking pot. I don't want to just wait and see how this plays out. Maybe we need a distraction or something to get them apart."

"And what on earth is a gulnargrot?"

OOC

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Maintaining an Aim action on Snagrit, or just the fight in general.

A specific condition: If the fight resolves in a way that allows me a clear shot on Snagrit AND Glimrut is in imminent danger, Ludo will take a shot at Snagrit. (For example, Glimrut is down and bleeding and Snagrit stands to put the boot in, or pulls back to draw a knife, etc.)

[LCP]

The two goblins tumbled head over foot across the rocky floor of the hollow, each struggling for the ascendancy. Tracking them with the barrel of his musket, Ludo quickly found his aim being fouled by the other greenskins crowding eagerly round, cheering and chanting the name of whichever goblin they supported - or perhaps whichever one they thought most likely to win. A few scuffles broke out in the crowd when goblins chanting different names found themselves standing too close to one another.

There was a sudden glurk! and a spray of dark blood. The chanting stopped, and the crowd pulled back as the chief sprang to his feet. Beneath him, Snagrit lay sprawled over the rocks, his throat slit from ear to ear.

“ALRIGHT!” screamed the chief. His face was spattered with Snagrit’s blood, and his eyes gleamed with a crazed light. “’OO ELSE WANTS SUM? ‘OO ELSE WANTS A PIECE OF BOSS GLIMRUT?” He flailed his arms wildly, making the goblins around him jump back. “ANYOFYOUGITSWANTSUMCOMEANDGETSUMCOSYOU’LLGETWOTSCO MINTOYA!”

There was a long silence, in which it became apparent that nobody, in fact, wanted some. At last, one goblin tentatively set up a cheer.

“Glimrut! Glimrut!”

The other goblins took up the chant with gusto. Still panting, Glimrut grinned, picked his cooking-pot crown up off the ground and jammed it back onto his head, before spreading his arms and letting the others lift him up onto their shoulders.

When the celebrations had died down, they set him down on the bole of the tree, next to the prisoners. He sheathed his knife and held up his hands for quiet.

“Right! Lissen up! ‘Ere’s wot we’re gonna do.” He started pointing out goblins in the crowd. “Gitter! Gobsnik! Get a fire goin’. We’re goin’ to have a tasty dinner of roast rat.” He pointed to Snagrit’s corpse, and the other goblins whooped and cheered. “The rest of yez! When da red eye goes behind dem hills” - he pointed up to the tops of the Teeth behind them - “we’re goin’ out raidin’! An’ dis time we’re gonna bring back sumfink good!”

A resounding YEHHHHH! greeted his words. As the two goblins that Glimrut had identified started rushing around the hollow in search of firewood, the others capered and cheered, whatever grievances they had seemingly forgotten - as, for now, were their prisoners.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo shuffled back from the edge a little and turned to the others. "Alright. Back to plan A - let's find a good place to hide, wait for them to head out, and then perhaps we can rescue the prisoners while the camp is emptier, or take a prisoner who can tell us where Wadim is."

[rax]

"Agreed. Let's look for a spot that provides both good cover and a good view of the hollow if possible, so we can catch whatever's going on," Bardhyl replied.

[-Sentinel-]

"Somewhere directly away from the lowlands," Elsa said. "Because that's where they'll look for sumfink good."

She moved away from the gully as quietly as she could. Thankfully the goblins were now feasting and making a lot of noise.

"There was that farm back there, and it might end up right in their path... Should one of us go warn them?"

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded, unloading his rifle carefully as he walked. "If they haven't already been hit. One of you or Sieghard could probably drive off a small raid by yourself, and, well, neither of you is especially stealthy."

[rax]

"They were fine when we broke camp this morning," Bardhyl reminded Ludo. "It took us hours to get here and the goblins won't be going out to raid until sundown. I can send one of my lads back to warn the locals while there's still light, but I won't be asking them to try and find their way back here in the dark, especially not with night goblins on the prowl," he added.

[-Sentinel-]

"If they haven't already been hit. One of you or Sieghard could probably drive off a small raid by yourself, and, well, neither of you is especially stealthy."

"Forget stealth," said Elsa. "Even with most goblins gone, we'll need to hit that camp hard with everything we've got. Best to send someone with long strides and a good sense of direction."

She inclined her head towards Bardhyl to signal that she trusted him to have someone handle the matter.

[rax]

"Damjan, you're the youngest of us. Get yourself back the way we came and stop by the farmstead we passed to let them know what's coming. Then, get yourself to safety back at the cave and tell Grim what we're up to. I expect we'll join you there in a few days, but if we have to keep looking we'll find a way to send a message," Bardhyl instructed the younger of the two Vrani.

[RossN]

Jarla

"So, will be taking prisoners with our own raid?" Jarla asks. "Not that I expect goblins to be especially trustworthy but it might be useful questiong one - especially as I'm sure he'd happily sell out the rest in exchange for his life."

[rax]

"If Wadim is there and we can bring him with us, what use is a goblin prisoner?" Bardhyl answered.

[LCP]

"Damjan, you're the youngest of us. Get yourself back the way we came and stop by the farmstead we passed to let them know what's coming. Then, get yourself to safety back at the cave and tell Grim what we're up to. I expect we'll join you there in a few days, but if we have to keep looking we'll find a way to send a message,"

Nodding his acceptance of Bardhyl’s orders, Damjan took off quickly and sure-footedly down the hillside, hurrying away from the hollow. The rest of them fell back a few dozen yards, to a scattering of boulders that offered them some cover, while still keeping a view of the hollow and the tree.

Afternoon turned into evening, and as the sun dipped behind the crags, the goblin camp became a hive of activity. Breaking into groups that ranged in size from half a dozen to two or three times that number, the greenskins gathered up their weapons - knives, spears, clubs and nets, and a few crooked bows with black-feathered arrows. As well as these, they had a good number of coarse sacks and coils of rope, which each crew either heaped on the meekest and weediest-looking one of their number, or squabbled viciously about who had to carry them. Whenever any of the squabbles looked to be getting out of hand, Glimrut would wade in to set things straight.

As the last red sliver of the sun’s disc disappeared behind the hills, the first groups came boiling out of the hollow, singing boisterously as they went. They were horrendously out of tune, but it hardly mattered, as they were all singing different songs. The largest group headed straight down the ravine, while others climbed up the sides of the hollow, striking out both east and west across the slopes. Ludo did his best to keep count - by his estimate at least thirty-six goblins were on the move, leaving perhaps fewer than fourteen still in the hollow. He didn’t see any sign of the chief among the raiders.

One group that had come up the eastern side of the hollow was taking a path that looked set to pass within twelve yards of the party’s hiding place. There were only seven goblins in this band, but the others were mostly still within shrieking distance. If the alarm were raised now, it wouldn’t take long for the whole tribe to come swarming back.

OOC:

Spoiler

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It’s up to you whether you want to try to ambush these gobbos before they can yell out, or stay low + stay hidden. In either case I’ll take a single Stealth test from whatever stealthy person wants to take the lead as representing the expertly-supervised efforts of the group. Success could mean getting a Surprise round if you want to ambush or remaining undetected if you want to lie low.

I’ll oppose the roll with the gobbos’ Perception but I’ll roll that after!

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo held up a hand to silence the group, and lowered it gently, indicating "stay down".

[LCP]

Keeping low to the rocks, they held their breath as the goblins went by. None of the greenskins seemed to spot them - they were too busy chattering to one another, or testing the weight of their oversized clubs by swinging them wildly in the air. In a minute or two they had passed them by far enough to be lost in the gathering dusk; in another minute the sound of their voices had faded away.

There was still the odd grunt or fragment of goblin chatter coming from the hollow - clearly it wasn’t yet abandoned. All the raiding parties, however, were out of sight and earshot.

[rax]

"That went well," Bardhyl nodded appreciatively to Ludo. "Does anyone disagree that our next move should be to cut our way through the remaining goblins and then search their warrens for Wadim?"

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa gave a nod. "Let's do it, I say. The odds are on our side now."

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"We don't know how many of them are left" Sieghard pointed out. "Less, certainly, but we'd still be fools to just rush in. Scout it from the ridge first, then we go."

[rax]

"I believe Herr Ludo estimated the remaining goblins as being less than fourteen. Correct, Herr Ludo? But, naturally, we shouldn't go storming in just because of that," Bardhyl agreed.

"Ortwin, Afrim - when we get to the hollow, let's see if there's enough light to pick off a few of the greenskins before we take them hand-to-hand. And when we enter the warrens, I want you both to remain outside and keep an ear out for any returning goblins," he added.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo nodded. "First priority is finding Wadim, or signs of him. Next is freeing the prisoners. After that... we take a prisoner of our own. The chief, maybe, he's still down there."

[LCP]

Readying their weapons, Bardhyl's men crept slowly back to the edge of the hollow, allowing Sieghard and the other less stealthy members of the party to hang back. The light was fading fast, but there was still enough to make out what the goblins that remained down there were up to.

Bardhyl could make out around ten of the little creatures. Half of them were clustered around their now-extinguished cooking fire, where Snagrit's blackened bones were now skewered on a crude spit. One of them had taken down the unfortunate goblin's skull, and was intently working on prising out its teeth. Another pair were making fletchings for their crude arrows with feathers they were plucking from a dead crow, while a third group were playing some kind of game with painted pebbles. None of them seemed to be paying much attention to their surroundings outside the hollow.

There was no sign of the chief. Either he had departed with one of the raiding parties after all, or he had retreated back behind the black curtain. A flicker of firelight indicated that someone was back there, at least - either that or the goblins were very careless about their campfires. On reflection that didn't seem too unlikely.

[LeSwordfish]

Ludo pointed at the curtain. "If Wadim's anywhere, he's back there. Do you have any kind of signal that he'd recognise?"

[-Sentinel-]

Elsa grunted skeptically. "The signal is the sound of goblins shrieking. Let's go, before we lose our advantage."

She whispered words of power to surround herself with a shimmering bubble of magical protection.


OOC

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I really don't think Bardhyl and Wadim have a "hoot like an owl" signal after all this time with no contact, and even if they do, I'm not sure how it would help at all for Wadim to know we're here. Besides, our characters have been whispering to each other for about three weeks IRL by now.

Channeling: (d100)[69]

Aethyric Armour:
With 1 dice if Channeling is passed, 2+: (1d10)[10]
With 2 dice if Channeling is failed, 5+: (2d10)[5][8](13)

4 points of armor on all locations for 1 minute.

[TheSummoner]

Sieghard

"Nothing too flashy if we can help it," Sieghard said when he saw Elsa casting her spell. "No guns either," he told Ludo. He began loading his crossbow. "The rest of them aren't so far something too bright or too loud wouldn't draw them back."

[LeSwordfish]

"Let me at least check the chief's cave first," Ludo said. He passed his rifle off to Sieghard and slipped down into the valley, silent as a shadow.