Knock Knock

“Alright, we need to see what is behind that door.” Nickara commented as she crouched around a corner with her companions, brushing a stray bit of hair behind her half-elven ears. “I don’t relish leaving anything at our backs as we descend.”

The leather straps of her breastplate creaked softly as she shifted her longsword to get more comfortable. She'd already rested her shield against the wall, but no matter what she tried there was no getting around the fact that her armor was not designed for squatting. At least she wasn't in full plate like Heleina.

“I have these picks I looted off that kobold a few days ago.” Nickara continued, brandishing a set of lock picks. “But I'm hopeless with them. Who else is quiet and nimble?” She asked, praying to Tharos either Heleina or Pek'Mar spoke up.

“Ooo, ooo, me!” Goolash said excitedly, waving his hand in the air, his other hand gripping the tree branch he called his “stick”.

The rest of the group groaned audibly as their goblin companion smiled. While they all agreed he was a master at his druidcraft, he was far from the brightest. But they all had to admit that of the lot, he was the quietest and rather nimble.

“Alright, Goolash. Here's the plan.” Nickara started to explain. “We need you to sneak up to that door and find out what is behind it. Can you do that?”

“Of course!” He answered, thrilled to get to help.

“Fine,” Nickara agreed “but if you get into any trouble, yell…”

“Cinnamon Buns!” Goolash blurted out.

“We're doomed.” Pek'Mar muttered, and Nickara shot him a look. But she envied him. His wizard robes looked much more comfortable to crouch in.

Before Nickara could say anything else, Goolash darted off. Sure enough, he didn't make a sound as he crept up to the door.

“Um, Nick…” Heleina started.

“What is it, Heleina?” She asked.

“He never took the picks…” Heleina finished.

“I stand corrected,” Pek'Mar interjected. “We're dead.”

Sure enough, Nickara looked down and saw she still held the lockpicks Goolash was supposed to take to open the door.

“How do you think he's going to get in?” Heleina asked absently.

And they all let out a groan as Goolash reached the door. And knocked.

Goolash stood at the door patiently. He was always happy when his friends let him help. Which wasn't often. He adjusted his grip on his staff, noticing that he was going to have to get it blooming again soon, when the door opened.

Standing in the doorway was a mean looking goblin in dark brown leather armor. He looked Goolash up and down with a sneer.

“We been waitin for ya.” He growled.

“I's here!” Goolash replied cheerfully.

The goblin growled again before leading him into the room. Goolash's nose wrinkled immediately at the stale scent of sweat and fresher scent of blood. Looking around he spotted three other goblins, who he happily waved to in greeting.

The goblin led him to the center of the room, where a silver dragonborn in rags was laid out on a table. His wrists and ankles were bound to rope that stretched out to the bottom and top of the table, a strange wheel at the foot of the table. His right eye was swollen shut, and dried blood was crusted around his mouth, snout, and the holes that served as ears.

Towering over the table was a burly bugbear in scale armor. A jagged scar ran through his left eye, and a large mace leaned against the table. He scowled down at Goolash, sneering at his brown robes and tree branch.

“I was told to observe as you break the prisoner.” He explained in his gravelly voice. “Now, beat him to submission.” The bugbear instructed.

Goolash looked down at the bound dragonborn, then to his staff. Shrugging, he poked the dragonborn in the ribs several times, eliciting groans of discomfort from the dragonborn. He looked up at the bugbear expectantly.

The bugbears scowl deepened, and he let out a guttural growl.

“Beat him to submission!”

Goolash proceeded to poke the dragonborn a few more times, causing more groans.

“Do you submit?” He asked, then leaned in, whispering loudly “Say yes.”

“Yes?” The dragonborn wearily replied, perplexed.

“I have beat him to submission.” Goolash proudly proclaimed.

Frustrated, the bugbear pointed towards the wheel. His voice dropped, his tone becoming more menacing.

“Tighten the wheel.” He demanded.

Goolash moved over to the wheel and examined it. Leaning his staff against the table he gave it a good spin. In the wrong direction. The taut ropes pulling the dragonborn to hyperextension loosened, and the dragonborn let out a sigh of relief as his joints realigned.

“Kill him!” The bugbear hollered to the other goblins, pointing at Goolash. The four goblins in the room drew wicked looking serrated blades and advanced on Goolash.

“Uh oh.” Goolash muttered. He grabbed his staff, muttered a brief bit of what sounded like gibberish, and reached out and touched the dragonborn's foot. Several of his cuts began to stitch together, and his swollen eye healed enough that he could see out of it. Then Goolash bolted.

The bugbear grabbed his mace and lunged at Goolash, his swing just missing Goolash's shoulder and taking out a chunk of the table as Goolash darted away. Dipping and dodging, Goolash avoided a swipe from one goblin, and a stab from another as he circled back to the table.

Pulling out a handful of seeds, he muttered his gibberish again and scattered them onto the table above the dragonborn's head. They began to glow, and the smell of burning hempen rope and flesh added its aroma to the sweat and blood of the room. With a mighty flex, the dragonborn snapped the now singed ropes, groaning as he sat up and began quickly working to free his legs.

With the dragonborn freed, Goolash turned to face the goblins. Brandishing his staff, he waved it around a bit, mumbled through what sounded like random words, and slammed the staff into the ground. A blast of thunder filled the room, and concussive energy sent the two closest goblins flying back.

“Good stick.” Goolash said, patting his staff. He was beginning to think he'd get out of this all on his own.

THCK

Two arrows pierced his shoulder and hip as he cried out. Looking around, he spotted the other two goblins who had drawn their shortbows instead of chasing him around. Grinning wickedly, they each nocked another arrow as Goolash began to limp for cover.

“CINNAMON BUNS! CINNAMON BUNS!” He screamed as he dove behind the table, two arrows thunking into the table where the dragonborn had previously been laying.

The dragonborn, now freed from his bonds, rose from the table on unsteady legs to confront the bugbear. Grabbing one of the iron pokers that had been used to torture him, he brandushed it like a sword as the bugbear gave hom a derisive sneer.

“Come, little lizard” the bugbear mocked. “Let us finish our dance.” And he struck, bringing his mace down at the dragonborn's head with a mighty swing.

Beaten, bruised, and exhausted as he was, desperation gave the dragonborn the strength to deflect the mace. Taking what would have been a killing blow to the head on his shoulder instead, the dragonborn growled in pain. He swung wildly to drive the bugbear back to give himself a reprieve, then set his feet again in preparation for the next attack.

The bugbear didn't make him wait long. Barreling forward, he attempted to tackle the dragonborn to the ground. The dragonborn managed to just side step, scoring a minor hit that was deflected by the bugbears armor as he passed.

Squaring off again, the bugbear and dragonborn circled each other. They both knew that the dragonborn had little left to give, and soon the goblins would join the fight and it would be over. Determined to go down fighting, the dragonborn began to pray.

“Making peace with your god in your final moments?” The bugbear mocked. “Why waste your breath, you'll be seeing them soon enough.” he finished, laughing.

“Not making peace.” The dragonborn whispered. “Seeking justice.” He added as the iron poker he held began to glow with a holy light. And with a smile, the dragonborn charged.

From behind the table, Goolash peeked out, quickly ducking as two more arrows pierced the wood. One of the goblins hit with the wave of thunder was getting up, the other beginning to stir, and Goolash sensed he was running out of time. Risking another peek, he waggled his fingers at the goblins, and smiled as thorny vines began to grow out of the ground, entangling the goblins and giving him a slight reprieve.

“CINNAMON BUNS!” He screamed again, and wondered where his friends were.

“Have some faith,” Heleina tried to reassure her companions. “Perhaps he will figure a way out of this on his own.”

“You do recall he spent five minutes in a game of Boulder, Parchment, Shears with no winner against a kobold because they both kept throwing boulder, right?” Pek'Mar reminded her.

“Give it a rest, Pek,” Nickara chastised “there isn't much we can do right now. We just have to wait and listen.”

“CINNAMON BUNS! CINNAMON BUNS!” Came a scream from the room.

“You were saying?” Pek'Mar asked, grinning arrogantly.

“Stuff it, Pek.” Nickara snapped, hefting her shield and strapping it down. Charging towards the room, she drew her sword as Heleina followed, pulling out her holy symbol. Calling down a blessing from her god, Heleina gestured and Nickara was bathed in golden light, bolstered by Heleina's clerical magic.

“CINNAMON BUNS!” Came the cry again.

Nickara shouldered her way into the room, and took in the chaos at a glance. Four goblins were struggling against thorny vines while Goolash crouched behind a table, two arrows sticking out of him and four sticking out of the table. To the right of the table a bugbear traded blows with a dragonborn wielding a glowing iron poker.

As Heleina began to move to assist Goolash, Nickara took the lead.

“Heleina, Goolash can see to his own wounds. See what you can do for that dragonborn.” She barked. “Goolash, on my mark drop those vines. I can't fight those goblins if I can't get to them.” She instructed. “And Pek, whenever you feel like joining us, please try not to blow us up” she shot back at the gnome.

“You set off a fireball in an enclosed space ONE TIME and they never let you live it down.” Pek'Mar complained as he entered the room.

“My hair still hasn't grown back.” Goolash pointed out.

“You've always been bald.” Pek'Mar pointed out, annoyed.

“Oh yeah.”

“Enough you two. Move, NOW!” Nickara bellowed. Taking a few strides she leapt over the table and charged the goblins as Goolash released his spell. As the vines fell away, Pek'Mar conjured a barrage of cobalt blue darts to keep the goblins in disarray until Nickarar closed.

Shield deflecting blades, Nickara lashed out with her longsword, harrying the goblins as they tried to organize. The archers discarded their bows, drawing their own blades as Nickara danced among them, rendering their bows ineffective.

While the goblins were clearly outmatched, they had the advantage of numbers. It was all Nickara could do to keep them from mounting a coordinated offense. Any move for a kill she tried at one goblin left her open to a counter strike from the others. And so she fell into a defensive pattern, keeping them off balanced and unable to organize, praying for an opening.

Suddenly four badgers joined the fray, and Nickara grinned as she recognized Hoolash's favored conjured beasts. They quartet swarmed one of the goblins, and startled the rest enough that she was able to focus on a single foe, quickly overpowering and dispatching it before the rest could recover.

The other two goblins quickly moved to avenge their fallen comrade, ignoring the cries of their other companion buried in a flurry of fur and claws. Finally able to coordinate, the two advanced on Nickara as a team, and she prayed Heleina was having better luck with the dragonborn and bugbear, and wondering what Pek'Mar was waiting for to assist her.

Trusting Nickara and her friends had the goblins in hand, Heleina moved to offer what aid she could to the dragonborn. As she approached, she watched as he rained blow after blow down on the bugbear, who had his mace raised defensively against the savage onslaught. But even bolstered by the dragonborn's magic, she could see that the iron poker was beginning to suffer under the strain of the attacks.

Gripping her holy symbol, Heleina whispered a prayer to Tharo. Holy light appeared above the bugbear, and divine fire descended upon it. Unfortunately, the bugbear managed to dodge, cursing her as he did. The distraction cost him though, as the dragonborn brought a foot up to kick him back several paces.

“This fight is mine, holy sister.” The dragonborn growled at her, then winced in pain, hand going to his side. “But I would be a fool to not accept other forms of aid, if your god wills it.” He finished, his claw coming away with blood from a freshly reopened wound.

Still gripping her holy symbol, Heleina spoke another prayer. More holy light radiated off of her, and waves of healing energy washed over the dragonborn. His wounds began to knit together, and he looked reinvigorated. Nodding to her in thanks, he moved in on the bugbear, bent and still glowing poker in hand.

Sparing a glance to her companions, Heleina noticed four badgers bury one goblin in a pile, and Nickara dart in and slay another. But the move cost her and the remaining two goblins, now working in concert, moved in on her. Looking around, she noticed Goolash beginning to grow, his skin rippling as fur covered his body like a wave, and he barreled forward as a much larger badger than his conjured beasts. But where was Pek'Mar?

Pek'Mar finished his casting, sending multiple bolts of energy at the goblins as Nickara closed, then muttered at the insanity of it all.

Years of study, tutelage under some of the finest teachers, an apprenticeship to a renowned mage, every luxury at his fingertips, and Pek'Mar was fighting goblins in the grimy lair of a local warlord. How far he had fallen.

As Goolash conjured his ridiculous pack of badgers, and began to transform himself, Pek'Mar stepped away. Weaving the light around him with intricate gestures, he faded from view and surveyed the battle. As he watched and waited for his moment to strike, he pondered the differences in his companions' styles.

Nickara was a competent tactician, but had no appreciation for the intricacies of spellcraft. Oh, she made use of the brutality of a fireball, or precision strike of a well-placed lightning bolt, but failed to grasp the difficulty of utilizing such power while she haphazardly hacked and slashed her way around in melee. Not that he'd ever describe it to her that way.

Heleina was a different matter. Utterly devout, precise in her execution, she was a competent wielder of her gods divine power. But to Pek'Mar, her absolute faith in her god to watch over and protect her came across as a lack of faith in her own abilities. If she believed in her own capabilities, why rely so heavily on divine intervention?

And Goolash? Goolash was a buffoon. How a nature goddess as powerful as Lakesh could choose a fool like Goolash as her champion was beyond even Pek'Mar's understanding. But even he had to admit that the little goblin was a devastatingly effective conduit for the chaos and power of Nature's fury. He was a liability in any plan requiring even a modicum of intelligence, present endeavor included. But in a fight you could count on him to be a brutal, if unpredictable, force to be reckoned with.

Shaking himself out of his musings, Pek'Mar took stock of the battlefield. Goolash had finished his transformation and was stalking forward, which Pek'Mar knew would irritate Nickara. Heleina seemed to have the dragonborn back in fighting order. And two of the goblins were moving about Nickara in a way that Pek'Mar could finally exploit. Grinning, he began to weave his hands in an intricate pattern, chanting rhythmically.

Nickara spared a moment to glance back and cursed. A giant badger she recognized as Goolash's preferred combat form was lumbering towards what remained of his conjured pack of badger, and Pek'Mar was nowhere in sight. But she quickly had to reshift her focus back to the pair of goblins. Not the most skilled opponents, but the pair knew how to work well together, keeping her from being able to focus her efforts on either one of them long enough to take it out.

All of a sudden the ground beneath the two goblins began to churn. Nickara quickly jumped back as dirt and rock erupted upward like a geyser, slamming the two goblins into the ceiling then burying them in rubble and debris. Looking back Nickara saw the glow of magical energy fade as Pek'Mar reappeared, a smug expression on his face.

At the same time Goolash, in his giant badger form, barreled into the final goblin as it finished off the last conjured badger. A snarling ball of teeth and claws, Goolash made short work of the already battered and wounded goblin.

With the goblins dealt with, the three companions turned to watch the dragonborn and bugbear go at it.

Trevarius whispered another prayer of thanks to the Father of Dragons as he pressed the attack against his bugbear opponent. Ambushed, beaten bloody, stripped of his weapons and armor, and humiliated, Trevarius sought to reclaim some of his honor by ending his jailor in single combat.

The circumstances of his sudden freedom still perplexed him. From the strange goblin assigned to torture him, to the sudden appearance of three adventurers, Trevarius saw it as the weirdest intervention on his behalf by his god to date. But he had little time to ponder it. Even with the blessed healing of the woman called Heleina, his strength was fading fast. He had to end this fight quickly.

Despite being wounded and at an obvious disadvantage without armor or a suitable weapon, Trevarius had landed some minor strikes against his foe. But more importantly, he now had his measure. He'd been studying his opponent’s fighting style, and was confident he had found an opening. But it was risky, and failure would leave him dangerously exposed to a counter strike.

Moving about the room, he positioned himself with the wall near his back. He knew his timing must be flawless, and there was no room for error or hesitation. Giving one last prayer, he took a chance.

“I thought bugbears were supposed to be ferocious.” Trevarius taunted. “Yet you can't even finish off a beaten and bloodied foe wielding a bent iron stick.” But brandishing his poker, his face dropped as the light faded from his weapon.

“Seems your god has abandoned you, little lizard.” The bugbear snickered. “But don't worry, I'll see that you get to complain to him in person.”

Frightened, Trevarius backed up a step. Without the magic, his poker stood no chance against the bugbear's mace. Frantically, he looked around as the bugbear charged…

And grinned at how well his ruse worked. Releasing the enchantment on the iron poker has been a risk. If the bugbear has simply stalked in, he'd have been done for. But between the taunt and sudden apparent helplessness of his target, the bugbear's nature took hold. Just as Trevarius had hoped.

As the bugbear charged, Trevarius sidestepped and helped him along, using the bugbear's momentum to push him into the wall at Trevarius's back. Smacking face first into the wall, the dazed bugbear staggered around to face Trevarius. And mustering up the last of his reserves, he exhaled.

Nickara watched as the dragonborn taunted the bugbear, only to have the magic of his weapon fade. With a helpless victim in front of it, the bugbear charged. But amazingly, the dragonborn deftly dodged out of the way, slamming the bugbear into the wall. As the shaken bugbear turned to face him, the dragonborn proceeded to open his jaws wide and exhaled a blast of cold air that left the bugbear covered in shards of ice, his face frozen in shock, his mace dropping from his numb fingers.

The dragonborn casually picked up the mace. Hefting it, he wound back and swung with all his might. The bugbears ice shrouded head was caught between the wall and the mace, and with a flash of divine energy the weapon connected and frozen shards of the bugbear exploded from the impact.

A sudden silence hung heavily over the room, the only sound the scrape of the bugbear's armor as its corpse slid down the wall. Then the silence was broken by a strange clapping sound. All eyes turned to see Goolash, still in badger form, applauding the dragonborn's sudden triumph. As his form began to shift back to goblin, the wet smacks of his bloodied hands continued to echo.

“Alright, that's enough.” Nickara ordered, then glanced at Pek'Mar as he approached. “And remind me to have a chat with you about your timing.” She snarled.

“Impeccable, wasn't it?” Pek'Mar replied.

“I must thank you all.” The dragonborn said, addressing the group. “I wasn't sure how I'd ever get out of my predicament. I am Trevarius Brightscale,” he added in introduction.

He turned to Goolash and bowed low. Rising back up, he continued to speak.

“And to you, good goblin, I never thought I'd speak these words to a goblin, but I am in your debt.”

“Well, that certainly didn't go as planned.” Nickara began. “But all turned out well. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Nickara. That there is Heleina, the gnome is Pek'Mar, and you've met our druid, Goolash.”

“I can't thank you all enough, truly.” Trevarius said. “If there is any way I might repay you, name it.”

“Well, you're obviously capable in a fight,” Nickara remarked, “and we could certainly use an extra hand clearing out this stronghold.” She looked to the rest. Heleina gave a nod, Goolash clapped again, and Pek'Mar rolled his eyes.

“If you're willing, we'd be glad for your company the rest of the way.” Nickara invited.

“I'd be honored. Though I am not sure what help I'd be without weapons or armor.”

“He's not using his.” Goolash said, pointing towards the remains of the bugbear.

“Very well. I shall pledge my skills to your cause.” Trevarius promised “I have my own score to settle with those who led these scoundrels anyway.”

So they stripped the armor from the bugbear and helped Trevarius don it. Goolash and Pek'Mar went around collecting whatever bits they might make use of from the room. And with his new ill-fitting armor, Trevarius joined the companions as they continued deeper into the warlord's stronghold.

As they moved towards the stairs leading down to the next level, Heleina gave Nickara an affectionate nudge with her shoulder. Looking over at her, Nickara could see her smiling.

“We may just pull this off after all.” Heleina declared.

Looking at Heleina's beaming face, watching Pek'Mar and Goolash bicker, and seeing Trevarius struggle to adjust his armor so that it fit him better, Nickara admitted, at least to herself, that she was starting to agree.