Chapter 4 - The Slaughter at the Gate
Initiative. Kaedyn rolled a 14+2=16, Vexir a 15+2=17, Ryth-Shan a 14+2=16, Lae'zel a 6+1=7, Shadowheart a 13+2=15, Astarion a 17+3=20, and Gale a 7+2=9. The Bugbear rolled a 22 total, the Booyahg (shaman) rolled a 21 total, Goblin 2 rolled a 14, the Goblin Captain rolled a 13, the Worg a 12, Goblin 1 rolled a 9, Goblin 3 rolled a 4 and Sazza rolled an automatic 22. Aradin rolled a 19 total, Adventurer 1 rolled a 16, Adventurer 2 (the female archer) rolled a 20. Wyll rolled a 21. Zevlor rolled an 8.
Initiative Order. Sazza, Bugbear, Wyll (in a tie, heroes always go first), Booyahg, Astarion (in a tie, PC's always go before NPC's), Adventurer 2, Aradin, Vexir, Kaedyn, Ryth-Shan (though the players could go in any order they wanted between them since they were all three in consecutive initiative positions), Adventurer 1, Shadowheart, Goblin 2, Gale, Goblin Captain, Worg, Goblin 1, Zevlor, Lae'zel, and Goblin 3.
Sazza was a busty female goblin with her head shaved except for on top. She had straight, brown hair that she combed to the left in a wild fashion. Many strands fell across her face, creating a veil for her left eye. She wasn't armed with much, and she wore mostly tattered cloth with leather shoulder pads and boots. On her left shoulder was a adornment of black feathers. She was a special goblin that the DM was reserving for a potential role in the story. Therefore, he automatically gave her initiative so no one would kill her. As the battle began, she was on the west side of the goblin pack. She suddenly transformed into a spider and climbed the rock wall to the top. She was a druid.
Much to her surprise, however, a Tiefling, named Elegis, who had arrived with Zevlor, pounced on her. Sazza screamed in surprise as Elegis tackled her. She struggled and wrestled to break free, but it was no use. Elegis was the stronger of the two.
The Bugbear rushed Aradin, moving 30 feet. It then threw its Javelin at him. It rolled 14+4=18 and hit. It then rolled a 5+2=7 damage. Aradin was down to 23 HP. The Javelin came at him and grazed his shoulder, slicing through his armor and producing a fine cut. "Argh!" he cried, but he shrugged it off.
Just as this happened, a darker-skinned man appeared atop the wall of the grove near where Kanon had fallen. He had a hairstyle similar to Ryth-Shan's except that his hair was dark brown. He was mostly clean shaven with a hint of a beard and mustache framing his mouth. He had a nasty scar across the right side of his face, from his eye almost to his ear. Several scars, almost like claw-marks, ran from his cheek down his neck. He had the same, claw-like scars on the left side of his face as well, even coming down to his chin. His right eye was replaced by some sort of white, eye-shaped stone. It was even engraved to look almost like an eye. This was Wyll, the Blade of Frontiers, and he immediately announced his arrival with a boisterous shout.
"Make way for the Blade of Frontiers!" he cried, and he blew a massive horn that was near the gate pulley mechanism hidden behind the lip of the ridge. The horn made a blast that resounded throughout the entire region, striking fear into the hearts of the enemies of the grove and inspiring its allies. Every allied NPC gained Inspiration. Every PC was already inspired, so there was no effect. Every enemy gained disadvantage on all their rolls for 1 round.
Shortly after this, the Booyahg cast Guiding Bolt and hurled it at Adventurer 2. She rolled a 20 and 18+2=20 and hit. She then rolled 16 for damage, reducing Adventurer 2 to 14 HP. Astarion then slipped up to the edge of the hill they were on, and he fired at the Booyahg. He rolled a 13 and a 2, because he got advantage for being Hidden. 13+5=18. Hit. With Sneak Attack, he rolled 3d6+3 damage and rolled a 9+3=12. The Booyahg was down to 11 HP. She had an arrow sticking out of her back. It hadn't penetrated deeply enough to kill her, but it was enough to get her attention.
Astarion then used Cunning Action to return to Hiding. He made a Stealth check, but only rolled a 5+7=12. The Booyahg spun around just as he dove behind a bush. She failed to spot him, rolling only an 8-1=7 on her Perception check. Since the Booyahg was the only one shot, the DM only required her to roll to see if Astarion was spotted. After all, the others had their back to him, and the Booyahg was at the rear of the goblin group.
Adventurer 2 drank a potion and healed 7 HP to 21 HP. Then Aradin rushed the Bugbear and took a swing. He rolled a 10+4=14 and missed. Using Action Surge, he attacked again and rolled a 2+4=6 and missed again. Frustrated, he used his Inspiration and rolled a 3+4=7 and missed yet again. Aradin was beyond frustrated. No matter what, he couldn't seem to connect with the Bugbear. It kept dodging or deflecting his attacks.
Vexir popped up almost at the same time as Astarion. She fired her crossbow at the Booyahg just as Astarion moved to duck behind the bush. The Booyahg was just turning to look and see what had hit her. Vexir still got advantage. It wouldn't be until after her turn that she was spotted. She rolled a 9 and 13+4=17 and 7+2=9 for damage, because she hit. She then used Action Surge to go again, still getting advantage. She rolled 12 and 15 to hit and 1+2=3 for damage. So she took a total of 12 off the Booyahg.
The Booyahg died before she even knew what had hit her, 3 crossbow bolts sticking out of her. She had one in the back and two in the chest. She fell to the ground with a cry of agony. This meant that Vexir was spotted by all just as she retreated further back on the hill to avoid the line of sight of her enemies.
As for Kaedyn, he was right behind Vexir. When he saw the Booyahg fall, he adjusted his aim at the last second. He immediately fired at the worg, which was closer than the bugbear. He got advantage as well, because he was hiding. He rolled 18 and 7 and hit. He then did 3 damage. The bolt grazed the worg reducing it to 26 HP. Then, like Vexir, he was immediately spotted as he retreated back away from the edge of the hill.
Ryth-Shan acted at pretty much the same time as the other two. He fired at the worg also and completely missed just as all the enemies turned to see them. He rolled two 1's, a Critical Miss. In his haste, he misfired, and the arrow went flying past the monster's head without coming close. He was spotted too as he fell back.
Adventurer 1 shot at the Bugbear and missed. Then she ran to the right of the gate to a boulder to gain a bit of height over the battlefield. Shadowheart got advantage, just the same as her companions, because everything was happening so fast. They may have spotted her companions, but they didn't see her until she fired. She rolled a 19 and 9. She hit and did 7+2=9 damage. The worg was down to 17 HP. Her bolt stabbed into the rump of the beast, but it wasn't deep enough to hinder its movement and abilities. It had a thick skin. She fell back, like the others.
Goblin 2 spotted the party on the hill and cried, "The Booyahg's dead! We're being flanked!" Then he moved up onto some stony lip that gave him a bit of height. It was just enough to have line of sight of the party. He then fired at Kaedyn who had positioned himself between the enemies and Vexir. He rolled a 7 and 3+4=7, and he missed. He had disadvantage on his roll for 2 reasons. First, the horn had struck fear into his heart, and second was because the party was beyond 80 feet, his shortbow's initial range increment. He could shoot enemies up to 320 feet, but anything beyond 80 had disadvantage.
Gale rushed to the edge of the hill a moment later and cast Magic Missile, launching them at the worg. He did 7 points of damage. The three missiles of energy pounded into the creature's side, back and left rear leg. It roared in agony, intent on killing them all. Gale then withdrew to position himself behind his companions.
The Goblin Captain was now beside himself with fear. He had been pursuing the adventurers with absolute confidence. In a matter of seconds, everything had gone to pot. "Fall back! Get to the high ground!" he cried in desperation as he gestured towards the party on the hill. "For the ABSOLUTE!" Then he hurled his javelin at Aradin and withdrew 30 feet away from the gate. He only rolled a 7 and missed. Aradin batted the javelin aside.
The worg used Dash and bounded towards the party on the hill. It moved 100 feet, bounding up stones that made an excellent stairway. It was close enough to get into range of Astarion. Unfortunately for him, he was now in line of site and instantly spotted. However, only the worg saw him. No other enemies could target him.
Goblin 1 withdrew 30 feet to a boulder not far from her. There, she perched and fired at Adventurer 1. She rolled a 14+4=18 and hit. She did 4 damage. Adventurer 1 had 16 HP remaining. It was then Zevlor's turn. He hurled Magic Missiles at the Bugbear using a Level 2 spell slot. He rolled 12+4=16 damage. The Bugbear had 3 HP remaining.
As this happened, Lae'zel drew out her Spear+1 and charged the worg. She rolled a 4+6=10. The worg dove sideways and then swiped her spear to the side. Furious, she used Action Surge and attacked again. This time, her spear pierced the creature's left shoulder, gushing blood out as she yanked it free. She did 8 damage, reducing it to 2 HP. Finally, Goblin 3 spotted Lae'zel and fired at her. It rolled a 4 and a 10 and missed.
Round 2. At the start of this round, Sazza returned to her goblin form. Elegis continued to wrestle with her, but neither was the victor yet. The Bugbear was locked in combat with Aradin. It was fuming in rage. It had not been a full round, however, since Wyll had blasted the horn. Therefore, it got disadvantage on its rolls. Therefore, seeing that its forces were retreating, and knowing it was close to death, it used Disengage to retreat with them, running 30 feet away.
Wyll saw them retreating and decided that Goblin 2 was the closest prey. Taking out his rapier, he cast Misty Step which teleported him 30 feet from the wall to within melee range of the goblin. The spell was only a Bonus Action, and so he had the ability to attack it immediately. He took a swing and missed with only an 8 total.
Astarion dropped his bow and pulled out his daggers. He attacked the worg. He no longer got advantage, but he didn't care. He stabbed with a roll of 16+5=21. With daggers held downward, he sprang upon the worg and drove one of the blades into the creature's eye right into its brain. He rolled a 4+3=7 for damage and killed it. As it let out a final moan and died, he dropped away, rolled down the rocky stairs and came right at Goblin 3's face. After all, he still had enough movement to spare. He rolled 9+5=14 and just barely missed. The goblin ducked to the side at the last second. Astarion's blade was inches from its face.
Now it was Adventurer 2's turn. He pulled out a bow and fired at the retreating Bugbear. He rolled an 8+4+12. The arrow zinged past the Bugbear, missing it. Aradin was next. He chased the Bugbear and attacked. He rolled a 9+4=13 and missed. "Nasty piece of..." he cried in bitter rage. "I'm gonna bash your skull in if it's the last thing I do."
Vexir was next. She ran to the edge once more and quickly spotted the Bugbear. She fired. She rolled a 4 and missed. She used Inspiration. This time she rolled a 17 and hit. She did 3+2=5 damage. The bolt struck the Bugbear right in the chest, piercing its heart. It snorted, stumbled and fell, shoving the bolt through its back as it landed on it.
Kaedyn then joined her on the edge of the hill. He spotted the Goblin Captain and decided he was the next big target. He decided to use a Level 2 spell slot to cast Guiding Bolt. He hurled it at the Goblin Captain and rolled a 1. He chose to use Inspiration and rolled again to get a Natural 20! That meant that he would roll 10d6 damage total. The Goblin Captain looked up as he retreated from the battlefield, and just as he locked eyes with Kaedyn, the blazing bolt from Tyr consumed his face. In a moment, he was dead as his head exploded.
Ryth-Shan only hesitated a moment when he came up next to Kaedyn and was about to fire at the captain. When he saw the shot aimed right for the monster's head, he deviated his own attack to Goblin 1. Goblin 1 was 140 feet away, still within Ryth-Shan's range. He fired, rolled a 2 and missed, and used Inspiration. He then rolled 12+6=18 and hit. He did 6+2=8 damage. Goblin 1 fell dead, an arrow to the throat.
Now Adventurer 1 was free to shoot at Goblin 2. She fired her bow and hit with a 14+4=18. She rolled a 6+2=8 and killed him with a shot in the stomach. As the creature fell, Shadowheart raced up to the edge to fire her crossbow bolt at the last remaining goblin. She rolled an 8 and 14. She got advantage because Astarion was flanking it. She rolled a 7+2=9 for damage. Goblin 3 had a bolt between the eyes and fell of the stony steps even as it dodged Astarion's swing.
The DM awarded the heroes with 121 XP. They now had 1,621 XP.
With the battle over, Zevlor cried. "That was the last of them. Inside. All of you. More may follow. Open the gate!" Other Tieflings, by this point, had arrived to help him, and before too long, the gate was all the way up revealing a clear pathway inside. Aradin and his team quickly retreated within, deciding to obey Zevlor's order and ignore the bodies. Elegis had finally rendered Sazza unconscious, and she was spotted hefting the goblin druid over her shoulder as she headed off north towards the heart of the grove.
Ryth-Shan, however, said, "I'm going to recover our arrows and bolts and search the bodies. Who knows what kind of gear they might be carrying."
"Good idea," said Kaedyn. "Hopefully they'll keep the gate open for a few minutes. Let's spread out and search the bodies quickly."
"Did you hear what their captain called out?" asked Gale as they scrambled down the stone stair to the field of battle. "He called out, 'For the Absolute.' I wonder who or what the Absolute is."
"Let's ponder that once we're inside," said Vexir. Then they quickly tore the gear off of the fallen and stuffed it into their magic pockets. Within only a few minutes, the party was through the gate and into the Druid's Grove. The Tieflings on the wall waited the entire time, keeping it open to welcome them. As soon as they were through, however, it slid shut behind with a loud boom.
