Friday 6 July 1280, The Hour of the Wolf (The Fight Continues)

In the rear, the goblins continue to trade arrows with Belloc's bowmen. Another two goblins fall in the archer company.

Three goblin scouts make their way back to investigate the fires lit by Gaven, which still burn brightly and show no sign yet of dying down. Hidden in the darkness beyond the ring of light the fires cast, Gaven whispers, "Stan, lend me your bow and arrows. You and Ollie stay out of sight and range of the goblins bows."

Stan and Ollie nod silently and appear to have no difficulty complying with the command. Gaven hears Ollie swallow hard.

Gaven hands his backpack and spear to Stan and slings his shield on his back and hangs his club from his belt.  Gaven moves into range to fire at the goblin scouts. "Light, guide these arrows home and keep me hidden from scouts eyes."

Gaven releases two arrows in rapid succession, with one finding its mark and striking down a goblin scout. The dead humanoid's two companions are suddenly bewildered. They clearly cannot tell where the shots came from in the confusion of noise, smoke, flames and darkness. After a few seconds of peering frantically all around, without ever focusing on Gaven, they take one or two steps back and cry out: "Ambush! The humans are behind us!"

The hobgoblin captain hollers at his remaining archers: "You three come with me! The rest of you, keep shooting!" The hobgoblin and his three-goblin detachment move to take position beside the two remaining scouts to deal with the threat from behind.

*****

In the center, it is hard to see what is happening, except that the goblins are pressing slightly forward, while the humans are slowly starting to move back.You have no sense at all of how things are unfolding on the goblin left.

*****

On the goblins' right flank the melee continues, and one of Belloc's men finally falls.

Oloc is clearly at a loss to figure out how he and his minor skills could affect the outcome of the battle. The best chance still seems to him to be to get in range of the hobgoblin wizard. Then an idea comes to him. "Perhaps I can charm a goblin and have him do the work of disrupting the spell."

"Oloc, your spell could turn the tide if you can get a hobgoblin or the mage," says Varros. "It could be our only hope if the tide of battle shifts. Hold it if you must, but make it count my friend."

Oloc holds off on casting the spell, and looks for an opportunity to arise where a few gobs break off to investigate the party.

Varros and Duran continue to attack the flank, with Varros taking special care to engage any hobgoblins if possible, and Duran making sure to avoid the humans and Captain Belloc. The two fighters release their shots, with Duran killing two and Varros slaying one. Meanwhile Belloc's hammer continues to pound away, bashing in the skulls of two more goblins. 

With five more of their comrades' corpses lying at their feet, the goblins of the right flank company panic and flee, scattering in all directions. One of them jostles the hobgoblin mage in his frantic flight. The spellcaster, spins to the right, then turns back toward the elemental. He raises his arms and the blazing creature stops dead in its tracks, turns ninety degrees, then begins advancing toward the goblin right, evidently to shore up that side of the line. 

Belloc's own left flank company, heartened by this sudden success, turns in toward the center in a bid to roll up the goblin flank.

Map shows relative positions, but is not to scale.

*************************

OOC: Actions?

Some distances:

From the flanking party (Duran, Varros, Oloc) to the new goblin flank: about 225-230' (in other words, just out of bow range; you could easily move back into range).

From the flanking party to the Fire Elemental and Mage: about 225-250' (roughly the same; Oloc's charm spell has a range of 120'; again a move into range, for bows or Oloc's spell, would be possible).

From Gaven to the group of archers forming up near the fires: about 200' (just in range of Gaven's bow, out of range of the goblin short bows).

PC's Combat Detail, Round 2

Gaven shoots at scouts (surprise)

d20 = 17 + 0 (long range) = 17; d6 = 6 (goblin killed)

d20 = 7 + 0 (long range) = 7; (miss)

Gaven does not seem to have been spotted.

Duran

d20 = 16 + 1 (medium range) +2 (flank bonus) = 19 (hit); d6 = 5 (goblin killed)

d20 = 10 + 1 (medium range) +2 (flank bonus) =  13 (hit); d6 = 6 (goblin killed)

Varros

d20 = 8 + 1 (medium range) +2 (flank bonus) = 11 (miss)

d20 = 13+ 1 (medium range) +2 (flank bonus) = 16 (hit); d6 = 4 (goblin killed)

The flanking party has not been spotted by anyone still in the fight.

Overall Battle Strength Summary End of Round 2: 

Goblin Left Flank: ???

Goblin Left Center: ??? (pushing forward slightly)

Goblin Right Center: ??? (new right flank, looks strong, but overlapped by Belloc's left)

Goblin Right Flank: completely collapsed

Goblin Archers ("original company"): 5/13 (still shooting at Belloc's archers)

Goblin Archer Scouts (with Hob): 6/7 (moving toward the fires)

Fire Elemental HP: ??? (appears unwounded)

Hobgoblin Mage HP: ??? (appears unwounded)

Human Right Flank: ???

Human Right Center: ??? (from what you can see they appear to be moving back slightly)

Human Left Center: ??? (from what you can see they appear to be moving back slightly)

Human Left Flank: 10/10

Human Archers: ???

Belloc HP: ??? (appears unwounded)