Friday July 6 1280, Sunrise (The Crying)

The screaming and clashing of metal continues as Gaven comes out of the shadows. "Ho comrades, how goes the battle? The archers have split, but know of the ruse, so they will be returning soon. Stan, stay near Oloc and Ollie hold back." 

In answer, Varros attacks the now frenzied goblins near Belloc, attempting to help Belloc make his way through the goblins by choosing targets of opportunity that could pose any threat or block the captain. All the while he keeps an eye open to see what the fire elemental does, thinking it could turn on its former allies, an idea he expresses to the party.

Duran inquires of Oloc whether he has enough left in him to control the elemental. But Oloc is for a brief moment clearly drained by his struggle with Bloodfang. Seeing Oloc is otherwise okay though, Duran tries to bring down as many Goblins as possible, ready to follow Varros' lead if the elemental turns on friendly forces and help him bring it down.

Gaven follows suit, continuing to fire at the frenzied goblins as well. "Will wooden arrows or even steel be able to hurt a being of fire?" he asks.

Belloc's archers drop still more of their goblin counterparts, but the human left center begins to crumble and fall back in panic. Fortunately, Varros, Gaven and Duran drop five goblins in Belloc's path as the captain plows forward on horseback. The remaining right flank goblins flee in terror before him.

The elemental seems entirely uninterested in the battle and seeks only to get away, now that the one who enslaved him is gone and he has once again gotten his bearings. The creature turns and flees toward the west, slowing only to swat one of the remaining goblin archers who gets in his way, leaving the small humanoid's broken and smoldering body in his wake.

Far across the field, you hear a mighty cheer raised by human voices, and you can dimly make out the shadows of goblins fleeing on that flank, pursued by their human adversaries.

And almost like that, in the blink of an eye, the tumult of battle subsides as the remaining goblins throw down their arms. Realizing their leader is dead, their comrades in panicked flight, the beast departed, and their numbers greatly diminished, they evidently see that they have no hope, and give up instead.

As you look across the battlefield, you see Belloc's men almost immediately tying up prisoners and binding wounds. All told, the men of Fairbrook hold eighteen captives. Fifty-seven goblins and hobgoblins lie dead on the field, including Bloodfang. Belloc lost twelve of his original fifty men.

After giving some orders to his men, Belloc rides up to you, with a wide grin on his face. "Well done, well done!" he says. Out of nowhere, Karnak flies down to land on Varros's shoulder. He appears to have darkened goblin blood on his talons and beak.

The captain climbs down from his horse. "I was a bit worried about our center, but your distractions and your blows to the enemy's flank were more timely than I could have hoped. And I suspect," he adds, looking at Oloc, "that the flaming beast's flight was of your doing. I'm not sure how we would have dealt with that creature without taking far greater casualties than we did. You've all definitely earned an even more substantial bonus than I had originally planned to give you – and you'll have it when we return to Fairbrook."

The captain looks around. "For now, my men are exhausted. Our plan is to return to the Northstar inn, take a few hours sleep, and then return to town. Will you join us? The road will be safer if we all travel together. Besides, you look like you could use a few hours' rest as well."

Belloc's men are just finishing their cleanup and the sun inches over the eastern horizon. Belloc is right. You feel absolutely exhausted as you realize that you've been awake, marching and fighting for a solid twenty-four hours.

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OOC: Actions?

Just for reference, it is now 5 a.m. As you have been up for about 24 straight hours, fatigue penalties will begin to accrue for any combat you might have between now and such time as you get some rest.

Combat Detail:

Initiative: Party wins 4-3

Duran:

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

d20 =  17+ 1 (medium range) + 2 (flank shot) =  20 (hit); d6 = 2 (goblin killed)

Varros:

d20 =  18 + 1 (medium range) + 2 (flank shot) =  19 (hit); d6 = 3 (goblin killed)

d20 =  20 + 1 (medium range) + 2 (flank shot) =  20 (hit); d6 = 2 (goblin killed)

Gaven:

d20 =  6 + 1 (medium range) + 2 (flank shot) = 9 (miss)

d20 =  14 + 1 (medium range) + 2 (flank shot) =  17 (hit); d6 = 4 (goblin killed)

Total Monsters Defeated by Party in Battle

10 Goblins

1 Hobgoblin Mage

1 Fire Elemental

Quick Question

I'm inclined to make a switch in the awarding of XP to the "flat 100 xp / HD of creatures defeated" method that some people use. It's a nice simple formula, but one that comes with a trade-off. It tends to cause faster advancement at lower levels (you'd get 100 xp for a 1 HD creature instead of a measely 15 xp) but it slows advancement at higher levels (it comes out to less than the standard book values for higher xp creatures). Does anyone have an objection to using the 100 xp/HD formula? I'm just thinking you guys might find the quicker advancement more useful at lower levels than at higher levels.