1: Dovedale

Bignose sucks in air lets out a gasp* as the air is expelled from his body, Trina's blade deep in his back. He falls to the ground, and quietly expires. The goblins working on untangling themselves look on in horror at how easily you have been dispatching their mighty tribe.

*Correction courtesy of Christopher Lee

OOC:

Ah yes, Sir Christopher Lee, the most metal of the SAS wizards in Middle Earth.

With a quick exhalation, wipe of his brow, and Malard has a little more confidence seeing one of the goblins fall.

A voice from above begins screeching out, "Flee! Flee!" The voice shows equal parts fear and rage, but in goblins fear always wins. A THUMP signals that the wolf has now been freed from the snare, and Stinkfoot climbs atop the beast to escape. Haggy, however, remains trapped. As well, Grabbo whimpers in his sleep. Chasing after the escaping goblins seems a fool's errand, as they swiftly escape from sight and sound. Haggy screeches out in frustration as she is left behind with the blood rushing to her head. "Let me go! Let me go! Don't leave me behind! Swooooooop!!!"

Unda creeps out from her house and examines the sleeping Grabbo, and noticeably avoids the dead goblins. "It would seem you have saved me and driven off the Gravelbeak tribe. With losses like this, they will not likely return. In fact, I suspect the town will have some time of peace while they gather their strength. But if Swoop is in charge now, then they will do something stupid before too long. That child never had any patience." She pats the head of the poor goblin as he sleeps, and sings softly to him.

OOC:

Neither Swoop nor Stinkfoot were engaged, and have MUCH higher movement speeds than you due to their mounts.

Feeling that the battle was won, Oren wipes down his blade on the hem of his cloak and returns it to it's sheath. He frowns at the idea of leadership change amongst the goblins, the old chief while dim had at least been reasonable. Who knew what consequences their meddling might have brought about?

"I feel bad that the old chief is imprisoned in his own home because of our interference, but I suppose it is better than what befell this lot. I would follow you back into the goblin hall to free the chief if you thought it right, Jabrano."

Jabrano lets out an annoyed grunt. Always the same with goblins and halflings, she muses, you think you've adjusted enough for their height and then your swords just swoop right over their heads...

Regardles, the battle seems to have gone pretty much like she'd expected.
She walks over to the entangled female goblin and disarms her before lettin gher down and retieing her in a more comfortable position.

"Looks like you have two prisoners." she says to the fairy. "What do you suggest we do with them?"

"It's not even about right anymore. It's about damage control. We disrupted a relatively stable situation and now we have a goblin tribe with a much more bloodthirsty leader in charge."

I don't want to say I told you, but I told you so, she thinks to herself.

I don't know if freeing Gravelbeak will make things better or worse at this point. Maybe our prisoners will have some useful insights.

"Did we win?" Malard asks feeling a bit confused. "That felt too easy. For one, I'm still standing. That almost never happens in a fight."

"If this is what passes for goblin bloodthirst, then I dare say the region will be all the better. Why not concern ourselves with the squabbles of a rabbit warren while we are at it."

"We knew they were coming and we got very lucky the snares caught half of them."

Malard smiles and nods. "Then I won't feel so bad for congratulating myself for taking a hit," he says to Jabrano. "Considering how much I was bullied as a kid, I learned how to take a punch to the face the well. What now though?"

Unda looks very uncomfortable at the prospect of having captives. "They are not mine to deal with, my champions. I tend to the spring, for the spring is mine. If you release them, they will return home to stew in their misery. If you keep them here, you risk angering them and theirs. And I would have no more blood spilt whilst the river runs dry. Blood makes a poor substitute for water."

"You have done well here tonight. You have rescued me and splintered the goblin tribe. And all without the capture of Salvel or Baron Ironbeak. And in the morning, I will return the Dovedale to its proper flow. You have earned some rest."

"I suppose the only goodly thing to do then is to carry these poor sods back to the goblin holm. Be well dear Nixie and should you find yourself once more in the court of the Seelie King please do tell him of how Oren the Exile aided the fay folk even from his banishment."

Oren hoists Grabbo onto his shoulder and makes ready to leave.

"You might recall that that one tried to put a knife in my back a few moments ago." Odilo reminds the others of Grabbo.

"What if we turn them in to the authorities back near the farmers?" Malard proposes. "It would be evidence that we were up here doing something to help them out. Turning them back to their kin feels like things may quickly revert back to life before we arrived, which only benefited the goblins."

"You make a good point Mallard, there is also the matter of this one having stolen from the farmer and having framed the child for it's crimes for which that child was punished. My only hesitation is that as of now there is no reason for the goblins to retaliate against the villagers but if we hand over two of their own and the villagers execute them then we spread the hostility to those who can defend against it least."

"We can't send them back and we can't give them over to the villagers... what are you suggesting? That we kill them? Trina asks with obvious distaste. "I would stress how strongly I object to that!"

"We could very easily send them back to their home, that's why I have Grabbo over my shoulder at this very moment! Seems the simplest solution but Malard's point about giving them to the townfolk is valid. Say we vote? Send them home or hand them over?"