Chapter 11

Hearing the chanting from the kobolds, Agate stopped the donkey pulling the cart. Tempest continued walking down the road, with his arms out, clearly showing that he was unarmed at the moment. The goblin, who had walked back to the edge of the road, pulled out a javelin that had been strapped to its back, and threw the javelin at Tempest.

Tempest tried to dodge the javelin, but failed. The javelin hit him square in the chest, and Tempest fell to the ground. Rage filled Vennoa. She jumped up from her position on the cart, and felt something rising within her. She screamed at pointed at the goblin, and a streak of fire flew out of her hand.

The firebolt flew straight at the goblin, who was stunned at her sudden appearance. It hit the goblin right in its torso, but appeared to have limited effect. Vennoa could see that the goblin’s outer cloak was burned, so the firebolt did burn. However, she caught a glimpse of something metallic inside the cloak — some sort of armor the goblin was wearing.

The rest of the party jumped into action. Fender said some words and waved her hands around, and a group of kobolds on one side of the field collapsed to the ground. Fender looked pretty pleased with herself. For some reason, the other kobolds didn’t seem affected by the turn of events, not even by their fellow kobolds dropping to the ground. They continued to stare straight at the party, chanting their phrase over and over.

Agate drew a dagger, and charged at the goblin. Vennoa would have been very amused that the large half-orc was wielding a dagger, but she was distraught at Tempest’s fate. Agate reached the goblin and attempted to stab at it. The goblin was very agile and side-stepped to avoid the blow.

In the chaos, Vennoa spotted a rock moving. No, it wasn’t a rock, it was Pua. Pua swiftly ran over to Tempest’s body, knelt down, and pulled out the javelin. Blood spurted out and started to pool on the ground, merging with the muddy rainwater. Pua retrieved a potion from his belt, and poured its contents into Tempest’s mouth. After a few seconds, Tempest started moving again. He shook his head slowly, and got into a sitting position to get his bearings.

Pua stood back up, and engaged the goblin. Pua drew both his swords and slashed at the goblin from two sides. The goblin, unable to dodge the attack, drew a short sword and parried both of Pua’s swords.

At that moment, the kobolds, at least the ones who hadn’t been hit by Fender’s spell, jumped into action. They simultaneously dropped their shovels, and drew daggers. The kobold that had found something slipped the item into a small pack hanging on its side, and also drew its dagger. The kobolds then started marching towards the road, where the goblin and half the party were.

Vennoa felt some relief at seeing Tempest sit up, and turned her attention to one of the kobolds. She pointed her finger at the kobold, and waited. Why won’t it work when I want it to? Argh! Just as Vennoa was going to scream, she felt the same feeling again, and the firebolt shot out of her finger. Yes!

The firebolt flew true again, and hit the kobold. This time, the firebolt’s effect was obvious. The kobold fell to the ground, obviously half-cooked and dead. The rest of the kobolds turned to the cart, and started marching towards Vennoa and Fender.

Tempest glanced at the goblin, who was busy fending off Pua and Agate. Tempest looked at the kobolds, who were heading to the cart. Tempest was pretty much being ignored, so he took the opportunity to stand up, and shake off his weariness. He picked up the javelin, and took aim at one of the kobolds, and threw. The javelin flew straight, but not straight at the kobold. It went wide, and hit the ground a fair distance away from its target. The kobolds appeared not to notice. Tempest broke into a run to catch up with the group of kobolds.

Vennoa glanced at Fender, who looked worried. Fender grabbed her crossbow, and shot at the nearest kobold. The bolt hit the kobold’s arm, but still it continued on. Fender took another bolt and started cranking the crossbow. At that rate, at least a few kobolds would be able to reach the cart. Vennoa clenched her own dagger, feeling a cold sweatdrop drip down her back.