The gates to the low wall that partitioned the manor from the rest of the town were shut, and he couldn’t see anyone in sight. After rattling the locked gate for a minute, he shrugged, and took up a position on a bench overlooking the gate to wait for a little while and see if anyone showed up. He waited patiently for a while, with no change, until he was startled from his reverie by a cry from the east side of town. “Goblins! Guards, get to your stations!” A bell struck up somewhere in the town, pealing two sets of loud notes before falling still. Morgan, looking for an excuse to stop loitering by the manor gate, set off towards the noise.
Rushing to the east, he quickly came to the wall and followed it around. He happened upon the ladder that led up to a watch tower abutting the wooden palisade. He lingered for a moment, hearing the clamour of the guards above when he heard boots tramping along the street behind him. Two guards ran up quickly, with bows on their backs and chainmail clanking under iron breastplates as they moved. He heard the twanging and whooshing sounds of bow-fire from the tower as the two new guards climbed the ladder. The pair had almost reached the top, obviously struggling under the weight of the armour, when a shout rang out from the tower.
“Everybody to the gate! The baron is coming in, and the goblins are moving to intercept!”
The lower of the two guards slid down the ladder, while the other popped his head over the top before following his comrade down. The first of the guards to hit the floor moved towards Morgan, gesturing at him frantically, “Outworlder, come with us and help.” The man dashed towards the gate, and Morgan followed, clueless as to what was going on. He was led to a short tower next to the open gate, and climbing it after the armoured man, he finally got a view of what was going on.
A large band of goblins thundered across the open ground by the forest, headed towards the road, where four men in full plate rode hard towards the town on large horses. One of the men wore gold trim on his armour and helmet, indicating who the baron must be. The goblins were scrawny creatures, a little taller than a dwarf, green gnarled skin visible where it wasn’t covered by crude garments of patched leather and iron. They brandished a variety of wicked looking iron weapons and sprinted fast; snarling and chittering as they headed off their quarry. Morgan, frozen in awe at the scene, counted roughly 40 of the evil looking creatures, and realised that they’d catch the incoming riders just before they’d hit the gate.
The guard next to him slapped him on the shoulder, bringing him back, “Didn’t you hear me outworlder? Grab a bow and start shooting!”
Morgan looked around to see a bow of a light brown wood and a quiver of arrows resting against the log parapet to his side. He snatched them up and put an arrow to the string. The goblins were about 100 meters away and closing fast, and he saw a couple drop from the arrows of the east tower guards.
He’d done a bit of archery as a child, and later a few sessions with friends as a teen. He’d never been a spectacular shot, but at least he knew which way the pointy end went. Drawing the arrow back as far as he could, he sighted along it at the pack, before tilting the arrow up and releasing. The arrow sailed gracefully through the air before hitting the ground well short of his target.
[Congratulations, you have acquired the Bow skill]
[This skill marks your proficiency at the use of bows]
The four men, realising they weren't going to reach the gate in time were dismounting, letting the spooked horses run away from the oncoming attack. Nocking another arrow, he shot again, aiming a little higher before release, seeing his arrow caught on a goblin shield. Two other guards in the tower were letting loose, and between their arrows and those from the eastern tower, the goblins lost six more fighters before they came close to the riders. He drew and released again, finally scoring a hit, seeing a goblin tumble with an arrow in its thigh. Inspired by the hit, he started peppering the oncoming monsters with arrows as fast as he could.
The fast-moving goblins were surrounding the four soldiers now, and Morgan had to be careful with his fire, so as not to shoot at the men. Three of the heavily armoured men moved to form a triangle around the fourth, readying swords and shields as the goblins howled in preparation for an attack. Morgan managed to hit another in the back, just as the rest of the monsters struck at the small party.
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The gates swung open, and he saw a detachment of five guards, including one of his tower companions who he didn’t notice leave, start heading towards the fray. The goblins darted at the group of men, two or three on each soldier at a time, looking to overwhelm the defenders, tiring the armoured men out. A few unlucky goblins weren’t quick enough to deflect or block the men's blows and fell to the ground. Morgan readied his bow and shot at a few more of the encircling goblins as the group of guards got closer to the fight. The goblins were landing a few blows on the men now, overwhelming their defence with the weight of their number. Most glanced off their heavy armour, but he saw one of the men go down with a thin sword stuck through his visor.
Morgan had to stop shooting as the guards engaged, the goblins so caught up in the assault of the four men that they didn’t respond to the guards' attack until a few of their number had been quickly dispatched from behind. Half the original number of goblins were still standing, and a third of those moved to engage the guardsmen, their quick darting blows far more effective against the more lightly armoured foes. The four men were now three as one bled out, his companions given no time to help him as they continued to fend off attacks. They were starting to slow down, the initial frenzy of their defence bleeding away as the men held their ground against the vicious onslaught.
“Outworlder, with me! Now!” The guard beside him had also stopped shooting and shouted at Morgan as he dashed for the short ladder. Morgan, unsure if it was the best idea, but caught up in the flow of the action, he followed the man. A burly guard waited for them by the open gate, sword and shield in hand. He hailed the pair, “You ready to rescue those idiots? Outworlder, put that bow away. Take what you need from the stand.” The armoured man gestured to a small rack by the side of the gate, with a couple of swords and spears. Morgan shoved the bow and the quiver into his inventory and grabbed a sword. It was a dull iron blade, almost half a meter long. He inspected it as he clutched the leatherbound grip, feeling it’s weight in his hand,
[Identify – Infantry short sword]
[Durability - 60/60]
[Melee Damage - 78-89]
The two guards were already halfway through the gate as Morgan ran to catch up. The melee on the road drew the three new arrivals, as the goblins kept up the pressure on the human defenders. The guardsmen that had attacked the encirclement were just about holding against the pack that had turned to face them, though not for much longer. Three goblin bodies lay in front of the contingent, but one guardsman lay prone on the road, and another was crawling away from the fight with a jagged wound in his thigh.
Morgan’s two companions split and charged, one to each side of the three remaining guardsmen, hitting the flanks of small goblin line with devastating force. The burly man smashed the first goblin in the face with his shield, causing it to fly through the air from the powerful blow, and his sword swing poleaxed a second in quick succession. The second guard, rushed in and sliced the hand off a goblin that had been pounding on his beleaguered comrade’s shield; the hand, still clutching a crude axe, sailing off through the air. Inspired by these displays Morgan followed in, diving into the melee, jabbing his sword at the now overwhelmed monsters.
The guards renewed their assault at the appearance of reinforcements and finished the rest of the small pack quickly, Morgan striking the last blow on one harried goblin. Notifications popped up in his vision, but he quickly blinked them away, with no time to read them. The group dispatched, they charged at the remaining goblins that were surrounding the baron and his knights. Another knight was on the ground, and the other and the baron were facing off against a good dozen goblins. The armoured fighters were dented and bruised, though the knight was worse off. He took the brunt of the incoming damage, dodging and deflecting with amazing reflexes, as the baron swung a gilded great sword about with little effect.
The majority of the remaining goblins, detecting the incoming guards and realising that the day was lost, started to peel back towards the forest. Five of the monsters, about to be pincered between the baron’s knight and the guard, made a last mad dash at the baron. Three goblins barrelled at the knight. He struck one down, his sword sinking deep into its body, and the other two took advantage of the knight's thrust by jumping on him and bearing him over. Meanwhile, the remaining two goblins ran at the baron, who swung his large sword clumsily at them. His diagonal downswing was far too early, and the green skinned foe halted in their tracks, letting the sword bury itself in the dirt before springing on the heavily armoured man. The knight was no more, one goblin pulling the man's helmet up while the other stabbed down with his sword, before both turned to join their ally in their assault on the baron.
Morgan and the burly guard were the first on the scene, getting almost within striking range as the goblins managed to topple the armoured baron to the ground. Morgan rushed in, aiming a strike at the goblin closest to him. He saw the baron pull a small orb out of what must have been his inventory, and it exploded in a burst of light, violently throwing the goblins off the man. The goblin that Morgan was about to impale with his sword flew up and at him instead, the force of the impact knocking him cold.
[ -303 HP - 5 Sec Stun - Concussed]