It was quiet, and Gilreg could almost hear his heart beating in his chest. It was a few moments more until he heard the adventurers. They were bold, loud, and laughed with each other in their high-race language. Gilreg knew some words, but they talked too fast for him to comprehend.
The adventurers entered the temple chamber. Gilreg counted four of them. A dwarf in jingling mail stood in front. He was armed with a hammer and a shield. Flanked on the dwarf’s right were two taller humans in matching dark leathers with spears resting on their shoulders. On the dwarf’s left was an elf. She was about the same height as Gilreg and slightly shorter than the humans but was very slender with pure black eyes that marked her as a spellcaster. Gilreg questioned the elf’s choice of armor because her shoulders, midriff, and thighs were exposed. The dwarf was laughing through his thick beard at something one of the humans had said. The elf scanned the room, and her eyes fell upon Gilreg.
The goblin warrior froze in place, heart thumping. The elf shouted something, and Gilreg couldn’t help but notice that her voice was melodic. His reflection was short-lived as the elf launched a volley of searing darts of flame at him. Gilreg dove to his right into the center of light as the debris he was hiding behind ignited. The dwarf and the humans came barreling down the center toward him. One of the humans screeched and fell down on their face. From the corner of his eye, Gilreg saw the pale eyes and sharp white-toothed grin of Shaymus standing over the fallen human with a wicked knife in her small hand. The other human turned their attention to Shaymus as Nulrok completed an incantation, and a wall of magical ice sprung up from the ground blocking the charging dwarf.
The moment of safety was short-lived as the wall of ice turned red and exploded into steam as the elf blasted it with her fire magic. The dwarf charged through but slowed down as Raine shot an arrow that thudded in between his mail armor just under his shield.
Gilreg howled, went on the offensive, and attacked the dwarf with his axe. The curved edge struck and hooked onto the dwarf’s shield as Girleg yanked and threw the dwarf off balance. The dwarf turned slightly, shield moving to the side as he attacked with an overhand chop with his war hammer. Gilreg deflected the attack with his curved sword and angled stepped in toward the dwarf. Gilreg twisted his blade, aligned the edge along the dwarf’s less protected inside elbow joint, and made a deep gash. The curved blade allowed for a longer cut. The dwarf grunted as his hammer fell to the floor. The dwarf swung his shield, but Gilreg hopped out of range. The dwarf fell to their knees, nursing their injured arm, and Gilreg knew they were out of the fight.
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“A little help here,” Shaymus hissed as she ran away from the enraged human spear fighter.
Gilreg noticed smoke trailing off the diminutive goblin’s armor as more darts of fire scorched the walls near Shaymus as she ran. Gilreg moved to put himself between Shaymus and the charging spear fighter. From behind, he heard a twang from Raine’s bow. The elf screeched in pain and fell to the ground. The human attacked Gilreg.
Fighting against a spear was already hard, but a slightly taller human with a greater reach made this a tough match-up. Gilreg blocked and dodged as he waited for the right moment to strike. After one attack, Gilreg saw an opening. He knocked the spear aside with his sword and moved in to attack with his axe. He aimed to strike the human’s hand, but his opponent moved his spear back and struck out fast like a viper. The spearpoint pierced Gilreg’s breastplate, and he felt warm blood pooling on his chest. The wound was not severe, his armor had absorbed most of the damage, but this was not a fight he could win. Gilreg started to retreat as the human came after him.
Nulork waved his arms, and a wall of ice burst into existence, knocking the human back and creating a barrier. Gilreg took a deep breath, but his moment of rest ended as the spear fighter climbed and leaped over the wall swinging his spear in a wide arc, forcing the goblin warrior to backpedal. Nulrok screeched as the fight moved close to him, and he hid behind the altar. Raine attempted to shoot an arrow, but the human’s spear lashed out at her, causing her to drop her bow. Gilreg tried to move in to attack, but the spear’s point quickly swung back and kept him at bay. Raine drew her sword and parried the spear aside as she closed the distance.
The human began to retreat, but Raine cut their leg before they could place the spear’s point in between them. Gilreg saw the opportunity and rushed in. He was able to score a hit on the human’s chest. The human roared in rage and, in desperation, made a savage attack toward Gilreg that left their flank open for Raine to deliver a lethal blow which caused the spear fighter to stumble and fall. The fight was over.
“The dwarf and elf ran away,” Shaymus observed.