Wicked Goblin Dreams

    This part of the tower is covered in snow. Snow on the rocks. Snow on the trees, and just snow /everywhere/. It was cold and you don't even want to think about the wind chill!

There have been reports in this frozen tundra that goblins have been attacking passing adventurers and while normally this is not a problem, this pests have somehow gotten their hands on some sleeping powder.

They were using it by throwing it at passing Adventurers, knocking them out and trying to drag them back to their camp as prisoners! Thankfully they haven't been very successful on dragging /anyone/ back, well, expect for today.

    It would seem the day that Prophylaxis and his party of adventurers have picked a day where the goblins have been successful in doing just this.

As there, in the snow, was a journal, a pen, some coins, and what look something heavy being dragged in the snow...

The goblins inhabiting the fortress in the middle of the fifth floor have shown worrying amounts of coordination and ingenuity. Not only is their leader meandering through the abandoned city along still poorly understood patrol routes, but they've also somehow acquired a sleeping toxin capable of knocking out Adventurers too quickly for comfort. If the Scale Emblem is to have any hope of taking the boss down without egregious losses, they're going to need to figure out some way of dealing with that mystery powder.

Thus, why Prophylaxis has led a small party on expedition: to track down a goblin and acquire samples of their sleeping powder. Once he knows what he's dealing with, he might just be able to whip up an antidote...!

But then the situation becomes significantly more complicated. The Doctor of Tolbana makes an uncomfortable sound as he picks the journal and other belongings up off the ground. He dusts a fine coating of snow off the book and takes a peek at the most recent entry. "They're getting bold, damn goblins," he whispers a curse as he moves to begin following the trail. "Come on, let's see if we can track down where they're being taken before anything happens to them."

Schneider has followed the party this far because, well, that's what you do. But the cold, it's so cold! A dull red glow surrounds him, and it's palpably warmer very close to him, it seems he's shameless in using raw fire magic to up the temerature in close. Well, what's magic for, if not making your life better? His footprints steam slightly in the snow. He nods to Proph as he investigates, and eyes the trail of something, or someone, dragged off, that Prophylaxis is following. "Shouldn't be too hard to follow," he says, and follows along also.

    The entry is of some lowbie adventurer who seems to be a solo'er. Probably some poor chum that doesn't have any friends and didn't get the memo about not coming up here alone right now.

Luckily the two are able to keep the trail in sight, even as the snow starts to fall from the sky. The goblins were not even /trying/ to cover the tracks, and the two could soon spot the glow of fire ahead, along with some shadows of dancing figures against the pine, snow-covered trees.

What will they do? Sneak up? Directly attack? Try to dance with the natives?? The choice is theirs!

Prophylaxis clicks his tongue as he snaps the journal shut. Soloing is one thing, but heading off on your own without reading about where you're going... Does this guy have a death wish? They're going to need to post a sentry at the fifth floor stairwell at this rate if this keeps up. "It's a good thing the bastards were so pleased with themselves that they didn't even bother covering their tracks. Get ready, we might be in for a fight."

...Or so he had assumed. Instead they find a bonfire with a bunch of distinctly goblinoid shapes dancing around and celebrating. Reckless because of their successful capture, maybe? They'll need to get in, grab the hostage, capture a goblin and then get out before they attract any further aggro, but...

Prophylaxis looks at himself. He looks at Schneider. Neither of these people here are at all good at this whole 'stealthy approach' thing. He frowns and taps his chin, then shrugs. "Impromptu plan. I'm going to hurl a fireball right into their bonfire. You get stay hidden and get ready to intercept them when they start running. Prioritize the hostage if you can... And watch out for that sleeping powder."

Either or both of them ending up captured after this would just be... Tragic? Also embarrassing. Horribly, horribly embarrassing.

Once Schneider is in position, Prophylaxis gets the festivities started. He focuses, taking careful aim and buffing his own damage output before hurling an orb of flame straight into the middle of the goblin dance party...!

It goes boom, as it is wont to do.

Hopefully that guy doesn't have his PVP flag on, or this might get messy.

Schneider nods to Prophylaxis and takes cover, and when the goblins break, he will fireball them also. Or if they come toward us. Or, really, anything they do will result in him fireballing them also. But he nods about separating goblin from hostage. "I'll ... see what I can do," he agrees, mentallt running through his list of spells. Nothing for grabbing, that's kind of a weakness... he didn't see anything like that on the spell list, did he?

"I mean, we could swap if you like," Prophylaxis offers BEFORE actually flinging his big noisy spell. "I've got Thorn Bind Hostage if I need it, though I warn that I'm not much of a Monster Captor myself."

Schneider nods to Proph about swapping. "I can't even use that. But I can light them up for starters, and you can hit them as they scatter, sure." He will rub his hands together, preparing a nice fireball, chanting under his breath, then releasing it on the goblins with a shout of "EXODUS!"

    Prophylaxis sends a massive fireball right into the campfire which explodes into a mega fireball, which shoots up into the air, melting the snow on the trees nearby.

This stops the goblins dancing as they stare up at the fire, as if somehow by accident summoned some great fire lord from the heavens or underworld.

Then this is when Schneider sends in a fireball directly at the goblins, hitting at least three of them. the four others flail around for their lives in fear! Maybe they did anger some great god! Who knows what they are saying since it is all goblin anyways.

One goblins comes out of the tend and /whacks/ another on the head with a club, before pointing at the two mages. This is when all /five/ go racing directly for the two, leaving their unconscious captive behind... who does seem to have a bit of glitter glow around his face still...

Well, maybe 'setting everything on fire' *was* in fact the tactic to go with. Everyone knows that the only good goblin is a dead goblin anyway, so this works out. Prophylaxis nods approvingly at Schneider as the goblins begin their charge. "Fingers crossed. Let's hope this works, eh?" 'Hoping' is perhaps not the thing that anyone wants to do in a situation like this. Two mages against five goblins with nary a tank between them-- they'll just need to muddle through!

Prophylaxis whirls his staff in a quick flourish before planting the narrow end into the snow. "Old Wood which lay eternal, swarthy tree of ages whose brambles bind the earth, rise and claim all which is rightfully thine! Seize my foes, Thorn Bind Hostage!" At his command, an explosion of writhing brambles arcs out of the ground and goes to seize the charging goblins, coiling around arms and legs and throats alike...!

But perhaps they're just a tad too quick, or perhaps he spent just a little too long actually casting his spell...!

As the goblins charge, Schneider will attempt to surround them with a wall of flames, casting with his own strange words, calling on sage of Hades and like that, finally unleashing what observers would note as a typical FLAME WALL to try and surround the charging goblins. He's technically a melee mage type, but he's not -that- melee-ish.

    The goblins move and jump over the vines that attempt to grab them. Racing toward the two with great anger and raised weapons. It is however the flames that rise up, that cause all five to come screeching to a halt.

The run one way--

    FIRE

    Run another way---

        FIRE!!!

No matter what way they turn, there are flames all around them. It seems Schneider and Prophylaxis have got themselves five goblins that are now caged in the fire wall that surrounds them.

Schneider nods to Proph, and now says, "This isn't guaranteed, but I think this may take them out slowly." And painfully, but they're goblins. Nasty, brutish, and short describes them fully. He casts that wicked spell, and slowly drains the goblins' HP.

"Good job!" Prophylaxis calls out as the goblins evade his thorn bind only to run headfirst into Schneider's fire wall. Now that they're all in one place, they can take their time... But the danger hasn't passed just yet. The goblins are still a threat with that damn powder, and getting close without dropping the flame wall is unfeasible. They'll need to further immobilize and weaken the demihumans before they can get in close.

Fortunately, Prophylaxis has a spell for that. "O' distant spirit of winter," he murmurs, a pale silvery light glittering around his throat as the flesh there begins to frost over, his own hp ticking down just a tiny bit as the old, lingering magic activates. "I call upon thine memory. In your name, I bring the indefatigable north wind! FROST SHOCK!"

Whirling ribbons of frost swirl briefly around the goblins... And then suddenly sweep in to freeze them all where they stand! Between Schneider's poison and a sudden frozen debuff, they might just be able to grab that powder safely...!

    The fire that is holding the goblins in place is burning bright. They are scared little critters, with no where to turn. They have their flasks now in hand, ready to throw them at the mages should they /dare/ to get closer.

One of them even yells out in warning, threatening with the flask and even throws it at the mages, but that was all to late! The ice magic comes and while the flames evaporate the spell, once it passes that heat, it freezes the goblins in place, along with the flask that is thrown!

There now, frozen is five goblins, and a flask in midair. Though some of the goblins /are/ trying to break free from their icy prisons. They best do this quick!

Ice spell: successful. Poison flask: moments from impact. Goblins: Immobilized but trying to escape...!

"Lower the wall and help me out with this!" Prophylaxis calls to his partner in crime before charging in, swathed in a temporary cocoon of hardened stone, to snag anything that might look like it contains a bunch of powder from the immobilized goblins!

He'll need to be quick, which is a... questionable prospect for the good doctor, but in the worst case he has a backup plan. Still, though he might not have the Skill here in the world of ETO, this man remains a long-time gamer and an expert at field triage with the hand-eye coordination to match. As long as he can spot what he's looking for, he should have a decent chance of snagging it!

Schneider looks impressed at the icy spell. "That was pretty sweet," he observes, heading in quickly to see if he can help with wresting control of the flask. He keeps the flames going strongly, trying to amplify it where we're approaching, to try and force the goblins away from where we're reaching in, and then attempting to shift the flame wall away a step, marching the goblins back away from our prize.

    While the flame wall holds, the ice does not, and as Prophylaxis works his best to get as much of the sleeping powder he can, one goblin gets free first and goes to throw the vial it has at the doctor!

"Kacree!" It lets out however, as its foot slips and it goes smashing down on the flask itself. Now some of the sleeping powder around it goes up in the air. The goblin coughs, sputters, staggers around and then falls over!

Prophylaxis may want to get his doctor self out of there before the others get free!

No plan, especially hastily assembled, impromptu plans, can ever hold up to reality for long. Prophylaxis has just shoved a third vial of sleeping powder into his pack when the tell-tall crickle-crack of ice shattering tells him that it's time to get out of dodge before too many of these things break free. He looks back just in time to see one of the goblins completely botch its own sleeping powder deployment, but by then he's close enough to Schneider's wall that it's one quick roll through the fire and the flames before he carries on through...

...Toward the goblin camp, where that hostage is still tied up. "Got what we came here for," he calls back to the other mage before moving to retrieve the fallen adventurer, "Parting shots, Schneider! We're getting out of here before anything comes looking into all the fuss!"

Schneider blinks at Prophylaxis's news about parting shots, but won't hesitate for a moment to incinerate the goblins he'd caught before they can escape. If he can't kill them, he can make them very disinterested in fighting us further. With a quick, "GUNZENRO!" he lobs more flame at the captured goblins. He's edging around them, now, to try and grab the fellow the goblins had captured before we head back.

    Prophylaxis makes his get away with not only a sample or three of the sleeping powder, but also the adventurer who was /still/ out cold.

As for Schneider, he lets out an explosive force, causing the goblins to go BOOM and some even go skyward before they flicker into wisps of light.

It was time for the two (with their unconscious 'friend'), to make haste and see what they could see about this strange powder.

Schneider will see what he can see about the powder, but when we get back to safety. This is no place for research. It's probably not apparent, but he has a bit of knowledge about Pharmacy and Alchemy, himself. "That ought to be an interesting investigation," he notes as we scamper back to friendly lines. "I'll help if I can?"

He's not shy about using fire magic now to expedite our retreat, and will leave a trail of freshly melted snow, with our bootprints left in the soft mud beneath.

Overall, there's nothing to complain about. Aside from a few close calls and a couple of burns, the plan went off without a hitch-- and they've even rescued a hapless newbie in the process! He'll have a soft bed to recover in when they get back to Tolbana. The clinic is going to be busy in the next little while as it tries to figure out how to counteract this knockout drug, but ultimately, the only thing he can say is...

                        --==MISSION ACCOMPLISHED==--                        

"Sure, won't ever turn down help," Prophylaxis answers with a shrug. "Now give me a hand with this body. I'm a Doctor, not an EMT."