Chapter 7: The Waterfall

“We’re screwed now, I think,” said Ricky as they hurried onwards in the dwindling twilight. That delay will have given the goblins the time they needed to take poor Sami into their caves. I don’t think we can risk going in there after them. Besides – I don’t have a lantern or anything like that.”

“Don’t be so hasty,” said Channia, pausing and peering ahead of them. “My eyesight is better than yours in this light, and if necessary I can see in near-total darkness. And right now, I can see that the goblin raiding party are feasting by the foot of the waterfall. They have three captives tied up, all still out in the open.”

*Achievement: Intelligence report! You have a have gained useful information from an NPC to help you on a quest. +10XP

Ricky felt elated. “That’s fantastic. We can still get there before they take their victims into the caves.”

She nodded, starting to move on again. “We’ll need to be cautious about approaching, though.”

“Right. Then I suggest we head around to the left, and approach past the base of the waterfall itself. It will screen us from view, and the noise will help us approach stealthily as well.”

The pair proceeded onwards. It wasn’t long before Ricky could make out the group of goblins himself, even in the gloom. There were around twenty of the little beasts, all armed and many of them wearing mismatched armor as well. They were devouring some kind of flesh, and he could see a flickering fire at the entrance to a very large cave. He strongly suspected that the cave led deeper into passages under the hillside, too.

It would be very much preferable not to have to go in there.

They continued onwards behind the cover of some thorn bushes, moving as quickly as they could while almost doubled over to stay out of sight.

“Channia?” Ricky whispered.

“Yes?”

“You’re good with that bow, right?”

“Indeed.”

“Then how about a slight change of plan? You stay here until I reach the waterfall. When I get there, start shooting at them. I expect they will try to figure out where the arrows are coming from, and attack you. That will give me the chance to free the prisoners.”

“That sounds real dangerous for me, Ricky.”

“I know. But if you keep your distance, they won’t be able to catch you, I hope, because it would be too hard for them to get through these thorn bushes. So, after you’ve got their attention, I want you to flee. We can meet again at the waterfall and make our escape from there. Together.”

*Achievement: That sums it up! You have outlined a combat plan in a clear way. +10XP

“Perhaps. Yes – we could go to Triptych Forest, west of here,” she said thoughtfully. “I have family there.”

He looked around at her. “Channia, really – if you do this, I’ll owe you more than four gold. I’ll owe you a big favor – you can name it!”

She hesitated for a moment, looking him up and down, and then nodded her assent, and began readying her bow.

*Achievement: Good negotiator! You have persuaded an NPC to take an action on your behalf in exchange for something they want. +10XP

*Debuff: You now owe an action to the NPC _Channia_. If you fail to follow through on your promise, your reputation will be permanently harmed among NPCs.

“Great,” said Ricky, squeezing Channia lightly on the shoulder.

“I will hold you to it, you know,” she said. “My father is most unhappy with me. He wants to see me settling down with a good man – an elf for preference, but a human would probably do.”

Ricky frowned. “Uh... what exactly do you have in mind?”

She giggled. “Nothing much. I just want you to pretend to be with me. He wants to see bravery, loyalty, and devotion to me. Think you can manage that?” She looked back at him, green eyes glittering, and flashed a winning smile.

“I’ll do my best,” he said nervously, backing away a few paces before turning, and hurrying on towards the hills.

The goblins appeared to be finishing their feast as he approached the waterfall. It was certainly noisy from here, the crashing of the water as it fell from a cliff five yards above into a plunge pool.

Ricky could count twenty-two of the goblins now. Around half a dozen were leaning back against rotten logs, resting their hands on their full stomachs. The same number – all smaller creatures – were holding spears, and stood guarding the prisoners. The rest were eating, mostly gnawing on and crunching at bones.

Animal?

Human?

Perhaps it was best not to think about it.

There was also a half barrel full of water in the middle of the area and another one full of ale; a few individuals were filling bowls up and drinking deeply.

“Let’s hope they’re all properly drunk by now,” Ricky murmured to himself. What on earth had he let himself in for? First a rescue mission against goblins who hugely outnumbered him. And then visiting some kind of elven patriarch in the forest, and deceiving the man into thinking that he, Ricky, was potential son-in-law material...

What could go wrong?

On the positive side, Ricky could now see Sami among the human captives. She had her mouth tied with a rag, and was still bound with ropes, too. She was looking bruised, but alive and conscious – just very scared. Alongside her was a portly older man with balding hair and fine-looking clothes, likewise gagged. Finally there was a more athletic-looking younger individual, possibly another elf. This one, however, was slumped on the ground unconscious.

Ricky knew he had to hurry; Channia’s arrows would be flying soon, and there was every chance the goblins would move the prisoners inside once they sensed the attack. He looked to his left. The plunge pool below the waterfall was small, and gave way to a small river. The only problem was that this river was in between Ricky and the goblins. If he waded through it, he would be highly visible, and it would be slow going.

However, he thought he could see a way around that problem – going under the waterfall. The sheet of water was tumbling down around a yard from the surface of the cliff behind. He wasn’t sure if he could get right through without being soaked and possibly swept in. But he had to try.

*Achievement: Sharp eyes! You have spotted an alternative route to your current goal. +10XP

Well, that was encouraging.

He skirted carefully around the edge of the plunge pool, pulling out his dagger as he went. It was slippery underfoot, and he almost lost his footing for a moment, but was able to grab at the rock face with his shield arm and right himself.

Damn my low nimbleness, he muttered.

“You can increase your nimbleness, remember, Ricky. As you accumulate more XP, you can spend 500 to increase an attribute by one point. That will be more effective than curses.”

Not now, guide.

“As you wish. But just so you know, you currently have 225 XP available to spend.”

He was right under the waterfall now, and he heard sounds of yelling. Channia must have opened fire. What did this mean for the scene that he was about to emerge into? Frankly, he had no way of knowing until he got there.

At last, a gap appeared up ahead between waterfall and rock. He was almost level with the prisoners here; the balding man had noticed him, and he nudged Sami, too.

Unfortunately, one of the skinny goblin guards had seen him too. He saw the creature’s purple eyes wide, and then it raised its spear ready to throw. Ricky noticed that some of the other goblin guards had axes or shortbows. From far off, all of this had seemed like a great plan. But now he realized that he was in a lot of danger, and so were the prisoners and Channia.

Pain and suffering awaited.

Just then, the goblin with the spear fell with an arrow through its neck. Ricky advanced out; sure enough, the other goblins were in chaos, rushing around, raising shields against the rain of arrows, and yelling in their alien squawking language.

The other guards near the prisoners didn’t appear to have noticed him, and there were more barrels and crates between them, providing a bit of cover. He crouched down and began to creep past these, keeping the crates between himself and the prisoners and guards.

He was close now, and as he got to his feet, he pulled out the spiked morning star from his belt. The guards nearby were chattering amongst themselves, highly agitated but looking out towards the thorn bushes, their backs turned.

*Combat event: You have approached your foes undetected. +5XP

Ricky glanced to the side, towards the huge cave entrance, as he moved. There was a fire at the entrance, and sure enough, there appeared to be more than one passageway leading back. But then he froze. A huge ogre-like creature, with skin the color of a corpse, was standing at the entrance way of the cave. It was at least nine feet tall and very broad. Was this the goblin’s leader?

He could only hope that the huge creature would be distracted by the ongoing bowfire. At least six goblins had now fallen. All of the others were standing, but a small group with shields were advancing towards the thorn bushes.

Turning back, Ricky stepped forward out of the shadows of the crates and slammed his weapon down towards the nearest goblin, hitting the back of its head. The creature collapsed at his feet.

*Combat event: You have slain a goblin. +5XP

But now the remaining four guards had turned and seen him. One looked shocked and immobile at the sudden new threat, but another stood back readying its bow, while the two closest ones approached him with axes in hands. They swung out, and soon he saw two new notifications.

*Damage report: You have lost 3 hit points (11 remain).

*Damage report: You have lost 2 hit points (9 remain).

The latter blow mainly hit his shield; it was painful, but there was no major wound to speak of. Ricky was all right to fight on.

He stepped back, leading the axe-wielders towards him, and trying to keep them between him and the goblin with the bow. Holding his shield high, he swung around with the morning star over the top of it, narrowly missing one of his attackers.

The shocked goblin had now recovered its poise, and was approaching with a short spear. Ricky felt a rock face behind him, and realized he had backed away towards the cliff on the opposite side of the waterfall. Any further, and he would be going towards the ogre at the cave mouth.

Channia had downed around ten goblins with her bow, but the shooting had now stopped as the remainder advanced towards her. Presumably she had decided to find a better hiding place before the goblin warriors reached her.

Or perhaps she was just out of arrows.

He had to act fast, before the other goblins from the raiding party could return to secure the prisoners.

With a yell of rage, he charged into his three attackers, bashing one aside with his shield, and hammering the morning star down on another. The attack left him open to attack from the other axe-wielding goblin, and he felt a thumping blow hit into his chest, but also a couple of bonuses.

*Achievement: Fancy maneuvers! You have used special footwork in battle to good effect. +10XP

*Achievement: Mad skills! You have shown reckless bravery, and it has made an impression on those around you. +20XP

*Buff: NPCs will react more positively to you. You gain +2 to all social skills for the next 1 day.

*Combat event: You have slain a goblin. +5XP

*Damage report: You have lost 7 hit points (4 remain).

Just as he had pulled back from the goblin with its axe, staring at its wickedly grinning face, it went limp and fell towards him with an arrow in its back.

Channia?

No – friendly fire.

The goblin guard had shot at him with its shortbow at the same moment as its comrade attacked, and managed to kill its own fellow in the process. Ricky doubted that either of them would lose any sleep over it.

He now twisted as he faced off against the archer goblin, raising his shield high to cover most of his body. The prisoners were coming to his aid, now – Sami and the balding man trying to block the other remaining goblin from coming close to him. As they did so, Ricky tried the same tactic again, charging into the goblin archer with his shield high, and thumping it against the cliff behind. It fell at his feet, groaning.

*Combat event: You have stunned an opponent for 20 seconds. +5XP

That was time enough. Or was it? For as he spun around, the ogre was now approaching, a wooden club the size of a small tree held in its fist. The goblin had wounded the balding man, and now held a dagger to Sami’s throat. And to the left, Ricky noticed a threat that he hadn’t seen before – a huge, powerful grey wolf, charging in from his left, snarling and slavering as it ran.

Accumulated XP: 275