At the top of the episode, the party was faced with a situation in two directions, on top of the general threat of more goblins inside the abandoned keep. These were the same goblins who initially attacked Leowyn’s caravan, leaving her for dead only to be found by Onatah Anaba, a minotaur shaman who is part of a fledgeling adventuring party in the area. Leowyn had agreed to join the party, which included a Halfling named Rodda Teegan, and a Harengon, or Rabbitfolk Magic-User named Templeton ‘Temple’ Paws. The four initially set off for the dungeon Quaqueston only to find the initial goblin raiders and tracing them back to their lair.
Inside the tower was the continued growl of a giant spider that had taken over the ground floor of the tower. None of the party had seen Notch, the first goblin spearmen, grabbed and slain with a single hard jerk by the spider, nor did they see the other goblin spearman, Grol the Toadie, run upstairs to the top of the tower in order to hide from both the spider and the adventurers. The spider was still draining Notch when Grol reached the trapdoor and climbed onto the roof.
The second direction was the archer, Jek, who was running for the keep, screaming about the attack at the gates. No goblins appeared from the opposite tower, meaning that as far as the party knew, the only goblin present was the archer, although none in the party doubted the goblin’s cries and that it was trying to summon reinforcements. No spider had emerged from within the tower, Leowyn was set to give chase to Jek.
“We need to stop him before he brings others and we’re in a larger melee,” Leowyn broke into a full run after the archer. She was followed by Rodda, who also saw the immediate threat in front of her, not behind in the tower. Templeton sprung forward, despite his small stature, he had a strong gait from his strong legs and large feet. He purposefully held back his speed to keep a step behind the adequately armored Leowyn. As he moved, he carefully lifted and set another crossbow bolt within the groove. He had the best chance of slowing the goblin down when it came to it.
Rodda had her misgivings, looking back at the tower and then to Onatah before the two fell in to try and follow the others. “Now is not the time to split the party,” Onatah cautioned as the two moved together. The group was so far rewarded that no other goblins had appeared to take advantage of their exposed flanks.
Ahead of Leowyn was the manor house, which was two stories with a gray stone and a regular interval of windows. Some of the windows still had glass, others were shutters that were in states of disrepair. On her left were a row of stables that would have served the lord’s horses, if any had remained. Goblins were a folk that enjoyed eating horse and sometimes dog, with wolves being a second choice that was done with some reluctance. Goblins often prized their wolves, although it was all too common for a wolf to receive a cruel master. If any animal was treated with any care, it was either wolves or giant bats.
Jek slowed his frantic run when he reached the manor’s bridge that spanned the flowing moat that formed a natural defense after the walls were breached. The moat’s tea colored waters were shallow enough that they could be forded by a human with enough difficulty that they would be vulnerable to archers or weighted down with enough gear that they could drown. Smaller folk, goblins, halflings, harengon, required a greater effort to cross. The goblins had erected a bridge made by setting two planks of wood side-by-side of one another. The lack of upkeep meant a gap formed between the two boards and moving too quickly could cause either board to fall to the side and fail. Jek half-turned, his long and crooked ears picking up the sounds coming up from behind. His eyes widened when he saw Leowyn was still ready for a fight, Templeton had a crossbow bolt set. Seeing Jek had paused, the harengon stopped and began to swing the crossbow towards the goblin.
"There is only one chance you have to walk away with your life," Leowyn said, her sword held in front of her. She wanted to bring her wrath down on the Scabberhorns involved in the raid, this might have been one of them, but she did not immediately recognize him, and trapping the goblin for the execution had given her an ill feeling. A prisoner's dilemma as she heard from locals in old taverns and discussed by elders who faced those same questions in times of battle, that it might have dated as far back as Good King Halav and the invading beastmen. Halav may have never had the same doubts that Leowyn had at that moment facing the goblin. For her inner self, Leowyn had her shield, but gave the goblin the first move.
Jek slowly lowered his bow, his eyes shining bright as he locked eyes with Leowyn. Studying those yellow orbs, she saw they were wide only for a moment, then they narrowed and became malicious. He jerked the bow up and fired a single shot, thinking that her guard was completely down. Leowyn's shield caught the arrow, but the proximity and the force of the shot jarred her arm, causing her to backstep from the pain. Templeton's shot was true, and the goblin took a bolt through the chest and knocked him to the ground. Leowyn cursed, "The little bastard was supposed to surrender and talk terms, not try and bushwhack me."
"Some of them are going to be like that," Onatah knelt and helped Leowyn to her feet. The minotaur examined Leowyn's arm, noting the points that were bruised by the concussive blows she had taken from several arrows. Onatah lifted his hand, focusing his will and gently calling on the spirit of water to form at his fingers. A cool sensation flowed near the two, as if a wind carried a spray of the moat to wash over them, but the water sensation felt purer than anything the muck bottomed moat could produce. Onatah touched Leowyn's arm again, his eyes shimmering with a faint aura of magical light. At first his touch pained her, but the cooling sensation that touched her face rolled through her arm and its wake her arm felt warm and refreshed. Calling this power cost Onatah some of his energy for the day. In order to recover it, he would have to draw it with prayer and rest. The minotaur rose and helped Leowyn to her feet.
"It was still a good try to show mercy," Onatah said, "You are not completely lost to the fires of vengeance, Shield Maiden."
"I wish I was," Leowyn said, looking at the body, "A part of me wishes that I was."
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