[HC: (down)]<br/><br/><span style="color: red"><span style="font-weight: bold"><span style="text-decoration: underline">&lt;&lt;combat is basically<a class="postlink" href="http://www.vgmusic.com/music/console/sony/ps2/Victory_Fanfare_XG_Version.mid">over</a>&gt;&gt;</span></span></span><br/><br/><span style="color: green"><span style="text-decoration: underline"><span style="font-weight: bold">Experience</span></span><br/>Kalsh: 6000 xp<br/>Worg E: 6000 xp<br/>Inse: 3000 xp<br/>GA: 1500 xp<br/>GB: 3000 xp<br/>HK: 3000 xp<br/>Worgs B-D: 3000 xp<br/>Hobgoblins A-J: 7500 xp<br/>Total: 33,000 xp<br/><br/>(the party worked as a team, so xp is divided evenly)<br/>Chrrou: 50,937 +5,500 = 56,437 xp  <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Level Up!</span></span><br/>Geno: 53,937 +5,500 = 59,437 xp  <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Level Up!</span></span><br/>Rihyan: 45,000 +5,500 = 50,500 xp<br/>Sashi: 54,687 +5,500 = 60,187 xp  <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Level Up!</span></span><br/>Sen: 50,237 +5,500 = 55,737 xp  <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Level Up!</span></span><br/>Takal: 54,437 +5,500 = 59,937 xp  <span style="font-style: italic"><span style="font-weight: bold">Level Up!</span></span><br/></span><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>It was not the entire Heodo clan that answered Kalsh's call for blood, only fifteen of the most eager hunters.<br/><br/>The rest of them--judging from the number of faces that have been watching the combat from a distance, at least three dozen goblins and hobgoblins, probably more--have simply been spectators.<br/><br/>There weren't any spectators at the start of the combat. The other Heodo are normally indifferent to the sounds of conflict coming from the southern tent; Kalsh was always devouring people at the slightest pretext, this was nothing unusual. This attitude changed when Gorgrah's abyssal screams pierced the hazy air. It is well known that the speaker of the Many is aloof and secluded; she wouldn't involve herself in a simple brawl. At this point the others started to pay attention to the combat, at first with their pride aroused, then, when Heodo started getting chomped, with mounting horror.<br/><br/>Most, if not all of the remaining Heodo are armed in some fashion, yet none of them show any hint of rushing forwards to continue the fight or avenge the fallen. Their eyes dart nervously from each bulging predator to the next, and to the many casualties.<br/>[all have readied actions to attack if they are attacked]<br/>They may be brave, battle-hardened warriors willing to give their lives for the clan's honor...but they are not stupid. These strangers are obviously something else--they have been blasted, blighted, chomped and cut, yet all of them are still standing. Meanwhile, on the other side of the scoreboard, fifteen of the Heodo's fiercest shock-troops have met their end. With odds like that, the spectators understand that any aggressive action on their part will do nothing but to make those bulges larger.<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>When Akkun (Goblin A) went south to investigate the fighting, his fellow worg-knight Mero stayed behind at the north end of camp to guard against naga mischief. He remained there throughout the combat.<br/><br/>Now, though, he hears nervous lamenting coming from a nearby fire-ring--the sound of impending death or surrender (in Armel the two are equivalent).<br/>"(goblin)...the matron's gone..."<br/>"(goblin)...they're going to eat us all!...or collar us..."<br/><br/><span style="font-style: italic">What!?</span>Forgetting the nagas for now, Mero kicks his worg mount into motion and rushes south to the line of spectators. It takes him a few seconds of wide-eyed staring to comprehend the scene of carnage that awaits him. He spots the matron's staff lying in the mud, and a chill runs up his spine.<span style="font-style: italic">...where's Kalsh, and Boal?(Goblin B)</span>He doesn't see either of them anywhere.<span style="font-style: italic">With Gorgrah, Kalsh and Boal missing and Balcam away on a hunt, the clan is basically leaderlesss...does that make me...?</span><br/><br/>His thought is interrupted when he spots Akkun fifty feet to the southwest, squaring off against a massive, unfriendly feline. "Akkun!"<br/>*[Mero's mount makes a double move past Chrrou]<br/>Mero grabs GA as he passes and pulls his clan-brother into the saddle behind him.<br/>[both goblins provoke an AoO from Chrrou; they end the round 40 feet away]<br/>[Mero AC: 21 (+7 breastplate, +3 dex, +1 size)]<br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/><br/>Meanwhile, seventy feet to the west, the two tiefling girls outside of the blacksmith are smiling.<br/>"Looks like we've got some new friends!" one says to the other. She notices Geno looking and waves to him.