Hern wasted no time nor words, but charged into the room. Halfway across this area were at least eight goblins with swords at the ready. Arbiddance stepped in and quickly assessed his targets.
Qovakrisstia stepped in the room to the right of Hern and saw what the other two did not: a goblin shaman in the beginnings of a spell. She raised her staff into the air as if drawing applause from above and brought it down on the floor in a sharp crack while uttering something which sounded as if she were coughing up a really large hairball. The shaman stumbled for a minute and then froze.
Hern bulled up to the goblins, his sword already in full swing and he neatly severed one creature while bashing another with his shield. Bloody with the remains of his first victim, he reversed his arm to strike at another.
Arbiddance stopped well away from sword range, muttered an incantation and pointed toward the goblins while three blazing missiles streaked out of his fingers. One goblin fell with his face smashed in and on fire; another took a blow directly to the chest and dropped, and a third was struck but remained standing. The wizard grinned with satisfaction at his work, and then grunted as an arrow slammed into his back.
Hern whirled in place and brought his sword up with such force into a moving goblin that the little creature flew upwards and into the far wall only to slide down and crumple to the floor. The two remaining goblins sliced into him; the sword of one did not penetrate his armor, while the other cut a serious gash into the fighter's left leg. Hern stopped, swiveled his arm in his shield strap, and brought the shield crashing down on the head of the goblin who had drawn his blood. The creature's spine shattered from the blow and flew out of its body.
Qova turned around, saw Arbiddance, and guessed he doing either a really complicated spell or trying to scratch his back with both hands. She then saw the arrow as he finally turned around, and... as he moved to one side, she saw the goblin archer drawing down on her. She twisted to avoid the incoming missile, and it slashed through the left side of her neck from behind. She fell to her hands and knees and prayed for the pain to stop.
Arbiddance finally found the arrow, which had thankfully missed a kidney, and dropped to one knee as he tried to pull it out. His other hand went up to ward off the goblin as it dropped its bow, pulled its sword and advanced.
Hern looked around for his remaining foe and saw it dashing out the open door. The fighter turned toward the last goblin, then rushed to protect his fallen comrade.
“You son of a bitch!” the goblin heard screamed at him, and he paused long enough to see Qova on her feet, unstrap her mace and hurl it at him. He easily ducked the haphazard throw, but looked around just in time to see Hern's sword slashing down at him.
“Kill it,” Qova pointed toward the frozen shaman and spoke to Hern.
“No! Don't kill it,” Arbiddance countered while Qova was removing the arrow from his back. He noticed her neck wound was already beginning to heal and would probably be well within an hour or so. He made a cutting motion toward the fighter. “Maybe we can question it and learn more about this area.”
Hern kicked the door closed and threw the hasp that secured it. Only then did he look around and notice that there were five other doors in this room. “By the frogs of Haja's fountains... we could have been swarmed from all sides if there were more in here” he spoke grimly.
Qova's quiet prayer and soothing motions of the hand covered over the arrow wound, and the wizard felt much better. He took a drink from his waterskin and looked up at Qova. “I didn't know you spoke goblin.”
She stopped and gazed back at him. “Doesn't everyone?”
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