RP:Gorznahk lights the fire of rebellion
This is part of the Capture of Kregus story arc.
Somewhere in the labyrinth of tunnels and caverns of which Kregus consists
[The crunching noise beneath your feet rings forth a sickening tale of what inhabits this city before you. The sounds of constant drumming continue to toy with your psyche as does the random fits of laughter overheard between the patterns of thunder. Cavern walls seem to insulate the sound, making it very difficult to pinpoint exactly where the drums are located, but you begin to see the pathway open up into multiple directions now.]
Gorznahk spits as the shamans inform him of the events of the past two weeks. Disgusting soft-skinned humans, here in Kregus? Ruling?! He snarls, phlegm spattering over the ground in front of him. He flexes long arms of ropy muscle, his clawed hands clutching at the air as if to strangle the very life from the news he was receiving "Gyeh, yer kiddin' me! Yer tellin' me tha grotting King got took out? 'Im and 'is whole pack of hard boys? Feh! Shoulda stayed in the caverns, 'stead of out by tha docks."
Gorznahk rages around the small cavern, ignoring the small twinges of pain from the pike wounds sustained when he fought on the edges of the massive underground lake which had formerly been home to the Goblin Navy. On and on, the shamans catalogue the ills of the entire nation for him, spurring his rage until he screeches in rabid fury "Imma cut them ALL!", his voice ricocheting around the cave. Suddenly, there is the sound of metal-booted feet as a small squad of the human enforcers comes to investigate the sounds.
A small squad of the human enforcers is here.
Gorznahk glares through gleaming grey eyes as he sets his eyes on the first human to enter the cavern. The shamans are already disappearing through numerous crawl-holes ideally suited for goblins, if not so much for humans. Goblins care for dignity about as much as drow care for sunlight. He grins, mouth widening like that of some hideous fanged frog "Gya, bastids, the lottovya..." A manic laughter burbles out of his throat as he bounds towards the wary soldiers, picking up the bastard sword he calls his 'Cleva' and his jagged-edges shield, razor-sharp tips glinting under the glowing lichen which barely illuminates the room. "keheheheee imma gonna Cut ya, ya creeps!"
The Larketian soldiers are not fools. They are on constant alert in this terrible and hostile place. The goblin caverns are home to other horrors beside goblins, and an unwary invader is a dead one. So it is that, as Gorznahk starts his ranting and rapid approach, the first two soldiers try to advance in far enough to allow their comrades in to flank the goblin fighter. Unfortunately, human sight is not adept in places as dark as these caverns, and their lanterns do not allow for rapid advancement in treacherous terrain. By the time the goblin reaches them, three have made it through: one armed with short sword and lantern, the other two with short sword and shield. They would much prefer their spears, but the narrow winding tunnels and their short ceilings make such large weapons ineffective in much of Kregus.
Gorznahk barrels with psychotic glee into the lantern bearer, smashing the lantern with the spiked pommel of his sword as he jumps onto the soldier, simultaneously using his own momentum to drive his shield into the Larketian's short sword. He pushes it aside as he jams the shield up into the hapless soldier's throat, ripping him a ragged new smile. He bunches his legs beneath him before planting them on the falling man's chest and somersaulting back, sword and shield at the ready, sneering as the humans' primary light source is extinguished, leaving him with a distinct advantage "Gonna cut ya so bad yer children'll bleed, creep!"
A small squad of the human enforcers without a light source is here.
The two soldiers up front swear and start to slowly move backwards towards the tunnel where the second lantern-bearer is bringing up the rear. They extend sword and shield, while the sergeant shouts "Backup, dammit, we got a lively one here, and he's killed poor Nils. Get that lantern up here on the -Double- or it's all our asses". The second lantern is passed forward, and the soldiers take up position around the cavern entrance: two in front of the opening, swords and shields extended, with lantern bearer behind them casting enough illumination to stop this from becoming a massacre. All they can do is wait for the Goblin to come into the field of illumination.
A small squad of the human enforcers is here. The body of Nils is here.
Gorznahk cackles, clashing sword and shield together over and over until the cavern is ringing with the ungodly sound. He then scrapes the spike on his sword guard over the steel of his shield, creating the kind of ungodly sound that human children may remember from their childhood lessons, of disgruntled tutors drawing nails across the slate of a chalkboard. As even the hardened soldiers wince from the sound, Gorznahk makes his move, kicking a rock to hit the wall to the right of the soldiers even as he bounds to their left, leading with his shield, letting sword trail behind him as he approaches the sergeant at speed.
Sergeant Gunnar was half-expecting this. Hell, he'd target the leader of enemy hostiles himself, just like Roldan, no wait, Duke Roldan now, did with the Goblin king. It was a typical strategy for the outnumbered. Bloody goblins weren't meant to be this smart, though. Unless they were learning from their invaders already. Even as he was thinking all of this, he shifts his guard, bringing the sword back as the goblin blazes in, that damned razor shield coming at him like a platter filled to the brim with pain. He smashes his shield into the goblin's, his ears and those of his men punished by another steel-on-steel clamour. To maintain formation integrity, he is forced to divert the goblin's momentum to his left, away from the entrance, short sword still in guard and not yet in a position to be safely used to attack without leaving a fatal opening
Gorznahk cackles even more as his shield-charge meets rigid resistance, the Sergeant's deflection sending him right where he wanted to be: approaching the cavern wall. He twists his body and leaps at the moment of shield impact, planting his feet on the wall and levelling his sword at the Sergeant. Even as the second Larketian soldier turns at the commotion, Gorznahk pushes off, sending himself and sword like a ballista shot at his foe. The sergeant is ready, for sure, but there is ready for a standard attack, and ready for this. Even as the sergeant steps aside to let the goblin pass without harm to himself he curses his mistake as the goblin whips his long arm and elbow to send sword cleaving through the other soldier, who was not prepared to be cut down from where his Sergeant had just been standing. There is a squishy bounce as head meets ground, and Gorznahk dives and rolls back into the darkness. He raves at the humans from the darkness, so loudly that the echoes conceal his location "I'll eat yer eyes, hyumins! I'll eat yer arms! I'll eat yer legs! Imma comin' fer ya! Allovya! Gorznahk is gonna cut ya all!"
Sergeant Gunnar curses again before spitting out an order "We retreat. NOW. Slowly and orderly. Lantern-bearer behind me. We must get word of this to headquarters. We could have trouble on our hands" Gunnar hadn't fought a goblin this troublesome, but hell, he'd only fought goblins for a week, and they hadn't been expecting it. Gods knew how large Kregus actually was. Sure, for a human there weren't many places to go, but those goblins got into holes a man wouldn't dream of trying to go through. Place could be ten times the size their recon suggested. As he slowly moved his squad back into the tunnel, he tried to figure out how he was going to tell Nils' and Jensen's families.
As he walks slowly backwards, Sergeant Gunnar glances at the three men behind him. The soldiers, accustomed to fighting bandits in the forests of Sage and Larket, were looking more panicky than they would have otherwise as mild claustrophobia mixed with nerves and the shock of grief for their lost comrades. The sergeant is brought back to reality as a small rock pings loudly off his shield. The men jump as more rocks come sailing through the air - more than a single goblin could throw. The nervous men grip their weapons tightly, fear lining their faces even as they move purposefully and at the same speed, their training showing through in superb discipline.
Gorznahk grins as he watches the humans retreating, drool running down the side of his mouth as he cuts off Nils' ear and jams it in his maw, chewing contemplatively. He is soon joined by other, much scrawnier, goblins. Enticed as they were by the prospect of free food, they look to Gorznahk in fear and respect. His eyes gleam as his twisted mind starts the convoluted process of constructing plans out of the sociopathic chaos of his bloodlust. He calls out in the goblin tongue "Listen up, maggot-eaters! Tha king's a corpse. His hard boys is dead. That makes Gorznahk the gobbo with the biggest sword. You seen it here! The hyumins -Run- from Gorznahk! Gorznahk is big! Gorznahk is strong! Gorznahk will kill tha hyumins and yer faces will feed on hyumin flesh! Alls ya gotta do is do what Gorznahk sez. And if yer don't...." He points at the corpses "I'll feed on ya myself. Now, you lot - rock-chukkin duties! Hurl rocks at the retreating hyumins. I gots work ta do." Gorznahk takes off in a sprint for another tunnel. At the pace the enemy are retreating, he can meet them in another cavern further along. Behind him, he hears the whoosh of the first rock flung.
Sergeant Gunnar grits his teeth as another rock slips past his shield and bounces painfully off his right arm. The chainmail prevents it from marking his flesh, but the impact of it will add another bruise to the dozen already lining his arms and legs. The pressure of moving so slowly while crouched in the low, narrow tunnels was also taking its toll as legs ached from the constant exertion. The lantern bearer by this point had swapped his sword for another soldier's shield, protecting the precious light source. The lantern had become a prime target for the goblins who had by now made a game of the process, whooping and shouting in their harsh, burbling language as they scored each other's throws. The soldier behind the lantern-bearer, now armed with two swords kept his focus forward, as did the man in vanguard leading the way. Gunnar knew that soon there would be another small cavern. They would need to cross it swiftly, then that tunnel would lead to the last dark cavern before they reached the outer reaches of that section of Kregus which Roldan had ordered illuminated with torches, each squad patrolling bearing the duty of ensuring every torch remained lit. The system had worked thus far, as the goblins were generally too cowed to touch them. Finally, and several bruises later, they sprint across the first small cavern, the higher ceiling allowing the Larketians to properly stretch their legs for the first time in what seemed like an age. Regretfully, the next tunnel was just as low-cut for goblins, so the soldiers resumed their slow and methodical progress as their assailants, catching up, began throwing rocks again.
Gorznahk pushes through the tunnels with the reckless abandon of a species inured to pain, ignoring the small tears and abrasions his exposed flesh receives as he pushes into the cavern where the shamans had stored his armour. He steps up to it, and growls at a nearby goblin "Help me into this, ya rat, or become me dinner. Hurry, ya bastid!" With the aid of the goblin 'page' Gorznahk is soon encased in the special suit of spiked armour, retrofitted from a suit taken from the body of an Orc who had challenged him. He'd had the goblin prostheticians and tinkerers, his brother one of them, work on it when the shamans' favour and power had allowed him the luxury. He jumps a couple of times experimentally, still experiencing the odd twinge from his wounds - but these were of no consequence to a goblin who had been cut so many times his face was largely scar material. After a successful somersault launched from his powerful legs, Gorznahk collected up sword and shield once more, and sprinted to the large cavern he knew the humans would have to pass through to reach the relative safety of illumination. A few minutes later by a circuitous route, and he finds the cavern, and sure enough there is a glow of light down in the tunnel he had predicted as their escape route. He crouches low, resting his shield arm on his head like a rain-hat. Gorznahk moves his sword arm across his body, rotating the arm to rest his sword extended behind him, muscles coiled and ready to unleash his ambush. He stills his breathing and waits.
Sergeant Gunnar is no longer sure if his arms or legs have anywhere left unbruised. He'd be tempted to relax his guard for a moment to let his arms rest somewhat, were it not for his strength of will and a body hardened from years of soldiering. As it is, the fact that the lantern is still in one piece is mostly thanks to his acting as a body-shield. He is overwhelmingly relieved to face the prospect of standing with a straight back for the first time in fifteen minutes as the long tunnel approaches the cavern entrance. He calls out behind him "Be ready. There may be more trouble ahead. Once out, take up loose formation to cover the lantern from rocks, and move swiftly. The luminescent lichen and colony of glow-worms in that cavern should make it easier to navigate." His soldiers, good men all, quietly acknowledged his directions. The soldier in vanguard raised his shield and extended it to ward off any missiles which may come from the cavern ahead, sword likewise at the ready.
Gorznahk hears them coming. The cold calculation of a born predator keeps him still right up until the moment the lead soldier carefully steps forward and his foot becomes visible. It is at that moment that the 'rain-hat' position of his shield makes sense - Gorznahk steps forward low and jams the shield up into the Larketians shield arm, pushing it forward to bind up the swordarm as he steps through and spins, uncoiling his own arm and sword to cleave through the soldier's knee-joints in a cruel arc. The soldier, a young man named Simon, screams as he feels the blade cut through flesh, bone, and cartilage - then screams more as he collapses, the stumps of his legs spreading blood rapidly from severed arteries. Gorznahk is already spinning across the opening and past it as Simon's screams unnerve his fellow soldiers close to breaking point. A contrasting voice leers underneath and through the screams "Gonna cut ya, hyumins... gonna cut allofya! Be ready, be ready! Gyahahaaaa!!!!!" The voice breaks out into laughter before it too vanishes, leaving the frantic screams of a dying soldier as musical accompaniment to a drama of the goblin's own making.
Gunnar's blood goes colder than the ice of his homeland at the sound of the screams. His squad was down to half strength, and all because he had decided to investigate the sound of one Goblin's raving bellows. Truly his luck must have run out this day. Headquarters would need to know. Roldan would need to be made aware that the goblins still had bark and bite in them - and if anyone could put these twisted creatures in their place, it would be Roldan, who had arranged their initial conquest. With the prospect of a large cavern to give them a lead he makes his decision "Men, full flight! Preserve yourselves at all costs and make it to headquarters!" The soldier bearing two swords, having just witnessed his close friend's mutilation, does not want to leave Simon behind. He crosses both swords in a scissors-guard to his right, the direction where the goblin had passed to, and steps out into the cavern, shifting his guard with every little noise. As the lantern bearer steps out he says to the Sergeant, speaking loudly over the screams "We cannae leave him here! He's still alive!". Gunnar shakes his head grimly "No healer can fix that, lad. I can only grant him mercy." So saying, with regret lining every feature, Gunnar swiftly and precisely thrusts his sword through Simon's heart. The screams are cut off as Simon's eyes bulge, then become lifeless, his body going limp. "Keep moving men, full sprint, but be wary!" He takes off, trusting to his men to flank him, so that each could protect the others to some extent.
Gorznahk bears a fanged grin so wide he'd be mistaken for a shark were he underwater. While his music has been muted, the chase is on again, and although the long legs of these soft-skinned bastids may give them the length of stride to make a gain on him, they'd have to slow down at the tunnel, and he'd have some time before they reached the safety of the more frequently patrolled areas closer to the central hub of Kregus social, commercial, and naval activity. After that, well, he had some planning to do, and a war of his own to start. The humans are well into the tunnel when he finally catches them. He is confronted by the soldier with two swords, who suddenly realises the folly of his action as the narrow tunnel limits the range of his blade movements to half-cuts, thrusts and parries. Gorznahk cackles as he charges in with sword thrusting, inviting the soldier to parry it. As the soldier does, the goblin reverses his grip as the tip of his sword is forced down and to the side, pushing forward to jam the spike of his pommel into the soldier's throat as his shield simultaneously binds up the second sword. As the soldier gurgles and drops, clutching his throat, Gorznahk elbows him brutally, the spikes on his elbow-cop driving into the soldier's right eye. It takes but a moment more for him to step again, hook and lift the lantern-bearer's chainmail coif with a jag on his shield, to then bring the spiked pommel forward with vicious intent, jamming it into the spine of the man where neck meets shoulder. Any further advance, however, is halted, as the Sergeant makes it out of the end of the tunnel and into the field of view of the guard point set up here, consisting of a 6-man squad with attached archer.
Gunnar hears the clash of steel and subsequent choking sounds behind him. As he breaks into the open cavern ahead, lit by torches and the lanterns of another squad, he risks a glance behind him. He witnesses Callum, the lantern-bearer, brought down by the strike to his neck, a surprised expression on his face, and Caleb draped against the wall, trying to moan through the gaping hole in his throat, blood and clear fluids pouring out of his ruined eye. He screams at the squad from pure instinct "Archers! Fire!". The other squad, shocked by the sudden change to what had been an uneventful patrol, hesitates a moment before the archer quickly nocks arrow to string and straightens his back to draw the bow. He releases, sending feathered death into the tunnel's opening where Gorznahk was causing mayhem.
Gorznahk reacts at the word 'Archer', knowing what it meant all too well from the massacre at the great lake. He grabs Callum's body, and hoists it up and holds it out for the moment it takes for the arrow to cover the distance. It punctures through the chainmail at the front, pushes through the flesh, and distends the chainmail at Callum's back. Gorznahk laughs, a maniacal burble filled with hatred and malice before calling out "Tell ya king, hyumins! Tell ya king tha' Gorznahk is here! Tell ya king that Gorznahk will cut 'im! Gorznahk will cut allovya! Cut ya until thr'aint nothin' lefta cut! Kregus belongs to tha Goblins, ya soft-skinned bastids. Imma cut that truth into ya hearts!" Gorznahk retreats down the tunnel as two more arrows land in his make-shift shield, laughing all the while until his voice is but echoes in the tunnel. When the squad makes move to follow, Gunnar halts them "No. We must get wind of this to Roldan. It seems these blasted creatures are not as easily tamed as first imagined." So saying, the squad continues its pre-determined patrol, and at the conclusion of it Sergeant Gunnar goes to make his report.