1.1 - Black Arrows

Alexander Simonnet Natalis de Bertier du Puy, pride of family Bertier, scion of the du Puys, realized he has had better days in his young life. Lying against the wagon, gasping in pain, was not how he envisioned this little walk to Phandalin. Well, as grandpappy Bertier used to say, if regrets were pixies, dust of disappearance would be a copper a pound. For the moment, though, he seems to have faded from the interest of the vicious, green humanoids. Keeping what little pressure he could on the bleeding wound, Alex rolled to his left and tried to see just how desperate was Nelly's predicament. She was engaged in melee with a goblin flashing multiple daggers, dancing back and forth trying to evade the slashes. The other goblin was watching for an opportunity to skewer Nelly with arrows, just as Alex was himself. She cannot hold out on her own much longer, and Igrem may be out of magic-juice. I have to do something!

Praying to Tymora that his luck continues to hold, Alex watches for a moment where the bow-wielding goblin's head was just ever so slightly more exposed [Action 1: Create an Opening]. Unfortunately, between the angle of the hill, the intervening combatants Nelly and goblin, and Alex's grievous wounds, that second goblin didn't come into clear enough focus to provide any advantage. Whispering a prayer, Alex ascends to his knees and whips a shot off against the goblin (G2) [Action 2: Attack G2].The Mistress of Good Fortune clearly heard her devoted servant as Alex watched the sling stone impact directly on the goblin's fleshy eyeball. Sighing in contentment and with a whispered prayer of thanks, Alex crouches behind the wagon once again, getting out of sight [Action 3: Hide in Combat - Full cover - no roll].

There is a wet crack as Alex’s stone punches straight through the goblin’s eye, snapping its head back violently. The creature screams — a lot.

Meanwhile, Nelly kills the other goblin with her glowing mace.

HP lost
G1: Dead
G2: 10
G6: 4

Igrem sees the arrow shot at him go wide, and resolve immediately to strike back, and protect himself. He stays on alert for any more trouble coming his way.

Hearing the sweet, sweet sounds of fleeing goblins, Alex peeks out from behind the wagon. In a strained and pained voice, he calls out to Igrem, the person closest to him, "Blessed be Tyche's Fair-Tressed Daughter, they seem to have fled. Where's Nelly? I need to take a breather. Did those monsters have anything worthwhile on them at least?"

At that, Alex collapses, half-conscious to the ground. We aren't making camp HERE, he thinks morosely, so spends the next ten minutes focusing on bandaging his wounds and keeping his innards where they belong [Catch Breath] hoping that Nelly and Igrem do the same if needed, loot the goblins if not, and get a basic idea of where they are headed.

Nelly also catches her breath as she massages her soar spots.

Afterwards she examines both the dead goblins and the horses

Nelly, once you’re certain that no goblins are circling back and no arrows are waiting to fly, you allow yourself a moment to breathe before turning your attention to the scene around you.

It doesn’t take long to realize the goblins have been using this place to stage ambushes for some time.

The ground is scarred with old scuffs and trampled brush, and faint drag marks cut across the dirt—too deliberate to be coincidence. On the north side of the road, partly concealed behind dense thickets, you spot a narrow trail leading northwest. Although you're not a Hunter, the signs are clear even to you: at least a dozen goblins have passed back and forth along it repeatedly. More unsettling still are the marks of two human-sized bodies dragged away from the dead horses at some earlier time.

You can also identify the horses as belonging to Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter. The horses have been dead for about a day, and the saddlebags have been looted.

Searching the fallen goblins turns up exactly what you’d expect—and probably nothing you would want:
- 2 wicked daggers (1d4+DEX, Melee, Piercing, Light, Thrown 4, sells for 1 gp each)
- 3 shortbows, with quivers and plenty of black arrows (1d6+DEX, Ranged, Piercing, 2-handed, Range 12, sells for 12 gp each)
- Moldy bread (technically food; it may disagree and fight back. Can't be sold).
- Broken human and dwarven teeth, forcibly removed. (Assorted and unsettling dental trophies. Can't be sold)
- Slug Farm (Jar of slimy, wriggling slugs. Can't be sold)
- An empty leather map case (sells for 1 gp)
- Small, cheap, and smelly hides (They smell of rot. Can be sold for 2 gp if cleaned and you succeed on an Influence check after arriving in Phandalin. Inconvenient until then).