"Welby!" Zodiac shrieked in warning.
The young hobbit ducked out of the way of the first goblins attack, only to be smacked upside the head by another goblin's hammer. Urzoth didn't hesitate; she unhooked her iron javelin from her belt and sent it flying through the air. It met it's target, puncturing the goblin with the hammer square in his shoulder. The vile creatures then took notice of the unlikely party. Half the goblins went charging at them while the other two continued to harass Welby.
Urzoth charged into battle, drawing Kili's sword and slicing at the sides of the approaching goblins as they ran past. She didn't, however, partake in a battle with them. She figured Adrik and Zodiac could handle those two. She needed to go help Welby. The hobbit had recovered from his hammer to the head, but the very goblin who had done it had cast aside Urzoth's javelin and was preparing to smack him again. Urzoth wasn't gonna let that happen. As soon as she was close enough, she jumped into the air and drove her sword into the goblin's back. He let out an ear shattering shriek before it managed to shake her off. Her sword was still buried in it's back. With a huff of annoyance, she pulled out her daggers and charged at the beast again. This time it managed to dodge her attack and smacked her in the back with it's hammer. She went flying to the ground, but didn't hesitate to get back up. This time, the goblin charged her. She dodged it's hammer, slicing at it's stomach in the process. She rounded on the goblin, wrapped her arms around its neck to hold it in place and slit it's throat. The goblin fell to the ground, dead, and she removed her sword from it's back.
Zodiac and Adrik had managed to kill their goblins, but Welby was still struggling to end his. The young hobbit continuously did flips and tricks, so as to dodge the goblin's attacks, but he never landed a blow of his own. Having observed monks before, Urzoth understands that this is simply their style: dance around and tire out their opponents before ending them skillfully. Urzoth, however, didn't have the time or patience for this. She took out one of her daggers and swiped at the goblin, embedding it deep in its skull. It collapsed to the ground, dead.
"I had that!" Welby panted in protest.
"You were taking too long," Urzoth replied shortly. The hobbit crossed his arms and began grumbling curses at her.
"Those goblins must've been waiting for us," Zodiac says.
"I think you're right," Adrik agrees, "They must have Gundren and Sildar somewhere."
Zodiac walks closer to the dead horses. She squats down and shuffles through the broken remains of the supplies they carried. Her eyes fall onto a leather map case, something she had not noticed before. Curious, she picks it up and inspects it, only to find it empty. She sets it back down before something else catches her eye. The deep red shine of blood trails into the forest, close to where the goblins appeared. She stands up and follows it, finding that amongst the thick underbrush is a worn dirt path covered in blood.
"Where are you going?" Urzoth growls.
"There's a path," she replies wondrously.
"A path?" Welby repeats, curiously.
"Into the woods. There's blood. I bet it leads to where they're keeping Gundren and Sildar," the elf explains.
"What are we waiting for? Let's follow it!" Adrik announces, Dwarvish excitement for adventure and battle getting the best of him.
"No," Urzoth bursts before any of them can move.
"Why not?" Zodiac challenges, rounding on the orc in anger.
"Our mission is to get the supplies to Phandelin," she replies coolly.
"Correction! Our mission was to get the supplies to Phandelin. You just tagged along. Besides, the mission would be pointless if the person who gave it to us is dead!" the elf argues.
"Ladies, ladies! Calm your tits! Sorry Urzoth, I appreciate what you've done for us, but I have to agree with Zodiac. The mission would be for nothing if Gundren was dead," Welby interrupts. His words, though comedic at the start, were rather wise for his young age.
"I agree as well. We need to save them, if they can be saved," Adrik asserts.
Zodiac smirks triumphantly. Urzoth rolls her eyes and growls. "Fine. We'll try and save them. I'll warn you now though; Goblins are vicious creatures. Your friends are likely already dead."
"We still have to try. Let's go," Zodiac says.
Welby immediately pushes his way to the front of the party. Urzoth follows closely behind, followed by Zodiac and Adrik. They walk quietly for a short while. Nothing seems to be out of the ordinary and they all begin to lower their guard, all except Urzoth. She is as vigilant as ever, taking in every detail of the dense woods which they travel. She is the only one to notice the trip wire Welby is about to trigger. Her words, however, do not pierce the air fast enough. She manages to pull him back just in time to save him from the darts, which she assumes to be poisoned.
"Holy hells! Thanks Urzoth! That'll be the third time you've saved me now!" Welby laughs.
Urzoth scoffs. "Yeah, well, you should be more observant."
"Yeah. Maybe you should take the lead," Welby sighs.
Urzoth nods and takes Welby's place at the front of their group. They continue marching through the forest. The path continues to grow more and more narrow as they go. It almost reminds Urzoth of the secret elven path she took almost thirteen years ago with Thorin and company. The trail grew so thin that Bumbur nearly got stuck.
Her mind travelled back to her journey with the dwarves. The memories brought tears to her eyes. It was such a long time ago, but the pain was as fresh as ever. She couldn't save them. She couldn't save Fili or Kili. She couldn't save Thorin, nor could she save her own child. But she could save a complete stranger, thrice. The world was cruel and unfair. She wishes she could have died with them. She wishes she didn't have to live a life full of grief and loneliness.
Her time of reminiscing is ended when she falls into a hole. She lands hard on the ground, nocking the wind out of her. She lets out a gasp of surprise as she rolls over to face the smiling faces above her--six feet above her, to be exact. Welby is laughing hysterically, Adrik has an amused grin peaking though his long brown beard, and Zodiac has a mocking smirk plastered on her beautiful pale face.
"Thought you were observant!" the she elf calls down.
"Still more observant than you!" Urzoth hisses back as she stands up.
"Actually, no you're not. I saw the pit you fell in," the elf retorts in a superior tone.
"Then why didn't you warn me?" Urzoth snaps.
"I thought you saw it," the she elf says with an innocent shrug.
Urzoth glares at the elf before she jumps up, grabbing the ledge of the pit and pulling herself up and out of it. Ignoring Welby's shouts of awe, Urzoth steps around the hole which she fell and continues to lead the company through the forest. Luckily, there were no other traps and the rest of their journey went rather peacefully.
The quartet eventually came to a cave entrance, carved into the side of a mountain. A small stream flowed around the base of the mountain, acting as a moat of sorts. The entrance was guarded by two goblins, both wielding cross bows. They stood on the bridge that crossed the stream, scanning the area profusely. The bridge was a couple of feet from the base of the mountain; anyone could easily sneak by it if they could cross the river. Urzoth, luckily, noticed this. She would like to draw as little attention as possible to themselves.
"If we found a way to cross the stream without making too much noise, we could sneak behind the guards," she whispers to the group.
"Why would we do that? We could easily kill those two," Welby protests in an equally low tone. Excitement shines in his blue eyes.
"We'd draw attentions to ourselves. If we kill those two, the other's would be alerted," Urzoth hisses back.
"I hate to say this, but I agree with Urzoth. Our best bet is to sneak around," Zodiac sighs.
"There, those rocks a little down that way. We could jump across," Adrik says, pointing to where a few small rocks lead across the stream.
The group silently trots over to that spot. They hide in the bushes for a few moments, waiting for the goblins to divert their gaze from the area. When they do, Welby is the first one to leap across the rocks. His light weight and unnatural agility allow him to pass unnoticed, almost like a ghost. Adrik quickly follows behind, though he lands less lightly and makes some noise with each step. Luckily, the goblins pay no notice. Urzoth is the next to cross, skillfully leaping from rock to rock. She nearly reaches the end when she hears a splash. Whirling around, she sees Zodiac has fallen into the water.
The goblins, while they may not have noticed the heavy steps of the dwarf, did notice the graceful splash of the she elf. Urzoth backtracks a few rocks, reaching down to pull Zodiac from the water, but ends up getting shot in the shoulder in the process. She lets out a growl of pain before she grabs her javelin from her belt and throws it at the goblin. Unlike last fight, her javelin does not meet it's mark. Because of the injury in her shoulder, Urzoth isn't able to throw with as much power and the javelin falls short. With a huff of anger, she tears the arrow from her shoulder and draws her sword.
The goblins shoot at them again, but this time Urzoth is able to deflect the arrows with her sword. Zodiac pulls out her cross bow and nocks an arrow, shooting and hitting one of the goblins. It does not kill it, however. In fact, the goblin is barely fazed by the arrow now protruding from his chest plate. Adrik, on the other hand, does do some damage as he conjures a large blast of energy, which sends the Goblins flying. It doesn't, however kill them. Welby is the one who ends the life of both goblins as he sends his daggers flying at them. Both meet their mark as they embed themselves square in the goblins' left eye.
"Nice throw," Urzoth grunts as she jumps into the water and begins to wade over to the dead creatures.
"Thanks," Welby replies, a wide smile on his face.
The other three follow her to the entrance to the cave. Fortunately, it doesn't seem their skirmish has alerted any other goblins of their presence. With a heavy sigh of relief, Urzoth retrieves her Javelin from the stream, tying it securely back to her belt. Welby does the same with his daggers, which he has managed to dislodge from the goblins' faces.
"That was a close one," Adrik says once everyone is resettled.
"Yeah. I thought you were supposed to be graceful," Urzoth grumbles, glaring at Zodiac.
"I misstepped," the elith replies, returning Urzoth's glare.
Urzoth rolls her eyes and enters the cave, assuming the others follow.