Chapter 19: The Liberation of Kulendra!
-----Sol may have not heard Strolum's words, but no one missed Garrison's bold entrance to the fight. The Gorian was concerned however; it meant that the inn possibly wasn't secure after all. Gathering his will, Sol launches himself at the hobgoblins that are between him and the inn, seeking to carve a path towards the lit structure. He grins fiercely, glad to be back with Thunder.
-----Two sword slices bring down foes and those nearest Sol seemed rousted enough to turn angry attention toward the Gorian. The young warrior fights back against two weapons, turning them fiercely aside and watches one hobgoblin clumsily fumble his weapon. Maybe a half dozen cluster before him.
-----Suddenly Thunder rears up from behind taking down another soldier as Sol prepares to rush those before him.
-----Just then another close blast of bright light and loud thunderclap shakes the area. Sol’s great stallion whinnies angrily and begins bucking about. The remaining soldiers seem to steel themselves for whatever happens.
-----“FLEE FOR YOUR MISERABLE LIVES, FOOLS!” Sol hears Lovan yell to the dwindling army, “THE GREAT RAGER SUFFERS NO RESISTANCE THIS NIGHT!”
-----Two more fall by Sol’s sword and the three that remain between Sol and Thunder look about uncertainly. As Sol spins to face off with them, they rally and draw in upon him. As quickly as the lightning flashes overhead, he parries their weapons. In his next exchange, Sol kills one and Thunder destroys another. The last one turns tail and runs off.
-----Sol now stands beside Thunder who has quit leaping about, but looks frantically around at the fighting and smoking tents.
-----"The old men!" Jeilin calls out among the chaos, pointing towards the inn. As she turns and hastens after Jyan, the priestess can't help but looks uneasily at the other buildings. The followers of Helator have not shown themselves yet.
-----Suspicions now confirmed about the inn's prisoners’ liberty, Sol continues to try and force his way through any remaining hobgoblins in between him and the inn.
-----“Slay the man!” a gruff hobgoblin voice shouts as Sol sees three soldiers charge toward him. The Lathanian sword slashes across two of the humanoids dropping them in their tracks. The third pauses and swings in as his partners die. Sol deftly parries the stroke, throws the weapon and buries his sword in the soldier’s gut. Without hesitating, the Gorian then dashes past; he and his steed seemingly in a furious footrace for the inn.
-----As he runs through the rain, he sees Jyan move up the short steps and enter the inn; the mage’s dark robes bellowing in the wind. Now comes into view others racing like him toward the front door.
-----Jeilin rides her horse to the front of the inn with Dilton running up behind, struggling a bit in his hobgoblin armor.
-----As Sol makes his way to Jeilin as she dismounts, someone else approaches. From out of the shadows Whisper emerges, his scarf covering his lower face.
-----Behind them in the village square, more furious fighting is taking place.
-----Whisper casted a glance back towards the square, returned his eyes to run over Sol Herron and the priestess, and then twitched his shoulders. Hefting his shortsword to adjust his grip, the Wood Elf continued walking towards the entrance of the Inn.
-----Sol likewise heads toward the inn. He acknowledges the elf's presence with a grimly satisfied nod, but there is nothing calm about the Gorian's movement.
-----The front door of the inn suddenly swings open and from the dim light inside, the common room appears to be packed with individuals. From the smell that waifs out, those individuals would seem to be humanoids and lowlifes mixed in with the goblinoid military. For the most part, except for a few grumbles and growls, the humanoids remain quietly standing or sitting watching the activity at the door.
-----By the faint candle light that shines from the bar, Jyan can be seen held against a wall by two hobgoblins; the glint of a knife held to the mage’s throat.
-----“Get in here!” snarls a rough voice to the adventurers at the door. A shadowed humanoid can be seen standing out of the glow of the lightning and the bonfires outside with a crude weapon in its hand.
-----Whisper's eyes narrowed as they caught sight of something within the common room, and he halted midstride, becoming still.
-----Calmly, the Wood Elf half turned his head to regard Sol Herron with his cold blue eyes.
-----Sol catches the look from the enigmatic elf, but doesn't acknowledge it. Silently he curses the way events have played out at the inn, and doubly so for what he considers Jyan's foolery, even though he yet understands the man's actions.
-----The Gorian does not weigh his options for more than a couple of seconds, and he discards any thought of having 'Ulthang' take charge here. The time for that had gone.... and yet, in the past Sol would have waded through these vermin, regardless of the threat to Jyan. Now, with so many at stake, Kulendra's older generation still held captive, he could not afford to throw their lives away in his urge to solve life's burdens with the blade.