Having shot his cross bow, Pavel quickly reloads and takes aim at an attacker.

Oaskarr says, "Listen, now. Might want to put them blades away, hey?"

Hearing Oskarr's ultimatum, Pavel holds fire waiting for the response of the goblins. (Keeps the crossbow trained on the enemy.)

As the goblins jumped out of the woods to attack Oskar, Dane let his arrow fly. Drat! It seemed he had let fly a bit fast, without taking enough time to aim. Thankfully another shaft buried itself into the goblin he had missed. Nice shot!

As the goblins moved in on Oskar he saw another fall to the Dwarf's hammer. Another grin at the skill of his new companions. But the two remaining goblins were now too close to the dwarf for Dane to risk a shot. It was just as well that the dwarf seemed to be negotiating. But negotiating with goblins, who did that? What was the point?

Still, while it wasn't the plan Dane would have followed it did allow him time to move up. He couldn't shoot from where he was, not without risking putting an arrow into his companion. So, he set his bow on the wagon and moved forward pulling his rapier. If the stupid goblins didn't take this chance to surrender, he'd attack them from the rear. Rogues had some nice talents for dealing with opponents who were already engaged. He moved forward at a run.

( OOC: If it isn't clear - Dane will run forward and swing. Not sure if he gets there and swings before the goblins have a chance to react to the surrender request. If they accept he won't attack, if they don't have time to respond or refuse, he attacks - using his rogue sneak attack ability since the goblins are already engaged.)

Die roll: 17 (+2 proficiency = 19)
Damage: 1d8+3 Rolled an 8+3 = 11. +1d6 for the sneak attack = 3.
Total damage: 14

That should hopefully skewer one of 'em. I'm just using the dice roller on this page to get numbers.

The two goblins are distracted by Oskarr's offer to accept a surrender and hesitate, the blades in their hands wavering. Dane, in the meantime, dashes up to the scene in a flash, and the goblin closest to him doesn't realize it until it's too late - the blade of Dane's rapier bursts out of the front of his chest, and he looks down in surprise before quickly dying.

The other goblin squeaks, dropping his scimitar and running for his life towards the brush.

"Aye!" Oskarr bellows after the run away goblin. "Come back 'ere! I wasn't finished talking with you!"

With a smile firmly planted under his thick beard, the dwarf turned to his companion, "Come on, Dane! I was havin' such a nice talk with them. And now, well, we got to go run the bastard down" He claps the swordsman on the shoulder. "Aye, but you shoulda seen that one's face when your blade suddenly pops through his chest. Best moment of the fight so far."

The stocky dwarf claps Dane on the shoulder once more and asks, "Think we've given him enough of a head start?" before running after the remaining goblin.

Dane barely heard the Dwarf's comments on his attack as he pulled his rapier from the dead goblin. Instead of listening he grabbed his bow and let fly with an arrow at the fleeing goblin. Finish them now!

As his arrow flew he finally took the time to comment to his dwarfish companion as he took off after the goblin. "Go get 'em big guy!" he called. Then, realizing what he had just said, amended it with, "uhm, little guy! Go get 'em!"

If the goblin doesn't fall to arrows, he follows the dwarf. "Sorry Oskar, I was a bit too involved to catch the peace offering."

To hit roll: 4 (crap!) +2 proficiency bonus. = 6

As Dane launches the arrow at the goblin, a gust of wind throws of it's trajectory enough to cause it collide into tree in the goblins' direction. His running is undisturbed

The goblin goes charging off into the forest, my compatriots in hot pursuit.

Pavel turns and looks around the area opposite the fleeing goblin. Though not the brightest of creatures, goblins are one for traps... and what better way to steal the goods than to lure the guards away.

OOC: Pavel stays on the cart listening to what his comrades are doing, but keeps his eyes roving in case there are others coming, cross bow at the ready.
Roll: d20 = 10 (for a perception/spot check)

Oskarr and Dane chase after the quick little goblin into the brush, which gets thicker as they proceed. The goblin is quick, but in his haste he trips up on a root, almost tripping and falling before recovering and running again.

Oskarr and Dane are running behind, the goblin still in there view as they chase him through the forest, Oskarr's chainmail clinking as he jogs, Dane's longer strides putting him a little bit ahead of the dwarf.

Pavel watchings over the wagon and scene, crossbow at the ready, no enemies in sight thus far.

Oskarr grabbed hold of a nearby tree truck and caught his breath for a moment. "I'm done, Dane. Whatever the mangy boot licker knows ain't worth twistin' an ankle over. I'm heading back. You comin'?"

Oskarr turned to head back to the dead horses and their caravan.

Dane sprinted after the goblin, but the little bugger was quick. The rogue was sure he catch the creature - its legs were smaller and as quick as it might be, Dane was felt sure he could match it step for step. But that might mean outdistancing the dwarf and the rest of the party. Dwarfs might be natural sprinters, but this looked like it might be a distance race. And so Dane decided to call off the chase and pulled up, discovering as he did so that the Dwarf had made the same choice.

Hearing Oskar's comments, he readily agreed. "Yeah, lets get back and see what the ambush was all about."

He moved quickly back to the sport where the dead horses lay - keeping his bow out and an arrow knocked in case the little creep came back with any of his friends. "Sorry about messing with your negotiations. I was already in swing mode and wasn't expecting that." So saying he looked over the horses to see if there was anything to be discerned. And, of course, there were the dead goblins to search. He did while trying to keep his eyes on the trees while hopinh his companions did the same.

Seeing his companions return Pavel calls out, "Did you get 'im?"

Pavel continued to scan the area, sure that there were more goblins about.

As you both slow down and watch the goblin escaping, you see it heading towards a trail to the northwest. He doesn't look back, kicking up some dust as he flees down the forest path.

Now that the excitement seems to have settled, at least for now, Oskarr and Dane return to the ambush area and can get a good look at the dead horses. It's clear: These horses belonged to none other than Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter. You can tell both by the horses, though they have been dead for at least a day, and by the saddles (one bears Gundren's family crest and the other a symbol that you may have seen before but can't quite place). It's obvious that the arrows protruding out of the dead horses are what killed them.

It's also clear that the goblins have probably been using this area to stage raids on unsuspecting travelers for some time. You gather this from the rubbish such at arrowheads and shafts, random bones, pieces of clothing, etc, which you spotted in the thicket as you went through it. Unnoticeable from the road, but easily seen once you brave through the brush.

Looking through the dead goblins bodies, it's clear that two of them are dead. One is still breathing, the one with quarrel through its ribs. But it is unconscious and not long for this world. If you wanted to keep it alive for some reason, it would take some doing.

None of the goblins have anything of value on their person.

Oskarr, warhammer in hand, brought the weapon head down on the goblin, putting the near dead creature out of it's misery.

Calling out to Pavel, Oskarr said, "Bring the wagon up here, lad. Lookin' like we may have lost our employer. The horses bear his mark."

If Oskarr felt any concern or grief for his cousin, he didn't show it, save a comment, "Damn, Dane. Thinkin' know that I wish we had chased down that last one. Damn shame to be ended by these little beasts. Gundren deserved better."

Oskarr waited for Pavel to join him and Dane before continuing. "While Gundren's horse definitely lays here dead, my cousin does not. Perhaps the two fended off the ambush and continued to make their way to Phandelver. I say we mark this spot and continue on our way to finish the mission. Should we not find news of our employer in Phandelver, maybe we come back here and chase down that trail we saw the goblin take. What say you?"

"I agree! We have to assume they made it through... Though I find it hard to believe that they would leave the horses here blocking the road, had they made it through..." Pavel sighs.

"Either way we can't guard the wagon, and rescue them if they need the rescue. Finish the mission, and come back."

His vote cast, Pavel's eyes continued to rove waiting for his comrades vote.

Dane listened to his companions consider what to do next. Somehow it just didn't seem likely that the two had escaped.

"Hang on guys. Lets look around carefully first. Does anybody have any tracking skills? Maybe we can tell if someone escaped or not. It was only a day or so ago, right? The goblins all came from the left side of the road - if Gundren and Sildar escaped, they either went off the road to the right, or ran on through the ambush and further on down the road. We know they didn't come back our way, or we would have run into them." He looked around at the rest of the group. "Assuming they were riding, their horses were shot out from under them. They might well have been hurt. That would mean blood and likely a chase. That leaves signs. Especially if they went off into the brush." He paused again and pointed towards the path the fleeing goblin had taken. "And if they were captured, I'd bet Oskarr's hammer they were taken down that path. Dragged? Carried? Bleeding? Any of that seems likely to leave some sign, even if I'm not a ranger."

He paused to see if the others reacted before continuing. "If they were captured they might not have a lot of time left. I'd bet goblins like to play with their food, but not for long. If you really want to save your cousin Oskar, we may not have time to go all the way to Phandalen. I guess we could try to hide the ox and cart off the road in the brush, I don't know." He paused, "But anyway, lets see if we can find any more information. Anyone able to track? If not, I'll give it a go, or we all can, I suppose. At least that way we might know something before moving on."

(OOC: Dane will look around for tracks - the idea is to do a complete circle of the ambush site, focusing on going up the road a bit and the woods on both sides. Hopefully someone else will accompany him as he looks at the path. If someone with more skills speaks up he will allow them the honor - looking around a bit, but being sure not to disturb anything.)