——— POV: DM Blueberry ———
Things were going well! My brilliant plan has already borne the sweet fruit of success!
Green cloaks have initiated combat with the bluefangs! Time for the next step! Cant have things go too easily, these humans have caused me way too much anxiety.
Spectating the battle in literal bird's eye view, gives me a nice understanding of how things are going. Time to break out the melon seeds... which I don't have.
Green cloaks are currently leading with an impressive 5 to zero in kills!
Looking at the rangers knocking another arrow to their bows, I spot two rookies hiding behind some bushes. No bows? Ah I might have found the right targets.
"Well hello chaps!" I give the order for the spider squad to hit these 2 only. Got to make it look natural. I'm interrupted by the 3rd volley.
"Oooo another 2 gobs down!" Man that older ranger who snooped around before has some wicked sniping skills. That's his 3rd headshot, no pause, no hesitation either. It's just knock, draw, aim, loose... then it's whoosh and another gob gets an arrow to the eye.
Oh! Looks like the gobs have finally brought the fight to melee.
——— POV: 3rd person ———
The two unlucky rangers who couldn't use their bows both felt a few painful pinches on the back of their necks, arms and legs.
Ants? Mosquitoes? It hurt a lot to be that. Although they needed to remain hidden and silent, they couldn't resist smacking themselves. They succeeded in killing the little buggers, but they couldn't relax for long.
Several nasty looking spiders dropped down on them from the tree above them causing them to panic. One looked up and saw the dense webbing and countless spiders slowly descending towards them. It was definitely nightmare material.
With a yell, the two jumped out from behind the bushes and flailed around trying to get rid of the spiders already on them. They eventually succeeded, but not without getting bitten another couple times.
There was however, no time to worry about spider bites, as their movement gave the furious gobs a clear target to vent their anger on.
Bod had already started muttering obscure obscenities in the ancient Druidic language as soon as the two idiots blew their cover. An odd habit from his younger days that occasionally popped up when he was feeling particularly frustrated.
Knocking down the closest gob to the two liabilities with a well placed arrow to the face, Bod sighed and put away his bow before drawing his blades.
"Melee!" He yelled as his figure vanished from sight. Firing arrows at enemies that your allies where fighting in melee is a great way to shoot your friends in the back. Some sharpshooters could pull this off, Bod included, but who'd be able to commit to the fight if they constantly had to worry about not blocking an archer's line of fire?
*******
When two humans jumped out of the bushes, the gobs were initially surprised and worried, but seeing them flail about renewed their crumbling courage and reignited their rage.
With screeches and yells the disorganized mob charged.
Bluefang was also relieved when he spotted the two enemies. Their behavior clearly marked them as inexperienced, dangerous for sure, but inexperienced none the less.
"Whack em'!" He yelled while drawing his bow stealthily from behind a bush. This was another reason for his position of authority. Leading from the back allowed for easy retreat when things went south, and using a bow meant possibly claiming the kill without risking life or limb.
The hidden humans who were shooting arrows seemed to stop. Friendly fire was something the goblin was also familiar with, but the difference was he didn't care. That's why he was quick to order his gobs to charge. The gobs' superior numbers would only play to their advantage if they could all be involved in the fight.
As the gobs were about to arrive within striking distance of the humans, a shadow dropped down from the trees in the middle of them. Immediately, a goblin runt shrieked in pain as its arms dropped to the ground still clutching its spear.
Another goblin felt an itch on his belly and looked down in surprise at the blade tip protruding from it. The blade vanished, and the gob dropped to his knees. Seeing the gob next to it being bisected diagonally, its last thought was that its own mortal wound suddenly seemed unimpressive.
The veteran ranger was a whirlwind of death, finishing off a 4th goblin by the time several more of the humans leaped out of the shadows blades drawn to join the fight. Bluefang was thankful they weren't all as powerful as that first one, but the situation was still looking bad.
The two bowless rangers who had blown their cover first were struggling even with the help of the others. Dulled reactions, fatigue, and nausea caused them to be nicked by attacks they tried to dodge and unable to land a solid hit in return.
Bluefang saw an opportunity. Taking aim, he fired an arrow at one of the two weaker humans who seemed to be barely holding on and managed a nice hit to the chest. Always easier to hit the chest, much bigger target than the head, and also quite likely to result in a kill.
The young ranger staggered and clutched the arrow protruding from his chest in surprise. He hadn't seen any goblins holding a bow and the shot had come out of nowhere. Feelings of despair and regret filled him, as the the warmth of life drained out of his body. The end was near. His feelings replaced with pained acceptance and anger he burst forth with his last bit of strength.
Ignoring the incoming sword, he decapitated a runt with a sudden slash. The goblin sword left a deep gash on his thigh. Grabbing an incoming spear shaft, he pulled another runt with reach and knocked it to the ground with a downward strike. Dropping to his knees the ranger finished it with a stab before he too fell beside it.
Time seemed to slow as everyone processed what just happened. Bluefang was grinning as he grabbed another arrow. Before he could take aim however, he accidentally glanced at the most dangerous ranger and made eye contact.
The old rangers eyes were burning with rage, and just staring at him. Bluefang gulped as the hairs on his neck stood on end. Sending out lighting fast slash to either side, the ranger bisected another two gobs without breaking eye contact. Then he pointed one sword in Bluefang's direction and started chanting.
"Forna skogarot, fangadu ovini mina!"
Frightened by the feeling of being stared at by a supreme predator, the goblin chief paled and turned to run.
He hadn't taken more than a couple steps before he tripped on an exposed root. Picking himself up, Bluefang noticed the root had somehow wrapped around his foot. Like a snake, it coiled slowly around and up his leg as it grew at a visible speed.
When he attempted to reach for his sword to hack the root off, Bluefang realized his arm was also stuck. Terrified, the gob looked around only to see dozens of sinewy roots erupting from the soil around him and reaching in his direction. Although he struggled to free himself, the roots just got tighter and tighter.
Pinned to the ground, the goblin chief briefly woke from his panic. A hooded figure with piercing eyes stood over him, swords still dripping with fresh blood.
In that moment, Bluefang knew he had F***ed up.