Callum didn't hesitate to sprint towards the exit, he was already facing in the right direction anyway.
'Run Callum, don't let that
As his speed increased, the spear he had awkwardly stuck in his belt started to hit the back of his legs. He could hear the patter of the goblin feet as they charged after him, their high pitched voices echoed down the tunnel.
"Shit! That's a horrible place for a spear. Great idea, Callum," he shouted.
Callum turned slightly as he grabbed at his spear; it was slowing him down too much, and he needed all the speed he could muster. He had just managed to partially pull the spear out from behind him, when he noticed four bolts zipping towards him.
He immediately dove to the ground.
Callum felt several impacts against his back and shoulder, as the bolts struck him mid-air. As he painfully skidded along the rocky floor, Callum pulled up his notifications with a sense of dread.
'- 23 HP lost to
Note, you have been Slowed. Effects: -5% speed for the next :05:28
- 25 HP lost to
Note, you have been Slowed. Effects: -10% speed for the next :05:28
- 24 HP lost to
Note, you have been Slowed. Effects: -15% speed for the next :05:29'
"That little troll turd!"
Callum felt like he was in a quagmire as he scrambled to his feet. At least his spear was finally in his hands and not awkwardly stuffed into his belt. As soon as he gained his feet, he took off running again.
He could hear the goblins right behind him as he tore out of the dungeon. The dive had cost him most of his lead, and in the end he only managed to avoid one of the bolts. His long strides were negated by his magically slowed body.
The weather outside had worsened considerably in the short time that Callum had been in the dungeon. Visibility had dropped substantially due to the swirling snowflakes that danced in the blowing wind. It had begun to snow.
Callum ignored the splendor of the sight.
His only thoughts were to flee the horde of goblins chasing after him. The snow swallowed the sounds of the goblin footsteps, which caused Callum's back to crawl; he could no longer accurately gauge how close behind him they were.
He easily leapt over the first row of stakes, but he landed on a patch of ice. Unfortunately, he forgot about the
Instead, his leg was too slow and didn't plant correctly. All that momentum wasn't redirected and his leg slipped to the side. He was sent sprawling into the snow as he performed an unplanned and very painful split all the way down to the ground.
His legs and groin screamed in agony as he lay there in the snow.
He briefly appreciated the fact that all the snow on the ground helped soothe the pain. The sound of pained goblin screams behind him reminded him of his present situation and interrupted a very ginger inspection of his family jewels.
Callum tried to ignore his tender groin as he scrambled back to his feet. He didn't have time to collect himself fully, but he had at least confirmed that he was still intact, despite the pain telling him otherwise.
He glanced over his shoulder in the direction of his pursuers as he regained his feet; many goblins had run straight into the first row of stakes, they had been too eager in their pursuit and ignored the stakes in their efforts to catch him.
However, he observed that the goblins behind those first goblins were already climbing over their pinned comrades. Other goblins were scrambling up the side walls; they were finding success due to the nature of the snow wall, as it was less a wall and more a tall pile of snow.
Callum used his spear as a walking stick as he slowly hobbled towards the second line of stakes. He knew that he had another debuff thanks to the ungainly spill.
He was briefly stumped about how to surmount the next row of stakes; he had trouble trying to lift his legs high enough. He eventually gave up and performed a dolphin dive over the stakes and into the snow.
While he scrambled back to his feet, he took the opportunity to place a handful of snow into his smallclothes, the instant relief more than offset the presence of cold snow in such a sensitive spot.
He limped forward once more and wondered if his uncle ever had a similar experience, he knew his uncle had never told him such a story. Two arrows sunk into Callum's legs as he performed another dolphin leap over the last set of stakes.
"Gods damned goblins, have you no respect for a man who just did the splits? What kind of monsters are you to ignore that kind of pain!" Callum roared out as he bled into the snow.
Callum glanced back as he once more picked himself off the ground. Goblins were swarming past the second set of stakes, others had gained the top of the wall, and more goblins streamed out of the dungeon.
Multiple Goblin Skirmishers were trying to line up shots on him; they could find clearer lines of fire now that they weren't in a crowded tunnel. Luckily, they still seemed to have a bad aim on solid ground.
As Callum watched, a stray shot hit one goblin in the back of its head as it tried to climb over some stakes. The arrow caused the goblin to lose its balance and impale itself on a stake where it soon bled out.
Callum soon reached the break in the enclosure walls that served as the entrance. He moved his makeshift door in place and wedged some sturdy branches in a manner that braced the door.
As he did so, Callum surveyed the battlefield. The swirling snow, green goblin blood, and his own blood almost made it look like the very picture of festive cheer.
'Only if you ignore the murderous little goblins yelling their heads off as they chase me,' Callum thought to himself.
He pulled up his debuffs to verify that he had actually pulled his groin earlier and saw that
the debuff would last for almost another minute. That would be a minute where his mobility was even further reduced, because it stacked on top of the
"Well, this is as good of a defensive position as I'll find. Better than getting caught in the open," Callum spoke as he began bandaging up his wounds.
He actually had four arrows sticking out of his legs, shoulder, and thigh, although he couldn't remember getting hit that many times. He pulled out the arrows and stuffed them in his bag as he bandaged all four wounds.
'Hmm, well that explains where all of that red blood came from,' Callum mused.
He finished just in time for the first goblin to reach his barricade. Callum performed a
While waiting for the next goblin, Callum slightly widened the hole in the barrier he had stabbed through. Two more goblins soon reached the entrance and attacked the barrier, and many more were behind them.
Callum lashed out with his spear at every goblin he could, even as more arrows whistled towards him. Many stray arrows sunk into the goblins attacking the door, it seemed like the Skirmishers had no qualms about friendly fire.
The snow wall, door, and goblins all protected Callum from the arrows of the 8-10 Goblin Skirmishers he could see.
The biggest problem for Callum though were the goblins who either raced along the enclosure walls or dropped down outside the walls, and approached on Callum's flanks.
Their attacks weren't coordinated, and individually they posed little danger to Callum, but they did take his attention from the mass of goblins that were breaking through his barricade. Several goblins also tried to crawl through holes in the door.
Fortunately, his injury debuff only affected his lower body movement; Callum quickly dispatched any flankers or crawlers with aggressive attacks. The barrier would only hold so long though, and Callum glanced at his debuff timer once more.
Two Witch Doctors finally exited the dungeon.
One of them quickly jabbered at the Goblin Skirmishers, who all promptly stopped their friendly fire killing spree and started climbing the walls; joined by even more goblins. The other Witch Doctor started chanting.