Having survived the first attack on Gobblette Cave, the goblins redoubled their support of the leaders of the effort: Ootkast, Shmoo, and Indiana. In the two and a half weeks following the initial invasion, the craftsmen and apprentices worked diligently to create a few new layers of defenses and forging new weapons.
And then another group of humans appeared--twice as many as last time.
The entrance of the cave had a series of traps prepared, designed to trigger one after the other: as the human warriors entered the cave, they tripped a razor wire, fell into a pit, and were crushed by a rolling rock.
However, they managed to escape the trap with only a few scrapes, from then on moving more cautiously through the cave. Then they activated a net trap, which caught two of the warriors in its tangles. Taking advantage of the opportunity, the goblins surrounded the humans and began to fight them while two of the six were trapped.
The battle was crowded and intense, with the goblins outnumbering the humans two-to-one, even after the trapped humans eventually worked their way free of the netting.
The humans proved to be quite tough, however: they managed to kill one of the goblin hunters and injure several more before they were all killed or incapacitated. Only one of the humans managed to escape, running back through the dark cave and reaching the exit alive.
Of the remaining five, three were pronounced dead at the scene, and two were taken captive, sent to the doctor for care.
The following day, a strange dwarf appeared at the town gate. He didn't speak Gobbledeguk, and none of the goblins spoke Dwarven. However, luckily both the dwarf and Indiana spoke Giant, so they were able to converse.
The dwarf, named Beckard Huff, was seeking cash for his magical objects. The goblins didn't have much use for gold, but they happened to pick up some coins from the warriors--35 gold coins, to be exact.
Huff had a stone to sell--a stone he assured the goblins was magical, a bringer of luck. The goblins were suspicious, but it was fairly irrelevant since the asking price was 1,000 gold coins, which was far more than the goblins had available.
However, as it turned out Huff was familiar with the language of humans! So, he agreed to translate some messages for the goblins at the price of 1 gold coin per word. He translated three things:
First, he translated a message for the captives; something to convey that the goblins acted in self defense, that they meant to harm, and that they would be set free soon.
Second, he translated a simpler message, which would be painted outside the cave: NO TRESPASSING.
Finally, he translated a message that the goblins found on one of the warriors, which the goblins couldn't read. As it turns out, it was a bounty: a reward was being offered to anyone who would clear the goblins out of the cave.
Huff departed, promising to return in a few weeks. He paid a handful of gold for some food, then left.
The goblins then dealt with their awakening captives, giving them the message and observing them. The humans seemed to understand their predicament, and were placed in makeshift holding cells until further notice.
What will happen to the captives? When will the next humans arrive? Will they be in even greater numbers?
Oh my.
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