The two veteran adventurers beside Kre moved faster than he could process, darting forward at the confused mass of dirt-encrusted hides and leathery skin, flashing their blades in a series of quick motions, and then jumping back. They worked in tandem, with each one darting forward just as the other was being swiped at while they retreated.
The cuts they made weren’t fatal by any means, but they weren’t intended to be. Their entire purpose was to confuse and panic their opponents. A strategy that worked beautifully from what Kre could tell.
Emotion overriding reason, Kre found his hand gripping the hilt of his own blade, ready to draw it forth from its hiding place. He did so with a bit of a flourish in hopes of continuing the illusion that the three of them were far more formidable than they really were, especially outnumbered seven to one as they were.
Kre was hardly accustomed to drawing forth a long blade from a belt sheath and, even though the tyrfang would not be classified as a long sword by any means, it was still far longer than the skinning knifes that he was more used to handling. As such, and also probably because he was showing off a bit, he inadvertently sliced through the waistband of his pants and his belt while drawing forth the blade.
His sword arm at the ready, the red blade glinting strangely in the light of the sun, Kre found himself with his pants falling down to his knees.
Thankfully, neither of his allies saw his predicament, busy as they were. However, one of the goblins spotted it and began to laugh with a raspy, gasping series of huffs, pointing at the poor boy with its gnarled paw and its cracked, rust yellow nails curled around a long splintered log.
Kre grasped at his belt and tried to free up his tangled legs while keeping the point of his blade facing his foes. It was lucky he did so, as the goblins were starting to remember that they had a tactical advantage here and began to move around in hopes of encircling their prey. Ras and Beleg were no longer darting in and out on the attack, but were now beginning to form up on either side of Kre, facing outwards.
Still, none of the goblins wanted to be the first to push in and face the deadly steel dancing around. They all knew that the first one in was almost always a sacrifice while those who followed stood a much better chance of being seen as conquering heroes. A few tried feints, but Ras and Beleg were far too wily to fall for those poorly executed tricks.
Suddenly, Beleg lowered his blade and raised a hand to the sky. “God in heaven,” Beleg called out suddenly. “We are beset by demons that dare to defy your will and slander your name by their very existence.”
The goblins seemed to be snickering and gesturing rudely at the man standing so boldly before them. Though Kre had no idea if they fluently spoke the Tehynshin language, but it was clear that the foul creatures understand at least parts of what Beleg was saying and found it wildly amusing.
Beleg then lowered his arm and pointed at one of the goblins near the back of the crowd. “May the light and glory of God smite that evil from my sight!”
There was an immediate and blinding flash of light and where once stood an ugly brute of green now writhed a blackened, smoldering corpse.