Dror Ragzlin, his body trembling with pain, collapsed to his knees, the three wounds he sustained erupting in a continuous stream of blood that was momentarily illuminated by the intense lightning magic emanating from the Sparky Points trident.
This magic transformed the blood into a vibrant red and blue fountain, which continued to surge until the Hobgoblin finally succumbed and collapsed completely.
SQUELCH!
With a twisted, sick glint in his eye, William grabs the trident and, with a violent twist, pulls the prongs free from Hobgoblin's now-dead form.
To Karlach's right, she was an unstoppable force of nature, her axe swinging with brutal efficiency as she cleaved a bloody path through every goblin unlucky enough to cross her path.
Meanwhile, Halsin on the left was a whirlwind of power, wielding a magic-imbued staff while simultaneously unleashing a potent mix of druidic magic that expertly controlled enemy movements while simultaneously laying them low.
Up on the overlooking tower, Astarion was firing off arrow after arrow, which fell down upon the goblins below in a deadly rain of arrows.
However, it didn't take long before a few of those goblins managed to find his exact position.
"OI A POINTY EARED ONE IS UP TOP, GET HIM, STOP HIM, DO FUCKING SOMETHING!"
A group consisting of five goblins and a single bugbear made their way towards the tower, the one where Astarion was currently located.
With a mighty heave, the bugbear launched a javelin in Astarion's direction, forcing the vampire spawn to quickly shift his attention to dodge out of the way just in time.
With a swift release, he let loose a shock arrow that momentarily brought their movement to a halt, and then, without missing a beat, he dropped the bow he'd been using and burst towards the goblins, his daggers held ready.
The lightning finally grounded, allowing them to charge Astarion as well with their respective weapons raised.
Astarion reacted swiftly, slipping under the initial goblin attack before swiftly slashing at the attackers' hamstrings with his daggers.
Then, with a surprising burst of speed, he shot forward and plunged the daggers deep into the eyes of the goblin located just behind the first attacker.
He seized the opportunity presented by the still standing but now very dead goblin, using its body as a springboard and propelling himself towards the next unsuspecting goblin, much like a jaguar would leap towards its prey.
The goblin managed to swing his blade and narrowly slice Astarion on his arm before the rogue flew last his guard and wrapped both daggers around the creature's neck.
SLIT... PTSSSSS!
The daggers plunged deep into the goblin's soft flesh, a swift and brutal movement that sent a spray of lifeblood gushing out.
The goblin's eyes widened in shock, then rapidly lost their color as he went limp, his body completely unresponsive.
The attack was so swift that he didn't even have time to register what had happened before succumbing to the blood loss and collapsing.
The bugbear and the two goblins who had managed to survive the encounter now stood around the rogue, their eyes fixed on him.
They were both holding their weapons firmly, each having their guard raised and ready to act.
However, the cuts on the hamstrings of one of the goblins burst open, and the circle around Astarion immediately began to break as the injured goblin let out a loud cry of pain.
Astarion's eyes, normally a dull shade of black, suddenly pulsed with an intense, brilliant crimson light as he moved with lightning speed in the direction of the fallen goblin.
With a swift, brutal slash, he aimed for the unfortunate creature's back, severing its vital organs and causing a torrent of blood to erupt, bathing Astarion in the last remaining drops of life the goblin had managed to squeeze out.
The last remaining goblin and bugbear exchanged a look with each other before simultaneously charging towards Astarion, as if they had reached a shared understanding.
Astarion reacted with surprising agility, scrambling backward with surprising quickness to avoid the javelin that the bugbears had thrown his way.
Then, he found himself faced with a particularly aggressive goblin, who charged forward with a scimitar held high.
Forced into action, Astarion was compelled to deflect the goblin's attack with one of his daggers, the force of the blow sending him hurtling backwards in the process.
CRACK!
With a jolt, his back slammed squarely into the wall behind the very tower from which he had just been firing, causing the air to rush from his lungs.
Astarion, sensing the imminent threat of the javelin hurtling towards him, reacted with incredible speed, falling to the ground and rolling to his side just moments before the weapon struck its mark.
The javelin, traveling at blinding speeds, embedded itself firmly into the rough stone surface with a sharp thud, creating a series of thick, web-like cracks that extended rapidly across the stone's surface in its wake.
The goblin lunged at him with a desperate fury, intent on ending his life.
However, before the blade could find its mark, Astarion weaved his way into the goblin's guard, his blades aimed directly at the goblin's vital heart and liver.
"Oh... Fuck you..." The goblin muttered in shock before falling dead where he stood.
Astarion drenched in goblin blood rose to meet the bugbears hate-filled gaze with one of pure predation, his glowing crimson eyes flashing with killing intent as he shot forth.
The bugbear roared and charged with its last remaining javelin in hand, before thrusting the sharp end towards Astarion.
Astarion was just about to receive a deadly blow when he managed to turn his head right in time, narrowly avoiding being skewered by the javelin.
The attack resulted in a shallow but deeply bleeding wound on his left cheek as Astarion closed the distance and wound himself around the bugbear like a snake, sinking his vampiric fangs into the creature's throat.
Astarion, his wounds already beginning to mend under the influence of his vampiric nature, plunged his fangs deep into the bugbear's neck.
As the bugbear's lifeblood gushed out freely, Astarion's powerful jaws closed around the wound, tearing the creature's throat cleanly apart with a sickening squelch of tearing flesh.
Astarion laid the bugbears' lifeless body down on the ground, his red eyes gleaming with a predatory glint.
Then, he let out a guttural howl that exposed his sharp vampiric fangs, his voice echoing across the vast expanse of the sky.
However, just as he thought things couldn't get any louder, he suddenly heard a voice booming even louder from just below him.
"HAHAHAHA BURN FOR MAMA K!*
With a guttural roar that echoed through the cave, Karlach ripped a goblin's arms from their sockets, her hands digging into the goblin's flesh with brutal force, all while seeking to inflict the maximum amount of pain possible.
Despite the numerous wounds she had suffered, which were still bleeding profusely, it seemed that barbarians, as a rule, were renowned not only for their immense strength but also for their remarkably resilient constitutions.
She proceeds to use the dead goblins' own severed arms to beat another nearby goblin to death before the makeshift weapons explode into a bloody mist.
Several goblins rushed her at once from multiple angles, one landing on her back, another two attempted to pull at her arms and another was rushing towards her with a spear.
SSSSPPPSSS!
A terrible shriek escaped the goblins' lips as their already delicate flesh was being incinerated by the infernal mechanism that beat fiercely within Karlach's chest.
The sound was so loud that it echoed through the very walls.
SHHNNK!
The goblin, wielding a spear, was struck by a well-aimed arrow. The arrow pierced its eye and then its brain, causing the goblin to fall onto its face, where it became impaled further in the back of its head.
She grasped the skull of one of the goblins who had attempted to hold her down and squeezed, her corded muscles tensing and veins of molten blood thrumming before the sound of bones cracking was heard.
"Aaagghhh.. noooo... T... The... Absolute... Will...'
CRUNCH... SQUELCH!
The goblins head exploded into a mist of blood and grey brain matter.
Her gaze fell upon the blood that sizzled against her own deep red skin, and she sent a hungry look in the direction of one of the other goblins.
Then, with a swift and decisive motion, she reached down and grabbed the spear that had fallen to the ground right near her, and with all her might, she hurled the spear towards the goblins' chest. It struck the wall with a force that sent it flying outward and into the wall with an explosive impact.
"YOU FUCKING WANT ME? COME AND FUCKING GET ME!" Karlach roared violently before grabbing her axe and launching back into the fray.
Elsewhere Halsin swept his magic-infused staff into a goblins guard.
SHATTER!
Halsin's powerful swing cracked and shattered the rough goblin scimitar, the attack then caving in the goblin's skull in a gruesome display.
The scene was a stark reminder of how easily a druid, seemingly bound by nature's gentle power, could become both brutal and merciless, mirroring the raw, untamed power of the natural world.
Halsin spun and blocked another goblin's attack, his free hand then moving quickly to cast the grasping vine spell.
The vine extended forward, wrapping itself around the goblin's leg and suddenly pulling the unsuspecting creature forward, causing it to lose its balance and tumble to the ground.
Halsin wasted no time and smashed his staff that hummed with the magic of the Shillelagh spell into the creatures skull, smashing its head like a melon in front of Gallagher, the resulting explosion of blood and brain matter painted the surroundings and even Halsin himself like a Jackson Pollock painting.
While all this was unfolding around him, William found himself engaged in a fierce battle with both an ogre and a small group of six goblins.
The ogre, who seemed to have taken charge of the situation, ordered his goblins to form a circle around William, effectively cutting off his escape routes.
His club, which was the size of a tree trunk, was swinging menacingly in the air as the massive creature stepped forward.
With a mighty roar, William raised his trident, which crackled ominously with the raw power of lightning magic. Dror Ragzlin's blood sizzled and evaporated on the very points that now aimed directly at the Ogre.
Well, c'mon then... you can't expect me to hang around all day, can you?" William chuckled, his smirk widening as he taunted the Ogre, whose eyes twitched in a mixture of shock and furious anger at the small being before it.
The ogre's rage was palpable, causing the very air to seem to crackle and distort around it as it let out a deafening stomp of its foot.
With a roar that shook the very bones of the temple, the ogre lunged towards William, its massive club raised high in preparation for a devastating blow aimed squarely at the small, big-mouthed Drow.
William didn't hesitate; he immediately dove to his right, just barely managing to miss the massive club before thrusting his sparking trident directly into the Ogre's forearm.
The impact was direct, yet the creature's thick hide and dense muscles managed to minimize the depth of the prongs.
He pulls the weapon free and blocks as the Ogre's foot came screaming towards him.
BANG!
The force of the impact sent him sprawling backwards, and in a desperate attempt to slow his retreat, he used the blunt end of his trident.
He raised his free hand in the direction of the Ogre, and suddenly his hand began to pulse with a vibrant fire.
Before the ogre could even manage to block, the fire in Williams' hand erupted, slamming directly against his face with a deafening force. The flames instantly enveloped his entire head, swirling around him with furious intensity.
"Aggggghhhhhhh it burns!"
The ogre's thrashing was brutal, sending out a flurry of fists and feet that slammed into anything and anyone unfortunate enough to find themselves in his path.
William rushed forth and used a nearby table to launch himself at the back of the ogre with his trident poised to strike.
SHNNNNK!
With an agility that seemed to defy his massive size, he spun effortlessly, holding the goblin captive in his grasp as a makeshift shield against the incoming onslaught.
The goblin, caught in the crossfire, felt the electrifying points pierce its flesh, leaving it convulsing and fried from the inside out.
The ogre's face contorted into a wicked and cruel grin, revealing rows of long, sharp, and jagged teeth, some of which still held bits of meat clinging to them.
William gasped, his eyes wide, and instinctively tried to block, a sickening feeling rising in his chest as he realized how badly this was going to hurt.
With a powerful, deliberate motion, the ogre reared back its fist and delivered a blow that could have been mistaken for the form of a professional boxer, the force of the impact crashing directly into Williams' already weakened guard.
The blow sent Williams flying backward across the battlefield, a trail of crimson blood trailing behind him as he screamed in pain.
As Karlach witnessed this unfolding event, she immediately took decisive action, stepping right onto the head of a nearby goblin.
With lightning speed, she propelled herself upwards, intent on catching William mid-air.
Fortunately for her, her timing and precision were impeccable, allowing her to snatch William from the air just as he was about to land.
Karlach landed hard, boots skidding across gore-slick stone as she absorbed the impact, one arm locked firmly around William's torso.
The force rattled her teeth, but she stayed upright, muscles screaming as she staggered back a step and then another before finally regaining her balance.
William coughed violently, blood flecking his lips as his vision swam.
The world felt too loud, too bright. Every breath burned like he was inhaling broken glass.
Karlach looked down at him, eyes wide, infernal engine still roaring in her chest, heat rolling off her in waves that warped the air.
"Hey! Hey, William," she barked, gripping him a little tighter. "You still with me? You okay?"
William blinked up at her.
His ears rang.
His ribs screamed.
Somewhere nearby, goblins were still dying very loudly.
His gaze unfocused… then very slowly refocused on Karlach.
On the molten glow beneath her skin.
On the sweat, steam rising from her shoulders.
On the sheer, terrifying proximity of a seven-foot-tall, fire-powered barbarian holding him like he weighed nothing.
A crooked grin pulled at his lips.
"…Wow," he wheezed. "You're… really hot."
There was a split second of silence.
Karlach froze.
Her eyes went wide. "I... what?"
And in that exact moment of shock, surprise, and very poorly timed fluster...
She let go.
William dropped.
"WAIT..!"
THUD.
He hit the stone floor flat on his back with a bone-rattling impact, the air blasting out of his lungs in a strangled wheeze.
Karlach stared down at him, hands snapping to her mouth.
"OH SHIT... SHIT, SHIT, SHIT!" she yelped. "I DIDN'T MEAN... I JUST... YOU SAID..!"
William groaned, staring up at the ceiling of stars, arms splayed, trident clattering beside him.
"…Worth it," he muttered faintly.
Karlach blinked.