Delve 2: Against Petty Lords

Heading into a village, our heroes find that a band of goblins have placed themselves as local rulers, living fat off tributes from the local gnomes. In return for access to the local gnome artificier's stock of minor magic goods, Saribke and Mia agree to carry out a frontal assault on the goblin's tower. Brazenly, they knock down the front door!

Encounter 4: Broken Card Game

Therein, no less than a dozen goblins and a big hobgoblin are engaged in various card and gambling games. Tables are quickly overturned and daggers withdrawn, and all parties get involved in a brawl near the door, with Saribke keeping as many as possible at bay while Mia plunks the Hobgoblin. The goblins go down pretty quickly, but the hobgoblin is a big brute that doesn't go down until all the furniture is broken to splinters: Mia and Saribke confuzzle him with attacks of opportunity and flanking until he falls to the ground dead.

Result: Heroes win pretty decisively, although Mia and Saribke get a bit wounded. Saribke 8 HP, Mia 13 HP. 7 Healing surges used.

Encounter 5: Up the Spiral Staircase

Starting up the inside of the hollow round tower, our heroes find themselves underattack from above, forcing them to charge up the stairs several floors to reach their first set of skeletal assailants. Saribke dispatches them quickly, and Mia fruitlessly flings blasts at the snipers above. Pressing the charge, Saribke makes an incredible leap across the tower, pulling himself up with his arms to quickly dispatch one of the dismayed snipers. Mia rushes up the stairs and kills a second, but not before Saribke has vaulted further to take out another. Another decisive rush, and all the snipers are dealt with.

Result: Straightforward victory. Saribke suffered the brunt of the shots, but never hit Bloodied status. Saribke 26 HP, Mia full HP.

Encounter 6: The Goblin Boss and Bodyguard

Scrambling to the summit of the tower, Saribke and Mia come out into a room with a broad open balcony, the railing crumbled away. Opposite the balcony, a Goblin Boss, his bodyguards, and two dire wolves snarl and, confident in their strength, hurl headlong towards our heroes. Mia and Saribke a bit surprised, they edge towards the open ledge and get attacked first by the wolves as the goblins ready their weapons and charge. However, in possibly the most amazing combo I've ever pulled off in a roleplaying game, Saribke swaps location with the goblin boss, and uses his concussive defense to hurl all but one of the wolves off the top of the tower in an epic sweep of a glaive. Falling to their deaths, the boss and his coterie are dispatched before they can even get strikes in! The remaining wolf is easily crushed by Mia's eldritch blasts, and the tower is cleared!

Result: Dominating victory. Saribke took a total of 9 damage, and killed 4 full-featured monsters in a single hit. The boss's treasure contained 410 gold, a hearty sum!

Analysis
Helped incredibly by terrain and the ability to funnel enemies effectively, this delve went particularly well, the main challenge being the hobgoblin on the first floor. The summit of the tower was a hilarious occurance, mostly caused by Mia luring the last group away from perhaps more sound locations. Getting lucky, Mia wasn't hurt by the wolves, and Saribke was perfectly placed to knock the entire encounter out the window. Defenestration! The local gnome artificier gifted a Lifedrinker Glaive +1 to Saribke, and Mia was able to get a Pact Blade +1, so she should be a bit more accurate now. Along with a couple healing potions, this turned out to be a fruitful outing. I am concerned about our heroes' ability to deal with multiple, hard-hitting monsters though: reliance on a single healing surge within each encounter might end up being insufficient from keeping Saribke alive, and once he falls Mia is likely to be quickly killed without his deflective defense. I will throw in a small Skill Challenge before the next Delve for a few more experience points for the two: they are shy of 3rd level by a mere 50 points.