The enemy came into view(no wall)

The sound of thundering footsteps marched over the silence of the night as the enemy drew into view down the path towards the village centre, their torches slowly growing by the second and banishing the darkness away to the shadows, where they danced wildly and planted fear into the goblins hearts. The rider from the fateful encounter was leading a company of men, who stood behind in a mob like fashion. These men were clad in fancy looking leather armour that had metal plates in their more exposed places, with some being more armoured than others. They all carried a variety of weapons, from swords to pikes to maces and shields, and from the looks of it appeared to be mercenaries. They looked tired from having to be up so late at night, as if they've marched all day. {if ditches = true}Some of them looked to be already weathered and muddy; it seemed that the ditches did their work at slowing them down.{endif}{if caltrops = true}The caltrops probably helped with that as well.{endif} The rider came before the defenders, their sword casually bouncing up and down as their horse trotted to a stop so that they were perpendicullar to the group.

"Goblins!" The yell echoed in the silence. The villagers cowered, holding their breaths as to not break it. The pause was deliberate as if to intimidate them. Hopkins however was unphased. "You have something of mine!" the rider continued, "I don't know why you even keep her captive; I heard that you goblins like to eat your prey still alive! I gave you a chance before and I will not give you another one now!"

They raised their sword and let out a battle cry, the mercenaries charging past in a swarm, where it clashed against the goblins like a wave against the sand. The goblins were pushed back, trying their best to hold them back in the narrow village path. It was a bloodbath, both sides suffering losses, though unfortunately the goblins saw the worse of it. Even with their numbers, the lack of skill and quality equipment made the combat clearly one sided. Still, the fighting continued for quite some time, causing the melee to ebb up and down the path, though it was after several back and forths that Hopkins noticed they were preparing a final push.

"Hold ground!" he yelled as loud as he could over the din of the battle. The enemy charged once more, this time with more ferocity.