Grumok, Kraz, Muddy, Tahmeena, and Dakkar were pulled out of The Pit. King Foldrid Runegate sent them to Kiglodir. Seven villagers (they called them slaves) escaped into the hills. The orders were to bring them all back or take their punishment in their place. For each returned “slave,” 5 gold was promised.

On the road to Kiglodir, the group was attacked by a large bear. After they killed it, they reached Kiglodir. The local Runegate commander chastised the group for the delay. They presented a woman they had beaten into submission. She told the group that Sven the hunter’s son led the escapees north around the hill to the west. They planned to make it to the coast, hoping to steal a boat and escape Bjarnfell.

The group decided to cut across the large hill to the west to head off the escaped villagers. Near sunset, they encountered another large, hungry bear. After prevailing, the group camped for the night. During the night, a troll approached their camp. They hurriedly collected their possessions and ran. The troll was about to catch some of the group when Dakkar turned back to slow it down. The troll clawed Dakkar into unconsciousness. Muddy quickly lit a torch and charged at the troll, driving it off.

The group revived Dakkar and traveled out of the area. Then, they camped again, sleeping into the next morning to help everyone recover from their first day’s ordeal. Pressing on west to the edge of the hills, the group saw it was snowing heavily in the tundra. After a brief debate, they decided to head south, looking for signs of the villagers.

Later in the day, the group found signs of an ambush. It looked like a group of people were attacked by another group of people. The victors dragged the survivors west towards the tundra. Following the trail, the group found an orc camp where only three of the villagers were still alive. Orcs had killed the others and were preparing to eat them. Several orcs had strange mutations, including wings on one and an extra head on another.

The group prepared an ambush and volley-fired on the orcs, killing two of them. Unfortunately, they didn’t account for the aggressiveness and speed of the orcs, and they were soon surrounded. Dakkar fell first. Muddy fell soon afterwards. The other three fought with desperation until Tahmeena could slip free from the melee to stabilize Muddy. She gave her healer’s kit to Kraz who stabilized Dakkar. Then, they finished the remaining orcs and awakened Dakkar and Muddy.

Sven and his companions told their tale of woe and how first a troll killed one of them, attacking their camp in the night. It was likely the same troll that nearly killed Dakkar. Then, the orcs found them and killed all but Sven and the other two men who could handle themselves in a fight. They begged to be released. Dakkar refused, advising them that they needed a plan that would work if they truly hoped to succeed. The group dug a grave for the villagers the orcs killed. Dakkar brought Sven and his two companions out to help say words over the grave. The Nepurnians committed their loved ones to their gods, and they called on their gods for deliverance and vengeance.

As the group struggled to make their way back to Kiglodir through a blizzard, Sven incessantly begged to be freed. He and the other two villagers were clear they would rather die than return. Their pleas weighed on the group but not as heavy as the fear of what Clan Runegate might do if these three were not returned.

The group camped in the hills southwest of Kiglodir. Early in the night, a group of ogres approached the camp. Tahmeena didn’t understand what they were saying, but since their speech reminded her of Grumok, she woke Grumok. The four ogres knew each other. The three ogres (Klaris, Tryken, and Zonzor) were happy to find Grumok. They tried to convince Grumok to come with them, but Grumok reluctantly declined. He sent them to look for the remains of the orcs the group had killed, promising them they could eat them and take what was left of their camp. In the end, Grumok’s three friends did not understand why he wouldn’t go with them, and they were angry with him.

Later in the night, the people on watch heard a terrible mixture of crazed voices drawing closer to the camp. Alerted to the danger, the group scrambled to defend themselves. A thing out of nightmares advanced on Grumok, who was frozen in place with fear. Kraz charged it, but he was swiftly defeated. Hearing what was happening, Sven and his companions begged to be set free to fight. Dakkar could not deny Sven any longer. He was able to cut Sven loose with his rapier before the horror froze Dakkar with fear. Sven took Dakkar’s rapier and charged the horror. He struck it with a mighty blow. With Sven’s help, the group was able to kill the horrible creature.

Holding the unconscious Kraz hostage, Sven made his case for his companions and himself to be freed. Dakkar agreed with Sven, urging the group to let them go. He warned Sven that without more information and resources they were doomed to failure and death. No one in the group seemed happy about letting the villagers go, but no one had the will to prevent them from leaving.

The group concocted a simple story about how all the villagers they could find were dead and how they nearly all died as well. Then, they returned to Kiglodir. The commander there seemed to accept their story, and all five were whipped mercilessly, receiving the punishment the villagers would’ve received if they had returned.

The group was sent back to Retreat’s End where they were stripped of their gear and weapons and thrown back into The Pit.