Evelynne, Tahmeena, Torvald, Riven, and Dakkar were pulled from The Pit. King Foldrid ordered them to continue exploring the tunnels to find a path to Mount Runegate. Tahmeena shouldered Evelynne’s pack, and the group set out to the east.

After traveling for a time, Tahmeena spotted goblin warg riders ahead. They charged in on the group, and in a swirling melee, Torvald and Dakkar were injured. Tahmeena and Riven skirmished, mostly avoiding harm. Evelynne’s spells helped turn the tide. The end result was four wargs and one goblin dead, three goblins captured, and one goblin fled on its warg. The group left the goblins tied up where if they worked at it, they could cut themselves free. After Dakkar’s speech about being better than these goblins and leaving them alive, Evelynne slipped back and left a warg fang closer to the goblins to help them get free.

Pressing on to the cave entrance to the tunnels, Tahmeena helped the group avoid a cave bear whose tracks she spotted.

When the group reached the cave, they realized it was too exposed and well-traveled to be suitable for a normal night’s rest (may only short rest here). Tahmeena set her hunting trap near the cave entrance, and Dakkar placed his deeper into the caves.

On Tahmeena’s watch, the night’s rest was interrupted when the three surviving goblins stumbled into the cave, looking for shelter. One goblin tripped and fell into Tahmeena’s hunting trap, which crushed his skull. The other two were quickly dispatched by the group. After taking an hour to dispose of the bodies away from the cave, Dakkar used magic to obscure their trail back to the cave. The group tried again to rest.

On Torvald’s watch, he heard humanoids coming up the mountain. He woke Riven and sent him out to scout. Five orcs and an orc chieftain were coming up towards the cave. The group tried to hide, but the orcs were more attuned to the night. A short, vicious battle ensued. Below is an account overheard in The Pit as told by one of the survivors.

"Orcs crept up on us while we slept. Torvald and Riven ambushed them, killing one orc. I put another to sleep. The other three swarmed Torvald. He and I had not fully recovered from fighting warg-riding goblins. The big orc leader rushed Tahmeena and laid her low with two hits. Evelynne did something with that doll of hers. The big orc seemed frightened. I pulled Tahmeena away to safety."

"I healed Tahmeena, but then, Torvald fell. The orcs rushed us. Riven picked off many of the orcs from the shadows, keeping Evelynne safe for a time, but there were too many. When Evelynne fell, the spell on the big orc ended. He rushed me and downed me in one hit."

"According to Riven, he led the big orc on a chase through the shadows, giving Tahmeena time to fight and kill two orcs. He told her to heal Evelynne. Before Tahmeena could reach her, the big orc charged Tahmeena. She dodged the first axe blow, but the second caught her. She went down. Riven said the big orc got him next."

"We don't know what happened after that until I woke back up into this world of pain. The big orc was standing over Tahmeena. I leapt to my feet and ordered him to leave, vowing vengeance on him if he did not. He stood his ground. I lunged at him with my rapier. We dueled for what seemed like hours, but it could only have been a few seconds. Blow after blow missing or striking shield or weapon. I scored a hit when he overbalanced himself. It seemed I would fall, and all would be lost. I called out... to HIM. I parried his axe with my shield, and my rapier found its way through his armor and ribs to his heart."

"I tried to revive Tahmeena and Evelynne, but they were gone. We buried them on Queen's Mountain, overlooking the cave."

"Tahmeena has her kingdom at last, small though it is."

Torvald, Riven, and Dakkar returned to Retreat’s End where they were stripped of their gear and thrown back into The Pit.