After a day of rest, the group of adventurers gathered in the common room of the inn once more.
Garh, intrigued by the appearance of the man sitting in the corner, approached him. The human introduced himself as Furnok, claiming that he was a treasure finder to which Garh's reply was that he and his companions searched for wealth as well. Thus, Furnok proposed that he would join the group yet Garh refused him and instead they drank wine and talked of the area as the human offered to share the rest of his opened bottle. As they drank a fellow in robes approached and introduced himself as Spugnoir the Sage, his quest of finding all scrolls in the area south of Verbobonc where Hommlet stood bringing him to the village.
Spugnoir offered a task to Gahr upon finding out that he was the leader of the four adventurers that accompanied him. The task of scouring and securing a nearby ruined moathouse where, as village gossip stated, bandits established a foothold. As the moathouse was merely a day of travel on foot away, Gahr agreed that his fellowship can defeat whomever occupies the ruined stronghold in order for the sage to be able to search it for anything the party would not need or find. And so, Spugnoir marked the ruins on the elf's map and asked him to bring any scrolls that the group might find to him as he would be waiting for their return in the "Welcome Wench".
Thus, the adventuers walked onwards to the moathouse which lay to the east of Hommlet. The group arrived there in the middle of the night and had to defeat four giant frogs which leapt out of the swamp waters surrounding the small keep. Dead before a minute passed, the slimy giant corpses of the frogs slowly sunk back into the swamp. Advancing with caution, the fellowship found itself surrounded once more, this time by the brigands promised by Spugnoir. In the melee that ensued only Wiltern was wounded before all of the brigands fell, bleeding, to the ground.
Noticing that Wiltern is wounded, Gahr looked around the courtyard of the moat house and noticed a door leading to a crumbling tower right beside the entrance to the ruins. Jireen healed the fighter with a spell of curing light wounds which gave him enough strength to walk with the rest of the group. And so, they entered the tower where thick cobwebs covered the walls and what seemed to be a stone chest. When the entire group was inside, a giant spider leapt down to land in their midst. Yet the surprise was lost as Ariven dodged when the vile creature tried to bite her. Each one of the group attacked the spider once before it fell.
By mutual agreement the group decided to rest until noon. Around twelve hours passed before they moved on and into the fortress, climbing the few steps that led to the double doors opposite of the drawbridge. Four dire rats as well as a huge viper in a chamber to the east proved to be no match to the adventurers although Aerhaster was wounded and poisoned by a fang of the overgrown snake. Thus, they decided to rest once more in the tower. When they returned to the inside of the ruins, it was the depth of night. Upon hearing a muffled noise from behind the door straight across the antechamber, Gahr ordered Elmo to open the door. The rest of the group followed close behind.
They found a few brigands led by a barbarian whom proved to be no match for Elmo alone as he stood in the doorway. Ariven cast a magic missile at the leader of the brigands while Elmo prevented them to leave the room where they were preparing to attack the adventurers. The drunk killed two of the brigands by cleaving through them with his battle axe, not once but thrice. All but one were dead while the group suffered no wounds, thus, Aerhaster rushed in and killed the last brigand whom wielded a crossbow and cowered in fear in the corner of the room upon the barbarian falling to Elmo's axe.
Garh, Jireen, Wiltern, Aerhaster and Ariven gained enough experience in melee combat through defeating the brigands that they decided to rest in order to think of tactics and allow Ariven to prepare her spells anew.
When the adventurers found an exit into the swamp and a staircase leading down, it did not take long before the group ventured into the bowels of the ruins. There they found an ogre whom was not as easily slain as the brigands upstairs. Gahr, Wiltern and Aerhaster began to attack the monster while Ariven staid back and watched for an opening to cast a spell. Yet after the ray of frost touched the flesh of the ogre, it started swinging it's club wildly in wroth and Jireen was hit. Aerhaster condemned her foolish behaviour while Garh helped her drink two potions of curing light wounds before she regained consciousness. Thus, the cleric of Pelor sat against the wall, trying to regain her senses. Meanwhile, Garh, upon looking around, noticed a door behind which he found two gnomes and an elf. The three were prisoners of the ogre yet raised no cheer upon being rescued. Garh received an unidentified iron ring which one of the gnomes promised to be a symbol and a warrant of friendship between the one whom wears it and all gnomes. The three escaped through the staircase upwards after learning that the path was clear.
Thus, the group moved on while Jireen remained by the corpse of the ogre in order to rest. While the group walked on to explore the parts of the dungeon that seemed to be to the west, she found a cloak of apparent magic properties in a pouch beside the belt of the dead ogre. The adventurers slowly walked forwards, following the sound of gnashing bones and torn flesh. At the source of the sound they found zombies feasting on two corpses which could not be distinguished from the zombies because of the wounds and rot. A rancid stench clung to the ceiling, walls and floor where the living dead gathered. Ariven staid back yet was in peril as well as an ooze dropped from the ceiling just behind her, almost wounding her if not for the help of Elmo who was the only of the men whom heard the sound and rushed to help her. Meanwhile, Garh, Aerhaster and Wiltern fought the best they could against the crowd of animated corpses. All three were wounded yet did not loose consciousness. As for the living dead, all were slain.
And so, the fellowship regrouped and started walking back to the room where the ogre was slain and up on the staircase in order to return to the crumbling tower by the entrance to the keep's courtyard where they would rest for three and a half days, the one's unwounded scouting the courtyard and the swamp for any sign of new foes.
