The party regroups after the chaotic battle with the Cragmaw Castle Goblins and hatches a cunning plan to send Finn into the north east tower where they believe the Dwarf to be held. Armed with a potion of invisibility, Finn scales the wall with ease and hoists himself up and through the arrow slit, dropping silently into the room where he can see a terrifying Dire Wolf, an attractive female Drow elf and the Grizzled brute that is King Grol - the current Lord of Cragmaw Castle.
Finn's instructions are to find the Dwarf and Binky will alert the rest of the party when he needs them to create a distraction. Finn executes plan A which is to use string to tie together the legs of the Drow.
He then sneaks back to the arrow slit and throws dried meat from his ration pack in the hopes of distracting the Dire Wolf. Its ears prick up at the noise, but little else as it's hardly enough to tempt the beast, and in any case, King Grol's commands bring it to heel and to continue watching the doorway.
The next step of the plan is to wake the Wizard and the Dwarf in order to even the odds a little. The Wizard wakes quite easily and is initially terrified - feeling a small invisible finger being pressed over his mouth. He thinks he can smell beef jerky. He then hears whispers and surmises that it is indeed a rescue attempt and not the fumblings of some invisible pervert.
Finn tries to wake the Dwarf, but he doesn't seem responsive. Bloody Dwarf (Gundren) seems to prefer sleeping to being rescued, he thinks. Screw the Dwarf for now. Finn finds himself behind King Grol and skillfully ties the Bugbear's legs together without being noticed. And for a brief moment considers spilling the ball-bearings at the feet of his enemies, but given that they are facing each other it probably wouldn't go unnoticed. By now Finn is running out of options and is pleased to hear Beef's voice appear in his mind. They converse briefly and decide to cause a distraction and plan F is put in motion.
Plan F involves throwing some ball bearings out of the arrow slit in the hope of causing a distraction outside. Both the Wolf and the Drow hear it, the latter rushing from the room. Binky gives the signal and Farraine leaps into action, flinging open the door and swinging Wyrmsight with savage and accurate blows.
Lucian, still recovering from his ordeal, sees his opportunity. Speaking words of power, he unleashes a fiery explosion and the room lights up. There's a shock wave of heat and the stink of singed fur fills the room. Somehow, King Grol and the Wolf are still there. How did they survive, Lucian wonders.
The Wolf is first to fall, the group focusing their blows and missiles at the hulking beast before it is able to strike. King Grol screams and swings his monstrous morning star, landing a crushing blow on Farraine's shield, almost breaking his arm. Farraine trades pithy insults with the Bugbear as he expertly lands blow after blow.
Meanwhile, the Drow has returned and she ambushes the startled Finn striking him savagely, narrowly missing him a second time which almost certainly would have been a killing blow.
Finn makes a frantic escape for the arrow slit, but not before unleashing a pinpoint strike with his crossbow at the Bugbear's back. The bolt erupts from King Grol's chest and he staggers to one knee. Blood fountains from the wound spattering over Farraine and Byron.
Byron springs into action delivers a savage blow before grabbing the bolt, pirouetting and pulling it through Grol's chest, heart still attached... but definitely not beating.
There's a tense moment as they notice the Drow across the room. Beef decides to negotiate and calls a truce to which she agrees. The Wizard goes with them and the Dwarf goes with her. Farraine isn't happy at all, but no-one is really in any shape to argue.
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