They climb down the ladder and find the body of the guard they had thrown down the waterfall. They shove it out into the river, allowing it to be swept away out of sight. Before long, the dragon emerges from the river and confronts the party, demanding proof that they have succeeded in their task. They show her Goerth’s head, and she is duly impressed. Cycek informs her that the Duergar will probably soon be along to see her dead body – since they had enlisted them to attack her. She laughs at the futility of the notion, but is also incensed that they should dare raise a hand against her. She tells the party that they are free to wipe out the Duergar if they wish, in fact she will look kindly on it if they prove themselves to be worthy foes of the dark dwarves. She swallows the head and disappears into the river.

Shortly, they hear voices. Someone is coming down the ladder. They take strategic locations and wait to see who appears. To their surprise, it is two hobgoblins in the company of Ghared and her guard. One of the hobgoblins spots the party members and recognizes them. He yells, “There are the dishonorable wretches who left me tied up! They killed Ulfe! They killed Grandmother!” It is the hobgoblin warrior they had captured and bound a couple of days previously. He has evidently been discovered and rescued by another hobgoblin, and brought to confer with the Duergar. Ghared adds, “You killed the hobgoblin chief, and now we find our own chief dead! It was a mistake to get involved with you!”

Mishok responds, “No, look – we killed the dragon. Follow me and I’ll show you!” He moves off, running toward the Black Lake. Ghared and Yarig are not having it and they attack. The two Duergar crouch behind the stone walls of the bridge, taking cover between ranged attacks with crossbows and javelins. Cycek is again seriously wounded, and he falls unconscious. Sartan, meanwhile, had hidden himself toward the back of the cavern, and he is able to attack from his concealed position. He kills two of the hobgoblins with well-placed arrows, and wounds one of the Duergar as well. Nightscale, having seen that the party has fought on her side, emerges from the water and turns her piercing, baleful gaze upon the Duergar. She berates them for their audacity in opposing her, then she opens her mouth and sprays the two Duergar with her caustic breath. The guard is instantly dissolved into smoking ruins, but Ghared manages to throw up her shield and fend off some of the acid. Nonetheless, she is horribly scalded and she shrieks in agony. Her pain is short lived, as is she, because Davros fires an arrow and kills her dead.

Nightscale is delighted with the outcome. She praises the team for providing an opportunity for such delicious violence. While she is gloating over the deaths of the Duergar, Davros provides first aid to the fallen Cycek. Sartan asks Nightscale if she might be willing to reward them with something to help their fallen comrade. She is magnanimous in her willingness to provide them with some healing magic, but when they ask for additional treasure, her greedy nature reveals its ugly self. She suggests that they not push their luck. The wicked creature dives back under the water and swims away, leaving the party wondering if they should wait, or if they should make themselves scarce while they have the chance. They wait, and wait… and after an uncomfortably long time, they detect something coming their way along the riverside path.

A small, frail, bearded figure shuffles along, holding forth a glass flask that glows faintly amber with the captured torchlight. It is an aged dwarf clad in torn trousers and a filthy tunic. The group watches suspiciously as he draws near.  He speaks wearily in a halting, raspy voice, “I can’t believe she let me go…” He casts a fearful look over his shoulder, and continues, holding forth the flask, “She sent me with this.” Mishok and Sartan examine the flask, and they believe it to be an authentic healing potion. They pour it into Cycek’s mouth, and he groggily opens his eyes.

Mishok looks upon this bedraggled dwarf and asks, “Who are you?” He responds in an unsteady gruff whisper, “My name… it has been so long since I used my name. I am Krago… of the Mountains.” At this, Sartan steps forward. Krago sees him and appears confused, then says, “Sartan… is it you? The others…. they’re all gone! Our last adventure, it all went wrong, so many years ago.” Sartan informs him that they had found the remains of what they believe to be Lefto and Ahura Mazda. Krago tells him that they encountered horrible monsters and they got separated. Their elf companion went mad, and Xodar found some magical bauble that he fancied, and then abandoned them. He pales as he recalls traumatic memories, and concludes his tale with a fearful warning, “I’ve been kept prisoner and mistreated by Nightscale so long….” He looks nervously over his shoulder again, and says, “Don’t trust her. She’s evil… she’s toying with us… we should get out of here.”

The party heeds his advice and they climb the ladder back up to the shelf near Goerth’s chamber. Sartan asks Krago if there are any Durgeddin weapons in Nightscale’s hoard. The veteran adventurer rues the day that he and his former colleagues had taken up the mission of seeking those very same weapons, as that mission led to the downfall of his companions, but he confirms that yes, the dragon did have a number of quality Durgeddin weapons in her treasure hoard. They discuss what to do next, contemplating how they can get rid of the dragon and get at her treasure. First, Mishok reckons, they need to figure out how many more Duergar there might be around, and what to do about them. He wonders if there is any way they can use the Foundry to fashion something to help them slay the dragon.