Following a fight in which Slender James is killed, and Scaythe sent running, the party rests in Croncho’s cave. They consider several options for next steps. Croncho indicates a pair of tunnels, one of which wends deep into the earth… a passage to the legendary and much-feared Underdark. The other tunnel ultimately will open upon the surface world, miles to the east in the wilderness. Before they can decide, they are assaulted by another group of Scaythe’s minions. This bunch appears to be the squad of searchers they had seen leaving the mine the previous day. Lead by a fearsome hobgoblin captain, this band of enemies includes a huge, hideous, multi-legged reptile, a hulking jerky golem, and a full complement of foot soldiers and goblin archers. In the ensuing fight, Mishok is turned to stone (granting him an enhanced affinity for the nature of stone). In the midst of battle, they learn that the reptile is in fact a basilisk – a very dangerous creature. However, Croncho looks kindly upon the “misunderstood” beast and seeks to protect it. The battle is fierce, but the heroes prevail. The hobgoblins, goblins, and the jerky golem are slain. Croncho subdues the basilisk, and adopts it as a pet. They cure Mishok with the generous application of a slimy substance from the basilisk’s gullet.
The group decides they must take their leave of Croncho. Conferring with Caso and the foreman, who had previously spent some time in the service of the evil taskmaster Scyathe, they determine that the number of foes within the mine must be significantly diminished by now. They learn the location of Scaythe’s main headquarters and decide to seek him out, and hopefully retrieve Krago.
They backtrack through the mine, and soon find the steel sliding doors leading to Scaythe and Slender James’ workshop. Inside, they find a pair of large chambers, into which are built several tiers of iron catwalks. The main floor of the space is filled with at least a dozen prone, catatonic villagers. Bodies float and bob in a pool of aromatic water, like a ghastly stew. A gnoll prisoner screeches and gibbers, manacled and chained to a stone wall. Goblin archers nimbly scamper along the catwalks, firing arrows from above. The adventurers fight their way into the room, slowly cutting down the archers one at a time. Those who stray too close to the pool are subjected to an unsettling, soporific sensation, as if a spell has been cast upon them. In fact, Cycek for a time is put to sleep by some unseen magical force. The group eventually makes its way to a curtained area at the back of the chamber. There they find a ghoulish lab, in which the horrible jerky golems had been created. A body with disarticulated limbs is strapped to a stone slab. A workbench is strewn with cutting utensils and jars filled with herbs and assorted strange substances. A huge stone column houses a brazier outfitted with a grate, chains, and other weird hardware. It is clearly a smoking chamber. This appears to be the bottom of the chimney down which Cycek had climbed just a day before. Mishok discovers Kheldegan Tolm (owner of Tolm’s Superior Outfitting and Dry Goods) among the catatonic victims. He is still faintly breathing. Mishok calls upon Divoc for healing power, and finds that he is able to get the good Dwarf back on his feet. Unfortunately, his strength is such that he can only channel this power once before resting and regaining his strength.
Once the adventurers have cleared the space of enemies, they quickly move from combat-mode to the rescue of the stricken townsfolk. They bring in the cart from outside the mine and load it up with the unconscious townspeople.
They cautiously travel back to Blasingdell, keeping a close lookout for enemies, particularly Scaythe. They see no sign of him, nor of Krago. They arrive in town within the hour, returning the men to their concerned families. There is relief for some few, and deep sorrow for many others. An unfortunate number of good men were lost to the monstrous experiments of Slender James and Scaythe, including Shadwick, father of Wicklow. Many of the men are still stricken with the frightful catatonia. Mishok rests enough to recover some healing abilities, and assists some few victims with recovery. But, the team knows they need to move on. They simply cannot linger for the weeks it would take to restore all the men. Mishok offers what advice and wisdom he can, in the hopes that the local clergy will be able to successfully perform the healing rites themselves. Kheldegan, himself an new adherent of Divoc, commits to lead this effort.
The adventurers prepare to leave Blasingdell. The traumatized but resilient townspeople resolve to hold their village against aggressors as well as they can, but acknowledge that they may need to pull up stakes and retreat to Shadowfurst. First, however, they intend to retake the mine as a defensible stronghold. The foreman advises them that there are valuable crystals in a newly discovered lower chamber which may prove an economic boon for the town. Of course, they may face legal challenges from the Wend family. That will be a concern for a later date.
The group sets out to Shadowfurst, keeping their eyes on the sky, still fearing an appearance by a vengeful black dragon. They travel with a horse-drawn cart, hauling their cache of weapons and other loot retrieved from Khundrukkar. They have approximately six days of travel ahead of them, which are certain to be fraught with peril.