Dameron was eager to hunt down the escaped goblin, but Balthasar, Camwise, and Gruffudd convinced him it would be wiser to continue on to find Jaervellios.
Camwise explained that Wymlord was an ancient term referring to one that had mastered a wyrm. In the morning, the Daring Friends left the caravan and headed west. It was late morning when the small trail they were following led to a deep glade centered by a startlingly large tree that appeared to have a house grown into and out of it. Goblin and worg corpses littered about the nearby treeline in various states of decay. Beyond the tree was a river and on the other side were many more similarly large trees. Gruffud, Camwise, and Dameron called out to Jaervellios. Suddenly the singing of the birds grew quiet as roots and vines grew out of the earth to form a half-dozen three-foot-tall figures. Slowly they shifted toward the newcomers. At Gruffudd’s indication of peace, they stopped and parted for him, making a path to the big tree. As Gruffud led the way to the tree, the root figures trailed behind. When the Daring Friends reached the tree, the root figures circled around them and merged into the tree itself. Then a voice came from up above and Jaervellios emerged from a balcony thirty feet up, “Who comes here to the Exiles Glade?” Gruffud, Camwise, and Dameron explained their mission to find aid in their efforts against the goblins. Jaervellios seemed amenable, especially at the mention of Delora. Jaervellios emerged from the tree and greeted them in the name and the office of the binders, removing one of his gloves to show them a circle burned into the top of his hand. Jaervellios agreed to take them to Wymnlord Koth at Vraath Keep for ten gold coins a day as long as they remained within the Boarderwood. In short order, they were all heading east, traveling much faster through the brush with Jaervellios’ guidance. They passed the road near where they had been ambushed the night before and reached a causeway where one bridge led to an island and a second bridge connected the island to the other side. The bridge was a shoddy wooden structure built on a solid stone foundation. Camwise detected that portions of the bridge appeared to be rigged to collapse. Searching the area, no goblins or other enemies could be detected. Dragging a rope across the bridge, Balthasar led with his horse and Dameron followed with his mule. Arrows flew from the far side and hit the levers collapsing both bridges. Dameron just managed to haul Ass onto the island, but they were trapped there with Balthasar. Four goblins could be seen and a hydra soon emerged from the river. Camwise cast Slow, drastically limiting the hydra. Gruffudd cast Call Lightning, blasting the goblins and the hydra until the latter submerged. Camwise, Dameron, and Jaervellios also attacked the goblins with Fire Bolt, Spiritual Hammer, and arrows, respectively. Balthasar lept into the river and engaged with the Hydra until it was slain. The last goblin tried to flee but Dameron took it out with a Guiding Bolt. After Balthasar dragged the slain hydra onto the island, Gruffudd transformed into a sea creature and joined Balthasar in the river to search for its lair. They recovered a suit of Moaardian Mithril Breastplate decorated with goblin and dragon glories, which no one wanted to wear. They continued west a short way until they could see broken towers through the trees. It was early evening when they reached the ruins of Vraath Keep. Gruffudd transformed into a hawk and scouted the area, finding much of the twenty-foot-high walls collapsed, the skeletal arm of a giant leaning against one of the walls, and a large boulder atop the only intact tower. Within the tower, he saw a few hobgoblins and worgs roaming about and identified a dead farmer disguised with magical light and a howling hobgoblin to appear as a ghost. They decided to scale the tower. Gruffud flew up while Balthasar and Jaervellios scaled the walls. Camwise and Dameron were slowly making their way up using climbing gear when the wall began to crumble, alerting those within.
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