.Characters Present: - Elevyn, Halfling Paladin Sailor - Aiem A. Drewid, Gnome Druid Folk Hero - Azmus, Silver Dragonborn Ranger Urchin Aiem was travelling down the road towards the village of Hormistra when a gnome burst of the woods west of the road, begging for help in getting "my Betsy out of that awful place." The erstwhile druid agreed to help. The gnome, named Cedric Sharpsneer, led Aiem through the woods to the side of a large hill. In the base of that side is a misplaced-looking door. Going inside, they found themselves at the east end of what might have been a large room, except the high pile of rubble in its middle made it hard for the two gnomes to see much. Cedric led Aiem around the rubble to a door in the north wall. Betsy, the 60-pound pig, lay dead near that door, and near her the bodies of a dead orc and a dead goblin. In the north hallway, Elevyn decided to go south to the room to check on Betsy, and encountered Aiem and Cedric there. After a brief discussion, they decided to grab the pig by the front and rear and drag it outside, going along the north and east walls to get around the rubble. Cedric helped as best he could. They had dragged Betsy's body to the north corner when three human villagers, two men and a woman, burst in and slammed the door shut behind them, putting their backs against it. As the door shook under thundering blows from outside, accompanied by frenzied roaring, the frightened commoners explained that a bear afflicted with Madness had chased them there, and it was the biggest bear they had ever seen. Aiem got the idea to pile some of the rubble against the door to help hold it, and Elevyn and Cedric pitched in until they secured the door just in time. The blows against the door ebbed in violence, as did the roaring. Then there was one final blow almost akin to a knock, a vague, brief grumble from outside, and all was silent and still. As the frightened commoners and Cedric waited, Elevyn and Aiem discussed what to do next. Elevyn knew that there was no exist nearby to the north, and that area was dangerous, so they considered trying the other doors. Yet they had the four commoners with them, and did not want to expose them to danger either by taking them along or by leaving them alone in a room where orcs and goblins were known to capture commoners for taking before the "Boss." Luckily, Azmus was passing through the forest when he saw a strange sight. a huge bear lying inertly against a door oddly placed in the base of the side of a large hill. He approached to check the bear and saw that the bear had died of Madness. He tried to move the heavy bear, but managed to budge it only slightly enough to make some noise against the door. This led the group inside to speculate that the bear was renewing its attack. Azmus heard the voices through the door and pondered the matter out loud. The commoners inside heard him and cheered him as the hero who had slain the bear menacing them. With joint effort, the door was freed, and Azmus entered. After a brief discussion, it was decided that Elevyn would escort the commoners home while Aiem and Azmus proceeded deeper into the dungeon. Elevyn departed with the commoners. Aiem searched all the walls for secret passages and found none. Finally, he opened the west door. Beyond he saw a hallway extending into the darkness beyond, wtih no doors in sight. He proceeded partly up the hallway, again seeking secret passages, and observed a bend to the left farther on. He found a dent in the wall that might have been a way to open a secret passage, but, upon inspection, it was most likely caused by a large mace. Turning back, he rejoined Azmus. The Silver Dragonborn had spent some time inspecting the rubble for interesting rocks, glaring at one rock he held when none proved of value. He finally opened the door in the south wall. Just beyond was a hallway that took a bend to the left farther along, again with no doors. Before Azmus could do anything else, a goblin came around the bend leading a commoner tied with rope, with one end of a rope tied around the commoner's neck and the other end in the goblin's hand. The goblin did not see the stealthy Dragonborn at first, so the latter retreated into the room just as Aiem joined him. They were discussing what to do in hushed voices when a clamour arose in the area of the east door. Aiem was too short to see over the rubble, but Azmus wasn't. He saw two commoner women burst in, menaced by a hovering goose that pecked at them about the head. The goblin finally spotted the two adventurers and challenged them. "Hey! What are you doing here?!" "I got lost," said Azmus. "Well, get lost some more," the goblin snapped back. "Get out of--" The screams of the women and the honking of the goose caught the goblin's attention. The goblin rolled its eyes in annoyance, then snapped at Azmus and Aiem to stay there and not move, It tied the commoner's rope to the doorhandle, then hurried around the rubble toward the sound, drawing an 18-inch knife. Azmus also drew a knife and snuck up on the goblin from behind, attempting to stab the goblin. But the goblin saw the women and the goose and began to sprint, eluding the blow. Aiem, following, hurled his dagger at the goblin, so that it plunged into one side of the goblin's low back. The goblin cried out and dropped to its knees, breathing heavily and advancing no further. Azmus cursed at the goblin, but the goblin seemed to pay no heed. Aiem then called on the power of nature to cause vines to erupt from the floor, entangling the goblin, the two women, and the goose separately, rendering them all immobile. With guidance from Aiem, Azmus opened his mouth and precisely unleashed a blast of frost that turned the goblin and goose the deep blue of death while not catching the women. The frozen wines withered, and the women were freed. By questioning the women, Aiem and Azmus learned that the goose was also Mad, and that the women feared for the livestock and people in their village. Freeing the commoner tied to the doorhandle, they adventurers agreed to escort them all to the village and meet up with Elevyn there. Along the way, the freed commoner man told a terrible tale of what goes on deeper in that dungeon. It wasn't pleasant to hear about.