Theren implements his Standard Watch Order Without a Cool Acronym. Between watch rotations two and three, Theren notices Bromsby is missing. Theren conceals this discovery from Meega.
The night passes otherwise uneventfully until there is an enthusiastic knock on the kitchen door the next morning. Something giant-speaking is looking for dessert from Broog and Nurg. Haerelben, by channeling divinity, becomes proficient speaking with the giant ogres outside the door. No dessert in here! It is impossible for Haerelben to perform his imitation of Nurg any worse. Ogres Jone and Twochi break in.
A quick improvised battle ensues. Lefty claws down Twochi. Meega’s giant slayer trips giant Jone and has him dead to rights, but Lefty swoops in for the kill. Theren slices into the ogres to ensure Bromsby isn’t digesting away in there. Lefty finds larvae cookies and three silver among the ogres’ belongings.
The party moves out the kitchen’s other door into a large chamber with square pillars. Haerelben hears snoozing sounds. Lefty sees a couple of bulettes that are chained to the pillars. The party attempts to sneak past but awakens the land sharks.
One bulette breaks its chain charging for Lefty. Meega tries to head it off, but it puts a big bite on Lefty before leaping over the party to get at Haerelben, violently pushing him back down the corridor. While Meega engages the other bulette threatening to break free any moment, the rest of the party surrounds the free bulette and Lefty, expending her monkish reserves, slays it. Meega trips and slays the remaining bulette.
A passage leaving the far southeast corner of the chamber marks a change in stonework. Lefty recognizes the passage as a political boundary that would take them to the water cult section of Besil. Good to know. The party explores back to the north.
The chamber is divided by the rift that cuts through this section of Besil. Another bulette on the other side of the 100 foot drop strains at its chain to get to the sounds of fighting. Theren reckons he can safely take out the beast at range, but breaks a bowstring much like the bulette breaks its chain. It leaps the chasm into the midst of the party and chews Theren unconscious.
Sehanine, through Haerelben, brings Theren back and the party engages the rampaging bulette. Lefty brings it down.
The chasm can be crossed in two obvious places. On the right, a couple of ledges shorten the leap to a few 5’ jumps, but the risk of falling 100’ into the chasm is too great for Haerelben to allow after the fierce bulette battles. On the left, a narrow landbridge might collapse but at least requires less luck to negotiate. While debating whether the lightest of them or the heaviest should stress the landbridge first, Theren accidentally knocks rubble into the chasm. A swarm of irritated bats encircles the landbridge so the party backs off to allow the bats time to settle down.
The party finds itself back in the room with a rectangular water basin. They check out some side areas previously skipped. Lefty puts her ear to a closed door and hears murmuring, but is unfortunately unable to make out any of the discussion. She silently cracks open the door and spies four caged people along the wall. Here is a situation most of the party cannot abide, and even neutral Meega is becoming increasingly introspective about justice and morality. In fact, it is Meega who indignantly bursts into the room like a boss.
Three cultists and an earth armored cultist-turned-elemental guy, indulgently referring to himself as Helldorm, surround a torture table. They disregard Meega’s bossness. Helldorm summons Maximilian’s earthen grasp, but it fails to grasp quick-moving Meega. Meega’s axe smashes into Helldorm and he finds himself on his back watching her axe takes its second bite. Lefty comes over the table with outstretched claws, lacerating cultists Six and Four as she slides between them. Not to be outdone, Theren jams a short sword into Four while firing a crossbow bolt into Six, killing him. Remaining cultists One and Four beat on Theren with rods. Helldorm regains his feet and swings at Meega with a rod. The cultists who brought rods to a crossbow and claw fight quickly die to crossbow and claw. Surrounded Helldorm shatters his assailants, but is immediately knocked out by Theren’s short sword.
Knuckle-cracking Theren asks Meega to set Helldorm into the torture table rig. The caged people demand release. Two are commoners. One is an earth cultist who offers to help Theren with whatever is about to befall Helldorm. The fourth prisoner, a svirfneblin, moans semiconsciously. He looks a lot like Bromsby.