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Seeing his options severely limited Garguth waits his enemy to come to him.
Jutiapa emerges from her trance and joins everyone in the corner room telling them what she has “seen”. Hearing her description Thanodel suggests that if the fire at the top of the stairs cannot be doused with water perhaps the burning barricade could be breached using a table as a bridge. Braylec goes to check what he can of this next obstacle while Vildar squeezes between Thanodel and Sireen in the turret and takes an two orc in the courtyard with his short bow. Thanodel slays an orc himself and wounds two others in quick succession but Sireen’s aim falls short. Jutiapa follows after Braylec and nips into the next room along to see if the table can be used for the barricade. The courtyard is suddenly plunged into darkness and without a target Vildar follows Jutiapa’s call for furniture removal. Thanodel picks off one of the injured orcs cowering behind a water trough and with Sireen in tow join the others in ransacking the nearby rooms for barricade material. At the barricade Braylec has been busy moving the burning embers with his shield and casts a spell to create water making a wet patch in the flames. Unfortunately through this the orcs pour more oil and he has to retreat carefully back down the stairs. He joins Vildar at the bottom who is searching in vain for treasure and equipment when the oil catches on the flames and the stairs are once again engulfed. They both take a halberd each and when the flames die back they climb the stairs and using these long weapons resume moving away the barrier. Meanwhile the other three move the table and chairs they have gathered into a makeshift barricade of their own to slow down any pursuers. The barracks shudders and dust falls from the ceiling. Braylec notices that the outside wall feels warm. As the magical darkness outside dissipates Braylec breaks though the obstruction and quickly drawing his bow takes out an orc who is firing from behind yet another barricade. Thanodel leaps after him and dispatches the other hiding orc. Vildar immediately tries the large steel door at the top of the stairs but it is locked so Sireen picks it for them and Thanodel swings it open. They have found the armoury! Vildar is looking around even before Jutiapa casts detect magic. He takes the chain shirt that starts to glow while Sireen checks the glowing chest for traps. Outside the armoury Braylec and Thanodel flinch as a gout of flame burst out of the doorway, a fireball trap has been set off and nothing remains of the glowing chest. Thanodel picks the lock of the remaining chest and helps himself to the single white glove therein. Braylec feels the wall here too and it is now quite hot. He bursts through the barricade and they all work as a team to make sure the next two barrack rooms are clear. Thanodel hears the heavy movements of something nasty on the other side of a very sturdy … *sigh* barricade. He relays a warning to the others but Braylec charges the furthest door anyway and bangs his helm. A resounding battering on the door is the response from the other side so they all move along to the one in the middle of the room. Both Sireen and Thanodel fail to pick the lock and Braylec smashes the head of a broken halberd trying to break it. He shoulders the door and on splinters through he is attacked by a four armed ape. Thanodel rolls into firing position and two arrows embed themselves into the gorriladon. Braylec gives as good as he gets but staggers the gorriladon almost rips him apart. Thanodel misses his next shots and Vildar pushes Braylec out of the doorway so he can get at the monster. He is too late, Braylec slays the big ape with a final cleave of his sword. Looking though the arrow slits Jutiapa sees that there is smoke billowing from the keep and inside there are explosions that are the cause of the building shuddering. Vildar kills an orc in the courtyard using his bow but before Thanodel and Slireen can cause their demise the rest scamper out of view.