Having handled the raiders, the party pondered their next action. West suggested that perhaps they should intentionally return to the mine and cast a spell. He argued that the wizard appeared unstable, his intentions were unknown, and the crystal ball had unknown and possibly dangerous powers. Oleg was more concerned with the hobgoblins .. clearly they were part of a larger group. He wanted to track them down and handle them. The group also tried interrogating their captive, but none of them understood his snarling, spitting goblin.
After some discussion, the party resolved to split up. Oleg would return to town with the hobgoblin in tow. He'd research the crystal ball and find an interpreter/interrogator for his prisoner. Meanwhile, West and Gronk would follow the hobgoblins' tracks while they were still fresh, in an attempt to locate their lair. They would meet back at the mine in three days.
Oleg promptly left for Irongate, arriving that evening just as the gate was closing. The guards wouldn't let him drag the hobgoblin around as a slave, but were willing to hold him as a prisoner. Oleg arranged to be present when the dwarves interrogated him, then retired for the evening.
Meanwhile, West and Gronk spent the morning backtracking the patrol's trail. Shortly after lunch, the trail just dies off. A careful search of the area reveals a light stone concealing a large hole in the ground. Gronk easily displaces it, and peers down into the darkness. There is a twenty-foot drop to a small pile of hay and padding. After a moment, a gravely voice calls up in common, "Stop wasting time and just jump in already!" Gronk shrugged, said "Okay," and did so. He would have landed safely, but the floor was in fact the cover for a pit trap. He managed to avoid any falling damage by using the walls to slow his fall, but got impaled by the stakes at the bottom of the trap.
Gronk managed to climb out, only to find himself facing three hobgoblins. He promptly engaged. Meanwhile, West had been angling for a spell he could cast into darkness. Finally, he found a spot to summon a dire ape, which squeezed into the lone corridor and helped Gronk with his foes. Gronk then raised a ladder, and West and his bear companion climbed down into the passageway. They advanced a short distance, into a small guardroom, which they almost filled between them. The corridor continued straight for another five feet, then turned and opened into a larger area off to the right.. The pair stopped to listen for a moment, and clearly heard foes organizing around the bend.
Gronk, a consumate tactician, decided it would be best to fight in this smaller area, where they could use the space to their advantage. Accordingly, he called out "We're over he-e-ere!" Sadly, the hobgoblins were not drawn in by his clever plan. West sent Bear out first, and he drew five javelins. Gronk, then West, rounded the corner, girded for battle. They found themselves up against eight hobgoblins in tight formation, backed by two dire apes, with two more hobgoblins at the rear.
Gronk engaged as first one, then the other ape charged through the hobgoblin ranks. A spell from one of the hobgoblins forced him to drop his weapon, but he managed to hold his own using his bare fists. West alternated a great burst of lighting, a summoned bear, and another burst, slaying a pair of the hobgoblins. Meanwhile, his summoned bear stood up the dire ape, but was then torn apart. The tide of battle turned as Gronk knocked down one of the apes, but the spellcaster healed him back up every time Gronk dispatched him. The party now stands in dire straits, running low on resources as the apes press their attack, with the regimented hobgoblins waiting to finish them off.