Before retiring, the party carefully planned their next move. They intended to scale the cliff, then launch a magical attack at the gricks below. They established contingencies for different potential reactions of the enemy force. After an hour's planning, they retired for the night. The next morning, West got called in to meet with Golin. He was concerned that the Brotherhood might be shipping in more men or supplies by sea, and asked West if he could investigate. West agreed, and departed immediately.
To compensate for his loss, Gronk approached the men Golin had given him, and decided that the fighter, ranger, and rogue would be appropriate backup. He also approached a couple of Sunndi men, who tentatively agreed but were dubious. Thus prepared, the party stepped out into the freezing cold. Before Gronk could scale the cliff, he noticed a flicker of movement atop the cliff. Forewarned, he magically levitated himself up, only to find that a large group of scarred savages, 150 strong, plus a half-score of gricks had been stationed attop the cliff. He quickly levitated down, taking some arrow fire, but only suffering a couple of scratches. The party noticed that the incoming arrow fire hit a magical ceiling of force above the enclosure, then slowly floated down to the ground.
Armed with this new information, the party decided to instead sneak out one of the concealed passages and engage their foes. They planned to rush through the camp, slaying as many as possible as quickly as possible. Their emergency escape strategy involved jumping off the edge of the cliff and relying on Triben's magic to slow their falls. The Sunndi men weren't comfortable with such long odds, and elected to stay below.
At the end of the concealed passage, the party was warned they must crawl on the ground for at least five hundred feet, to help keep the entrace secret. Crawling, they came to about four hundred feet away from the enemy encampment. After casting a great number of protective magics, they rose and let loose an opening barrage. Twin explosions errupted in the enclosure holding the gricks, while the sentries fell under a barrage of arrows. The party started a steady march towards the main camp, continuing their assault. Soon the enclosure was a flaming wreck, with only a couple of gricks escaping. An initial group of men had rushed the party, stopping their progreses. Meanwhile, one grick retreated, and several men tried to gain control of the other.
Hefting melee weapons, the party quickly handled the first group, only to be onset by a second only moments later. When the one remaining grick started slaying men, they attacked it back. Triben took advantage and dropped a fireball into their midst, slaying grick and man alike. He then noticed an organized group of over fifty men charging towards their position. He dropped fireball after fireball into them, culling their numbers.
Only nine from the third group made it to melee, while the balance of the enemy held fast on the far side of the chasm, alert for a second strike. The party was still just over two hundred feet from the bluff's edge, and the nine stood between them and escape. These nine savages proved especially competent, overrunning the wall that Oleg, Gronk, and their fighter ally had formed. A particularly ugly melee quickly developed. The party made slow progress against their foes, but the savages were striking fierce blows of their own. One, then two of the party fell, only to be quickly revived by Triben. Soon, only six of these viscious savages remained, but the outcome of the combat was very much in doubt.
As the melee ground to its inevitable conclusion, there was a great cry of "Stone prevails!" from a few feet away. Out of nowhere appeared Vali Oakenshield, leading a half-score of Sunndi men. They slammed into the weary lines, casting down foe and invigorating ally. Though the brave freemen were no match for the savages, they bought precious time for the party, who struck with renewed vigor. With Vali aiding them, the last of the savages were cast down.
Caked in blood, the party surveyed their surroundings. Almost a hundred men lay dead around them, their charred, wrecked bodies three-deep in some places. Thick, black blood pooled in every dip around them, slowly seeping into the earth. Off in the distance, the remainder of the force fled, having seen half their number obliterated in less than two minutes. Vali took the party to task for not inviting him along, and congratulated them on a job well done. Gronk's charges and the men of Sunndi quickly retreated back to the keep. Meanwhile, the party pondered the blackened bluff they had taken, and the future it held for them.