West returned at midday, and rejoined the party just in time for lunch. While they ate, he caught the party up on his actions. Shortly after the meal, Nelir informed them that he needed to go outside to speak with the walls. He felt something happening, but couldn't tell what it was. The party escorted him outside, eyes sharp and ears perked.
Nelir walked up to the wall and promply began singing with it. Shortly after, there was a single great stroke of lighting, colored as black as hell's heart. It struck the middle of the western encampment of the enemy. After almost five minutes, three more such strokes arrived in rapid succession. The party glanced at Nelir, but he had yet to notice anything was amok. West called out in alarm as he spotted a trio of demons fly round the bluffside and tear towards the camp. With mere seconds before the foe was upon them, the party flung up defensive magics. Triben rushed to Nelir's side and bestowed an invisibility spell on him. The rest of the party quickly surrounded the now-invisible Nelir.
One of the demons landed in a tower, while the other two landed on the ground inside the enclosure. While two of the vrock tore into the dwarves, the third headed straight for the party. It was exceptionally tough, resistant to blade and spell alike. As the party struggled, they noticed that Golin and Dafur had joined the dwarves, and were tearing into the demons confronting them. Finally, after suffering serious injury, the party was able to badly injure their foe. Out of the corner of their eye, they saw Golin fell one of the vrock, though dwarves littered the ground around him.
With a last, defiant screech, the beast snatched up Oleg in its claws, possibly mistaking him for Nelir. It launched itself back up towards the enemy camp, only to be felled just over the wall by a ray of fire from Triben. Triben rushed out to help Oleg back into the camp, and then the party pushed into the mine through the wall of dwarves rushing to defend the encampment.
Surprisingly, no enemy rush follwed the vrock attack. Golin kept the dwarves at the ready until nightfall, but relaxed the guard when it became evident no further attack was imminent. The next day, Nelir again needed to speak with the walls just after lunch. As the party exited, they saw stormclouds starting to gather. West remarked that he had known a storm was coming, but it should still be a few days off.
The clouds were dark, almost black. It quickly became apparent that there was some sort of disturbance over the western half of the enemy camp that the storm was gravitating towards. In addition, there was a swirling funnel of darkness slowly expanding from that point. The inbound storm got caught up in the swirl, forming an outer edge to the funnel. With the dark cloud still five minutes away, the storm hit the encampment. To the revulsion of the party, it started pelting them with thick, viscous blood. In moments, all outside were covered in the stuff. It also coated the ground liberally, hindering movement.
Though the dwarves tried to mask their concern, it was obvious to the party that their morale was being sapped. They relocated Nelir to the Eastern tower in anticipation of an attack. Indeed, as they moved they heard a thunderous chant roar out from the blackness, audible over the raining blood. As the blackness grew near, Golin strode to the middle of the wall. "Duth Akeen to me! All others, secure the mine!" he called out. About twenty dwarves, moved to defensive positions on the wall, while all the other dwarves fell back into the complex and secured the main door.
The party moved to the Eastern entrance to the complex, trying to keep Nelir at the wall to aid in the defense. As the blackness oozed towards them, Oleg threw up a protective sphere. At first, it appeared rebuffed, but then the darkness began to slowly work its way through the sphere. Meanwhile, the sounds of fighting were coming from the wall. Triben attempted to call out for the dwarves to fall back this way, but he got no answer.
As the darkness seeped ever closer, a squad of soliders trotted up from behind the party. "We are here to secure the door. You should fall back." As the party watched, a dwarf put his hand to the adamantine door and spoke a word. The door closed, then fused itself to the rock. Finding the situation well in hand, the party started falling back, only to encounter another soldier. He led them deep into the redoubt, and indicated a passage. The dwarf informed them it led straight back to Irongate. If they saw him again, it meant that the final defense of the redoubt had failed, and they must flee with Nelir.
As the runner left, Nelir fell to his knees. "They're coming," he whispered, and immediately began singing. For ten minutes straight, he sang. At first, it seemed effortless. Soon, though, the toll became obvious. First one bead of sweat, then another burst through his skin. He started shaking, but kept singing. By the time a trickle of blood ran out his nose, the party was getting quite concerned. Then he fell face-first into the rich loam.
Gronk scooped Nelir up, and West turned into a tiger. They rushed Nelir to the passage entrance while Oleg, Triben, and Vali played rearguard. They heard Dafur yell "Stone prevails!", and then the sounds of combat. The runner rounded a corner, chased by a swarm of savages. Oleg and Triben quickly backed up, rejoining Nelir, West, and Gronk. West concentrated, and the stones grew ragged and sharp, hindering pursuit. The party started down the corridor, only to realize that, in the confusion, Vali had stubbornly remained behind.
West dismissed his spell, then he and Gronk pressed forward while Oleg and Triben returned for Vali. They found him at the tunnel entrance, his face as hard as the tunnel's stone wall. He insisted that he would go no further. No dwarven stronghold guarded by the Oakenshield had fallen in ten generations, he reminded them. He had sworn an oath to defend the keep, and he would do so. In a brief, heated debate, Triben forced Vali to recall his promise to Golin to keep Nelir safe. He reminded Vali that the stonesinger's power was critical to the well-being of his people.
Torn between duty to clan and to his people, Vali relented. Tears flowing silently down his face, he ripped out a dagger and put it to his chin. With a quick yank, he severed most of his beard and a small chunk of chin as well. Dropping dagger and beard both, he joined Oleg and Triben in running down the corridor. As they rushed to catch up, they heard the mighty horn of Kith Cairn call out defiantly one final time, only to be prematurely silenced.
Out of nowhere, a hole torn open in the passage wall, and an umber hulk reached out and grabbed Oleg. Triben and Vali ground to a halt beyond the hole, Triben working magics while Vali stood as his shieldman. Oleg grappled the thing, managing to pin it and yelling "Go! Run!". Savages began filling into the passage as Oleg struggled desperately to delay the hulk. Realizing Oleg was lost, Triben tossed one final fireball to slow pursuit, then he and Vali broke and ran. The firey explosion, centered on Oleg, killed him mercifully quickly and slowed the pursuit as they fled down the passage.