Shattered Strategy and the Fall of Gorm

The gloom of the dense forest citadel offered no respite for the grieving adventurers. Doc vanished into invisibility, shadowing his companions through the twisting stone corridors, while Kritkrit pressed deeper into the complex to a room stacked high with clay pots. It was there that Donk and Gorm arrived to reunite with the party, bringing a brief sense of reinforced strength to their numbers. Amidst the quiet, Kritkrit made a subtle discovery of sixty gold coins tucked away in the debris, pocketing the small fortune without drawing immediate attention.

That fragile sense of order evaporated the moment beastmen were spotted lurking in the dark corridors ahead. Intent on avoiding another chaotic slaughter, Kritkrit and Donk spent ten meticulous minutes devising a tactical scheme, planning to lure the creatures into a confined room where a controlled blast of Burning Hands could turn the tide. But their careful geometry meant nothing against dwarven stubbornness. Ignoring the agreed plan entirely, Gorm strode directly into the open passageway to block it himself, instantly transforming into an exposed shield and a living pincushion under a ferocious volley of savage beastman blows as the strategy disintegrated.

A brutal, desperate brawl erupted in the dim halls. Steel clashed against crude bone weapons, and fierce magic flared as the party fought for their lives against the ambushers. Though three beastmen were hacked down in the melee and the rest fled howling back into the shadows, the victory carried an intolerable price. Gorm fell mortally in the chaos, his defense ending in the cold blood of the citadel floor. Shaken, battered, and utterly exhausted, the surviving adventurers gathered their remaining strength and dragged themselves back toward the citadel's entrance, retreating to the relative safety of the outer threshold as the dark halls whispered around them.