…as the plucky hobbit sails through the air, the ‘cat’ vanishes and Bud lands back on the ground. The gem is used to determine that the cat is ethereal, and pursuit is debated for a short while before the group resumes moving away from the denser mushroom areas. They climb out of the forest an into a meadow that broadens as they move along.
After a few moments, the ground begins to shake as an elephant-sized ‘puppy’ bounds down the trail. Alarmed by the idea of combat with the creature, they play fetch with it instead. Passing beyond the now sleeping pooch, the group sees a manor house with frog butlers. They bribe one to gain access to the place and spend a pleasant afternoon with the Dutchess – a bearded dwarven gal who is a few rocks shy of a quarry...

…after plummeting for a bit..and determining that neither levitation nor feather falling seem to have any effect, the plummeting party members suddenly slow to a drift and drift downwards towards a distant glow that gets brighter and closer. Eventually they land atop a large pile of twigs, leaves and dirt. They apparently occupy a room with many exits, as well as a table. One of the exits is very small, perhaps a foot at its tallest.
The room shows a disturbing tendency to shift in size and appearance.
Doors seems to come and go . The table contains a flagon and some biscuits and a tiny key. Humbar is convinced to drink from the flagon and he quickly shrinks down to tiny size...

The villagers are fleeing back towards the party and the cells as they cry out of an attack by flaming skeletons. The group tires to prepare, but is spread out, separated by hundreds of feet in some cases and hindered by the panicky tide of humanity. Bud Feaster is the first man to see the attackers, a dozen or more of the skeletal soldiers are moving rapidly towards him. He shouts for the villagers to get back in the cells to make room for the party. He readies his +4 staff and waits for combat. Humbar is on his way to reinforce Bud’s position when the front four attackers teleport past Bud and into Humbar’s path. Simultaneously, six shoot magic missiles into Bud as 2 attacks him...

As the group prepares for the aforementioned dungeon foray of prisoner rescue and goodness, an aide -de-camp seeks an urgent audience with Lord Baradagrym and his hat of disguises. Attackers are apparently attacking from the skies above the twisted tower. The Lord and his new generals are sorely needed in order to repel the assault!

Sorely vexed at this alteration of plans, the Baradagrym and ‘generals’ move out to the newly extinguished and still burnt-smelling command center. There they espy what appears to be a swarthy woman clad in plate mail, riding a Nightmare and swinging a wicked bastard sword at anyone unlucky enough to be in her path...

While the fires burn upstairs and the alarm bells ring all around them, the group readies itself for the final push. When Reza exits into the corridor to see what level of hostility they may encounter, a pair of fireballs detonate near his head. At the end of the passageway is a shield wall, manned by crossbowmen, pikemen and a pair of pesky mages. Burning and choking, he dives back into the room for some quick healing. While Humbar tends to Reza, Dalliance thinks she may be able to dislodge the obstacle by blasting away with her wand of fire (fire!). While she does lob a shot into the shield wall, she earns a crossbow bolt in the head for her troubles. She also retreats into the room for some hasty healing.
Powering up, she enters the hallway and lets rip with a duo of fireballs to help c...