Upon reaching the castle, however, they discover that the trolls have already gained access to the keep, and most of the defenders are dead. In an encampment outside the castle is a small contingent of soldiers who were called in as reinforcements, but arrived too late and are trapped outside the castle. Their commander informs the party that as soon as the troll army gained access to the castle, they sealed the gates and took over the castle's armaments. From what little info the commander has managed to gather from the few servants who escaped, the De'Arnise family is being held captive inside, yet no ransom demands have been made.

The soldiers have one shot to try to rescue the family members, and the commander has come up with a plan that may work. First, they need someone to sneak into the castle grounds and get the front gates opened, eliminating any trolls they encounter along the way. Once the gates are open, the soldiers can storm the castle and eliminate the trolls room by room while another group searches for the captives.

For the first task, Theranion and Ironhorse are to sneak into the castle through the secret passage Nalia used to escape, then head to the front yard of the castle and take out any trolls patrolling on the ground. Nataya and Zendril are to scale the outside walls and take out any trolls manning the castle's catapults, then meet up with Theranion and Ironhorse at the front gate.

Theranion and Ironhorse make it into the castle without a hitch, but in their attempt to reach the front yard, they are discovered by one of the troll patrols inside the castle. The trolls are incredibly fast and strong, and Theranion is barely able to fire off any spells before they engage in melee. As the trolls fall one by one, the last turns to run and sound the alarm. Ironhorse makes a desperate leap at the troll, and sinks his sword deep into its back. Before heading for the front door, they quickly drag the bodies into a storage room and hide them under several large empty sacks.

Outside, Zendril and Nataya successfully scale the walls, and use their bows to snipe the trolls manning the catapults on the roof. They then head for the front gate, attacking the trolls in the gate tower. The trolls in the yard below split up, some heading for the gate while two others attempt to head inside and raise the alarm. They run into Theranion and Ironhorse as they are coming out the front door, their weapons at the ready.

Within minutes the battle is over, and the troll bodies are burned afterward. The party then opens the front gate of the castle, where the soldiers are preparing for their assault on the trolls still inside the castle. Once inside, they split up. The party heads left, while the soldiers begin sweeping the rooms to the right and rear of the castle.

In their search for the remaining trolls, the party comes across a series of hidden rooms leading toward the rear of the castle. They discover a room containing an old but well-maintained forge, and beyond that a storage room containing several statues and other pieces of artwork. Inside the mouth of a lion statue, they discover a glowing blue flail head, which feels very cold to the touch.

Theranion examines the item, noting the runes inscribed into it. He discovers with some dismay the runes are part of the written language of the warlike Rakshasa. However, the Rakshasa are known to wield powerful magics, so any item crafted by this race is likely to be very useful. If the matching handle could be found, he might be able to discover from its markings what weapon the flail head is from, and re-assemble it...