Upon entering the small library, they discover part of the truth. It is here they encounter the captain of the guard, accompanied by several trolls and a Yan-ti mage. He has turned traitor, siding with the invaders. During the course of the battle, the party gains the advantage, and badgers him to the point of frustration. In his anger, he lets slip that the trolls were hired to lay siege to the castle by the same person he now answers to. He refuses to surrender to the party, taking his own life rather than allow any of them to interrogate him. In his dying breath, he whispers, "Forgive me, my lord. I had no choice"

With his death, the party is only marginally closer to figuring out what is really going on. They now know the siege was no accident. Someone had carefully planned it, using trolls as a cover, and either bribing or blackmailing key members of the castle guard. That is how the trolls were able to gain entry into the castle so easily in the first place, catching the rest of the residents by surprise. And tucked away in a small bag on the captain's belt, the party discovers the key to the basement door, and a second flail head with more Rakshasan runes similar to those on the first one they had found.

The party presses on, now desperately trying to find any of Nalia's family members who were captured in the siege, if any still lived. At last they come to the final unopened door. When they try to open it, an agitated human voice calls out from the other side, ordering them to identify themselves. They party does so, but the voice on the other side is not convinced. As the party tries to assure the person, Nalia suddenly walks up and talks to the person on the other side of the door. It seems she had been secretly following behind the party, despite instructions for her to stay outside.

The person recognizes her voice, and opens the door. Inside the room are two guards trying to fend off a troll attempting to capture Nalia's aunt. The party instantly jumps into the fray, laying waste to the troll and tending to the injured guards. When things settle down a bit, Nalia's aunt informs her that when the trolls invaded the castle, her father was taken captive by the trolls and dragged off. What they wanted from him, she did not know, but the largest of them mentioned something about a secret the father was supposed to show them down in the old dungeon, sealed off years ago by Nalia's father. She did not even know where the entrance to the old dungeon was, until just a few minutes ago when the troll entered the room from a secret panel in the wall.

Nalia and her aunt are escorted out of the room (and out of the castle) by her two bodyguards, now that the main floors of the castle had been cleared of danger. The party, meanwhile, investigates the secret passage. They find a door at the end of the short hall, with an open archway leading to a marbled room to their left. At the far end of the room are three alcoves with statues, each one holding a different item - a glowing flail head, a battle axe, and an elven bow.

Along the adjacent wall are five larger statues, two made of fired clay, two of polished granite, and one of iron. Theranion guesses those larger statues may actually be golems, meant to guard the treasure pieces on display in the room. Despite the danger, Ironhorse eyes the treasures, and begins examining how to "retrieve" them without waking the golems. However, taking the treasures would not look good to the family the party is supposed to be helping, so Ironhorse decides he may negotiate for one of the items in place of his share of the reward.

The party next unlocks the door using the key they retrieved from the captain, and proceed down the winding staircase to the old dungeon area under the castle. They are greeted at the bottom by more trolls guarding the stairs, which prove to be larger and tougher than those encountered on the floors above. The party must fight their way through each room, barricading the doors against possible intrusion from the other rooms until they have a chance to rest after each battle.

The next several areas contain old prison cells, and the whole area is overrun with several Umber Hulks that have been set loose by the trolls to deal with the party. The onslaught is a bit too much for the party to handle, and they are forced to retreat back to one of the secured rooms to regroup.

With the help of their stash of potions, the party heals up its wounds and enhances their abilities to help them overcome the tougher foes currently trying to break down the barricaded door. The door finally give way, and the trolls and umber hulks begin pushing their way in. The doorway serves as a useful bottleneck, and the party is able to hold the enemies in the door until they can dispatch them one by one. Once the last enemy falls, the party has just one last door left to open, and prepares for whatever may be lying in wait for them behind it...