The night past peacefully, in the moring the party headed back to the ford with the intention of finding the horses. Once over the ford everybody was wary of the Black Knight. To the reief of the party he never showed up. Calorn found the tracks of the horses. The party followed the animals for about an hour. Unfortunately the tracks faded into hard ground. The group gave up and headed back towards the Last Bridge. That night they camped close to the intersection of the tributary and the Mitheithel. Wolves closed on the camp in the early hours but the never attacked.

The next day was spent walking to the Last Bridge. On reach the Bridge the party settled in to camp. Calorn purchased a bedroll at an exobitant price. He also tried to buy a horse but no-one would sell. It took another four days of travelling to reach Minas Brethil.

At Minas Berthil the party were admitted to speak with Haltrat. During a lenghty discussion the group explained that beleive Fardwith to be hiding out in the Castle. Haltrat did not seem convinced. But still sent the party back to the castle with re-enforcements. He gave Bors a letter for the Commander at the Last Bridge. The letter instructing the man to bring 10 men north with the party to thoroughly investigate the Castle. Haltrat also paid the party the money they were owed. The group purchased supplies and somereplacement horses. Calorn also bought some healing herbs for the fort's healer. Once ready the group rode back to the Last Bridge. The journey took two days.

The Commander at the Bridge was named Taramar. He smeeded to be a strong, tough and very cpable individual. He commanded about 20 men, who all treated him with obvious respect. Bors gave Taramar the letter from Haltrat. He did not seem overly enthusiastic but started ordering his men to prepare for a mission. Ths soliders spent the whole of the next day preparing their weapons and equipment. Even the lowliest of them appeared more able then any party member. The next day the group set out north leading the soldiers.

The first night of the journey to the castle passed without incident. On the second night the group were camped just north of the ford. Wolves attacked the camp. The soldiers seemed surprised at the attack but delt with the animals with obvious efficency. No member of the party took part in the battle, they left it all to Taramar's men. The next morning plans were discussed. It was decided that Elonil and Tong a scout from the soldiers would try to sneak into the Castle to open the main gate for everyone else. If that failed the door would be broken down using a ram. For the plan to work the attack would want to be at around first light. It was decided to head north until only a few miles from the castle. There a ram would be made and during the early hours of the morning the group would set out for the castle. This hopefully would allow the group to attack with the dawn.

That evening the company camped only a few miles from the castle. A few hours were spent preparing the battering ram. Thorin drew a map of the castle in the dirt and plans were ironed out. About two hours before dawn the company started towards the castle. Wolves followed the party eager to attack. This made advancing impossible. The company were forced to halt until dawn. They set out again, reaching the castle after another half hour.

Once the group reached the treeline in front of the castle, Elonil and Tonga prepared to try and break into the courtyard. Tonga wrapped bandages around the head of his hammer to deaden sounds. Elonil found a piece of leather with which could grip the blockading swords. They set out to the stream. Despite his stature Tonga appeared to be a skilled scout. They slipped into the frigid water and crept towards the break in the wall. A bubble of air became trapped in Elonil clothes causing them to ballon up. Tonga pointed out the problem and they continued forward. Eventually they reached the swords. Tonga mentioned that he had seen a sentry but did not think the sentry had noticed anything. They peered into the courtyard but no-one was visible.

Elonil and Tonga then started to work on removing one of the swords blocking the entrance. After a couple of minutes the rusty sword finally snapped. Elonil was able to slip through the resulting gap. She could not see anyone about so quickly stole towards the gate. There were two bars locking the gate. She managed to remove the first without issue. The second was much higher up and Elonil had to strain to reach. She managed to unhock the bar but it toppled out of fingers and landed with a bang on the ground. There was no immediate reaction from the keep. She started to open the gate. It was very heavy and stiff, so she could only open it slowly. Suddenly the gate was flung open from the outside by Tonga.

The other party members waited nervously in the trees. After about 20 minutes they saw the gate start to slowly open. Out of the stream Tonga arose and shoved the gate fully open. The soldiers led by Taramar ran stooped low to the groung towards the open gate. In the courtyard Elonil heard someone shout 'Get up ye bastards' also from the tower to her left Orc nashing could be heard. The soldiers and party rushed into the courtyard. The soldiers peeled to the right attacking the guard tower. The party headed to the tower on the left.

The door to the tower was shut and locked. Thorin smashed it down with his hammer. The early morning sunlight entered the tower causing the Orcs to scream in surprise. Thorin was hit in the shoulder with a bolt. Thorin and Bravd then charged into the tower. Inside they could see 5 Orcs, most were only just getting up and grabbing weapons. Thorin was hit by an Orc and missed it in return. Bravd hit his Orc and it missed in return. Over the next few seonds Bors and Elonil also managed to squeeze into the battle. A long protracted battle ensued. Calorn prepared a sleep spell and after sticking his head into the tower failed horribly in the casting process. He fell backwards hurt and seriously stunned. From there he stumbled back to the horses while the others fought for there lives.

The fight slowly went to the party. Many Orc arms were broken. Bors in a mighty strike ripped the tendons of an Orcs weapon arm and with the backswing smashed its shoulder. Thorin was the worst injured of the party. He received a fair slash to the thigh and eventually had to leave the fight to stop the bleeding. Once the Orcs had been defeated the party returned to the courtyard. From the guard tower on the other side of the gate vicious fighting could still be heard. Apparently Captain Taramar's men had encountered stiffer resistance.