The party continued their pursuit of the kobolds up the east road, but after a few hours, night fell and the party made camp. As they rested, three gray wolves approached, obviously hungry and looking for their first meal of the week. The party gave the wolves some of their food, which was (ahem) wolfed down. The wolves stayed with the party, helping with watch duty during the night.
The next morning, the wolves left, and the party continued north. Soon, they came across an kobold outpost: a raised platform on either side of the road, and a camp a bit further back amongst the trees. A massive battle ensued, with the PCs emerging victorious. Apart from a bit of treasure, the PCs found a metal cage and evidence that the kobolds and Diana were only a few hours ahead.
Pushing on, the party arrived at a deep chasm, with a narrow, rickety bridge spanning the hundred foot gap. At each end of the bridge, kobolds stood guard. Quickly dispatching the minions at their end, Torrok moved across the bridge to take on the kobolds on the other side, who were frantically trying to cut the ropes. Aleela and Maul stayed on their side of the bridge, making ranged attacks on the kobolds, while Vistra tried to move across, but his fear (of heights or of spilling his beer) prevented him from getting very far.
They kobolds were slain, and the PCs followed the path from the bridge to an old mining camp. Long abandoned, the buildings were falling down. As they entered the middle of the camp, kobolds attacked from the various buildings, fighting a desperate -- and ultimately futile -- action to keep the party from entering the mine.
Entering the mine, the party first encountered a pit trap, and while climbing over it (and, in some PCs' cases, out of it), they were attacked by four kobold skirmishers. Beating the dog-lizards, the party continued down to the second level of the dungeon, where they encountered more kobolds defending a crude barricade. The party bashed their way through the barricade and the kobolds, before finding another pit trap the hard way, and two more skirmishers guarding the ladder to level three.
Finally, in a grand chamber on the third level, the PCs caught up with the kobold leader and Diana. The girl was tied to an altar, with a kobold wyrmpriest performing some ritual over her. Four minions and two dragonshields rushed to engage the PCs. At the other end of the room was a great stone arch, carved in the likeness of chains surmounted by an eye. Within the arch, a shadowy figure watched through an arcane portal.
The minions and dragonshields were no match for the PCs, who quickly removed the wyrmpriests protection, and were able to put paid to the foul priest before he could complete his ritual. The figure in the portal didn't appreciate this: there was a monstrous roar, an impression of size, age, wings, teeth, flame and fury, and the portal disappeared leaving the stone archway.
