So Gyle Warblade, Hero of the Realm, ventured off to the wild Northwests to slay an Ice Titan, at the behest of the law giver of his realm, a giant feathered thing with poisonous breath.
The omens were bad from the moment Gyle and his party of 14 left the Capital. Rain beset them, and the hamlets and towns began to vanish. The party ran into a large mountain range, where it was known dwarves made their home. Perhaps foolishly, Gyle decided to find the dwarves, make contact, and perhaps find a place to rest free from the omnipresent rain.
Hours were spent clamoring over rocks, up and down valleys, and clinging to the side of mountain faces. The party eventually came to a gorge, cut by a river, where the entrance to the dwarf hold supposedly was. More hours were spent in futility searching the area for an entrance, and a way across the chasm and river. Blind, soaking wet, demoralized and exhausted, Gyle called for a night's rest on a small outcrop of rock on the mountain face.
It proved to be the latest in series of poor decisions.
Early in the morning, Gyle awoke to the sounds of battle. A horde of dwarves had ambushed them during the night! A confused and vicious melee broke out in the darkness. In moments, several of Gyle's companions were dead, but the dwarves died in equal numbers. Through the confused melee, Gyle caught side of their leader, but between the darkness, rain, and the narrow ledges, he lost sight of him.
It was later discovered the leader had died. The fight had cost Gyle half of his company, but he hadn't sustained any injuries in the process. After another frantic, angry, early-morning search for the entrance to the dwarf hold, Gyle decided it was time to return to a friendly fortress, where he later learned his party had struck down a notorious dwarven bandit.
(Seriously, where the hell are the entrances to the dwarf holds? No one seems to have a problem finding them in fortress mode ><)