Pay the Troll Toll

The island keep could bee seen from atop the ridge.  Specifics could not be made out, however a hive of activity was taking place within the keeps walls.  Of more importance was fortification of the path guarding the bridge leading to the island.  The path narrowed and squeezed through two large boulders adorned with lanterns.  Auren slid down the ridge to recon the situation.
     "There are at least 2 Trolls and a half dozen gnolls," Auren whispered to the group.
     "We should lure them up the ridge and end them one by one." roared Groth.
     "Wait, I have a plan!  I saw this in a movie," cried Auren with a finger in the air, "into the woods."
     The group receded into the forest and began chopping down dead trees and harvesting large sticks.  They put together an army of stick soldiers to be erected menacingly atop the ridge in the morning.  Auren decides to take the nights watch.  With the rest of the group sleeping the sounds of the night took hold.  On a distant hillside a light flared in a cottage window revealing a head that looked all too wolfish.  The face lingered watching and contemplating.  The sounds of wolves grew closer now.  The howling, fighting and gnashing moved through the forest.  It came close but did not break their camp.
     In the morning a half-eaten elf adorned the path leading out of the wood.  They carefully placed their stick army and waited while Auren moved down the ridge to diplomacize. 
     A few yards down the ridge Auren noticed movement near the two large boulders guarding the bridge.  A dozen gnolls swarmed out and moved up the rocky expanse.  Behind them two trolls lumbered out and stood watch.  Howling and yipping the gnolls surrounded Auren.
     "I am Baron Vonn Puddleduck," he shouted with a clear voice, "do not come any closer, I will explode." 

     The gnolls ignored the warning and closed in.  Auren gave Phae the "Jazz Hands" signal and a fiery burst rained down killing 6 of the knolls and sending the rest running back to the boulders.  An apparently angry Troll stomped down on one of the fleeing gnolls. 
     A second wave of knolls poured over the bridge and reached the boulders when a second fiery burst decimates their numbers.  Three Trolls charge up the ridge to Auren one trips while the other two make it to their mark.  Auren quickly tosses the black-hole onto the ground and out sprang Raddick.  In a whirl of fury he deals out heavy blows to one of the trolls as Groth charges the hillside.  In a blind rage the beast reaches the melee and begins swinging.  His great sword takes it's first breath after all three of the trolls had fallen into a bloody heap.  His chest heaves with massive breaths.  A fourth troll charges from the boulders only to fall on Groth Nasty's blade, slumped with the rest.  Phae rains fire down on the pile of troll bodies to secure their demise.
     After cheering and high-fiving they scan the bridge and the walls of the keep.  Over a hundred archers lined the walls with arrows trained.  Howls and growls could be heard from inside the keep.  The adamantine door looked too large to blast through.  It was clearly a death-trap.
     "Let's get in there!" exclaimed Auren.


"I will survive"