They crawled through the hole in the wall to find a beautiful fountain. Its pristine condition compelled them to drink. Novak felt a surge of confidence (+1 CHA). Bolcox felt his muscles bulge (+1 STR). Hacksaw, too, gained strength. The half-elf and the cleric were struck with paralysis. The other elf felt the blessing hands of the gods.
While two of their companions stood motionless, the rest of them explored past a door into ruined library. A thorough search turned up a box in a pile of garbage. Inside the box was a book. Novak stuffed it in a sack. The elf also found a scroll with writing he could not understand due to its priestly nature.
After some hours, the cleric finally came to his senses. Presently, they found a secret door opening to a long hallway. Novak heard nothing from a door, so he threw it open. Before him were goblins and hobgoblins, some asleep. A battle began.
The elf put three hobgoblins to sleep, but soon after was cut down by a hobgoblin, blood spraying from a punctured foot. Hacksaw and the cleric killed several goblins, but luck ran out when a goblin shattered the cleric’s knee. He was nearly killed, but held tight to consciousness.
Bolcox took a bad blow to the head and tipped over. The half-elf took many blows and teetered on the edge of death. Hacksaw rushed over to help, but a goblin blade suddenly sliced open his back. He collapsed into a puddle of blood. In moments his life would slip away without help.
Novak turned and skewered the goblin standing over the cleric who then crawled over to Hacksaw by reading from the scroll found in the ruined library. With one more blow, the last hobgoblin collapsed.
The immediate threat extinguished, they cut the throats of the sleeping goblins and made off with the nice shield held by the hobgoblin leader, spending the night in the crypt. The next day they carried their fallen comrades back to Malcolmnsfort.
The merchant back in town helped identify Novak’s book as one that could restore the intellect he lost from a blow to the head months ago. He studied it to the best of this ability over a couple of weeks.