After the party joins Red and Moon at the cliff above the palisade, Bill instructs the group to form a defensive position in case they are attacked by the mysterious swamp creatures. The rat man (Two Nail) becomes terrified when he realizes the swamp creatures are after him. Moon tries to question Two Nail about the creatures, but he loses all rational thought because of his fear. Eagle spots movement coming up the mountain along the tree line. Before long, Bill can see them as well, but then the creatures go further into the trees and all sight of them is lost.

Red tries to sense them and found that the creatures were coming up both sides of the tree line and were moving slowly. He also notices they slow even more after he senses them. He sees about a dozen of the creatures coming. The party decides to handle the situation diplomatically by showing the creatures Two Nail. Bill goes over to Two Nail and knocks him unconscious. Moon takes the body close to the edge of the woods, holds it up, and lightly shakes him. Several minutes go by. Red tries to sense the creatures again and tells everyone the creatures have retreated past the palisade going toward the swamp. The party decides to wait until the rain has lessened before moving down the mountain.

Once the rain becomes a drizzle, the group heads to the palisade. They find that the bodies of the bandits have animal and spear wounds. They also find two large, thick spears in two of the bodies. Red senses one of the creatures at the tree line. Moon and Red head towards it and try to communicate with no luck. The group takes the loot and heads back towards the army since they have already killed the Commander.

After camping the night next to the mountain and the sun barely showing in the sky, Bill notices a spear in the ground approximately 50 feet from the camp ground. He walks over to it to study it. He finds necklaces with nasty-looking teeth attached to the spear. He decides not to mess with it in case the spear is a warning from the swamp creatures.

The party finds the army the next day. Bear’s Rage informs the General about what happened at the palisade. The General wants to look at the palisade for himself. The party heads back to the palisade with the General and Bear’s Rage. After studying it, the General is satisfied that the threat on this end seems neutralized. Because it is close to dark, the group has to stay near the palisade. They decide to sleep on the cliff where they waited for battle the previous day. During Red’s watch, he senses two small creatures, but once he senses them, they disappear. He thinks this odd, and the guards become more alert when he tells them about it, though nothing else happens during the night. In the morning, the group notices the spear with the necklaces of teeth about 50 feet from the camp. It is decided that the group will take the spear this time.

When they reach the army again, the General decides to keep patrols along this side of Red Fern to look for any straggling bandits. The party, along with Eagle, decide to go back to Howling and let the Justicars deal with the Master hiding in a cave in the mountains.

During this time in Howling, Moon, Marble, and Red get into the Library and are currently studying their magics with the help of Switches Way.