The group of adventurers Professor Quigley, Fluffy Fluffy, Halt, Lord Cornelius, and Dave the Average are hired by a merchant named stol to escort him and his woodworking wares north to the Capital.
They all wait for Stol in the greasy_badger, a dodgy tavern in pofoofflin. When he arrives, he is unsure about where the fifth member of the party is, and refers to Fluffy as a pet. Fluffy launches herself at Stol's face for the first roll of the game, but Dave catches her in midair with one hand while eating chicken with the other.
Stol, shaken, is eventually convinced by Corny to still hire the party. He gives the party four rations, and is unsure who to give the fifth to, so Halt's wolf scath takes it. The party agrees to regroup at first light the next day outside the well-groomed_badger to begin their trip.
That night, the party splits up to sleep. Corny spends the last of his coin to stay at the Well-Groomed Badger. Dave and Halt sleep in the barn out back of the Greasy Badger. Quiggers sleeps inside in a room instead. Fluffy sleeps in the nearby trees.
The next morning, the party meets with Stol by his cart. Stol is still unsure about where the fifth member of the party is, but accepts it. The party heads north!
Corny, serving as the trailblazer, has the clever idea to lead the party the long way through the woods rather than traveling over open ground, because bandits are of course less likely to find them if they're in the woods! Unfortunately, during the night while (who?) is taking watch, a group of bandits strikes!
Two bandits sneak into attempt to sneak into the camp while three others fire arrows from the trees. Dave cuts one of the ones on the ground clean in half. Halt manages to injure one in a tree. Fluffy sends a squad of squirrel friends after another, only to have them all killed. Corny tries spinning too much while casting magic missile, and ends up once dropping his staff, and once conking himself on the head. The remaining one on the ground holds Quiggers hostage, only to be stabbed by Dave and then killed by Quiggers.
An archer is knocked out of her tree by Halt, and then killed with an arrow after Scáth rushes at her, distracting her. Corny finally manages to cast magic missile into another tree, blowing up one of the remaining archers. The final archer is knocked out of his tree when Dave throws Fluffy into his face. On his back, his bow broken, badly injured, he rasps out "Why don't you just kill me?"