Their friend Ellich badly wounded, a desperate Bishop and Hamral leave the bandit's hideout, for Abberlane, bearing Ellich and bringing the three captured bandits in tow. In Abbermark, Bishop and Hamral leave the treasure in the care of the village priest, and for this act of devotion, the famed Anchoress of Abberlane miraculously heals Ellich. Bishop and Hamral find Sire Corwyn and place the prisoners in his custody. Shortly after, the captured bandits are judged guilty by Corwyn and hanged for their heinous crimes.
After a week of rest and recuperation, the party leaves Abberlane behind in search of the second hideout and the mysterious "Lordship." After spending much of the first day wandering in the snowy woods, the party is forced to spend the night outdoors. No one gets much sleep, as distant howls rattle everyone's nerves. Bishop nearly freezes to death after climbing a tree, until Hamral is able to persuade him to come down.
The party finds a large, unusual hillock with a barren promontory, vaguely in the shape of a bird. Ellich recalls tales of a weird hill named "Corbiestone," said to be haunted. After several hours of searching, they find an entrance which lead to an underground labyrinth. The party soon discovers a secret, unused section of the dungeon, and weary from roughing it outside, they decide to make camp right there underground. Horrible cries and strange noises in the night waken everyone; an ensuing investigation finds a newly-dead, headless corpse, but little else.
After very little rest the party slowly makes its way through the dungeon, finding the remains of what was evidently a barracks and some storerooms. All of these lower areas seem to have been abandoned long ago, although recent footprints are detected. A room is discovered with a strange bird idol and odd iron coins, marked with an "X." Later the party reaches a main level, inhabited by bandits. Three sentries discover the party, and in the battle that follows both Hamral and Bishop fall, gravely wounded. Faced with the possible death of both warriors, Ellich promptly flees, and tries to hide from searching bandits. Ellich is eventually found and dies in the ensuing struggle; Bishop dies in the night from his grievous wounds. Some of the bandits recognize Hamral from Heremac, and they attempt to nurse him back to strength. Upon returning to his senses, Hamral is told of the fate of his comrades, and discovers that his captors are little better off. The bandits, it turns out, have only been using Corbiestone for a few months; within the last few weeks something unknown and terrible has begun stirring in the depths of the dungeon: several bandits have disappeared, and awful sounds have been heard welling up from the tunnels below. All of the bandits are badly shaken by this turn of events and they are ready to abandon their posts.
As soon as Hamral is well enough to travel he immediately leaves the place of horror and sorrow, bound for Heremac.