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Following Ennelia's advice, we have located a back entrance to the Horde Fortress. Her warnings about the war drums proved useful and we have, fortunately, been able to avoid the bulk of the horde forces to this point. Tempus grant that our luck will continue.
Alia Shield-Maiden, the Annals of Halgren
Enter the warrens and move north-west. You will find a large door, and learn that you need a password or key to pass through it. Before you go any further, make very sure that your party is ready for some very difficult battles. If you need to rest, head back outside and do so.
Now, follow the path around to the south to find a large sleeping-chamber. In the chamber you'll find a very large group of Goblins, including: worgs, a Goblin shaman, several Goblin warriors and Goblin elite warriors, Half-Goblin Hordlings, and a Goblin named Mokrul. All told there are more than a dozen of them, and you will be fighting them all at once. Most parties will find that they need to use the confines of the tunnels to keep from being surrounded by the small army of Goblins. Be sure to check all the bunks for some useful loot, particularly ammunition. The tunnels continue though the west side of the chamber.
Follow the tunnel until you see an opening into another large chamber. This chamber is where the Orc camp is located. Like the Goblin camp, it's a pretty tough fight, although there are fewer Orcs. Unlike some of the Orc shamen you've encountered before, the Orc shaman and Orc Witch Doctor you find here have some pretty powerful offensive spells. If you're smart, you won't give them the chance to use them. Again, once the battle is done, spend some time clearing up the treasure in the area. You should find some more ammunition, as well as a few healing potions and some scrolls.
Just north of this chamber, in a small room of his own, you'll meet a Goblin named Pondmuk. Pondmuk is hungry enough to make a deal with you; in exchange for some extra-tasty spiders from a cavern to the north and west, he will tell you the password you need to get through the door. Before you do, you might want to rest; Pondmuk's room is the safest area of the warrens to try to nap in. (Note: Although he says you can't rest there until you bring him the spiders, he's lying. You can.) Once refreshed, set off in search of the spiders.
But first, you'll need to get through some more Orcs, and some worg riders and Orogs. This third camp is south of Pondmuk's little cave, but still stands between Pondmuk and the spider's lair. Like the Goblin and Orc camps you encountered earlier, the battle is made difficult by the sheer number of enemies.
Enter the spider lair cautiously; you'll be attacked immediately by several woolly spiders. In all there are 5 spiders and the Wooly Spider Queen. Collect all the corpses and, if you're so inclined, collect some of the equipment of the less fortunate adventurers whose remains litter the cavern as well.
Attached to the eastern side of the spider's lair you'll find a small ante-chamber that leads to a wooden door. If you don't want to deal with the Goblin Pondmuk, you can sneak in through the back door here. There are a couple of Trolls you'll need to fight first, plus a few Goblins.
Otherwise, return to Pondmuk and offer the five spiders for 1050 xp and the password, "Chimera". You can also offer him the queen spider carcass for an additional 1575 xp. If you tell him that you'd like to rest, he says (very convincingly) that you'll be quite safe while you sleep. Of course, he's a Goblin, and he's lying. Partway through your rest, you'll awaken to find that Pondmuk has brought in reinforcements: several worg riders and a worg rider captain. You only get 33 xp for killing poor Pondmuk. Once you've taken care of them, you can finish your interrupted rest. If you'd rather rest without interruption, simply do so without asking Pondmuk.
When you're ready, head over to the gate and give the password when prompted (525 xp).
On the other side of the door is a Hobgoblin door guard. He's not quite as dumb as he looks, and quickly realises that you're not supposed to be in here. Kill him to prevent him from sounding the alarm (a war drum on the western edge of the room). Search the Hobgoblin's body for a key, then go on inside. There's a hardened fire Troll waiting for you, but he shouldn't pose much of a problem. Find the war drum on the other side of the room and destroy it.
South of you is a Goblin named Vunarg. He's pretty amusing to talk to, and is actually quite smart for a Goblin. If you keep talking to him, you'll find out that he's not really very happy here (the Orcs get all the best food), and misses the good 'ole days back home when he could freely war on the other Goblin clans. Depending on who talks to Vunarg, you might be able to convince him to take his whole clan and go home (700 xp). Otherwise, you'll have to attack him and his whole clan (they're just to the east of Vunarg). If you do attack Vunarg and his clan, you'll collect a fair amount of xp, and some pretty decent loot (Spellward Longsword).
A little further east is another small cavern. Inside you'll find a very strange being called Yquog and his whelps. Yquog is a "Barghest Whelp" with a problem. Seems his 'masters' have sent him some instructions in a letter, only the letter is being held by someone named Kruntur and he won't give it to Yquog. Further questioning reveals that Yquog got a little peckish one day and ate Kruntur's brother, and now he seems to be holding a grudge. Yquog asks that you get the letter from Kruntur, but really doesn't want him hurt in the process (he hates Kruntur, but it would upset Yquog's masters). You can accept the quest, or attack him if you think your party is up to this very tough fight.
When you're finished dealing with Yquog, head back north. If you haven't already encountered them, you come across a few Orogs, including an Orog Chieftain (500 xp). You can also investigate the western passage that connects back with the Spider Queens' lair. Otherwise, you're ready to head down to the second level of the Goblin Warrens (you'll get 525 xp for moving further into the Goblin Warrens and alerting only 3 of the camps).
