Journal of Artyom's Expedition - Day 4

Gods above, what a disaster this expedition has turned into.
 
The good news is, Eloria, Silvertongue, Sybil, Moshe and Artyom are all safe. The first three apparently went into the canyon last night attempting to track the hobgoblins who poisoned Artyom. They disappeared for hours and I fully thought they were dead after the hobgoblins' force attacked our camp, but they fortunately made it safely back to our encampment despite running afoul of quite a number of the undead within the valley. Moshe, meanwhile, appears to have simply kept his head down in our camp until after our enemies had moved on, then joined the fight. Sadon fought well. The Maidens, the Hounds, even the one remaining scholar among Artyom's cadre all availed themselves admirably against our attackers; I suspect very little of the hobgoblins' battle-group remains given how many stone giants and goblins were killed in the battle last night, and we managed to kill three more of the hobgoblin officer corps as well. Artyom himself is quite badly shaken and hurt by the poison he was given, but he is stable and recovering. We're all fairly safe for the time being.
 
The bad news is that our camp was completely razed. Eloria is the only among us who lost nothing; the attackers appear to have taken my and Sadon's armor, weapons, clothing, anything that was not on our persons when we fled; perhaps worse, Artyom's entire library was burned. There was nothing left but ashes by the time we got there. I have not yet had the heart to ask Artyom how badly that might hinder us going forward. Gods preserve me, I had to beg this very scrap of paper off the Maidens' sergeant, just to write my daily journal. I haven't felt quite so vulnerable in a long time, though I suppose this is all the more reason to run down what little remains of the hobgoblin battle-group as quickly as possible.
 
Oddly, we also seem to have picked up some new traveling companions today. A Ciran cleric named Aza'tar arrived at a timely moment, right at daybreak, during the hobgoblin force's assault on our position; he came to our aid and has been tending to Artyom's rather serious condition since the battle ended. The battle also seems to have attracted a wandering svirfneblin, who Moshe brought along when he broke cover and made it to the soldiers' camp after the hobgoblins razed our own. We weren't introduced and they seemed quite terse; I've yet to be sure what to make of them. Any aid we can secure is welcome at this point, but with how touch-and-go our tactical situation has become I'm in no mood to take chances on people we know nothing about, either.
 
Our current plan (We have a plan! How wonderfully novel!) is to wait out the night for rest and recovery; our party will enter the canyon at first light tomorrow, while the undead are less capable to attack us, and proceed to a vault that Sybil insisted is the home of the spirit that haunts this pass. Hopefully, the caravan will be able to pass unfettered once we deal with whatever it is inside this vault. We should be able to move much more quickly once we are through the pass and on the downward slope of the mountains, and I am tempted to send the Hounds ahead for scouting and skirmishing once we're in open terrain. We have to get through the pass first, of course. One thing at a time.