On the advice of Shalelu, we chose to journey through Nettlewood to get to Thistletop. Nettlewood consists of a network of passages and clearings walled by thorny brush, and has a thick canopy that blocks out most of the sunlight.

We entered Nettlewood through a low archway entrance, and began exploring. We soon found a deep stone-walled pit. We could hear that there was water at the bottom of it. Further on, we came to an alcove where there were four goblin dogs tied to stakes in the ground. Agitated by our presence, they were able to break free to attack us, so we killed them. In another clearing, we found a nest made of the fur of fire pelt cougars.

We were attacked by Gogmurt, a goblin druid, along with his pet fire pelt cougar Tangletooth. It was a difficult fight, as Gogmurt used entangling vines to slow our progress, and was able to move through the brush unhindered. However, we managed to kill Tangletooth, at which point Gogmurt retreated. We caught up with him again, along with 10 other goblin allies. We killed all of them except Gogmurt, who then surrendered and offered to tell us everything we wanted to know. He told us the following facts:

• There is a bunyip at the bottom of the stone pit that we found.
• In Thistletop, there is a stairway in the throne room of the keep that leads underground.
• Ripnugget is following Nualia‘s orders, and they are planning to attack Sandpoint.

We then left Nettlewood and headed off for Thistletop. We came to a rope bridge that was suspended over water. The bridge was rigged to collapse, so when we tried to cross it, Devin fell into the water below. He was pulled by the current into a cave which had a bunyip in it. The ceiling of the cave had an opening which was the bottom of the previously encountered stone shaft. The other party members descended into the water to assist Devin, and we killed the bunyip. Within the cave, we found some money, a gem, a kukri, and a wand of Shield.