Don’t worry Gorbo, there is nothing wrong with it, I’m sure.
I can take a look in advance to see what is in the area to see whether we can settle in, or if we have to make room for some neighbours.
Please do, and thanks. Anyone else want to scout with Mulligan?
Miron would be happy to join Mulligan. He also informs the party that he is carrying a great deal of canvas cloth with him, so they should be well-prepared if any leaks or holes are found in the stone.
Sounds fine to me, shall we get started?
Elfstan will certainly go scouting too. The signs of recent repairs to the tower are making him a little wary. He checks Sting occasionally for any hint of a glow.
How will the scouts approach the fort?
How far off will the rest of the party remain?
Who will the scouts be? Just Miron, Mulligan and Elfstan?
Will anyone be invisible?
Send Gwaelur as well - he can check that the buildings aren’t about to fall down and haven’t been boobytrapped, and might be better than most at spotting recent signs of repair. I would go myself but don’t want to leave the rear of the party too weak. I’d advise against bothering with invisibility - Mulligan’s innate stealth is excellent.
I suggest we occupy the house in preference to the tower - it should be secure enough for our needs and will likely be more comfortable.
I am happy to go if the Elf thinks I will be of use.
No- Deor is out of second level spells for the day.
How will the scouts approach the fort?
How far off will the rest of the party remain?
Approaching fort. Mulligan and Miron to lead, Gwaelur and Elfstan 20 yards behind to account for Gwaelur’s stealthiness. 
Mulligan and Miron to scout the area and see if anything else is occupying the fort. Elfstan and Gwaelur to check the stone house and see if it is suitable for occupation.
The rest of the party at the bottom of the hill waiting for a signal from the scouts.
If there are any animals about, Ghân can Speak to Animals and ask if anything lives up there.
When the party gets close to the hill the party halts. Ghân casts Speak with Animals and inquires of several local squirrels, rabbits, mice and birds what lives on top of the hill.
The animals report after sifting through their information for about 10 minutes that the tower is inhabited by 4 large trolls that only come out at night. They have at least 6 goblins as servants or slaves. The house is untouched by the trolls and there is no way in even for the squirrels or mice. It is sealed tight and weathers really well. The outer towers and walls are not in use at all and the goblins and trolls actually quarry the outer towers for stone to repair the main tower. The tower has a strong main door (as shown on the map) and it has an underground passage leading out by the large tree about 200’ due north of the tower. The goblins are no bigger than Ghân himself. The Trolls are taller that your tall man (Thoroncir) on horseback. They have to duck to exit the tower and crawl out of the lower exit by the tree. The trolls hunt at night and nearly every night. One uses a huge if somewhat crude crossbow. It sounds like it must be 6’ wide and weigh hundred pounds.
Ghân supplements his spell with his Druidic training. That and one of the squirrels are especially bright and translated for the mice. He is asking Ghân for a treat or better yet to make his tree extra healthy to produce more nuts.
It is possible the Goblins have seen you coming. You cannot be sure.
Gorbo, “I apologize. I have led you to a poor shelter. We don’t have much time left. I guess we will need to settle for a sturdy oak grove and hope for the best.”
Trolls, why did it have to be trolls.
Gorbo, is your grove within the hunting range of the average troll. If so, tonight could be fun.
The trolls couldn’t come out during the daytime anyway (come to think of it, would it be dark enough during the thunderstorm that they could safely be out in the open air, or would they still need to remain under cover? Maybe that only applies to stone-trolls, anyway). In any event, why not fight our way in now?
Although he will say nothing of it to Gorbo, Thoroncir is beginning to doubt the wisdom of hiring the marsh-hobbit as a guide. Both the many wargs and these trolls have surprised the stinky fellow.
Ghân thanks the squirrel, bungs him a Goodberry and offers to cast Plant Growth if possible later on the tree.
He reassures Gorbo that any decent shelter could be seized by bad guys - they want comfort too.
Deor has all of his spells as it is many days later. Remember it is now August 4[sup]th[/sup] and just before noon. The last battle was July 30[sup]th[/sup] I believe. We should still reach the Last Bridge on the evening of August 8[sup]th[/sup].
The trolls described sound like those that need to fear the sun. The storm Ghân is expecting would probably allow them to come out and play during the day.
As to Gorbo, the party is making excellent time despite the local monsters. This thunderstorm is bad enough to be extremely dangerous and as Ghân described it, fighting trolls may be safer than being outside. Without Ghân casting his predict weather every morning, this storm could have been very dangerous. You are now far out of his normal range. You are much closer to the Last Bridge than his home.
The squirrel is thankful to Ghân and loves the Goodberry.
Gorbo to Mulligan on the grove being in hunting range of the trolls, "I don’t know a lot about trolls, but if we light a fire I would say yes, but if we used a cold camp no. However a cold camp tonight would be sad indeed.”
Curu, “I agree with Thoroncir, either have at these trolls or try to sneak into the house. Something about the house seems to keep the trolls and goblins at bay. I must admit, I have nothing special against trolls.”
Gilraen, “I know I can put them off a bit. It won’t petrify them but Galadriel’s gift, my bauble, will have a high chance of disturbing a troll and even possibly panicking it. I wish my father or uncles were here or even Mulligan’s uncle for that matter. They know how to fight trolls.”
Lorlianna look fearful but taking heart from Gilraen, “That’s right if even the young Periannath Peregrin Took can defeat a troll surely they can be destroyed. Have any of you ever fought them before.”
Curu, “Long ago in another age I fought trolls when Sauron attacked Hollin. Their hide is very tough, it is like the plate mail of the Dwarves and they seem to take only partial damage from arrows. Though I understand that is not true for the brethren of Rivendell. We used pit traps and spears mainly to fight them but in the end Sauron’s forces were too much for us. Once he isolated us from our friends in Moria we had little hope and then my father was killed in a sneak attack. I am not sure how to defeat four trolls at once. Ghân’s entangles will probably be of less use then normal and Deor’s Sleeps will be of no use.”
Miron know how to fight trolls and he does extra damage to them, so at least you have that. He has actually fought trolls before and won though he was with the Elven Ranger that taught him or a party from Ithilien.
Gwaelur knows his big axe is a potential troll’s bane. He has indeed fought them once before and while it is not fun it is possible. He can warn Ghân and Gorbo that their darts are completely useless and he thinks the Hobbit bullets will be no more effective than the arrows. We need to be careful and try to overwhelm one or two at a time.
How resistant would they be to paralysis through an injection dagger?
"It seems to me that the best course of action is to try to seperate them and trap them individually rather than take them all on at once. " Gwaelur doesn’t know that a GM has just said this 
The question is, how do we lure them away from one another without making them suspicious?
In any even, I don’t think our typical strategy of “overwhelm them with our superior firepower” is going to work here. If we can draw them away from the group into a position where myself and one other strong mele combatant can take them on we should be able to handle them. Then we can mop up the goblins as a group.
How close are we to nightfall?
Thoroncir isn’t sure if his Numenorean blade has any particular effectiveness against trolls, but he’s willing to try. That big thunderstorm isn’t going to go away.
Could Ghan ask his squirrel friend to reveal itself only to one troll (perhaps feigning lameness), in hopes that the troll selfishly wouldn’t tell the others but would pursue it solo for a little snack? Then we could pounce on the troll once it was separated from its fellows.