After a particularly long bender I finally wisened up and returned to the fort (and not just to collect the gold I had left behind.) There I found, luckily, that the place had not been burned down by angry bandits, or accidentally by the bandits I had come to call allies. I found my old daggers, chainmail, and potions as if I never left them. The party welcomed me back with open arms (I suspect they may have run into a trap they were unable to disarm, understandable without my talents) and headed off for the caves.
There we found a mostly burned out husk of a hideout, however a group of prisoners were left behind. After some bartering with an unreachable human with chiseled features, and a cat named Whiskers, we freed them with the promise that Whiskers would guide us through a strange and misty cave with shifting walls nearby. Though Whiskers was unable to track his boss's scent, he did expertly guide us right into some flaming beetles with jaws like meat grinders. After a quick spout we dispatched them and headed on our way.
Though the cave seemed perfectly normal Alf was adamant that the place was a shifting maze of unfamiliar walls, bemused we all agreed to turn around and see if walking backwards would set us on the right trail. It of course was merely a placebo, but it did lead us right into the jaws of a massive bullman of hulking proportion, and quickly after that a hulking death. We looted his hideout of its magical implements, took our trophy from him, and departed. I tried to convince Whiskers to join us in adventure, sensing a kindred soul in him, but alas he was more focused on vengeance than gold. I wish him the best of luck in his quest, and may his death be as courageous as his life.