In Polygot, "Well met, I am Savras. It appears that we will indeed brave these mines. What is an adventure without danger?
Would not be my first choice but I remain faithful to the accord that I have signed on for". Savras looks uncomfortable to say the least with the idea!
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Athyra shakes her head disapprovingly. "Unwise, but if you insist on going into the mine please find out what happened to my father. He wore a silver locket with a picture inside that I would greatly like to have."
"If you enter and find your way through to the other side, I will meet you and your caravan there. I can help guide you through the region."
Hana waits for the translation, then inclines her head in gratitude to the survivalist woman.
"I am prepared," she says to the rest of her team.
Savras nods to Athyra in Polygot, "We would be grateful for such aid and will certainly return the locket to you should we discover it".
Savras unfurls his chain from his waist, he keeps his rapier sheathed, as sucha weapon seems a poor choice against the dead...
"I am as ready as I will get for such an endeavor".
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Coming down from the hill and leaving Athyra and Jaji behind, the party descends into what is left of the camp below in the valley.
The sagging and overgrown remains of a small camp mark the site of the old mine, its gaping entrance visible in the hillside behind the camp. The camp itself is abandoned, and consists of a large barracks and meeting house, an operations office, two storage buildings, and a small house. Presumably the house is where Athyra and her familiy lived when she was young.
"Let's see if there are any clues in the camp or traps at the mine entrance," suggests Hana. "It would be smart to put traps there to keep the undead from wandering out."
"Should we investigate the meeting house and office? If nothing else.. a map would be of great use, yes?"
"A good place to start," Dereje agrees with a nod, gun already in hand. "Best we clear the area before approaching the mine proper, in any case."
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Slowly and deliberately, the party searches through the dilapidated structures, looking for anything of note prior to entering the mine itself.
You are all just about to give up and call the search a loss, when at the last moment, Savras notices an old ledger. The ledger is wrinkled and moldy with age.
"It may be something, which is more than we have so far. Careful - it looks very old. Is it possible to open it still or are the pages stuck together from age and moisture?" says Hana, peering at the ledger in hopes that it has something useful to tell.
Dereje hesitates when he hears Nkechi's warning - they did not go through all the trouble of recruiting him just to ignore his wisdom. "Is there any way to get rid of it? Without damaging the ledger?"
"Might as well take it back outside and try opening it. Even if it crumbles, we might find a word or two," Lawdrak ventures.
"I am not skilled in handling old, decrepit books without them disintegrating - Estietre, perhaps?"
"Let me see if I can identify it... get an idea of the level of risk with which we are dealing."
"Hmm Green Haze... be careful, and don't touch it.. don't get any on your skin. It's poisonous, and can make you go blind."
"Ugh..." Lawdrak adds helpfully, paling and taking a step back from the ledger.
Hana, likewise, gets out of the way and lets the wizards do their wizarding.
"I am not prepared to handle it with magic at the moment... I could in the morning, but... we should move on, yes?"
"Yes, we should," Dereje agrees. After a few moments of thought, he quickly transfers the contents of his backpack into his bag of holding. He then very carefully attempts to stow the ledger in his backpack, without making direct contact with it.
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Carefully, Dereje slides the mold covered ledger into his backpack. With the ledger secured, the party heads into the mine.
The wooden beams supporting the mine's main entrance are weathered and sagging. Water trickles down the sloping floor among the wooden footholds leading down the main shaft.
Adapted to seeing underwater, Hana has no difficulty with the darkness. Pre-warned about the possibility of undead, she keeps one hand near the hilt of her katana.
Dereje has little choice but to resort to using a torch. Since fire does not exactly mix well with black powder, he holds it aloft, keeping it far, far away from his store of cartridges. Just to be safe he holds his cutlass in his other hand.
"Dereje, I need only one hand for my blade," says Hana. "I can carry the torch."
Mum gestures and taps her cloak clasp which then begins to cast light. Kainey sits perched on her shoulder. She hangs back .. staying a good ten feet behind Hana.
Lawdrak casts light on his spear-point and, Sharpmaw at this side, follows his friends.
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Those of you who require light, ignite your various sources while Hana and Savras take the lead, not needing light.
Narrow mine shaft opens up into a roughly forty foot by twenty-five foot cavern, with a pool of water filling the majority of the chamber. On the other side of the chamber you see a wooden bridge across a stream emanating from the pool.
As you enter the chamber, Hana brings you to a stop having noticed something odd in the pool.
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The barely visible substance/creature continues to slowly make its way toward the party.
Hana's hand hovers near her sword, but she's not sure what to make of the thing slinking out of the pool.
"You see that?" she hisses to the team. "Anyone know what that is?"
"Crystal ooze.. careful.. they are acidic. They'll burn through almost anything."
Estietre fires a few arcane bolts from her fingers, but stays put.
Hana waits for the slime to close.
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The ooze Slides out of the water, lashing out at Savras with a pseudopod, burning the tiefling with an acidic tendril that wraps around the now frozen motionless rogue.
Hana slashes at the transparent slime, wounding it, but her weapon comes away worse for wear.
Nkechi unable to see up to the front, calls out, "What is happening up there?"
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rounds
Hana makes an expression of utter disgust as her priceless family katana is pitted and scored. She flicks the ooze off the blade and carefully sheathes it.
"Some kind of awful acidic slime!" she shouts back to Nkechi.
Lawdrak lays a restraining hand on Sharpmaw, holding the dinosaur back from a melee that would only bring it harm. Then he drops a stone into his sling at hurls it at the creature through the press.
Seeing how horribly Mizu's sword fared against the acidic ooze, Dereje lowers his blade and instead draws the gun at his belt. He eyes the strange creature, unable to discern an obvious weak point. Left with little choice, he aims for the slime's center of mass and pulls the trigger, his pistol's thunderous retort echoing throughout the cavern.