Obviously looking for something more interesting than more days of walking with nothing happening, she turns to Pezock. "You'd like to fight some undead, wouldn't you, Pezock? Jask, ask her if she'd mind if we went into the underworld and tried to make it a safer place."
Pezock's eyes open wide and almost seem to sparkle in the hot light. "At last! Something to do!"
Jask turns back to the woman and speaks to her again. Her eyes widen in concern and she shakes her head. She speaks quickly, her words carrying with them obvious.
"She says it's very dangerous," Jask translates. "Her father worked in the mine when she was very young. He went in one day and never came out. Then the dead came out and slaughtered everyone."
The woman moves away from the bushes and comes down onto the trail. The dinosaur follows her, its head hovering just over her shoulder, watching the party carefully. "Very...bad..." she says in heavily accented Common.
Jask speaks to her a bit more in Polyglot, and she responds. "I asked her how long ago this was. She says a very long time. She's lived alone in these hills almost all her life. Her name is Athyra."
"Going into the mine would cost you time," Shokambe says. "Of course, I'm sure you're aware of that."
The woman has continued to come closer, alleviating the need to yell back and forth with her. Her dinosaur continues to watch the party with narrowed, suspicious eyes, however.
Looking at Pezock and thinking about his own eagerness to rid the world of evil undead, Lorenz shakes his head. "It might cost us time but I think it could do wonders for morale." He grins and looks at Sasha. "What do you think, are you up for killing some monsters?"
Sasha grins. "I think I could handle some monster killing," she says. "It's been awhile; we wouldn't want to fall out of practice."
She turns to Athyra and speaks to her in Polyglot. The Mwangi responds with fear, and Sasha speaks again a little more soothingly. When Athyra responds again, a look of surprise crosses Sasha's face (and the faces of Jask and Shokambe, and possibly Douena's as well). Sasha excitedly says something else and Athyra responds. "It could be a shortcut!" Sasha exclaims.
"I will not go in!" Athyra replies. "It's dangerous! You are all being foolish! I won't go in with you!"
"No, no," Sasha says. "I wasn't asking you to go in with us, just if you know anything about what it's like inside. It could help us navigate if you were able to tell us anything before going in."
"No," Athyra says with a sigh. "I have never been inside. I was too young. Except... I still think you are being foolish, but there is another way in or out on the other side of the hill."
"Which other side?" Sasha asks excitedly. "Would it take us closer to the M'Neri Plains?"
Athyra nods. "The trail goes around the hill and would probably take much longer than going through the mine. You might save half a day or more if the dead don't kill you first."
"That settles it!" Pezock declares. "We go in!"
"Ask her what deity her people worship," Douena prompts Jask. "If we find her father, we need to know how to lay him and his friends to rest in accordance with their faith."
Jask asks Athyra as Douena suggests. Athyra's shrugging response needs little translation, but Jask translates anyway. "She doesn't know. She says she just listens to the wind and the clouds."
Jask turns back to Athyra and asks her something more. He then translates her reply. "She says we should simply return any bodies we find to the earth where they belong."
Douena looks slightly disappointed at the simplicity of the task. "They're already in the earth; it's a mine," she grumbles. Perhaps one day she'll get to perform last rites for a culture that favors funeral pyres.
"Hunting undead as a morale boosting device... I'll have to reduce Lorenz's rating on the wise-man scale a bit. I think. We'll see." Mahjik mumbles to himself.
"To the mine then?" Shokambe asks and looks to the rest of you for confirmation. Seeing that that seems to be the consensus, he nods and turns to Athyra. He asks her in Polyglot whether she will lead the group to the mine entrance.
Athyra looks quite reluctant and Jask intercedes . After a moment, Athyra begins speaking and pointing along the trail . Jask then says to Shokambe, "Can you find it?"
The guide nods. "Should be easy. This way."
"At last!" Pezock exclaims gleefully.
You travel along the trail for about another half mile before reaching another branch in the trail. Looking back, you notice Athyra and her dinosaur trailing you. As you turn down the south branch, however, they stop and simply watch until you are out of sight. After about twenty minutes or so, you reach the sagging and overgrown remains of a small camp marking the site of the old mine, its gaping entrance visible in the hillside behind the camp.
"Come Pezock! Don't let the coward upstage you," Mahjik comfortably eases passed the tengu as he heads for the entrance.
"To the mine then?" Shokambe asks and looks to the rest of you for confirmation. Seeing that that seems to be the consensus, he nods and turns to Athyra. He asks her in Polyglot whether she will lead the group to the mine entrance.
Athyra looks quite reluctant and Jask intercedes . After a moment, Athyra begins speaking and pointing along the trail . Jask then says to Shokambe, "Can you find it?"
The guide nods. "Should be easy. This way."
"At last!" Pezock exclaims gleefully.
You travel along the trail for about another half mile before reaching another branch in the trail. Looking back, you notice Athyra and her dinosaur trailing you. As you turn down the south branch, however, they stop and simply watch until you are out of sight.
"Jask," she whispers, tugging at the priest's arm, "ask her if she'd like a pearl." She takes one of the red pearls from the cannibals on the Shiv and holds it up in her palm so the Mwangi woman can see it.
Looking around at the old buildings that mark the mining camp, Lorenz shivers a little. "It's creepy. I can certainly believe that there are undead about, just waiting to eat us."
He looks down at the large structure. "Should we go in there first?"
"Jask," she whispers, tugging at the priest's arm, "ask her if she'd like a pearl." She takes one of the red pearls from the cannibals on the Shiv and holds it up in her palm so the Mwangi woman can see it.
Jask calls out to Athyra and the Mwangi woman approaches slowly. She peers closely at the pearl in Douena's hand, then smiles and takes it gingerly. She opens her mouth to speak, but it takes her a moment to find the right word. "Thank," she says.
She then watches the party until you are out of sight.
Looking around at the old buildings that mark the mining camp, Lorenz shivers a little. "It's creepy. I can certainly believe that there are undead about, just waiting to eat us."
He looks down at the large structure. "Should we go in there first?"
Mahjik moves up to the entrance of the mine. Pezock growls and follows him. A passage slopes downwards into the darkness of the mine. The light from outside only penetrates a short distance.
Meanwhile Lorenz approaches the largest of the buildings by the entrance, Sasha following closely. The door falls right off the hinges as he opens it and clatters to the ground noisily. Inside are rows of rusting iron bunks. Old rotting mattresses lie on the bunks.
Lorenz turns to Sasha. "This must have been lodging for the miners." He takes a closer look at the bunks to see if there's anything worth finding there.
He sneezes at the dust in the air.
Lorenz turns to Sasha. "This must have been lodging for the miners." He takes a closer look at the bunks to see if there's anything worth finding there.
1d20 + 3 = 6
He sneezes at the dust in the air.
Lorenz doesn't find anything in the bunks.
"Nothing here," Sasha says. "Let's try one of the other buildings. You never know. We might find something useful." She heads back out and over to the building at AW 25-26.
The door actually stays on its hinges when she opens it. "This looks more promising!" she calls back. She heads inside. Anyone who follows her inside sees what must have been some sort of office building at one time. Sasha has already gone over to an old, rotting desk. A collapsed set of shelves lies along one wall; along the opposite wall, a similar set still stands, but looks ready to fall at any time.
Sasha opens a drawer in the desk and grimaces. "Anyone want an old mouldy book?" she calls.
"What kind of a book?" Douena asks, shoving up next to Sasha with interest. "Does it have pictures?"
Lorenz follows Sasha into the other room but steps out of the way when Douena follows after.
"Feel free to take a look, Douena," Lorenz says. "Chances are it's written in a language I won't understand."
"Pictures?" Sasha says with a shrug. "Let's find out." She pulls the book out and places it on top of the desk. With another grimace, she wipes mould off her hands with the edge of the desk. "Slimy," she says. With the back of her hand, she pushes the cover of the book up to open it.
The book appears to be a log book. Although the cover is mouldering, the interior pages are still in readable shape and are written in Common.
Lorenz wrinkles his nose at the slime on the book. "That's unpleasant." He does lean a little closer to look at the text.
"" Douena shouts suddenly in alarm. "" She summons two gallons of water into existence over the woman's fingertips, drenching her hands and probably her legs and feet as well. "Jask! Jask!" she calls, hurrying Sasha back out of the building to the Mwangi cleric. "Sasha touched green haze!"
"It's more than unpleasant! Put it down now! That mold can make you go blind if it touches your skin!"
Sasha cries out in alarm and steps back as the water drenches her. She doesn't resist as Douena bustles her out to see Jask. "Remind never ever to touch strange books again," she says, as Jask begins to examine her hands. "Don't worry. I'm sure I'll be fine, and if I'm not, Jask here can handle it." She looks Jask in the eye. "Right?"
"What?" Lorenz cries as he hurries after Sasha and the others. "Green what? Blind? What?"
He tries to calm himself when Sasha says she'll be fine, but he can't help but look at her eyes with concern, trying to decide if he can see anything terrible there.
"I'm sorry for not noticing it at first, but that mold is called green haze, and it will slowly blind anyone who touches that is not strong enough to fight it off. I haven't seen it since I was just a pup." Makoa says calmly as he looks at the log book, flipping through it with his dagger. "If we cut off the ruined parts, we can look through the log safely."
Mahjik lights his lantern and tries to get a look what is 10ft deeper into the entrance. "Sounds like excitement over there. But doesn't sound like a lot of excitement."
Jask finishes looking over Sasha's hands and arms. "I can't see anything remaining on your skin," he says. "That's not a guarantee of anything, but it's a good sign. We'll keep an eye on you."
Mahjik lights his lantern and tries to get a look what is 10ft deeper into the entrance. "Sounds like excitement over there. But doesn't sound like a lot of excitement."
Pezock glances back momentarily at the others and crosses his arms impatiently as Mahjik's lantern lights up the entrance to the mine. The tunnel extends downwards and curves a bit to the right, blocking a clear view of far into the mine. However, Mahjik thinks he can make out the glint of water at the far edge of the light.
Douena pats Sasha's knee comfortingly, but her gaze back at the redhead is worried as she returns to Makoa. "See if the book says anything interesting, and then we'll burn it so it can't infect anyone else," she advises, staying well away from the pages he is turning with his dagger blade.
Makoa is able to flip through the log fairly easily with his dagger. The earliest entries are faded beyond readability, but later ones are more legible. They document standard mining operations.
The last few entries, however, are not surprisingly the most relevant. They are dated 15 years ago and document the mining company’s downfall. The mine’s owner, a man named Feran Crinhouse, was looking for new salt deposits and decided to secretly try connecting his mine with another mine on the far side of the hills, abandoned earlier under mysterious circumstances and rumoured to be haunted. Just as the miners broke through to the abandoned mine, they unearthed a strange orb that glowed with a pulsing blue light. Crinhouse decided to go down into the mine to personally investigate.
The final entry is in a different handwriting, and reads, “They’ve come up from below! They’re all dead, and their touch withers the flesh! May the gods have mercy on us!”
"Well, if we didn't already suspect we're going to be fighting undead creatures, we know for sure now. And I guess we don't want to touch them either." Lorenz pats his bow and checks his quiver for arrows.
"Can you burn it without touching it, Makoa?" she asks. "Is there anything else in here with green haze on it?" She peers into the shack without touching anything.
"A simple torch would do the job. I think we should keep the pages though. They could be on interest to the Pathfinders or the man's family if he had anyway."
"Oh, the Pathfinders," Douena sniffs dismissively, her face growing cold when the group's name is mentioned. "I suppose they would be the kind to find dozens of people dying horribly very interesting. Seems to me the pages would be of more interest to the families of the innocent men who died because the owner was greedy." At any rate, she seems to have lost interest in the book and leaves Makoa to deal with it, trotting over to join Pezock looking into the mine entrance.
"It's always possible," Lorenz suggests, "That the Pathfinders would be just the ones who would know how to contact the families of the people who died here. If nothing else, they could record the names of the miners here and remember them."
Urza had been staying in back while waiting for the others to finish exploring the mining camp. "If we are now finished with the zany antics portion, let us continue into the mine."
"Hey guys! Did the journal mention anything about a flooding? I think I see some water inside at the far edge of the light."
With a bit of work, the pages are cut free from the cover and the mould. They can then be touched and stored safely. There is no mention of flooding in any of the legible entries.
Once he's ascertained that Sasha isn't going to go immediately blind, at least, Lorenz moves toward the next building. "I think we ought to at least look at all the buildings before going into the mines, just in case there are any other clues to be found there," he says as he begins to make his way to the next building.
"Don't touch anything," Douena calls after him. "Use your sword, or an arrow, like Makoa did."
Sasha goes with Lorenz into the next building, which turns out to be an old storage building. There is only a single room filled with collapsed shelves, old rotting barrels and crates, and numerous bits of broken glass and pottery. You get the impression this was probably once used for food storage, although any food it once had has long since rotted away.
The next building is another storage building, but this one holding tools and other mining equipment. Although the shelves are collapsed and the items scattered about, many of the items are still in somewhat usable condition. There doesn't appear to be anything here, however, that might be useful to the party, other than perhaps a few mining picks.
The final building is an old cottage. Each of its three rooms are very small, but it's clear that somebody higher-ranking once lived here, presumably the person who ran the mine. The furniture was clearly once quite nice, but is now mouldering and rotten.
Looking around at the ruined cottage, Lorenz turns to Sasha. "I wonder if this is where the man who wrote that log lived. And that strange woman. If she was a child, it seems more likely that she belonged to the owners than to a random miner who lived in the barracks building."
He looks to see if there are any clues hidden away of worth but nothing stands out.
Sighing and then coughing a little at all the dust, he says, "It's kind of sad in here. But I guess there's not much of interest left to see. Might as well make our way down to the mine."
"She's Mwangi," Sasha says. "I get the impression the Mwangi aren't usually the mine owners. Although maybe her father had an affair."
Lorenz looks startled at that possibility. "Hmm. I hadn't thought of that. Well, might as well go see what the mine looks like."
He leaves the cottage and makes his way down to the mine where Pezock is clearly waiting impatiently. He draws his bow as he goes and readies an arrow.
Makoa and Urza lead the way into the mine, followed closely by Pezock and Mahjik (whose lantern lights the way for those without darkvision). The other follow in afterwards with Sasha and Lorenz bringing up the rear.
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. The tunnel walls are carved from grey rocksalt.
Lorenz has barely entered the mine when Makoa at the front emerges into the first chamber. Most of the floor of the chamber is flooded with water, but a thin area of non-flooded ground circles the edges, and at the chamber's exit, a rickety wooden bridge crosses the flooded area.
Douena's lowlight vision allows her to see somewhat farther into the next chamber than Makoa and Urza's darkvision penetrates. She can see that the second chamber is considerably larger than the first and still mostly flooded.
"Anyone up for a nice, refreashing dip into the waters of a mine that supposedly leads to the underworld? Might be a nice way to cool off, and it looks safer than that bridge. There is a nice ledge if you don't want to get wet though."