"Working together, I'm sure we can." Ellena moves to get the arms of Burton.
"We will give it our all!" the dwarf replies, moving to help whomever he can.
It takes several minutes of effort, but you're able to return the infiltration team to your ship, where the crew (quite predictably) reacts with shock and horror. This stroke of bad luck has put the mission in jeopardy, but there's nobody available to fill in. The mission's success or failure now hinges on the six of you....
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"Certainty of death...small chance of success...what are we waiting for?" the dwarf quips.
"We need to make sure they didn't just suffer for nothing." Corynne says solemnly, brushing wet hair out of her face.
"That's right, Az. A suicide mission, going blind on hostile grounds? Must be Tuesday."
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"It is only a suicide mission if we die. If we succeed then it was merely very, very hard. I can do very, very hard." Miselle considered how that sounded, and left the statement as it was. Well, it was true either way.
The swim back to the accident site is (thankfully) danger-free. From there, the tunnel continues for about 200 more feet before opening up into a large vertical chamber. This 80ft-diameter, 60ft-tall cave is quite dark , but the air is surprisingly warm. Wooden platforms anchored to the walls form a makeshift dock and stairs, which lead up to a wide tunnel that intersects horizontally with this chamber 35ft above the water line. Short iron spikes are driven into the walls every 30ft. In the middle of the chamber, a 20ft-diameter pillar of dull gray stone rises from the water line to the ceiling. A dramatic splinter of white marble extrudes from it - apparently once part of a much longer column.
Pulling out her sunrod, Ellena moves to the wall. "What are these spikes? Anchoring points?"
Cursing through her teeth. Alice swims as fast as possible towards the dock.
After retrieving his weapon and powder, Az begins to make sure the weapon is alright for firing when Jeb hisses that they have company. He immediately rushes after his companion!
Miselle nods in agreement with Jebediah, retrieving her gear. "A miner who hid, mayhap?" she murmured as she prepared.
Eyes widening at Jeb's pronouncement, Ellena draws Fabian and steps to the side so Az and Miselle have clear lines of fire.
"Or the person that triggered the trap." Corynne says darlky as she readies her gear.
Terrain Info
Alice strolls easily over the ladder, studying the weird column for a moment. "Anyway, let's be ready for trouble. There may be traps around, watch your step."
Corynne pulls herself up onto the dock, investigating it while Alice crosses the ladder.
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Miselle followed along, monstrous gun covering those in front.
Az keeps up with the others, his rifle tucked into the crook of his arm, ready to raise and fire at a moment's notice.
Similarly curious but tempering that with a bit of wariness - that shelf was awfully exposed - Ellena hugs the wall and makes for the high ground.
In a tiny nook carved into the tip of the marble splinter sits an oversized gold coin. About three inches across, it has primitive designs of birds, clouds, and dots that might represent stars. From somewhere below you, you can hear what sounds like voices muffled by a thin wall, but specific words are impossible to make out.
Jeb doesn't detect any traps or hidden dangers on the docks and ladders.
"Something weird about this column and this coin. Co, it may be spirits of sort. Doc, check it out, take it if you think it's important. I'll be on the lookout."
Alice leaves the coin and heads towards the top cavern.
Az stands to the side, using his darkvision to watch out for the others, keeping an eye out in case something decides to poke its head out.
Touching the pendant at her neck, Corynne closes her eyes for a moment at Alice's conjecture. When she opens them a cold silvery glow radiates from within them as her hair and wet clothing seem to move as if she were still underwater, her perception slipping into the ethereal.
Corynne's spirit sight detects nothing - the individuals who are about to attack are living and hiding via mundane means. Their presence is announced with a barrel of blasting powder that's flung in Ellena's general direction. It misses high and explodes loudly when it hits the cavern wall above her, showering you in firedust . From behind the crane, an elderly Danoran shouts, "You killed all my men, you dirt-workshippers! That wasn't enough? Now you want me dead as well?" He points a pistol at Alice and fires a panicked shot that somehow manages to connect with flesh. At the same time, a shadowy creature floats up from a dark corner and begins to feed on her strength.
Your Turns
Alice winces as the bullet pierces her side. Memories flood her mind again, and she sees herself lying on the deck of a long-sunk frigate, clutching her bloodied face. Hurting's part of the job, Kildare! Get up and fight!
Looking at the weird, shadowy creature in front of her, she takes a step back while reaching for a small flask on her belt and coating her blade with it. A Danoran conjuring monsters? Weird.
"We didn't kill anyone yet, you crazy snailgobbling coot! Not here, not this time! But I'm all up for settling old grudges with a scuffle!"
"We are not with the Duchess!" Miselle trains her gun to where the shot came from, but is hesitant to shoot. "Ils n'apporteraient pas un comme moi avec eux et armés, non?" Hopefully hearing her accent, and their toungue, would help calm the man. "Laissez-nous vous expliquer."
"Stand down and let us explain."
A flash of insight crosses Alice's mind. The stationed Danoran forces! He's not talking about the war!
"Jierre! We look for Nathan Jierre, his cousin sent us!"
"We are not here for fight with you, old man!" Az shouts in confirmation, his Drakran accent clear; providing a distraction for Jeb would certainly aid his efforts, as well.
Cursing under her breath in a most un-ladylike way, Ellena ducks into cover and strains her eyes to try and see what's going on.
Corynne moves forward, climbing the ladder and giving the man something else to focus on.
The man struggles to reload his pistol as he calls down suspiciously, "Risuri, Danorans, and Drakans working together? What are you doing here?"
"As you can see by our uniforms, we are all members of the RHC. The Duchess has been declared a traitor, and tried to kill the king, as he wishes to ally with Danor. To make sure her actions do not lead to war, we have been sent on a mission to the island to help with negating her presence. Obviously, I cannot go into details." Miselle smiled at him. "Yes, I work for Risur, but look at the weapon I carry. Can you imagine the Duchess, know advocate of the Fae, allowing a person from Danor, wielding one of there weapons, into her army? One who uses such as this?" She activated the small robot aid she carried with, which whirled into life. Pausing, she added, "My name is Miselle Fitelle. May I have yours?"
"Getting shot, that's what we're doing here." Think I broke a rib. And wasted the oil. "It's just like she said. King Aodhan, long may he reign, is moving towards friendship with Danor. We have orders to bring the traitorous Duchess to justice. My word of honor, if you are not in her service, you have nothing to fear from us."
Alice moves to a tight guard, not trusting the old man completely, and keeping an eye on the shadowy figure.
"You're here to stop the ones who attacked us? This was just a misunderstanding?" There's a short pause as he sizes you up before calling off the elementals and lowering his weapon. He sighs in relief. "Thank goodness! I'm sorry about all this. Thought you work for those horrible people. I'm Foreman Dupiers. I don't know a Nathan Jierre, but I can tell you where the duchess is."
"Any information you can give would be a boon, including as to where she is located and how to get there," Miselle agreed with a small smile. She was clad she hadn't had to fire her new gun on someone innocent. It seemed like a good omen that a misunderstanding hadn't ended with it's blooding.
Grumbling, Alice sheathes her rapier and climbs the nearest ladder, holding her wound with a hand as she speaks to her companions. "If someone could bring that wand over here, that'd be great. Corynne, anything from the coin?"
Then she looks at Dupiers' face before speaking. "How did you escape, by the way? And do you know anything about that large coin over there?"
"No sorry, I'm not able to see anything supernatural about it." Corynne replies.
Azaghal breaths a sigh of relief, lowering his rifle slightly; he doesn't completely get rid of it, though, only keeps it nestled in the crook of his arm so that, should he need to, he can quickly bring it to bear again.
The immediate danger past, he tries to take in their surroundings very carefully, his darkvision letting him see things that might be lost on the humans.
Ellena stays where she is - she was too far away to help, and the others didn't need her stammering at this Foreman.
The foreman looks ashamed. "On some of the archaeological digs, a couple more of those coins were found. All I know is that they're magic. When the soldiers attacked, I ... took them and ran for the mines hoping the magic would protect me. It's letting me see in the dark pretty well, so I've just been hiding here ever since. I saw most of my miners fleeing into the jungle. That's all I know."
With Dupiers leading the way, exiting the mine is a trivial affair. At the mine's forested exit, however, you find a recent mass grave. Many of the trees are chipped, marked, or show other signs of damage from axes and picks. The bodies in the grave are Danoran miners, who've been strangled with vines and branches. Seeing this, Dupiers recoils in horror, breaks into sobs, and refuses to go farther.