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Obo heads to the academy and asks around.
Blythir's last graduating class was only eight students strong, and that was a significant improvement over the year before, during which half the seniors tragically perished in an accidental and unquenchable arcane fire. Only the determined or the foolish come to study at Blythir College, whose curriculum is almost solely based on harnessing the power of primal magic.
Primal magic is only able to manifest in areas where the laws of reality have been weakened, most commonly in the devastated area between Nex and Geb known as the Mana Wastes. It might also occur in areas which have suffered the wrath of the gods, or when a powerful artifact is destroyed.
A manifestation normally follows an accumulation of primal energy, which then explodes into existence in the Material Plane. The effects are unpredictable, and range from the weird (a burst strange music, or a rain of rotten fruit) to the dangerous (a firestorm sweeps through the area, or all creatures present are lashed by negative energy).
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When informed on the location of these paladins Theodric waves his men to stay outside and he enters the seedy watering hole. Spotting the one wearing the most jewelry and surrounded by the most men, Theodric says, "We're on a mission for your city to restore life and business as usual here; now, I have men everywhere by now and they've made deals with every institutions and businesses out there. I don't waste time whenever I visit a town, but I don't linger here very long either. You can either make this a profitable experience for you and your paladins or try to put sticks in my cartwheels and bring down the city crashing around you. Do you know anything about the Karggat Mine sickness or what caused it? Any help with this may result in favorable arrangements... otherwise, I'll have to believe the rumors me and my men have heard on the way here, I guess... that would be a pity for you... purely from a loss of financial opportunity, of course..."
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Professor and Fandral: What clues are you following up on?
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In search of information on the "paladins," Theodric sees a half-orc and recognizes him as one of those often guarding the Grandmaster's cooling baths. Recognizing the rondelero duelist as a famous field agent, he spills what he knows.
"Most of Espara's Paladins believe themselves to be the products of a corrupt society, and the only way to improve their sordid existences is through calculated violence and guerrilla rebellion, both against rival gangs and Alkenstar's elite. The gang's founder and leader is the cunning orphan, Espara. Her influence and reach in Alkenstar's criminal circles is very strong. Rumor is that she's only 19 years old."
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Professor Kaldosian finds a few local contacts whom he plies for information. "Alkenstar’s heroic military is purported to be a herald of discipline and service. However, corruption has still been known to seep through its ranks. Indeed, the tortuous hierarchy through which its members seek constant advancement encourages dishonesty, if one aims to excel to the highest echelons of the organization. The honorable High Shieldmarshal Armand Meneley does his best to keep a tight rein on his troops and keep order within the shieldmarshals, but the convoluted structure of the organization almost guarantees his perpetual frustration and fruitless efforts."
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Fandral gathers information about the Lithos Clan:
The enigmatic Lithos Clan is an exclusive collective of metallurgists operated entirely independently of Alkenstar’s Gunworks. The clan's unwillingness to share its discoveries with the Gunworks inspires no small amount of tension between the factions, but none can deny the metallurgical mastery of the clan’s finely crafted inventions.
A secretive group of business-minded metallurgists oversee most of the research conducted in the Lithos Clan's massive workshop, the Burnished Factory. When the leaders make public announcements, their designated speaker is always the same person: a one-eyed woman who flatly introduces herself each time as Burnisher Pendlyn.
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Professor:
For the common folk of Alkenstar, life is often hard and short, and the various calamities to beset the City of Smog in the last several decades have put strains on all who eke out their livings there. Life in the city is also very different on opposite sides of the Ustradi, which divides Smokeside to the west—where magic does not function, as though affected by an antimagic field—and Skyside to the east, where magic largely functions as normal.
Despite the fact that Alkenstar is one of the few places on Golarion with access to reliable firearms, relatively few Alkenstarians wield these destructive tools. This is due in part to the high price of such weapons as well as the strict laws surrounding possession of them. Such strictures don't deter less compunctious Alkenstarians, though, especially those belonging to one of the city's several nefarious street gangs or wasteland hunters who make sure to keep their illegitimate weapons concealed at all times.
Typically, the only citizens who adhere to the byzantine firearm laws of Alkenstar are members of the privileged elite, many of whom make a sport of out of dueling.
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You board. The greeting is brief and professional. The crew know better than to make small talk or ask about your mission. "Loose lips sink ships" and all that.
Your journey west is uneventful. At one point, the pilot and engineer chats briefly with you--revealing that the Karggat Mine—the your destination--was barricaded shut years ago. More recently, there has been an unusual spree of earthquakes in the region.
During the journey, the weather begins to grow violent. By the time the airship approaches the mine's entrance, a full-fledged primal magic storm is less than a mile away. The airship's pilot has no choice but to drop you off. The vessel quickly departs to the south, headed for the safety of Martel's airship docks.
The turbulent winds sweeping through the Karggat Hills cause no shortage of havoc on the airship above as it makes its ascent away from the rocky landscape south toward Martel. However, on the ground in front of the mine shaft, the wind fades to a strong breeze. The pitch-black tunnel descending into the abandoned Karggat Mine howls sporadically, thanks to the Mana Wastes' unpredictable air currents, and the gunmetal-gray clouds above indicate a tempestuous storm in the making.
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The dank walls of this dark mine drip with condensation. Mine cart tracks from the tunnel entrance continue to the north. A wooden sign promises lower levels in the tracks' direction. To the east, several abandoned mine carts lie strewn around the dirt, some tipped over. In an alcove to the west stands a sizable but nondescript shrine half-buried in loose stone, a heavy sheet of black soot covering the steps leading up to its weathered altar. To the south of the shrine stands a rickety wooden door.
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Professor will go at the front if that works he has good defenses, high perception, and trapfinding.
Professor will give himself heroism, barkskin and mutagen (dex) he will also be holding a reduce person potion in his off-hand. Then he starts taking the drugs he has Clear ears (taken on the way), Blood-boiling pill, barbarian chew. He will also tap himself with a wand of long strider and heighten awareness.
"What? I'm old. We olds need some extra assistance."
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I've posted your location on the map. Please forgive the pixelation; it's a huge map (1 sq = 10 ft), and there are two of them on a single page in the PDF.
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Theodric ties a large bowline loop at the end of his rope (about 5-foot diameter) and puts it loosely around the Professor's waist (so that if the Professor stops or Theodric releases the rope, the loop will just fall off at the Professor's feet, but if he falls the loop will stop under his armpits and prevent the fall) and follows 10 feet behind him.
"There you go Professor. This shall prevent any nasty surprise pit falls!"
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The furniture in these sizable living quarters has mostly rotted, but the thick wool curtain in the western corner and the furry beast hide taking up most of the floor remain in better condition. A flat portion of the northwestern wall appears to have served as a writing surface, and it bears numerous names as well as dates.
To encourage priests to visit this unsafe area, the miners of the Karggat Mine built this comfortable living space, meant to house the mine's resident cleric during their stay. The animal rug covering the floor was made from a dire bear, and its mutated hide spotted with pustules is an unsettling sight indeed.
The visiting priests scribed upon the wall here the names of those miners who perished throughout the course of their toil, while the other columns depict the approximate location of their death within the mines and the dates on which they died. The records are remarkably complete, save for the names of three miners—Dyjas, Emori, and Issig—whose death locations are all described as "Abandoned eastern mining tunnel, upper level" and whose dates of death have been left blank.
Behind the curtain in the western corner of this room sits a small stone platform, atop which stands a small golden idol depicting a popular representation of Brigh, goddess of invention. The gold itself isn’t particularly remarkable, but the craftsmanship of the icon is unrivaled; its numerous moving parts are etched with runes intricate enough to impress even the most critical tinkerer. A valuable relic like this could easily be sold for up to 2,000 gp.
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The professor finds no traps here.
Pots and vases are strewn about in front of the collapsed wall of this dead end, and the remnants of dead flowers droop down the sides of the containers. Several mining picks lean against the crumbled stone to the east.