Kari takes some time to look at the tracks while she waits for the others to come closer. She ignores what she assumes are the miners' footprints, and the rats, and focuses on the kobold footprints. Of course it's kobolds, what else would it be in a nice cave. She tries to decide where most of them seem to be going to, or coming from.

Survival 15

After walking back and forth, trying to stay off of the various tracks, Kari comes back to the other 3. There's some very large rats it looks like, over that way (she points to tthe left), maybe a few kobold down that side (she points to the right this time), but most tracks look like they follow the rails. Should we go that way? She gestures to the tunnel straight ahead, ready to resume her distance while staying to the side of whichever tunnel they choose.

Badger agrees with Kari's suggestion of exploring the central main path. Whatever else is going on in the mine, those nuisance kobolds must be the 'monsters' that the town crier boy was referring to.

Kari leads on. The place is eerily quiet in the still cold.  She moves forward and shortly comes to another branch in the path. The rail continues to the right. From down there, she feels a slight change in air pressure, and a slightly less frigid waft of air, though it smells stale, like a cellar that's gone moldy. To the left, the passage has signs of regular use. From that direction she hears the steady sound of a blowing air, or rushing water.  The air feels a slight bit chillier that way. 

Kari again waits for her companions a few feet from where the tunnels split and tells them what she knows. Which way should we go, Maybe take care of the kobolds on the left first and then check out the rest of the mine? I didn't know there would be a breeze down here. She sounds like she is trying to be nonchalant.

Badger agrees. If there are indeed kobolds to the left, then it's best they take care of them first rather than allow themselves to become surrounded.

Having been born and bred underground, Badger's first assumption is that there is an underground river and/or waterfall causing the fresh, cold breeze.

The group follows a ways behind Kari who once again takes the lead. You head left, away from the rails and down an icy frosty path. Badger is indeed correct as it's soon obvious you're approaching rushing water. The air is extra cold with icy flakes floating in the air and the frost on the walls looks like a thick layer of fuzz. The cave opens up and on the far side water rushes through the cave running from left to right. It spews out of a hole about ten feet up and crashes into a river bed below and flows out through some submerged path that you can't see...pooling up.  Ice coats everything in here and partially freezes over the right side of the river...and is caked all around the water that emerges from the hole. Shards of ice poke up in all direction. You glance around but don't see any kobolds, nor any exits. Though you do notice a part of the river is smashed open and barely frozen over as if someone has been breaking it to get at the water. The kobold tracks cluster around this spot and go from there to the exit.  Splotches of ice along the tracks show that they're probably fetching water from here, the spillage forming a treacherous coating along the floor.  A short search finds nothing else of interest here....unless you contemplate exploring up, or down the underground river.

"There," Kurik says while pointing to the broken ice and tracks.  "That looks odd. Let me do take a look."  He pauses a moment and pulls out some rope and wraps it around his wrist and hands off the other side.  "Incase I slip and need help."  He then carefully goes to look.

Acrobatics for balance if needed 9

Investigation 0

Kurik goes and checks out the broken ice. He looks down at it. Not big enough for even a kobold to fit through. But, just the right size for a bucket. He figures they probably fetch water from here.

Badger clicks his tongue impatiently. There's nothing here. We could set an ambush, but I hardly think it necessary. They're only kobolds after all.

 Kari looks at Badger with an evaluating eye as she holds the rope for Kurik. A bottleneck wouldn't be a bad idea. There was only once that I thought "they're only kobold," and I quickly learned better. Just make sure you don't get surrounded. She gets ready to lead the way back out and down the tunnel with the rails.

The group, following the sneaky Kari, leaves behind the icy damp air of the river cave and get back to the rails. She continues following them.  A few dozen feet later the passage opens up into a larger room that appears to be a staging area. Benches and tables are set up as workspaces where miners can clean any gemstones they find. Gravel and pebbles are strewn on the ground. Scattered across the floor are a few hammers, picks, and broken lanterns. The place is quiet and empty.  Another cave on the left open up about fifteen feet up one wall. You figure it probably leads back to the entrance, but you can't know unless you head down it. Otherwise the rails go straight through this room to the far side and lead off down yet another cave. 

(On we go?)

The group presses on, the globe of light following behind Kari who creeps just in the darkness.  A mixture of cool moist air, and slightly less frozen and chill air greets Kari as she moves along the tunnel, as does a rushing sound of water once again.  Eventually she emerges from the tunnel into a shaft that cuts down into the pitch black darkness. Wooden planks and struts form a walkway along the wall of a seemingly bottomless vertical shaft. A narrow waterfall cascades down the northeast wall, and the sound of rushing water is loud in the confined space. You'd guess this is the terminus of the flowing river from the other room. The rails move along the planks and struts and enter yet another cave on the far side. The water falls downwards, more of a spray of mist into the black shaft than a real spray of water.  There is still no sign of creatures around here.

Kari checks to see if she lost the tracks, or if they are still going the right way, and tests the bridge to see how icy it might be.

Perception 7

Survival 20

She waits for the others to catch up before going across.

The tracks only have one way to go. The frost on the bridge isn't so bad, and you have the rails to follow.  She walks across the structure and it seems to feel very solid. She peeks down the passage and sees that the rails end a short way down at an elevator shaft. The elevator carriage is missing. The shaft descends 50 feet into a dark quiet room. She can see the top of the elevator from here. Badger, being able to see further looks down the main shaft through the mist of the waterfall and sees more walkways further below, about 100 feet down. 

Badger takes a moment to pause on the walkway and look down, searching for any movement or other signs that might give away the presence of lurking kobolds...

Perception: 14

He glances down, scanning about. He does see that the walkway he is on appears to have been tampered with, underneath the planks. It looks like several beams are partway cut through, though clearly not enough to trigger a collapse. Meanwhile, peering through the falling mist that fills the shaft he looks for any sign of movement, but it's all quiet. Below the shaft has walkways across two sides, neither of which are connected. Four passages lead away from each end of the two walkways.  The sound of the water fall prevents you from hearing much at all. 

Badger points out the weakened planks so they can be avoided, just in case.

It's actually the supporting beams UNDER the planks that affix the whole structure to the wall and hold up the entire platform.  Badger points them out....and the group is extra cautious as you cross the platform.  Looking down the 50 foot shaft down the short passage on the far side and everything appears quiet.

After crossing the bridge and finding the elevator shaft Kari comes back to the others to talk, so she can be heard over the waterfall. I found a way to get down, there's one of those small rooms at the bottom. I think I can figure out how to bring it back up, just give me a minute. She turns and heads back, getting ready to start operating gears, or pulling levers, or whatever seems to work to get it to move.