"Good plan, Let's continue to let Ruby-spider head way in the lead though, to scout safely."

With Ruby in the lead the party all enter the tunnel which descends gradually as it moves away from the library. Mikram's gaze wanders over the surfaces of the walls as does Joe's. The tunnel has been cleared of most debris and looks to be well traveled, a clear path in the middle of the tunnel marked out of the dust and small stones nearer the walls. The tunnel begins to meander, not holding straight, to which Mikram explains,

"Avoiding the harder stone."

And smaller tunnels extend to sides. Most of these end quite quickly and are not nearly so well hewed and several are half filled with stones and rocks of different sizes. Mikram notes,

"They were looking for copper and silver, maybe hoping for a vein of true silver when they were first digging. Found books instead. Aye can't even imagine how disappointed they must have been, whole operation was a bust."

After a few hundred curving feet the party reach a point where the tunnel opens into a wider intersecting and natural looking cave running not quite perpendicular to the tunnel. Mikram stops the party and points out a few other tunnels, most which the party can't see in the dark where there are other mining tunnels he is quiet for a long time, looking up at the ceiling then to the left and right.

"This cave is yer best bet. Over there," he points to the left in the darkness, "and over there," he points to the right, "They cut the tunnels too close to each other and there isn't much holding up the ceilings. Bringing down a ceiling is an art, one aye don't have much experience with. Any fool can drop a ceiling, but a it takes a skilled hand not to drop all down on your own head in turn."

Joe conjures a torch to see the areas where Mikram has pointed at.  She gulps and closes her eyes as she mentally commands Ruby Go ta Lurn.   Joe flinches when she hears the spider gallop towards her and she avoids looking back to see where the spider is.  She opens her eyes again after Ruby stops moving.  "So tha bad news is tha none o us has tha skill.  Tha good news is tha Ah can cast shatter a bit away from me.  Ah suggest everybody ta back up quite a ways befer Ah do anythin'.  Lurn, ye take care o Ruby if Ah donna make it, aye?"

"If it's hard to do it without dropping it on your head, you want me to soften it up for you, then you finish it from a distance? Sounds maybe better than you softening it up for me to finish..."

As the group debated the course of action Cladmir did his best to stay out of the way since he had no meaningful way to contribute to the task at hand, so instead he stood sentry and did his best to peer into the surrounding dark for any suspicious sound and movements -- all while attempting to keep one eye on the spot on the ceiling people kept pointing at.

“Aye that can work.”

Also, not being any help with the demolition job, Jaq will be at the back of the group, nearest to the library, and will not really watch the others, but instead watch their area of retreat and watch for any drow they missed that might attack from the rear.

"Just be sure you don't drop it all on yourself, Kroshav.  Alright, let's back up, come along Ruby."  Lurn joins Jaq in watching the path of retreat.

Mikram grunts when he sees Kroshav heading off with a hammer to do the job and says, in Dwarven

"Hold up the big lizard up. Right tool for the job."

He'll proffer his warpick to Kroshav.

((Can I get three attack and damage rolls and three d100s please Spider.))

Attack: 17 Damage: 8

Attack: 27 Damage: 14

Attack: 9 Damage: 10

40 81 29

Kroshav moves over to the indicated spot and can see where a few faint cracks have formed between two tunnels.

Hauling back and slamming the warpick into one of those cracks he sees, surprisingly quick results as the crack spreads up the wall of the cave. More disturbingly the crack spreads down to the floor as well.

The second expands the cracks in all directions and he hears and feels snapping noise in the stone. To his untrained eye he thinks a third swing might not be a great idea.

Kroshav backs away.

"Cap'n, I think you're up!"

After Ruvy is safe in Lurn’s hands, Joe will use shatter on the third spot. 10

There is an earsplitting blast centered on the space between the two tunnel entrances that echoes back to where the rest of the part are standing and waiting. For a few breaths nothing happens and then the ringing in everyone's ears is made worse by a crash as the cave wall appears to buckle and the cave is filled by a wave of dust obscuring everything around the party.

((Jaq was back at/in the tunnel to the library and Joe was 60' from the point of the collapse, about 40' from the tunnel back to the library. Where is everyone at?))

((Kroshav would have been by Joe, to be able to grab her and run if needed.))

Jaq stays back and keeps watch.  (And I'm out of town until Late Thursday, unknown if I'll be able to post)

((Okay, @Lurn and @Cladmir?))

(( Cladmir would also be near Jaq also keeping watch.  Normally if the party was to secure an area of interest he would be on the opposite side of Jaq to secure the other end of the tunnel, but seeing that this is a tunnel collapsing operation that seemed like a rather terrible idea.  ))

((Lurn would be back with Jaq too.  No point in him staying close and making more danger.))

((Poor Clad hasn't realized he's been lumped in with a bunch of people who are either not smart, make bad decisions, or both. He and Joe are both smarter separately than Lurn and Kroshav combined.))