Paca follows along as Strider, Praxius and Quiggley march off, "I would agree with you there Quiggley" Paca adds as his little legs try to catch up with the others, "I do have a soft spot for Dagoro so if it ends in us splitting, I would prefer to stick with that group, if that is alright with you Quiggley." 

"Sounds good. Besides, I'm just realizing, I have always had an intense desire to face off with a dragon!", Quiggley replies with the sound of surprised excitement.

"Are... are we sure that's a good idea? I'm not sure if half of us could stop a dragon - that may be what we want to prioritize." Kadevii asks. He follows Strider into the cavern.

"These are just some If and then statements. No guarantees that will happen, just want to be ready should it come up!" Paca says "Better to be prepared in case, you know!"

"As much as I like Dagoro, I think I would be best placed hunting the dragon", Praxius says over his shoulder as the group talks of how to divide and conquer should it become necessary.

He follows Strider closely, hoping his magic great sword will warn of any dangers before it is too late.

Strider stops in the middle of the tunnel, having overheard all the chatter about the dragon and possibly facing off with it. being a seasoned veteran of hundreds if not thousands of battles. He Turns on the heel of his left foot and stops you all from moving forward. 

"Comrades, A dragon is nothing to be trifled with. Especially one within its territory. As grand as the idea of slaying a Dragon must seem to you, you have to realize that the task is far more dauting than you could possibly imagine." The brown eyes of the Ranger sets onto each one of you, laced with experience in the subject. "If there truly is a dragon in the mine and if something came down here to free it. Our main priority should be to stop it from being set free....if we cannot accomplish that, we should ensure the safety of Dagoro and the Chieftain." 

Strider, having said his peace turn back and continues down the winding tunnel. Already the heat from the lave strewed within the mine was causing him to visibly sweat, In fact all of you find yourselves feeling some effect of the heat, being forced to take gulps from your water skins whenever you can. 

Praxius and Nyka, Make a Survival or Investigation check. 

"We will do what we can. It sounds as though should Volvagia awake, the Goron settlement will not survive. If we had some idea where to go to stop this from happening, I would surely rush to stop it right now", Praxius says seriously.

"Perhaps there are tracks we can follow that will lead to the dragon", he says idly.

Survival: 14+4=18

Theo stays near the back of the group, making sure nothing sneaks up on them. “I agree, we should worry about the dragon fist. If we can rescue the chief afterwards, then that’s fantastic. But saving the chief wouldn’t be worth it if Goron City gets destroyed.”

Perception: 11+7=18

Paca waits eagerly as he follows the others

Praxius, 

You are a veritable expert when it comes to Survival and tracking, Having honed your keen eyes to spot even the slightest disturbance in the thickest of forest floors. Setting your vision to the smooth rock underfoot, Moving forward a bit more carefully. You start to pick up on a set of prints, not made by a person but by some sort of animal. At first the tracks are either too faded or without much details for you to get a real sense of what it is that moved through this tunnel. Moving forward for a few minutes more, you start to see the VERY clear indentation of a large set of claw marks in the ground. The creature is bipedal and VERY big, it had three clawed toes on each foor and a large gait.

With Strider keeping a steady pace despite a audible warning from Praxius that some large has moved through this tunnel, The ranger seems set and determined to stop whatever is occuring deeper into the mine. The distance between the group and himself growing further with each passing moment. 

Praxius shakes his head as Strider ignores his warning.

"I'll admit I can be reckless, but even I wouldn't charge headlong into the den of a creature as large as this, with claws very reminiscent of some sort of dragon", he says to the others. "I'm just going to say it, I don't like him".

With that said, he grunts in annoyance, and charges off after Strider.

"Can't let him take all the glory though!", he says over his shoulder as he goes. He does at least make sure they are on the right path and following the claw marks though, even if that means stopping when they reach a junction or side cave.

Quiggley follows along worried about what Praxius says about the tracks.

The heavy footfalls of Praxius ring off the cavern walls, echoing down the winding tunnel while the Barbarian catchs up with the ranger. Strider does not acknowledge nor turn to face you Praxius, the man seems set on his path and purpose now. Despite how he had been whisked away from his home, he has chosen to be a part of this. The alone should speak volumes about the character for the man. 

For fifteen long minutes, you follow this winding mineshaft. Passing by piles of rock and wood, used as beams to secure the shaft and prevent it from collapsing. Until you reach an intersection. At this Junction, Strider stops and examines the two visible paths. One of them, Showing clear signs of use as well as a set of rails, This is clearly where the Gorons had continued to dig and mine out whatever resource they had found. 

The path on the left however, Looks almost undisturbed. A thin layed or dust has settled on the barren stone floor. "I think our best bet is to continue right." The Ranger suggests after a moment spent on the left path. 

Praxius ignores the suggestion of the ranger, preferring to search for signs of activity, and see whether the strange claw marks could be seen. He does not limit his search to one tunnel, but checks them both, and does not only search the floor for tracks, but the walls and ceiling of the tunnel as well.

After a moment, he does reply.

"It is our now, hey? I don't remember you waiting for us when you charged off. If you want to be a part of this, give me a moment to check for tracks".

Survival: 17+4=21

Praxius, 

Following your own orders, the Ranger noticably flinches from a hint of aggression in your tone. While he may be a skilled swordsman, In this confined space with a being of your size and stature. He would have no choice but to run if any sort of conflict occured. 

While your companions stand silently behind you, you search each of the tunnels. Noting that the right seems to be far more worn, as if some large had treaded along it often. Whereas the left tunnel almost seems new, with scarcely a track or any sort of signal that something or someone had ventured into it. 

"Very well, right it is. I am not sure we will find a dragon there, but at the least we should come across Dagoro", Praxius says after a short time scanning each tunnel.

He looks back to the others who have now caught up, which was part of the reason he wanted to pause anyway. "We should stick together going forward", he says, possibly surprising the others as it is usually he that ignores that very advice.

"Let's move".

Quiggley follows along.

Paca follows down the right path keeping an eye out for any abnormalities in the floors, walls or ceilings. (Looking for traps)

Investigation: 12

While there is no sign of traps as you delve deeper into the Goron Mines, this winding tunnel stretches on seemingly endlessly. Countless twists and turns snake their way deeper into the earth, At this point you are entirely uncertaain just how deep you have gone, or your precise whereabouts. 

While you continue to move through the tunnel, you are bombarded by small, consistent tremors. While the strength of these tremors would likely not even register within Goron city, you feel the effects because of just how far below the surface you are. With every small quake, there is a scattering of dust and the sound of stone clattering against stone as the ceiling of the tunnel develops a number of hairline fractures. Strider keeps a wary eye on the snaking cracks, wary of just how close they are to one another. "We should pick up the pace." He speaks aloud, to no one in particular. 

Nyka,Kadevii, Paca and Theo

While the frequent tremors do mask any other noises that may echo through the tunnel, the deeper you get. The four of you begin to hear what sound's like the clash of metal or perhaps the ring of a hammer. Something metallic is striking against something hard. However the noise is very faint.

“Agreed, we need to move fast or this place will be our tomb”, Praxius replies to Strider, picking up the pace and throwing caution to the wind.

He runs down the tunnel as fast as he can, hoping that he can reach safety before it is too late.