Krumar writes down in his journal the bravery of Syl wandering into the mine "I will wait here and rest. I am eager to hear all about your adventure Syl!"

(Jaylan's wis ST: a solid... 6!!)

Jaylan follows Syl, a torch in his hand and feels a shiver down his spine when the current goes througth them. He cannot even reply to his friend.

As Raevyn finishes her work and has a seat, Dab rises, now a bit better than he had been before, and walks to the mine opening, looking back out over the snow where the battle had taken place and watching, making sure there weren't more wolves coming, or worse.  He walks back and forth from the door to the throat of the artificial cavern, looking down into the darkness behind Syl and Jaylan, but keeps himself quiet and reserved for the time being.  His goal now is to walk his post and look for trouble.  They'll follow the others shortly.  

     Syl and Jaylan decide to explore ahead a bit.  Cautiously, surely, and with no intention of getting beyond screaming distance...  As they cross from out of the wooden structure and into the manmade mine entrance they get just a few steps before spectral remnants of whispered conversations seep from the cold stone walls, their fragmented narratives a testament to the miners' fear and confusion.  The voice echo in their mind, filling the silence with snippets or long ago conversations...

"The walls...they're alive...shiting...closing in on us..."

"The walls...they're alive...shiting...closing in on us..."

"The cold...it's not just the weather...it's something more...it's inside us..."

"I can't remember...can't remember the way out...every tunnel...it's just another dead end..."

"Hrolf...please help us... Hrolf...Noooo"

     Syl, leading the way, gets a dozen or so steps into the mine before noticing Jaylan was not with him.  Syl is used to voices in his head so even if these aren't the usual ones it didn't freak him out too much.

     Jaylan, on the other hand, got about three steps into the mine before he stops moving forward and finds himself trying to listen to the voices instead of doing anything else.  ((DC 12 Wisdom save at the END of each turn to break free of the voices or continue being too distracted to do anything.))

     Both Syl and Jaylan have a scene play out in the back of their mind.  Memory?  Vision?  Spectral warning or enticement?  It's unclear but your head throbs as a vision emerges of an ancient, grand underground chamber adorned with glowing runes. A robed figure stands amidst a complex ritual, a glowing Greenstone at its heart.

---

     Dab, roll a die.  Evens and you are looking into the mine entrance after the duo and see Syl freeze up...  Odds you're more towards the structure's entrance looking out the doors noticing that seemingly once Raevyn completed her bonding ritual with the wolf the others shuffled around a little but then reluctantly padded off into the winter...

Dabbert watches the wolves as they stalk off into the snow, hoping beyond hope that when they exit the mine the wolves aren't lying in wait for them again.  If not for their sake, then for Raevyn.  

"I uh...hope they remember this."  He says gently. 

Nefire watches the ritual with rapt attention.  There were many women in her tribe that had magic and they always fascinated her as well, but this was something different.  Something that she had never seen happen before, and with the beasts Nefire was sure they killed.  It was hard for the halfling to comprehend.

She does worry about her friend, when Raevyn is finished, she asks, "What kind of rest do you need?  We can wait." it is then that she looks around and sees Dabbert and Krumar but no sign of Jaylan or Syl, "Hey, where'd Jay and Syl run off to?"

Syl holds a hand to his forehead as the vision passes.  He is deeply uneasy about the entirety of this place, not least of all by the oppressive closeness of the unfathomable tons of stone all around him.

"Woof.  Are all mines like this?  So cramped?  And are you receiving these images in your noggin, Jaylan?"  He rubs his temple.  "Maybe we should ask this robed figure with the bright green stone about all this if we find him.  Maybe he knows where to find this Grundle Stein thing.  What do you think, Jaylan?  Jaylan?"

Assuming he can still see Jaylan, he will walk back to him and stand by quietly, with the wistful admiration of one looking back in time at one of his own early psychiatric episodes..

Jaylan stands there, his gaze lost in the dark depths of the mine without really seeing it. His breath is fast and he is sweating but Syl's voice is like an anchor for his mind and he is able to come back and stop listening to those voices. 

He swallows and says 

"Did... did you heard that? and saw that? what.. what was that?" he asked Syl really confused. "I.. think you are right and we should ask someone about all of this... I do not think all the mines are like this one..." 

Krumar tunes his lute, rests and waits

Seeing Jaylan coming back to reality, he nods, looking around inside the cavern.  "Yeah.  Yup.  This place is all froggy.  Best head back before we're climbing up the walls and chewin' on our own fingers."

Syl lets Jaylan lead the way back out, occasionally glancing back behind him to make sure the walls aren't closing in on them.

Once back at the entrance he delivers the news.

"Good news, everyone.  The mine beams disturbing images right into the back of your eyes.  Can't speak for the Jay-man, but I saw a crusty old shade in robes, with runes and ritual what not happening and some kind of glowing green stone."  He pauses.  "Didn't see it, you understand.  Saw it with my mind."

"We amscrayed the bilgewater rat right the hell out of there, you see."

Krumar listens and blinks blankly deep into the mine "A crusty old shade? Shade as in the creepy ghost like spirit that haunts places they're tied to? Well this could be an epic told for generations about us or you could all end up dead.....What fun....."

A hint of a smile tugs at the corner of the Doctor’s lips from Nefire’s gentle concern and the timely ‘disappearance’ of the boys. The weight of her exhaustion appeared to lift slightly with her spirit, as it didn’t appear to be as bad as originally expected (DM’s ‘change’ in/implementation of exhaustion rules). “I believe I should be alright until the rest of the group is ready for their next long rest.” She drops her head to Nefire in response to her question. 

Raevyn had considered building on her rituals with others, however with losing as much track of time as she already has, she deemed it excessive and chooses not to have any one wait on her longer than already necessary. Instead, as Syl makes his return and recounts his experience, the Doctor makes notes. She had questions, however those that crossed her mind may not be details the old sailor may be able to answer. What were the runes? What was the ritual? Was the stone Grunstein? Is it always the same vision? Is there a magic source? Etc.

Raevyn looks up from her notes, “I’d like to experience it for myself.” She was no wizard, and did not possess the mastery of encoding thoughts in order to siphon Syl’s into a thought strand for her to consume. Therefore, she’d just have to try to recreate the experience for herself. No better way than to jump right in, right? “Shall we?” 

"With your mind..."Nefire repeats as she listens to the stories of those that investigated the mine.  

As Raevyn starts to stir and get up, Nefire is glad to see she doesn't seem as bad off as she originally had thought.  "Good." the halfling replies to Rae's response, nodding her head definitively.  

As the doc is ready to head down, Nefire looks to the rest and smiles at Syl figuring he definitely is.  "Oh yes, thought you'd never ask.  Come on Dab, Krumar, let's do this."

Krumar looks at Nefire "Now? Oh, you mean now, like right this instance.....Right then I will bring up the rear like that one time....nevermind"

     As each of you step into the mines you first hear in the back of your mind the soft gossamer voices echoing into your head from the past that Syl and Jaylan have already experienced:

"The walls...they're alive...shiting...closing in on us..."

"Eirik...don't touch the greenstone...it's not right...it's..."

"The cold...it's not just the weather...it's something more...it's inside us..."

"I can't remember...can't remember the way out...every tunnel...it's just another dead end..."

"Hrolf...please help us... Hrolf...Noooo"

     And then the visions come.  Visions seen by people not yourselves in a time before this.  Days?  Years?  More?  There is no knowing from them, they are too vague, too hazy. The first vision is just as before for Jaylan & Syl, just as they described for the rest... an ancient, grand underground chamber adorned with glowing runes and a robed figure standing amidst a complex ritual, a glowing Greenstone at its heart.  The details are hazy and unclear, almost like a memory of a dream described by another.  You think the stone is grunstein, at least it seems to fit the description... But again, details are tough to wrap your mind around.

     But you press on... All but the newest member of your club.  The wolf, head cocked to one side as if trying to catch a sound, is frozen in place much as Jaylan had momentarily been.  Raevyn pauses, kneels down to the animal and talks to them... Reassures them... coaxes them.  And after but a moment or two, you are all moving once more.  ((Wolf failed save but would have made it eventually... So, moving on!))

     A bit further into the cave you all have another vision.  Or perhaps a continuation of the vision is a better descriptor.  The scene is the same as before, robed figure amidst a complex ritual...But now the figure chants soundlessly, their eyes burn with a hungry arcane light.  The stone... The greenstone... the grunstein... pulses with energy and starts to levitate from it's place at the center of the ritual, an eerie and sickly light casting a pall upon all it touches.

     It is a ritual circle similar to that so recently used by Raevyn yet entirely different.  There seems to be a deliberate disharmony to the symbols and runes used here, an inbalance to the placement of the ritual components and symbology.  

     The tunnel starts a quicker descent and takes a turn to the east and around that turn are more visions... A hand reaches out... Into the pale green light...  It pauses.  You pause?  Is it your own hand you see?  It is so close yet so far from the stone... Until it reaches out and touches it.  The robed figure screams, the sound swallowed or nonexistant in the vision but their agony is clear...  You consider pulling your hand away from the stone just as a green shockwave of light erupts from the stone!

     Do your footsteps falter?  Do you stumble at a misstep?  As a whole the group seems to pause for a moment and look to one another.  What else to do than press on though?

     Around the next turn the sorcerer lies lifeless, his twisted staff shattered and broken beside him. Silence still reigns...  But does it?  Is there not a soft, subtle him pulsing out front the green stone just a foot beyond the figure?

     Someone moves forward, in a rush to check the body or cautiously in fear of what the may find.  Either way the result is the same... Another step, three at most, and the image dissolves into less than smoke but perhaps a bit more than memory.  There is no figure.  No broken staff.  No green stone...  

Perception check!  

(Up to two of you can make the perception check...  I think generally that is going to be my general rules on general kind of checks.  I'm against everyone taking a turn making every check until someone finally passes.  Feel free to let the two most perceptive or insightful or whatever make the checks but other than that we're limiting.  Make sense?  Seem fair enough?)

---

There is room here for you all to RP and/or discuss what you saw, what it means, etc.  Maybe more depending how the Perception check pans out...  But I will also press on a little bit and let you know...

---

     After a few minutes more of following the tunnel a vast cavern sprawls before you just as you turn a corner.  It is frost covered and the floor is littered with the relics of a once thriving mining operation.  Skeletons of broken mine carts, rusted tools, unsorted heaps of ore lying discarded... All testimonies of an era of deep excavation that has long since passed.

 ((The map isn't much helpful at this point...  You entered from the south and the only exit is to the north.  All in all I envision this mines more extensive and labyrinthine than the maps provided show but we'll just chop it up and just focus on the parts we need.  Any wrong paths or dead ends encountered will likely be skimmed over or not mentioned altogether, we'll just know amongst ourselves that it's a twisty mess and that it is mainly through the unnervingly accurate memory of the twists and turns you have taken by Nefire that allow you to time and again find the path again...))

Dab walks softly, cautiously, his halberd out in front of him as they descend into the mine.  It doesn't take long for the visions to begin. At first, he tries to blink them away, confused by what's happening, before he begins to realize he is seeing something that is someone else's past.  Not before, however, he reaches out, one hand off his weapon, tries to feel...tries to feel...

He shakes his hand and quickly withdraws his hand as if burnt, realizing the ridiculousness of his attempt.  His steps are short.  Metered.  It's a lot to take in the surroundings as well as the invasive...thoughts?  Memories?  Whatever it is. 

"Anyone else uh...seeing that?"  He asks as they take a security pause in an open chamber.  "Or are all those hits in the head finally catching up with me?"    

Raevyn was gentle and understanding with the young wolf at her side. She knows that at their heart they are a energetic and curious soul, but even the bravest of souls weren’t immune to the effects of a haunting vision. The Doctor was patient, working gently and compassionately as she continued to coax the wolf along through the visions. She’d do her best to take the opportunity teach/train the wolf to try to identify the difference of an ‘illusion’ vs reality, encouraging the wolf to focus on trusting their heightened sense of smell to debunk what vision is false. Of course she wouldn’t expect immediate results or a future of 100% success rate. That would be unrealistic. However, it takes time, dedication and consistency to achieve results and so that’s what she set herself up to do. 

“Yes, Dabbert.” The doctor replies simply to his first question, while also not denying the possibility that any historical hits to his head could make him more susceptible. “My initial suspicions are that it’s an environmental area effect as it appears to affect all individuals almost equally.” She speculates out loud. 

(My friend’s finally awake and mobile so I have to cut myself short and get ready for the day… but essentially I imagine Raevyn is busy caring for/watching over/working with her wolf while Dabbert takes the lead on threats. I’m opting out of her rolling perception for another to do so. She/the wolf could perhaps help another with perception. Otherwise I’m thinking the doctor would be more passively/actively investigating the anomalies and seeking its sources than keeping an eye out for threats or traps.)

Krumar tiptoes behind Dabbert “Although the hits on your head have made you a bit of a dimwitted boob you aren’t seeing things”

Nefire takes up the rear of the group, with the sounds in her head and the edge her group was apparently on, she sure as hell wasn't going to let anyone sneak up on them.  When the voices start, she closes her eyes for a moment and thinks of home.  The image she brings up helps to calm her, focus her to what they were doing and to set what's real and unreal.  

"Yep, we see it too.  Though you know it's not real.  None of this is."  She answers a bit gruffly.  But when she overhears Krumar, she let's out a loud guffaw at dimwitted boob.

Jaylan Perception Roll: 19+4 for 23...

     Moments after the mental images and voice fade, while you are all still taking tentative steps onward waiting to see if you will have more of a mental onslaught attack you, Jaylan pauses and steps out of formation, so to speak.  He moves over to some dirt and debris piled against one wall and pulls out a book just a moment before Dabbert sees what he is after. (Sorry Dab, I rolled real well for Jaylan.)

     "It looks like a journal of some kind," Jaylan says while brushing some dirt off of it.  Jaylan starts flipping through the thing as you all continue onward, not having to pay much attention to flip past much of the journal which deals with day to day life of an Orc.  Jaylan does eventually find some interesting passages and reads them aloud...

     It is at Jaylan's reading of the final entry that you all step into the cavern included in the last post... It is frost covered and the floor is littered with the relics of a once thriving mining operation.  Skeletons of broken mine carts, rusted tools, unsorted heaps of ore lying discarded... All testimonies of an era of deep excavation that has long since passed.