Oarus shakes all your hands, happy to see that you’re willing to do the work.
“Of course. Walk with me a moment. There was a sorceress who just left here, went by the name Harpell. Older woman with an eyepatch. She was quite interested in our mines and I tried talking her into accompanying some of our militia down; having a mage on hand always makes them feel safer. Unfortunately she was only interested if she could have access to the mines unimpeded and said she’d just come back and pay for access after somebody else had done the job. Insisted there was no reason for her to do it if we had soldiers. That’s those uppity wizarding types for ya’… no offense if any of you practice.”
”She wasn’t the first recently either. A tiefling witch dropped by a few days before the kobolds showed up asking similar questions. Charming woman,” he says with a goofy smile, “Asked to visit one of the mines and examine some of the gems. Didn’t try to take anything, just said she couldn’t find what she was looking for. If you ask me, they were after rare ingredients or magic gems or some such. We find those once in a while sure, but people seem to think we just have veins of them lying about. They weren’t like you four, knowing the value of some honestly won gold.”
He claps you all on the shoulders with that last line and continues leading the way to the mines. On the way there, you can tell the problem is truly limited to the mines; everyone is going about their day unperturbed when compared to the quiet fear in Lonelywood. You have a long walk (30 minutes) on a forest trail before reaching the mines. The entrance is an open tunnel in a hillside. Empty carts are parked near the entrance, next to which a crude wooden sign has been propped up. Written on the sign in charcoal are the words “Kobolds Only!” It is written in far more elaborate calligraphy than would be expected from a kobold.
“Well that’s new,” Oarus says while examining the sign. “Simple job. Get in, deal with them, get out without falling into a mine shaft. Anything else you need to know?”
"No? Well I look forward to the results. Good luck down there men. Come find me when you're done." Oarus says before heading back to town.
As you all gaze into the entrance, you can make out a few basic details. The tunnels are about 7 feet high, with maybe a few of the larger areas having ceilings as high as 12 feet. There don't seem to be any light sources in the mine, so you'll either need to light torches or rely on darkvision. Rough steps descend 60 feet before you make it into the mine proper. The first room you enter is a storage space, filled with racks holding picks and hammers. The floor is covered with rock dust and tracks that lead down all three passages. You can hear the faint sound of rushing water as you enter the mine.
Barnabus takes the lead. His darkvision providing him a clear view ahead. Placing his right hand on the wall he gently touches the stone. His fingers gently brush the wall as he leads the way to the right down the southern passage. He studies the craftsmanship of the supports and the texture of the stone. His stone cunning revealing details about the origin of the tunnels. (History: 15
To clarify the tunnel on the far west side of the map.)
Morkeleb will cast light on his shield to aid his own vision. He’ll also snag a pick and stow it in his bag. “Just borrowing,” he says to any who might observe him doing so. “Might come in handy.”
(The Plesiosaur gave you a week. it's already too late for today due to travel time between towns, so you have today, then 3 more days to get back to the lake with the heads.)
Barnabus: This is a well-constructed mineshaft, and you can tell they would be mining for gemstones, rather than gold or silver, just by the type of stone and the conditions of the wall. (I'm no geologist, so forgive my lack of understanding of exactly what type of stone this should be). You occasionally feel points where small bits of the gems stick out, and believe the Termalaine residents primarily mine tourmaline. It's not as profitable as something like a diamond or emerald, but has modest value and is often found in large quantities. It comes in many colors: blue, red, brown, pale green, and black.
The first chamber struck you as dwarven work, but you get the sense that some of these tunnels were dug out by competent, but less-experienced individuals later on.
Morkeleb: The tools still seem to be in decent condition. The pick is perfectly functional.
The path leads to the top of a ledge. It's a seven foot drop into the next chamber, easy enough to climb from either side. As you turn the corner with your lights, you hear a scampering noise coming from the lower chamber, though no obvious source presents itself. In this chamber, benches and tables are strewn about, suggesting there was a fight here at some point. Gravel, pebbles, and broken lanterns cover the ground. You would guess this room was used as a workspace to clean mined gemstones before it was thrown into this disarray. A path loops back in the northeast, and another, the source of the scampering noise, reaches south. Running water can still be heard from both directions.
Barnabus warns, "Aye, watch out for the edge here and watch our backside. Somethings scurrying about and we're definitely not surprising anyone while these torches are lit." He swings a leg over he edge and climbs down.
Morkeleb will stick close to Barnabus, also climbing down the ledge and advancing into the room, shield held out to try to shed light onto the source of the scurrying, sword held at the ready in his other claw.
The scurrying stops, having apparently come from the southern pathway.
As the two of you step down, you feel a slight wetness in your boots. Not water, but oil that spilled out of the broken lanterns scattered about.
For anybody that wants to try, DC 14 Perception Check:
Along the northeastern path is a thin tripwire it is connected to a precariously placed bottle on an uneven piece of the rock wall near that path. The bottle gives off a faint glow that would only be visible from within this chamber.
Jar, that’s obviously good enough to read the previous spoiler, but with a roll like that, you also catch a glimpse of a scaly tail slipping into the darkness pf the southern path.
Said path, for everyone’s reference, ceases to be a stone tunnel and becomes a wooden, obviously manmade path. It only seems to have a wall on one side, with nothing by darkness across.
Barnabus wastes no time and follows Jars direcrion by heading down the southern path.
(Rolled an Arcana check (5) to see if Barnabus knows that kolbold are extremely more dangerous the more there are and we can't let them surround us. But with that roll I doubt it.)
The two of you step out onto a narrow wooden walkway, about 8 feet across. It follows the western wall a short distance to a sturdier looking platform with a bucket lift, designed to carry one miner at a time deeper. Despite what you just saw, you seem to be the only ones on this bridge, and the bucket lift is on this level, so nothing took it down.
The rest of the cavern is devoted to a deep pit that a rushing waterfall drops into.You recall the speaker’s words, that the miners claimed something crawled up from the Underdark. Looking at this pit, you believe, and have a distinct sense that anyone unfortunate enough to fall would never climb back out.
DC 16 Perception:
Listening carefully, you notice another sound besides the rushing water, muffled by it. It sounds like somebody is sawing through something. You look down and between the floorboards of the bridge to see a trio of kobolds with once white scales, now filthy from living down here. They cling to the bottom of the bridge, have small saws in hand, and are merrily sawing away at the beams supporting the bridge.
"Aye! We've heard about them kolbolds. Just point us in the right direction." Says Barnabus as he shakes any hands offered vigorously.
I too would like to hear more of this sorceress. Could be you don't have to worry bout that anymor." He says with a sly wink.
**This Space for Rent**
Oarus shakes all your hands, happy to see that you’re willing to do the work.
“Of course. Walk with me a moment. There was a sorceress who just left here, went by the name Harpell. Older woman with an eyepatch. She was quite interested in our mines and I tried talking her into accompanying some of our militia down; having a mage on hand always makes them feel safer. Unfortunately she was only interested if she could have access to the mines unimpeded and said she’d just come back and pay for access after somebody else had done the job. Insisted there was no reason for her to do it if we had soldiers. That’s those uppity wizarding types for ya’… no offense if any of you practice.”
”She wasn’t the first recently either. A tiefling witch dropped by a few days before the kobolds showed up asking similar questions. Charming woman,” he says with a goofy smile, “Asked to visit one of the mines and examine some of the gems. Didn’t try to take anything, just said she couldn’t find what she was looking for. If you ask me, they were after rare ingredients or magic gems or some such. We find those once in a while sure, but people seem to think we just have veins of them lying about. They weren’t like you four, knowing the value of some honestly won gold.”
He claps you all on the shoulders with that last line and continues leading the way to the mines. On the way there, you can tell the problem is truly limited to the mines; everyone is going about their day unperturbed when compared to the quiet fear in Lonelywood. You have a long walk (30 minutes) on a forest trail before reaching the mines. The entrance is an open tunnel in a hillside. Empty carts are parked near the entrance, next to which a crude wooden sign has been propped up. Written on the sign in charcoal are the words “Kobolds Only!” It is written in far more elaborate calligraphy than would be expected from a kobold.
“Well that’s new,” Oarus says while examining the sign. “Simple job. Get in, deal with them, get out without falling into a mine shaft. Anything else you need to know?”
"No? Well I look forward to the results. Good luck down there men. Come find me when you're done." Oarus says before heading back to town.
As you all gaze into the entrance, you can make out a few basic details. The tunnels are about 7 feet high, with maybe a few of the larger areas having ceilings as high as 12 feet. There don't seem to be any light sources in the mine, so you'll either need to light torches or rely on darkvision. Rough steps descend 60 feet before you make it into the mine proper. The first room you enter is a storage space, filled with racks holding picks and hammers. The floor is covered with rock dust and tracks that lead down all three passages. You can hear the faint sound of rushing water as you enter the mine.
Jar, lighting a torch so he and others can see, moves towards the front. "Which way?"
D&D since 1984
(How long do we have left on our deadline?)
Barnabus takes the lead. His darkvision providing him a clear view ahead. Placing his right hand on the wall he gently touches the stone. His fingers gently brush the wall as he leads the way to the right down the southern passage. He studies the craftsmanship of the supports and the texture of the stone. His stone cunning revealing details about the origin of the tunnels. (History: 15
To clarify the tunnel on the far west side of the map.)
**This Space for Rent**
Morkeleb will cast light on his shield to aid his own vision. He’ll also snag a pick and stow it in his bag. “Just borrowing,” he says to any who might observe him doing so. “Might come in handy.”
(The Plesiosaur gave you a week. it's already too late for today due to travel time between towns, so you have today, then 3 more days to get back to the lake with the heads.)
Barnabus: This is a well-constructed mineshaft, and you can tell they would be mining for gemstones, rather than gold or silver, just by the type of stone and the conditions of the wall. (I'm no geologist, so forgive my lack of understanding of exactly what type of stone this should be). You occasionally feel points where small bits of the gems stick out, and believe the Termalaine residents primarily mine tourmaline. It's not as profitable as something like a diamond or emerald, but has modest value and is often found in large quantities. It comes in many colors: blue, red, brown, pale green, and black.
The first chamber struck you as dwarven work, but you get the sense that some of these tunnels were dug out by competent, but less-experienced individuals later on.
Morkeleb: The tools still seem to be in decent condition. The pick is perfectly functional.
The path leads to the top of a ledge. It's a seven foot drop into the next chamber, easy enough to climb from either side. As you turn the corner with your lights, you hear a scampering noise coming from the lower chamber, though no obvious source presents itself. In this chamber, benches and tables are strewn about, suggesting there was a fight here at some point. Gravel, pebbles, and broken lanterns cover the ground. You would guess this room was used as a workspace to clean mined gemstones before it was thrown into this disarray. A path loops back in the northeast, and another, the source of the scampering noise, reaches south. Running water can still be heard from both directions.
Barnabus warns, "Aye, watch out for the edge here and watch our backside. Somethings scurrying about and we're definitely not surprising anyone while these torches are lit." He swings a leg over he edge and climbs down.
(Athletics:22)
**This Space for Rent**
Morkeleb will stick close to Barnabus, also climbing down the ledge and advancing into the room, shield held out to try to shed light onto the source of the scurrying, sword held at the ready in his other claw.
The scurrying stops, having apparently come from the southern pathway.
As the two of you step down, you feel a slight wetness in your boots. Not water, but oil that spilled out of the broken lanterns scattered about.
For anybody that wants to try, DC 14 Perception Check:
Along the northeastern path is a thin tripwire it is connected to a precariously placed bottle on an uneven piece of the rock wall near that path. The bottle gives off a faint glow that would only be visible from within this chamber.
Jar Perception (NAT 20)
D&D since 1984
Jar, that’s obviously good enough to read the previous spoiler, but with a roll like that, you also catch a glimpse of a scaly tail slipping into the darkness pf the southern path.
Said path, for everyone’s reference, ceases to be a stone tunnel and becomes a wooden, obviously manmade path. It only seems to have a wall on one side, with nothing by darkness across.
Jar points to the tail.
D&D since 1984
Barnabus wastes no time and follows Jars direcrion by heading down the southern path.
(Rolled an Arcana check (5) to see if Barnabus knows that kolbold are extremely more dangerous the more there are and we can't let them surround us. But with that roll I doubt it.)
**This Space for Rent**
Jar follows
D&D since 1984
The two of you step out onto a narrow wooden walkway, about 8 feet across. It follows the western wall a short distance to a sturdier looking platform with a bucket lift, designed to carry one miner at a time deeper. Despite what you just saw, you seem to be the only ones on this bridge, and the bucket lift is on this level, so nothing took it down.
The rest of the cavern is devoted to a deep pit that a rushing waterfall drops into.You recall the speaker’s words, that the miners claimed something crawled up from the Underdark. Looking at this pit, you believe, and have a distinct sense that anyone unfortunate enough to fall would never climb back out.
DC 16 Perception:
Listening carefully, you notice another sound besides the rushing water, muffled by it. It sounds like somebody is sawing through something. You look down and between the floorboards of the bridge to see a trio of kobolds with once white scales, now filthy from living down here. They cling to the bottom of the bridge, have small saws in hand, and are merrily sawing away at the beams supporting the bridge.
Morkeleb keeps pace with the others
Perception in the first room was 21, he will alert the others to the possibility of a trap
Perception in the new room only 11, won't read the spoiler
As the group advances, Morkeleb will muse aloud,
"Not one wizard-type interested in the mines, but two! I wonder if we can figure out what it was they wanted down here..."
Jar walks along with Morkeleb.
D&D since 1984
(Perceprion: 10)
"Aye, seems like a dead end unless we go down. Not sure where that little bugger went."
Barnabus crosses the bridge readying a dodge action if something tries to grab him)
**This Space for Rent**