Arren finds little satisfaction in Nohem's answers but Predak’s practicality at least offers something solid to work with.

"Understood, Ma'am", he replies, watching the Commandant and the Lieutenant depart. Then he lets out a slow breath before turning his eyes back to the excavation. This journey has taken stranger turns than he ever expected when they left Tus. Who would have thought they'd end up working in a newly uncovered ruin. Two days, he reminds himself. Hopefully something happens by then—either the excavation ends with nothing more than murals, or something else is uncovered and the situation shifts. Arren isn't entirely sure which outcome he prefers.

He follows Tace to the dead end, and when the Corporal suggests leaving their gear where they can keep an eye on it, he nods.
"Maybe tomorrow we can leave them in the carriage. It doesn't look like we're going to need them." He pauses, glancing around the excavation and the workers as he removes his weapons and chainmail, keeping only the dagger with him. "I thought we'd find more people upset with the situation," he murmurs. "But everyone seems… cooperative. Isn't that strange? They were dragged away from their everyday lives, after all."

Arren chooses to replace one of the diggers rather than help with rubble. He scans the group for someone who looks worn out, someone who's clearly earned a rest, and approaches that person with a brief, polite smile. "You look like you could use a break. I can take over for a while. Been here long? Since the first day after the quake?"

Even as he works, he watches the flow of the workers and tries to catch what they talk about among themselves. But it doesn't take long for reality to hit him: the digging is grueling. Even with his strength, the night’s exhaustion weighs more heavily than he expected, and he isn’t used to this kind of labor. Progress comes slower than he'd like.

Constitution: 14+3 = 17
Strength: (3+4; 4+4) = 8
Perception: (9+3; 4+3) = 7

(@volcano stole the good rolls! :D) 

Bryn passes through three other rooms before reaching the end, and can look through two more which branch off halfway through. Except for dirt, bricks and rocks - which do not prevent passage - and more murals, the only possibly significant find Bryn makes is that some roots pierce through the rock in one of the rooms. Thick roots, ones that most likely belong to some tree or other large plant. Beyond that, the rooms look like they've been cleaned of anything that once might have occupied them. Either by the original inhabitants or by someone who came after. The murals, meanwhile, while some exist in every room, appear far less in the last rooms, and also appear to be less detailed. The themes, however, remain similar, and nothing strikes Bryn as script.

((Just in case I'm not conveying my intentions correctly, imagine something closer to advanced cave paintings, made by less 'prehistoric' tools, or Egyptian-like frescoes. NOT astounding works of art like those made by the likes of Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci and other such names that come to mind (mine, at least) when the words murals/frescoes are mentioned. Not that they're not impressive, but far simpler.))

The person Arren chooses to swap with is a man, Human, in his mid-forties, probably. He doesn't look accustomed to this kind of work. Rather, he's somewhat plump and sweats a lot. While his clothes are simple, they're still clearly of a greater quality than most. Most likely, the travel clothes of an average merchant. "Ah, thank you, but I'm fine, really. Well, maybe a little break, and then I'll carry out what you excavated." He seems relieved, but not in any way different from anyone when they're normally told to take a break. "It's my... my third day here, more or less. They were working on the last rooms in the back, over there, when I arrived. Hugo," He extends his hand for a handshake. He then looks at Arren for a moment. "So, they got the military, too? And here I thought my security personnel were incompetent for surrendering."

"See that? We were just aware of our abilities. Had we fought, we'd lose and end up the same, or worse." One of the other diggers joins in. He is an Elf, and he looks like he regularly trains his muscles to keep himself strong. "And dying on the job was not part of our contract. By the way," he lowers his voice slightly, "I couldn't help but hear you and the other one earlier. Predak over there won't say anything if you laze around a little, but he also doesn't start arguing if you start causing trouble. Those who remain defiant aren't worth their trouble. They don't stay here for long."

Arren finds work to be harder than expected. The pickaxe he was given, he finds, is not at all like the weapons he is used to. And while he doesn't tire fast, he doesn't manage to get work done fast either. Meanwhile, Bryn finds he has no trouble working. It's not easy work, but his body endures, and he manages to get a good amount of work done, significantly helping those around and accelerating the process of excavating. In fact, perhaps due to Arren's slow progress, Bryn eventually starts gathering directly from the uncleared rubble, where the rocks, bricks and dirt are loose enough to pry by hand. This leaves the diggers to deal only with the places where the dirt has hardened and needs to be broken down to loosen everything else.

At some point, about two hours after Bryn and Arren started working, Predak calls all workers to eat. Everyone lays down their tools and files into a single column that walks into the crack again, back towards camp. Bryn and Arren can stay or go back to camp with the others if they choose. If they go back to camp, they aren't given the food that's given to everyone else, but can eat the crew's own provisions. Water is readily available in both the camp and the excavation site.

'Tace' nods to the Sergeant when he suggests leaving their heavier equipment behind next time.

"Yes, people do seem to be more or less ok. I suppose if this is badged as a holy task, they can't exactly bring out the literal whip. Although I guess it would be the first time region has been used an excuse to oppress people", he replies when the Sergeant speaks of the lack of discontent.

He then spends his time clearing rubble as best he can, finding the work in Tus has gone some way to prepare him for this sort of task. As he is in and out the rooms, he doesn't hear all the Sergeant's conversation, but listens in when he can and gets the gist of it. Good to see him forming bonds and gathering information.

He does ask the people the Sergeant are speaking with one question if he gets the chance, "So, where do they take the valuable things they find?".

And then Predak calls the workers to eat, and he watches them all file out through the crack. He moves across to where he left his belongings and finds the rations he brought with him, and decides not to bother with the short trek back.

"I think I will stay here, sir", he informs the Sergeant. "I have my rations and they will likely send us back here anyway as we didn't complete the full shift".

He finds the water source and washes his hands using the water from his waterskin before refilling it. He then wanders through the excavated rooms whilst he takes a bite to eat, partly to look around, but mostly to ensure no-one else remained.

If he is indeed alone, he will take the opportunity whilst in the most remote room to enable himself to understand all languages, using the long form of the casting, expecting that no-one will return for at least 30 minutes. Once done he will activate his innate ability to sense magical auras.

With these two new capabilities, he will once again walk through the rooms, carefully touching the murals in case he can now sense the meaning, whilst also keeping an eye out for magical auras. This includes anything magical that might have been brought here to keep the workers compliant.

(OOC: Assuming he does have time and solitude:, casts comprehend languages as a ritual, and uses his racial ability to cast detect magic)

Concentration: Detect Magic - 10 minutes
Active: Comprehend Languages - 1 hour

Arren returns Hugo's handshake, listening as the merchant explains and introduces himself. At the remark about the bandits capturing the military as well, he simply shrugs, as if saying “what can you do?"  even though he knows full well that they came here by choice when they could have continued on their way.

His attention shifts when the Elf joins the conversation. "Part of the job is knowing when a fight is lost before it starts and isn't worth dying for," he admits. But it's the Elf's last comment that makes him pause. "Don't stay long? What happens to them? Are they moved somewhere else?" His mind rushes to less comforting possibilities as well, but he keeps those to himself.

He turns the Elf's words over in his mind as he works through his shift. When Predak eventually calls for a meal break and Tace chooses to stay behind, Arren weighs his options for a moment before saying: "That's fine. I'll go back with them. Maybe I can speak with that Elf again, or see if any of the other workers come by for lunch."  He glances at the small pile of their gear. "I'll leave my things there for now."

Back in camp, the first thing he does is check that the horses and the carriage are still where they were left. Once he spots the Commandant and the Lieutenant, he gives them a brief look of acknowledgment from the distance but doesn't approach. Instead, he blends in among the workers returning from the dig, exchanging brief nods with the few he recognizes.

Since he has already eaten, he doesn't join them for lunch, but he takes a moment to wash up, draw some water, and sit nearby. If he finds Hugo and his men, he quietly asks about their experience over the past three days — whether they've been assigned other tasks such as hunting, where the hunters are sent, how the work is divided, anything that might be useful. He also asks for practical advice like how to better use the pickaxe, how to break packed soil more efficiently, anything that might make the labor go faster.

If the opportunity arises — and trying to do it subtly, unsure who around him is a worker and who might be loyal to the bandits — he asks whether they can tell him who among those in camp are captors and who are captives, so he can recognize them more easily. And whether they were present the last time a "defiant" worker was dealt with. Arren also asks if they've heard of anyone named Lory, just in case the hostlery's owner happens to be here.

Lastly, he keeps an eye out for Predak, trying to see what the supervisor does once he’s back in camp. Does he have a tent of his own? Does he seek out anyone in particular to report on the day's progress? 

"I don't know," the Elf answers Bryn's question, not really surprised someone is jumping into the conversation. "Haven't found anything significant since we arrived. If they found anything before that, I haven't seen it. As for those who resist, as I said, they're taken away, and we haven't seen them since. Dead, if you ask me, but I could be wrong. There has only been one since we arrived, one of our guys, but from what I heard, there haven't been many before, either. But, if we're being honest, I'd like to know what's inside even if there wasn't an unspoken death threat over my head. The goddess has chosen to bring us here for a reason, surely."

Bryn, with his (clever use of) magic, checks the murals for any previously undeciphered writings, but unfortunately, finds none. If the paintings were meant to convey any messages, Bryn's magic is incapable of deciphering them. As for his other spell, Bryn finds that the stone walls and even the rubble piles are too thick to sense magic through, and are not magical themselves. Neither does he sense any magic from the equipment around. While walking around the back rooms, however, Bryn does sense magic from the roots that pierce the walls. It feels raw, unrefined, and as such, Bryn believes they weren't created/altered by any conventional spell, but rather grown in the presence of magic over many years. 

Meanwhile, back at the bandits' camp, Arren finds the Lieutenant sitting on the carriage, and the Commandant working inside, while Choco and Mocha are hitched nearby. Predak, meanwhile, eats from the same food as the other workers, though he sits alone at a small distance and keeps to himself mostly. Once he's done eating, which takes less time than everyone else since he doesn't converse at the same time, he simply lies down on the ground where he sat and seems to peacefully enjoy the resting time.

The people Arren talks with tell him that only the captors go hunting, but children and most women are allowed to gather other food, though someone always goes with them to supervise. "At first were more men," one of them says, "and they sent us doing other things occasionally, since not all fit there together. But many have gotten sick recently. In the tent, over there." He points towards the tent where Arren saw a person when he just arrived at the camp earlier. "They treat the sick there, so don't go in if you don't like coughing. Some of theirs are sick too, so they're short-staffed, as are we. So now we either dig below or carry the earth away above." When Arren asks about Lory, he learns the man had gone sick, too, and is in the tent as far as anyone knows.

'Tace' is not surprised that the murals cannot be translated by magic, in the past it has always been limited to actual writing. Worth a try though.

As he wanders around, it is the roots that he is most intrigued by, and he spends a little time investigating them and where they come through the walls. Are there large cracks forming? Do the roots push out from the top of the wall and head down through gravity, or are they pushing up? What sort of tree might it be?

If there are cracks in the wall he will try and see into them, and if he can see into them he will try and use his invisible spectral hand to root about to get a better view.

He will also head out of the ancient building and look up the cliffside to see if he can spot the tree that the roots belong to. Can he make it up to the top where they pull the rubble to? How far up is it?

Concentration: Detect Magic - might have expired depending on how long he spends looking around.
Active: Comprehend Languages - likely still some time to go.

Arren takes careful note of everything he's told, and he frowns slightly when he hears that many people have fallen ill. It strikes him as odd. From what he has seen, the camp and the work site look rough, certainly, but not filthy or neglected enough for sickness to spread so quickly. Not the parts he's seen, at least. Perhaps some of their food had spoiled? But if that were the case, surely the workers would have mentioned it. And it seems unlikely that overwork alone would make so many sick — especially if some of the bandits have come down with it as well.

His gaze drifts toward the tent where the ill are being kept. If the tent doesn't appear to be guarded, he excuses himself from the others — saying he wants to check on Lory, as though he knew him personally — and walks toward it. Before going inside openly, he tries to see what he can from the outside: how many people might be in there, whether anyone is currently tending to them, and whether he can heare any voices through the canvas.

Bryn finds the roots to be thick and strong, almost like branches. It doesn't seem like his invisible spectral hand could move them around. The roots push out of the wall and go down all the way to the floor, but mostly do not pierce the floor. The roots are very dense, too, so it's quite hard to see the wall between them, but at the edges of the root-mass, Bryn sees some cracks, though he can't see anything but stone and dirt through them.

To try identifying the tree, Bryn can roll a Nature check.

The top part is about four or five metres above Bryn. While they feature some cracks, small (nonmagical) plants and other imperfections, the walls of the "well" are somewhat smooth and seem difficult to climb, though perhaps not impossible (OOC: Bryn can try, but he'll need to roll very high on Athletics). A more plausible attempt would be to use the ropes used to raise the rubble-filled barrels, which still hang from the top. Bryn doesn't see any trees up there, but he also can't see anything that's not right at the edge, other than the sky above.

When Arren walks closer to the tent, he sees a normal tent, albeit somewhat large. Its flaps are closed, though nothing prevents Arren from moving them, but even before he does so, Arren can hear an occasional, harsh coughing fit from inside. He can hear a voice from inside, but it is quiet and it's difficult to tell what they say exactly. Outside the tent are three open barrels. One holds water, one holds clean pieces of cloth, and the third holds what seems to be the same pieces of cloth, either drenched (with water, probably? Though the smell hints some might be drenched by other things) or even bloodied. 

Just as Arren starts moving the tent's flaps to peek from outside, a person suddenly walks out, bumping into Arren in surprise. It is a Human woman, dressed in a long travel-dress that was probably once white, now covered by mud. Her face is covered by a piece of cloth, such that only her eyes are showing. After regaining her balance, she looks at Arren up and down for a brief second before saying: "If you're healthy, I advise you keep your distance from this place." She then firmly - though not rudely - pushes Arren to the side, to clear her way, and heads to the barrels, where she throws a few pieces of cloth into one barrel, picks a few from the clean one, drenches them in the water-filled barrel and finally squeezes most of the water out, before heading back inside the tent.

As the woman walks back into the tent, Arren gets a brief glimpse of the two rows of sick people lying in the tent.

"Wait," Arren says before the woman can disappear back inside. "Let me help. I'm not a doctor, but I've had medical training. If I cover myself the same way you do, and follow the basic precautions, I should be fine." He glances at her, noting she doesn't look ill. As safe as you are, at least, he thinks.

Seeing that she may not be convinced, he continues, gently pressing the point. "Did they get sick while working in the excavation? I'm working there too. If there's a chance I might fall ill, I'd rather learn how it happened — and maybe help in the process — than wait around doing nothing about it."

A brief pause. "Unless you already know what caused it," he adds, his tone shifting toward cautious curiosity.

He waits a moment, letting her decide how to respond, and introduces himself. "My name is Arren. We arrived today."

'Tace' stands for a moment looking up the wall of the well, before discarding any attempt to scale it. He moves across to the rope and gives it a bit of a tug, to see if it is held firm. Ultimately, either way he will decide not to attempt to climb it though. There must be a route up there, perhaps I can get assigned to hauling the barrel at some point.

He ruminates on the tree, thinking about what kind it is and what it might mean that it is showing signs of magic. Is the source of the magic below us, adjacent or above?

He decides to rest for a bit before the others return. It is likely to be a challenging afternoon if it goes the same way as the morning.

He wonders at the kind of tree the roots belong to, and whether they might be oversized compared to normal.

Nature: 19+3=22

While she doesn't look ill, as far as Arren can tell, the woman sure does look tired. Nonetheless, she ignores Arren's request and, unless Arren stands in her way, will enter the tent right away. If Arren lets her go inside and tries to talk with her, whether from outside or after following her inside, she'll respond: "No need! The best you can do to help is keep your distance so that you don't end up another patient I must care for. And if anyone coughs around you, keep your distance! It's a bloody illness, no different than any other. Want to stay healthy? Don't come near the sick!"

If Arren does block her from entering, she'll still respond with the above, but clearly irritated. "Now, if you don't mind," she'll then add, "I must go back inside now. None has died here yet, and I plan to keep it that way if I can."

Meanwhile, at the excavation site, Bryn finds the ropes and the knots tying them to be pleasingly strong. After all, they used them to raise barrels full of dirt, bricks and rocks, which were at least as heavy as Bryn is.

When he studies the roots, Bryn feels fairly confident he hasn't seen anything like that before. Normally, he might assume that it is due to his mostly urban upbringing, but given their magical nature (and his high check result), Bryn believes the roots to be some kind of oversized plant that has, most likely, undergone some other changes such that it can now be considered an entirely different species.

((Though I don't remember anything that would make this relevant, just in case, you both will have finished a short rest by the end of this lunch break, unless you intend to start a fight with anyone.))

'Tace' takes out a knife and looks to shave off a piece or two of the root from a discreet place that is unlikely to be spotted. Even if that means using his invisibile hand to reach a good spot. He then hides the pieces on his person. Not that anyone is likely to notice or search me.

He then patiently waits for the workers to return, sitting in a position such that he will see and hear anyone approaching from the crack or looking down from above. That gives him the chance to take his helmet off for a time.

I wonder how the sergeant is getting on.

Arren doesn't block the woman from entering, but he does follow her into the tent — just far enough that they can hear each other clearly and so he can take a quick general look inside. How many sick are there exactly? Is there anything remarkable about their condition? If it's an illness affecting the lungs, then there might not be anything visible beyond coughing, fever, and general weakness. But if that's the case, why the bloodied bandages? Are the coughs so violent that they're causing internal bleeding?

"I want to stay healthy," he says quietly, his gaze shifting back to the woman. "But these people didn't get sick inside this tent, and it's not easy to stay away from others when we're all packed together in the excavation. Please ... since when is this happening? Are any measures being taken so the number of ill doesn't increase? I see none of the workers covering their mouths, for example."

He pauses, raising his hands slightly in an attempt to keep the conversation calm.

"I won't interrupt you any longer, but I would like to understand more. Maybe we could speak after your shift ends? Because…" he glances around, looking for any sign she isn't the only one tending the sick — "you're not the only one in charge of all these patients, are you?"

Whether the woman answers or not, Arren backs away, knowing he's pressed the matter enough. And, more importantly, because she's right to want him gone so she can tend to the sick properly. He apologizes for the interruption and steps out of the tent.

Assuming the lunch break is almost over, the Half-Elf joins the others heading back toward the excavation site. He catches sight of the Lieutenant and Commandant as he goes and knows they’ll want to hear about this illness,  but decides to tell them later, once the day's work is done.

When he returns to the excavation, he looks for the Corporal. If he gets a quiet moment with him, he explains what he found out about the sick, warns him they need to pay attention if anyone nearby starts coughing, and mentions that the owner of Lory's Hostelry is apparently among the patients in the tent.

(Persuasion if relevant: 17) 

Bryn can shave a piece of the root's bark-like skin with a simple knife, but to cut any significant piece off of it, he'll need a more suitable tool, most likely some saw or an axe.

Arren enters the tent after the woman, and while he can be sure she isn't pleased with it, she doesn't drive him out either. Instead, she places the now-wet piece of cloth she brought from outside on one of the nine ill people in the tent. Women, men, Elves and Humans, young and old. There doesn't seem to be any particular group affected any more or any less than others. Arren can hear coughing, and the wet cloth to cool their heads suggests a fever. Arren doesn't see any physical symptoms shared by the ill, so violent coughs are currently his best guess for why there are bloodied cloths outside.

"Do I look like I run an infirmary here?" The woman asks in response to Arren's questions. "I happened to be kidnapped a few days ago, and this is all I've been doing since! And I had to convince these worthless scum to let me treat these people instead of mining their damned ruin!" As she starts raising her voice, one of the ill groans, and the woman pauses for a moment, then resumes at a significantly lower, and slightly calmer voice. "I don't know much, and the means at my disposal are very limited. All I can do is help them and pray they get better eventually." 

Not long after Arren leaves, the workers follow Predak back to the ruins, though Arren also sees a small group split off before entering the crack, along with a few horses, climbing a path up the mountain, most likely towards the top of the well. When the workers arrive back at the site, they resume work as before, though Arren and Bryn might notice some of the workers have swapped, as a few new faces have arrived, while a few are nowhere to be seen. In particular, Arren doesn't spot Hugo, but does see the Elf with whom he spoke earlier, who now works in clearing the rubble instead of digging it.

Since he's more aware of them than normal, Arren notices an occasional cough among the workers. Sometimes by those working nearby, or sometimes by someone else whom he cannot see. None of them seems violent or grave enough that they would normally raise any concern, though, especially given the dusty nature of the work.

((I'll be using your rolls per-day, so no need to roll again. I'll give you a chance to post about anything you want to say/do up to and/or during work before advancing, but the work itself passes the same way as before.))

When 'Tace' hears the return of the other workers, he replaces his mask, stands and stretches. He looks out for the Sergeant and moves to meet him, manoeuvring him off to the side so they can chat without being overheard.

"Not much happened here, sir. There's nothing of real interest so far, although the roots are a little strange. I am no botanist, but I could swear they look a little off. Like they belong to an oversized plant rather than a tree", he says with a shrug and then waits to hear what the Sergeant has to say.

Arren quickly clocks Tace as soon as they return to the excavation site, following him to a quiet place so they can speak.

He glances toward the root, taking an interest in what the Corporal has noticed, but since he knows nothing about the matter, he simply nods and says nothing about it.

"I tried to see if Predak did anything out of the ordinary during his lunch break — like going somewhere else or reporting to anyone — but he did nothing of the sort. He just ate and rested. So, I got nothing there."

"The men, on the other hand, mentioned that this place has been short-staffed lately. It seems some kind of illness has spread, affecting not only miners but captives as well. There's a large tent in the camp where a woman — another captive — is taking care of them as best she can with what few resources she has. I counted nine patients, and it seems Lory, the hostelry owner, is among them."

He then recounts what he knows of the illness so far. "It seems to begin with coughing — so I was told to stay away from anyone who coughed." At this point, he looks around, probably noticing a few coughs nearby. "But how do you distinguish that from a normal cough caused by working in a place full of rubble and dust?" 

He continues, "The sick looked feverish, and there's a pile of bloodied bandages outside, which must mean the coughs can get violent enough to cause bleeding. Or at least, that's what I could gather — the woman didn't really say much."

He paused a moment to think of all this, then adds. "It's strange. The camp and the work site don't look filthy or neglected enough for a sickness to spread. I wonder if perhaps one of the captives was already infected beforehand, or if there's a specific place here — or activity — that's causing them to get sick. Perhaps we could try doing different tasks, to get to see different areas of the excavation. And be mindful of whoever looks ill, of course".

'Tace' is a little concerned at the thought of a sickness sweeping the camp. It will be almost impossible to wear this helmet if I am coughing up blood and have a fever.

"That is concerning, sir. You are right, I have seen nothing that could account for sickness in terms of environmental factors here. Unless there are other strange plants elsewhere that perhaps release spores. If it was the water, surely more people would be sick. It is a good plan to check other worksites", he replies.

He looks around trying to spot Predak.

"Predak has not got sick, and with his expertise in mining I would expect he has stayed at this worksite the whole time. Unfortunately, I doubt they are organised enough to keep records of who has been working where. I wanted to speak to him about the roots anyway, so I can ask if he knows much about the illness", he suggests.

Unless the Sergeant has more to discuss, he will look to return to work, but keep an eye out for an opportunity to speak to Predak.

Arren agrees with Tace's suggestion to speak to Predak and resumes his work on the excavation as well. 

If there's a chance to speak with Hugo's Elf companion, Arren will ask him about the ill people — maybe he knows if they'd been working in any particular areas or on specific tasks more than others, which might give them some insight into what's causing the sickness.

He'll also ask about the group who went to the top of the well. Did they do so because they chose to themselves, or were they assigned that duty for any particular reason? "I'd be interested in changing labor tomorrow," he explains. "I'm not as good at digging as I thought. Perhaps I'll be more useful elsewhere." He glances around. "I don't see Hugo here — did he decide to swap tasks as well?"

'Tace' gets back to work with the same efficiency he showed in the morning, and hoping Predak notices his efforts and they make his disposition towards him more positive.

When he feels it is time to take a natural break to grab some water, he fills his waterskin and wanders over to the Elven foreman, and waits for an opportune moment to speak when Predak isn't shouting instructions and no-one else is close.

"Has anyone looked into where those big roots against the wall are coming from? Might be evidence of more open space in that direction", he asks, leaving time for a response.

He would suggest taking an axe to a portion of them to see what is behind them, in case they are covering anything of note.

"Oh, and I was wondering, have you come across any iron around here?", he will also say before leaving Predak be. "I was hoping to come across a lodestone or two whilst we are traversing the mountain path. Always handy to have a compass in unfamiliar territory", he adds.

((Sorry for the long delay.))

In response to Arren's question, the Elf merely shrugs at first, and then adds: "We decide among us. We swap a few every shift so that no one is left in the same place all the time. But, if we're honest, work's not that different up there. You raise the barrels full of debris when Predak calls, and then carry it away with the horses' help so that it doesn't pile on the edge of the well. The only difference is that you have open skies above you, which isn't necessarily a good thing when it rains." As for the illness, he doesn't have much to offer, saying he did not notice anything that might help Arren.

"It could be," Predak answers Bryn, "but we're currently still excavating rooms that are only blocked by rubble. That kind of work needs a lot of men. Cutting roots is something we can manage on our own, later. We'll investigate the matter more thoroughly once the digging is done and you lot are free to go. Besides, we don't want to break the wall before making sure there's nothing on the other side worth preserving."

"Iron, as in iron ore? No, haven't seen any of it here. We do have some lodestones at camp, though I doubt they'll just give it to you." Predak seems a little less concentrated on Bryn at the moment, and instead looks at something behind Bryn, before mumbling a brief apology and walking around Bryn towards where the diggers are.

When Bryn turns, he sees what caught Predak's attention. The diggers had just broken through the rubble of the current room and cleared enough of it that one can now squeeze through and get past it. "Good work, keep at it," Predak says after briefly inspecting the site, making sure there's no risk of a collapse. "Let's focus on clearing the rubble so that we can pass through and clear the rubble from any other rooms where the ceiling collapsed."

It takes about an hour before the rubble is cleared away, enough that a person can now pass through without lowering their head, allowing workers to easily pass through. The next room is empty and also fully intact. The walls, the ceiling, all of it stands firm. More nature-themed murals adorn the walls, but other than that, the room is truly empty. The room has just one other exit, an archway leading into... a tunnel?

Unlike the man-made walls before, the tunnel that leads onwards looks, as much as anyone can tell, completely natural. The workers, along with Predak, stand stumped at the archway. A few metres into the tunnel, a large wall of dirt blocks the path entirely. Predak walks forward and crouches in front of the dirt, picking up a few loose clods. "I don't get it," he talks to himself, mainly, but loud enough that anyone around can hear. "This dirt is... It's not the rock that makes the wall. It looks like it was just... piled here? But why, or how?" He then stands back up and looks at everyone gathered behind him. "I don't know why there is a natural tunnel here, or where it leads. I think this dirt here was brought from outside, though I do not know why. It has dried over a long time, so we'll need to break it loose to move it away, but I doubt that will take long. Maybe we should bring some water with us to soften the earth if needed. But," he pauses for a moment, looking at the tired workers. "We've made good progress today, and it's getting late. Let's leave this for tomorrow, and then resume with a second wind. Let us head back to camp."