Marchosias wordlessly accepts a bag of emeralds and a masterwork rapier.  The former would have be to saved for a rainy day, the latter could be useful now.

Grahl nods at when Onyx identifies it being from the Tree of Life. Yes, Grahl see now, hardest wood. That why Grahl not destroy it, Grahl strong. He says to boost his confidence back up. 

He will not slash at another crate, not risking failing to destroy it again. Instead he will open a few by hand, curious to see what else is down here. While Grahl does this he will move some things around of lesser value to create some space for him to lie down. 

Having melted a hole in the ice, Onyx did his best to retrieve the sweet-smelling contents. (Chip away at the ice first, then just upend the ice block and try to shake the material out if that fails.)

He clearly hoped it to be the needed herbs he was looking for, but seemed ready to make do with whatever came out. Sniffing the material to identify it, he carefully took what he could and placed it into a few prepared "baggies" (bits of goat intestines) that he then stored back into his component pouch.

(( Nature Check to identify the material: 13 ))

Once finished, he sat down, waiting for the others to settle in.

Grahl strength check for black metal 16

Onyx couldn't help but to lean over and glance into the padded black box. "You going to eat all those?" he quipped to Grahl, smiling as he pointed to the odd treasure inside.

Arbon glances into the box as well, "Onyx, I think we have those pearls you requested now..."

Chazrael hears Arbon as he plays with his new bow. "Nice. Pearls are nice."

Onyx reached for one of the pearls and examined it. It seemed... odd. It was almost as if something was moving inside, just under an outer shell.

Suspicious, but out of options, the warlock pocketed the gemstone. If his patron granted him his request, the Identify spell, he would probably use it on the pearl itself first.

(( The rest of this post is after everyone falls asleep, while Onyx is on his first watch. ))

Onyx takes his place on first watch, and the watch is uneventful. The night passes without indicident, and though you can't see it in the mine, the dawn approaches. 

Marchosias is an early riser.  He tests the weight of his new rapier and watches the rest of them.

"Well, are we feeling rested enough to continue?"

"Certainly!" replied Onyx eagerly. He was surprised and pleased with the prior night's loot, although he remained apprehensive about the pearl. But he quickly set that all aside as he used his magic to clean up, and applied his Mage Armor. Finally lighting a new torch and affixing it to the end of his staff, he turned toward the hunter. "If you're feeling better, we should probably take you home now."

The hunter stirs from sleep, feeling much better than the night before. Taking stock of his lost arm, he agrees that it might be time for him to leave, but notes that its probably going to be safe for him. The sun has already rose above the mine, and the most powerful demons are only out at night. He'll loot around in the storage for abit longer, then head out in an hour or so.

"Be careful down there, its impossible to know what went on beyond that opening." 

He waves you off as you all descend back into the mine. Deeper you go, and you remember that the light of day does not reach you here. Though flawed, the guide's noted ability to wander about the Upper mine unassissted was some measure of security. Being in here now, you're on your own, and there's nobody coming to pull you out. 

Farther down, and you're back at the bottom of the  mine shaft near the connection between the hanging tracks of the refinery and end of the mine cart floor tracks. 

It comes into view again, the extremely narrow passage that some of you must turn to get through. As the last of you enters, you feel compelled to leave a note or signal of some kind. You brush it off as tbe nervous wanderings of a mind excited, and push passed the bend on the tunnel, moving the mine out of sitght. 

For 15 minutes you straddle the wall, inching your way sideways like you're on a cliffside. Coming to the otherside, it does appear you were inside an encased cliffside, the wall facing your back only an inch or two thick against many many many layers of rock. Had one of you gotten stuck, or had any type of need to move, the fall would have been into a pit so deep you cannot see the end. 

At the edge, there is another set of tracks, supported by hundreds of feet of thick thimber beams and large metal screws. The track leads deep into shadow, winding about endlessly. 

And for the first time, you realize, the ceiling too is so high, you cannot see but eternal shade. 

You have come to the deepest depths, the heart of the mountain, the door to the abyss.

Arbon casts light on his mace again and looks up at the looming door before them. He turns to the others, "Well friends, does anyone need any further preparations before we enter?"

Grahl is happy to reach the thicker beams providing more room to walk on. Clearly not a fan of small spaces. 

But the size of the area does not provide Grahl comfort. Not seeing a ceiling anymore in this eternal darkness makes Grahl wary. He clutches his axe and narrows his eyes trying to see a bit further to get an idea of the surroundings. 

He looks to the side at Arbons words and takes a moments pauze. Grahl ready. He says with a firm look on his face. He will not yet say anything else, not wanting to create to much noise yet. 

Chazrael nods. "I'm ready."

Into the mouth of madness the adventures traveled with no idea what lay before them. The rocking and constantly swaying of the wooden supports beneath the iron railings prevents any kind of settling of the nerves as you slowly make your way further into the darkness.

A push in the air above, like a window had just been opened and closed on both sides, if only for a moment.

You look about on both sides of your narrow path to a sheer drop. Wherever this path was leading did not appear to be close. In the darkness its hard to remember that its only about 10 in the morning.

Another push and the air in the room feels a little colder. The temperature had been a constant stone-cold dryness but this new feeling is approaching a frigid discomfort marked with beads of water falling like a fine mist.

Silence, walking further, once again reminded at how this place was unexplored territory. You wonder whether this massive opening inside the mountain was made to be this way or simply was hollow from its creation. The former drew ideas of dwarves blasting and mining aggressively. The latter drew ideas of a now long dormant volcano, its burning guts spilled upon the surface, never to be filled again.

And yet it was so damn cold, and wet! There could be no such weather indoors and yet here, in this place so deep and dark, a wind like a new rain has come upon you.

You finally come to a break, though not a pleasant one. The bridge has been shattered in some way passed another bend. The tracks you are currently on, supported by a large stone surface, have managed only to cling to existence because of their cemented roots.

Climbing down to the stone, you come to realize the tracks were soon ending anyway. They look as if they would have taken an extremely sharp drop, probably meant for the cart. Continuing your way down, you reach the bottom of the wooden supports and approach where the drop would have evened out with the cave floor. From here, you cannot see the rails you were walking on, as they are too high, and the ceiling above, seems farther than space had ever been outside.

The tracks lead to a cart stopper, and passed a series of a lockers. In the lockers, some of which were open, you can see two very distinct uniforms. One appears to by a type of grey fabric, extremely thick, and scented with some kind of herb. The other, is a large metal plated leather, many of which are heavily burned and scared. There is some blood scattered upon the floor here, but only enough to say perhaps a broken nose or a sliced hand.

Further on, there is yet another cave, but it does not go down. It continues in a straight line for some time, leading passed rooms with large windows. They each only have one door entering them, which doubled as an exit. These rooms contained only one chair, and many many chains.

There are deep and frequent scratch marks about each rooms. Blood and viscera stain the walls. The further you go, the worse the carnage gets with some of the end rooms being completely destroyed.

At the end, these is one more door, leading out of the hallway. Its closed.

Arbon stops to look at the armour in the lockers (Investigation: 10 - is it serviceable or give any hints regarding owners?)

When more of the cold sets in Grahl raises his left hand with palm up. Pushing up his palm a bit to catch and feel the mist. It sends a shiver down his spine as his upper body is only covered by a leather strap to hold his weapons on his back. 

He will not say anything but walk a bit closer to Onyx and his torch from this point on, having the fire near him for some warmth. 

When they find the shattered bridge, Grahl will move to the end and squat down to look at the bridge. Trying to see how a bridge could have been destroyed like this. He will look for rockslides and try to determine what damaged the bridge itself. 
(perception 6)

Coming to the lockers Grahl has had enough of the cold and tries to see if some of the grey fabric or metal plated leather would fit him. If it does he will wear it for warmth unless it seriously restricts his movement. 

He reaches the many rooms and moves his hand across the scratches in the doors, looking around. His fist now clenches and with an angry voice, Evil dwarves. This prison. He walks around a bit faster checking for bodies in the rooms. 

Onyx nodded. It did seem to be a prison, but... for who? And why? And really, any answers they found would only raise more questions. And this unnatural cold... where was THIS from?

He sighed as he lit a new torch. "I suppose there's just one path to take," he said, bracing himself for Arbon opening the door.

Arbon nods, then looked at everyone in a you ready look before opening the doorway.