"Easy," Phineas says with a smile and loud enough for the kobolds to hear. He then points to Mica and his weird kobold skull. "We'll just have our fiend curse the place so that any kobolds who return lose their souls to the bird."

Deception: 10

Rak would smile as his eyes continued to glow green and his voice continued to boom (thanks to thermoturkey). "I suppose that could work. I would rather just kill them but I suppose a curse could keep them from returning." The gith would say in agreement. 

Kilmus would nod his head sagely 'Yes, Master Ranger, a curse indeed.  One so terrible that if any of you were to ever set foot in these mines again your souls would be forfeit, consumed by the fire, and transmogrified forever.  See that you hold yourselves to your oaths and that you don't return or trouble these mine again.'

(Help if Phin needs it on his roll or straight Deception from Kilmus if needed 18)

"There are no more of us, we will be no trouble. You have our word we will not return." And if no one stops the kobolds, they begin to depart.

(Mobile)

Mica allows them to pass, quickly checking to see if any are lying. He’s pinning down his malformed arm with one hand, hoping to prevent it from jumping out at the exiting Kobolds. Something about creatures fleeing provoked a response from it. 

Insight - 18

Assuming no flags are raised, Mica will investigate the surrounding area, making sure nothing problematic is in the vicinity. He then asks the party if they would like to traverse the perilous-looking mechanism across the cavern. 

The kobolds leave peacefully.

"I think we better check it out. We won't get paid if the miners cannot work in peace." The gith would reply as he watches the kobolds disappear up the tunnel.

'I suppose we have to figure out how to make our way across the chasm.'

Kilmus walks back through the mine until he gets to the rope and bucket mechanism over the yawning shaft.

'I happy to go first and test this thing out if we're ready to move'

Mica shakes his head at Phineas. The Paladin's heavy armor could jeopardize the safety of the mechanism, and if anyone should be traversing the mineshaft, it should be Mica. Possibly Phineas, too. They weighed less. 

If nobody objects, Mica will inspect the mechanism for structural integrity before hopping in, readying to Misty Step back to the party's side incase of a snap.

Rak would nod to Mica. "yeah best make sure it can carry out light weight bird friend before you go jumping in that bucket there Kilmus" Rak would say to the heavily armored man. 

Kilmus would nod his assent, but feel guilty at putting others in danger while he stood by.  He'd twirl his long hafted blade in lazy figure eights, covering the party's backside as the lighter and more nimble members worked on the contraption.

The tunnel’s downward slope ends where it opens onto the center shaft. A wooden walkway extends from this opening and then runs westward to another tunnel in the rock. In front of you, a large bucket like the one you saw earlier dangles from a taut rope that stretches southward across the shaft and is connected to another wooden platform 15 feet away. Looking down, you see nothing but darkness. 

The rope-and-pulley mechanism is used to transport miners and ore between the two platforms. A crank mounted to each platform allows the bucket to be shuttled from one side to the other. A person inside the bucket can forgo the cranks and pull themselves across by tugging on the suspension rope. The bucket is large enough to hold one Medium creature or two Small creatures. It takes 1 round for the bucket to cross the gap between the platforms.

Mica heads into the bucket and will attempt to pull himself across the ledge, once again, readying to Misty Step back to the other side. If he makes it, he'll give a periphery scan of the other edge, looking for anything that could jump out at him. 

You can see a soft purply glow coming from one of the passageways behind you.

(Mobile)

Mica motions for one other member of the group to accompany him across the gorge. He didn’t want the Kobolds to possibly return and cut off their means to escape, and leaving one person alone to defend or scout ahead is perilous. What if another Grell was waiting for some lone person to eat? 

If possible, Mica will poke his head around the corner, looking to see what is causing the purple light to glow. Stealthily, of course. 

Stealth if needed - 9 

Phineas follows the bird, also trying to be stealthy.

22

"Bring back anything that looks expensive!" Rak would shout from across the gap. As the two go futher in, he would look to Kilmus. "You think we should go too?

MICA: A fossilized skull partially juts out of the east wall of this small cave, five feet off the ground. The skull has larger than normal eye sockets, a curious ridge between the eyes, nothing that would pass for a nose, and four small holes where one would expect to see teeth.

It's skull cavity is partially broken, showing a large gem inside. This is the source of the glowing.

Mica immediately becomes enamored and intrigued by the skull's shape, almost forgetting about Phineas's presence. Did Rak somehow die and fossilize himself in the wall by the time Mica wandered to the cave? Neither had a nose. Strange. He felt the itch that signified his arm wanting something, and Mica could only assume his arm wanted an upgrade - the Kobold skull was fine, but this was a rare find. Mica unbundles the cloak covering his arm and approaches the skull, inspecting it for any signs of traps or danger, before letting his recalcitrant arm to carefully remove both the skull and the crystal. The glowing crystal certainly intrigued him - maybe it was worth some coin in a store. 

If no red flags are raised, Mica will attempt to extract the skull and the crystal individually. 

You're pretty sure you can get both out with a miner's pick. Just be really careful and take your time. You've never seen a skull like this in your life. The gem radiates magically.