Saralas: Session 6

• We're in the pub in Termalaine, we were talking to others about the Kobolds in the mines
• What about the Chwingas? We can't take them can we?
• I go to talk to a miner
  • Chased out by some kobolds about 10 days ago
  • They were evacuated by the foreman
  • They keep workings around the entrance to the mine, mine is in 3 levels but they shafts circle around a huge open pit which they say goes down into the underdark
  • Maybe every 10-20 years something terrible climbs out of the pit
  • They wrote KOBOLDS! and put it on a sign on the outside of the mine, which seems unusual for kobolds
  • Athel is the miner's name
  • Another miner did see the kobolds, 14 days ago. He saw three come out of the dark, and the miners ran. No one got hurt but they left, and one man is missing, only 4 miners came out. This guy is named Nob Thelwood.
  • Miners recommend sticking to the areas they dug, not the natural caverns
• When things come out of the pit they just break through
• The sign is written in charcoal, and it says Kobolds Only in common, in elaborate calligraphy
• I say I think there is more than just Kobolds going on here. The sign looks crude but we're pretty sure it's not kobold.
• We enter the mine
  • From the entrance, rough steps start about 60 feet from the entrance
  • Floor is covered in rock dust and tracks. We identify reptilian footprints mingled with human tracks as well as at least one set that looks like it belongs to giant rodents
  • We see 3 exits other than the entrance
  • I grab a torch and light it, and take a closer look around
  • Room is in decent condition, don't see any evidence of fighting. Tools are racked and shelved. Either they left in an orderly fashion or never picked up the tools.
  • The rodent tracks are from two giant rats, and they went east. All passages show kobold tracks.
  • Tunnels are about 7 feet high and we can pass about 2 abreast, a bit small for korag
  • We go south, and come to a fork in the tunnels. We can either go NE or we can continue to the south, where the tunnel continues to descend.
  • There's another fork a little ways down the tunnel
  • The giant rat tracks appear to run from this junction, most recently heading south. We head north, where we come to a large open cavern.
  • We can see plenty of mining activity in this cavern, and what might be gems reflecting the torchlight. Cavern in pretty large and ceilings are pretty tall. There are multiple levels, and the ground is higher to the east than the west. Picks and shovels lean against the ridge. Kobolds don't hang out here
  • There doesn't seem to be anything unusual in this room. We did not have any success mining though.
  • From this room we head south, following the tracks of the rodents. In this area we hear the sound of rushing water. Korag creeps into the chamber, but we can't quite tell what's making the noise yet. It definitely gets louder as he gets farther in.
  • The room contains two giant rats. They attack Karthos and Korag
  • Korag smashes one of the rats pretty hard. Both rats attack back but miss.
  • Karthos sets one of the rats on fire, it's pretty gross.
  • Rudra runs in after them but swings wide
  • Korag smashes the first rat again to kill it
  • Rudra smashes the other rat to kill it
  • We look around and we see there is a natural underground river flowing through the cavern. Between us and the river there are a number of boulders
  • The water is cold and dark, coming from a waterfall to the north and flowing out to the south into another cavern we can't really see into.
  • Water is between 5-10 feet across in the room, then narrows considerably.
  • The water in the cavern does not look particularly dangerous, but appears to speed up as it exits the cavern. The water appears to get significantly deeper and faster as the outflow runs downwards. I don't think trying to exit the cavern to the south is safe.
  • Most of the rubble is natural rock fall, but some of the rubble may have been hauled in. It seems probable the miners were using the stream to pan and separate material.
  • Min keeps heading south, down the corridor. There's such a roar you can barely hear anything. In the room she headed from there's a ledge to the west but we can't see on top of it well.
  • I scrabble up the ledge and look around. It just circles back to the cave entrance. I head back to catch up with Min.
  • She heads onto a wooden structure around the edge of a huge bottomless pit. I think this is _the_ pit.
  • Min keeps going, and finds a bucket lift. The bucket is big enough to hold one person, and is held by a big rope.
  • I lay down on the platform and look down underneath. There are two kobods furiously sawing away the supports. They are shocked and one drops his saw into the pit. As soon as I call out they run away into a tunnel. On the way back no more than 1 or 2 people at a time.
  • Bucket can hold one medium creature or two small creatures at a time. It's in good repair, and there's a crank mechanism to lower the bucket.
  • There's raw timber and other mining equipment, rope, tackle, etc. Nothing of real use though. Min volunteers to ride it down. It takes about a minute to lower the bucket to the next level. She calls out that there are only a couple of tunnels running out from the landing.
  • I volunteer to ride down next to join Min.
  • Karthos sees a lot of kobold foot traffic leading to the south, and a few footprints to the north. The footprints to the north left and never returned. I go north to investigate. Min keeps an eye on the south passage while talking with Bun.
  • There's a hole in the west side of the chamber that appears to open into the pit. I can hear the waterfall.
  • To the north there's a ridge and another passage. The walls above the ridge gleam with gem deposits. No direct evidence of miners. The kobold tracks enter into the cavern and then stop. We can't tell what it might be but I decide I don't really want to hang around much longer.
  • Min is already heading south. There's another cavern to the west.
  • A table and chairs are set up in the area to create a space for miners to take breaks. There are two kobolds poking a giant rat to make sure it's dead. The kobolds then see Min and screech loudly.
• Fin (for now)