Ilsa shot Porto a look that would have been a prelude to a severe, if not lethal, beating had they been alone. If only the daggers from her red eye were real blades, the halfling would have died where he stood. But rather than take out her ill temper on him, she snarled the brackish phlegm from her sinuses and spit on the ground.

She looked to Stan and asked, "We leave for the mine in the morning, yes?" She gave Neya a firm, one-armed hug, holding the wolf to her body. Truth be hold, the barbarian felt like death was worming through her body and welcomed the added support Neya provided. Soon, the only thing that would keep Ilsa standing will be her ever-present rage.

Shirok makes his way back to the stone structure housing many of the sick and—most importantly to the half-orc druid—the laboratory.  Once there he finds both Lord Sendar and Milo hard at work mixing salves, stirring boiling liquids in glass beakers, and weighing herbs.  He tells them of the party’s desire to help and that they plan to investigate the Vanderplot mine, after the Crystal Knight.  A smile comes to the tired Lord’s weary face.
“Thank you,” is all that he says, but in his tone Shirok can detect a sense of gratitude greater than anything he has ever sensed before.

Near the outskirts of the small community, Nachtbrise leads the party members to the mine, which is marked—as the cleric mentioned earlier—by a large yellow banner.  The banner is of the most peculiar shade of yellow, and all of you find it depressing, nauseating, and utterly revolting.  For the short time you spend trying to identify why such feeling well up within you, you are unable to place why you feel this way.  Finally Nachtbrise offers you luck and excesses himself, stating that he must return to help Milo at the town hall.

A short while later, Sendar leaves Shirok and Milo in the laboratory and passes Nachtbrise at the door.  The two men exchange knowing glances, but continue their separate ways.  Together Milo, Nachtbrise, and Shirok work throughout the night; but it seems the best they can accomplish are pain remedies and sleep aids to help those about to pass away to do so peacefully.  By the end of their nightly labors, Shirok succumbs to exhaustion-induced slumber on the cobblestone floor, and Milo covers his new friend with the last clean blanket for warmth before retiring himself.

The party checks into one of the small inns operating along the town’s main street.  Securing a room isn’t difficult, once they agree on a venue.  By this time rumors have already reached the ears—and heart—of the kindly old dwarven innkeeper of the party’s intentions to help.  He insists that if they are able to chase away the plague killing the town, and restore the bustling trade, that their stay would be on the house.
That night, he does what he can to make the party’s stay as comfortable as possible; but by the next morning everyone except Ilsa, Porto, and Roth find themselves suffering minor fevers.  The young elf appears to not be affected by the pestilence at all; however Ilsa and Porto’s earlier conditions escalate further.  At one point during the night, Porto begins to shake violently and vomits a small amount of blood.
He assures the others that he is able to make the expedition into the mine, and by morning he appears a little better.  He only eats two heavily buttered biscuits and a single apple for breakfast, a sign that he isn’t feeling good, but good enough to venture out.  Clean water is in high demand at this time, and very expensive, but your dwarven host procures enough of it for your party to fill two waterskins for your newest quest.  Alone, he waves you off as you all make your way to the Vanderplot mine once more.

The Vanderplot Mine—
Area 1: The Entrance
A cool breeze rolls over the rocky outcropping as you behold the entrance to the caverns.  The dusty ground is littered with tools, picks and shovels, some of which protrude from the deep piles of dirt and rock.  A single darkened shaft leads into the depths of the mine ahead.  The dirt path beneath its wooden support structure is covered with stone debris, a few pieces of which occasionally glint with the slightest hint of ore.  No light issues forth from the tunnel.  Burnt-out torches are strewn across the floor, their brackets torn from the shaft walls.  Behind you, the worn road leads back through the foothills to the valley below.  Aside from the quiet whistling of the wind, complete silence fills the small clearing within the hills.

Area 1 notes The tunnel is 15 ft. wide and 10 ft. tall.  The mineshaft heads north into the outcropping and slants downward at a gradual incline.  There are no light sources in the tunnel and those of you without Darkvision will need some source of illumination.

Please post any actions taken before we continue to Area 2.

Before entering the cave, Ilsa stared at the banner and fumed. It make her ill, even more so than she already was, which made her angry, even more so than she already was. In a fit, she climbed up and tore it down. If she had a convenient torch, she would have burned it to ashes. Instead, she simply ripped it, crumpled it, stomped on it, and spit on it. Unfortunately, it left her winded and little light-headed. She took several minutes to catch her breath and her bearing. She pointed down the tunnel. "I'll scout ahead. You follow with lanterns?"

Uneased by the grim conditions of the morning, Roth peers warily down the dark tunnel, almost unaffected by Ilsa's display of tearing down the banner.  At the moment he would even support her actions, if anyone were to ask.  A sickly yellow that seemed to rub off on others, and it was beginning to seem like he was either very lucky, or his elven blood gave him some resistance to the illness that was plaguing the area.  Maybe this illness really was more magic than flea.  Roth nods in agreement with Ilsa and further adds, "I don't think they'd leave any traps in a mine--at least not this close to town.  And if they did, we'll find this knight soon."  The young elf pulls a sunrod from the pack slung over his shoulder and knocks it against the cave's wall; shedding bright light into the tunnel before adjusting his cape secured over his face.

Stan had spent the last night in a sleep that was, if not comfortable, at least restful. He had re-stocked the corridors of his mind with spells, although already his selection was proving inadequate.

He was thankful when Roth lit a sunstick, as he has not himself brought any lightsource. It was a beginner's mistake, and he mentally chided himself for it.

"I...cough... agree. If someone else were here he would have found the danger first. We don't know for sure that he was here at all, however." Stan's point was interrupted by a coughing fit. He held up a hand to ward off any who might try to help him.

"I'm fine. Just a moment."

His eyes rolled back into his head and his hands began the intricate gestures of a spell. They could feel the energy wash over the wizard as his armor spell took form around him. It was clear he was not eager to enter a strange mine, but was at least resolved to keep his complaints to himself.

"Big, famous knight scared away by the banner, you think?" Roth jokes as watches Ilsa enter the mine.

Area 2:
The tunnel opens into a small, roughly rectangular chamber. Scattered chunks of silver ore surround an overturned pair of wooden carts. The lower half of what appears to be a human body juts out from beneath one of the cart’s edges. It shows no signs of movement. Dried blood is smeared across the northern wall in several places. Exits lead to the west and the east.

Area 2 notes The chamber is 25 ft. wide and 25. long.  Roth's sunrod illuminates the area.

Ilsa frowned at the body. She looked both ways, deciding which was best. She looked to Neya and asked, "What do you think? What can you sniff out?" She wished Shirok was there.

She said to the others, "Maybe our hero didn't get very far." She then began the process of clearing the ore and righting the cart so that the identity of the body could be discerned.

"That wasn't the flu..." Roth observes the obvious as he enters the chamber chamber and stands near the overturned cart, worried by the legs sticking out from under it.  Holding the sunrod high, the elf squints to see down the other two corridors as Ilsa works to move rubble.

"They weren't after money, anyway." Stan hefted a piece of ore.

There wasn't a king's fortune here, but the silver was obviously valuable. Whoever had left this body here was not a robber.

"This doesn't seem to be the Crystal Knight, but he definitely was killed for a reason. Maybe he saw something he shouldn't have."

Shirok had appeared briefly before the party before they left for the mine, long enough to lay his hands upon Ilsa and Neya and murmur some old words of power. It wasn't enough to cure them, but it was enough to made them feel better. Unfortunately he hadn't stayed long enough for another argument to begin before he left again, returning to the lab and his work. They lived, but they were still getting sicker. He was running out of time. And he refused to let them fall.


00:09, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 2,3 using 1d4,1d4. Lesser Restoration (Ilsa, Neya).

Ilsa restores 2 Con, Neya restores 3.

Neya approached cautiously at Ilsa's words, the massive wolf approaching the body carefully and sniffing its stench, trying to work out the difference between flesh that would stay dead and flesh that might still rise. She pulled back after a few sniffs, sneezing violently nearby the body. Falling back a bit to let Ilsa work she sat upon the ground and stared into the mine, her body tense for any danger yet not seeming to have the same confidence and readiness she'd always exhibited before.


00:13, Today: Shirok Rezkala rolled 7 using 1d20+5. Scent.

As Ilsa moves the cart to return it to an upright position, a loud bang reverberates through the chamber!  The party members nearly jump out of their skins at the thunderclap; but as the echoes dissipate they can see that everything is alright—at least on the surface.
From the sound of it and the crumbled resin debris, Roth identifies it as a spent thunderstone.  It must have fallen from under the turned cart as Ilsa turned it; but why would something like that be found here?
The ringing in your ears soon dispels; however both Neya and Stan seem to be suffering lingering effects.

Ilsa cleared her ears. "Nice warning trap," she said. Whoever was down here knew they were coming. She had to acknowledge the cleverness. She snorted up another glob of phlegm and spit it out. "Which way?" she asked. While she waited for an answer, she pulled out the necklace that Kaele had given her and put it on. Shirok wasn't there to tell her not to, and if it was magical, she figured she needed all the help she could get at this point.

Neya yelped loudly as the rock exploded, whimpering a little in worry when the strange ringing in her ears didn't go away. Slowly she approached the remnants of the blast and sniffed at it cautiously, gently nudging it with her paw. It didn't seem to be alive, or at least not anymore. With that dealt with she reached up to paw at her ears, trying to clear whatever it was.

Shirok—
Meanwhile, back in Redding Shirok is hard at work with Milo and Garret as they search for a cure or possible treatment for the afflicted peoples.  Judging from the infirmiary, the plague is indiscriminate as to who it attacks.  Humans, elves, halflings, goblinoids, and kobolds—any who work the mines and call Redding home.
Together they work feverishly, and although Shirok and Garret posses the abilities to restore a small number of the affected, a greater cure is needed.  Milo’s alchemy seems to be failing; but Lord Sendar remains patient.  This horrible event is wearing on the man; but he is faced with no other choice.

Stan recoiled from the explosion, then quickly scanned the area to see if there was a hostile spellcaster nearby.

When the others discovered the thunderstone he let out his breath and visibly relaxed.

A warning trap, said Ilsa.

"Ah, very clever indeed. We are dealing with someone who is either patient, well-trained, or both. This doesn't bode well for us. I suggest Roth scouts ahead - librarians are used to moving about with little noise, after all."

When the bang happened Porto gave a startled jump and a whelp. Luckily for him he wasn't the only one. Perhaps it is the crystal warrior...soldier...person? Porto says having a hard time remembering who they were here for.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Mon 22 Feb 2010.

It was getting to the point where it took more energy to keep his eyes open then it did to do his work, but Shirok kept pushing himself forward. He grabbed the noes compiled over the past hours, scanning them with an increasingly annoyed expression. There had to be an answer here somewhere. There had to be.

"More like filing books in alphabetical order." Roth comments as he pumps the tragus of his pointed ears until the ringing eases, "But being an elf has some advantages."  Roth holds out the sunrod to Stan, but as he sees the wizard having trouble hearing him, he adds to Ilsa and Porto as he pulls a small steel mirror from a slit in his armor, "I'll stay where only elves can see, and signal you to stop or go with this."  Expecting to hear some disapproval from Ilsa, Roth takes the moment to get a better look down the two corridors, pulling his goggles down over his eyes.

Should be able to get an idea of what's down 120' in each direction.  When we start moving, Roth will stay about 80' ahead of the others so that he's out of the rod's 60' (human) shadowy illumination, but still within the (elven) 120'
This message was last edited by the player at 05:29, Tue 23 Feb 2010.

"Only where elves can see? You're the one with the torch..." Ilsa shook her head, not understanding what Roth meant. But they were crafty bastards and she wasn't going to argue. She did have a legitimate question, though. "What about that door over there?" She pointed west.

OOC I'll have to update the map later tonight.  :p

Roth straightens the goggles over his eyes and looks over in the direction Ilsa pointed.  With a nod he replies to Ilsa, "I'll check it out," and walks towards the doorway, readying his crossbow and loading a bolt as he walks.  Once at the door, he puts his ear to it to listen to the other side while examining the frame for any signs of another trap.

Stan adopted a position with a clear view of the door and readied himself to cast a magic missile spell should an enemy appear.

Roth looks over the door rotten wooden door frame quickly, and doesn’t find any signs of trapping.  He carefully checks the locking mechanism and finds that it is not locked.