"I'm not sure. This mine hasn't been in operation as long as I've been alive," Kuiper says to Lucien. "As I said earlier, Old Grizzler or Darius Carman would probably be able to tell you more about the mines. However, this tunnel we're in now doesn't appear to be a mine. It's definitely not naturally occurring, but there are no signs of mining activity having ever taken place here... This is something else."

"Oh lovely."

Rissa added, bringing up the rear as the party moved deeper into the tunnel.  She raised her orb high, but did not cease in casting backward's glances.  She did not feel like tasting another blade in the back if she could help it.

"Aye. Lovely." Lathan continues to lead the party further along the tunnel, one sword drawn.

Horn in one hand and rapier in the other, Alisandra takes second position so that she can aid Lathan in any tracking or navigating if necessary.

Lucien's grunt is halfway between resignation and frustration. "Nothing to be done about it now. We have to find some answers and I don't think going back to town to ask Old Grizzler is the right move at the moment."

As they traversed deeper into the depths she made an observation, "I think we are deep enough to fall out the bottom. Best keep our eyes open for danger."

The party continues to follow the tunnel for about another mile before they come to a second fork. The tunnel splits to the east and to the southwest.

"This is getting repetitive."

Rissa said, though she didn't sound frustrated.

"If we cannot find a main path, what little wisdom I have to offer says we keep going right."

Alisandra agreed. ”We keep going right until we find a dead end or the main path.”

Lucien shrugs and sends his familiar to check the left path. "Sounds reasonable to me."

"I'm more of a left sort of guy myself," Three Elks said attempting to bring a little levity into the situation.

The party takes the right tunnel to the southwest. After about another mile, they come to a T-intersection. The tunnel to the right leads north; the tunnel to the left leads south.

Lucien pauses at this new intersection. "The last split did not lead to a dead end. We should take notes of which way we've gone." He pulls out a bottle of ink, quill pen, and a sheet of paper. He quickly begins sketching a series of lines and dots that represent passages and intersections, starting with the mine entrance. Next to each line, he notes the approximate cardinal direction that the passage entrances pointed. It is not the most detailed map, but it should be sufficient for finding their way back. When he is done, he packs up the implements, blows on the paper to finish drying the ink, and then carefully rolls it up and puts it back in one of his numerous pockets.

Lathan stops at the intersection and stands guard as Lucien works on a map. "It seems likely that turning right again will take us back to where we started," he says. "If we intend to keep exploring these tunnels, I suggest we go left."

Rissa laughed, the sound warm and full.

"Left it is then, lead the way."

Lucien nods his agreement and sends his familiar down the right tunnel. This time however, he gives the owl instructions to fly down the passage for at least the distance the group took to reach the current intersection and return to report if the corridor was indeed the alternate path from the previous intersection as Lathan suspected. He then turns and prepares to follow sown the left passage.

Alisandra nodded and followed Lathan. ”You have a keen sense of direction. I appreciate it, lead on.”

The party takes the left passage, which leads south. Lucien's familiar returns to them after they have traveled a couple of miles.

Alisandra stopped and waited for Lucien to let them know what they were heading into.

"Lathan was right. The other passage was the same one from the previous fork. Why would there be two tunnels leading to the exact same place? Also, we've moved miles to the south. At this rate we might eventually pass under the river. We are almost certainly not under the hills any longer."

Alisandra shrugged at Lucien’s question, ”Most likely to give them some tactical advantage, a secondary means of escape, or something along those lines.”

"I can't imagine they dug all this?  It would have taken years, even with skeletons to do the labor.  Let us keep going, and see what we can find."

Rissa suggested.

Kuiper nods in agreement with Lucien's assessment. "Yeah, you're right. If my mental map is correct, we should be crossing under the Churnett River before too long.

"And whoever built these tunnels, I had no clue they were this extensive. They must have had a lot of help and time. And I suspect that even the local miners aren't aware of them."

Alisandra stopped for a moment and took a good look around. ’I’ve been in Dwarven tunnels. These have a quality similar but not the same. I think...no that would be crazy.” She continued on with the others, keeping her light spell up as needed.

Lucien looks askance at Alisandra, but decides not to press the issue at the moment. He feels the hairs rising on the back of his neck again.