The next day, our little group decided to take up the priest’s offer to help them with their mine. The money was too good to pass up. We would have to clear out the mine and then go back with the miners to keep them safe and take care of any remaining issues. It would take time, but we could give up our rooms at the Folly for a few days since we had very little in the way of possessions anyway as we were all new in town.

  The meeting with at the Sayan temple that afternoon went well. The priests quickly arranged for a wagonload of supplies and horses to be ready to leave the following day. That gave us enough time to head into town for last minute supplies. We all got those enchanted headlamps and some better clothes to deal with the cooler temperatures we might encounter in the mines.

  When we met with them outside their temple to leave, they had also hired some local mercenaries to accompany us and protect the supplies and horses from goblin attack. These men were not to go into the mines themselves, but await our success before getting us back to town. They would return with the miners in tow. Their main role was to keep the caravan safe and hunt for our food as needed.

  They were a scrubby looking group of middle aged men, many with assorted scars of which they seemed eager to give the history. But they were fair riders and all equipped with their own weapons. They ribbed and teased each other like they had worked together for some time. This was a good sign in my book since Gavendor always grilled us about working as a unit and being able to predict where your party would be and what role everyone would take in a tense situation when you cannot always communicate easily. A misunderstanding can leave someone unprotected or dead.

  So we set off the next morning under cloudy skies, one wagon and the rest of us on horseback along the north road out of town and back on the bridge over the Selka river. This time, we took a well worn road further north before turning off to the West into some taller hills. The mountains looked closer and more ominous than before. I wondered if I only thought that because I had always been told that orcs and goblins lived in mountain caves or if there was some maleficence I could sense coming from those high peaks.

  It was a long day of travel, and we were promised it would only half a day more when we stopped for the night. The day had turned clear and Pency assured me it would not rain in the night. I know you’re not supposed to trust a wizard about such things, but the air felt clear and it would be nice to sleep in the open next to the fire. Besides, I watched as Pency did an incantation around where we would be sleeping and I’m pretty sure no one would be able to sneak up on us. One of the old mercenaries, Jornian joined us. The rest dispersed into tents that had been packed especially for the purpose. Meig and Emmon kept us company by the fire for some time before turning in. The mercenaries had guard duty throughout the night, so we could get some restful sleep.

  Jornian told us stories of their last mission. Apparently they were regularly hired by the Temple since they were fairly free of vice. They didn’t gamble, over drink, smoke or chew Ginsenny, or frequent brothels. Or so he said anyway. They had been sent to help some priests gather herbs out of the Great Swamp to the south of Holdstone.

  He confirmed that more attacks from goblins were common all over the countryside. They had met with a small band on their way into the swamplands. He had some exaggerated stories about Lizard people which I knew couldn’t be real, but I didn’t bother to correct him. Mostly, he complained about mosquitoes large enough to carry a man off. He claimed he had rescued his companion, Marley, from such a fate. He had us all belly laughing at his outlandish stories before we called it a night.

  I was a little worried about Jorn since he kept looking me over like he wanted a kissing date, but I knew Aelfie wouldn’t let him near me. She may not look fearsome, but she was rather protective of me. I slept with my crossbow nearby, just in case. In the morning, Jorn wasn’t even in his sleeping roll, so it turns out I was worried for nothing.

  We had a quick breakfast of hard rolls and dried meat before heading back onto the road. The road was good all the way to the mine. The buildings looked in tact and the equipment inside for which we had been briefed looked in working condition. My companions and I made quick work of getting ready to go in and get our first look at the situation.

  Pency was muttering non-stop. When I asked, he told us there were a lot of ‘restless' souls here. That made the hairs on the back of my neck rise and they didn’t go down, especially as we prepared to descend into the darkness of the mine. I much preferred to have the sky over my head but thought it would not be appropriate to voice this preference in the current situation.

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  There was a sort of platform with some machinery that lowered into the mine. Jornian was quick to figure out the controls and he reassured us that he would stay nearby for when we needed to get back out. Aelfie took a liking to him, so I decided he couldn’t be a bad guy.

  “Come back soon,” he said, looking at me specifically. I just nodded feeling a little uncomfortable in his gaze.

  “I think he likes you,” Meig murmured in my ear.

  “Can't like me that much. He didn’t volunteer to come down here, did he?” I snarked back and we both chuckled.

  “Good point,” she agreed.

  I try to ignore the fact that the hair on the back of my neck is still tingling. Maybe we all do. As we descend, we pull the covers off our headlamps and start shining them around. As we near the first level, Boyln pulls the lever stopping the contraption and it sways in a most uncomfortable way before we can all disembark. We begin down the corridor and Boyln begins to mark the corners with chalk as we move indicating where we have come from.

  I try to memorize the way, but there are too many turns and twists and not all are at 90 degree angles.

  We come to a large cavern with a hole in the center that luckily, Emmon spots before Boyln takes a step too far and falls into it. We pull out rope and tie our lucky volunteer, Meig, onto a rope and lower her down. We lower her down the narrow shaft and she tells us there is a cavern carved into the side she thinks we should check out.

  “Definitely getting a bad feeling here…” her voice says ominously out of the gloom.

  “Lovely,” I murmur as I got tied on, ready to go next. When I get to the cavern which looks like hole in the wall, Meig is able to pull me in onto level ground. Soon we are all in the cramped space ready to move on. We have to leave our rope in place for our return. This area looks more recently and more roughly carved than where we have previously been. The corridor sloped downward and turns, but then climbs again. We get to a small opening into a long shaft and determine we have come out on the other side of the same corridor we started on.

  Meig takes a running leap to reach the rope on the other side so we can continue down without backtracking. I let out a breath I didn’t even know I was holding, but Meig just smiles at us and in a casual way that makes me envious, she quickly descends on the rope further into the mine shaft.

  This time, we reached the bottom of the pit and there is a pile of debris there. When we get our lamps on it, we are horrified to see that besides some mining rock residue, there are burned and blackened bodies of what look like priests in what were dark purple robes.

  “These aren’t from St. Layan,” declared Emmon.

  “No,” confirmed Boyln.

  We explore more of the rough caves and, although we all feel a bit apprehensive, we get no feeling like what we were told and nothing seems out of the ordinary except the charred remains. After some time, we decide to head back out and continue the search tomorrow after a good rest.

  We finally got back to the contraption that will lift us back out of the mine and while we have the controls to get it moving back it’s a comfort when we see Jornian still waiting for us topside.

  “Hey, you’re back! Any trouble?” he asked.

  “Nothing yet, but we didn’t get very far. We’ll go back in the morning,” I explained.

  “The boys have got supper going. Let’s join them. I’m getting a might hungry settin’ about,” he offered.

  After our meal, the group of adventurers with Jornian tagging along, decide to poke around the miner’s old quarters to see if we can find any clues about what we may be facing. There are four rows of bunk beds spread out in the place. Some of the chamber pots were not scrubbed out very well and there is a general stench in the place of old urine and sweaty clothes. Very few of the miners seemed to have kept diaries. Probably not many of them could write, to be fair, but we find a couple that clearly indicate they were hearing voices and their condition seemed to worsen over time until paranoia had set in to many of them. We find only small things of value, some of which I think Jornian pockets. It’s too little to fuss over, so I ignore it.

  After we share the diaries between us, we head out and spend time by the campfire with the others. I pull Emmon along with me to address Jornian who is the self-appointed leader of the mercenaries.

  “Jornian, you need to get the men organized and clean up the old miner’s dormitory. There is nothing wrong with it and it will be a darn sight more comfortable than the tents. Particularly since Pency thinks we are in for some severe storms in the next few days. Just air it out, put the miner’s belongings in a sack to the side, launder the sheets and blankets. Clean out the chamber pots and make sure the necessary pit is functional for everyone. The fireplaces in there will be enough to keep everyone warm and comfortable. I see you've already done that with the stables so make sure they do the dorms, okay?” I made sure Emmon was standing behind me when I issued our ‘orders’. I didn’t know how they would take to them, but a tall muscly guy looking sternly over my shoulder seemed to be an asset in that situation.

  Meig and I scoped out a small room, likely a manager’s suite which we cleaned out for ourselves to avoid the tents and getting crowded in the dormitory with the guys. I usually don’t mind it, but the mercenaries seemed a bit too rough-and-tumble for my liking. I felt a little silly about it at first, but when I asked Meig about it, she’d agreed, so we took the time to find some space to ourselves.