A0 - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry part 2 | D&D Session #7

Part 2; A0 - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry

Where We Left Off in the Village of Darkshelf

We reconvened with the party having split (why do they keep doing that!!??!), just as they were coming back together. They met at the outskirts of the village of Darkshelf, with the one of the shifts of the village miners who were now simply drovers, moving the stone back and forth from the quarry to town. Most specifically, they had met the leader of this group of 12 miners, a man named Clyff Sharp Jr.

For a reminder, feel free to hop over to Danger at Darkshelf Quarry Part I.

Speaking with the Old Darkshelf miners

Mr. Sharp Jr gave them some new info, specifically about what happened just before Bazili brought in his own dwarven miners, and hired his own guards to protect the area. Apparently they had been digging in a new direction, where the new dwarven quarry manager directed them, and they had been doing very well. Quarry profits were up, production spiked as they pursued an extremely high-quality vein of limestone, and all was well. Glyrthiel, the paymaster was a kind, friendly woman who treated them well, and kept them paid; a welcome opposition to Bazili's fiery temper. Until one day they flooded out a western chamber of the mine, hitting a spring and ruining several months of work. Bazili immediately reacted with anger and fired the lot of them, and they never went inside the mine shafts again. Soon after, the mysterious flock of dwarves appeared, as did the remainder of the odd happenings in town.

Also, the party learned some lore about the region. Specifically, an old tale about an elven wizard who once ruled over the area. She specialized in elemental magic, and in an effort to save an ancient civilization she ruled over, some terrible powers were unleashed that killed her, but saved her people.

One of the party let it slip that the object might be to get inside the complex unseen, at which point, Mr Sharp Jr. added that they might try a ventilation shaft on the west side of the hill, closer to the river. He also told them about a series of rumors about a hidden entrance on the river itself, but nobody could really confirm where it is. Even as they attempted to cover with the story that they were auditors from one of the foreign investors, Jr is a Sharp fellow like his father, and realized that he would have a great opportunity to betray them for profit. So he did what any hard-working miner would do, he blackmailed them for a fee to keep quiet, and to help them find their way around inside the complex.

Entering Darkshelf Quarry

Clyff Sharp Jr led them to the ventilation shaft, and Clyde and Oliver went down below, with Horace and Guido covering their method of escape. Jr. entered with them, and pointed them towards the parts of the mine shaft that he knew. They went down a total of two floors, roughly 60 feet below the surface. Before too long, after turning down a few hallways, Clyde the dwarven warrior and Oliver the halfling swindler started to hear the sounds of mining operations; pick against rock clinking and clanking ryhtmically. They approached quietly, and eventually spotted a few goblins working in the hall. Clyde isn't one to approach with caution, so he went straight in with the intent to chop them up as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, things didn't go that easily, and one of the goblins was able to holler down the hall for help. It became pretty clear that they would be overwhelmed soon, so they decided to flee. Trying to hurt them and cause a distraction, Oliver busted a jug of lamp oil against the wall, successfully dousing two of the goblins, but failed to get it lit by a wall sconce. Junior scrambled up the rope, just in time to get up above before another pair of goblins came running down the hall. Oliver was attempting to cover for Clyde, but decided instead to follow Clyff up the rope to the first level. Clyde came soon after, having dispatched one of the goblins back in the mine shaft.

RUN AWAY!!!!

Oliver made it to the upper floor in time to cover for Junior escaping up to the surface. He waited for Clyde, though he saw another pair of goblins approaching him down another hall. Oliver practically gutted one of the goblins (using his magical dagger) while Clyde cut the rope that had been leading to the floor below, dropping one of the oil-covered goblins 20 feet to his death. Oliver covered for him while the now heavily wounded Clyde escaped up to the surface, and skillfully dodged the attacks of the last remaining goblin on this floor. Before he grabbed the rope, Oliver tossed a torch from a wall sconce down the shaft onto the lamp-oil covered corpse of the goblin below. With his dagger between his teeth, he scrambled up the rope while Clyde and Guido pulled from the surface to speed it up.

Approaching the guardhouse

Knowing that they wouldn't have much time before the alarm was raised by the goblins in the mine proper, the party decided to hustle up to the guardhouse (Junior estimated that it would take a few minutes for anyone to get from either level they were in to the main entrance of the mine, then a few more minutes to get up to the guard house). Clyde and Igrom waited out of sight, since they had already been spotted by people in the guardhouse, and the remainder of the group walked right up across the wood and rope bridge to the front door. With a few knocks, the door opened, and Glyrthiel, limping on a crutch, and definitely bruised up, answered with a smile.

The elf, paymaster of the quarry, recognized Junior, and with a friendly smile offered to show the party into the guardhouse to chat.

Horace explained that they were auditors come on behalf of one of the mine's owners, and Glyrthiel explained that her injuries were from a recent mining accident, a perfect example why nobody other than Bazili and his crew were allowed in the depths of the mine. Of course, the party knew that her injuries came from Clyde and Igrom's first meeting, and that the secret of "Bazili's crew" was the real reason to keep people out, not the dangers of the mine itself. She suggested that auditing would be a great idea, and that she could get them right to the books to see price, size of the veins, and a map of the mine with Bazili's new plans to pursue what he swears will be a rich vein of gold. But it wouldn't reveal too much, since the lack in production lately is because Bazili has been dedicating more of his miners to pursuing his vein of gold.

She limps further into the opening hall, and waves them to follow, saying she will get them some wine and something to eat, and get them set up in rooms to stay while they are here. At this point, Horace has become much too suspicious, and decided to cast detect magic. His words spun her around, as she instantly recognized the arcane language. She dropped her crutch, and dived to the side of the door, and screamed "GET THEM!" at the top of her lungs.

We will begin the A0 - Danger at Darkshelf Quarry Part 3 with the roll of initiative and the assault on the guardhouse at the Quarry of Darkshelf.

Until next time; be excellent to one another, and party on dudes.