Weretiger's Curse - The Journey Down the Mine

[Nathan]

The party heads down the passage to the right.

This passage has cart rails, they're well worn, as if they've been used frequently. It follows the same general template as the other passageways, wooden struts, heads downwards, etc. This passage goes on for a bit longer the the previous one, and the air gets slightly warmer and drier the further you go.

Eventually the passageway opens into another cavern. You can't see all the way into the cavern, but you do spot a mining cart on the tracks. Standing next to, and around the cart are four humanoids. They are moving in a strange lurching kind of way, and their arms are held out in front of them as if reaching for something. They're shuffling around and it doesn't look like they've seen you.

[Xavier]

At the back of the coloumn, Xavier halted, reaching out to touch Irian to halt her too.

Crouching down, he looked carefully at the humanoid shapes...

[Nathan]

You can see nothing more at this distance.

[Irian]

Irian stops, and hopes Vargon and Brother Charn senses her non-movement. She starts to retreat back up the tunnel a little way, signaling Caamora and Xavier to follow. When she rounds a curve so that the cavern is out of sight and the tunnel walls muffle any sound, she turns to the others and asks, "Any idea what those are? Are they alive? Is there a way to determine if they are without drawing attention to ourselves?"

[Brother Charn]

"If they notice not the light we carry with us, they must be mazed or mindless," Charn whispers pitched to his fellows.
"Do we ask if friend or foe, or assume foe?"

[Nathan]

One of the monsters suddenly starts lurching towards you, and the others quickly follow, moments later!

[combat time, ladies and gentlemen! Send me your battle plans and we'll see what happens!]

[Xavier]

"Know any useful magic? Farseeing spells?" The rogue whispered.

He looked thoughtful...

"If not, I could always try sneak closer...don't know how perceptive they are..."

[Irian]

"Maybe, despiser of magic. But I have hopes not to use much, if we all work together. It is early yet, and I may need some spells yet later in the day."

[Xavier]

"Well, do I try and sneak in? Or shall we just throw in the oil, soak them, and set it afire?"

"Cleric?"

[Nathan]

[We're in a fight at the moment, no more time to talk about things, so everyone head on over the the battle thread! This one is locked temporarily]

[Nathan]

The zombies are all dead, and the party are now free to explore the room they're in.

The rails end in this room, and the mining cart is at the end of the tracks.

You can also see a bucket over by the wall.

[Irian]

Irian looks about the room with interest, meandering slowly towards the cart as she does so.

[Nathan]

Irian searches the room and finds nothing on the floor, but in the bucket there are 2 gold-tipped iron rods. You recognise them as sunrods. There is also a magnifying glass.

The cart is empty.

[Irian]

"These all may come in handy someday," Irian says as she packs the two rods and the magnifying glass safely into her backpack.

"Does anyone see any other branches to this tunnel? Or are we at another dead end?"

[Brother Charn]

Charn checks to make certain there are no other ways out of the cavern other than the way they came in. While he does so, he asks, "Anyone be in need of healing arts?"

[Nathan]

Charn finds no exits other than the one the party came in by.

[Xavier]

"Aye brother. I'm fairly urgently in need of them in fact. I'd appreciate any aid your abilities might provide."

As he waits for the Cleric, Xavier searches the room with his eyes...

"Not a dread foe, but not one to be taken lightly either. Search the cavern friends, and keep an eye on the tunnel."

[Irian]

Muttering to herself, Irian repeats what she said before,
"The shortest distance between two points is a straight line.
Strange how this seems to be working out to follow the adage...

"Is there anything I can do to distract you from your pain while the Brother heals you, Xavier? Some rations or water, perhaps?"

[Xavier]

"No, I'll be fine thanks." He thought for a second..."If you could retrieve my arrows for me though, I'd appreciate it...

...and the adage only works if the other tunnel is free of threats." He winked.

[Irian]

[well, I did offer]

Grimacing to herself, Irian bent down to each of the three decaying corpses hit by arrows and searched for Xavier's bolts. In all cases, he had made clean hits, and both tip and bolt were destroyed. Sighing to herself, she returned to Xavier.

"I am sorry my friend, there is nothing to retrieve.

"As for the adage, I meant the quickest route to the problem we were told about, not necessarily to the silver...

"But if we can retrieve the silver and see no more undead, I will be grateful. Do you think the 'walking skeletons' we were told about became these creatures?" as she tossed her head towards the corpses. "I hope we have nothing further to fear," she smiled at him.