[IC] Aqua Mortis (Session 2)

The Catfolk seems suitably impressed by Hildar's magical light. "That will serve you quite well, I'm sure." He leads you to the lift and bids you good fortune. With a pull of the lever, a click, and a hiss, you find yourself going down, down, down into the abyss.

As you descend, you realize how clever this whole venture is. Large bellows pump fresh air into the mine, while various pumps seem to be sloshing water out. The lift finally jolts to a stop. Hildar's magical light illuminates a large, cavernous area—apparently the higher of a two-level staging area, where several pipes blow cool air from the bellows above. A few wooden structures seem to be used for storage at this level. A dirt walkway abruptly ends, with a lower level barely visible below about 3 meters, just out of view with the limited illumination offered by the magical wand. A rope ladder seems to lead down to the lower level.

Things are eerily quiet. It's unnerving how dark darkness can get, how quiet quietness can be.

Nekurr scans the dirt flooring. Broom-strokes show that the miners apparently swept them before beginning their work stoppage. There are a few disturbances consistent with the refugees entering and leaving a few days ago. There's also an indication that something large was dragged (or rolled?) toward the cargo lift. A more recent set of small footprints leads from the personnel lift to a wooden track with a hand-cranked cart sitting on it. Perhaps this was Olond? The tunnel presumably leads to the site of the accident.

The stillness and silence are eerie. Nekurr finds himself increasingly unnerved.

The thing about tunnels is that they only go two directions: backward and forward. This end of the tunnel is well constructed, with wooden struts keeping the earth from collapsing around you. The tunnel itself is not much taller than a human with a hat on. Presumably the water pipe will run through here, but it has not been lain yet.

The site of the accident, you recall, is over a mile into the tunnel, so walking will be slow-going. However, there are carts present that might be hitched to a beast of burden if you wanted to conjure one up with magic.

Hildar's wand flashes, illuminating the staging area for an instant and forcing Nekurr and Tronus to look away. A giant lizard skitters into view from a darkened corner and positions itself just in front of the cart. Nekurr and Tronus hitch it up. Tronus notes the exquisite workmanship on the cart itself—a sign of the kind of quality the Mining Guild must have demanded to join the water-tunnel project.

The three of you hop into the cart, and the lizard takes off. Its large eyes seem to see well with the low light provided by the wand and the lantern. With only one way to go—deeper into the mine—the creature makes good time. But then there's something about being underground in these claustrophobic conditions that makes you lose track of time. The lizard continues on for a half hour, or is it one hour? Maybe two?

Eventually, the lizard jolts to a stop. Before it is essentially a crater about three feet deep. At its bottom, a puddle of something bubbles and smolders. Wooden planks stretch across the crater to permit foot traffic, but the lizard and cart can't easily pass without magical assistance. The pack animal flits its tongue in and out in apparent nervousness at something further ahead.

The smell alone tells Hildar this is the same liquid that the alchemist gave you back at the castle. You remember that he said that he had recovered it from the victim's clothing shortly after the accident, and he assumed it was the cause of Mr. Barnpuddle's malady.