Nashkel Mine

Dieter turns to the group as the door shuts behind them "I want everyone to keep their eyes peeled. Just because we are encased in rock doesn’t mean we are safe. Keep an eye out for falling rocks, damaged support beams, and any funny smells. You can assume anything down here is hostile but do keep in mind that there is a possibility for survivors. Keep your eyes peeled and your head on a swivel. Let’s keep it tight and work as a team. Any questions or ideas?" dieter says as he lights a torch. "Does anyone have light magic?"

Stella follows along quietly. She didn't mind a dark night, but there are no stars in a cave. It feels constraining and cold, and not the kind that reminded her of home.

"Lavarandar's Lantern," she whispers in druidic. A string of starry lights flow from her mouth and hover around her, dimly illuminating the floor and walls just a bit for those without the ability to see in the dark.

She opens her tome and begins making a map. "Should have asked for a map..." she mumbles to herself. "And where they last saw Jof..."

Aiwë stands at attention during Dieter's orders. At Stella's comment, she leans out the door of the mine.

"Hey! Where did you last see Jof??"

They should have one nearby most worksites have one at the entrance

"Oh ask for a map too Aiwë!"

With lungs trained for communicating over battlefields with fighting warriors, Aiwë adds, "Could we get a map??"

The workers converse for a moment, and then Emerson approaches the mine entrance. "Erm, they say they last saw Jof on the lower levels, near the transition shaft." He pulls a sheet out of his clipboard and passes it to Aiwë. "And here are the mine's blueprints. Bit of a maze down there, I'm afraid."

Dieter looks at Emerson and lifts a hand pointing two fingers at his eyes then rotates it to Emerson’s direction he gives a little jolt for good measure.

Dieter waits for any questions or ideas but when none comes he taps his foot twice "Stella and Calliope, can you two find a way to scout ahead?better yet if you can find a way to safely determine what is infesting this mine that would be of great value. Sheemish do you have any contraptions that could be used for traps or keep us orientated? Aiwë and Runeson help me watch their backs they’ll probably need to focus all their attention on their Magicks. What do you two think would be the best way to do that?"

Stella nods and exhales. She had to admit, Dieter was reckless in the fray, but he had some great leadership skills and tactics otherwise.

"Let's try this now..." she tells herself. With a bit of lethargy, her fingers glow and she sprinkles star dust in the air then begins painting them with her hand into a constellation. Before she can activate it, though, it fades.

She grunts and glowers, but tries again, tapping out the constellation more slowly and methodically this time. "Dragon of Dawn, help us search the dark," she whispers to it in druidic, as she finishes the stars, vaguely shaped like a dragon.

The constellation tinkles, then flashes briefly. It twitches its tail then wiggles it. Then it spreads its wings and stretches out its body, yawning with its star-made maw.

She sighs and smiles weakly. "There we go. Good morning...Draco," she names it, putting her hands on her knees and leaning forward towards it, eyes-stars sparkling yellow with delight. It hops around in the air like an excited puppy, landing on invisible platforms. "We need some help exploring," she tells it. "Can you help us?"

(Wild Companion to summon a familiar. Mechanically, it's an owl.)

Stella will telepathically direct it to help explore the cave branches as the party travels deeper into the mine.

Dieter takes a step back at the glowing magical…thing. Sometimes he can’t help but be amazed at this magic stuff "great work Stella! ..what is it?" dieter praises. He takes a few cautious steps towards it "was it always here? What’s it made out of?" Dieter says inquiring further.

"Whoa! Easy there." She looks at Sheemish quizzically. "Do you have a better name? It's just the name of a constellation. Just, not one from this Material Plane, I don't think..." He looked oddly perturbed. She shrugs.
"Oh! It's, uh, a familiar," she tells Dieter. "Made of energy from the Feywild, and I think a bit of the Celestial planes. But I like to call it stardust." she says, shaking the remaining glowing dust off her hand.

"It's technically, an arcane spell, but I haven't quite figured out how to pull it off yet...I think I still need to buy a brass brazier, but I keep forgetting..." She opens up her tome and adds it to her shopping list. "But I've been getting good at making things, and the druidic conjuration seems to make it easier. He won't last too long though," she says, closing the book.

She crouches down and stares at it for a moment, then it bobs it's head, hops up and down, and begins bounding down towards another passageway.

(She sends it to scout dead end 2 and will cast guidance on it remotely)

"Energy? Is that Like…I don’t know what’s energy or a plane" Dieter says puzzled. He just notices sheemish leave "S-sheemish that’s not a good… and he’s gone." crap this isn’t good.

"Dragon," Aiwë mouths to Stella with a frown as Sheemish hurries off. Did she listen to any of the stories?

She hurries after him. "Wait up, Sheemish!"

In the dead end, Aiwë pokes a pickaxe with her foot. "Hm. A big hurry, or a regular hurry?"

Of course it's a dragon...what else does she think Draco's supposed to be?

"I guess we better follow..." She taps Calliope on the shoulder. "Can you lead me? I'm going to listen in to Draco..."

After following for a bit, Stella speaks up. We're hearing something... Stella says, light leaking through her closed eyelids. "Something moving...scales or claws. Not sure how big, but it probably doesn't belong." She opens her eyes. "We should probably investigate."

Come back, quietly and wait near the branch entrance. Let me know if it starts to leave. she tells Draco, imbuing him with the gift of the Firbolg (Guidance for Stealth).