Episode 1: The Salvaged Job

There is a moment of silence that washes in as the hissing and puffing slowly cease.

You proceed down the narrow slope, trying to stay to the opposite side of the snake nest as much as possible. The hissing and puffing resume as your feet step dangerously close, but thus far the snakes remain inside their crack in the rock.

Maribel gets more and more nervous, the closer she comes to the snake. Maenor can feel her tugging on the reins.

There is a bit of a tug-of-war between Maenor and Maribel, and the pony stamps her hooves against the ground to resist the pull. This causes the snakes to hiss loudly, which Coda can understand as rising panic and dangerous fear.

Just when it seems like Maribel would betray Coda's promise to the serpents, Maenor gives an authoritative yank on the reins, causing her to bolt forward and past the snakes without harm.

You manage to put some safe distance between yourselves and the snakes, and Coda hears some... choice words in Snake that would make a mother blush.

You proceed onward, sloping gently underground. Maenor finds that the light begins to grow dim as you progress further away from the entrance, while Kalis and Coda find themselves walking into darkness despite the cleric's lead. Thankfully, the narrow passage provides those without darkvision the ability to feel their way forward, and the sound of Maenor's armor is like a guiding beacon. Maribel follows the elf obediently, led by the reins and calmer with each increase in distance from the snakes.

The natural tunnel twists and turns like a river, cutting off any ambient light from the surface and plunging you in complete darkness. In some places it nearly feels as though you've been turned back, but with diligence the path takes you deeper underground. Now the path begins to break, with cracks in the floor and abrupt shifts in level.

Taking a careful pace, you navigate downward across the uneven terrain with little trouble. There is some trouble forcing Maribel down some of the stair-like ledges, but with dutiful nudges you eventually manage well.

You notice that the passage widens the further you progress, as though the rocky walls are giving in to your advance and allowing you more room. The ceiling of this passage remains constant, however, and soon it is lost in the darkness above your heads as you descend.

After half an hour of picking your way down, the magical light reveals smooth, worked stone that block your path. You have arrived at a wall, definitively constructed with intent, and it stretches beyond the edges of the passage and upward past your visual range.

Coda does not find a door per se, but in his inspection he discovers that the mortar around the stones is quite loose and crumbles at his touch.

As Coda's boot impacts the stone, the brick shifts into the wall with a dull thud and scrape. The stone is not completely dislodged, but has moved significantly.