Exploring Kal-Arath - Episode 7 - Seeking Answers

 Hi everybody,

                Just a short one for you today.

Exploring Kal-Arath - Episode 7 - Seeking Answers

 Mal-Shui (PC) - Str = 1, Tou = 2, Agi = 1, Int = -1, Pre = 1. Fate Point =1.

Male Human. Age = 24. Brown eyes and hair, 6'1" tall. 

Personality: Friendly, Moody,  Hp = 7 out of 7. Xp=1.

Equipment

Longsword, (Att +1, Dam +1),  Staff, Dagger. Leather Armour, after being cleaned and adjusted.

15 days' rations in a sack.Tarnak Berries R=1 (Sc=3), Waterskin. Tinder and flint.   

 Rough blue tunic, an animal fur cloak. Terradon Tooth necklace with Tribal Totem carving.

Burvin's Journal. Eggshell cooking bowl. 2 Torches unlit, 1 just lit.

In pouch - Gold Coins = 1. Silver Coins = 13.

Threads

 1) Scaleel or Goritan Village Member, 2) Wizard - Jis-Kel, 3)  Khainar Yak Folk, 

4) Burvin Charank 6Ref Sodrav, Tan Muen and Cazen Goorte.

                                 Yamil-Torl  - Str = 1, Tou = 1, Agi = -1, Int = 2, Presence = 1.Fate Point =1.

Male Human. Age =34. Green eyes, Black hair.  5'11" tall.

 Personality: Independent, Opinionated. 

Goal: Wants to visit the jungle. Hp. = 4 out of 6. Xp = 1

.

Equipment

Sling, Staff, Club, (Att+0, Damage d6/disadvantage).Rough clothes. Bronze helmet. 

Hand Axe. Dagger. Silver Coins in pouch = 17. ! sack.

Rations = 7 in a sack, including Burvins supplies. Tarnak Berries/ 1 Ration.

Sword and Shield.

Day Four - Weather - Heavy rain.

Mal and Yamil both slept in the entrance passage to the mine, as it had been raining all night and seemed likely to continue for most of the day, on and off. They cooked breakfast in the vent room so that the smoke would be sucked away easily.

Mal asked Yamil, "Are you ready to see what mother dangers lurk in here?"

"Now that I have eaten, yes," he replied.

Mal had cleaned the armour from the skeleton and adjusted the straps to provide proper protection, and Yamil had cleaned the shield to try to remove old bloodstains, but they would not wash off. It was relatively new; it did not have the sigil of its former owner, but it did have a brand on the inside. The circle and dying bird motif again.

 They walked to the second junction, and instead of turning left towards where the skeleton had been killed, Mal turned right towards the entrance.

"I have been wondering what was down the first opening on the right. I don't want any nasty surprises coming up behind us, so we can check them as we go. I know it is not always unavoidable, but I want to be as safe as we can be, now that we know that there are dangers in here for sure."

"I, too, have had uneasy dreams about what this old mine contains," Yamil confirmed.

They came to the first junction and turned sharply left around the corner, heading roughly east.

The rough passage continued forward for about fifteen feet and then turned to the right by 45 degrees, went forward six feet and then expanded into a roughly square room 15 feet square. 

One glance revealed a tool storage area for the miners; they had made wooden shelves and racking for wooden beams. A hammer for crushing the rock and a crude cart for moving the rock to the outside. Three picks were in the corner, with the staves upright, off the damp floor.

 Foot-long metal chiseels were laid on a shelf. Their tips were blunted and worn. In a box, there was a patch of mould and some pips, along with a few white and orange chips of rock with yellow specks glinting in them. A wide circular pan was next to two helmets with scratches on the top.

Mal tried them on, all too loose again. 

"I could put one of those sacks in for padding, now that we have washed them."

"Try it."

With a bit of prodding, Mal got the helmet to fit snugly on his head. He tested it with a few shakes, and it remained firm.

"That will do for now. I can trim the bits at the back later."

"No, leave them in place, they are a bit more protection for you. You could actually add another sack in there with wet sand as extra protection for your neck. It may only last for one blow, but that might save you."

There was another exit at the far corner of the room, going in roughly the same direction, following an ore vein in the roof. It carried on for about four feet and then vanished into a hole. Suspended above the hole was a stout log with a rope dangling from it. There was no tension on the rope, so they pulled it up. It had been cut or snapped by something at a fifteen-foot length."Well, we are not getting down there in a hurry."

They toss a lit torch stub down into the darkness. It flared for about 65 feet and illuminated parts of the shaft until it hit the floor with a shower of sparks and then died. 

"No, good or bad, whatever is down there is going to be staying down there for a bit longer yet. Let's wedge a few beams in front of it so we don't accidentally join it."

"Good idea".

Once that was done, they turned their attention to a blank area of the wall, where a wooden frame mounted a goatskin with a drawn picture of the mine tunnels. "That will come in handy." Yamil smiled. "Look, there is a second entrance and more chambers deeper in."

"We thought there might be one around here somewhere, but if we are here, that shaft behind us is not on the chart."

"It might have been the last thing they dug."

"Or there is another map that covers that bit, and they took it with them."

"And they never made it back."

"For whatever reason. They could have just left it there, or taken it with them when they went."

"The refugee cultists might have taken it, or someone else entirely. Another mystery, if it exists at all."

"Mal suggested, "Let's concentrate on what we can discover on this level. We have been through the back door oval storage room, the first junction, with a dead end to the left and this tool room on the right."

He continued, "The second junction with the stone in has the vent shaft to the left and is connected to another junction room on the right, with a connection to the skeleton room north and the main entrance going east and joining another room and then the entrance."

"With just one more room above the skeleton room and whatever it was it was protecting."

"Which seemed very important to them that it stays that way and be left undisturbed. Let's do the easy bits first."

"Yes, I am getting quite used to this quiet life, now that I don't have to boss everyone all day and night, and I want to get some more of it while I can," confirmed Yamil.

They grabbed a couple of spare torches and made their way to the second junction, and turned right for about 20 feet and then a man-made space opened up again into a larger oval with two fat pillars of rock holding up the mountain. Scattered against the walls were 11 human-sized beds, and a table to serve meals on.

Just then, a small colony of bats descended from the ceiling, startling them....

NOTE: 31 March 2026 - I may continue to add to this post later or slot it in another post. I just wanted to get another post out there for you, in case it is a few days before my next post. Please double-check this post; I would not want you to miss anything. If it is nice and sunny, I may have a walk in the countryside. 

Mine map to be added.

Regards all,

Ivor Cogdell