Silandra and her companions were finally on their way to the mine. The trip back to Naskel had been uneventful, which was a good thing considering the things that could make it more interesting were mostly dangerous. Their stop in town had been brief as Jaheira demanded, only purchasing a few necessities from the store before moving on.
Now that heading underground for who knew how long was close to becoming a reality, Silandra felt fear setting in. So far, she and her group had overcome every monster and assassin they had come across. But there could be anything in the mine, and they would not be able to easily run away if they encountered something they could not handle. According to Jaheira, there was also a high chance they would have to sleep down there. She shuddered at the thought.
She was enjoying having Dynaheir in the group. She showed herself to be a strict teacher but her methods were working. She did, however, declare Silandra had much to learn before she would be ready to learn a fireball spell. At first Silandra was disappointed, but Dynaheir was better than the monks in Candlekeep at making it clear that magic could be dangerous without understanding the fundamentals. Dynaheir said she would advance much more quickly later if she applied herself to cantrips and theory now, so every night when they camped Silandra dedicated herself to magic. She and Dynaheir would sit side by side and discuss the concepts she was working on before studying their spell books in silence.
Silandra just hoped she would be prepared for whatever could be lurking in the mines. Her companions had been mostly quiet as they walked and she wondered if they were also feeling uneasy about the quest before them. At least they had Minsc and Dynaheir now, both of whom had already proven themselves to be valuable additions to the group.
They reached the mine the day after leaving Nashkel. There was a rather rickety set of wooden stairs leading down to the entrance, creaking loudly the moment Minsc began to descend. There did not seem to be many workers around which fit what they had heard so far—there were no longer enough men to work the mine effectively.
Amnian soldiers blocked the mine's entrance and they did not move when Silandra drew closer.
"You guys really should get permission from Emerson over there before you enter the mines," one of the soldiers said. "He can get really nasty about unauthorized guys wandering about."
Silandra raised an eyebrow. "Well, I'm not a 'guy' and I'm not unauthorized," she said, smiling. "The mayor sent me and my companions to investigate this mine."
"Oh, well I suppose you could enter then… Emerson'll understand," the man said, returning her smile.
"Silandra, we should go through the proper channels," said Jaheira. "If this Emerson is in charge of this mine then we should speak with him. He may have further information to share."
The soldier looked a little baffled but pointed to a man who appeared to be arguing with one of the miners. "That's Emerson there. Careful, he's not been in the best of moods."
The group headed over and Jaheira sidled up to Silandra as they walked.
"You cannot just charm your way past people," Jaheira said, sounding even more strict than usual. "Not when there are other ways."
Silandra frowned, a little offended. "I didn't charm him," she said. "I wouldn't have unless it was necessary."
"He was charmed by her good looks alone," Imoen said. "Must be pretty easy here even for regular women. These soldiers probably haven't seen any in a long time."
Jaheira did not apologize; instead her frown deepened and she picked up her pace so she was ahead of the others. Silandra wondered what had put her in such a mood and looked at Khalid imploringly. He just shrugged and hurried after his wife.
Emerson saw the group approaching and dismissed the miner he was with. Silandra thought he looked rather guilty, but he covered it quickly.
"More adventurers, come to die in my mine?" he asked, though he seemed rather hopeful as he looked over the group.
"We were sent by the mayor to investigate," Jaheira said. "He did not tell us we were not the first to try."
Emerson shifted uncomfortably. "Probably didn't wanna put you off. A pair of elves came about a week ago. Sent by Evereska they said. They seemed competent though they looked young. But elves always do. Maybe they really were young though. They haven't returned and I reckon they won't at this point."
"Maybe we'll find them," Silandra said, doing her best to ignore the way Jaheira looked at her when she spoke. What was her problem all of a sudden?
"Can you offer any further information?" Jaheira asked.
"Not really, unless this means anything to you," Emerson said. He picked up a hunk of ore from a nearby cart and held it out.
Jaheira did not seem to want to touch the ore, and Silandra thought she knew why. There was obviously something wrong with it. Even Silandra, having never seen iron ore before, could see that. The surface was beginning to rust already. No wonder people were complaining about the quality of the iron lately. There also seemed to be something coating the ore here and there.
"Sabotage," Jaheira said. "It has to be."
"That's what I thought too!" Emerson said, with the look of someone who'd finally found a like-minded person to air his grievances to. "I swear it's some of the miners, trying to put me out of business! I was just—"
"The miners are killing each other and poisoning thy iron in order to put thee out of business?" Dynaheir glanced at Emerson with skepticism.
"Well accidents happen down there," Emerson said, looking uncomfortable all of a sudden.
"Accidents?" Dynaheir repeated, eyebrow raised. "Thou knows well that this is not the truth of the matter. Something evil is in thy mine and thou wouldst do well to stop treating thy miners as suspects!"
"We heard there were demons in the mines!" Imoen said.
"We don't believe that," Jaheira added quickly. She and Dynaheir wore almost identical glares of disapproval by now. "But there is obviously something down there killing them. I don't believe the miners would be going to such lengths when it's only hurting them in the end. We will find what is wrong with your mine. In the meantime, I suggest you treat your employees better."
Emerson looked suitably abashed as the group took their leave. Silandra wondered what kind of overseer he was if he really thought his miners would try to put him out of business.
The group headed back towards the mine entrance. This time the guards parted willingly for them.
"I wish you guys luck in there," said one. "Whatever's been causing all the trouble isn't something I'd wanna run into."
Silandra and her companions murmured their thanks and entered the dark tunnel.
Thankfully, there were torches along the walls at regular intervals so Jaheira's lantern and the extra one they'd purchased in town were not necessary, at least for the moment. There were miners milling around and guards posted here and there. It didn't seem so bad.
The miners were in varying states, some mindlessly going about their work while others looked downright terrified, looking over their shoulders every few moments as if expecting an attack. A few even approached Silandra and her companions, asking if they were there to save them all and warning of dragons and demons in the lower levels. Silandra did not want to face either and she could only hope the men were exaggerating.
She and Jaheira asked some of the guards what they thought was going on, but they only said to ask the guards below, that the upper level was safe. One guard directed the group to the tunnel that would lead deeper into the mine. On the way, a miner asked them to return a dagger to one of his friends on the next level. Since they were going that way anyway, they agreed—if they could find the man, of course.
As they headed down to the next level, the torches along the walls became sparse. Dynaheir conjured a mage light, and Silandra managed a small version herself thanks to the more experienced mage's teachings. The lighting was still not ideal, but Jaheira said they should conserve the oil in their lanterns for it would probably get worse. She and Khalid took the lead, since aside from Silandra they were best able to see in dim light.
"D'ya really think there's a dragon down there?" Imoen sidled up to Silandra and whispered. She could probably sense Jaheira's bad mood and did not want to risk riling her.
"I hope not," Silandra replied.
"It probably wouldn't take much to start such rumors amongst the miners down here," Garrick said quietly. He was never far from Imoen's side. "Everything looks more threatening in the dark and some of these men have been down here too long to be completely sane."
"This Emerson must be a slave driver," said Ajantis.
"He doesn't have enough men at the moment," said Silandra. "Maybe he wasn't so bad before this." Of course, she already had her own doubts about him, but maybe she was hoping someone else would provide an explanation.
Their conversation was interrupted by yipping sounds from ahead. Khalid and Jaheira sprang into action, charging at what turned out to be a small band of kobolds. Minsc and Ajantis followed while the others couldn't do much except watch. There wasn't enough space to use ranged weapons or spells without risking hitting their group members. Thankfully, the kobolds were dispatched quickly.
"Not quite demons, huh?" Imoen said cheerfully.
"There c-could still be demons," Khalid said, grimacing as he wiped his sword on a ragged kobold shirt.
"I don't think so," said Ajantis. "I think I would be able to sense if there was such a strong evil force nearby."
"That's a relief," said Silandra, seeing from the looks around her that she spoke for most of the group.
"But there could still be a dragon," Imoen said, not looking all that bothered by the thought.
"I think it unlikely. Yet there is surely something else down here," Dynaheir said. "Kobolds do not possess the intelligence to concoct a plan to poison the ore."
"And even kobolds can be dangerous," Jaheira said. "They are usually in higher numbers than this. We must be prepared for that."
They descended deeper into the mine in silence, no one needing to be told that it was important to listen for danger. There was a scream from somewhere ahead, accompanied by the now familiar yipping of kobolds. The group moved forward quickly but were not in time to save the screaming miner. He fell to the ground before them, an arrow killing him instantly. There were more kobolds this time and the tunnel was wider so there was enough space to fight properly. Silandra and Dynaheir fired magic missiles while Imoen and Garrick shot at the reptile-like creatures. One kobold got a glancing blow off Khalid's armor with his sword, but the archers were the only ones who posed any real danger to the group and they were cut down quickly.
Silandra felt sorry for the poor miner. There was nothing she or the others could do for him; even taking his body out to be properly buried was not possible. She wondered then how many more like him they would encounter, how many more they would be too late to save. If what she had heard about the mine so far was true, there could be many dead miners down here. She wasn't sure if she was prepared for that.
More kobolds sprung upon them as they walked and their progress was considerably slowed, having to keep as quiet as possible and peer around every corner for danger. This task fell to Imoen, her vision strengthened by an infravision spell that Dynaheir had prepared.
"Think there was some kinda big ambush here," Imoen whispered, leaned back from the corner she was scouting. It was difficult to tell in this light but Silandra thought she looked rather pale.
"Then there could be another," Jaheira replied quietly. "You don't see any kobolds at this time?"
"No, just… just the bodies," Imoen said. "No traps either, far as I can tell."
"I don't like it," Jaheira said, glancing around the cavern. "We will go slowly. And warily."
She and Khalid crept forward, and as Silandra got further she saw what Imoen had. There was a narrow bridge over some kind of underground lake and it was strewn with dead miners, their bodies peppered with kobold arrows. There was no smell—the bodies had not been there long.
Still, it appeared the kobolds had gone for the moment. The cavern was eerily silent. Even the miners seemed to be less active on this level. It was no wonder; they probably avoided coming here at all costs. There didn't even seem to be any guards around, though there were posts which were probably manned at some point.
Silandra felt uneasy as she stepped onto the bridge. She made the mistake of looking into the lake. Her mage light lit it up just enough to see that it looked very deep. She cringed and tore her gaze away.
The attack came when the group was approaching the middle of the bridge. Arrows began raining down on them from the cavern walls. There must be alcoves there for the kobolds to shoot from, too far from the bridge to be illuminated by the mage lights. Minsc and Ajantis could do nothing except attempt to shield the more vulnerable members of the group from the missiles. At least Khalid had a bow, though he was obviously not as skilled as he was with his sword and the kobolds did not make easy targets in their current positions. Silandra managed to quickly cast a sleep spell as Dynaheir lit up the other side with a fireball, but there were still many of the monsters remaining.
Silandra yelped in fear when Ajantis barely saved her from an arrow, his shield darting in front of her just in time. She gathered her wits and fired a few magic missiles, though she could not see well enough to aim properly and only one hit. At least her sleep spell seemed to have been effective in stopping some of the kobolds.
"We need to move!" Jaheira cried. "We can't win here!"
The group hurried across the bridge. Silandra felt her heart almost stop beating when she saw Imoen take an arrow in her side, but the thick leather armor must have done its job since she only winced before continuing on. Garrick was humming some kind of tune and seemed to twist away from the arrows easily, and Silandra wondered if that was bardic magic at work. Despite Minsc's best efforts, Dynaheir was struck and the berserker lifted his witch and ran for it, shielding her with his body. Silandra was likely only spared because Ajantis had a shield to protect her with. Just as she thought that though, she felt a sharp pain in her arm. It took her by surprise and she stumbled backwards, very nearly falling into the deep lake. Thankfully Ajantis was there to pull her back from the brink. He pulled her close and they ran, Ajantis with his shield at her back.
It seemed like forever before they reached the other side and rounded a corner, finding themselves in a corridor that was thankfully deserted. Of course, there was no telling how long it would be so. The yipping of the kobolds could still be heard behind them so they pressed on, Garrick supporting Imoen as her strength began to fail.
It was a relief when they rounded another corner and found themselves in a large room, well-guarded with a few miners piling carts with ore. It was well-lit and Jaheira wasted no more time in beginning the healing process, starting with Imoen. Dynaheir bore the wound in her shoulder bravely and insisted she could wait. A few arrows had struck the armored members of the group but the wounds appeared to be superficial. Minsc didn't even care enough to try removing the arrows sticking out of his armor.
"Who are you and what are you doing down here?" called one of the guards, evidently shocked at the group's sudden appearance.
"We are adventurers, here to investigate your mine problems," said Ajantis. "We just encountered a kobold ambush. I'm sure you won't begrudge us the chance to rest and heal here for a short time."
"Of course," the man said quickly. "Forgive me. We are on edge here, as you can imagine. Feel free to relax. The kobolds know better than to enter this room by now."
Silandra gingerly felt the wound in her arm. Thankfully the arrow had only grazed her and although she was bleeding she knew it wasn't serious. It still hurt though. At least she had been prepared for something like this and was wearing one of her already-ruined dresses.
"My—I mean, Silandra—let me heal you," Ajantis said.
"I'm fine, it was just a graze," she said. She realized that the pain seemed to be fading already and a strange warmth was emanating from the wound. Maybe it was even more trivial than she thought, but what was this other feeling? Her eyes widened when she glanced down and saw the wound had disappeared. Her hand was still bloody; she had not imagined it.
"You should let me see, just in case," said Ajantis.
"It didn't hurt me, see?" Silandra said, showing where the arrow had torn her dress. Maybe the blood would blend in with the red fabric.
"What happened?" Ajantis asked, taking her arm gently and tracing his fingers lightly over her skin where the wound had been. He looked confused and she was sure he had seen the blood after all.
"I don't know," she said. "It really was only a graze but… it disappeared."
She looked around and saw that everyone else was occupied, whether waiting to be healed or, in Minsc's case, watching the room's entrance for threats. Now that he had Dynaheir back he watched her like a hawk. It had been difficult to even convince him to sleep at night and let someone else keep watch, though thankfully he got along well with Khalid and trusted him quickly. He liked Ajantis too, though the paladin had not quite warmed up to him yet, which Silandra thought was strange. She hoped Ajantis wasn't still holding a grudge against him for not 'treating her like a lady' or whatever other nonsense he thought the berserker was guilty of.
"Please don't mention this to anyone else," she said. "Not until I know what it means."
"Very well," said Ajantis, though she could tell he was dying to discuss it further. He seemed to realize he was still holding her arm and let go quickly.
"Let's ask these miners if they know Kylee," Silandra said, glad to have an excuse to put off the discussion for now. "I'm sure he'll want his dagger sooner rather than later with so many kobolds around."
Kylee was easy to find and he was glad to have his dagger back. He wasn't as thin and scraggly as many of the miners, obviously one of the few strong enough to fight back if needed.
"What do you know about the happenings in the mine?" Silandra asked.
"Kobolds!" Kylee exclaimed. "They're overrunning the place piece by piece. We used to see them occasionally but now you can't go more than a few feet without kicking one of them on the lower levels. It's not so bad up here with the guards around. Still, I wouldn't get caught in the dark if I were you."
"We've encountered the kobolds," Silandra said. "Anything else?"
"Not that I know of, but you know they're not too smart," said Kylee. "Must be someone giving them orders. If you'll excuse me, I'd better get back to work."
He meandered over to one of the half-filled carts to continue loading it with poisoned ore. Silandra wondered why anyone even bothered. To her it seemed the ore in its current state was close to being as useful as having none at all.
"We should rest here," said Ajantis. "Jaheira will be tired and we may not get another chance for a while."
"I'll ask her," Silandra said, not relishing the thought. "Though she doesn't seem very pleased with me recently."
"I think she is just used to being in charge," said Ajantis. "Maybe she doesn't like to see you doing just as good a job."
"Thank you, but I am not nearly as competent as Jaheira," Silandra said, unable to keep herself from smiling.
Luckily it seemed Jaheira had been thinking the same thing they were. She looked and sounded exhausted as she announced they should rest for the night—if it was night, since there was no real way of telling underground. Imoen and Dynaheir especially needed to rest, for though they had been healed they had lost a lot of blood.
They set up their bedrolls at the back of the room, trying to be unobtrusive. The guards said watch was kept in that room all night since the recent happenings in the mine so they did not need to set their own guards.
Ajantis purposefully put his bedroll beside Silandra's, though at a respectable distance. She could tell by the expression on his face that he wanted to talk about what had happened. Imoen was on her other side, already half-asleep. Minsc and Boo were listening to some tale Garrick was telling. Minsc always said that it was really Boo who liked to hear the stories but the expression on his face as Garrick spoke betrayed him. Khalid and Jaheira were engaged in what looked to be a serious discussion while Dynaheir was poring over her spellbook, though she looked like she was too tired to last long. This was as good a time as any.
"When you healed yourself, did you feel anything?" Ajantis began slowly, as if expecting her to stop him.
"It was like… a warmth flowing through me," Silandra replied. "Like magic, only… different. I can't explain it any better than that."
"Perhaps some god has chosen you," Ajantis said, his eyes lighting up. "Maybe they are trying to tell you that it is time to choose."
Silandra sighed. She wished he had not brought this up but she didn't have any better ideas as to what had happened. "I don't want to choose. And even if I did, how would I know which one is responsible for this?"
"It just bothers me that you are so against choosing a god to revere," Ajantis said. He looked uncomfortable and Silandra thought he may stop there, but she was not so lucky. "It isn't safe. You should take this as a sign. I won't try and convert you to Helm of course. I think… a less stringent god may be better suited to you, Silandra."
"And which would you suggest?" Silandra asked, genuinely curious about what his answer would be if not Helm.
"I think Sune would suit you," Ajantis said, his faint blush just visible in the torchlight. "You said you are familiar with the gods, and it does seem strange that you would not choose Sune as you are very beautiful."
"Gorion pushed me from that path early on, and perhaps it was for the best." Silandra paused, unsure whether she wanted to continue or not. She usually found talking easy but this was just one of the subjects she was uncomfortable with. "It is…very difficult for me to not be obsessed with beauty and I think Sune would only have exacerbated that. No, I do not think Sune is for me."
"Did Gorion offer an alternative?" Ajantis asked, frowning. "It seems strange that he would not encourage you to find a god that calls to you."
"Oh yes," said Silandra, smiling faintly. "He thought I should choose Oghma. I do like learning, but there's something that always seemed kind of stuffy about such a god. It would have been an easy path, since he was the most popular deity in Candlekeep and there was a shrine there. But he just isn't for me."
"What about Tyr? I know he is usually revered by priests and paladins, but I think you are a just person, perhaps…"
"I'm sorry, Ajantis." Silandra felt incredibly tired all of a sudden. "I can't choose now. Perhaps if I knew why I was able to heal myself like that it would carry some weight but, as it is, I don't."
"I'm the one who should be sorry," Ajantis said, sighing and leaning back. "Faith cannot be forced and I am sorry if it seemed like that was what I was doing. I just… worry about you."
"I've got this far without it, haven't I?"
"Yes, but you seem to be in more danger now than you have been previously. But never mind. I will do my best to protect you."
Silandra smiled, finding herself blushing now. She had to stop doing that. "I appreciate it. I think I'm going to study my spellbook for a while."
"Of course," Ajantis said quickly. "Don't let me keep you. I need to clean my sword and armor myself."
Silandra felt there was a moment of awkwardness as they resituated themselves, but it passed quickly and soon she was absorbed in her spellbook. There were now a few new spells in there thanks to Dynaheir, though actually being able to cast them was no easy matter. She had thought infravision would be simple having cast from a scroll before, but the forms just did not feel right in her head yet. She chose that as her focus for the night, for she was sure it would prove useful if they had to spend much more time in the mine.