Intro:
You've individually found your way to Gate Pass, the town described in the Player's guide. If you took one of the bonus feats, then you've lived in Gate Pass for a while (if you weren't born there).
The mines and farms in the mountains have always provided good jobs. Nearly anyone who's anyone worked at them in some capacity. The mines are a few days journey from Gate Pass, so they setup camps near the mineheads. The camps are operated year round, tho in winter (now) most people sleep underground where it's slightly warmer. Almost everyone works 16 hours a day for 2.5 months, then two weeks off. While in Minetown all are fed and housed, tho the cost is deducted from the salary. A store operates to sell luxury items and the tally is also deducted from the salary. Alcohol is technically prohibited and the possessor is fined if found with any. Everything taken out of the mine legally belongs to the mine's owner, Mr. Arendt. Bonuses seem to be given fairly and often for both miners and other workers (when the mine is paying).
Caves in these mountains aren’t warm, they are damp and chilly. An old wives tale recounts an ancient white dragon took up residence in the mountain range, blowing his mighty breath to the heavens until the mountain tops were covered with snow. He then buried himself and is sleeping.
You've all taken jobs at the mine that suit your backstory.
Suggestions:
John – Healing, Security, Undead removal
Sam – Security, Identifying Evil artifacts, Healing
Lance – Lighting, Identifying Magic artifacts, Security
Mike – Security, Raging, Stinking up the place
Rita – ?
You've worked together on the same shift for about 2 months. You have about a week until you go back to Gate Pass. You've seen some action, but not a whole lot. Mostly little things here and there. Lots of monstrous centipedes and dark mantles, some troglodytes, some ancient skeletons and zombies, the rare Myconid (mushroom man), and one time with the help of Yellowcloud, Lucas and Tarla a Carrion Crawler.
Yellowcloud, Lucas and Tarla have been working in the mines going on a year. They work opposite shifts from you. Your shifts overlap and there's talk around the fire during these times. Below are examples of some of what you hear.
Yellowcloud:
Yellowcloud is a tough tall man with dirty brown hair. Literally dirty. He's gruff and is only really friendly with Lucas and Tarla. He carries a great axe and he's currently head of security for the mines.
"Mines, oh do I hate the mines. Dirty, cramped, smelling of filth, and cold. So cold. On the high Ragesian plains it got cold, but never this cold. Climbing a mountain just to tunnel beneath it. Dirty and dangerous work. If the rocks didn't cave your head in, the goblins, kobolds, giant ants, darkmantles, etc..., etc... would gladly do it for you. Hell one time I had to kill a drider! That thing was as scary as it was ugly. Luckily it was crawling off to die. The cave-in that opened its lair crushed it. No one liked to think about what was in those silk cocoons... That thing had more gems and gold in its lair then we'd pulled out of the mountain in a month of hard work.
Oh, sure I got paid to kill it. That's all I did in those tiny little holes they called mines. I was paid protect the miners from whatever they unearthed. I didn't get no extra putting that thing out of its misery. I got my weekly wage like everyone else. Mr. Arendt gets everything we pull outta them holes. Sometimes we earn a bonus if nobody dies in a whole month, if the mine's paying that is. Me, Snaggletooth, and the Queen Bee sat around most of the time. Course Snaggly had to patch up the miners every now and then even when I didn't have to get involved. And Queenie was sent to scout about whenever we opened a cavern of any sort. Sometimes she saw nothin, and sometimes she'd run past me with a herd a
troggies chasing her. Stink worse than the latrine shaft, them things did.
Anyway, it's nice to be outta there. If only for a few days. What's this I've been hearing about ol' Coaltongue? Dead? He can't be dead that old snaggletooth was unkillable so they said. I'll be dammed."
Lucas:
Lucas is a slight half-elven man who appears to be in his late 20s. He's the consummate wizard. Intelligent but either oblivious or uncaring of most things that happen around him. He is an old friend of Yellowcloud and they treat each other like siblings. Lucas is in charge of keeping the books and lighting the mines.
"The dunce calls me Buggy. I explained to him that the insect and specific verbal utterances, which if done correctly, channels my arcane power into an object and thereby creates illumination. It isn't THAT complicated. I had to repeat this procedure every 20 to 30 minutes. EVERY time he'd mumble 'buggy'. I began to think my sole job was keep him entertained. No, Mr. Arendt hired me to save money. Torches, candles, and lanterns are all costly and having an open fire while mining isn't always the best idea. Additionally my duties included keeping records, drawing maps, ordering supplies, assisting with transportation, helping out around the kitchen, and occasionally assisting with 'security'.
My primary duty, aside from illumination, was inspection of artifacts. The miners had specific instructions to not touch any artifacts found while excavating. They followed this rule to the letter after Rambin and Turvey thought they'd sneak a look in a sealed metal box they extracted from a larger lead enclosure. They never were quite themselves after that. By the time I arrived the box had turned to dust, the men mumbled about a 'darkness that poured out like tar, and passed right through the ground'. I've yet to find anything in my studies to match the description of the box or it's contents. One never knows what lies beneath our very feet. Strange things, evil things, and most important of all; valuable things.
Have you heard about this inquisition, this scourge? People always fear what they do not understand. Targeting any wielder of magic you say... frightening indeed."
Tarla:
Tarla is a dwarf who doesn't fit the mold. She's slim and nimble for a dwarf, and she's got no beard. She teases both Yellowcloud and Lucas almost as much as they do each other. Tarla is Yellowcloud's right hand woman in a fight. She also scouts ahead when needed due to her darkvision.
"Yellowcloud the brave and Lucas the bright. They keep things entertaining. How I ever fell in with those two is beyond me. We've been protecting the miners, the mine and its contents for about a year now. It's hard work, but rewarding. I've seen more things in that year then I've seen in 24 living in Gate Pass. You'd think the mountains were infested full. Gozreh knows that I've tried not to kill the strange beasts that're down there, but some of em just insisted on it.
The miners keep to themselves. They do their thing and we do ours. If nothing's happened for a while, they get to resenting us for getting paid to stand around. Tho, they're real thankful their not the ones poking around caverns they open up or attempting to shoo something strange that's wandering the mines. Our first tour there was mostly standing around, tho during the second the mine intersected with a nest of giant ants. They mined right into an egg chamber. We kept them at bay for almost an hour with fire and acid. Until the miners managed to dig around and cause a collapse to seal that branch. Almost lost Yellowcloud in the rubble. Lucky it was mostly just the little ones, the big soldier ants can cut ya in half and sting ya to boot.
Yes, Mr. Arendt keeps everything interesting that we find." She whispers, "At least he thinks so. Lucas needs a good bit o coin to craft us some tools that'll make things easier for us." Returning to her normal tenor "As they dig deeper, I fear we'll need even more magical help."
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