Alice still continues to stare at Ashley, or rather the candy she's been given, to see where it ends up.

Ashley grabs 15gp 6sp "Seems like I'm being jipped, but it is 1/8th... This includes 30 of the silver I gave to chickie. Since Yulya approved, I'm not eating all that.

Alice eats 5pp and 19gp
That's all I can store! At least that fake werewofl dropped some decent coin! I'd still rather have his ears...
Remaining:
9gp
331sp
46cp

Ashley casts Summon Mechatherial Dragon Wasp and sends Beatrice to land on Cat. The little creature buzzes over and lands lightly on Cat's shoulder. Cat feels the little claws of the beast grip her like an iron claw.[/quote]
Alice looks at the wasp on Cat's shoulder with envy
Why do I never get a fluffy wasp or cat?

Grumbling, Alice follows Cat, ready to climb the palisades if necessary. For now she readies her new hunter's bow to shoot any additional bandits showing up on the fence.

Ashley takes the adventurer's plate from the near-naked man laying in the snow. "Wouldn't want this to get lost, let's go, wait... What did we end up doing with that whistle, who has the woman's brooch?"

[Interaction Required, Answer Ashley's Question]

Yulya puts on Alric's Mantle and realizes almost immediately what it is, this is a Mantle of Magic Resistance, it acts to give advantage to most targeted spell saving throws. The rings are a mystery and she decides not to wear them at this time.

As the light fails to a very dim twilight, you make your way to the palisade walls. The deafening quiet is a stark contrast to the incessant wind of just a few hours ago. The relative calm is a welcome relief but the crunch of steps in the fresh snow is unavoidable.

Grumbling, Alice follows Cat, ready to climb the palisades if necessary. For now she readies her new hunter's bow to shoot any additional bandits showing up on the fence.

Ashley waits within sight of the gates, she gives Cat the signal that she's ready and Cat hurls Beatrice over the palisade structure hoping to have her land safely on the upper landing. [DEX 1d20+1=11] Though not perfect, Beatrice sails over the wall and tumbles down along the upper landing then falls to the ground floor in the snow. After some slow wandering around Ashley reports what Beatrice saw.

"Coast is clear, I'm trying the gate." Using her lockpicking tools, Ashley attempts to unlock the gate [LUCK 1d4=4] The latch turns without her even beginning, the gate's not locked.

Pushing the heavy doors, she peeks her head in and looks around, she gives the signal to follow and after a moment you see her enter.

[Interactions Required]

Alice still fixates Ashley until she is out of sight, seeing her candy slip away.

Cat re-ties her cut rope, fixes it to the grappling hook and hurls it up to the palisades.
Climb after me Nya!

Alice looks up and frowns
Why is there nobody? This has to be a trap!

Hesitantly she follows Cat but stays on the walkway with her readied bow

Ashley picks up Beatrice and waits for Yulya before approaching the entrance, being especially careful to avoid any traps.

"Give me Alric's Plate, I'll explain it to Freya." Ashley notes Yulya has two Silver Brooches now.

On first glance, there are plenty of places to hide equipment, though none of it is very secure out here in the courtyard behind the wall.

Cat re-ties her cut rope, fixes it to the grappling hook and hurls it up to the palisades. Cat climbs up and carefully takes a look over the palisades to see if anything is hiding in the corners. Finding no one, she climbs down from the walkway and go 15ft South and looks around if she can find the whistle she threw inside.

[Perception to find the Whistle only 1d20+2=8]

She doesn't find the whistle.

Hesitantly Alice follows Cat but stays on the walkway with her readied bow.

Yulya carefully follows Ashley inside and casts GUIDANCE on herself before searching the area for traps and ambushes.

[Perception 1d20+(5+1d4 Guidance or +7 Truesight)=11]

Ashley sees the whistle in the fresh snow and picks it up, "If we're here to face whatever comes, then let's face it."

W1:

The defensible entrance looks to be erected within the season up to maybe 6 months ago and leads into a large natural cavern supported by a pillars of rock most of which are natural but some have been chipped away at to widen passages and create new ones. Remnants of old wood and iron indicate it was sealed at some point. Wooden platforms, even those outside, cover and protect drifts leading deep into the rock face. Tossing a pebble in, some of them sound very deep. These are the old tunnels that miners have already chased all the ore. The easily obtained veins near the entrance have long since been exhausted. The wood platforms you've seen look like they are being used for staging areas, loading and unloading ore and supplies while the mine is in operation, but for now they're mostly barren.

The minecart tracks lead in all directions ending at the wooden platforms where the ore was loaded and pushed out.

The entrance dust has many types of footprints, animals and humanoids alike. You can see dozens of humanoids wearing boots, wolves, and large Troll prints. [There are many creatures that seem to spawn out of nothing in caves and abandoned mines, as if growing from the rocks themselves, some theorize the mana that has infused the very Earth itself when the mana circuits were first opened thousands of years ago also opened portals to other planes, others just believe caves are a natural habitat for animals in general and the monsters merely follow nature. Whether these creatures are attracted to the invisible rifts of energy, spawned spontaneously, or simply wandered in is a matter of conjecture.]

Crudely scratched into the wall just at the entrance is a giant spider outline similar in form to what was seen in the goblin den but not nearly as elegant or well done.



From the entrance you can see that the mine is impressively immaculate, other than dust, they've kept it clean.



There are three passageways, North, South and East, and what initially looks like oil lanterns are lit instead with everglow stone; this light orange, dim, but everlasting light keeps the mine indefinitely lit in most areas. The very slightly hissing stone let's off a musty, burnt dirt-like odor that most find offensive but the dwaves call 'the smell of home'.

The temperature is easily 15C warmer inside the cave, a welcome relief to the bitter cold outside, owed to the natural thermal capacity of the earth and the fact that colder temperatures haven't had time to fully saturate the mountain. As your eyes acclimate to the dim light you notice the body of a goblin, this one has had his skull crushed and his weapons broken beyond repair nearby.

Upon inspection of the body, it is dressed in filthy rags, further revealing that it is not a Cragmaw goblin, if anything it looks a yellower shade and its ears are uniquely different, perhaps a subspecies, it looks to be no more than a week since it's death but the naturally sterile cave in conjunction with the weather outside has mostly preserved it. What this fellow is doing here or who killed it, if not the bandits, is a mystery.

Half a dozen unlit brass oil lanterns stand in niches or on ledges around the cavern, they're dusty and look like they haven't been touched in years.

Mine Tunnels and drifts:

In any of the intersecting passages, the ceilings here are only six feet high, and several of the passages end in partially excavated rock faces.

The walls you can immediately see are carved with simple reliefs showing dwarf and gnome miners at work, these carvings are quite well done, some have been defaced, others are smeared with a substance that is foul and smells as such, perhaps by the goblin before his demise. The lanterns and the carvings of miners otherwise give a sense of welcoming, and were likely meant for that purpose to welcome newcomers and make the place feel more at home.

Ashley finds one trap that the male Bandit described, a noose meant to catch a foot and hoist an intruder upside down at the entrance. The rope can be reclaimed if you want the 50ft of Hemp Rope.

After closer inspection, there's a well hidden barrel near the entrance that could be used to store supplies, it currently has two child-sized mining helmets, likely meant for halflings who the dwarfs historically hire as miners, and two similarly sized mining overalls, a touch material that is otherwise no better than what you have, again, only Alice could potentially squeeze into them.

[Interactions Required]

The entrance dust has many types of footprints, animals and humanoids alike. You can see dozens of humanoids wearing boots, wolves, and large Troll prints. [There are many creatures that seem to spawn out of nothing in caves and abandoned mines, as if growing from the rocks themselves, some theorize the mana that has infused the very Earth itself when the mana circuits were first opened thousands of years ago also opened portals to other planes, others just believe caves are a natural habitat for animals in general and the monsters merely follow nature. Whether these creatures are attracted to the invisible rifts of energy, spawned spontaneously, or simply wandered in is a matter of conjecture.]

Learning this, Alice stops abruptly.
Wait, wait wait!
Are you saying monsters can materialize out of thin air here? I thought only the werewofl could summon them? I've heard about regions where the barrier to what you call the Negative Plane was so thin that demonic entities could flood over, but those are usually quickly turned into hell on Earth. This place looks fairly normal. Otherwise the Rockseekers wouldn't think about mining here.

Crudely scratched into the wall just at the entrance is a giant spider outline similar in form to what was seen in the goblin den but not nearly as elegant or well done.

Alice's eyes narrow. She decides to deface it as soon as this mine is cleared. Right now that would create too much noise.

From the entrance you can see that the mine is impressively immaculate, other than dust, they've kept it clean.

Alice nods approvingly.
Yep, definitely humans.

There are three passageways, North, South and East, and what initially looks like oil lanterns are lit instead with everglow stone; this light orange, dim, but everlasting light keeps the mine indefinitely lit in most areas. The very slightly hissing stone let's off a musty, burnt dirt-like odor that most find offensive but the dwaves call 'the smell of home'.

Alice pats Cat on the back.
Not my thing either but I'm glad I don't have your nose!

The temperature is easily 15C warmer inside the cave, a welcome relief to the bitter cold outside, owed to the natural thermal capacity of the earth and the fact that colder temperatures haven't had time to fully saturate the mountain.

Alice takes off Alric's cloak and packs it up
Ah yes, that feels better in here. Not good, but at least better!

She runs her hand over the stone walls.
Crystalline rock, there's probably even hot springs somewhere down here. It should get warmer the deeper we go.

As your eyes acclimate to the dim light you notice the body of a goblin, this one has had his skull crushed and his weapons broken beyond repair nearby. Upon inspection of the body, it is dressed in filthy rags, further revealing that it is not a Cragmaw goblin, if anything it looks a yellower shade and its ears are uniquely different, perhaps a subspecies, it looks to be no more than a week since it's death but the naturally sterile cave in conjunction with the weather outside has mostly preserved it. What this fellow is doing here or who killed it, if not the bandits, is a mystery.[/i]

Alice closely inspects the ears like a phrenologist determining the ethnicity of a savage.
Yes, definitely outside the range of goblin ears I have seen so far. This must also go in my collection, but fresh ones!

The walls you can immediately see are carved with simple reliefs showing dwarf and gnome miners at work, these carvings are quite well done, some have been defaced, others are smeared with a substance that is foul and smells as such, perhaps by the goblin before his demise. The lanterns and the carvings of miners otherwise give a sense of welcoming, and were likely meant for that purpose to welcome newcomers and make the place feel more at home.

Alice tilts her head, trying to get an overview of the reliefs.
Dwarves are strange people but you gotta admire their industriousness and dedication. Goblins on the other hand...

After closer inspection, there's a well hidden barrel near the entrance that could be used to store supplies, it currently has two child-sized mining helmets, likely meant for halflings who the dwarfs historically hire as miners, and two similarly sized mining overalls, a touch material that is otherwise no better than what you have, again, only Alice could potentially squeeze into them.

Alice looks at the equipment and then at the expectant gazes of the others.
I doubt any of those bandits would take a halfling miner for granted in the current situation. Ah well, before I ruin my wofl cloak I'll give it a try I guess...

Alice morphs out of her clothes and into the mining overall and dons the helmet
Kind of useful I can always adapt to cloth sizes!


Venturing deeper into the mine, Alice keeps her bow ready with a poisoned arrow should anything appear from behind

As everyone approaches the entrance, Cat tries to sniff if there is any scent of familiar animals or if they might be Alric's summons.

[Perception 1d20+3+2 smell = 8] There are too many other scents to distinguish any possibly lurking live creatures, decay, death, glowstone, wax, wet dirt, humans, all intermingle in a mess of scents.

Cat cringes at the smell.

Nyaa I don't like this Nya better than gobling stench but still awful Nya no wonder Tabaxi never were miners Nya!

Venturing deeper into the mine, Alice keeps her bow ready with a poisoned arrow should anything appear from behind

Cat checks if the lanterns contain oil and are operational. The ones she sees near the entrance are mostly empty but some have a few hours.

4- Oil Lanterns with 1/4 lb of oil.
4- Oil Lanterns in good condition with no or trace amount of oil in them
1- broken lantern

I saw another entrance South of here Nya! Can you send Beatrice to check it out Nya? I don't wanna get ambushed from behind Nya!

Yulya agrees.
Yes please, we need to know all options before we venture deeper! We also must check the N and S passage before we go further East. This maze is ideal for ambushes. Ashley can you summon another wasp? We can have one investigate the Southern entrance and one scout ahead. I could cast LIGHT on Beatrice so we could use her as mobile illumination!

"Yeah, I don't need light, I can see through her with truesight. Lighting her up would just alert anything that might be lurking. Also, making a pop at this point will only alert everyone in the mine."



Ashley directs Beatrice to explore the Southern entrance...

[Hidden Rolls]

W3: Side Entrance

This 40-foot long, roughly 6x6 square and lined tunnel is a clean and ore-dust free method of ingress to W11. Beatrice emerges South of your position and Ashley describes in exquisite detail all she can see from her perspective: [Beatrice Perception Roll 1d20=13]

W11: Southern Cavern

To the South are two doors, Ashley describes she can just barely hear gruff voices coming from the northern door, she believes they are speaking Goblish.

W5: Southern Cavern

This chamber appears to have been used as a dining hall and storeroom Two more passages open to the East. Wooden tables dominate the room with three unlit candles, 5 wooden carved mugs, an old pick in disrepair, and a staff torch used traditionally to inspect fresh walls after blasting. On the southern wall, shelves set with a large dusty balance scale made of iron, and tools that seem to be part of a surveyor's tool kit, a large sledge hammer and more rope. In the shelves below are two barrels reminiscent of ale casks with unknown contents.

Directly across from the tunnel are shelves with more small sized helmets and overalls as well as boots. A little further East against the northern wall are shelves containing mining equipment and supplies. These are probably the dwarves' supplies and are potentially useful but not particularly valuable. A Pick, shovel, trowels, a hammer and more larger sized boots with metal toes are on that shelf along with a wooden bin filled with rocks.

Along the Southwest wall are three shelves, the first containing 2 more candles, a set of leather gloves, a mace, large but stubby leather boots, cubbyholes carved are stuffed with crumbling paper scrolls. The second and third have a set of repair tools potentially machinery, two quivers with arrows but no bow and three smooth wooded chests with locks.
 
Broken metal tools also lay in two large metal pans. [Look closely at the map to see these items.]

Yulya asks while nervously scanning the mine from ceiling to floor

We must find that elevator as soon as possible to block it!

Ashley finishes describing what she sees and says, "There are others down there, probably goblins, they don't seem to know we're here yet. We probably need to take care of them first. No one mentioned Goblins, fricken liars." [Though the two bandits were truthful when required to be, they could withold information at times or may not have known about the other inhabitants given they were occupied with other tasks or whoever is there might have come from a unexplored part of the cave when the four left. Or, again, appeard from nothing, but not likely.]

[Interactions Required, also let me know your preferred formation and locations at this time. The map is just for placeholder and you won't be held responsible for it given you give me new positions]

W11: Southern Cavern
To the South are two doors, Ashley describes she can just barely hear gruff voices coming from the northern door, she believes they are speaking Goblish.

W5: Southern Cavern
This chamber appears to have been used as a dining hall and storeroom Two more passages open to the East. Wooden tables dominate the room with three unlit candles, 5 wooden carved mugs, an old pick in disrepair, and a staff torch used traditionally to inspect fresh walls after blasting. On the southern wall, shelves set with a large dusty balance scale made of iron, and tools that seem to be part of a surveyor's tool kit, a large sledge hammer and more rope. In the shelves below are two barrels reminiscent of ale casks with unknown contents.

Directly across from the tunnel are shelves with more small sized helmets and overalls as well as boots. A little further East against the northern wall are shelves containing mining equipment and supplies. These are probably the dwarves' supplies and are potentially useful but not particularly valuable. A Pick, shovel, trowels, a hammer and more larger sized boots with metal toes are on that shelf along with a wooden bin filled with rocks.

Along the Southwest wall are three shelves, the first containing 2 more candles, a set of leather gloves, a mace, large but stubby leather boots, cubbyholes carved are stuffed with crumbling paper scrolls. The second and third have a set of repair tools potentially machinery, two quivers with arrows but no bow and three smooth wooded chests with locks.
 
Broken metal tools also lay in two large metal pans. [Look closely at the map to see these items.]

Yulya is actually relieved its goblins and not more humans.
Fine. We must inspect those items after we deal with the enemy, Ashley please let Beatrice scout the northern corridoor if there are enemies. If not we will approach the door. Alice please go see if the door is locked or if you can peek inside!

Alice please go see if the door is locked or if you can peek inside!

If the North is clear, Alice uses stealth to approach the door and examine it to see of she can take a look inside through a crevice or keyhole. and to see if it is locked or whether it can be opened.
Cat, use oil from the lamp to lubricate the hinges! We don't want it to creak!