Alice sets up the tent on the elevator and makes sure it is - and stays - clean while mumbling to herself.
Ashley damned! Just because I didn't want you to bring dirt into my tent doesn't mean you should have just left us...

"Eldermath, that drow what sells apples? His cider is great, but he himself, I'd rather not say."

Alice grins.
Let us call him - interesting!

"Of course they'd think orcs, we had to chase the orcs out when we first returned, and we had to fortify the entrance to keep them back. The goblins don't bother me, they keep to themselves, they'll even trade occasionally, but the orcs are a real menace!"

Alice nods knowingly.
Never seen an Orc since I came here, but they are generally underestimated. Manage to survive even in the toughest environment. A real pest that's almost impossible to eradicate.

I would bet the Rockseekers didn't know about Nezzner or his shenanigans and only thought you needed to negotiate with the watcher."

Which would have been worth a honorable mention, in my humble opinion...

"I guarantee no one asked you to snoop around the dark waters; that was an obvious trap."

We don't do half-assed things. We go in and kill everyone and everything that even remotely looks like it could cause trouble. And eat them. That's how it goes.
Alice pats the sack with the remains of the snake and octopus inside and smiles happily.
That also goes for those cloaked wofl guys. We will hunt them down to the last man, woman or monster associated with them. They have no idea who they're dealing with!

Alice's off-putting appearance seems to be changing slightly; she seems to know how to appear more human, and the dwarf takes her for a human child or half-ling, "nay the crystals in that cavern are mana-infused sphalerite; it's dastardly in that it's beautiful but worthless because of the mana infusion, you can barely mine it even with mithril and Harbin couldn't figure even how he'd get the iron out of it. As for the other veins, I couldn't get you there without a map."

Mhm...
I question how you could mine this place anyway, wouldn't the mana concentration constantly materialize monsters out of thin air? Well, if someone knows, it's you dwarves. I'd still call it a high-risk environment. Not to mention those bandits. We took care of the watcherspectator, or rather Mormesk did, but who guarantees that the bandits won't move it again after we leave? You might face the same problem when you return next time. You'd need a permanent escort. At least until we have dealt with them. Which might be a pain. I do not mind fighting strong enemies, but an asymmetric war against a guerilla who hides among the common population is near impossible to win - unless you eradicate everyone.

Alice shrugs, considering this a valid option, when she remembers something.
Yulya-sama! The whistle! What do we do with it?

Alice was not asked, but agrees it's safer to return to the upper level.
It is well fortified. I doubt anyone would come in this snowstorm, even the bandits said so. If the weather has improved, we can use the fortification as a lookout. There's no other way in and we set ample traps. I wonder if we caught something!

Yulya still tries to make sense of Nezzers rings.

Yulya-sama! The whistle! What do we do with it?

Oh I almost forgot.!
Yulya still feels uncomfortable dealing with Ashleys things. She shows the whistle to Kingir.
We took this whistle from the bandits. Also silver brooches. It appears they enable some sort of tracking. I am unsure whether we should leave this whistle here which would cause trouble as they would return to the mine - or take it with us and risk getting ambushed on the way back to Phandalin. Alice havent you proposed to strap it to an animal? We would need to find and catch one first!

Yulya remembers her beast immunity that might come in handy. But that would till require marching out into the snow.

You rest for another 4 hours, Kingir could use another 4, and the brown-haired girl wakes up. She is startled to find herself on the elevator platform and surrounded by other girls and a dwarf. She sees Kingir and her face turns white like she's seen a ghost. She shakes her friend, but she doesn't stir. She keeps her head down and doesn't make a sound, staring at Kingir with disbelief.

Cat returns carrying a barrel.
Oh good morning Nya! No worries Nya all's good Nya! Would you like some breaded snake Nya? We also have octopus Nya or wild dog Nya - or...
Cat's ears droop slightly
...also a dry ration perhaps Nya?
Cat hopes her cooking is more appreciated by the girls than by the dwarf but leaves the talking to Yulya.


If this hasn't already been done, Cat carefully moves the elevator to the upper floor and checks if there are enemies around.