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.

Unable to deal with the rings for now Yulya refills the focus and rests to regenerate her MP.

Alice introduces Yulya like a celebrity and pushes her forward to the girl.

Yulya awkwardly addresses the scared girl in her usual yet odd way for her age.
Fear not my child! We are adventurers of Neverwinter! You are safe here! The enemy has been defeated. I am Yulya - Peace Cleric of Eldath! Pleased to meet you! These are my comrades Alice and Cat.

Yulya shows her adventurers tag. She isnt too happy about the girls reaction to the dwarf and prays he has not done anything bad before getting killed. Yulya shakes off the thought remembering that dwarfs are odd but seldomly evil.
And this gentleman here is Sir Kingir. Indeed the fact that you see him alive is my doing. Your friend should wake up soon. Please do not worry. I know this must all be very confusing but be at ease! Do you feel pain anywhere? You should not have sustained any serious injuries but we can treat even the minor ones!



Yulya does not want to pressure the girl into some kind of confession and for now decides to let her say what she wants to say without prying further and sits down next to her.

Alice is satisfied she is not taken for a monster or ridiculed as a child for once, and leaves Elaine in Yulya's care.

Kingir speaks, "okay then, where are the traps, let's not go rushing about, they might have set more." He hands extra clothes to Elaine and explains how cold it must be outside. "What time is it anyway?" He asks Yulya.

Not asked, Alice responds anyway.
My time-keeping mechanisms are completely broken, I have no idea how long we have been in here. Too long in any case. I hate caves, mines and dungeons. It's good to get outs-
Alice feels the icy draft from outside
Damneed, I forgot it's deepest winter out there! Curse that dragon! I'm gonna cook and eat it just like the others!

Alice goes to carefully inspect the traps or if there is any signs some were overlooked or set anew by intruders.She shows the existing traps to Kingir but doesn't dismantle them yet
Caaat, can you check outside on the palisades? I'm dying here, don't even have my winter clothes yet!

If the coast is clear, Alice takes her warm boots from the storage on this level and dons her wofl cloak over the miner's outfit, proudly showing it to Kingir.
These guys were with the goblins in the den on Triboar trail. I had this custom-made in Neverwinter!


Alice inspects the loot and has to agree with Cat that taking it all will unfortunately be impossible. She consumes 1lb of the bronze dwarven ore.
If I can't take I'll at least eat a bit of it! Can't hurt...

She finds the barrels with ale at the entrance.
Now this is something! We should have a party before leaving!