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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Branding Opportunity" data-source="post: 2434761" data-attributes="member: 31812">Gathering your belongings you make your way up the steps from the star-shaped chamber towards the exit.  You pass the wolves' lair and head down the hallway, once again hearing the eerie voice-like sounds emanating from the walls.Once outside of the Cairn you can see that it has turned into a somewhat overcast, hot and muggy afternoon.  Rain clouds loom overhead yet seem reluctant to give any kind of relief from the heat.Pak and Kellian sigh and look at each other, a quiet look of disappointment in their eyes.  The shifter remains silent, but the changeling speaks up, “Look, gents, it’s been fun and all, but Kellian and I have been thinking and talking.  We haven’t found a thing in this place and some of us have almost died for it.  We don’t think it’s worth it anymore.  We’re sorry to run out on you like this, but I’m sure you’ll be fine.  We’re going to head back to Diamond Lake, there are much better pickings there for the likes of us!”  Pak smiles, trying to make the best of the situation, “Good luck to you all, though, and don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about our little adventure.  Not that there’s really all that much to tell.”Kellian shrugs and grabs his pack as he trots away from you.  Pak tries another smile and then runs after the shifter, not wanting to be left behind.  In less than a minute they move around a bend in the path and disappear from sight.The rest of you pick your way through the overgrown path which leads from the entrance, making your way back to the main trail.  Once there you make a left, heading further up into the hills surrounding Diamond Lake.  From here it’s only a short walk to the former mining office, not more than ten minutes.The countryside here is covered in tall acacia trees with heavy undergrowth, and as this path is seldom used it requires a bit of bushwhacking from time to time.  Nothing that your group isn’t up to.Some of you played in these woods as children, although you haven’t been up this way in quite some time.  Nineteen years ago the Red Death plague swept through this part of Breland, killing thousands in its wake.  Many homesteads in this vicinity were wiped out completely, even infecting the livestock.  The disease was blamed on spies from Thrane (or was it Aundair?) who were Breland’s main opponents during that part of the Last War, but nothing was every conclusively proven.  After the worst of the Red Death had past, people in town were afraid to come up here, scared that they might bump into some poor, infected hermit.  They kept to Diamond Lake, even if the town was becoming less and less of an inviting place.In addition to the slight jitters that memories of the Red Death provoke (in those of you who are old enough to remember it, that is) there is the additional danger that the wolves you encountered in the cairn are far from the most dangerous predators in this region.You stop at an overgrown side path, unsure of how to proceed.  After a brief discussion you decide that this is indeed the trail to the office.  You proceed up it, slicing away some of the underbrush, and brushing off the many small cobwebs which block your path.  The path rises until it opens up in a clearing.  A modest dwelling squats upon the crown of a small hill.  While the rough stone walls of the first floor look mostly intact, the second floor has completely collapsed.  A half height wall rings the house, but it too is in a state of severe disrepair.  Rubble and dense weeds choke the yard.  Made of smooth stone blocks, this building stands in shambles.  Thick vines creep up the side and most of the windows are broken.  The front door hands open, barely on its hinges, under a sagging and partially collapsed porch.</blockquote>

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