Prologue
After five months of suffering from a strange disease the town of Duvnik's Pass had earned a reputation to the surrounding areas. The mayor was looking for a band of adventures for quite some time but finally only a couple of mercenaries, completely strange to each other had responded.
******
Val looked at Felborn nervously. He had got used to the drider’s company but he wasn’t sure if everyone else felt the same. Dorund felt strangely as he was sitting next to the drider and as he had never heard about drow elves with spider bodies, he was surely surprised when he first saw Felborn. Dev, on the other hand, had learned much about the Dark Elves and their culture.
Finally, after five minutes of silence the mayor talked to the group of people that stood before him: “As you may know, I have gathered you here to give you an assignment critical to the survival of this town. I want you to go to the mines which are stationed outside the city and clear them of the creatures that have captured it… and possibly find a way to clear the water which, as you may already know, has been infected with a great disease, the “Burning Plague”. Of course you will be rewarded well for you services, everything you might find inside the mine is yours and after the completion of this mission each of you will receive 300 gold pieces.”
Jarvilles was the first to talk: “As long as you can pay for my services, I pledge myself to your cause”. “Funny”, Drake thought, ”If you asked me four months ago, I would say the same thing, but now it is different”. Mayor Cristofar said again: “Does everyone agree with my terms?”. Dev and Val shook their heads. Drake, Dorund and Felborn simply said “okay”.
******
A cool breeze drifted down from the towering peaks of the mountains around the Moon Pass, as the band of adventurers behold the entrance to the caverns. The frost-rimed ground was littered with tools, picks and shovels, some of which protruded from soft banks of snow. A single darkened shaft leaded into the depths of the mine ahead. The dirt path beneath its wooden support structure was covered with stone debris, a few pieces of which occasionally glint with the slightest hint of ore. No light issues forth from the tunnel. Burnt-out torches were strewn across the floor, their brackets torn from the shaft walls. Behind the adventurers, the worn road leaded back through the crags to the valley below. Aside from the quiet whistling of the wind, complete silence filled the small clearing within the mountains.
After five months of suffering from a strange disease the town of Duvnik's Pass had earned a reputation to the surrounding areas. The mayor was looking for a band of adventures for quite some time but finally only a couple of mercenaries, completely strange to each other had responded.
******
Val looked at Felborn nervously. He had got used to the drider’s company but he wasn’t sure if everyone else felt the same. Dorund felt strangely as he was sitting next to the drider and as he had never heard about drow elves with spider bodies, he was surely surprised when he first saw Felborn. Dev, on the other hand, had learned much about the Dark Elves and their culture.
Finally, after five minutes of silence the mayor talked to the group of people that stood before him: “As you may know, I have gathered you here to give you an assignment critical to the survival of this town. I want you to go to the mines which are stationed outside the city and clear them of the creatures that have captured it… and possibly find a way to clear the water which, as you may already know, has been infected with a great disease, the “Burning Plague”. Of course you will be rewarded well for you services, everything you might find inside the mine is yours and after the completion of this mission each of you will receive 300 gold pieces.”
Jarvilles was the first to talk: “As long as you can pay for my services, I pledge myself to your cause”. “Funny”, Drake thought, ”If you asked me four months ago, I would say the same thing, but now it is different”. Mayor Cristofar said again: “Does everyone agree with my terms?”. Dev and Val shook their heads. Drake, Dorund and Felborn simply said “okay”.
******
A cool breeze drifted down from the towering peaks of the mountains around the Moon Pass, as the band of adventurers behold the entrance to the caverns. The frost-rimed ground was littered with tools, picks and shovels, some of which protruded from soft banks of snow. A single darkened shaft leaded into the depths of the mine ahead. The dirt path beneath its wooden support structure was covered with stone debris, a few pieces of which occasionally glint with the slightest hint of ore. No light issues forth from the tunnel. Burnt-out torches were strewn across the floor, their brackets torn from the shaft walls. Behind the adventurers, the worn road leaded back through the crags to the valley below. Aside from the quiet whistling of the wind, complete silence filled the small clearing within the mountains.
