Stone Men In Water Street

[Bjorn]

Well.  That was certainly reassuring.  Bjorn sighs again.  Alright, let's try the lantern.  I'd like to find out whether anything happens other than the flame going out.

[Rezantis]

I can shoot fire arrows, remember?

Rez produces the warbag, helpfully.

[Bjorn]

We need to be able to pull whatever we send down there back, Bjorn points out.  We already know that some fire gets extinguished.  Now my current concern is whether it's going to eat away flesh and the like.

[Rezantis]

What, you want to lower it down there and pull it back up again?  Sure, I guess, but why not the flashlight?  If it's water at the bottom, you'll ruin the lantern doing that.

[Bjorn]

Because we don't have a spare flashlight, and the lanterns are reasonably waterproof.  Doesn't have to be a light source at all, though.  Got anything else handy in there?

[Rezantis]

Rez rummages.

Javelins, arrows, mobile phones, stunguns, tazers, change of clothes . . . I suppose I could let you have a shirt.

[Bjorn]

Okay, that sounds reasonable.  Pass it over.

Quickly, Bjorn knots the free end of the rope about the shirt and lowers it down into the fog, pulling it back up once he thinks it has hit bottom.

[Brian]

The shirt comes back up.

It's pretty unlikely anyone will want to wear this thing anytime soon.  It's marked with oily lumps of tar (the wood is too smooth for it to stick to, and apparently the rope on itself doesn't eight enough).  Smells pretty foul, too.

Victor eyes the substance uncertaintly.  We should probably be grateful that this has not ignited, he thinks.  Unless I am mistaken....  This is a mixture of naptha and coal-dust.  That fog would be fairly bad for you.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn cocks an eyebrow.  Hm.  Do you think it's just natural, then?

[Rezantis]

Natural or not, I don't think we're going any further down here.

[Brian]

Most likely.  It's not water vapor, because there's no rust.  There must be tons of coal, that they just never mined in the right places for on the first floor.  The gasses from stray pockets collapse, and since it's heavy, they seek out low points.  They run along the floor, which is why it's cold without being wet, hence the lack of rust on the tools and the railing.  Victor pauses, considering things.  Or, more likely, when I consider it, it's not honestly natural.  The coal was discovered, but is too diffused in the mineral around us.  Someone discovered it, but knew of the gasses ... and this place was built as a trap.  Somewhere to hide very illegal things, and still have a way to completely conceal the evidence easily.  We could use it for the same purpose, if we had to conceal something of our own here.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn makes a face.  Useful, and disappointing at the same time.  I'd rather hoped we'd found whatever is causing the weather to be this warm.

All right, then.  Let's get out of here before we risk any accidents.  The sun should have set by now, so we can explore the area around here.  Sound like a plan?

[Rezantis]

"Explore it for what, though? Just randomly walk up a few hills and hope we stumble into something? We've got other places we need to be going, after all . . ."

[Bjorn]

Let's get out of the mine, first, and then talk about it.  Who wants to be first up the rope?

[Brian]

Victor opts to remain last.  With a bit of effort, you all manage to claw your way to the top.  Now that you're in the mine proper, and clear of the elevator shaft, it becomes easier to breathe, though your lungs feel a little funny.  Probably not black lung, as most of the coal dust was in liquid naptha, but at the same time, some clean air wouldn't be amiss.