((This session took place around a table. The session can't be interacted with, but the location can be visited.))
Two PCs, Strong Bard (gnome bard) and Flattop (dwarf cleric of Moradin) set out to investigate rumors of Goldburn Mine. They brought with them three dwarf mercenaries (NPC warriors, Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur).
They discovered a 30-foot shaft into the mine. The mercs went first, followed by Strong Bard. Flattop went next, but botched his Climb check and plummeted the full thirty feet to the bottom, sustaining 6d6 damage in the fall.
Miraculously this did not kill him. A life-saving potion restored him to consciousness, albeit with his new "flat top."
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The PCs probed down into the mine, and came across some orc slaves digging out a weak ore vein. The PCs ambushed the orcs, killed them violently, and took their stuff. They used the orcs' picks to dig out the rest of the valuable ore found there. They found some masterwork thieves' tools on a dead halfling adventurer nearby.
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Continuing down the mine, they found a narrow passage lined with strange humming crystal.
Inching along the passage, one of the crystals exploded in the face of Bofur, scarring him badly. After the fight with the orc slaves, this left him critically injured. Flattop healed him and the party retreated so the cleric could study the phenomenon.
Flattop concluded the crystals has a planar resonance that reacted to the presence of living creatures. He fabricated a tuning fork that would allow him to trigger the crystals to explode, and cleared the passage. It took several hours of work but the way was made safe.
On the other side of the passage, the PCs discovered scaffolding which would have enabled them to travel safely through the passage (if only they had looked).
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Deeper in the mine, the PCs found a major work area but became aware of a creature stalking them. Clambering up the scaffolding, the PCs proceeded cautiously, then quickly as they realized the creature was burrowing through the walls effortlessly.
Bursting suddenly out of the wall, a thoqqua viciously attacked Flattop, leaving him badly burned. The PCs ordered their merc to surround the creature while they took potshots at it. Bifur, Bofur, and Bombur fought valiantly but the creature burned and scarred each of them badly before finally succumbing.
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The PCs retreated at this point, leaving much of the mine unexplored.
