And They Called it a Mine - Val's Write Up - 10th Oc

A flood of undead goblins burst through the newly opened cave. Ashen green faces, rotten limbs, out stretched hands, ghoulish howls, and the putrid smell of a hundred rotten corpses all raced towards two tieflings, two humans and a half-elf. The horde crashed onto the adventurers like a giant wave, engulfing them and knocking each down. As the horde crowded around Dorian, clawing and biting him, he reached out to Nowhere through the crowd. A moment later, they were delivered out of the magical door, into fresh air, as the swarm raged a safe distance away.
Leocanto too escaped the undead, racing away from them, to a cart the Dwarven Copperforge siblings hid behind. Leocanto moved shades and pick-axes, to clear a way for a small barrel. A barrel filled with the Dwarf’s explosive powder. Back Leocanto raced, barrel in hand.
Still in the flood of undead Val and Rholor fought, back to back, as a sea of teeth went for them. Val couldn’t tell which way each scratch came from, so he let his hammer fill the air around him in every direction. As the metal found contact with undead, a line of corpses fell. Rholor summoned guardians, surrounding the two with angelic figures who mowed through the goblin horde. Both men stabbed and swung and cried out. A carpet of undead at their feet, turning to a pile around them. Drowning in the screams of the undead, Val almost didn’t sense the heat of fire.
Dorian’s fireball exploded onto the outer edge of the horde. Bodies caught alight, falling to the ground. Nowhere too added his magic, blasting heat through goblin bodies.
From the thick wall of undead, Rholor could see light as he continued to cut. Covered in the blood of himself, Val and the hundreds of undead, Rholor looked for a moment to the heavens and smiled, before his blade found purchase in another skull.
Above the horde, Leo could see the numbers starting to thin, as he floated above the ground. The barrel left his hand and fell into the horde. A moment later goblin arms and legs and skulls blasted into the air. Still the adventurers cut and swung and blasted, until the last undead fell.
Val panted, his shoulders aching and his shield heavy from remnants of cadaver. The entrance to the caves were clear.

Deep into the cave complex, the Copperforges lead the way with charts and tools to test mineral layers. The tunnels were vast and deep and dark, illuminated by Rholor’s staff. The footsteps through puddles of ancient water echoing through the stone. All was silent, the only incident an encounter with two fiends in the dark, now dead in a cavern of glittering gems. An area marked clearly on the Copperforge’s charts, “Further investigation” it read in Dwarvish.

“Hold.” Val held out a hand, and before them in the dark, a village. Not of dwarven origin, nor Drow.
“This is a Goblin village.” Rholor whispered, “Abandoned.”
Walking through the village they saw each house was empty. The shrine untouched. No answer to their calls. Then a sound, as a Goblin female stumbled forward, her face furrowed with confusion and worry.
The only word from her lips, “No brains.” The goblin repeated again and again.
Leocanto looked upon the confused face, and the large scars that marked her skull, as he played a tune for her, soothing her. As she smiled the words, “No more brains, no more brains, they took them, no more brains,” escaped her cracked black lips, to the sound of the half-elf’s tune.

“Mind flayers.” Rholor addressed the group, “Enslavers and experimenters, and no doubt the cause of this victim’s state.”
The goblin woman looked to the priest, and pointed a finger to the floor, “Down.” Her whisper filled the village, as her eyes widened. Dorian took in the gravity of the situation, considering how far the mindflayers where, before he eyes darted to Val’s dagger, as the fighter tightened his grip on the weapon and scanned the cavern once more.

“This will prove a most fortunate find.” The elder of the Copperforge’s announced, “This village will be a suitable base.” They concluded mining could be begun without delay, save for Nowhere collecting samples from the goblin undead. They headed back to Daring Heights as the evening wind blew East.

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Val sat at the Ettin, with an ale in his hand, as he perused the Dwarven contract that stipulated his small share in the Copperforge mine. Every sentence was a legal puzzle his mind worked through with each sip of his drink. He looked up for a moment, as movement drew his eye. Val tried to hide his surprise as he saw a man sitting opposite him. How long he had been there, he did not know,
“Hello my friend, looks to me like you could do with another drink if you’re going to be reading that whole contract,” The olive skinned man smiled a wide smile as he leaned back on the chair. He stroked fingers through thick brown hair. Val spotted two fine daggers at the man’s side, strapped into expertly crafted leather armour.
“What do you want?” Val scrolled the contract back up, tucking it into a leather container.
“My friend, we can help each other, for this I am sure.” The man leaned in closer, “What do you say ese.” His flowery accent drawing Val in, “I believe you’ve already met a friend of mine,” He pointed over his shoulder, to a skinny man, with a shaved head, and a long leather jacket. standing at the bar.
“Porky?” Val tensed, readying to flee or fight.
“Porky Pie, what a name huh ese.” The olive skin man opposite him laughed, before noticing Val’s tight jaw, “You know what, let’s start again, my name is Angelo and we have an offer for you.”