Glacial Wastes Mission Report 2: The Illuminated Slaver is captured!


#1

Part 1: Into the Mine

Grim sent the Tempest airship to patrol along the suspected path that the Illuminated’s forces should be taking, with Orders to create whiteouts and high winds to stop or at least slow their advance. After getting a commcrystal confirmation that the Tempest had trapped the advancing Cambion forces in a ridgeline to the north.

With the Illuminated’s Guards now slowed by at least three more days, Grim proceeded to drive up to the mine site. As he approached, he stopped a short distance from the entrance and stuck his head out the window.

Yelling, he called out “Ho there, Anyone about?” Grim was cycling fire and shadow through his body to make a Leyas spike to draw Leyas sight to him.

Jumping down from the Truck, he walked forward toward the entrance and a bit to the side so that the truck would not be in the line of fire from the mine.

Calling out to any one he sees, “Howdy, my name is Allanon Jest. I just arrived in the region, hoping to set up a cartage company. But those rude fucks down at that “McGraw Harbor” seem to think that only Guilders should be allowed to trade here in the Wastes. Plain Snobbery. They be trying to keep any little company from getting a start up here and keep all the profits from themselves. Stingy money grubbing bastards. And that means a lot coming from me. I already got run out of a bunch of places. Them uppity Goblins down south accused me of war profiting and ran me off. Then I had to sneak by them Alien-hating colonial in the ‘lost colonies’, them asses should have stayed lost. And you would not believe how fucking hard it is to outrun them damn sick Uth and their bullshit. Finally get up here to the frontier expecting to find some freedom to make my own way and get Damn Guilders trying to carve the place up and claim all of it.”

“So, who can I talk to about getting some work? I am at my wits end. If’n I don’t find someway to make a ghaz or two, ain’t no way I gonna be able to survive long in this icebox. Damn I thought trying to survive down south when the air itself bursts into flame was bad, but even with my ring to keep the cold out, I can barely feel my toes.”

A white fur Olgog who only seemed tall because Grim was short approached. Grim noticed this white fur had robes made from the fur of other white fur Olgogs, and had a chest piece made of IceWyrm finger bones bound by K’iou hair. Carrying a staff of obvious Khaz gha wood, he approached Grim and made a hand gesture. Grim recognized it as a warning handsign used by the Sea Kings armies. Quickly flashing what he knew to be the reply handsign, the Olgog grinned broadly.

“I am Snowy Touch, and I am honored by my Ikuz as assistant overseer of this mine. You seem like good bastard stock,” said Snowy Touch, as five of his lesser Olgog workers spread out to surround both Snowy Touch and Grim.

At that moment there was a thump from the back of the hovertruck as the rear hatch popped open and a stack of cardboard boxes fell out. The pile was way larger than Grim remembered, but Grim had an inkling somewhere in that pile was Eli McGraw.

Water was already soaking into the cardboard of the boxes, and Grim wondered why someone would use cardboard boxes in a snowy environment. Grim moved to a box clearly labeled truck parts, tapped it to make sure it was real and not some disguise. Sure it actually was truck parts, he began hoisting it up.

“Sorry bout that, Snowy Touch,” Grim said, “The back latch has been broke ever since a trio of bastards tried to steal a ride without paying.”

“Your kind can be sneaky,” agreed the white fur Olgog, “Which brings me to the question, what sort of work can you do? Other than drive Earther vehicles, which is quite an accomplishment.”

Grim noticed out of the corner of his eye, one of the cardboard boxes had begun moving around the left side of the truck. Luckily this kept the obviously moving box out of the olgog’s line of sight.

Grim said, “I can do a bit of this and a bit of that. My real skill is opening new tunnels safely. I can demolition a section of tunnel, open five new mine shafts, while keeping the structural integrity of the rest of the mine. Find an Olgog who can do that and I will leave you be.”

The Olgog’s eyes went wide as he thought of five new shafts to begin expanding the mine deeper. It would obviously impress his boss. As Grim kept the Olgog busy talking price and length of contract, which also showed Grim, this Snowy Touch was way more knowledgeable about EARTHER business practices than a white fur should be.

Snowy Touch and Grim haggled rather extensively (Snowy Touch to get the best deal, and Grim to make Snowy Touch think it was a real negotiation). Grim watched as Eli’s cardboard box took up position near the doorway to the mine.

Then movement caught his eye, as Lurtor stepped from a shadow and grabbed one of Snowy Touch’s workers and pulled him into the shadow. About thirty seconds later, the white fur Olgog reappeared but gave Grim a wink. Grim realized one of these days he would have to talk to Lurtor about the dangers of Doppelganging unknown people, but right now at least they had a guy on the inside.

Finally with a price agreed at half the market value, Snowy Touch turned to his worker.

“You two, head down to the Ikuz and tell her we can finally punch through that warded layer,” Snowy Touch, “Thank you Mr. Jest, this will be a profitable venture for you.”

Luckily it was Lurtor among the gogs picked, and he followed the other white fur worker down into the mine. It was a small mine, and probably could only be worked by those under four feet tall. They walked for what felt like ten minutes in the dark before they reached a wider chamber with a single mine shaft going deeper into the ground. There were currently five Olgogs here, unloading a levitating cart that then would float back down to the lower level for refilling.

Stepping into one of the empty carts, they floated down into the deeper mine. Here in the lower level the ceiling was also only about four feet tall. There were three tunnels, two which were empty but obviously had been mined out.

The third was still active with ten Olgogs mining away with pick axes made from Dragon Bone. To Lurtor it looked like IceWyrm bone. The Olgogs moved in time with the tapping of a single tiny drum.
The drum was held by a voluptous female creature that was completely nude except for a sash made of finest Raiti silk. Her silver-grey skin was smooth, and hairless. In one hand she held the drum which she rotated and it tapped away its tiny beat. In the other, she held a Khaz gha staff that looked like the one held by Snowy Touch. Lurtor knew from the stolen memories that it was Captain Drella.
The Olgog that had come down into the tunnels with Lurtor approached Captain Drella. The Olgog whispered quickly with his eyes averted. Drella stopped tapping the drum, and the workers stopped working and fell to their knees breathing heavily.

She said, “A former tunnel rat? Well that is a strange occurrence. The only Bastards up here are slaves of the IceWyrms or soldiers for the Falsoini.

Unless Bysos Borak was correct when he said colonists were coming from the west enmass. Hmmm.

I could use a good hired tunnel rat.”

“You there,” Drella said while pointing at Lurtor, “You must keep the beat going until I return.”

He noticed she hadn’t even looked at him to command him. Lurtor knew if he said ANYTHING to counter Drella’s statement, she would look at him. His main goal was to make sure she never looked directly at him, so he shuffled forward doing his best slave impression. He kept the other olgogs between him and her, so their auras would hopefully help him hide who he truly was.

His spy training kicked in, and he simply assumed the role of the Olgog according to its memories.


#2

Lurtor found himself standing there, spinning a drum to create a beat that the workers could slam their picks to. The Workers hammered away, tired, but afraid to stop motion while the drum was beating.

And Lurtor had to watch as Drella and her Olgog bodyguards rose up on a levitating cart leaving him in the dark of the lower levels. He listened for a while, keeping the beat going for a good ten minutes.

There were so many loud noises, yet Lurtor never stopped the beat of the drum, and the workers never looked up from their task. In fact the sound of the little drum, and the pick sounds that followed it kept all the reinforcements in the mine from joining their mistress on the surface.

Then a cart suddenly levitated down, with Nuria onboard. She was smiling, and called out.

“Hey Olgogs, you are freed,” said Nuria, “Head up to the top to get some food, and have your chains removed. Leave the picks and tools down here.”

While the white fur Olgogs rode the levitating cart to the surface, Nuria walked over to where Lurtor was standing. He took the moment to return to his normal form, and the pair surveyed the mining operation.

Of the three tunnels extending around the mine shaft, only one was still rich in iron ore. On top of the twelve Icewyrm Dragonbone pick axes they found in the active mine, there were six of the levitating mine carts, and one artificed steel black box made of Dragon bone and bound with dragon leather.

Activating the box, Lurtor punched a new mine shaft down a ways, and saw a glint there. A glint very different than iron ore.

It seemed the Box was a mining tool, artificed with Earth Leyas. But whatever was below the Iron mine was not normal material. Lurtor used the shadows to reach the bottom of the new mineshaft, and could see it was a wall of some type. A wall bound by wards of immense power. It seemed the Illuminated mine was a much newer mine, and there was a much older structure built here long before the Illuminated began her operations here.

What was beyond the wall is unknown…


#3

Part 2: To Kill an Illuminated

Grim was waiting for a long, long time with Snowy Touch. He wondered if the jig was up, but nothing specific had happened to him yet. His hand brushed his springshot, waiting for the moment he knew was coming.

Drella walked from the mine, and even Grim could not help but notice her immense beauty. The only off-putting part was the single eye in the center of her head. That eye had a scintillating blue iris and big dark pupil that focused on him. Drella’s five Olgog bodyguards joined the three up here and made sure to position themselves firmly between Grim and the Illuminated.
Grim laughed internally when he realized that Drella’s reliance on her Leyas sight had resulted in her completely ignoring the obvious cardboard box about two feet behind her. She had no hope of seeing the Immutable in the box, and that gave them all a huge advantage.

Drella said, “A nice pseudonym Mr. Jest. I can only assume you are running from some bad people. Luckily for you I need a good demolitions expert, and I am willing to pay in gold bars for your time.”

At that moment the cardboard box behind Drella burst open, and Eli leapt upon Drella’s back. Tackling the unexpecting Illuminated from behind. He drove his knife into her shoulder, forcing her face forward, knowing that Annihilation eye was one of the few Leyas attacks that would punch right through his immutableness. His other hand came up with the shock gauntlet pummeling her in the kidney.

Grim took the moment to fire his springshot. Plugging her in the front of her shoulder, the Illuminated finally stopped struggling. Eli bound her, while Nuria leapt out of the truck.

Nuria blasting fire towards the Olgogs, she made sure the white furs knew they would be cooked alive if they tried to fight back. Frightened by the fire, the Olgogs backed off, dropping their weapons once it was clear that Drella had been captured.

Nuria continued to keep her fire active, until every one of the Olgogs had been disarmed.

Looking to the mineshaft, Nuria said, “I’ll grab Lurtor and the rest of the slaves.”

Grim was feeling pretty proud. Their plan had worked, and as long as Lurtor had kept everything calm in the mines it seemed a fairly easy day of work.

Eli said, “Hey Weebo, where do you want me to stick the one eyed hottie?”
Grim gave a sour look and said, “Another captive for us to worry about? Great just great.”

Eli stopped gave Grim an inscrutable look and said, “You saying you want her dead?”

“No…no…that was not my point at all,” said Grim, “I’ll handle her for now.”

Neither of them had noticed that Snowy Touch had escaped during the firefight.


#4

Rewards

The Team gains one Iron Mine. Nobody decided how they will split it SO it counts as all 4 own it, and they will have to negotiate with each other in the Sea Kings Iron Mine threadfor any using of this Iron. And as a result No one player can offer the Ore in trade to other factions without agreement of the other 4.

Lurtor has found 1 Underground Structure of Ancient Design. It is up to him if he tells the other three about this structure or keeps this to himself. The walls are warded at 8 successes against Earth Leyas. They are strong and will require something to cut through it physically.

The Mine comes with mining equipment .
Twelve Icewyrm Dragonbone pick axes, Six of the levitating mine carts, and One artificed steel BLACK BOX made of Dragon bone and bound with dragon leather.

All mining equipment must be left at the mine to keep mining operations running. The one exception is the BLACK BOX which can tunnel through all normal materials (Currently known to be artificed with Tunnel Material at 8 successes). This BLACK BOX can be moved to a different mine if needed. The BLACK BOX allows automatic creation of mining tunnels and mining shafts. Its design seems to be Sea Kings in design.