Shamah and Malachite arrive at the Wímbornn Mine around midday. The mouth of the mine sits low in the hillside framed by rough timber supports that have darkened with years of rain and neglect, their edges furred with moss and old rot. The boards that cover the entrance are cracked. Some are missing. Others lean slightly now ... Beyond them, the tunnel of the mine slopes gently downward into deep shadow.
Making their way inside, the packed dirt beneath their boots is scored heavily by old cart wheels and tool marks. The tunnel walls bear further marks of chisels and wedges- thousands of small cuts in the stone. In places walls sweat with moisture, forming dark wet streaks that run down the stone. Along the walls hang the remains of the miners’ work; iron tool hooks still jut from the timber supports. Some hold tools rusted from years of neglect, while others stand empty. A rusted shovel lies propped against the wall where it must have been left years ago.
A narrow rail track runs down the center of the tunnel. Its iron bars are dull with rust but it still looks mostly intact. Further ahead, the rail line disappears into a bend where the tunnel opens into deeper chambers. But in the dim light from the outside, they can see the smoother stone, with a door set into it, far to their left: The old Overseer's office.
Shamash and Malachite decide to search the office first. Inside, time has wrought plenty of damage; the shelves are sagging. The chair behind the desk has fallen apart. The overstuffed armchairs that look like they were once luxurious are now faded and cracked, stuffing spilling out onto the tattered rug beneath them.
Shamash riffles through the papers on the desk, finding the journal of the prior Overseer. In it are entries detailing the standard day-to-day of the mines. But towards the end there is a cryptic entry about a new discovery, and the Overseer mentions a few cave-ins. There is also mention of an infestation of Rust Monsters in the lower levels. Opening the drawer he discovers the control stone for the Mine's lighting system. Malachite, meanwhile, is examining the bookshelves and finds nothing of interest.
Deciding to turn his attention to a stack of barrels at the end of the room, Shamash accidentally triggers a Mimic disguised as a barrel, and a fight ensues. The two are able to dispatch it easily enough, and decide they've seen enough inside the office for the time being. They track southward, rounding around the upper edges of the mine, slowly investigating until they eventually come across a section where the tunnel narrows- the ceiling dipping low enough in places they must duck beneath sagging beams.
A collapse completely chokes a passage to their left. Broken timbers jut out at crooked angles from a mound of stone and clay. Large chunks of rock lie piled against one another in a rough slope nearly to the ceiling, with smaller gravel and fine dust spilling out from the site across the floor. A faint sound comes from somewhere beyond the rubble. It’s soft. Stone against stone, slow and uneven. Another scrape follows, a little louder this time, followed by the dull tap of something striking rock.
Shamash and Malachite argue for a moment over whether or not they should clear the tunnel and investigate, eventually deciding they should after Shamash finds small tracks that appear to belong to children. They manage to clear a small enough gap that Malachite is able to send his Echo inside the blocked cavern, and quickly switch places with it, illuminating the area to reveal three Human children. After some calming, the two are able to clear enough of the rubble to allow the children to escape, and Shamash and Malachite lead them back to the mine's entrance.
After some interrogation, they learn that the oldest boy is Eóin, son of Alwen and Coris Dane (farmers), and is 11. The middle girl is a 9 year old girl names Roseen, and is the daughter of Perrin and Jeoce Puga (also farmers). While the youngest, only seven, is Ailin, the daughter of the widower Tomas Cuinn (a fisherman). Eóin had convinced Roseen to come to the mine in search of "treasure"- which, upon inspection from Shamash of the bag Roseen was holding protectively, turned out to largely be worthless Ironstone; Malachite purchased the one piece of Road Stone in the bag from the children for 3 Copper pieces, as it would be useful for finding structural weaknesses further in the mine.
Shamash and Malachite decide to accompany the children back to the village for the time being, leaving the mine for another day. On the way, Malachite tells the children to make sure they tell their parents who saved them.
