[pnpgm] Mission - Raddok - ATTN: Spoiler Alert re my novel

[Bessie Hadley]

[People - I am sending only you this update, but it is basically a Spoiler Alert for my 2nd novel.]
[You can use whatever you need to, Mr GM, but if possible, perhaps Raddok could share this information - in privacy - with Arawn, Dorhak & the other ship's officers. I know that's an ironic statement - lol. If anything can be left out of the actual next update I would appreciate it. But use it all if you want - Raddok feels they are chasing after a red herring, so he had to share his backstory. (and that you CAN say in the update - lol)]


UPDATE #76 re: Mission Update -  Raddok

Raddok is torn. He had promised silence about the matter, but now his new friends might be at risk if they ventured too far. He had to speak up, although it might only make things more confusing.

So, in response to Arawn's request, & for the benefit of the others he said, "I can tell you something about where those creatures came from, but it's breaking a promise I made, along with my party in the mine-clearing job.   The mine near Vahear is the Tal-Genarth Mine. It is only a year or two old - still being developed. As far as I know, there was no infestation problem there, but that was several months ago, of course. The village for the workers & their families was still being built. The infested mine was on the far side of the island, north of Innanadan, the Tal-Yotani Mine." He thought of what they had discovered, deep within a natural cavern discovered by the miners, and had to repress a shudder. 

"Again, there was no problem at the mine near Port Vahear,, other than the usual small injuries occurring with the development of a new mine. Both mines had silver and gold, and even scattered small colonies of gemstones. These two mines were both profitable and a guaranteed life job for their workers.

"The Tal-Yotani Mine had been started over twenty-five years before, and had been a steady profit-maker, again with good-grade gold ore, some silver & gemstones, even good areas promising decorative quartz. However, when the miners broke into a natural cavern, about six months before the infestation, they unwittingly became victims of a very strange attack.

"Not at first, but one day, a couple of weeks before we were hired, there was a sudden influx of goblins, yes, and a few days later, larger creatures started to show up. The miners fought as well as they could, along with their small security force, but were forced to flee as numbers of the beasts and beasties rose. The miners were not trained to fight, and picks and shovels can only do so much. They retreated from the cavern, drove as many of the creatures back inside of it that they could, and closed the doors to the rest of the mine." 

Seeing surprise around him, Raddok explained, "All the major mine tunnels had lockable connecting doors, very sturdy. The owners were naturally cautious & experienced miners - they knew there was a real risk of breaking into a hidden underground spring or river. And, although their mines were above sea level, mines tend to run deeper and deeper the longer they are productive. Water under pressure can flood a mine quickly, and it's also hard to tell when they might reach sea level - the Sea of Tears was less than four miles away - underground pockets of seawater were always a risk."

"So they always built strong, sturdy doors at both ends of connecting passages between the main tunnels - before serious digging began. That is why they were able to confine most of the beasties inside the mine, although some escaped and caused havoc, requiring removing all employees from the site, except for a small security force to manage the main entrance gate."

He was finally able to explain his real concern - the source of the Kotothi invasion. "What we found, at the very far end of the cavern, was a strange & massive-appearing door, looking like it was made of iron - or some strong metal - with a bluish light leaking around all its edges. It was nearly ten feet tall and about six feet across, and it was terrifying. We felt a strange energy from it. The elf in our party called it a portal - a portal stronger than she could make, or any of the mages she had known."

Raddok sighed. Our group leaders ended up calling in a high priest consultant - he was indirectly connected to the Temple of Potah - and this priest teleported in to examine it. He then called in one of the top priests of the Temple, and while waiting for him (or her?) - we never saw who it was; we were all ordered to leave. But what they did was set up what they called a 'ward pact trap' to temporarily stop any more incursions from the other side - wherever it went.

"The last thing I heard, as we were packing up our gear to leave, was that they were hoping that the trap would work long enough for creatures on the other side to learn that coming through the door was going to get them catapulted ten to twenty miles out to sea - an unpleasant surprise.

"My point is this - what is strong enough to create a portal, lasting for weeks without any apparent loss of strength, that the top priests of a Temple of Balance cannot close? I don't think ordinary men are involved with that.

"That's truly ALL I know, and I hope I haven't offended Potah's priests," he quickly made a hand gesture of placation. "But, again, this was across the island a few days away as the crow flies, but nearly a week away by road and cross-country. The mines were over 30 miles north of the cities, and I'm pretty sure the one at this end was about 50 miles north of Port Vahear, through mountains most of the way. And this setup here just doesn't feel like the same kind of situation."

I just don't see that importing non-natives to work mines - especially in Vahear, and especially a non-human race. They value themselves above anyone else, especially other races - my apologies, Captain," and he nodded to Dorhak.



Bess L. Hadley