Norlandic Lead Mine Expedition Report, 17 SA

[Hyperdron 290]

Norlandic Lead Mine Expedition

17 SA

 

A drawing of the valley where the mine is located, from the perspective of base camp.

 

 

Organised by:

• Viktor Eldrsson, hunter of Varhelm
• Tannon, Head Ranger of Elysium

 

Aims of the Expedition

To explore a newly discovered abandoned mine in the foot of a valley far northwest, and to set up a base camp nearby to aid future expeditions.

 

The Team

Viktor Eldrsson - leader, scout, guide, camp builder, lookout

Tannon - co-leader, scout, guide, excavator, mine explorer

Melkor Frey - camp builder, lead excavator, mine explorer

Orris Vallei'onn - camp builder, excavator, mine explorer

Audry Sanguine - camp builder, excavator

Agmaer Vildr - camp builder, excavator

Valen Dreth - camp builder

Ninskeeq-Ungri - camp builder

Vilnoth Auth'rukt - camp builder

Lorrick Al-Wahdi - medical, reporter

Kryst - lookout, medical, caretaker

Alexandra Snowell - child

 

Preparation

After Viktor's discovery of the mine, Viktor and Tannon visited the site during The First Seed, 17 SA, in order to map the safest and least taxing route to the valley, work out the best way to approach the collapsed entrance, and see if any more surface entrances existed. Unfortunately, no other entrances were found, though traces of lead were identified in the area. A call was made throughout Norland for all those able-bodied to assemble in the Ashwood Tavern on the 7th of The Grand Harvest for an expedition to the abandoned mine. All financing and equipment was self-sourced by the organisers and participants - no support was requested from any other person, organisation, or nation outside of those who attended. This included food provisions, material for building a base camp, armour, weapons, and pickaxes.

 

Timing

7th of The Grand Harvest - gathering and briefing at the Ashwood Tavern

8th of The Grand Harvest - early departure from Varhelm, arrival and setup of base camp

9th of The Grand Harvest - first mine excursion

10th of The Grand Harvest - second mine excursion

11th of The Grand Harvest - departure from base camp, arrival in Varhelm

 

Travel

The group departed on foot from Varhelm's north-west gate, Viktor leading the vanguard with Tannon keeping the rear in check. Most group supplies were carried by the stronger members of the expedition, while others carried their own personal baggage, or helped keep a look out for hostile wildlife. Base camp was set up at the foot of the valley the mine was located in. After dealing with a sudden bear attack and resting otherwise peacefully through the night, some members returned to Varhelm, while the rest trekked northward to the mine itself. Minor casualties were sustained from the attack, but were patched up quickly.

 

The First Mine Excursion

Upon arrival at the mine, Viktor and Tannon noted that some of the rubble around the collapsed entrance had shifted since their last visit. This had exposed a point in the rocks that would provide an easy approach to digging out the entrance. With help from Melkor Frey's experience and leadership in excavation, he, Tannon and Orris made good headway into the rubble, until the floor collapsed beneath Tannon and Orris, the two men falling into a small chamber below. A medium-sized boulder fell near the opening, with any further displacement possibly trapping them inside. Thankfully, those outside the mine were able to move the boulder without disturbing any other rocks. Upon lighting a torch, Orrin discovered a swarm of spiders, each roughly the size of a halfling's head. The species was unable to be identified. They retreated from the sudden burst of flame, either deeper into the mines or out into the snow, where they would bury themselves in cracks in the mountains; as such, these spiders are assumed to be incredibly light-sensitive from how long they have lived in the darkness of the mine. Some were burnt as the torch lit their webs on fire, though Orris quickly extinguished his flames before they burnt the wooden supports nearby, relighting his next torch carefully before he and Tannon delved deeper. A small room would be found not far in, containing two wooden stools, a small log-campfire, and a pile of ropes. At the behest of Orris, the duo used the ropes to exit the mine with the aid of those at the entrance, before the group retreated to base camp to reconsider their options.

 

Upon reaching base camp, the group found a bear within one of the tents, eating away at some of the food supplies left there. The encounter did not turn violent, as the bear fled at the sight of so many armed people approaching. The rest of the evening was spent planning, eating, and resting for the next day's attempt. No casualties were sustained from the events of this day.

 

The Second Mine Excursion

The ones to descend into the mine on the second day were Orris, Tannon, Audry Sanguine, and Melkor. Orris led, once again holding a torch as his light source. Viktor, Lorrick, Kryst and Alexandra remained on standby at the entrance. The wooden supports on the inside of the mine were in much worse shape than those exposed to the outside, and parts of the mineshaft were partially collapsed. As the group continued, they used wood they had as improvised supports to stabilise the mine while they were inside. Within the walls were many mineral deposits containing shiny, black rock, identified as lead. This confirmed that the mine had indeed been primarily used for lead. As the mine opened up into another room with old, rustic furniture strewn across the floor, Orris' torch shone upon a huge spider-beast, almost half of the elf's size. Melkor leapt forth and slew it quickly, allowing the group to fully enter the room. There were many other spiders lurking in the darker corners, but they appeared more passive than the smaller ones from the entrance. Unfortunately, this room was as far as the group could go - the mine further on was collapsed beyond repair with what tools the expedition had at its disposal. While the group tried crawling through some of the larger openings, and digging away at some of the rocks blocking the paths, in the end nothing could be pursued further by those present. As spiders continued to retreat from the light of Orris' torch, it was noted that they were able to scurry much deeper into the rocks, so there must be a good amount more left to explore.

 

With no more options left for the mine group, and smoke starting to build up from the torch, they deemed it reasonable to return above ground, bringing some spoils with them. The loot was divided equally between all those present before returning to base camp and officially concluding their time at the mine. No casualties were sustained from the events of this day.

 

Return

All in attendance had been made familiar with the route back, so they departed in their own smaller, separate groups, while Viktor and Melkor remained behind to tidy up base camp, making their own departures later. To the organisers' current knowledge, everyone returned to Varhelm safely.

 

[!] A roughly drawn map of the terrain is attached with a line showing the path taken to base camp, and the location of the mine.

 

[OOC stuff below. Please be aware this report has not been made public IRP yet - will update this warning once it is! For now, if Viktor hasn't handed this report to you IRP, L]

 

Spoiler

Whatup, people! I hope this post read relatively well. I'm literally just over a week old on this server as of posting - this has been the first RP event I've ever attended, and the first one I've ever 'led', so I'm glad it didn't end up crashing and burning! It took a fair chunk of time to get through, but the RP throughout was very enjoyable, so that time went by quickly.

First off, I'd like to give a big thank-you to @D4NNA for his efforts in DMing this expedition. We had no plans about what he was going to do with it beyond helping us set up a base camp, so I'm pretty impressed with the amount of content he was able to give us in such short time. I'd also like to give a big thanks to @MrIronThing for his help as Tannon, making all the prep much less lonely. And finally, I extend another big thanks to all those who attended and made this such a good experience in the first place! Unfortunately I'm too lazy to ping all of your forum usernames (mainly because I don't know most of them), so hopefully you'll just naturally come across this post sometime.

 

And yes, we elected not to send the child into the mine. :)

 

Edited May 26, 2021 by Hyperdron