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Galiena prays quietly to the goddess to reveal magic. As she finishes the prayer, for one moment there appears to be the faintest of auras around the barmaid's earrings. Then Galiena thinks to herself, "How foolish, if they were really cursed they would be worth hundreds of gold pieces in the wrong hands, too much for a humble barmaid" and she realises that the aura is just the way the light of the flickering coal fire is reflected by the diamonds, which are like tiny little candles, flashing as the barmaid swings her head to take an order.

"Just a wee dram" says a much drunken dwarf with a huge beard, pushing up to the bar past you, "would you like a drink yourself, lassie?".

"I'd best no..." Galiena begins to decline his offer, but then smiled and said, "I would love one, thank you. One of those honeybrew ales, please. I'm Galiena," she said, sitting down on one of the stools and gesturing to the empty one beside her, inviting him to sit with her.

If he sits with her, she continues, hoping that the alcohol might make the dwarf less cautious about speaking with an outsider. "Ever meet Fr Michael? I've come to visit him only to find he's been missing..." she didn't need to pretend to sound worried about her friend.

As the nobleman and chief dwarf laughed Scott couldn't help but smile as things looked to be going his way. "Press for a heavier sentence? No I think a day in the stocks would be fine, although if possible I would like to not punish the dwarf. Wouldn't want to make enemies on my first day in town."

"On a completely unrelated could I lend a helping hand to either one of you?" Scott asked as he assumed Lord Percival and the chief dwarf would have the most interesting tasks.

The dwarf sits next to Galiena, his legs not making the floor because the bar stool is too high for him. "Fr Michael?" he says, "I saw him, that I did, but only for one day. As soon as we'd arrived here, he was down the mine, to try to negotiate a settlement with the McCains. And he didn't come back. Now why, now I'll tell you what I suspect, lassie. Blackdamp. It seeps from the coal, especially if you're not running carts through the mine and ventilating. And it can take out a whole mine. He wouldn't know what was wrong, you just get tired, then you fall asleep, then you never wake up. That's blackdamp. That's one of the reasons why you won't find a dwarf that is happy with mining coal."

He swigs his dram and orders another.
"There's no-one who can drink like a dwarf" he says, "we dwarves invented spirits, you know."

Meanwhile Lord Percival says to Scott, "We're wasting our time with these minor disciplinary issues. We've got a serious problem, which is that we've had no communication with Colston colliery for two weeks now. I sent my chaplain, Fr Michael, down, thinking that at least the dwarves would respect a man of the cloth. And he didn't come back. So clearly some others have got to go after him, and this time in force. I'm having a young lady see me shortly, she seems to believe she can help. However I don't see the point in just sending another person down to disappear in the same way, this time it has to be properly planned."

The cleric had barely had two sips of her ale, so certainly had no arguments about who was the better drinker. But lines of concern creased her brow, both for Michael and for thoughts of her own safety.

"The McCains are down there too, aren't they? Do you think... I mean... could all of them just...? Is it too late to help them if that's what happened?"

Why had no one just gone to check? Too busy sitting around getting drunk!

Galiena felt her concern starting to turn to anger and she took another gulp of the ale.

"McCain dwarves?" says the dwarf, "What have McCains ever done for us Dunstans? We're here to break their strike. How to get them out of the mine will be a problem. But I'm not saying a I wish the blackdamp upon them - I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It's a risk. There's also firedamp, which causes explosions. These are the dangers of coal mining. That and collapses, which of course you get with any type of mining. Dangerous business."

He sips his whiskey.

"None of us are keen on going down, because what do you say? As dwarf to dwarf, we're coming for your jobs? So it was better to send a longshanks cleric. But now it's obvious that he's not coming back, someone will have to get him out. And the McCains as well. They'll need a canary to warn them of the blackdamp, and a special lantern with gauze over it to warn of the firedamp - we've got both of those. And lots of whiskey for courage."

Galiena nodded, listening closely. She'd heard about using canaries before, but the lantern with the gauze was unfamiliar and she was glad he had mentioned it.

She took another sip of her ale, feeling she needed a little additional courage after the various dangers had been outlined. The blackdamp seemed a reasonable theory, but it also seemed that the McCains would have known to be mindful of it. Though she supposed even experienced miners were prone to lapses in caution sometimes.

She set her mug back down. "I'm to meet with Lord Percival and Chief Meldain in just a little while. I plan to volunteer to be part of the crew. If there are injured folks, perhaps I can help them. I appreciate the advice, Mr...?"

"Adan, but a dwarf isn't Mr", says the dwarf, "he belongs to his clan and so to his chief, you see, he doesn't have any land of his own. So it's Adan Dunstan. Anyways, you'd best be off to see Lord Percival. Glad to make your acquaintance."

Galiena leaves the Azure Lion and makes her way back to the presbytery. Lord Percival and Scott are there. Then she meets Malfey, who seems to have been waiting outside the door "Do you mind is I go in with you?" she asks, "I can help".

"Please do," the cleric says to Lady Percival's advisor, glad for any offered assistance. "Do you think he'll send a search party tonight?" Galiena asked as she knocked on the presbytery door.

"Come in" says Lord Percival. He's a nobleman, dressed in ermine, with a sword at his hip. Scott is standing in front of him. Galiena briefly explains that she is a friend of Fr Michael, and Lord Percival briefly explains the situation, which you already know.
"I agree" he says, "that time may be of the essence. But I am very much afraid of having two people disappear where I have lost only one. So we need a plan. Can you tell me exactly what you propose to do?"

Malfey says "I have tried to contact Fr Michael spiritually, but failed. So either he is still alive or his spirit is unwilling. I feel that time is very important to us, but so is being properly prepared".

((Are any of the dwarves still in the room?))

Galiena glanced at Scott, recognizing him as the man from the Azure Lion. Was he to be part of this foray? She found herself hoping so. He seemed the calm, confident sort.

"A small party, probably no larger than 3 or 4, goes to investigate," she started. "A quick in and out just to determine what kind of situation we're dealing with... blackdamp, a collapse, or something else. One dwarf familiar with mining operations should accompany us. Someone who knows the danger signs to watch for," she paused, suddenly wishing she'd thought to ask one more thing of Adan Dunstan. "Is there a map of the colliery, by chance?"

Lord Percival asks a servant, who returns with a map of the colliery. There is a single shaft down, accessible via a winch. The coal is transported from the coal face to the shaft on trucks, and there is a sort of marshalling yard at the base of the shaft. Then the dwarves' living quarters are off to one side, near the shaft. There are two sets of rails, on either side of the worked part of the seam. which lead off to the coalface. Lord Percival understands that the diamond pipe is near the coal face, and descends at a steep angle. However it was discovered after the plan was drawn.

"I can get a dwarf to accompany you now if you wish" says Lord Percival, "I'm sure chief Meldain will agree. Do you want to descend now, or shall we wait until morning? Also, what equipment do you want us to provide?"

"Dwarves and decent people don't get on" says Malfey, "Let's not have a dwarf with us. Besides, they will all be drunk, and time is of the essence".

Galiena drummed her fingers on the table a few times as she examined the map, realizing immediately that her own imaginings of what a coal mine should look like were outdated at best.

"It'll be dark either way. I see no benefit of waiting until morning," she said, then pointed at the winch. "How is this operated? By the passengers in the carriage? Or does someone at the top control it?"

She looked at Lady Percival's advisor apologetically and shook her head, "I think someone knowledgable about blackdamp, firedamp, and other mining hazards is essential."

"Oh," looking back to Lord Percival, she added, "do you know how long it takes the carriage to travel up and down?"

"The winch is attached to a cage", explains Lord Percival, "which can carry six dwarves or a load of coal. It's about 150 feet down, and is a dwarven contrivance, powered by ponies at the top, which need to be driven by a team leader. I takes about a minute to go up or down, depending on how hard the ponies are driven."

"As for a dwarf, I've got an alphabetical list. The first one on the list is named Adan. I propose simply asking chief Meldain to provide him, for want of a better method. Are there any other companions you want? And what about equipment?"

Scott watched the newcomer, Galiena, and Lord Percival as the started to develop a rough time plan about how to proceed. Being a man of action Scott wasn't much of a planner so he just nodded along and followed as the two spoke. As far as he could tell everything Galiena and Lord Percival had everything covered and their was no need for his input.

The cleric nodded to show she'd heard Lord Percival, but stared at the map for another few moments in thought. Michael wouldn't have any need to venture beyond the marshaling yard or perhaps the dwarves' living quarters, right? Could that mean they'd be affected by the blackdamp immediately? She felt a flutter of nervousness and was glad the Lord had agreed to send the dwarf.

"I actually spoke to Adan just a bit ago and it was he who warned me about blackdamp. If he's amenable, his expertise would be appreciated. He recommended canaries and some kind of special lantern for detecting firedamp.

I say we investigate only this area right near the mineshaft, then return to the surface to report our findings." She looked at those gathered to see if there was any objections to that idea.

"That sounds a reasonable plan", says Lord Percival, "go in for say an hour, and check with the McCain dwarves. If you're not back by then, we'll know that something is seriously amiss. The question is what you are going to say to Grimley. He's a very greedy dwarf , but I wouldn't say that otherwise there's any harm in him. "
"Just demand Fr Michael back" says Malfey, "he must be holding him, which he's no right to do. The law applies, even underground."
"I'll arrange for Adan Dunstan to accompany you down the shaft." says Lord Percival, "I'll have to ask Meldain, but I can't see that it will be a problem. I'm more worried that if Grimley is holding Fr Michael, he'll also attempt to hold you. I don't really see any way around that. The party will comprise Galiena, Scott, Malfey, and Adan - is that agreed?"

"Agreed."

So Lord Percival thought Fr Michael was being held hostage too. If that was really the case, then surely the lord was right in assuming they'd try to take the others captive too. Then what? The cleric wondered if she was simply being naive thinking that something bad had happened to both the McCains and to Fr Michael. Maybe it was because she liked to believe the best of people, even if she hadn't met them yet.

She looked over at the quiet Scott, wondering at his opinion of the matter and resolving to ask him once they were out of Lord Percival's company, wondering if another outsider to the situation shared her theory.

"Agreed, sounds like a reasonable plan of action," Scott said after the plan was laid out. Personally he didn't believe the McCain dwarves where holding Fr Michael as they surely weren't dumb enough to do something so outrageous, but you never know.

Lord Percival smiles and sends servants off to make the arrangements with chief Meldain to have Adan recruited to the party. The dwarf arrives sometime later, obviously a bit the worse for drink but still in control of himself. He has a canary in a cage and a strange lamp, covered with a metal gauze.
"This gauze is so that it doesn't ignite the firedamp. The flame can't get through it, you see." he explains, "and the flame inside will change colour when firedamp is present, so that tells you to get out. The canary will keel over before you are affected by blackdamp. Again, you've got to get out sharpish."
Any other equipment you want?" asks Lord Percival, "I guess you won't need to carry food or water, because you'll be coming out in under an hour."
"A bottle of whiskey might be useful" says Adan, "We can offer it to the McCains."

You go through the night with Lord Percival and a retinue of servants, to the minehead. There is a huge winch which you can hardly see in the dark. The ponies have been awakened and harnessed to the winch. The cage is brought up to the surface - it's a thick wire cage of the sort that could be used for keeping animals, with a wooden floor. There is a huge pile of cut tree trunks, and a small hill made of the spoil from the mine. There is also a pile of coal, which you can tell was once much larger. It's a fairly grim and charmless place.

"Before you go down, is there anything else?" asks Lord Percival, "Or shall I order the driver to start the descent?"