Sophia's Reports

Waning Crescent Inn, Gatstaff, 21st of the New Moon

As ordered, I made contact with Gaston Delupaux, the Mayor of Throstad, arriving five days ago. He believes that the silver mine outside Gatstaff ought to be reopened, and I agree with him. The silver is needed for weapons and holy symbols, and Avacyn knows Kessig could use the income.

The Mayor had put out the word for adventurers to aid in this mission, which should have been left to the Church's capable hands. Three others now accompany me: Elsa Whitemourne, a capable yet aloof mage, Gareth Greywood, who lets his maul do most of the talking, and Francis Redsquall, a fierce Kessiger whose powers might require further inquiry. Regardless, we were carted to the edge of the Ulvenwald, and set out on foot for Gatstaff.

On our way through the gloomy forest, guided by Francis, we came upon a pack of giant spiders, which we dispatched without too much trouble, although I owe Francis for stepping between me and the monster when they had me cornered. My crossbows are meant for close-quarters work, not for taking potshots in the forest. Elsa and Francis each slew one spider each with mightly spells and blows. With Avacyn's providence, the last one was easy pickings once outnumbered.

Arriving at Gatstaff, we spoke to Councelor Flotsam, who said that the mine was sealed during the Fall of Averbrook in order to not have it fall into the hands of darkness. The last foreman, Dorian Greysteel, never made it out of the mine. Councelor Flotsam also provided us with a lead, which we are heading out to investigate. Dorei Mae, the sage who sealed the mine lives nearby. With his powers we might be able to unseal the mine and restart silver production. The only problem is that Dorei Mae might not want to help us. By Avacyn, he will not have a choice in the matter.

Until my next report,
Avacyn's will be done!

Waning Crescent Inn, Gatstaff, 22nd of the New Moon

Finding Dorai Mae turned out to be far trickier than anticipated. We found his cottage easily enough, but the wizard had put a series of arcane tricks between him and any visitors.

We found a strange key in his house, which unlocked a door that seemingly went nowhere. In the next room, we had to put strange spheres on correct pillars, each sphere conferred a magical hex on whoever picked it up. I was afflicted with a partial curse of silence, while Gareth became very lightfingered and longed for our possesions - mostly Elsa's spellbook. Elsa alternated between being very nice and very nasty to everyone around her, while Francis was racked with self-doubt and indecision - not what we needed in the moment.

Only by one of us identifying what curse another was under could we break it, but some strange magic forbade us from speaking about our afflictions. This took us a while, but we eventually dispelled each hex, although I had to invade Gareth's mind to force him to tell the truth. I pray Avacyn will forgive me, that magic is not meant for friends.

Once all the spheres were in their place, we were able to pass further into Dorei Mae's maze of doors. Beyond a study was a room so cold I was instantly freezing, as if stepping outside naked in a snowfall. Still shivering from the cold, we ran into an animated wooden door that tried to kill us. Gareth chopped its roots into pulp with his big hammer, at which point its tendrils all fell limp to the ground and permitted us passage again.

By huddling together and sharing the warmth, passage through the icy room was made a little bit easier, and we made it to Dorei Mae's library. Here, the door would only permit entry to someone holding a book. I chose a thick tome called "Identifying Wooden Doors" from the shelves.

We then passed through a door backwards so that our reflections couldn't see us, before jumping across narrow rocks surrounded by a fiery hellscape, to find a room in complete disarray. By some strange magic, winding the clock in the room backward undid the mess. Gareth will have to explain how he knew how to do that later.

Thankfully, this proved to be the last of Dorei Mae's challenges, and we found him in his study, bent over a tome. To my surprise, he ended up being quite agreeable to our propositions, and gave us the means of undoing the seal on the silver mine. We intend to go there at first light tomorrow and be done with it once and for all, despite not really knowing what we might face within.

May the Light guide us,
Avacyn's will be done!

Waning Crescent Inn, Gatstaff, 23rd of the New Moon

The mine near Gatstaff has been unsealed and cleared of the werewolves and undead that were inhabiting it. I expect silver shipments to resume shortly. However, we do not know the ultimate source of the plague that caused the miners to turn in the first place - further investigation is needed.

After acquiring some supplies, we set out from Gatstaff for the mine. To get there, we had to travel through an overgrown area of the Uvenweald, where each turn presented us with two more options, in addition to wolves, giant spiders, and the remains of unlucky souls who had gotten lost in the labyrinthine woods.

Once we got to the mine, we used Dorei-Mae's looking glass to unseal the entrance. It worked just as he said it would, and we quickly started searching through the upper floors of the mines. In a common area, we found food that was surprisingly well preserved for its age, yet it had a foul aura around it. We later determined that this is the probable cause of the infection that spread throughout the mine.

The rickety mineshaft elevator was still functioning, and we made our way down to the second floor, still not having encountered any living (or unliving) thing. Here, several long-decayed corpses wore marks from both teeth and mining tools, suggesting a fight had occured long ago. In a sideroom, I found a note where a pair of miners had been holed up. They had starved to death, unable to make a break for the outside, but not before resorting to cannibalism - may Avacyn have mercy on their souls.

We also found a foul creature disguising itself as a minecart filled with silver nuggets. Upon nearing it, it grew a full set of sharp teeth and attacked us, but we were able to subdue it. A trap door down to the next floor let us bypass the noisy elevators, which turned out to be a good idea.

On the next floor, mindless undead miners were still toiling away, hacking at the walls and carting around loads of ore as if nothing ever happened. We quickly realized they were beyond saving, and put an end to their labour. One of the miners kept a journal that spoke of a gradual sickness, ending with the diseased turning feral. I do not know what could cause such horror, but I pray for Avacyn to protect me from.

Finally, we reach the lowermost floor of the mine, where we run into the last remaining werewolf, a famished creature that once was Dorian Greysteel, the foreman of the mine. I wove a protective enchantment around Francis, and we engaged the ravenous beast.

The fight was close fought, but by Avacyn's grace and providence, we all persevered, despite the razor claws coming our way. Before he died, Dorian came to his senses for a brief second, during which time he confirmed our decision to put down his wretched existence.

With the mines ready to be operated again, we headed back to Gatstaff. Tomorrow we make for Gavony to meet with Mayor Delupaux, after which I intend to head back to Gatstaff to follow any leads I can find regarding the plagued foodstuffs that was sent to the mines.

Glory be to Avacyn!
Glory be to Innistrad!