[h3]Pyrrhus of Etryca & Rultay Denlark[/h3]
[right][h3]The Road to Tinwe, South of Tinwarren[/h3][/right][hr]

"... I'm honestly worried."

Pyrrhus looked at the old sign pointing out that their destination is close, his face paling just a bit. It was an odd sight for the brute of a man to look afraid, especially for one such as Pyrrhus. The Etrycan sellswod had braved many different jobs from across the world, but Orzamar was a new land to him. Perhaps the unfamiliarity of these lands scared him? Whatever the reason, Pyrrhus crossed his arms and grunted, looking to the rest of his party.

"Has anyone else been in a mine before? Because I have not."

"It's  not so bad. The kobolds are quite civilized," Devie answers, stuffing a reagent bag full of what looks to be a growing collection petals and weeds. "It's a little damp, though, which is not to my liking."

"Oh, I'm not afraid of kobolds. They are small and easy to crush under my boot, like you, little gnome. What I am more afraid of is if my muscles are too big to fit in such a cramped space." Pyrrhus replied as he stroked his chin in deep thought.

Devie pursed her lips. “Hmph.” She jammed her hands in her pockets. “Maybe you ought to focus on earning the coin we’re paying you instead of your muscles.” She looked up the winding path. “Lead the way, big man.”

Pyrrhus nodded as he marched forward, though the expression on the barbarian’s face conveyed that he was genuinely concerned. “If I am too big to fit in the little mines, I guess I will just carve my way through...” Pyrrhus resolved to himself, patting the large axe strapped to his back.

How Pyrrhus intended to cut through solid rock with a mere axe is just one of the many mysteries of the multiverse.

Rultay quietly bit her lip, resisting the urge to refer to the gnome as 'little woman'.  "So, li-Devie, was it? How far do you think we are to the mines proper?"

"Maybe an hour? It's a short way. I've only been to Tinwarren once, nearly a year ago now," she answered the half-orc. "I was studying the properties of orichalcum with Professor Newtman at the time. It's quite incredible, actually. With the right chemicals you can create a compound that can substitute for a wide range of reagents. The College is on the verge of some incredible breakthroughs in the study of arcana because of our work here," she said, the words spilling out of her mouth at a rapid clip.

"We think there's a huge orichalcum vein under the mountains in this area, so the College awarded Tinwarren a large grant in tools and money this past winter to help them get at it," she continued. "We were hoping the red orichalcum they found recently might be the results we were hoping for. I'm sure Professor Flexner will have an exciting report for us once we find him."

"An exciting report, huh?" Rultay almost regretted asking, the words entering one ear and out the other. "That's certainly quite... interesting." Turning to the large man in front of her, she decided to mess with him a little. "Why are you going to carve through the mines? Why not just get everybody in the mines to push down on the floor hard enough to make it go down so you can fit in?"

Pyrrhus took a glance at Rultay and the rest of the party before laughing loudly.
"Please, even with everyone else's combined might, there's no way you all can bend the earth to your will! Only I am strong enough to accomplish such a fea-..."

A metaphorical lightbulb appeared over Pyrrhus's head, a glint in his eyes revealing that he had just made an amazing revelation.

"Interesting," Rultay dryly replied. "I certainly hope this legendary strength of yours can be put to good use saving these students. Speaking of, what reason do you think might cause them to go quiet all of a sudden?" Rultay presented the question openly, curious to hear the opinion of anybody who had one.