Ideal and Boris decided to join Raibeart and the half-orc in order to improve their overall chance of survival at the orc-ridden mines. The dwarf desired revenge, the gnome wanted to end that troublesome assignment, and the tiefling pursued a mysterious purpose.
Yet, a fundamental matter remained unclear.
"What's ur name again?", asked Raibeart.
The half-orc seemed intrigued. "Jevalet. From Naharadim West."
None of them had never heard of it, except for Boris. "You mean, after the Parigian Desert and such?"
"Yes. So it seems", said Jevalet. She was small on words, though disturbingly eloquent.
"And why are you here, exactly?", this time Ideal proposed the question. "I understand you are offspring of orc and human?
"Sir, she might get offended!", murmured the gnome.
"Indeed. Red orc, to be precise. I came here to research. I belong to an order of academics back at the Imperial Universities."
"Old Imperial Universities, don't you think? I believe Emperor Shaleb VII fell years ago", argued the little scholar, emboldening upon hearing the words "research" and "academic".
"Perhaps I like to stick to traditions. But let's hurry, small talk might kill us anytime", said Jevalet, putting an end to the conversation.
The tunnels went back to the great hall, and by then they felt a shift in the atmosphere.
"There's something off", said Jevalet. "Did you manage to get the other symbols from the password?"
Raibeart shuffled through Faye's belongings and found the piece of paper from the well chamber. He handed it to the half-orc and prepared his bow, should any enemy appear.
"I know another. We must get the third key and the final sequence.", she said.
Raibeart grunted. "Chances are we'll find someone at the kitchens. A corridor there led somuwhere."
Soon they went for the kitchen, going even further down the corridor and finding a huge pantry along with a band of white orcs who suddenly stopped a heated discussion upon the arrival of the travelers.
The struggle was brief. Arrows were shot and javelins detained, and at one of the leaders' pockets they found what would be the full password, only if half of the cloth were not entirely stained by blood.
"Well", said Boris, "May the odds be in our favor, huh?"
However, as they left the kitchen and reached for the inner gate, they noticed a chill coming from outside. The main gate was torn open and a few bodies lay scattered near the entrance, covered by a thin layer of snow.
Troubled by the break-in of the mines and by the complete absence of orcs, the travelers had no thought of lingering much longer. There was something eerie in the air that made them uncomfortable and urgent. Besides, the cold loomed swiftly into the hall.
Jevalet promptly led them to the inner gate and faced the triple-lock. Each of them had a rolling cylinder with different symbols written on the surface, which she put in a tentative order. They could only hope for the correct combination, though a closer look at the cloth obtained from the kitchen's orc eventually provided with the order for the first two keys.
But at the first attempt, a lightning bolt sparkled right into the spellcaster's chest and threw her away from the gates.
"Darn it, one shot in three and she misses it!", complained Raibeart. Soon after, he tried to unlock it with a different key. They had so many chances before drawing attention from any enemy that might be wandering around, but at last the dwarf successfully unlocked the gate.
Behind him, Ideal was helping Jevalet up. She did not seem to be too harmed from the bolt, except for an ugly lash on her torso.
"Let's move", she said.
And down they went, scampering into the darkness.
