"Well," inquired Gorath. "Shall we?"

YES:

They descended noisily.

Several times Owyn nearly lost his footing on the mossy steps, but fortunately caught himself before sending them all tumbling down the dwarven stairwell. At last, they emerged into a large corridor...

It was definitely a way up, but he questioned whether it was the right way for them to be going at the moment. "What do you think, Owyn?" he asked. Feel like climbing all that way back up?"

YES:

Owyn nearly broke his neck.

Less footsure than Gorath and further encumbered by his bulky staff, it was a constant struggle for him to keep upright as they wound up the mossy steps of the dwarven mine. When they reached level ground once again, he resisted the urge to drop and kiss the dirt...

Gorath put a hand on his sword, but the creature seemed unarmed, so after a moment he relaxed his grip.

In broken kingdom tongue the Kobold began to speak to them of Rhuargh, the dragon who had once inhabited the mines. Convinced the dwarves were somehow responsible for the dragon's disappearance they had decided to bribe King Dolgan into freeing it.

"Bring us... armor... Grey Tower Plate..." croaked the Kobold. With out another word the creature slipped back into the darkness of the pit.

James considered the question for a moment, unsure how to answer.

The kobold considered this for a moment, then turned to the pit and made some signalling motions with his hands, while shouting instructions in a language James didn't understand.

After close to an hour, a strange looking metallic goblet was brought to the surface by several young kobolds, who held it reverently as if it possessed incredible value.

James placed the Grey Tower Plate on the floor of the mine near the pit, and stepped back so it could be inspected. Apparently satisfied with their offer, the kobolds motioned them forward, that they might sip from the goblet. Owyn was first. He let the cool liquid trickle into his mouth from the cup. Almost immediately he felt a new sense of strength and vitality; it began in his mouth and chest then radiated away from these areas like ripples on a still pond. The kobolds gave a sip to everyone, then climbed back into the darkness of the pit.

Considering the trouble they had gone through to get the dwarven armor, he wasn't quite prepared to simply give it away, despite the tempting offer that the kobolds had made. "We haven't found it as yet," he lied. "We will make certain to return it to you if we do find it."

Hurrying down the corridor to see what the cause of the commotion was, Locklear was halted by an angry-looking dwarf.

"No further, lad!" the dwarf drawled. "We've not cleared out the way to the lower caverns as yet and there's a danger of another collapse. Turn round and leave us to our work." When Locklear realized the dwarf couldn't be reasoned with, they loped back down the low ceilinged corridor.

Soon the corridor made an abrupt turn, ending in a mass of broken crossbeams, earth and crumbled masonwork. "Cave in," James pondered aloud. "We'll have to go another way." Turning round, the party ventured back up the corridor, down which they had come.

"This must be the passage to Elvandar," noted Gorath. "If we go this way, it may take us a few hours to get to the end. Are we up to the climb right now?"

YES:

Hours passed.

Just as Owyn was beginning to wonder if they would ever see the light of day again, the walls of the stairwell widened and were illuminated by dim shafts of light piercing the darkness through an oaken door. Pushing it open, Owyn gasped at the marvel of the leafy canopy which spread above them...

"Apparently we're back at the Mac Mordain Cadal," Owyn said. "Any reason you can think of to go back down there?"

YES:

The tunnels were damp.

Though the silver seamed, earthen roof which stretched over their heads was tall enough that they didn't have to crouch, Owyn felt hemmed in by the shaft, privately thankful the dwarves were larger than they were often given credit for in the legends.