The Abandoned Mine

[Mission ID]: Mill Town 0298

[Type]: Investigation

[Reward]: 50 silver coins

[Mission Description]: Recently, the White Porcelain Level One Simmons Squad went to an abandoned branch of the Azure Mine Cave southwest of Mill Town to clear out a small group of Kobolds. According to the Azure Mine Cave, the squad has now been out of contact for two days.

[Proof of Completion]: Submit evidence of finding or contacting any member of Simmons Squad. If they have died, submit the remains or belongings of any member.

[Time Limit]: 3 days.

(Note: A large group of Kobolds or mutated Kobolds may be present in the Abandoned Mine. Adventurer parties of White Porcelain Level Three or above, or individuals of equivalent strength, are advised to accept this mission.)

Robin's slightly round, honest face rose unbidden in Rain's mind, along with the sunny smile he so often wore and the last thing he had said—

"Yeah. Once this mission's over, I should have almost enough saved up. I'm planning to take my sister to Dorn City and find a priest to treat her eyes."

"Captain, let's take this mission," Rain said.

Chris had been about to joke that Rain was actually doing him a favor for once, but the look in Rain's eyes made him swallow the words.

"An investigation mission? Kobolds?" Leia asked, puzzled.

Chris had been talking just now, but she hadn't listened at all.

Now that Rain suddenly wanted to go, she took the mission seriously. She was also a little confused. Hadn't Rain shown little interest in Kobolds or Goblins?

"A friend of mine is in the missing squad. I want to find out what happened," Rain said, making no attempt to hide it.

"I see. No objection from me." Leia nodded.

"No objection," Grand said, as terse as ever.

"None from me either. If it were my choice, I'd pick Kobolds too! If we have to crawl through tunnels, they're still better than some sticky spider cave." Fabian grinned.

Before going to the counter to accept the mission, however, Leia read the notice once more.

As captain, she naturally had more to consider.

Her gaze passed over the final line of the notice, and she relaxed.

If they were dealing with only Kobolds, then even a large group with mutated individuals wouldn't pose much danger to their party, as Leia saw it.

An hour later.

With their preparations complete, Rain and the others climbed into a rented covered wagon and set off toward the Azure Mine.

As the wheels rolled over the gravel road, Rain found himself looking through a gap at the scenery on either side.

The wheat fields low on the slopes had long since been harvested, exposing reddish-brown furrows. Neat stacks of straw stood along the field ridges, turned gold by the sun.

Farther off, the hills were still green, rolling toward the horizon like unfurled silk.

Beyond them, sparse trees gave the hills the look of mottled blankets. The leaves of the beech trees were trading green for amber, while a few scattered maples splashed the landscape with vivid red.

A breeze swept past, carrying the rich scent of autumn.

Inside the covered wagon.

"Do you think the missing squad died, or did they get lost in that maze of an Abandoned Mine?" Fabian asked conversationally, flipping a dagger over and over between his fingers.

It was rare for an entire mission squad to disappear.

Even when a party encountered a particularly troublesome monster, one or two members usually escaped, though the rest might be injured or killed.

The Soradin Kingdom had also mined the Azure Mine for centuries. Many branch tunnels had long since been abandoned, only to be gradually occupied by Kobolds.

That alone would not have been a problem, but Kobolds had a habit of digging haphazardly. Over time, the passages inside many abandoned branches had become tangled and complex.

That was why Fabian wondered if the squad had simply lost its way.

"Getting lost seems unlikely. Even without a map, they should've found an exit in two days. Maybe there was a cave-in?" Chris said.

Grand, who rarely spoke, suddenly said:

"I heard something about this place. The Azure Mine has had water surging up several times before. That means there's a network of groundwater below, maybe even an Underground River."

Rain and the others raised their eyebrows.

"Grand, you mean they fell into an Underground River?" Chris asked, his eyes widening.

"Then we wouldn't even know whether they're alive or dead! And we couldn't find their remains or belongings. How would we complete the mission?"

"We'll take a look first," Leia said calmly.

After half a day's travel, their destination was close.

A patch of yellow-brown ground amid the green hills gradually came into Rain's view.

The vegetation here had been stripped away. Tall trees, low shrubs, even the grass had all been cleared, leaving nothing but bare earth.

From a distance, it looked no bigger than the palm of his hand.

But as the wagon drew closer, Rain realized it covered at least ten football fields. At a glance, he could see seven or eight mine entrances, several of them busy with helmeted miners pushing ore carts in and out.

No wonder this is the Soradin Kingdom's largest copper mine.

Rain was impressed by the sight.

"Come on. Let's ask Old Johnny, the foreman, what happened."

"You know the foreman here, Captain?" Rain asked Leia.

"Yeah. We took a mission at the Azure Mine last year," Chris said with a nod.

"Old Johnny?" The miner they stopped gave Leia an odd look. "If you're a friend of his, how come you don't know he died three months ago?"

"He died?" Leia froze.

Everyone else in the party, Rain included, turned to look at the miner.

"He lost his footing, fell into the Underground River, and drowned." The miner sighed, as though recalling the incident.

"Old Johnny was a good man. We all respected him. It's a shame he's gone."

"Bondes, the one in charge of us now, is a bastard," the miner added bitterly.

"Mack, you old slacker! Shirking work again!"

Crack!

A whip snapped sharply.

"I've got to go! That's Bondes, the new foreman."

The miner was plainly afraid of whoever had spoken.

A burly man with a slanting scar across his forehead came out of the mine. He seemed about to say more to the miner, but when he spotted Leia's shapely figure, he came straight over.

"Who are you?"

"We're Adventurers here to investigate. A party of Adventurers went missing two days ago while clearing out Kobolds," Leia said, studying Bondes.

"Right, a group of young people came by two days ago. I warned them the mission was dangerous, but they wouldn't listen." Bondes shrugged, his gaze covertly roaming over Leia.

"Which tunnel did they enter?"

"That one at the eastern end."

Rain followed his gesture. At the eastern edge of the mining area stood a half-sealed entrance, with many of its boards still in place.

It looked as though thick planks had once sealed it completely. Now a gap had been torn open, just wide enough for someone to enter.

"That's where they went in."

"Did any of you go in to investigate afterward?" Leia asked.

"No. It's too dangerous in there."

"All right. Thanks. We'll take a look." Leia had no desire to talk any longer with the new foreman, who looked more like a thug.

"Better be careful, then." Bondes swallowed as his eyes dropped to Leia's figure, but he seemed wary of her oversized bow and quickly looked away.

As they walked toward the Abandoned Mine, Chris muttered, "I could've sworn Old Johnny told me he knew how to swim. He shouldn't have drowned."

Rain had never met Old Johnny, so the news did not affect him as deeply.

Soon, the group lit their torches and followed the rusted ore-cart rails deeper into the Abandoned Mine.

After they had walked a while, Rain's nostrils twitched. He turned to Leia.

"Captain, that foreman, Bondes—he said none of them had gone back in?"

"That's right. Why?" Leia asked.

"Nothing. Just checking," Rain said with a nod.

With the level-two Keen Scent he had gained from the Boarfolk, Rain could still detect Bondes's faint body odor inside this fairly enclosed Abandoned Mine.

Yes, inside the Abandoned Mine.

That meant Bondes had probably entered within the last day or two.

As for Robin's scent, too much time seemed to have passed for Rain to distinguish it.

Scents only lingered so long, after all.

But at the very least, this showed that the new foreman, Bondes, had lied.

He had been inside.

And he had entered after something happened to Robin's squad.