Miner's Journal (2E 582)

Original media : TES Online Day Two We set up our base camp as far into the mine as we could. Someone went to a lot of trouble to carve out these passages, but that had to have been many years ago. Fortunately, this portion of the mine is still rich with silver and several other trace metals. You can see huge, untapped veins of ore running through the tunnel walls. But this presents us with quite a quandary regarding the fate of the original excavators. If they went to all the trouble and expense of constructing the mine, why did they abandon it before they had exhausted the vast reservoir of ore contained in the deposit? Day Three Today we finished clearing one of the collapsed tunnels and broke through into an enormous chamber beyond. I'm no historian, but I'd swear there are remnants of Dwarven ruins here. There are things set apart from the rock and ore that definitely aren't natural, at any rate. Aesa said she heard scuttling while we were asleep last night. Skeg told her not to worry, there are lots of things that skitter about in tunnels like this. But I've heard things too, and not the usual sounds of spiders. I almost feel like something is stalking us. Like we're being watched. Day Four We never should have come down here. Aesa and Skeg left hours ago to scout the Dwarven ruins and neither have returned. There are pale shapes moving in the shadows and a maddening insect-like clicking echoing through the passageways. Am I hallucinating? I'm not sure I could find my way out of this place if I tried. I seem to be the only one in the camp now, though I didn't see anybody leave. The clicking sounds grow louder. I hear breathing. Earlier, I swore I heard a scream in the darkness. It sounded like Aesa. Something's close by. I think it can smell me.