Bob penned a letter to Gundren Rockseeker to inquire about the status of the mining operation at Wave Echo Cave and more importantly the status of the Champions’ 10 per cent share in the profits. He dispatched a courier from the Temple of Sune to deliver the message in Phandalin. Varien pondered the hidden locations of the remaining Sinister Seven of Nessus, poring over the meticulous notes he’d kept since recovering Fiendsbane from the Gilded Eye in Helm’s Hold, and recalling clue-ridden conversations with Mordai Vell. He checked and double-checked that the sealed iron flask was still in his possession. In the subterranean cave network, Siegfried activated his healing spirit and set about retrieving the sacks of flour from his bag of holding, mixing portions with some gunpowder culled from his brace of pirate rifles. Fetching his gnomish Portable Pulverizing Piston , he ground up some nearby stones into sharp shapes, which he added to the concoction before tying off the mixture in two satchels. All those lunch hours in Granny Cassandra’s kitchen were not wasted, he thought to himself as he shouldered a rifle and hefted the sacks experimentally. Satisfied, he set down the improved explosives and took stock of his situation, dusting flour and gunpowder from his hands. He let his eyes adjust to the semi-darkness, looked around at his surroundings and surmised that some of the rocky outcroppings in the cavern looked suspiciously unnatural, as though worked by stonemasons. To the southeast of his position, he could see that some of the light thrown out by bioluminescent fungi was illuminating sharp angles rather than rugged rock. His immediately surroundings looked like a tunnel that had been bored and smoothed down by the passage of some great creature, breaking through that southeasterly wall to reveal worked stone structures and shadows beyond. Considering the shadows, Siegfried called for his nightmare steed. It took a few moments longer than usual for Violance to appear in his wreath of purple smoke. The steed stomped his hoof. “Everything okay?” Siegfried asked. He could tell instantly that his nightmare was rattled and unsettled. Violance snorted snoke and shook his maned head. “Something’s not right about this place. I had to force my way through the shadows to get here.” “Best we move quickly, then,” Siegfried said, climbing into the saddle and taking the reins. “Can’t argue with that,” Violance huffed. Horse and rider entered the ethereal plane, and Siegfried knew immediately that something was amiss as he was struck by an extreme attack of vertigo, his inner ear at war with his stomach as Violance lurched into the shadow realm and nearly stumbled. It took all of Siegfried’s concentration to remain ensconced within the border ethereal, as he was overcome by a sensation that something was trying to squeeze and push him back into the prime material plane. Siegfried felt nauseated. Violance also struggled, but regained his footing as the pair made their way southeast. Through the gloom, they could see the structures that lay beyond the tunnel, including worked floor-to-ceiling pillars of quartz, from which a wan light emitted. The pair felt a tremor ripple through the fog as something slithered its way past the hole in the tunnel, blocking all sight for a few lingering moments. “Uh oh,” Violance snorted.