He needs your help dealing with a monster

If the situation seemed frantic in town, it's even worse here in the quarry. It seems there are still men trapped under the rubble, and from the sounds of it, they're still alive... but not for long. There's a long fire-brigade line stretching inside one of the tunnels, and large pieces of stone are being hauled out a piece at a time. You can hear the sounds of picks hammering away further under the mountain, mixing with shouted orders and wailing, all echoing around inside the walls of the quarry.

One man in particular seems to be doing the most shouting. He's powerfully built and covered in a thick layer of grit, sweat pouring from his body and mixing with the dirt caked on his skin to turn into beads of mud that flake off under his constant efforts. You and Russ come to an unspoken agreement - this is most likely Foreman Harald.

When you approach him, he's tossing a boulder the size of your torso into the back of a horse-drawn cart. "That's enough for this load! Haul it and double-time back! You three, take a rest. Jameson, you and your lads take over for a bit!" He barks the commands and steps out of line to accept an offered ladle of water. From a young girl, probably a serving wench at one of the local taverns. He waves you and Russ over - you have to give the man credit, despite working as hard as anyone here, he's still aware of the goings-on around him.

"Foreman Harald, I presume?" Russ asks as he jumps down from his horse. You follow suit.

He squints, trying to size up your companion before regarding you. "Aye." He responds simply before taking another ladle of water and pouring it over his shaved head. "And you are?"

"Sabine of the," You start to respond, offering him your station as a paladin, but Russ cuts you off.

"Sabine St. Croix, former shield maiden from Highever and my lovely companion. And I am Russ DeLarco, a swordsman of little consequence, save for those who have tasted my steel. But introductions are not in demand here, foreman. We make for Gerlangen, but the road is blocked, a consequence of this tragedy. Would that we could offer our assistance if in return you might point out an alternate route?"

You're not quite sure how to feel about Russ interrupting you like that, but if he has a reason for concealing your purpose, it's probably better to play along.

The foreman seems to make up his mind about something and then starts walking toward building far away from the activity. "Jameson, you've got the quarry!" He shouts over his shoulder and gestures for you to follow him. There's a resounding "Aye, boss!" from somewhere behind you before you arrive at what appears to be an office of sorts.

"Adventurers? No use for ya if I had my way, but... your timing couldn't be better." He walks around a desk and sits, and gestures for you to take a seat across from him. There's only one chair, which Russ holds out for you. He leans back against the wall of the small room. "Didn't want to make a fuss in front of the whole town, bad enough my boys were there. Weren't just a cave-in. Something brought that mine down, on purpose. We were opening up a new shaft, bursting at the seems with ore. Something lives down there. Something that didn't want to be disturbed. I wasn't there, so I only heard about it from a few of my men that weren't too busted up, but... it's not natural."

You exchange looks with your traveling companion. Neither of you are too excited with the prospect of hunting some abomination deep in the bowels of the earth, but you've listened to this much, so you might as well hear out his proposal. "You want us to deal with this creature for you, that much seems obvious, but why? Can't you just seal up the shaft again?"

He bristles at your words. "It's not that easy, lass. Maybe the thing dug back into the ground, maybe not. Maybe we seal it off and then open up a new shaft that leads right back to the first one. Or maybe it got free already? Some of those passages lead right through the mountain, so there's no telling if its ravaging the countryside right now."

Russ perks up. "You say some of the caves have exits on the other side?"

"Aye. Impossible to map out everything, but we know a few routes. Bring me its head and I'll show you the way myself."

There it is - that's what you were waiting to hear. You can accept the foreman's offer and save a day or more back-tracking in exchange for hunting a mysterious creature... or leave the town to its fate and ride hard back along the Splinter Road until you can pick a different path.