She tells you about her mission

You collect the weapons which the Rat Pack members lost and head Northway. At first Jackie is too embarrassed to talk, but soon she begins to explain her mission. It seems that there was a group of mole furries who were illegal miners. Since the king and nobles control the mining in their territories quite strict and demand a huge cut of the outcome, illegal mined ore is cheaper and worth a lot for the miners.

By one of their mining expeditions, the moles suddenly came to a wall made of stone bricks. And behind the wall, there were ruins of an ancient temple. There are hundreds of such places from the time before humanity archived self-awareness. Most people call them dungeons to make it easier. They are full of magic, riches and knowledge. But also full of corrupted beasts, traps and other dangers.

The church says, that the gods and their servants used them as bases, storages, laboratories or prisons in their wars. When they left this world and bequeath it to the humans and furries, they left their old playgrounds behind. The ones at the surface are long gone. Plundered, destroyed or in best cases rebuild and made pilgrimage sites. But hidden from the world, under the earth deep in the sea or in areas with little civilization, there can sometimes one of these old places be found.

Of course, the kings and priests immediately passed laws that claim all such dungeons as their property. Plundering one of these places can lead to a very serve punishment. But reporting a newly discovered temple or dungeon can be highly rewarded. Because of this, the moles decided to immediately report to the next noble and hoped for impunity for their illegal mining.

The Keepers of the Holy Light were immediately informed and decided to act. With magic communication devices they informed their next members. Jackie was researching something in a library nearby. The knight commander ordered her to immediately get to the illegal mine and secure the place. Reinforcements from the capital was already on their way.

“The moles didn’t enter the temple more than a nose peak deep,” Jackie finishes finally, “which was wise. We have no idea which god or goddess the temple belongs too. In best case it is from one of the good ones and is just an old outpost for their angels. Their magic weapons are dangerous in the wrong hands, but not almighty. But in worst case, it belongs to one of the dark gods or daemons and holds some nasty surprises.”

“Have you ever been in such a place before?” you ask interested, “I only know legends about these temples.”

“I … well I was in some on the surface,” Jackie mumbles, “and once I was allowed to study old texts in a dungeon that was already secured. But I never was in an active one. Especially not alone.”

“Well, you are not alone anymore,” you say gently and take a look at the map, “and I’m sure you will be great. I mean, they wouldn’t trust you with this if you wouldn’t have the skills. You are a mage after all.”

“I … well, thank you, Gray,” Jackie says but doesn’t sound very confident, “you are right. This will work out. Let’s speed up a little. The longer we wait the higher is the risk that the temple draws some unwanted attention.”

You nod an with fast steps you and Jackie move along. About an hour later, you arrive at the border of the forest. A small street leads to the west or the east. Behind the street, a mountains area begins. According to the map and your knowledge of the area, you need to follow the street to the east for a few minutes until you arrive at a small path that least up to the mountains.

The path is easy to find and thanks to your partly animal physic, both of you show little signs of exhaustion on your way up the hills and rocks. The higher you get, the higher the mountains around you become. And it doesn’t take long for you to smell the typical scent of a workplace. But there is something more than sweat, grinded stone and dry wood. You can smell blood. And rats. There are more rat furries around. You met the three bandits not long enough to be sure, but you think the ones at the mine are different.

You warn Jackie immediately and together you sneak the last part of the way. when you see the entrance of the mine, you quickly hide behind a large rock. Your eyes are sharp enough to see good over the distance and Jackie has a small pair of binoculars in her bag. But that makes what you see not better. Two footsoldiers of the Rat-Pack guard the entrance to the mine. They are nor much better equipped than the bandits you met before. But each one has a long machete and they look more serious. The smell of blood comes from the corpses of three mole-furries have been brutally murdered and left to rot.

“By the gods,” Jackie whispers and looks like she is about to vomit, “these sick bastards. Do you … do you think they murdered all miners?”

“The blood is too close,” you mumble and growl a little, “I can’t smell more corpses or living moles. But I think they could be still alive. Two rats can’t take out a whole mining troop. And they have no blood on the fur or clothes. I assume they came with a larger group and the rest of them took the moles inside the temple. These three tried to fight back or were killed as a warning.”

“Why should the Rat Pack do this?” Jackie mumbles tense, “most dungeons contain great wealth and power, but this is a temple. Without any advanced knowledge there is little for them to get. Don’t they know about the risks.”

“Probably not,” you growl and scratch your chin, “but I don’t think they are here on their own. Gaining wealth is clearly one of the Rat Packs main goals, but they prefer to do it with minimal risk.

Angering the king and nobles to the point where retaliation is guaranteed is not their typical approach. I think they're working as stooges for someone else. Paid thugs to do the dirty work. I assume their client is a dark mage or some cultist. Someone who can do something with the knowledge or artifacts from the temple without the whole thing blowing up in their faces.”

“I think you are right,” Jackie mumbles, “where do you get all this knowledge from? But let’s talk about this later. We need to do something.”

“We could wait for more of your Keeper friends,” you mumble, “you said reinforcement is already on the way.”

“Yes, but it could be already too late when they arrive,” Jackie whispers tense, “the miners are probably dead and the dark mage is gone when they arrive. No, we … we need to do something. Are you still at my side, Gray?”

“Sure, Jackie,” you say immediately, “let’s make a plan. I see three ways we could act. We could either take the Rat Pack soldiers out by lethal **** and sneak in the mine, distract them and sneak past them, or we could look for another entrance. Mines often have some ventilation sludges. Maybe the moles installed some that are big enough for us.”

“Sounds reasonable,” Jackie says and looks at the rats, “you seem to understand this kind of situation better than me. I would leave the decision to you, if you don’t mind.”