Thangarth doesn’t strike them as the patient kind, so the Xaniqos decide to stop only at  the market before heading into the Underdark. A guide of the Steelshadow clan will accompany them. On their way to the inn, Jharrath tells his Cleric sister that he has many fire spells, which probably won’t be  effective against the fire salamanders and Efreet.

You will have to manage anyway, we don’t have the luxury of waiting another day. We will fulfill this deal with the Steelshadow clan as soon as possible.

At the inn they strike a bargain with Ivar: he will take care of their twelve fighting lizards for free for three days and continue doing so for a whole week, though the additional days will cost them money. It seems Alvra has created a lot of goodwill with the inn keeper. Or more accurate, with his daughter…

They proceed towards the market. When they inquire after a place where they can buy magical potions, their Duergar guide walks them down the maze of small streets and stops in front of a tiny  but clean shop. The Drow are the only customers. A very old Duergar enters the workshop. With his bald head and beardless face, the dwarf looks like an old and withered apple. Jharrath is in charge of the purchases, and asks for potions that can help them resist fire and heat. When the shopkeeper returns, he carries four potions. Lilith pays him 1150 gold pieces for it and hands a bottle to each sibling.

You’d better use them wisely!

The area they enter has turned into a war zone between the Shield Dwarves and Duergar, who are both fighting over the mithril mines. The air is suffocating, and the dwarf leads them deeper and deeper into the mines. Their way leads down a narrow hallway for over an hour. Suddenly their guide stops and points at a piece of stone wall. It doesn’t seem different from the endless corridor they have walked until then.

Go on, you can walk right through!

Phaedra, used as she is to the use of illusions, doesn’t hesitate and steps through, feeling nothing. The second she realizes it is indeed an illusion, she sees the opening in the wall. When the others  see her vanish, they follow her example and together they continue down another narrow corridor. The floor angles downwards, so walking is rather uncomfortable. The Scout stays thirty feet in front of the others, carrying her hand crossbow. Lilith also holds her crossbow ready, while Alvra makes sure his hands are free. The deeper they go, the warmer it becomes, and breathing gets harder. Suddenly the Scout halts: in the distance the corridor broadens and there she sees two shapes. She signals to the others and climbs the walls to take a closer look.