Contentious Beginnings
Horatio dreamed of a boy, destined to lead a revolution against tyranny, who was trapped underground. Fearing that the lad would never grow up to strike a blow against oppression, Horatio followed the hints provided by his dream to the mining town of Anisa, in Hazlan, where he discovered that the local gold mine had suffered a collapse and several miners were thought to be still trapped inside.
When Horatio arrived in Anisa, he was just in time to witness two Mulan noblemen, each with their supporters in the crowd, arguing in the town square over who would lead the expedition to free the trapped miners. The crowd was a mix of upper-class Mulan and Rashemi workers; each of the noblemen seemed favored by one of those groups. Horatio also met Uzoma, the dwarf overseer of the mine. She informed him that the two young noblemen had long been at each other's throats, particularly as both had been maneuvered by their respective families to marry Duchess Inaya--so they were both competing for her hand. Uzoma also told him that a survivor of the mine collapse claimed to have seen golden-furred monsters with multiple legs burrowing through the tunnels.
The nobles' squabbling was interrupted when a giant scorpion tore out of an alleyway, sending the assembled crowd into terrified flight. The two noblemen leapt down from their platform to fight off the beast, but Horatio was faster on the draw--he was soon hacking at the creature with his claws and deftly avoiding its stinging tail.
This combat was instructive regarding the two noblemen. Lord Kirina, a hulking, axe-wielding noble clad in surprisingly utilitarian Rashemi clothing, was tall, imposing, and clearly a seasoned warrior. Lord Simbon, the smaller of the two who was dressed in the height of fashion, was clearly out of his element as he engaged the giant scorpion with his scimitar. Of course, neither could hold a candle to Horatio, who ripped the scorpion's head off and dashed it to the ground.
Extinct Monsters?
As soon as the creature was slain, Lord Simbon and Lord Kirina began arguing again--this time over who had acquitted himself the best against the beast. Uzoma stepped forward and interrupted their argument before it came to blows; she sent Lord Simbon with Horatio to consult with Father Kendrik, a priest of the Lawgiver, about the nature of the creatures that might await them in the mines, while she and Lord Kirina would head to the mines to supervise the excavation efforts.
On the way to see Father Kendrik, Horatio learned more about Lord Simbon. It was Lord Simbon's family's desire to see him wed to the wealthy and powerful Duchess Inaya, though he rued having to give up his decadent, womanizing lifestyle.
Once ushered into Father Kendrik's study in the Anisa Academy, a site of occult scholarship founded by Hazlik, they found the priest surrounded by a number of heavy tomes, scrolls, and papers--utterly engrossed in his work. He clearly regarded their visit as an intrusion. He dismissed talk of the monsters supposedly spotted in the mines; naming the creatures "aurumvoraxes," he informed them that the species had been hunted to extinction in ages long past. Father Kendrik also evidenced an obvious dislike for Lord Simbon.
Into the Dark
Their consultation with Father Kendrik now over, Simbon and Horatio arrived at the mine. Uzoma and the miners were too afraid of what might lay beneath, so it was left to Horatio, Simbon, and Kirina to venture into the dark in search of trapped miners.
The bickering and sniping between Simbon and Kirina continued inside the mine, punctuated with violent encounters with the supposedly extinct aurumvoraxes. Eventually, Horatio discovered two things of note: a half-buried stone covered with script in the tongue of goblins that glowed with a rust-colored aura and a hasty bolthole in which the miners were hiding! Horatio and the two noblemen led the miners to safety, fending off one last attack by the aurumvoraxes.
Into the Light
Despite having saved the miners, Horatio was unsatisfied with the way things had turned out: he felt that he had treaded the symptoms, but not the disease afflicting the mines of Anisa. After presenting the stone to Father Kendrik, the priest confirmed that the markings on it were in goblin script, and that the stone's purpose was to summon monsters. However, Father Kendrik noted that the stone itself wouldn't be enough to summon the monsters that Horatio had encountered--other, sympathetic, runes would have needed to be etched at the sites where the monsters had taken root.
Early the next morning, Horatio set off for the mine once more. With the monsters plaguing the mine now dead, he made a more leisurely exploration of the mines and discovered markings resembling those on the stone drawn on the walls in white chalk. Horatio rubbed out each of the markings, rendering them powerless.
Figuring that whoever might be responsible for summoning the monsters would return to the scene of the crime, Horatio hid in a bunkhouse tent and was unsurprised when he spotted Father Kendrik approach and enter the mines. Horatio stealthily shadowed the priest, and observed that Father Kendrik made his way to each place he had found summoning markings. Father Kendrik carried a rag that he intended to use to destroy the evidence of his involvement.
Horatio confronted Father Kendrik, who admitted his part in the plot. He had engineered the mine collapse to provide an opportunity for Lord Kirina to prove his valor--and thereby increase his appeal in the eyes of Duchess Inaya. Of course, Father Kendrik had hoped to use Kirina to gain influence over the Duchess. Believing that Horatio now knew too much to live, the priest attacked, imbuing his staff with radiant power and summoning a sword of spiritual power. But it was not enough; Horatio killed him within the mines and hid his body among the rubble.
This left Lord Kirina to deal with. Horatio found Lord Kirina regaling the common folk of a tavern with tales of his own valor in the mines. Horatio brazenly challenged him to a fight. The commoners circled around the pair as they sized each other up. Lord Kirina struck mighty blows with his axe, but even his great strength was no match for Horatio, who knocked him unconscious with ease.
Once Lord Kirina was imprisoned in a storage room beneath the tavern, Horatio explained all to the town guard. Horatio's allegations were confirmed both by Kirina's admission of guilt and papers found in the office of Father Kendrik.
