Equinox, Meteym, and Sygale stood at the mine entrance, waiting for their Mireh expert. Spring was running slightly late, but he soon appeared over a hill, trotting quickly toward them. As he reached the group, he stopped to catch his breath, and Equinox stepped forward to make introductions. With that, the four colonists donned hard hats equipped with lights, ready to enter the mine.

Inside was brownish stone, moss clinging to every surface as far as the light reached. Sygale stopped to look at it more closely. "This place looks like it's been abandoned for years," he commented.

Spring shook his head. "The moss grows quickly, and can be found even in active mines. It'd go further if the lights were on," he explained. Sygale hummed curiously in response. Spring turned to the leader of the group. "What did you say the history of this mine was?" he asked.

Equinox tilted his head. "A Mirehi colony was selling it, and Spear wanted a mine that was not in Rekes. Different mineral distribution, you understand," he replied. Spring nodded. Equinox continued, "This trip is to determine if our investment paid off. We're looking for copper or iron. Hopefully this place is more than just clay."

Ahead, Meteym checked one of the support beams. It seemed sturdy, and she moved on to checking the ceiling for cracks or other signs of instability. Rubble covered the floor, and all four colonists had to watch their feet to avoid tripping. "No rails," Sygale murmured, watching the ground, "We'll have to cart stuff out by hand." Meteym sighed in response.

The group reached a split in the mine tunnel, and Equinox pulled a map from the satchels over his back. "The left side is just a short offshoot," he announced. "We'll want to go right to check the mine's full depth." Nods all around, and they continued. The light from the entrance was fully gone now, the mine only lit by their headlamps. No glitter or shine came from the walls, indicating that if there had been a mineral vein, it was long since removed.

Spring pulled a device from his own satchels, pressing a few buttons to activate it, then hanging it around his neck. At Sygale's curious glance, he explained, "This will get readings on air quality. If it starts beeping, we need to leave immediately."

The other three looked relieved. They all knew the dangers of poor air quality, and it was uncertain what might be lurking in an empty mine like this. Equinox continued to guide them deeper, and as they reached the lower tunnels, some evidence of unmined metals began to appear. Rearing onto her hind legs, Sygale chipped at a glittering spot on the wall with her claws. Freeing a rock, she put it in one of Equinox's bags to test later.

Meteym peered down a side passage, and winced. "This one's collapsed," she called to the others. "We'll have to be extra careful checking the supports from now on." Equinox sighed in irritation.

"Maybe we should head back up. You've collected some samples, we can log this area as unstable and return to reinforce it another day," Spring suggested.

"I was hoping to get a full picture of the mine today, but maybe you're right. We don't have the materials to shore it up with us, and there's no point risking ourselves when we have most of what we need," Equinox replied. He glanced around at the others, checking for agreement. Meteym and Sygale nodded. With that, all four turned and began to ascend out of the mine, the darkness behind their headlamps chasing them all the way back to the refreshing light of the entrance.