As if fate had ordained it, the cave-in had been the answer all along.

It was not a lie to say that she had been lost in the moment with the drawings and only remembered her vision at the last possible moment, so only able to give the last garbled warning. People were injured, but the gift of life had not been taken away and there was this new discovery. Glancing back to her hero - Vanimar the brave who had sacrificed his own shoulder's perfection for her safety - Celandine found herself smiling with mesmerised eyes. But the wonder was not for him, rather for the silvery sheen within the broken cave wall.

"Are - is she okay?" Celandine asked quickly back to the drow soldier who was more severely injured than Vanimar. Those accommodating the brazen haired woman nodded, one of them quite skillfully having already stopped the majority of bleeding.

Satisfied by that at least the young scholar took in a breath and turned back to the exposed ore in the shattered wall of the broken tunnel. Indeed, there was now copious amounts of dirt, stone and rubble to crawl over, but it was nothing that two solid hooves and a hearty spirit could not cope with to enable the faun to get up close to the cracked spine of rock and run her finger down the thin element.

"This is it," she breathed. "They thought they were without, that the mine had been bled dry, but here, underneath all this cave in," she glanced around them at a freshly flowing river that sped away down the dark tunnel they were yet to explore. The floor was, of course, now chaotic, and they would need to crawl one portion but it was not beyond accessible. "This is the metal. I need …" she thought a moment, and dug into her satchel, moving aside her oilskin wrapped books before finding the small knife she predominantly used for eating and a small sample pouch. Swiftly, she scratched at the silvery vein of metal and let a few shards fall into the pouch, collecting them and admiring them as if they were pure gold dust.

By the time she was done Vanimar had staggered his way over to her and Umbra. He had his arm now hoisted into a sling that the medic had apparently found the time to quickly attend to him. Celandine gleefully nodded at the spine of material, and it took him but a moment to understand.

"Is that - we found …"

"Quite by accident, yes," she said, carefully folding the pouch and knife back away. Once done she smoothed down her closely knit dark clothes and watched as Umbra strode a little away to begin lifting and moving some of the heavier rocks in their way.

"At least I believe it is. I have a sample at least to pass to the dwarves when we find them." She paused, her jubilation fading. "You are able to still come with us, despite your injury are you not?"

Vanimar paused, feeling the disappointment from her tone. But he nodded quickly as more of his kin, now checked by the medic and well maintained, ran to assist Umbra. Soon, heavy clunks and grunts could be heard as they made the path clearer and safer. Celandine stayed back, knowing she would be more of an annoyance for them than a help. The captain, now only with one useful arm, stepped down with her, watching the warriors in his charge put their hands to the heavy work.

"I will come with you," he seemed to swear, his words more of a promise than a simple statement. Taking in a breath he looked her up and down, glancing back over to the vein of promising material, and then over to her once more. "Commander Raimneth ordered me to get you there, miss, and assist in any way I could. He seems intrigued by you and your skills. You hold great promise."

She couldn't help but beam, only a little chagrin rising this time and only paused to wince as Umbra made a hefty throw, rocking the ground a little more. Dust flew up, and water splashed - but it was only a minor thing and did not cause any more damage to the tunnels. More grunts and groans, more curses and shifting of weight passed between those of able body and soon the key rubble pieces that were confounding an easier path were removed. The warriors turned labourers breathed heavily, but they had accomplished their task that would enable them all to be able to continue. With a nod Celandine began to climb up, seeing the other dark elves eagerly following in the wake of the Mercenary's abilities.

"Your words are kind,'' she finally replied. "Thank you."

Onwards the soldiers, the Mercenary and the young scholar went, their progress now slower but still steady. Celandine kept her hand on the strap of her satchel, feeling promise and hope in the fact that she had a small pouch full of potential. Even as they left the rubble and trouble behind them, the medic supporting the more severely injured dark elf, they felt their hearts lift. Despite all the stink and pain caused they were one movement closer on the chessboard into saving the country of Alerar. The quiet tinkle of water was their footsteps' company, and the light of Umbra's lamp guided their way.

Deeper into the mines.

Further north.

Towards the dwarves.