The volcano at the heart of the Neefox island, and the silver mine cut into its flank. It is called the Furnace for the heat that comes up through the ground there. The volcano is dormant, the area thermally active, and until now there had never been earthquakes like the ones that shut the mine.
The trail from Neefox climbs in steep switchbacks through bare stone, an hour or two by mule. The mules have carried silver up and down it thousands of times and never slip. In places the smell of sulphur is very strong, and there are fumaroles where the water table runs close to the surface and the heat boils it out of the ground as steam. It is like walking through a sauna, and it only gets hotter further in.
Deep beneath the mine lies a caldera with a lake of lava, an ancient temple, and the chained elemental that the Cult of the Elemental Eye, in the name of Tharizdun, was trying to set free.
Areas
The mining camp
The wrecked camp in the gorge outside the caved-in entrance, where Ashton kept her triage station. See The Mining Camp.
The silver mine
The tunnels, the dead by the crushed cart, and the cog-driven lift up the shaft. See The Silver Mine.
The burrowers’ cavern
The cracked chamber at the top of the shaft, where the floor gave way. See The Burrowers’ Cavern.
The caldera
The magma chamber at the volcano’s heart, strewn with dead Azer. See The Caldera.
The temple of volcanic glass
The ancient shrine the Azer restored, and the altar of the banishing ritual. See The Temple of Volcanic Glass.
The ritual peninsula
The spit of rock in the lava where the captives were chained. See The Ritual Peninsula.