Rising Against Onsis Breath [Quest]

Text of the Quest:

Rising Against Onsis Breath Onsis Breath was captured by Imperial soldiers who hold its inhabitants captive. The Imperial hold a bandit named Snaruga near the mine. I need to find a way to set her free.

Tasks

Free Snaruga

Rahannal: Traveling to Onsi's Breath? Do you wish to be enslaved? Imperial soldiers will drag you into the mines if you're not careful. That's how they caught us.
Hero: Who are you?
Rahannal: I am unimportant. Only what I've done matters, and what I can do to fix it. I've waited for an opportunity to right this wrong since I escaped. Have you any strong love for the Imperials, or can you help?
Hero: What can I do?
Rahannal: My friend Snaruga was staked out to die. Free her, then meet me near the eastern mine entrance. I would accompany you myself, but they broke my fingers when they tortured me, I cannot hold my sword.
Hero: I'll take care of this.
Rahannal: Fortunately, I'm on the stealthy side. That's not Snaruga's way, though. The old girl gave the Imperials too many black eyes. They dare not trust her with a pick!
Hero: How did you escape?
Rahannal: After the imperials tortured me, I played dead. They threw me out to feed the jackals. My skills have never been tested more so than these past few days. I've kept watch on their camp, biding my time, which is how I know about Snaruga.
Hero: Who is Snaruga?
Rahannal: Snaruga? A friend. A rival. We compete for the same business, one might say. In any case, she doesn't deserve to die that way. I'd rather kill her myself sometimes.
Hero: Is this an Imperial mine?
Rahannal: This place? I don't think it is, but they're making use of it. Not enough of their own workers, so they conscript anyone they come across. And they happened to come across me and Snaruga arguing not far from here. Caught us by surprise.
Hero: Enough questions. I'd better hurry and free your friend.
Rahannal: Yes. Good. She's amongst some tents, tied up like a goat. If it weren't so serious a matter, I'd find it amusing. I'll meet you by the mine entrance. Thank you.

Snaruga: What?
Hero: Let me unlock those shackles.
Snaruga: By Mauloch's sulfurous hatred! And here I thought that traitor and bandit was our only hope ... where's Rahannal.that bastard? Left me here to rot. I'll rot him!
Hero: He sent me to free you.
Snaruga: He did, did he? Wait till I get my hands around his throat! The key to these shackles is kept in their surveyor's tent on the hillside across from us. Free me, so I can kill Rahannal!
Hero: Why do you want to kill Rahannal? He said you were friends.
Snaruga: Friends? Friends? He's a liar, a thief, and a cheat! What kind of friend is that? I may be a bandit, but I've got standards, unlike that desert low-life!
Hero: You're a bandit?
Snaruga: Don't tell me you've never borrowed anything without permission. I've always been free-spirited, otherwise I'd be in a stronghold somewhere living like some toothless villager!
Hero: You chose banditry over living in a stronghold?
Snaruga: Not that you would understand firsthand, but if I can't be the Chieftain with a hearth-husband ... forge-husband ... then no! So I say, to Mauloch's hoary nethers with all strongholds! I am not a sign of status for any man.
Hero: How'd the Imperials catch you?
Snaruga: Are you mocking me? Ask Rahannal how they caught us! Besides, I can't change my passion for adventure. Would you give up a life of danger to be a swineherd? Not everyone chooses this life of their own accord. I won't deny that I enjoy the fight.
Hero: Being a bandit isn't a solution, there are other options.
Snaruga: Then I say it is they who are fools in the end! I may look a fool today, but I will feel the warm spray of Imperial blood across my lips, and it will cleanse this weakness!

Snaruga: You have a triumphant look about you. Spit it out, have you the key or not?
Hero: Yes, I have it.
Snaruga: Good. Release me so I can give Rahannal the thanks he so richly deserves.
Hero: He's waiting for me by the eastern mine entrance.

Rahannal: Keep low, and remain vigilant. The Imperials are thieves without honor. Snaruga's free.
Hero: Why did Snaruga call you a traitor?
Rahannal: Morwha's blessed bosom! Loath as I am to send you from one danger to the next.... The Seventh Legion's captives in the mine need your deft aid too, if you're willing to go on.
Hero: Will the key that I used to free Snaruga work for them too?
Rahannal: It will, but to prevent you from freeing every miner within, I suggest that you seek out one captive in particular. He used to run this mine, before they took it from him. They still allow him freedom of the camp unlike the others, however!
Hero: He's working with them?
Rahannal: I will seek the man who runs this accursed camp, Panthius Varro. He and his men are concentrated on the other side of the encampment beyond the palisade wall, by the barred gate. Should you need me, look for me there after you give Foreman Connor the key.
Hero: I will look for the conscripted foreman, then.
Rahannal: Take the taciturn Snaruga with you, will you? I don't want to feel her slicing me to ribbons with anything but her eyes. Not until everyone's free.
Hero: Why did Snaruga call you a traitor?
Rahannal: The Imperial commander, Panthius Varro, tortured me. He broke something in my hand and wrist, and I told him where to find the others. I put my comfort over theirs. Snaruga heard me, and she'll never forget.
Hero: What is this place, anyway?
Rahannal: Onsi's Breath is the most lucrative mine in the whole of Bangkorai. This is why the name it carries comes from great Onsi, as it yields much and more for the making of weapons and armor. That's why Panthius Varro took this place by force.
Hero: How long have you known Snaruga?
Rahannal: Too long. Sometimes allies, mostly rivals. To the Imperials, we are all the enemy, regardless of what we were before. Likewise, they are now our enemy, above any other! Hopefully, Snaruga hates them more than she hates me at this point.
Hero: Who is Panthius Varro?
Rahannal: He commands this group. I don't know their affiliation. They're here for the mines, and that's all he cares about. He'll keep it running no matter how many conscripts he kills.

Foreman Connor: Huh, who are you?
Hero: I'm here to help, I have the key to the manacles.
Foreman Connor: is this another test? I'm not trying to escape, I told you! I am not leaving this mine. Nobody else knows how to reinforce versus structural collapse!
Hero: Do I look like I'm part of the Legion?
Foreman Connor: I still find it hard to believe that this is truly an escape attempt.
Hero: You'll just have to trust me.
Foreman Connor: Trust? Panthius Varro's damned games have torn all trust from us! If you're here to dupe me, then just get on with it and dupe me. I'd rather be chained out in the sun than suffer the indignation of being played with like a puppy.
Hero: Here's the key, can I count on you to free the miners?
Foreman Connor: Oh, you can believe that I will. If this is part of some scheme, it's not a very good one. Only one thing would turn this mine over more quickly than just striking the chains from these miners, after what's been done to them.
Hero: And what would that be?
Foreman Connor: Well, if you're truthfully with Panthius Varro then I've already said enough to seal my fate. Look for a chamber on the far side of the mine. There you'll find a massive stockpile of coal, which is a tempting target for sabotage. If one was so inclined.
Hero: I will look for it.

Snaruga: Came out here to find lazy bones dying on the job! I'm not having it. No one kills him but me!
Hero: Is Rahannal all right?
Snaruga: He'll do. Go kill Panthius Varro! I'll get Rahannal to our friends before he bleeds out.
Hero: Where's Panthius Varro now?
Snaruga: Rahannal said he's on the hill looking out toward the desert. I'd go with you, but someone has to carry this big baby to safety. Good luck.

Snaruga: You're back! I told Rahannal not to worry about you. Unlike some people I could name, you can handle yourself in a pinch.
Hero: Panthius Varro is dead. What'll happen now?
Snaruga: I had no doubts you'd triumph. This may not be a stronghold, but there are people who need me. We'll fight back until the Imperials are beaten, or we die in glorious battle!
Hero: Complete Quest.