The Crevasse
Beyond the many branches of the upper mines, the rails follow the fissure until it intersects with a large crevasse. On the opposite side of the crevasse, 12 meters below, the main fissure and the rail continue into the second level of the mines - which have been transformed into crypts.
The crevasse was formerly a deep pit, dropping who-knows-how-far into the depths, but over time, as the mine was dug out, tailings were dumped into the crevasse, slowly backfilling it. Rail was extended across the gap and a funicular was built so that mine carts filled with ore could be hauled up from the lower levels using ropes and pulleys. The rail in this section is very steep - running 6 meters, but dropping 12, resulting in a downward slope steeper than 60 degrees.
The tracks are rickety and barely holding together after more than a century of abandonment. The wooden ties binding them are extremely fragile, and the ropes and pulleys used to operate the funicular are long since rotted away.
Recently, however, climbing gear was installed by a previous expedition into the mines to make using the remnants of the rails safe. Ropes and guides have been put in place and are properly anchored, allowing controlled descent to the lower level without the need to use the Climbing Skill.
Note that when the party is attempting to cross the crevasse, while the second person is half-way across, the Pesky Flies encounter should begin.
Hidden high up in the crevasse, wrapped in spider webs and out of sight of the funicular is the husk of the corpse of Corinne Gelgu. This cannot be seen unless the characters project a sense up there using the Far Sense spell or via some other magical means, or unless they intentionally climb up there, or a character is carried up there by giant spiders.
CHALLENGE
21C using Agility Stat for each turn of movement (at 1/10th)To descend the funicular is still a challenge, however - only one person can go at a time, and movement is at 1/10 speed (each character must effectively traverse a distance of 30 hexes to get safely across, even though it only looks like 3 hexes on the map). Each turn of movement requires a 21C using Agility to move at all.
Failure does not result in a fall, only an inability to progress for a turn. A minor catastrophe will result in a fall that takes 2d4 turns to recover from. A major catastrophe results in a fall into the crevasse - which is thankfully largely filled in - such a fall will result in 3d6 damage to a character who falls from the top third of the funicular, 2d6 from the middle third, and 1d6 from the bottom third. Armour does not protect from this damage.
The Climbing Skill is required to get out of the bottom of the crevasse to the lower level of the mine. This same process will be needed to come back up from the bottom.