The party began their time in Murmansk under contract as “extra security” for Viroc Industries, stationed at The First Cut quarry. Their assignment seemed routine until a violent midnight blast ripped through the pit, collapsing scaffolds and tunnels. Out of the smoke surged Shard-warped miners, grotesquely mutated—including their foreman, Clem Torson.

The sudden assault forced the party into their first desperate combat. Fighting amid falling rock and dust, they cut down the twisted miners, though several party members were dropped before the mutants were defeated. In the aftermath, inspection of the bodies revealed puncture wounds identical across each victim, alongside a shattered injector still glowing with refined Shardisite. The blast site bore scorch marks and Shardisite residue, evidence pointing to deliberate sabotage rather than an accident.