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Map
Re: Map
1. They find themselves standing atop a flattened piece of land, perhaps fifteen feet deep and forty or so feet wide. Scree and boulders are scattered about, but it looks like most of the debris is currently on the slope below. Before them, carved into the sheer face of the mountain, is the entrance that has recently been uncovered. Four columns have been carved into the rock, and flank the massive double doors, two to a side. The doors themselves are carved from stone, and looked to be hinged via some sort of pivot. They are each ten feet wide and thirty feet tall; the left one is still closed, while the one on the right hand side looks as though it has been violently torn from the pivot at the top and has turned partially, leaning against the other door up high and creating an opening down lower large enough for the adventurers to slip through one by one.
Beyond the door, in the light that streams through over their shoulders, the adventurers can see a 20' wide, 20' long grand hallway that opens up into a much larger room beyond. Frescoes of some sort adorn the walls of the entrance hall, and off in the distance, in the large room, some large shape is visible, rising up from the floor, obscured by shadow.
2. The room is seventy feet, north to south, and forty feet wide. The entrance hall enters the room in the center of the northern wall. Twenty feet south of that wall are two round columns set against the wall, and twenty feet south of those are two more columns. On the eastern wall, an arched opening is visible just past the second column, while on the western wall there is what appears to be a closed door just to the north of the second column. The ceiling soars some forty feet into the air, and on the southern wall, about twenty feet up, a balcony, shadowed, overlooks the hall as well as the statue that dominates the center of the room.
The statue is some thirty feet in height and depicts a reptilian, bipedal creature with long snout filled with sharp fangs. It is similar to those depicted in the frescos in the entrance corridor, and can only depict the feared mecistop, or Crocodile Kings. Like the frescos, the statue is badly damaged. It is missing its left arm from bicep down, the break jagged, and scarred by attempts at violence, with most of the damage done to the lower section, as if Men with sledgehammers beat furiously at it. All of the damage appears to be ancient. The statue faces the opening through which the adventurers entered, and just beyond the statue, in the southern wall, they can spy another arched opening.
The entrance hall appears to be empty, save for a few bats which are sleeping upside down on the ceiling.
3. Puffs of dust rise from the floor as the slab swings open, revealing a long chamber that runs east to west. From where the adventurers stand it appears to be empty; Tiarsus' night vision is the best of the party, and in the light that Themon's lantern casts he can just barely make out the far end of the room, some seventy feet to the west. It's hard to tell, but it appears the southern corner of that wall is truncated at a diagonal, and another open archway leads out of the room towards the southwest. From where the adventurers stand, as well, the room appears to be 30' wide, with the door entering in the center of the eastern wall.
Beyond the door, in the light that streams through over their shoulders, the adventurers can see a 20' wide, 20' long grand hallway that opens up into a much larger room beyond. Frescoes of some sort adorn the walls of the entrance hall, and off in the distance, in the large room, some large shape is visible, rising up from the floor, obscured by shadow.
2. The room is seventy feet, north to south, and forty feet wide. The entrance hall enters the room in the center of the northern wall. Twenty feet south of that wall are two round columns set against the wall, and twenty feet south of those are two more columns. On the eastern wall, an arched opening is visible just past the second column, while on the western wall there is what appears to be a closed door just to the north of the second column. The ceiling soars some forty feet into the air, and on the southern wall, about twenty feet up, a balcony, shadowed, overlooks the hall as well as the statue that dominates the center of the room.
The statue is some thirty feet in height and depicts a reptilian, bipedal creature with long snout filled with sharp fangs. It is similar to those depicted in the frescos in the entrance corridor, and can only depict the feared mecistop, or Crocodile Kings. Like the frescos, the statue is badly damaged. It is missing its left arm from bicep down, the break jagged, and scarred by attempts at violence, with most of the damage done to the lower section, as if Men with sledgehammers beat furiously at it. All of the damage appears to be ancient. The statue faces the opening through which the adventurers entered, and just beyond the statue, in the southern wall, they can spy another arched opening.
The entrance hall appears to be empty, save for a few bats which are sleeping upside down on the ceiling.
3. Puffs of dust rise from the floor as the slab swings open, revealing a long chamber that runs east to west. From where the adventurers stand it appears to be empty; Tiarsus' night vision is the best of the party, and in the light that Themon's lantern casts he can just barely make out the far end of the room, some seventy feet to the west. It's hard to tell, but it appears the southern corner of that wall is truncated at a diagonal, and another open archway leads out of the room towards the southwest. From where the adventurers stand, as well, the room appears to be 30' wide, with the door entering in the center of the eastern wall.
Re: Map
4. The adventurers advance down the hallway to investigate. The hallway runs for a full forty feet, turning left (south) at the far end. The bundle in the hallway that had drawn their attention proves to be first sign of life -- or former life -- they have encountered thus far. A jumble of bones is covered in a thick layer of dust. The bones look to be human, and there is no evidence of clothing immediately visible. It's hard to tell exactly what befell this individual, so covered in dust and grime are the remains.
5. The adventurers find themselves looking into a square chamber, thirty feet to a side. The door they have just opened is in the eastern corner of the northern wall; there is another door in the southern corner of the eastern wall -- this one of wood, smaller, like the one they had espied just a few moments ago at the end of the dog-leg corridor -- and an open archway directly across from then, in the eastern corner of the southern wall.
In the center of the room the adventurers see what looks to be a single stone statue. They are looking at its backside, and from where they stand it appears to be a warrior dressed in archaic armor, carrying a shield and sword, with a tall, plumed helmet. It is hard to pick out details from the back. In front of the statue are two bodies. They look to be human, or at least humanish, and from where the adventurers stand do not seem to have been dead for very long; no where near as long as the previous corpse they found, which looked to have been dead from a thousand years or more.
6. The door in which the adventurers stand is in the southern corner of the east wall. There is another door set in the middle of the northern wall. Tiarsus recognizes it as the door he had seen when he peered around the dog-leg corridor, earlier, just before entering the statue room, although he is obviously looking at it from the other side.
The only thing of interest visible in this chamber is a column in the exact center of the room, about a foot in diameter, that runs from floor to ceiling. The lantern-light plays weirdly on its surface, in a way that suggests it is translucent. The dust lies thick and undisturbed in this chamber.
5. The adventurers find themselves looking into a square chamber, thirty feet to a side. The door they have just opened is in the eastern corner of the northern wall; there is another door in the southern corner of the eastern wall -- this one of wood, smaller, like the one they had espied just a few moments ago at the end of the dog-leg corridor -- and an open archway directly across from then, in the eastern corner of the southern wall.
In the center of the room the adventurers see what looks to be a single stone statue. They are looking at its backside, and from where they stand it appears to be a warrior dressed in archaic armor, carrying a shield and sword, with a tall, plumed helmet. It is hard to pick out details from the back. In front of the statue are two bodies. They look to be human, or at least humanish, and from where the adventurers stand do not seem to have been dead for very long; no where near as long as the previous corpse they found, which looked to have been dead from a thousand years or more.
6. The door in which the adventurers stand is in the southern corner of the east wall. There is another door set in the middle of the northern wall. Tiarsus recognizes it as the door he had seen when he peered around the dog-leg corridor, earlier, just before entering the statue room, although he is obviously looking at it from the other side.
The only thing of interest visible in this chamber is a column in the exact center of the room, about a foot in diameter, that runs from floor to ceiling. The lantern-light plays weirdly on its surface, in a way that suggests it is translucent. The dust lies thick and undisturbed in this chamber.
Re: Map
7. Atticus pulls the door open, revealing a room thirty feet square. The secret door is in the northern corner of the eastern wall; there is anther closed wooden door in the southern corner of the eastern wall. The walls of this chamber, and the center of the room itself, are filled with crates and barrels, with barely a 5' walkway between. There does not appear to be anything else in the room, but it will take awhile to thoroughly search, given the amount of stuff occupying it.
8. Brooku backs up and gives the door a swift kick. It shudders in its frame and pops open with a *bang* as it falls off the hinges. The adventurers behold a chamber before them, 30' wide and 30' long. They are standing in the middle of the northern wall, and there looks to be open corridors leading out of the southern, eastern, and western walls. The ceiling in this chamber curves upward from each of the four walls, supported by stone ribs that run down the hips of each intersection, the peak of the ceiling some twenty-five feet above the floor. It's hard to tell, but there's something in the ceiling, at the very apex of its height.
9. Hearing no objection to the proposal, the adventurers backtrack slightly and take the corridor leading to the east. It runs for forty feet before opening up into a square chamber, twenty feet to a side. The corridor enters the room in the southern corner of the western wall. To the party's immediate right, in the western corner of the southern wall, is a closed wooden door. In the eastern corner of the northern wall a corridor leads out, to the north.
In the center of the room is a 5' diameter fountain or well -- it is hard to tell from where the adventurers stand, at the entrance to the chamber -- set into the floor, rimmed with a low wall of stone about knee height. Opposite them, on the eastern wall, mounted on the wall, is a wooden board with hooks, hanging from which are a number of brown cloaks or robes.
8. Brooku backs up and gives the door a swift kick. It shudders in its frame and pops open with a *bang* as it falls off the hinges. The adventurers behold a chamber before them, 30' wide and 30' long. They are standing in the middle of the northern wall, and there looks to be open corridors leading out of the southern, eastern, and western walls. The ceiling in this chamber curves upward from each of the four walls, supported by stone ribs that run down the hips of each intersection, the peak of the ceiling some twenty-five feet above the floor. It's hard to tell, but there's something in the ceiling, at the very apex of its height.
9. Hearing no objection to the proposal, the adventurers backtrack slightly and take the corridor leading to the east. It runs for forty feet before opening up into a square chamber, twenty feet to a side. The corridor enters the room in the southern corner of the western wall. To the party's immediate right, in the western corner of the southern wall, is a closed wooden door. In the eastern corner of the northern wall a corridor leads out, to the north.
In the center of the room is a 5' diameter fountain or well -- it is hard to tell from where the adventurers stand, at the entrance to the chamber -- set into the floor, rimmed with a low wall of stone about knee height. Opposite them, on the eastern wall, mounted on the wall, is a wooden board with hooks, hanging from which are a number of brown cloaks or robes.
Re: Map
10. Atticus finds no traps, and cautiously opens the door, revealing a short, 10' hallway opening into a circular chamber some 30' in diameter. The door he just opened is in the northern section of the wall. Barely cisible in the lanternlight is the southern wall; there are two closed doors centered on the southern wall on the opposite side of the room, separated by 10 feet of wall. In the rough center of the room is a jumble of debris. He catches the glint of bone and steel amongst the detritus, but it's hard to tell exactly what is in the pile without entering the chamber.
The first thing he notices is a third door closed door, ten feet east of the corridor he just emerged from. The second thing he notices is, as soon as he enters the chamber, the pile of refuse and rubble erupts in a shower of trash, and four skeletons spring up, clutching rusty blades and wearing rusty armor!
11. Brooku attempts just that, delivering a swift kick to the door that sends it flying open on its hinges, slamming into the northern wall immediately to the left of the door, revealing a small, twenty by twenty chamber. The door in which the adventurers are standing is in the northeast corner of the room, and there is a corridor leading south out of the eastern corner of the southern wall. Instantly, the adventurers are assailed by a chorus of loud squeaks and see, amongst a large nest-like pile of rags and debris, at least seven or eight large rats, each the size of a large cat. Several of them bare their teeth and hiss in the adventurers' direction, fur rising on their backs.
The glint of gold and silver buried amongst the rags, but illuminated by the lantern-light, also catches the party's attention.
The first thing he notices is a third door closed door, ten feet east of the corridor he just emerged from. The second thing he notices is, as soon as he enters the chamber, the pile of refuse and rubble erupts in a shower of trash, and four skeletons spring up, clutching rusty blades and wearing rusty armor!
11. Brooku attempts just that, delivering a swift kick to the door that sends it flying open on its hinges, slamming into the northern wall immediately to the left of the door, revealing a small, twenty by twenty chamber. The door in which the adventurers are standing is in the northeast corner of the room, and there is a corridor leading south out of the eastern corner of the southern wall. Instantly, the adventurers are assailed by a chorus of loud squeaks and see, amongst a large nest-like pile of rags and debris, at least seven or eight large rats, each the size of a large cat. Several of them bare their teeth and hiss in the adventurers' direction, fur rising on their backs.
The glint of gold and silver buried amongst the rags, but illuminated by the lantern-light, also catches the party's attention.
Re: Map
12. The corridor runs for fifty feet and then opens into a large, rectangular room with a vaulted ceiling. The corridor enters in the northern wall, twenty feet west of the eastern wall. Overall, the northern wall is sixty feet long. The chamber is seventy feet long, north to south. The southeastern corner of the room is truncated, twenty feet north and westward, creating a diagonal wall at a 45 degree angle that is a little over twenty feet long. A low, raised elliptical dias, perhaps a foot higher than the floor, butts into that diagonal wall, about ten feet deep in the center. A closed door is set into the western wall, ten feet north of the southern wall.
The diagonal wall behind the raised dias is frescoed in blue and gold tiles, and depicts a hawk-headed human male, nude except for a short red skirt, holding a spear in a relaxed position. The frescoe is done in such a manner so as to be looking at the individual head on, from the front, but the hawk-head is turned to the left, in profile.
Torch brackets are spaced throughout the room at 20' intervals. Otherwise, the room appears empty, the floor dusty and relatively undisturbed.
13. The adventurers open the door, revealing a long, dusty corridor that runs due west. It runs for 80' before opening up into a rectangular chamber, 30' in each direction. The corridor enters the room in the center of the eastern wall. There's a closed door in the western corner of the northern wall, but otherwise the chamber appears to be empty. The floor is covered in a thick layer of dust that appears to be undisturbed.
The diagonal wall behind the raised dias is frescoed in blue and gold tiles, and depicts a hawk-headed human male, nude except for a short red skirt, holding a spear in a relaxed position. The frescoe is done in such a manner so as to be looking at the individual head on, from the front, but the hawk-head is turned to the left, in profile.
Torch brackets are spaced throughout the room at 20' intervals. Otherwise, the room appears empty, the floor dusty and relatively undisturbed.
13. The adventurers open the door, revealing a long, dusty corridor that runs due west. It runs for 80' before opening up into a rectangular chamber, 30' in each direction. The corridor enters the room in the center of the eastern wall. There's a closed door in the western corner of the northern wall, but otherwise the chamber appears to be empty. The floor is covered in a thick layer of dust that appears to be undisturbed.
Re: Map
14. The chamber is small, thirty feet by thirty feet. The corridor enters in the center of the eastern wall, and the statue stands in the center of the western wall. A small figure -- even Tiarsus is not able to make it out, entirely -- lies on the floor before the statue, which to his eyes appears to be of the same hawk-headed human figure that was depicted in the fresco in the previous chamber. In the fresco the creature's head was in profile, but here it stares directly forward, almost as if looking at the pair standing in the corridor. Like the fresco, if has a spear in one hand, but while the statue is made of stone, the spear appears to be fashioned from wood.
15. Brooku crashes into the door with his shoulder and it flies open with a bang. For a split second, the adventurers see nothing but gold, filling the room, and then they are hit by a fusty, doughy smell, followed instantly by the low thrum of beating wings. It takes several seconds for them to understand what they're seeing. First, the room is dimly lit by a shaft of sunlight coming down from somewhere in the ceiling, bathing the largest beehive that any of the adventurers have ever seen, dominating the center of the room, itself crawling with the largest bees the adventurers have ever seen. Each is easily as long as a human forearm, and they are busily crawling along the surface of the hive, coming in and out of various openings within, and otherwise looking as busy as, well, bees.
15. Brooku crashes into the door with his shoulder and it flies open with a bang. For a split second, the adventurers see nothing but gold, filling the room, and then they are hit by a fusty, doughy smell, followed instantly by the low thrum of beating wings. It takes several seconds for them to understand what they're seeing. First, the room is dimly lit by a shaft of sunlight coming down from somewhere in the ceiling, bathing the largest beehive that any of the adventurers have ever seen, dominating the center of the room, itself crawling with the largest bees the adventurers have ever seen. Each is easily as long as a human forearm, and they are busily crawling along the surface of the hive, coming in and out of various openings within, and otherwise looking as busy as, well, bees.
Re: Map
16. Atticus approaches the peers into the chamber, beholding a most curious sight! The room is 30 x 30, with the entrance centered on the western wall. There is nary but a stone's thickness separating the room from the corridor. In the center of the room is another glass tube, similar to the one that was discovered earlier, running floor to ceiling and seemingly beyond. Like the first one, there is a small hatch at about head-height in the tube; in the first tube the adventurers discovered the hatch was closed and difficult to see. In this one, it is obvious, simply because it is open.
The source of the light glow is from the tube itself, which is filled with some sort of diffuse, luminscent gas or vapor that slowly swirls within the tube. Every so often a wisp escapes the tube, floating into the room like gossamer. The chamber itself is dimly lit with such strands, drifting slowly about. A curious grey dust lies thick upon the floor. The vapors that have escaped the tube seem to be confined to the chamber, or perhaps they have but a short existence outside the tube, for he witnesses several fade out of existence in the few minutes he spends watching.
There do not appear to be any other exits out of the room.
17. Themon thrusts the door open and sees a large chamber, roughly forty feet wide (east to west) and at least that long, although it's hard to tell as the far northern end is outside the range of the lantern light. A door is set into the eastern wall twenty feet up from the southern end, and opposite it, in the western wall, a wooden hangs crazily off its hinges. The scrabbling sound is coming from the eastern door, where a half-dozen or so individuals are clustered around it, pawing feebly at it with slow, leaden motions. The individuals are clad in rags and, upon a second glance, are clearly dead, with decaying flesh hanging off their bones in ribbons.
The source of the light glow is from the tube itself, which is filled with some sort of diffuse, luminscent gas or vapor that slowly swirls within the tube. Every so often a wisp escapes the tube, floating into the room like gossamer. The chamber itself is dimly lit with such strands, drifting slowly about. A curious grey dust lies thick upon the floor. The vapors that have escaped the tube seem to be confined to the chamber, or perhaps they have but a short existence outside the tube, for he witnesses several fade out of existence in the few minutes he spends watching.
There do not appear to be any other exits out of the room.
17. Themon thrusts the door open and sees a large chamber, roughly forty feet wide (east to west) and at least that long, although it's hard to tell as the far northern end is outside the range of the lantern light. A door is set into the eastern wall twenty feet up from the southern end, and opposite it, in the western wall, a wooden hangs crazily off its hinges. The scrabbling sound is coming from the eastern door, where a half-dozen or so individuals are clustered around it, pawing feebly at it with slow, leaden motions. The individuals are clad in rags and, upon a second glance, are clearly dead, with decaying flesh hanging off their bones in ribbons.
Re: Map
18. Atticus leads the adventurers forward. The corridor runs for fifty feet before dead-ending at a wall in the east. Immediately to the north it opens upon into a chamber, the opening in the west-most corner of the south wall. The chamber is thirty feet north to south and forty feet east to west. In the center of the eastern wall a flight of stairs leads upwards and to the east, the top shrouded in darkness. To the immediate south of the adventurers, at the end of the corridor, is what looks to be a secret door set into the southern wall. Or, at least, they surmise it may be cunningly disguised on the other side. Here, where they stand, the seams and opening mechanism are visible. The adventurers reckon it likely leads, if not into the room with the well, somewhere near that chamber.
19. The secret door is easy to open, and leads to a circular chamber, thirty feet in diameter. The secret door opens in the northernmost point of the chamber. Directly opposite, on the southernmost part of the circle, a corridor leads 10' south; the well that led to a lower level is just barely visible in the gloom. Exactly between these two, in the easternmost section of the circle, a corridor leads east into the darkness, beyond the range of what both Tiarsus and the goblins can make out.
19. The secret door is easy to open, and leads to a circular chamber, thirty feet in diameter. The secret door opens in the northernmost point of the chamber. Directly opposite, on the southernmost part of the circle, a corridor leads 10' south; the well that led to a lower level is just barely visible in the gloom. Exactly between these two, in the easternmost section of the circle, a corridor leads east into the darkness, beyond the range of what both Tiarsus and the goblins can make out.
Re: Map
20. With the prospect of the corridor leading to more treasure and excitement, the adventurers head eastward. The corridor is long, and runs for one hundred feet before entering a new chamber. This chamber is small, measuring thirty feet to a side. The corridor the party has just traveled down enters in the center of the western wall. Set into the center of the north, east, and southern walls are wooden doors. Like the other wooden doors the adventurers have encountered on this level, they are sized for Men, the larger original openings having been built in with masonry. All three doors are closed. Scrawled across the door in the eastern wall, written in what looks to be charcoal, is a message written in crude Faery: "Gochelwch deyrnas y cerrig-gwerin".
Tiarsus is able to translate this to mean, roughly, "Caution! The land of the stone-dwellers lies beyond."
21. The adventurers move to the south wall and listen at the door. Hearing nothing, they push the door open, revealing a room that has been devastated by the a rockfall. There's a short, twenty foot corridor that leads into the room, entering into the northern wall ten feet east of the western wall. The room looks like it was originally fifty feet wide, east to west, but it is currently impossible to tell how deep it was, as the ceiling has collapsed on a rough diagonal line running from ten feet south of the northern wall to thirty feet south at the eastern edge. The slope of rubble is about ten feet tall at the far end and it forms a steep incline up to the solid rock above. The party's lantern-light reveals what looks to be a narrow passage of natural rock in the eastern corner of the room, leading south.
Tiarsus is able to translate this to mean, roughly, "Caution! The land of the stone-dwellers lies beyond."
21. The adventurers move to the south wall and listen at the door. Hearing nothing, they push the door open, revealing a room that has been devastated by the a rockfall. There's a short, twenty foot corridor that leads into the room, entering into the northern wall ten feet east of the western wall. The room looks like it was originally fifty feet wide, east to west, but it is currently impossible to tell how deep it was, as the ceiling has collapsed on a rough diagonal line running from ten feet south of the northern wall to thirty feet south at the eastern edge. The slope of rubble is about ten feet tall at the far end and it forms a steep incline up to the solid rock above. The party's lantern-light reveals what looks to be a narrow passage of natural rock in the eastern corner of the room, leading south.
Re: Map
22. The adventurers head south through the corridor created by rubble, Booku needing to turn sideways to make it through. The fallen rubble seems recent, and, curiously, the corridor opens up to a space wholly different from everything else the adventurers have seen thus far in the complex; chiefly, what appears to be a naturally formed cavern, with rough walls and floors, rock formations glistening with moisture. It seems to be a reasonable assumption that the same temblor that exposed the entrance to the complex also caused the ceiling and wall to collapse here, opening access to a potentially separate cavern.
The cavern itself is shaped roughly like a rectangle -- 30' north to south and 20' east to west -- but turned at a 45 degree angle to that access, so the long length of the room runs from the northeast to the southwest. A tunnel, roughly five feet wide and about eight feet tall, leads out of the southeast portion of the room. There does not immediately appear to be a threat in here, but the surfaces all glisten with moisture, and unlike the construction of the other section, with it's nearly perfectly smooth walls and crisp angles, there are plenty of nooks and crannies here.
23. The adventurers pass through the chamber without incident, taking the tunnel that leads to the southeast. It runs but for ten feet or so, before "opening up" into a chamber that is about 20 feet in diameter. A narrow tunnel, no more thn 5' wide, branches off it to the northeast, while a wider tunnel, this one nearly 15' wide, continues in a southeasterly direction. It's hard to tell, but it looks as though the narrow tunnel dead ends after about 20' feet, while the wider tunnel continues off to the southeast beyond the reach of the adventurers' lantern-light.
Something of interest catches the eyes of the adventurers, glinting in the lantern-light. Set into -- or perhaps more accurately, growing from -- the southwestern wall of this chamber is a large, milky-white crystal. It's about as long as one of the humans' fore-arms, and about as big around. As the lantern light hits it the light is sent scattering, dancing across the wet walls of the cave in a prismatic waltz.
24. The adventurers proceed down the narrow tunnel and find out that it is, in fact, not a dead end. Instead, the tunnel takes a sharp right hand turn, narrowing even further until Brooku would likely have to turn sideways just to squeeze through it. It looks like the tunnel runs for another twenty or so feet before it opens up into another chamber. The party cannot tell how large the chamber is, but the air coming from that way is damp, and the sound of running water can be heard coming from beyond.
Tiarsus and Mokor advance into the cavern. The tunnel enters the chamber in the northwest corner, and the chamber itself is roughly liver shaped, about thirty-five feet north to south and twenty to twenty-five feet wide at the north end, skinny-ing to a point at the southern end. The running water sound comes from a sheet of water flowing down the eastern wall about midway along the length, flowing from a four foot diameter hole about ten feet off the ground. The water fills a pool about 10 x 10 with water at the base of the eastern wall.
The flow is gentle, but constant. It looks as though the tunnel from which the water flows would be navigable by all of the adventurers; the goblins could likely walk upright -- or nearly so -- while the others would have to crawl on hands and knees.
25. It takes a good twenty minutes to get the entire party up and through the tunnel, and upon reaching the other end all of the adventurers are wet and covered in a slick of greyish cave muck. But the sight they behold perhaps make up for their troubles, as they see they are at the bottom of a vast cavern, with a ceiling easily forty of fifty feet above them. The tunnel comes out in the northwestern side of the cavern, eighty feet south of the northern wall. The entire cavern extends about one hundred and thirty feet east to west and at least two hundred feet north to south. Massive stalagtites droop from the ceiling and their counterparts rise up from the cave floor, an uneven surface dotted with pools of water. The source of the water is soon apparent, as the adventurers notice -- barely visible in the lantern-light -- a rill of water that rushes down the wall directly opposite them from another hole, this one about thirty feet above the floor.
There look to be at least a few tunnels leading out from this enormous chamber, at different heights and locations scattered around -- it will take more investigating to locate them properly. Two things immediately catch the adventurers' attention, however. Dozens of crystals, similar to the one encountered previously, dot the surfaces in this chamber, and they reflect and refract the lantern light into wild patterns. Additionally, what appear to be crytalline webs cluster around these crystals, and in several of these webs the adventurers can see, glinting in the light, the reflecting of eightfold, arachnidal eyes!
The cavern itself is shaped roughly like a rectangle -- 30' north to south and 20' east to west -- but turned at a 45 degree angle to that access, so the long length of the room runs from the northeast to the southwest. A tunnel, roughly five feet wide and about eight feet tall, leads out of the southeast portion of the room. There does not immediately appear to be a threat in here, but the surfaces all glisten with moisture, and unlike the construction of the other section, with it's nearly perfectly smooth walls and crisp angles, there are plenty of nooks and crannies here.
23. The adventurers pass through the chamber without incident, taking the tunnel that leads to the southeast. It runs but for ten feet or so, before "opening up" into a chamber that is about 20 feet in diameter. A narrow tunnel, no more thn 5' wide, branches off it to the northeast, while a wider tunnel, this one nearly 15' wide, continues in a southeasterly direction. It's hard to tell, but it looks as though the narrow tunnel dead ends after about 20' feet, while the wider tunnel continues off to the southeast beyond the reach of the adventurers' lantern-light.
Something of interest catches the eyes of the adventurers, glinting in the lantern-light. Set into -- or perhaps more accurately, growing from -- the southwestern wall of this chamber is a large, milky-white crystal. It's about as long as one of the humans' fore-arms, and about as big around. As the lantern light hits it the light is sent scattering, dancing across the wet walls of the cave in a prismatic waltz.
24. The adventurers proceed down the narrow tunnel and find out that it is, in fact, not a dead end. Instead, the tunnel takes a sharp right hand turn, narrowing even further until Brooku would likely have to turn sideways just to squeeze through it. It looks like the tunnel runs for another twenty or so feet before it opens up into another chamber. The party cannot tell how large the chamber is, but the air coming from that way is damp, and the sound of running water can be heard coming from beyond.
Tiarsus and Mokor advance into the cavern. The tunnel enters the chamber in the northwest corner, and the chamber itself is roughly liver shaped, about thirty-five feet north to south and twenty to twenty-five feet wide at the north end, skinny-ing to a point at the southern end. The running water sound comes from a sheet of water flowing down the eastern wall about midway along the length, flowing from a four foot diameter hole about ten feet off the ground. The water fills a pool about 10 x 10 with water at the base of the eastern wall.
The flow is gentle, but constant. It looks as though the tunnel from which the water flows would be navigable by all of the adventurers; the goblins could likely walk upright -- or nearly so -- while the others would have to crawl on hands and knees.
25. It takes a good twenty minutes to get the entire party up and through the tunnel, and upon reaching the other end all of the adventurers are wet and covered in a slick of greyish cave muck. But the sight they behold perhaps make up for their troubles, as they see they are at the bottom of a vast cavern, with a ceiling easily forty of fifty feet above them. The tunnel comes out in the northwestern side of the cavern, eighty feet south of the northern wall. The entire cavern extends about one hundred and thirty feet east to west and at least two hundred feet north to south. Massive stalagtites droop from the ceiling and their counterparts rise up from the cave floor, an uneven surface dotted with pools of water. The source of the water is soon apparent, as the adventurers notice -- barely visible in the lantern-light -- a rill of water that rushes down the wall directly opposite them from another hole, this one about thirty feet above the floor.
There look to be at least a few tunnels leading out from this enormous chamber, at different heights and locations scattered around -- it will take more investigating to locate them properly. Two things immediately catch the adventurers' attention, however. Dozens of crystals, similar to the one encountered previously, dot the surfaces in this chamber, and they reflect and refract the lantern light into wild patterns. Additionally, what appear to be crytalline webs cluster around these crystals, and in several of these webs the adventurers can see, glinting in the light, the reflecting of eightfold, arachnidal eyes!