You find a ladder up. There was an opening in the ceiling, but it's been blocked by a huge block of cement. You wonder what's up there.
You find what was once a opening in the floor. It has, however, been filled in with a massive block of cement. You wonder what was below.
You make an unfortunate misstep, and a concealed trapdoor opens under you!
This statue is the only thing in this whole place not shoddily made. It is of a male slith, holding a huge two-tined spear. The words "Sss-Thsss" are carved in the base of the statue. Offerings of fish have been placed before it.
This building was clearly abandoned when it was almost finished. It looks ready to collapse in on itself at any moment.
A wall collapses on you!
This is the entry gate to a truly shoddily built fort. It is mainly rocks precariously stacked on one another, and the outer walls are held up by the buildings inside. Whoever built this place was not skilled in the least.
A magical trap in a cave full of lizards? How very unusual.
As you reach for the egg, a glyph suddenly appears on the wall behind it. Flames shoot out, searing you.
You find the body of a human, heavily singed. It looks like it had a run-in with a fire lizard, and, before death, crawled here so the lizards couldn't get at him (or her - you don't want to get close enough to tell).
You instantly recognize the rank smell coming from these passages. Giant lizards. Lots of 'em. The scales scattered about would seem to confirm this.
You find a large nest filled with baby giant lizards, all munching happily on a giant spider. It is very unusual for giant lizards to take such good care of their young. Very strange, indeed.
The passage is blocked by a huge, shimmering magical barrier of a sort you've never seen before. It's edges exactly match the cave walls. Whoever or whatever made this has a lot of power, and really wants to confine the humans here.
Suddenly, a horrendous, screeching alarm rings out. The stone in the walls and floor vibrate under the assault of the hideous, keening noise. Then, as suddenly as it began, the sound stops.
To the north is a large cave, with an arching ceiling rising far out of sight. The floor is covered with claw marks. To the north is a nice, hollowed out area in the floor, set with red tiles.
Beyond the door is a short corridor. In alcoves on either side, you see large, ominous runes set into the floor.
You are at the entrance to a small but very well-equipped laboratory. Cauldrons bubble and splash to the south, and flasks and pipes crowd a long table at the east side of the room.
You try to examine the books. However, when you touch one, you receive a mild shock. You pull your hand back and decide to leave them alone.
This room is lit with grim red light from four firepits. The foul smoke is almost suffocating. You can barely see a large pentagram to the northwest. Fortunately, it's empty.
The cabinet is filled with charred bones, bits of stained scrolls, and small, sharp knives. There's something about them that makes you very uncomfortable. You close the cabinet.
The tunnels to the east are much more narrow and twisty than the passages elsewhere in the caves.
The runes woven in this web make sense - they form a human spell placed here for study. You read the runes, and learn the spell. It's Minor Manna.
The runes woven in this web make sense - they form a human spell placed here for study. You read the runes, and learn the spell. It's True Sight.
The webs in this cavern have strange runes and sigils woven into them, and strange mixtures bubble and smoke in hollowed out holes in the floor. This must be the laboratory.
This is the aranea larder. A disturbing array of fresh, juicy bodies waiting to drained is spread out before you. You try not to look to closely.
You squeeze through a narrow crack and find a small, disused cavern. The webs are laded with lint, dust, and long-ago drained bugs.
You get scared.
Strangely, the spiders don't seem unfriendly. In fact, they soon start talking in odd, high-pitched voices! You can't make out much of what they say, but they seem to think you're "Cute!" Others disagree, thinking you're "Neat!"
To the north is a bizarre shrine of some sort, put together out of rocks and rubble by the stupid spiders of these tunnels.
This dark, low cave is chilly, and has a somber feel to it. This is where the spiders have put their dead, lovingly wrapped in thick cocoons of webbing. Many of the webs have drawings of the deceased patterned into them.
This corridor was blocked by a huge wad of sticky matter. Someone, however, has been kind enough to tunnel a small hole through it. You make your way through it, in a slow, sticky, unpleasant way.
This passage has been blocked by a huge, solid glob of webbing. Nothing fancy, just an enormous wad of sticky matter. You can't get by.
This is a narrow gap in a barrier of webbing built by the giant spiders beyond. There are a lot of spiders to the north, moving around purposefully, carrying around web bags filled with stuff.
The tunnels to the east are darker, and seem to be populated with the smaller, less intelligent, less friendly brand of giant spider. Several spiders the size of mangos watch you carefully.
You find a pit, too narrow for a human but just wide enough for an aranea, plunging down though the cave floor. You block it with rocks the best you can, but don't think it will help for long.
Someone or something with very large claws has been walking up and down this corridor. Very, very large claws.
Reasonably fresh Nephilim zombies and skeletons jump out of the burial mounds and attack you. Somehow, you aren't surprised.
This is a Nephilim graveyard. Burial mounds for deceased Nephil warriors ring the room. From the size and intricacy of the totem carvings, you can guess that this is where the more impressive deceased ended up.
The box contains some inedible rations, some putrescent goblin clothing, and not much else.
Among the ratty, stained scrolls on the shelves, you find one of great interest. It contains a detailed descriptions of the rituals to cast the spell 'Move Mountains.' You learn the spell.
The fierce Nepharim chieftain falls. In order that Fort Ganrick is suitably impressed with your skill and capacity for violence, you remove and store away his head.
This is a human body. It was probably thrown to the hydra as food. Yet another reason to dislike these Nephilim.
This is the most luxurious room you have seen in the whole castle. The chief's bed, large enough for him and several of his mates, dominates the room. A thin layer of cat hairs covers everything.
This looks to be a two-cell jail. The smell of rot and decay makes it very difficult to proceed.
You move forward carefully, heading towards some large burial mounds to the south. Suddenly, creatures crawl out of them, shaking off stones and grit as they proceed towards you.
This is the treasure room for the Nephilim castle. The air glows with a faint blue aura. You feel very nervous.
This is a small robing chamber. The red wool cloaks on the walls might have been nice once, but then the Nephilim priests shed all over them. Now they're ratty, and smell funny to boot.
A narrow passage slopes steeply down to the east. The air down there is stuffy and dank.
You're at the front gate of a large farm. Pens for animals are to the east, a farmhouse is to the west, and a tunnel leads into the cave wall to the northeast.
The bookshelves are filled with scrolls covered with arcane symbols. Odd. They're not magical. However, one word keeps coming up: 'algebra.'
The leader of the brigands falls and dies. Whoever this band of thugs is, they probably won't be very strong after this.
You hear rats.
You figure out that this is the headquarters of the "Black Saber," a band of brigands and malcontents who have been stealing ore and supplies from the surrounding area during the chaos of the war. Happily, they probably won't be doing it much anymore.
In the dresser, you find several thick sheafs of paper. There are records, notes, and contracts signed with bloody thumbprints. You skim through them, trying to figure out what's going on.
You follow the passage for several hundred feet, and eventually emerge a ways to the east of the fort. You re-enter the tunnel, only to find the passage blocked by a wall that wasn't there before. An odd spell, and effective.
You are at the entrance to some sort of meeting room. A crude wooden table runs the length of the room. There is a thick smell of sweat and bad mushroom beer.
You listen carefully, trying to figure out what is up. They seem to be concerned about some sort of huge barrier.
You enter Fort Draco through its narrow, guarded gates, and immediately sense that something is up. Soldiers and citizens alike mill about nervously, talking in quiet, worried voices.
This open building has several broad, flat-bottomed boats, in various stages of construction. They are simple and stable, ideal for navigating the subterranean rivers of Exile.
A rank smell emanates from the narrow space behind the guest quarters. This must be where the fort keeps its trash before it gets thrown over the wall.
In the corner of each of these storerooms is a carefully concealed escape door. Hopefully, none of the Nephilim will find it...
You find a section of wall that slides away. Beyond is a small, dusty storeroom.
You find an enormous steel anvil, almost as tall as you and patterned with strange sigils.
This is the foundry, small, searingly hot, and productive. To the north is a broad, shallow pool of molten metal, running off into thin troughs, where the metal solidifies into ingots. How the metal is kept molten is unclear - probably magic.
The choking dust inside this dark, low-slung building burns your nose and makes your eyes water. This is the fort warehouse. Ore from the surrounding mines is stored in neat, labeled piles.
