Interesting. Set in the wall at the end of this long dead-end passageway, you notice an odd blue stone. You give it a light push, and the whole wall slides away! There is a room to the north.
You suddenly feel terribly, terribly ill. Almost as if you'd just been cursed...
You pay, and the relieved guards let you through.
The moment they see a band of unidentified, armed people rush the gate, the already jumpy guards call out a general alarm. They aren't taking any chances.
You find a small, private military dock, from which supplies and soldiers are shipped to the northern cities. Looking around, it is clear that Almaria is a supply hub for the entire Exile army.
At the end of the passage is a very messy desk. The papers and pens on it have been thrown around in someone's desire to flee.
A voice says "Authorized people only. The traps ahead are deadly, and the quest to rob Almaria is futile."
Hmm. A secret passage in city hall. This corridor has 'To Treasury' written all over it.
In the passage to the west, small sparks are flying off the floor.
This Empire hideout comes complete with magical traps! The demons that appear don't seem too enthused about having to fight you, but attack anyway.
You try to stop, but it feels soooooo good...
As you pass this gate, guards check to make sure you have at least soldier clearance. Then they let you by.
You've heard rumors of places like this, where Exile keeps creatures that may come in handy in attacks on the Empire. These pens, however, are unguarded. Odd. Best tread lightly.
The leader of the raid falls. You see he was carrying a small satchel slung over his shoulder. When it falls, several small items fall out of it, including a scroll. Interesting.
Cringing, you rub the foul water over your arms and hands. Ugh.
The water makes you gag, but you manage to choke some of it down.
Suddenly, a bit of fake floor falls out from under you! You fall down a deep, slippery hole and land in an painful, undignified heap in a small cavern far below.
You look wistfully up at the slick chimney leading back to Exile. You would love to climb it, but you can't manage it. You'll have to find another way out...
You are at the entrance to a cavern filled to a depth of several feet with foul, stagnant water. Covering the spurs of rock pocking above the water are many small snakes. The tunnels echo with the sound of hissing.
You manage to get a ways down the pit without being attacked. However, before long the foul smell of the abyss starts to overwhelm you and make you nauseous. Before nausea overcomes you and you lose your grips and die, you climb back up.
You start to edge your way down the pit, but before you even make it down ten feet, you see creatures below climbing up towards you. They're moving very fast. You barely reach the ledge above, before they emerge over the lip of the pit.
This passage start to get darker to the south. Not less light, but eerier, and colder. You cannot help but feel chilled, and suspect someone is watching you.
In this chamber, the grim atmosphere of this area reaches its peak. One would have to be very careful walking around this cave, for fear of brushing against the totems covered with grisly trophies. On the northwest wall, you see a lot of cramped writing.
Fortunately, you finally reach the end of the dark litanies. You feel ill, however. Disturbed, and almost unhinged. You're eager to leave.
You read the runes, slowly at first, then more intensely, unable to turn away, gripped by the detailed, compelling descriptions of corrupt, foul rituals and horrifying rites. You even find yourself muttering some of the incantations to yourself.
The passage in front of the dock has long lines of runes and religious pictograms on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Interesting, but not very. You walk past.
The passage in front of the dock has long lines of runes and religious pictograms on the floor, walls, and ceiling. You try to walk past, but you suddenly feel an irresistible compulsion to turn back. Gritting your teeth, you do so.
At the statue's feet are several huge piles of skulls, from all sorts of creatures. humanoid and not. You look through a few of them, but give up when your gorge starts rising.
The island is dominated by the statue of a huge male slith, the standard two-tined spear raised above its head in a pose of triumph. An inscription as the base says his name: "Sss-Thsss."
As you prepare to leave, you are struck with a feeling of deep disquiet. Enemies or no, it's hard to take satisfaction in wiping out a bunch of children.
You move quickly among the pools, smashing the eggs and slaying the slith young. It's terribly easy. Before long, all the children are dead.
After making your way down a long passage, you eventually emerge outside. You look back, and find the passage you emerged from is gone! The magic concealing the slith's lair is strong indeed.
