May: Week Four

 Salutations savage spelunkers! Welcome to week four of May's dungeon level in my fantasy mega-dungeon, The Crucible of Oxyus. Within the caverns below you'll discover wonderous treasure, vile undead cannibals, and mysterious phenomena far from the light of the sun. Will you and your party live to spend your gold in ease, or will your corpses be but more bones to feed the hungry dead? Read on and find out below!

Week Four

5/22: The Cave of Crystals

This oddly shaped large limestone cavern is 50’ long and 70’ wide with low ceilings only 10 feet in height. The floor here sparkles with crystal sand and the whole cave is covered in a resplendent carpet of multicolored crystals. These crystals glow with an inner light. The smell of the earth is strong in this place.

• South: The entrance to the cave is found in the southern part of the cavern. A natural passageway runs east to west connecting to this­­ room and cavern 5/24 at its western most point.
• East: Sand and debris has collected over the years in the northeastern side of the cavern. This rubble hides a small crack in the rock which is visible if the cavern is searched. This crack can be widened and cleared of debris, revealing a secret natural tunnel to cavern 5/23. The tunnel is very tight though, and those who traverse the passageway must crawl to do so.
• The Crystals: The carpet of crystals that blankets the walls of the cavern are no bigger than a thumb. They glow all different shades of blue, red, green, yellow, orange, purple, and pink. This special glow has a calming effect on living creatures inside the cave. Those who sleep within the cavern will wake feeling well rested.

5/23: The Secret Shrine of Ulaz Darkaxe

This is a small limestone cave, only about 20’ in diameter with low five-foot-tall ceilings. In one of the natural niches eroded into the cave wall, a helmet-sized polished black basalt stone lies. The stone is roughly egg shaped with a small dwarven glyph carved on the side. The air here is very still.

• West: The only way out of this cavern is through a narrow tunnel on the western end of the cave that leads to room 5/22.
• The Stone: This is an Oghvin Stone, a sacred depiction of the god of mountains, Ulgantar, whom the dwarves call Agen Ataar and worship as their chief deity. The glyph etched into the stone is an invocation of protection by the dwarven explorer Ulaz Darkaxe beseeching his god for aid. If the stone is cleaned and proper offerings of beer and blood are poured over it, the entire party will receive a +1 bonus to their next saving throw as a blessing from the god of mountains.
• The Stash: The floor of the cavern has clearly been disturbed in the past, and investigating the area of most disturbance will reveal an old sack. Inside the sack can be found a golden holy symbol of Agen Ataar (worth 100 gp), 50 platinum coins, a small pouch containing six large rubies (worth 400 a piece), and an ornate dwarven war hammer (this is Ulaz Darkaxe’s legendary War Hammer +3, Thunderbolts). 

5/24: The Breeding Vats

This rough limestone cave is roughly 45’ long by 30’ wide with ceilings up to 20’ in height. Large stalagmites jut up from the cave floor up to 15’ in height. The air here is moist and cold. On one side of the room, two corroded bronze vats filled with a thick pink liquid slowly bubble and steam. The distant buzzing of insects can be heard from the southeast.

• North: A narrow natural tunnel connects this cave to a larger passageway to the north. The tunnel is so narrow that characters will have to squeeze to get through.
• South: Behind one of the stalagmites is a crack in the wall that leads through a very narrow opening before it further opens up to reveal a long tunnelway that connects to cavern 5/28 in the south.
• East: There is a passage in the southeast of the cave that leads through a tight-fitting tunnel corridor to room 5/26.
• The Vats: This is some long-forgotten experiment that has been sitting down here for centuries. Within the thick pink liquid are the half-living remains of clones of Oxyus of Fenebrahn. The clones are not much more than gooey half-humanoid forms. They were never finished and do not contain any of the wizard’s memories. They will imprint on the first person to pull them from their gooey torpor and follow them around like a puppy. They can understand simple commands in Common, though they can only make odd atonal grunts and screams. The liquid inside the vats can be bottled and drank as a Potion of Longevity. Only 1d4 potions worth can be scavenged, however.

 

5/25: The Susurrating Darkness

This small limestone cavern is 15-20’ in diameter with a 20’ tall ceiling. The walls and ceiling of this cavern are studded with two-foot-deep holes. Many of these holes are filled with large Cave Locusts that have built nests there. The stench of their caustic spit is overwhelming within the confined space, and the noise of their wings beat loudly.

• South: A crooked tunnel leads to this cavern from room 5/26. Its narrow confines make traveling through the passage slow and awkward.
• The Locusts: There are 2d6 Cave Locusts nesting in the walls of this chamber. They spook easily and will attack characters who disturb their rest. Scattered amongst their droppings on the cavern floor are 1d20 gold coins left here from a previous explorer.

5/26: The Causeway Cave

This approximately 55’ long limestone cavern is roughly 35’ wide with 30’ tall natural stone ceilings. A natural stone causeway traverses the middle of the chamber before exiting to the south. The stone walkway is a naturally occurring series of stalagmites that have fused over the years into a natural arched causeway standing 15’ above the cave floor. The sound of insect wings can be heard to the north. The cave smells of animal stink and death. A few bones litter the floor, pushed over time into the corners of the room.

• North: The northern end of the cave narrows into a tunnel that bends north to cave room 5/25.
• South: The causeway on the southern side of the cave becomes a tunnel south to room 5/27.
• West: The causeway on the northern side of the cave joins the wall of the cave and becomes a tunnel back to the vats of room 5/24. Three torch stubs and an empty boot are scattered about the causeway on this side. 

5/27: The Cave of Faces

This is an oddly shaped limestone cavern roughly 15-20’ in diameter with tall stalagmites that reach almost to the ceiling. The roof of the cave is about 15’ in height. The entirety of this cave, including the stalagmites, walls, and ceiling, are covered in sculptures of human, elven, dwarven, and mantis-person faces. The faces are heavily stylized, and all depict faces of terror and fear. The faces carved into the cave all seem to be staring toward the southwest tunnel entrance. The tops of the stalagmites here all bear the dark brown stains of dried blood.

• North: The northern wall connects to room 5/26 by way of a short tunnel.
• East: On the southeastern end of the cave is a tunnel roughly eight feet in diameter that leads to cave 5/18.
• West: On the southwestern wall of the cave a short 25’ long tunnel leads to room 5/28.

5/28: Of Ghouls and Gold

This convoluted limestone cavern is approximately 50’ in diameter with a 20’ tall ceiling. There is a tall stalagmite in the northern end of the cave and a wider, squatter stalagmite in the south. The floor of this cavern is scattered with various golden objects. Goblets, jewelry, and other beautiful treasures lie scattered about in neglected heaps. Five ghouls are carrying the golden objects out of the tunnel to the south and dropping them on the ground in here. They seem to move with a predetermined purpose, though who or what commands them remains a mystery.

• North: A narrow fissure in the rock on the northern end of the cavern opens up to a more comfortably wide natural tunnel running to room 5/24.
• South: Past the stalagmite at the southern end of the cave is a tunnel leading further into the mountain. It is from this tunnel that the ghouls seem to be entering the room.
• East: A short passageway on the eastern wall connects this cavern with cave 5/27.
• The Gold: There is 3,000 gp in golden objects scattered about the room. Most are goblets, plates, silverware, and jewelry. There is a smattering of gold coins stamped with a tiger’s face on them as well.
• The Ghouls:  These ghouls are being commanded to carry treasure here from another room in the dungeon. They will attack anyone who gets in their way or tries to take any treasure. Otherwise, they will begrudgingly avoid characters who enter or pass through this cavern.