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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dyson Logos" data-source="post: 9859451" data-attributes="member: 83678">[ATTACH=full]429681[/ATTACH]Mouser’s DeepMouser’s Deep clings to the stone like a scab on an old wound. An abandoned outpost of the Initiates of Cordun, carved in secrecy and left to the slow hunger of time. The Initiates once used this narrow, redoubt to watch over the cavern they named Mouser’s Cave, a limestone wound that descends in cold spirals toward the underdark. Though the Order is long scattered or slain, the place still feels inhabited. The walls remember.The dungeon and the cave twist around each other like two creatures locked in a silent struggle. In three places the structures touch where stone corridors brushing against the hollow dark of the river‑cave, separated only by thin walls or cunningly placed vantage points. At the southern end, where the Initiates kept their closest watch, two such overlooks remain. To the east lies a broad chamber whose floor ends in a waist‑high parapet of pale stone. Beyond it yawns the cavern, the river’s faint roar rising from below like distant breath. Dust lies thick on the parapet, but the stone is worn smooth where generations of Initiates leaned to peer into the depths. Their vigilance has left a ghostly polish.To the west stands the so‑called Tower; three stacked chambers built directly into the cavern wall. The lowest level is cramped and narrow, pierced by arrow slits that stare into the cave like lidless eyes. The middle level holds a single great window of crystalline material, nearly transparent yet unnervingly cold to the touch. It was said the Initiates could see more than mere stone and water through that pane—shapes moving in the deeper dark, allies or enemies or things without names. The topmost level opens directly into the cavern’s upper air, two great ten‑foot arches gazing down from near the ceiling. Wind moans through them now, though no wind should reach this far underground.Where the dungeon crosses over the cave, a stone bridge spans the chasm. Its underside drips with condensation, and the river’s echoing murmur rises through the gap beneath. From the bridge’s eastern end, a natural descent winds downward along the cavern wall. A sloping path of slick limestone that leads down to the river‑cave proper. The Initiates used this route as needed, their boots carving shallow grooves into the stone that remain visible even now.The cave itself begins far to the north, where a thin ribbon of icy water cuts through the limestone and begins its slow, relentless descent. It widens as it travels southward, gathering strength until it spills into a vast chamber dominated by a cold, black pool. From there, the river plunges deeper still, vanishing into the underdark through a jagged throat of stone.The Order of Cordun once treated this river‑cave as a hidden road; a secret artery leading to their allies in the deep places. They trafficked with beings most surface folk would not name aloud: a pair of ancient aboleths whose memories stretched back before mortal kingdoms, and a deep dragon whose coils could encircle a house. When the Initiates needed counsel or power, they would descend the sloping path, step into the near‑freezing waters, and wade waist‑deep into the dark. Their torches guttered in the damp air, their breath steaming as they pressed on, climbing and slipping along the river’s course until the surface world was only a memory.[ATTACH=full]429682[/ATTACH]Before Christmas, I was approached to do some commission work in the classic “old school blue” style of dungeon maps. I quickly ascertained that they were looking for a darker blue as used in most modern replicas as opposed to the true “non photo” blue used in the early D&D adventures. The plan going forward is to release at least one map with an old school blue variant every month (along with a full colour variant of another map each month). Starting in March, these variants will be released exclusively through my Patreon to supporters and will no longer be posted to my blog and social media (but the traditional B&W versions will still be available for free.)The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 10,800 x 16,200 pixels (36 x 54 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for the recommended 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 2,520 x 5,040 or 3,780 x 7,560, respectively.[URL unfurl="true"]https://dysonlogos.blog/2026/02/16/mousers-deep/[/URL]</blockquote>

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