The Smooth Caverns – The Entrance
”Like the tunnel leading up to here this cavern gives off a feeling of strangeness. Unlike the miles of tunnels and caves that you have already traversed this one is made entirely of whorled-green glass-rock. A closer look at the walls shows you that there are thin, swirling lines of milk-white and crimson red within it, like someone had poured paint into the rock when it first cooled.
The cavern itself is roughly semi-circular in shape with the entrance tunnel located just off center of the outer wall. Off to your left you can just make out what appears to be another tunnel mouth. As far as your light reveals you can see that both the inner and outer walls have a six-foot high ledge running along the length, but you’ll have to explore further to make sure that the ledge completely rings the interior. The ledge itself is about ten feet wide and supports numerous oddly shaped pillars that stand about eight feet high.
The ceiling of the cavern is far above you and unlit by your magical lights, but those of you with keener eyes believe you can just make it out where the shadows fade into darkness.
As you take this all in it takes you a moment to realize what makes this cavern so creepy; quite simply you cannot see one straight line within the cavern. Examination of the walls shows that they are quite smooth and none of you can spot any marks that indicate that tools were used. For all you know the flowing walls could have always been like this, or they were carved with a skill the likes of which you have never seen.*
What do you do?"
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Needless to say the party decided to explore and found that two of the pillars were actually waiting ropers. It was a tough fight but they were victorious. The only exit out of the cavern was the one other tunnel mouth they had found. The twisting, curving tunnel led to many other chambers which were similar in shape, with forty-foot high ceilings and made of the same flowing, green, glass-rock.
Some chambers proved to be harmless and others were dangerous; all of them were strange. What was even eerier was that the purpose of these chambers was completely unknown, and not a clue remained of their creators. Well, there was one possible clue.
The next chamber was a round chamber with the pillars in here topped with seven-pointed stars. The entirety of the glass-rock floor had been shattered and chipped, creating the dreaded razor-rock hazard.
One tendril-like tunnel opened up into a small chamber hiding another pillar, though it was stranger than the others. After slaying the two ropers in the chamber a close examination of the pillar showed that there might be something within it – or not. The craftsmanship was exquisite and while the shape was the same as the other pillars found, it looked as if there was trapped humanoid body within. Jallarzi was particularly disturbed by it. Undecided on what to do the group left to explore the other chambers.
The next chamber held a maze. Kestral was the first to traverse it and found a stone sculpture at the center; which looked like a tree created by a master sculptor who had never seen one, complete with bloodstone ‘flowers’. The danger of this chamber became apparent when Kestral tried to pluck one of the gems.
A bizarre creature with a squat body and a rough, stone-like hide lunged up through the glass-rock, leaving no trace of its passage. It had a large, gaping mouth on top of its head, with three long arms, tipped with sharp talons, symmetrically positioned around it. Between the arms were large stone-lidded eyes. At its base were three thick, short legs, each directly beneath an eye.**
The suddenness of the assault stunned the young woman and she stood helpless as the thing’s mouth leaned over and bit her savagely. The teeth bit deep into her flesh, leaving a wound that would take a ten-day to heal without magic. Fortunately her companions were nearby and quickly sprang to her defense as she retreated past the clawing arms.
The fight was short-lived even as two more of the earth-travelling creatures came up through the floor. When it was all said and done Kestral plucked every gem off of the tree-like statue.
Steps that spiraled down into the deep darkness were next, leading to a tunnel that had been flooded to a depth of ten or so feet. Kestral used her ring from the Water King and scouted ahead by walking upon the surface of the water. Once again the young woman flushed out the hidden monsters. There were two oozes swimming in the water, nearly invisible. One of them lashed out with a psuedopod but missed, giving Kestral time to run back to her friends. Two fireballs from Jallarzi took care of the creatures.
The group then decided to explore the tunnels using levitation, flight, and water walking.
The flooded tunnels hid three other chambers. The first chamber was empty; the second chamber held a roper with a hide as tough as rock and the treasure of defeated explorers, including a page from a journal (similar to another page found in the grell caves). It was the final chamber that held perhaps the most valuable treasure and the strangest mystery.
A set of steps rose up out of the waters of the flooded temple, leading up to a beach that was strewn with gems. Not just any gems, but gems that had been worked over by a master gemcutter. Diamonds and emeralds and rubies with an estimated value of fifty-thousand gold lions. Before they could examine the gems of course they had to deal with the ever-present ropers though.
At the back of the chamber was a statue; a real statue and not one of the pillar like things they had seen throughout the complex. The eight-foot crystalline statue was crafted into the image of an elf, or at least a stylized image. The features were longer and thinner than a typical elf and the eyes were a lot wider. The statue radiated an aura of quiet and gravity with its palms upheld before it and a look of sadness bordering on resignation on its face. In the palm of its right hand it held a single plain stone, perfectly smooth and marked with fine blue striations.
Jallarzi sensed more than recognized the magical nature of the statue but she couldn't identify it. Tired and beat from a full day of exploring the group decided to rest in the chamber. However the statue disturbed them all and Jallarzi’s pronouncement of unknown magics didn’t help. Therefore Kellron and Jared destroyed the statue, beating on the base with their own enchanted blades until the statue fell.
Satisfied, they set up their cottage, gathered the gems on the beach, and spent the night.
In the morning Jallarzi identied the smooth stone that had been in the statue’s hand as a preventative against all forms of evil and life-draining attacks. After a brief discussion Jared suggested that Kestral carry the stone as she was one of the weakest members who was most likely to benefit from the stone’s protection. There was no arguement from Kestral and so it was agreed.
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I almost forgot. Some of this text was read aloud to the players directly from the source material.
*This text is paraphrased from Night Below, Book II - it's roughly how I described it to the players.
** This text is paraphrased from the Monster Manual.
