Rise of the Blood Olms ====================== The river is falling, the survey team is missing, and something in the caves has learned to eat meat. LICENCE ======= This adventure is adapted from CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms by Yochai Gal, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://cairnrpg.com/adventures/first-party/cas-2/). Changes: converted for Elrune. This adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. This adventure is adapted from CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms by Yochai Gal, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://cairnrpg.com/adventures/first-party/cas-2/). Changes: converted for Elrune. This adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. The full adapted text, boards included, can be downloaded from the adventure's page. This material is based on Cairn Second Edition by Yochai Gal (https://cairnrpg.com), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Elrune converted it to structured data and edited it for the table. Offered as-is: the licensor makes no representations or warranties (CC BY-SA 4.0, Section 5). Credits: Words by Yochai Gal, Editing by Derek B., Cover & Map art by Ari-Matti Toivonen, Layout & Rusal Art by Adam Hensley. Published May 2026. Converted for Elrune. Licence text: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/legalcode. You may copy, share and adapt this text, also commercially, as long as you credit it as above and release your own adaptation under CC BY-SA 4.0. Exported from Elrune; the boards below are drawn as text. ABOUT THIS ADVENTURE ==================== Three weeks ago the Order of Nine sent a team of scholars to survey a newly found cave system along the Silversilk River, where the falling water has opened a blue-ringed cave. Nobody has heard from them since. The Order will pay well for the safe return of the moon-shaped relic they carried, and for each of the four expedition members brought home. A deadly starting cave crawl for three to six characters, in one session: an abandoned camp, a hissing cave where fire is death, a corridor built for an ambush, a hanging tree that is dying, blind and gentle cave folk, and a spirit who trades in laughter and memories. Players: 3 to 6. Length: 3 to 5 hours. Genre: Cave crawl. FOR THE WARDEN ============== What is really going on: a few days after arriving, the original expedition team discovered the Red Hermit Tree in the Atrium (C7) and the miraculous healing properties of its fruit. To more easily harvest the tree they dammed the river in the lair (C9) with the Mud Sieve. Once the fruit was harvested, the bats fled their tree home to the Bat Room (C6), and the Olms became very hungry. Some took to eating Tube Worm flesh, triggering latent carnivorous impulses deep within: these are the Blood Olms. Meanwhile, High Lector Geteli has gone mad after eating Tube Worm flesh, and the local cave explorer Jhel-Fries is holed up in the Refuge (C10b) with the Mud Sieve. The expedition: High Lector Geteli (a Scrivener, haughty on the best of days: alive, insane, waiting in ambush in C4); Jhel-Fries (a local hired for her caving experience: alive, in C10b); Faraj (a Scrivener and expert in Relics, a member of the Order: dead in C7); Oren (a Prowler and bodyguard: dead in C7). The Order of Nine: a consortium of merchants, scholars and the very powerful that rely on their substantial wealth and a vast network of spies. Their primary focus is the discovery, identification and regulation of Gates; they believe Relics are deeply tied to the Roots, and will pay handsomely for information about either. The Roots are remnants of the Old World, labyrinthine hollows stretching immeasurable distances underground, connecting the sewers of the cities to far-flung ruins; their entrances (Gates) are protected or shrewdly hidden. The Silversilk River: a primary water source for the Cities, flowing through a tight canyon called the Fingers. In recent months it has lost much of its water, revealing a large, blue-ringed cave (C2); the water levels in the cave have dropped as well. The heart of it: break the dam in C9 and the tree lives, the Olms live and the bats go home (and Rusal grants a boon). The Blood Olms will not allow it. Breaking only the spring’s wall in C8 floods the lower caves but does not save the tree. Principles (run it this way): when describing a room, always reiterate what is about to happen (does that flaming torch look safe near that hissing vent?). Constantly restate a character’s surroundings, where they are in physical space and what their senses detect: how close are they to a danger, what side of an object are they on? Provide hints about what lies beyond the next corridor: a change in elevation, a different temperature, a distinct light, smell or sound. Do not tell the characters how they are feeling: a "long, jagged knife" is better than "an evil-looking knife." The module is deadly, but characters survive through critical thinking and careful exploration; if a party member dies, get a new character into play quickly rather than explaining it. Quick start ----------- Ten-minute prep. The Order of Nine pays 1000gp for the Mud Sieve (a crescent relic that shapes mud like water, 3 charges) and 100gp per expedition member. Roll a Die of Fate for the arrival weather. Camp (C1): stink of rotten fruit, one fresh fruit (1 STR, removes deprivation), a 12ft rope-ladder tunnel to C5. Cave mouth (C2) downhill east; flames turn blue near the gas. Hive (C3): methane, an open flame explodes for d6 STR damage. Ambush corridor (C4): Geteli, mad, drops a stalactite on the first between the rocks (DEX save or d8 STR), then fights with a piton. Ladder room (C5): pitons and rations. Bat room (C6): hundreds of bats; fungus hides the crawl to the well (C11), where Rusal the water spirit trades power for abstract prices and grants a boon if the bats go home. Atrium (C7): the dying hanging tree, the dead Faraj and Oren (47gp, knife, torch, compass, shovel). Olm den (C8): 10-14 gentle blind Olms, painted walls, a spring. Lair (C9): three Blood Olms (asleep if the party came quietly through C2; awake if through C1 or loud); the mud dam, broken, bursts in 1d4 minutes (DEX save to swim). Blockade (C10a): an hour of digging to reach Jhel-Fries and the Sieve (C10b). Events: on an encounter, one of the three Blood Olms. Running the expedition ---------------------- Time: run the caves in dungeon turns (PG Procedures: Dungeon Exploration). Roll on the Blue Mouth Caves events table (the pack Dungeon Events with this adventure’s results) every few turns, on loud noise, and when the party rests or digs. On an Encounter result the party meets one of the three Blood Olms from C9; roll Reactions. Each one killed outside the lair is one fewer inside. Light: there is no natural or artificial light in the caves; torches have three uses. Methane: C3 has an exposed vent. Exposed flames flicker and turn blue near it (describe it every time); an exposed flame inside C3 explodes for d6 STR damage to anyone nearby and destroys the flame. Extended exposure leaves victims deprived (headaches, nausea). Blood Olms avoid the gas and try to put out open flames. Arrival: ask the party what time they hope to arrive and what weather they would prefer, then roll a Die of Fate and adjust. Noise: if the PCs enter through C1 (the ladder) or make a lot of noise, the Blood Olms in C9 are awake and on guard; if they enter through C2 and move with care, they are asleep. Food and healing: fresh Red Hermit Fruit recovers 1 STR and removes deprivation (once per day); a day later it rots. Fights: no initiative; in round one each hero makes a DEX save to act; attacks always hit; damage goes to HP, then STR with a critical damage save. The module is deadly: bring new characters in quickly. SCENES ====== Part 1: The River The Order’s offer, the abandoned camp and the blue-ringed cave mouth. 1. The Order of Nine -------------------- Read aloud: Three weeks ago, the Order of Nine sent a team of scholars led by High Lector Geteli to survey a newly found cave system along the Silversilk River. Nobody has heard from them since. The Order pays well and asks few questions of those it hires. It will pay 1000 gold for the safe return of the Mud Sieve, a moon-shaped relic the survey team took with them, and another 100 gold for each of the expedition’s four members brought back safe. The river runs low this year through the tight canyon called the Fingers. You follow it upstream toward the place where the expedition made camp. Warden: The hook (Setup). The Order of Nine offers 1000gp for the safe return of the Mud Sieve, a moon-shaped relic brought with the survey team, and an additional 100gp for the safe recovery of any of the expedition’s original four party members: High Lector Geteli, Jhel-Fries, Faraj and Oren. The party travels along the river, arriving just west of the campsite. When the session starts, ask the party what time they hope to arrive and what weather they would prefer, then roll a Die of Fate (the d6 that decides how the world answers; 1 to 3 is bad, 4 to 6 is good). Adjust their environs as appropriate (the Weather Type table helps). This module is deadly, but characters can survive through critical thinking and careful exploration. If a party member dies, prioritise getting a new character to the table quickly over explaining how they arrived. What the Order knows (and tells): the Silversilk is a primary water source for the Cities; in recent months the river has lost much of its water, revealing a large, blue-ringed cave. The Order believes Relics are deeply tied to the Roots, the labyrinth under the world, and pays handsomely for information about either. Onward: Follow the river to the expedition’s camp. 2. The Campsite --------------- Read aloud: The camp is tucked beneath a rock ledge above the riverbed, and the air here smells strongly of rotting flesh. Two wooden crates sit next to a burnt-out campfire, their lids stacked neatly beside them. A small tunnel has been dug into the earth close by, with a rope ladder pinned at its lip. Four blankets are laid out at the east end of the camp. Warden: C1. The air: the box of Red Hermit Fruit is the source of the smell. Crates: the lids are in a neat pile nearby, leaving the boxes’ contents exposed. One box has 1d6 small digging tools that are just beginning to rust; a single pickaxe (d6) at the bottom is still in good condition. The other box is packed with Red Hermit Fruit, but all but one has rotted away. (The one good fruit matters: fresh fruit recovers 1 STR and removes deprivation, once per day, and Blood Olms are repelled by it; the Olms in C8 can smell it.) Campfire: cold for at least a week. Tunnel: a rope ladder is attached to pitons nearby. The ladder and tunnel down to C5 are 12ft long. The walls are muddy and appear new (the expedition made it with the Mud Sieve). Blankets: extremely wet and moldy. One is slightly smaller than the others, as it belongs to Jhel-Fries (C10b). The ground beneath the blankets is littered with shoe prints heading east to C2. The Cave Entrance (C2) is downhill from the camp and not immediately visible from C1. Entering through the tunnel here is louder: if the PCs enter through C1 or make a lot of noise, the Blood Olms in C9 will be awake and on guard. Light: Daylight or the dusk you chose; the tunnel is black. Crate of digging tools: Small digging tools just beginning to rust, and at the bottom a pickaxe still in good condition. (Warden: 1d6 small digging tools; the pickaxe is a d6 weapon.) Holds: 1 x Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage), 1 x Common Tools (Hammer, Shovel, etc.). Crate of fruit: Gourd-like fruit, brown and stinking of carrion, packed tight. One near the top is still firm and smells sweet. (Warden: One fresh Red Hermit Fruit: eaten, it recovers 1 STR and removes deprivation (once per day). Blood Olms are repelled by it; Olms can smell it.) The four blankets: Four blankets, soaked and furred with mould. One is smaller than the rest. The ground beneath is trampled with shoe prints leading east. The tunnel: A rope ladder pinned at the lip of a tunnel some twelve feet deep. Its muddy walls look freshly made. Reward: A pickaxe and digging tools. The first crate. Onward: Climb down the rope ladder into the tunnel; Follow the shoe prints east, downhill. 3. The Cave Entrance -------------------- Read aloud: Downhill from the camp, blue moss grows on the lip of a large vertical cave mouth. Dead river vegetation and flat stones are strewn about, and the ground in front of the opening is ringed with mud. From somewhere below comes a faint, steady hiss. Warden: C2. Moss: just regular blue moss. A handful is worth about 10gp in the Cities. Cave: the hiss of exposed methane from C3 is faintly audible. Vegetation: dead plants, shells, flat stones and water lines are good indications that this area was once under water (the Silversilk has lost much of its water, revealing this cave). Ground: muddy shoe prints to the west lead uphill to C1. Entrance: exposed fire will begin to flicker blue in proximity to C3. The flame warns of the gas: describe it every time a torch comes near. If the PCs enter here and traverse the cave complex with care, the Blood Olms in C9 are asleep. Light: Daylight at the lip; below, darkness. Blue moss: Soft blue moss on the lip of the cave. Scholars in the Cities pay for it. (Warden: About 10gp a handful in the Cities.) Reward: Blue moss. About 10gp a handful in the Cities. Onward: Climb down into the cave; Follow the prints back uphill to the camp. Part 2: The Blue Mouth Caves The hive, the ambush, the hanging tree, the Olms and the lair, and the way out. 4. The Tube Worm Hive --------------------- Read aloud: The air in this room is suffocating. Three fat, dog-sized carcasses litter the ground, with stubby legs and antler-like tubes on their heads. Egg-like sacks are piled in the north-east corner. A large vent in the floor by the south wall hisses noisily. The floor is level, but slopes upward past the west and north exits. Warden: C3. Air: the combination of gas from the decaying worms and the methane vent has made this room a tinderbox. Entering with an exposed flame causes an explosion, causing d6 STR damage to anyone nearby, and destroying the source of the flame. (Methane is odorless; exposed flames flicker and turn blue near the vent. Extended exposure causes headaches and nausea: victims become deprived.) Carcasses: tube worms, blind dog-sized herbivores; all of the adults in the cave are already dead. They show obvious bite damage. Sacks: a clutch of d6 eggs. If placed in water, they will hatch within a few days. Vent: extremely hot. Covering it up makes the air breathable after 1d4 hours. Floor: level, but slopes upward past the west and north exits. The gas rises towards C4. The Blood Olms avoid areas with methane gas: no wandering Blood Olm comes in here. Light: None. Fire is deadly here. Save (DEX): Throw yourself clear when the gas catches. Success: DEX save. The hero is flat on the floor as the fire rolls overhead; the Warden may halve the harm or spare them, at their call. Failure: The explosion hits in full: d6 STR damage, and the flame is gone. Save (STR): Work in the bad air without sickening. Success: STR save. A headache, nothing worse. Failure: Headaches and nausea: the hero is deprived until they rest in clean air. The hissing vent: A vent in the floor, too hot to stand over, breathing out a stream of invisible gas. (Warden: An exposed flame in this room explodes: d6 STR damage to anyone nearby, the flame destroyed. Covering the vent makes the air breathable after 1d4 hours.) Egg-like sacks: A clutch of soft, leathery eggs, still warm. (Warden: d6 tube worm eggs. Placed in water they hatch within a few days.) The carcasses: Fat worm bodies with obvious bite marks: something has been eating them. Onward: Go west, up the slope; Go north, up the passage; Climb back out of the cave mouth. 5. The Ambush Room ------------------ Read aloud: A tight corridor with high ceilings and sandy ground runs west. In its middle, two large rocks leave only a narrow way between them. Stalactites and ledges crowd the ceiling. The air is heavy and uncomfortable here, and the floor slopes down behind you toward the hissing room. Warden: C4. Ground: parallel lines show that the rocks were dragged into their current position. Rocks: shoved into place, narrowing the walking space. The first person to step between the rocks is struck by a stalactite dropped by High Lector Geteli from the ledge above (DEX save or d8 STR damage). Stalactite: half broken, as if smashed. Hangs close to the wide ledge. Ledges: there are two ledges on the north wall, and one on the south wall. The north ledges are easier to clamber on to. The topmost ledge provides clear visibility on the higher south ledge opposite. Shining a light on the lowest shelf reveals a set of human footprints. The south ledge is near the ceiling and requires time and effort to climb, or the proper tools. Geteli is up there. Air: the gas from C3 floats into this room, causing flames to flicker blue when lit. Encounter: Geteli’s Ambush. After the stalactite, the mad High Lector fights with a sharpened piton, or slips away along the ledges to strike again elsewhere. He will try to kill any living creature he encounters and will resist any attempt to take him out of the caves. He carries a small scroll (petty) explaining how the Mud Sieve works (handout). Restrained and brought out, he can only be cured after specialised healing in the Cities; the Order pays its 100gp for him alive. Light: None. Flames burn blue with the gas drifting up from the hive. Save (DEX): Dodge the falling stalactite. Success: DEX save. Stone shatters on the sand where the hero stood. Failure: The stalactite strikes: d8 STR damage. Save (STR): Climb to the high south ledge without tools. Success: STR save. Up, slowly, fingertips in the cracks, to the ledge near the ceiling. Failure: The hero slips back to the sand; it will take time and effort, or the proper tools. The gap between the rocks: Above the gap, a stalactite hangs half broken, close to the wide ledge. (Warden: The first person to step between the rocks is struck by the stalactite Geteli drops: DEX save or d8 STR damage.) The lowest ledge: In the light, a set of human footprints on the lowest shelf of rock. Onward: Go on west; Go back down the slope east. 6. The Ladder Room ------------------ Read aloud: A rope ladder dangles from a hole in the ceiling. In the south-west corner sits an iron box. Dead fish stick out of the muddy ground, which slopes up toward the east exit. White, guano-flecked shoe prints cross the room. Warden: C5. Rope: the tunnel to the outside (C1). The ladder and tunnel to C1 are both 12ft long. Like the rest of the room, the tunnel is very muddy and appears newly made. Iron box: two pitons and dried rations (2 uses left). Ground: white, guano-flecked shoe prints traverse the room (Jhel-Fries’s and Geteli’s, from the bat room north of here). If the party came down the ladder from C1, the noise has woken the Blood Olms in C9: they are awake and on guard. Light: A grey smudge of daylight down the tunnel from the camp; otherwise none. Iron box: Two pitons and a packet of dried rations. (Warden: The rations have 2 uses left.) Holds: 1 x Expeditionary Gear (Climbing Spikes, Pulley, etc.), 1 x Rations (3 uses). Reward: Two pitons and dried rations (2 uses). The iron box. Onward: Follow the white prints north; Go east, down the slope; Climb the rope ladder to the camp. 7. The Bat Room --------------- Read aloud: The room smells awful, and the floor is a mess of white droppings and rotten fruit. High-pitched noises chirp from above, where long stalactites hang from the ceiling. A large white fungus grows in thick ropes over the west wall. Warden: C6. Floor: guano and rotten Hermit Tree fruit litters the floor. Webbed footprints are visible in the white gunk; they are impossible to follow (Olm prints). Noises: hundreds of bats nest in the ceiling above after fleeing here from C7 when the tree stopped bearing fruit. Loud noise or light sets them wheeling (a Dungeon Events roll). Fungus: grows in thick ropes that can be pushed aside. Toxic only if ingested. It obscures a tunnel into C11, just large enough to crawl through, single file. Rusal lives at the end of it, unless the bats have left this room. If the bats return to the Atrium (C7) once the tree is saved, this room empties and Rusal moves back here, grateful. Light: None. Save (DEX): Cross the room without setting the bats off. Success: DEX save. The chirping above never changes pitch. Failure: A shriek, then the roof explodes into wings: the noise carries. Roll on the Blue Mouth Caves events table. Webbed prints: Webbed footprints in the white gunk, going everywhere and nowhere. Onward: Push through the fungus and crawl west; Go east toward the larger cave; Go back south to the ladder. 8. The Well ----------- Read aloud: The crawl ends in a small, circular room with walls of fitted stone and a great hole where the ceiling should be. A pile of refuse, bones, glass and metal, has been pushed against the west side. On the east side a large bolt of canvas is draped over a stone slab. Someone is lying on the canvas: a green-skinned old man with a long white beard that reaches his toes, his frog-like eyes clouded but quick. His hands and feet are webbed, and he wears nothing at all. Warden: C11. Unless the bats have left C6, Rusal is here. Walls: this room is the very bottom of a dry well. The hole above continues for 80ft before it reaches a muddy ceiling, a result of the well’s collapse decades before. Refuse: an ancient metal pail, a series of small porcelain cups, and a human skeleton. The cups are in excellent condition but still very fragile; they are worth 150gp as a set. Rusal will say that he found the skeleton many years ago and decided to keep it around because he was lonely. He will curse anyone that tries to touch it. Slab: Rusal sleeps on the canvas. The slab was once part of the old village (long destroyed) that used this well. Rusal: a spirit of the river and cave (see his notes). He is deeply concerned with imbalance in nature but will not act against the Blood Olms ("They’re part of the new balance, now"). If the bats are allowed to return to the Atrium (C7), he will be most grateful and bestow a boon on one PC (Rusal’s boons table). Otherwise he will gladly trade great power for a price, paid only in obscure, abstract concepts: a person’s speech, their memories of home, their ambitions, their laughter. He loves deals of any kind, and especially deals within deals. He cannot be harmed by any normal means, but flees from burning tobacco or incense (he just doesn’t like the smell). He really likes music and dancing. Light: A faint grey light from very far up the well shaft. Save (WIL): Shake off Rusal’s curse. Success: WIL save. The old spirit’s words slide off like water. Failure: The curse takes: the Warden chooses its shape (a voice gone hoarse, food that tastes of mud, a limp) until Rusal is appeased. Pile of refuse: An ancient metal pail, a set of small porcelain cups without a chip on them, and a human skeleton, carefully arranged. (Warden: The cups are worth 150gp as a set, if they survive the trip. Touch the skeleton and Rusal curses you.) Reward: A set of porcelain cups worth 150gp. Fragile. Onward: Crawl back to the bat room. 9. The Atrium ------------- Read aloud: An enormous tree hangs upside down from the ceiling of this cave, its roots exposed to the air. Its upper branches are spattered white with droppings. Below it, a little water lies pooled in a hollow carved into the sloping floor, rotten fruit floating on top. Near the south wall, two bodies lie face-down. Warden: C7. Tree: a Red Hermit Tree. It is dying from lack of water. If water is restored to this room and the roots are fully immersed, the tree will survive and bear fruit again, and the Olms from C8 will survive. The uppermost branches are spackled in guano: the tree is typically covered in bats, but they all fled to C6 when it stopped bearing fruit. The Red Hermit Tree grows upside down, hanging from the ceiling in half-submerged caves, and needs water and methane to survive. Its gourd-like fruit is sweet at first but after a day turns brown and smells of carrion. Eaten fresh, it can close wounds and revitalise the blood (recovers 1 STR and removes deprivation, once per day). Water: a small pool is carved into the ground at a slope. There is enough water to replenish the party’s supplies, but no more. The water can be restored by destroying the dam in C9. Corpses: the remains of Faraj and Oren, dismembered by a Blood Olm. They appear dead for at least three days. Dried fruit pulp is smeared around their hands and necks. The larger of the two (Oren) carries a small knife (d6), a torch (1 use left) and 47gp. The smaller (Faraj) carries a compass (55gp) and a blunt shovel (d6). Light: None. The larger body: A big man, a bodyguard by his build. A small knife, a torch nearly burnt down, and a purse of coins. (Warden: Oren the Prowler: knife (d6), torch (1 use left), 47gp.) Holds: 1 x Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage), 1 x Torch (3 uses). The smaller body: A slight scholar in Order colours. A brass compass and a blunt shovel. (Warden: Faraj the Scrivener: compass (worth 55gp), blunt shovel (d6).) Holds: 1 x Compass, 1 x Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage). The hanging tree: The roots hang dry above a pool far too small for them. The leaves are curling. (Warden: Restore the water (break the dam in C9) and the roots are immersed: the tree lives and fruits again.) Reward: 47gp, a knife, a torch, a compass (55gp) and a blunt shovel. From the dead. Onward: Go north toward the dripping sound; Go east toward the warm air and whispering; Go back west to the bat room. 10. The Olm Den --------------- Read aloud: It is warm and cramped in here, and very humid. Ten or more pale, blind creatures the size of children sleep, eat and whisper on a floor littered with rotting fruit and droppings. Some of them are not moving at all. The walls are packed mud, painted with bursts of colour. In the north-east, a little mud wall holds back a pool of clear, bubbling water. Warden: C8. Olms: 10-14 Olms, sickly, of a wide variety of sizes; some appear unmoving. They ignore the PCs, unless they have fresh fruit on them (they can smell it). They cannot speak, but show signs of high intelligence. Olms are peaceful, blind cave dwellers: they breathe air but can swim and hold their breath for long periods, have excellent hearing and detect the faintest vibrations or changes in temperature. They live off Red Hermit Tree fruit and river plants, and they are dying without the fruit. They will only fight in self-defense. Walls: swirls of colour made from packed guano and fruit tell a story (handout: the painted walls): the Olms (painted here with eyes) came down the river from the mountains and made a home in the caves; the Olms found the fruit tree, and there was much rejoicing; an Olm eats the flesh of a tube worm, then is chased away by its former clan. Divider: clear water bubbles up from a spring, surrounded by a waist-high mud wall. The spring is still very healthy: fish swim, vegetation grows, and methane vents release periodic warm gas at the bottom. The water is safe to drink. If the mud wall is destroyed, the spring will flood C8, C3 and C2, partially restoring life to the caverns. However, without restoring water to the Red Hermit Tree in C7, these Olms will still perish. If provoked: encounter Olms Defending Their Den. Light: None. The Olms do not need it. The painted walls: Swirls of colour pressed into the mud: a story, told in pictures by creatures who have no eyes. The mud divider: A waist-high wall of mud around a clear spring. Fish swim in it; bubbles of warm gas rise from the bottom. (Warden: Break it and the spring floods C8, C3 and C2. Without water for the tree in C7, the Olms still die.) Onward: Follow the white shoe prints north; Go back west to the hanging tree; Take the passage south, down to the hissing room. 11. The Blood Olm Lair ---------------------- Read aloud: The walls here are freshly carved mud, wet with condensation. Water drips steadily through a wall of packed mud on the north side. Corpses and carnage are strewn about: small pale bodies, fat worm-things, the leathery wings of bats. And among them, something is breathing. Warden: C9. Walls: look recently formed. Water drips through a dam on the north side. The Mud Sieve was used here by the expedition to block off an underground river, killing the tree’s water supply. If damaged, the dam will burst in 1d4 minutes, filling the cavern (DEX save to swim to safety). The burst restores the water to the Atrium (C7). Carnage: remains of a half-dozen Olms, Tube Worms and bats. Blood Olms: at most three, depending on how the party navigated the caves (any killed on the way, as a wandering Blood Olm, are missing here). If the PCs entered through C1 or created a lot of noise, the Blood Olms are awake and on guard: roll on the Reactions table. If the PCs entered through C2 and traversed the cave complex with care, the creatures are asleep. The Blood Olms will not allow the PCs to flood their lair, and will attack anyone who tries to destroy the dam. Blood Olms hunt by heat, avoid methane, try to quench any open flame, and are repelled by Red Hermit Fruit. Critical damage: a large chunk of flesh is bitten off (d6 STR damage). Light: None. They hunt by heat, not sight. Save (DEX): Swim to safety when the dam bursts. Success: DEX save. The hero is carried south on the flood and fetches up, gasping, in the Atrium. Failure: The water takes the hero under; the Warden decides what it costs (an item lost, STR damage, or worse if they are carrying too much). Save (DEX): Move among the sleeping Blood Olms. Success: DEX save. Not a twitch from the pale bodies. Failure: A blind head lifts, nostrils flaring at your warmth. They wake. The dripping wall: A wall of smooth packed mud, too smooth to be natural, sweating water. Behind it you can hear a river. (Warden: The dam. Damaged, it bursts in 1d4 minutes and fills the cavern: DEX save to swim to safety. The Blood Olms attack anyone who tries.) Onward: Get out, south; Leave the caves with what you came for. 12. The Blockade ---------------- Read aloud: The corridor ahead is blocked from floor to ceiling by a wall of mud: perfectly smooth, packed and dried. White shoe prints lead into the corridor and stop directly in front of it. Warden: C10a. Mud: perfectly smooth packed and dried mud (the Mud Sieve’s work). It can be cut through by hand in an hour, or in just a few minutes with digging tools. Shoe prints: white from guano. They stop directly in front of the wall of mud. Speaking loudly here will attract the occupant of C10b, who will call out. Due to the mud, however, her voice is heavily muffled. Light: None. Onward: Cut through the mud; Go back to the Olm den. 13. The Refuge -------------- Read aloud: The room is circular, with perfectly smooth walls. A young woman spattered with mud crouches on the floor, pointing a spade at the opening you have just made. In her other hand she holds a moon-shaped stone. Warden: C10b. Woman: Jhel-Fries, hiding from both the Blood Olms and High Lector Geteli. If amenable, she will tell the party that her comrades were beset by a terrible creature that first quenched their torches, then attacked. She and High Lector Geteli hid amongst the Olms in C8, but when Geteli turned on her, she took the Mud Sieve and used it to hide behind the blockade in C10a. If asked about the Tube Worms in C3, she will admit that Geteli did partake of their flesh. Tool: the Mud Sieve. It still has 1 charge left. Jhel-Fries will only part with it if she feels safe. She is 15, a local with cave-diving experience; the Order pays 100gp for her safe return. Roll on the Reactions table when the wall comes down if the heroes have not called out to her first. Light: None. Save (WIL): Talk Jhel-Fries down. Success: WIL save. The spade lowers. She talks, fast, and holds out the stone when you promise to get her out. Failure: She will not lower the spade, and will not let the stone go until she is out in daylight. The moon-shaped stone: A crescent of smooth stone that fits in the palm, cool and faintly damp. (Warden: The Mud Sieve, 1 charge left. Jhel-Fries hands it over only when she feels safe.) Holds: 1 x Mud Sieve. Reward: The Mud Sieve (relic). If Jhel-Fries feels safe. Onward: Go back through the cut; Take Jhel-Fries out of the caves. 14. The Way Out --------------- Read aloud: Daylight at the top of the cave mouth, or at the head of the rope ladder, is the best thing you have ever seen. The river runs on through the Fingers below the camp, and somewhere behind you, under the earth, the caves keep their own counsel. Warden: Wrap up and record the ending. The Order pays 1000gp for the Mud Sieve returned safely, and 100gp for each of the four expedition members brought back safe (Jhel-Fries and Geteli are the only ones alive; Faraj and Oren are dead in the Atrium). Geteli can only be cured after specialised healing in the Cities. The River Runs Again: the dam in C9 was broken. The water returns to the Atrium, the Red Hermit Tree survives and bears fruit again, the Olms of C8 live, and the bats can go home to the tree; if they do, Rusal is most grateful and grants one PC a boon. The Sieve Returned: the party brings the relic out (with or without saving the caves). The Order pays, and asks many questions about what else lies in the Roots. If the heroes broke only the spring’s mud wall in C8, the lower caves flood and some life returns, but without water for the tree the Olms still perish. Reward: 1000gp from the Order of Nine. For the Mud Sieve, returned safely. Reward: 100gp for each expedition member brought back. Jhel-Fries and Geteli are alive. PEOPLE AND CREATURES ==================== High Lector Geteli ------------------ A lanky Scrivener of the Order of Nine who led the survey into the caves: haughty on the best of days. Stats: 6 HP, 11 STR, 15 DEX, 17 WIL, sharpened piton (d6) Stat block: High Lector Geteli (CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms, CC BY-SA 4.0): 6 HP, Armor 0, STR 11, DEX 15, WIL 17, sharpened piton (d6). Alive, and insane: he ate from the flesh of a Tube Worm a few days after damming the river in C9; it slowly drove him mad and turned his eyes a deep crimson. He tried to murder Jhel-Fries, but failed. He waits on the high south ledge of the Ambush Room (C4) and drops a stalactite on the first person between the rocks (DEX save or d8 STR damage). He carries a small scroll (petty) explaining how the Mud Sieve works; three black marks at the bottom show how many charges the relic has when recharged. He can only be cured after specialised healing in the Cities. He will resist any attempt to leave the caves, and will try to kill any living creature he encounters. The Order pays 100gp for him alive. Jhel-Fries ---------- A young local hired for her caving experience, mud-spattered and fierce, who keeps a spade within reach. Stats: 2 HP, 8 STR, 14 DEX, 11 WIL, spade (d6) Stat block: Jhel-Fries (CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms, CC BY-SA 4.0): 2 HP, Armor 0, STR 8, DEX 14, WIL 11, spade (d6). She is 15 years old and alive, hiding in the Refuge (C10b) behind a mud wall she made with the Mud Sieve, from both the Blood Olms and Geteli. She holds the Mud Sieve (1 charge left) and parts with it only if she feels safe. What she knows: a terrible creature first quenched their torches, then attacked; she and Geteli hid among the Olms in C8 until he turned on her; Geteli did eat tube worm flesh. The Order pays 100gp for her safe return. Blood Olm --------- A pale, blind, child-sized cave creature, its mouth and claws dark with old blood. Stats: 8 HP, 14 STR, 11 DEX, 4 WIL, claws (d8+d8) Stat block: Blood Olm (CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms, CC BY-SA 4.0): 8 HP, Armor 0, STR 14, DEX 11, WIL 4, claws (d8+d8). Critical damage: A large chunk of flesh is bitten off (d6 STR damage). Blind, carnivorous humanoids that hunt by heat signature; openly cannibalistic. They avoid areas with methane gas and will try to quench any open flame. Repelled by the Red Hermit Fruit, which acts as a deterrent. Three live in the lair (C9): Olms who ate tube worm flesh when the fruit stopped, and turned. On an encounter result of the dungeon events, the party meets one of these three. Morale: WIL 4; they break easily once hurt, except when defending the dam. Olm --- A pale, blind, gentle cave creature the size of a child, with feathery gills, that whispers to its kin. Stats: 2 HP, 8 STR, 6 DEX, 12 WIL, claws (d8+d8) Stat block: Olm (CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms, CC BY-SA 4.0): 2 HP, Armor 0, STR 8, DEX 6, WIL 12, claws (d8+d8). Peaceful, blind cave dwellers. They breathe air, but can swim and hold their breath for long periods. They have excellent hearing and can detect even the faintest vibrations or changes in temperature. They live off Red Hermit Tree fruit and river plants. Vegetarian: they will only fight in self-defense. 10-14 live in the den (C8), sickly and dying since the tree stopped fruiting. They ignore the PCs unless the PCs carry fresh fruit (they can smell it). They cannot speak, but show signs of high intelligence. Rusal ----- A green-skinned, elderly water spirit with a white beard to his toes, clouded but quick frog-like eyes, webbed hands and feet, and no clothes at all. No stat block: he cannot be harmed by any normal means; play him as a scene, not a fight. A spirit of the river and cave, Rusal has always lived in these caves; he moved into the old well (C11) only after the bats took over his old home in C6. He is deeply concerned with imbalance in nature, but will not take any action against the Blood Olms: "They’re part of the new balance, now." He is very unhappy: first the river lost most of its water, then the interlopers arrived and moved the mud around as if it were water, then the tree started to die, and finally the Olms turned cannibalistic. If the bats are allowed to return to the Atrium (C7), he will be most grateful and bestow a boon on one PC (Rusal’s boons table). Otherwise he will gladly trade great power for a price, accepting payment only in obscure, abstract concepts: a person’s speech, their memories of home, their ambitions, their laughter. He absolutely loves making deals of any kind, and especially deals within deals. He flees from burning tobacco or incense (he just does not like the smell). He really likes music and dancing. He keeps a human skeleton for company and curses anyone who touches it. STAT BLOCKS =========== High Lector Geteli ------------------ 6 HP, 11 STR, 15 DEX, 17 WIL, sharpened piton (d6) - A lanky, haughty Scrivener turned insane after eating the flesh of a Tube Worm; his eyes are a deep crimson. - Can only be cured after specialized healing in the Cities. He will resist any attempts to leave the caves, and will try to kill any living creature he encounters. Source: CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms (CC BY-SA 4.0). Jhel-Fries ---------- 2 HP, 8 STR, 14 DEX, 11 WIL, spade (d6) - A local with experience in cave diving. She is 15 years old. - Currently holds the Mud Sieve. Source: CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms (CC BY-SA 4.0). Blood Olm --------- 8 HP, 14 STR, 11 DEX, 4 WIL, claws (d8+d8) - Blind, carnivorous humanoids that hunt by heat signature. Openly cannibalistic. - Avoid areas with methane gas, and will attempt to quench any open flames. - Repelled by the Red Hermit Fruit, which acts as a deterrent. - Critical Damage: A large chunk of flesh is bitten off (d6 STR damage). Source: CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms (CC BY-SA 4.0). Olm --- 2 HP, 8 STR, 6 DEX, 12 WIL, claws (d8+d8) - Peaceful, blind cave dwellers that breathe air but swim and hold their breath for long periods, with excellent hearing. - Vegetarian. Will only fight in self-defense. Source: CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms (CC BY-SA 4.0). TREASURE, RELICS AND SPELLBOOKS =============================== Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage) ----------------------------------------------- Slots: 1. Where: The pickaxe (d6) at the bottom of the tool crate. Common Tools (Hammer, Shovel, etc.) ----------------------------------- Slots: 1. Where: 1d6 small digging tools, beginning to rust; they cut the blockade in minutes. Expeditionary Gear (Climbing Spikes, Pulley, etc.) -------------------------------------------------- Slots: 1. Where: Two pitons in the iron box: help with the high ledge in C4. Rations (3 uses) ---------------- Slots: 1. Where: Dried rations in the iron box, 2 uses left. Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage) ----------------------------------------------- Slots: 1. Where: Oren’s small knife (d6) and Faraj’s blunt shovel (d6). Torch (3 uses) -------------- Slots: 1. Where: Oren’s torch, 1 use left. Mind the gas. Compass ------- Slots: 1. Where: Faraj’s compass, worth 55gp. Mud Sieve --------- A crescent-shaped stone that fits in the palm of the hand. Allows the bearer to shape and separate mud as if it were water. 3 charges. Recharge: Leave in a raging river for a night and a day, then recover. Slots: 1. Where: Jhel-Fries holds it (1 charge of 3 left). Recharge: a night and a day in a raging river. Worth 1000gp to the Order. FIGHTS ====== Geteli’s Ambush --------------- Foes: 1 x High Lector Geteli. Tactics: The stalactite first: the first hero to step between the rocks makes a DEX save or takes d8 STR damage. Then Geteli fights from the high south ledge with his sharpened piton, or slips along the ledges to strike again. He fights to the death unless restrained; he never leaves the caves willingly. Heroes who light the room or check the ledges first see him before he drops the stone. Scaling: Five or six characters: he gets the stalactite and a second one he has smashed loose. Three characters: no second stone. A Prowling Blood Olm -------------------- Foes: 1 x Blood Olm. Tactics: One of the three Blood Olms from the lair, out hunting by heat. It goes for the warmest hero, tries to put out any open flame, and backs away from fresh Red Hermit Fruit. If it is killed here, there is one fewer in the lair. Use it wherever an encounter result of the events table falls (never in the methane of the hive). Scaling: No change in numbers: there are only three Blood Olms in all. Olms Defending Their Den ------------------------ Foes: 4 x Olm. Tactics: Only if the heroes attack the Olms or their spring: the closest few fight in self-defense (claws d8+d8, several attackers on one target keep the highest), the rest flee into the water. They stop the moment the attackers back away. Killing them is a cruelty that Rusal will remember. Scaling: Five or six characters: two more join from the water. Three characters: three Olms. The Blood Olm Lair ------------------ Foes: 3 x Blood Olm. Tactics: Asleep if the heroes came in through C2 and moved with care; awake and on guard (roll on the Reactions table) if they came through C1 or made a lot of noise. They attack anyone who damages the dam. They hunt by heat, quench open flames, and avoid methane and fresh Red Hermit Fruit. Critical damage: a chunk of flesh bitten off (d6 STR damage). Remove any Blood Olm already killed elsewhere. Scaling: At most three, ever. Fewer if the heroes killed a prowler; with three characters, one sleeps through the first round. PLACES ====== The Silversilk River -------------------- A great river that waters the Cities, running through a tight canyon called the Fingers. This year it runs low. In recent months the ancient river has lost much of its water, revealing a large, blue-ringed cave (C2). The drawdown has lowered the water in the caves as well. The expedition camp ------------------- A campsite sheltered beneath a rock ledge above the river, with the cave mouth downhill to the east. C1. The tunnel down to the ladder room (C5) was dug with the Mud Sieve. The Blue Mouth Caves -------------------- A system of caves under the Silversilk, opened to the air by the falling river. There is no light inside. No natural or artificial light exists in the caves. Area C3 has an exposed methane vent: highly flammable; extended exposure causes headaches and nausea (victims become deprived); the gas is odorless, but exposed flames flicker and turn blue near it. FACTIONS ======== The Order of Nine ----------------- A consortium of merchants, scholars and the very powerful, with deep purses and many spies. Their primary focus is the discovery, identification and regulation of Gates. They believe Relics are deeply tied to the Roots and will pay handsomely for information relating to either. They pay 1000gp for the Mud Sieve and 100gp per expedition member. TABLES ====== Blue Mouth Caves events (1D6) ----------------------------- 1. Encounter: One of the three Blood Olms from C9 (the encounter A Prowling Blood Olm); roll on the Reactions table. Never in the methane of C3. Each one met and killed is one fewer in the lair. 2. Sign: A clue: white guano shoe prints, a smear of fruit pulp, a gnawed bat wing, the far-off hiss of the vent, a drip of water through mud. 3. Environment: Surroundings shift: a gust of methane makes flames burn blue, mud slumps from a wall, the bats in C6 shriek and wheel. 4. Loss: A torch gutters out or a lantern is knocked over in the mud. The party must resolve it before moving on. 5. Exhaustion: The party must rest (roll again), add a Fatigue, or eat a Ration. 6. Quiet: The party is left alone, and safe, for the time being. Rusal’s boons (1D6) ------------------- 1. Water-breathing: The longer you spend in the water, the more you will need to return. (Reroll on a duplicate or if not applicable.) 2. Cure a disease or ailment: Reroll STR or DEX and keep the result. 3. A great talent: A talent worthy of a great artist. It will give you no pleasure, however. 4. A seared spellbook: Permanently sear a random spellbook into your mind (lose 1d4 WIL). This destroys the spellbook. 5. A fishbone key: A key to any door that works only once. It looks like a fishbone (petty). 6. A powerful secret: The truth behind one powerful secret. Only you will hear the results. HANDOUTS ======== A small scroll in a scholar’s hand ---------------------------------- A small scroll, rolled tight and stained with mud, in a fine and haughty hand: On the use of the Sieve. Hold the crescent in the palm and will the mud apart, as one parts water; it will shape and separate as you please. Each working spends its strength. When it is spent, leave it in a raging river for a night and a day, then recover it. At the bottom of the page: three black marks. The painted walls of the den ---------------------------- Swirls of colour pressed into the mud walls, made from packed droppings and fruit. The figures are pale and small, and painted with eyes. First: the little figures come down a river out of the mountains and make a home in the caves. Then: they find a great tree hanging from the roof, heavy with fruit, and there is much rejoicing. Last: one of them eats the flesh of a fat, antlered worm, and the others chase it away. ENDINGS ======= The River Runs Again -------------------- Water roared back into the dark, and the hanging tree drank. Within a season it bore fruit again, the bats came home to its branches, and in the den the pale folk painted a new story on their walls. Warden: The dam in C9 was broken: the tree, the Olms and the bats are saved; Rusal grants one PC a boon. The Sieve Returned ------------------ The Order of Nine counted out its gold without a word of thanks, turned the crescent stone over in a gloved hand, and asked a great many questions about what else lies under the river. Warden: 1000gp for the Mud Sieve, 100gp per expedition member returned (Jhel-Fries, Geteli). The Caves Go Dark ----------------- The heroes climbed out of the cave mouth and did not look back. Below them the hanging tree withered, the whispering in the den fell silent, and what was left in the dark grew hungrier. Warden: Left with the dam whole: the Olms die, the Blood Olms remain. BOARDS ====== The camp on the Silversilk -------------------------- The canyon of the Fingers above the Blue Mouth Caves: the expedition’s camp under a rock ledge (crates, cold fire, four blankets, the rope-ladder tunnel to the ladder room), the shrunken river, and downhill to the east the blue-ringed cave mouth. One square is 1.5 m; 44 by 30 squares. Rooms: The campsite under the ledge, The blue-ringed cave mouth. ############################################ ############################################ ..#############............................. ..#############.........o...............o... ..##................o....................... ..##........................................ ..##..oo....ooo............................. ..##........................................ ..##.....o......................:::::....... ..............o................::::::o...... ..............................o::::::::..... .....o.......................::::...::::.... .............................:::.....::o.... ....o..........o.............:::.....:::.... .............................:::.....:::.... ..................o..........o:::...::::..o. ......................o.......::::::::o..... ..o.......o....................o:o::::...... ..........................:::::::::::::::... ..........................:::::::::::::::... ................o........................... ......o...............................o..... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ............o.................o............. ............................................ ............................................ ............................................ ############################################ ############################################ The Blue Mouth Caves -------------------- The caves under the Silversilk: the cave mouth chamber, the tube worm hive with its methane vent, the ambush corridor, the ladder room, the bat room and the crawl to the old well, the atrium of the hanging tree, the Olm den with its spring, the Blood Olm lair behind its mud dam, and the blockade and the refuge. One square is 1.5 m; 48 by 46 squares. Rooms: The foot of the cave mouth, The tube worm hive, The ambush room, The ladder room, The bat room, The old well, The atrium, The lair behind the mud walls, The Olm den, The blocked corridor, The round refuge. ~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~ ##### ::::o:: ... ::::::: ..... :o::::: ..... ::::::: ..... :::::o: ... ::o:::: # :::. . ..... .. . ..o.... .. ..... o ... .......o. ......... . ..... ......o.....o..o.... .....#~~~ .o...o. o.............~~~.........o..#~~~ .o.......#....o........~~~~~............### ....... o........ ..~~~~~.. ......... .o... ....... ..~~~~~.. ......... ... ..... ..o~~~o.. o........ .. ..... .......o. .. ....o.... .. ......... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ::..: .. ::::::: ......... ::::o:::: ....o..o. ::o::::::......o..o..o.........o...... :::::::::............................. :::::::::.........oo...............o.. :o::::o:: ......... ::::::: ....o.... ::::: .. .. .. ::::::::: :o:...::: ::....o:: :.......: :.......: :.......: ::o....o: :::...::: LICENCE (AGAIN) =============== This adventure is adapted from CAS-2: Rise of the Blood Olms by Yochai Gal, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://cairnrpg.com/adventures/first-party/cas-2/). Changes: converted for Elrune. This adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.