Trouble in Twin Lakes ===================== The butcher is gone, a man was swallowed by the earth, and others are missing. Who might be next? LICENCE ======= This adventure is adapted from CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes by Yochai Gal, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://cairnrpg.com/adventures/first-party/cas-1/). Changes: converted for Elrune. This adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. This adventure is adapted from CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes by Yochai Gal, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://cairnrpg.com/adventures/first-party/cas-1/). 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: Written by Yochai Gal, with editing by Derek B. and editing assistance by Yossi Krausz, layout and locale maps by Adam Hensley. Cover art and region map by Ari-Matti Toivonen. Produced by Cairn Press. 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 ==================== Two weeks ago Aldra, the beloved butcher of Isthmus Town, vanished without a trace. Some days later a local teen saw a man swallowed up by the earth near Deadmill, the old mill at the edge of the Stone Forest. Others have gone missing since. The Tideborn will pay to know what became of their butcher; the Cities will pay to find the tithingman who never came home with the tithe. A two-mystery investigation for new and veteran parties: a lakeside town with secrets in its ledgers, a sour fishing village, a mill in a grove where the same man dies every thirty seconds, a bog nobody puts on a map, and something very old waiting underneath it. Players: 3 to 6. Length: 6 to 14 hours. Genre: Folk mystery. FOR THE WARDEN ============== What appears to be one chain of events is two coincidences. Aldra’s fate and the man at Deadmill are completely unrelated; The Return of Vuk and The Swallowed Man share some characters and places, nothing more. The Return of Vuk. For most of his life Fasha was a meek, selfish farmer in Dunston and the right-hand man of Reeve Trellis, helping him steal from the tithe owed to the Cities and hiding a portion of the goods at the Abandoned Home in Dunston at night. Six months ago, walking near Bone Sump, Fasha heard a woman’s voice under the water. Calling herself Vuk, she begged him to free her; he agreed and was given the Eye of Vuk. Two weeks ago Aldra, the butcher, saw the Reeve carrying bags out of the inn’s cellar trapdoor and followed the two men towards Dunston to catch them in the act. Fasha ambushed him and dragged him to the Temple of the Fungal Lizards beneath Bone Sump, where his heart was ripped out and eaten by Vuk. The Reeve knows; fear and selfishness keep him quiet. Vuk now demands more hearts to quicken her rebirth: every other evening Fasha kidnaps a victim, whose still-beating heart Vuk eats the next morning (the Victim Schedule). With three hearts eaten and her door opened she is reborn. The Swallowed Man. Jandy the Scrivener collected the tithe for the Cities and was writing a minor history of the region. A week before the adventure he visited Deadmill, fell into quicksand and died; the Echo Spark under the millstone brought him back with no memory of it, and he stepped into the quicksand again, over and over. Drum saw it happen. A few days later Annafranax, the Frog Witch of the Stone Forest, came for the Echo Spark, saw the potential in a death loop, and hid a Wisp Lamp nearby to feed the trapped Wisp on Jandy’s suffering. On the next full moon (two days after the adventure begins) she will toss the Wisp Lamp into the quicksand and rip open a Gate to the Roots. Running it: town investigation first (the inn, the office and cellar, the butcher’s, Giva), then the roads (rumors when leaving town, encounters between any two points, twice at night). The clues point two ways: the tithe and the reeds lead to Fasha, Dunston, the Downs, the fens and Bone Sump; Drum, Giva and Jandy’s wagon lead to Deadmill. Both clocks run at once; the party cannot be everywhere. The Dungeon Exploration procedures apply in the temple; the Wilderness Procedures are of little use at these distances. Saves are a d20 equal to or under STR, DEX or WIL. Quick start ----------- Hooks: the Tideborn pay 750gp for Aldra’s whereabouts (+250gp for his body, to an acolyte; meet Flavia at the Butcher Shop); the Cities pay 200gp apiece for Jandy, tithe intact (meet Reeve Trellis at the Stuffed Inn). Truth: two unrelated mysteries. Fasha (Dunston farmer, wearing the Eye of Vuk) killed Aldra and feeds hearts to Vuk, an ash phantom in the Temple of the Fungal Lizards under Bone Sump; victims on days 2 and 4, Vuk wakes at sunset on day 5. The Reeve steals from the tithe with Fasha (fake book in his office, true ledger under the cellar workbench, two 200gp sacks under the Abandoned Home’s floor). Jandy died in quicksand at Deadmill and loops every 30 seconds because of the Echo Spark under the millstone; turn the white paddles counter-clockwise (two people) to free it. Annafranax returns on day 2’s evening to throw the Wisp Lamp into the quicksand and open a Gate. Temple: statues, Watersnatch, a hatchling in T3, Moon Cloth and the Curved Dagger in T4, showers and forcefield, two Surarus and the Imperator in T9, Vuk and the Memory Prism behind the door the Curved Dagger opens. Destroy the prism or drown her remains to end her. Running the expedition ---------------------- Town: the market runs 8am to 2pm; the tavern opens at 3pm. Talking is free of rolls unless someone resists (WIL save). Travel: distances are short (Dunston one hour, the fens two, East Lake Pass three hours round, the Cities three days), so the Wilderness Procedures are of little use: roll Rumors Heard on the Road whenever the party leaves Isthmus Town (reroll repeats) and Encounters between places whenever they travel between two points, twice at night. The Stone Forest is the exception: after dark, after a loud disturbance or off the path, roll the pack’s Wilderness Events. The Downs add a Fatigue on foot. Weather at dawn from the pack (Weather Type, Harvest season). The temple: Dungeon Exploration procedures, every few turns of noisy work a roll on Temple events (the pack’s Dungeon Events with the Surarus). No light anywhere: torches have three uses. Clocks: advance the Victim Schedule each dawn and The Full Moon each dawn from the start. Fights: no initiative; in round one each PC saves DEX to act first. Attacks always hit; damage goes to HP, then STR with a STR save against critical damage. Morale on first casualty and half lost (bandits on their leader’s WIL). Reactions (2d6) for anyone met unprepared: Fasha, the witch, the Surarus. SCENES ====== Chapter 1: Who Might Be Next? Isthmus Town, its inn, office, cellar and butcher shop, Giva, and the roads of Twin Lakes. 1. Two Weeks Gone ----------------- Read aloud: Isthmus Town sits on a narrow strip of land between two freshwater lakes, a former logging town of fewer than thirty families now squeaking by on what West Lake gives up. The market is open in the square, smelling of fried cod, roasted frog legs and hot stewberry pie. It is the Harvest season; the last crops are in. Nobody here is talking about the harvest. Two weeks ago Aldra, the town’s beloved butcher, vanished without a trace. Some days later a local teen swore he saw a man swallowed up by the earth near Deadmill, the old gristmill at the edge of the Stone Forest. Others have gone missing since. People look at each other across the stalls and wonder who might be next. Warden: The setup. Two hooks bring the party here; use either or both. The Tideborn have agreed to pay the party 750gp for determining Aldra’s whereabouts, with a bonus of 250gp if his body is recovered and returned to a Tideborn acolyte for proper burial. They are to meet with Flavia, his wife, at the Butcher Shop before they begin. The Cities are offering 200gp apiece to anyone who can help locate Jandy, a tithingman who was meant to return days ago with the latest tithe. They are rewarded only if the tithe is returned intact and accounted for. They are to meet with Reeve Trellis at the Stuffed Inn before they begin. What is really going on: two unrelated mysteries that only look connected. The Return of Vuk: Fasha, a Dunston farmer, freed a voice under the waters of Bone Sump and wears the Eye of Vuk; he murdered Aldra (who had caught him and the Reeve stealing from the tithe) and feeds hearts to Vuk in the Temple of the Fungal Lizards. The Swallowed Man: Jandy fell into quicksand at Deadmill and is caught in a death loop by a Relic, the Echo Spark, which the Frog Witch Annafranax means to use to open a Gate to the Roots on the full moon. Coincidence ties them; nothing else does. The clocks start now: the Victim Schedule (Fasha takes a victim every other evening; Vuk wakes at sunset on day 5) and The Full Moon (Annafranax returns to Deadmill two days after the adventure begins, in the evening). The market runs 8am to 2pm each day and has most items under 10gp (the Marketplace in the Player’s Guide). Popular commodities: fishing equipment (15gp), bog shoes (10gp a pair) and rainproof clothing (15gp). Rumors: roll on the d6 Rumors Heard on the Road table whenever the party leaves town. Light: Daylight; the market closes at 2pm. Save (WIL): Ask about the missing without making enemies. Success: WIL save. People talk: the butcher, a tithingman’s horse still at the stables, a teen who saw something at Deadmill. Failure: Doors close. Word reaches Reeve Trellis that strangers are asking questions. The market stalls: Fried cod, roasted frog legs, hot stewberry pie; nets, lines and hooks; pairs of wide bog shoes; oiled rainproof cloaks hanging like bats. (Warden: Most items under 10gp. Fishing equipment 15gp, bog shoes 10gp a pair, rainproof clothing 15gp.) Onward: Meet Flavia at the Butcher Shop; Meet Reeve Trellis at the Stuffed Inn; Call on old Giva at the purple door; Leave town. 2. The Stuffed Inn ------------------ Read aloud: The only tavern in Isthmus Town, and the only place for travelers to rest safely: an H-shaped building with its main door on the north-east corner and a small stable on the west side. Inside, three tables stand at right angles to the bar. A flight of stairs on the south side climbs to the guest rooms. A small office is tucked into a corner, its door shut. The man behind the bar is charismatic and ruggedly handsome, with an affected drawl, and he calls you by the wrong names twice before you have sat down. Warden: A night in a shared room is 10gp with onion soup and weak beer; the stables board a horse for 5gp a night. The inn is owned by Reeve Trellis, recently elected to handle town affairs, but most of the work is done by Drum and a local cook. The tavern is functionally closed until 3pm, when Drum and the cook come in to clean and cook. Outside: on the east side of the building is a small trapdoor, directly in view of the Butcher Shop’s second-floor window. It is chained to the ground and can be opened only from inside unless the chain is broken; there are footsteps in the dirt nearby. The stable has four exposed stalls, empty save one holding a single horse and wagon, both bearing the livery of the Cities: Jandy’s. Drum manages the stables but checks the lodging only once a day. Reeve Trellis stays out of the party’s way as much as he can, but works against them if they show an interest in Aldra. He knows Jandy never came to collect the tithe; follow-up questions about the man’s belongings he sends to Drum, who works at the inn where Jandy was staying. If his life is threatened he confesses to pilfering from the tithe, but never to Aldra’s murder (he knows Fasha did it; fear and selfishness keep him complicit). Drum: a sarcastic, lanky teen, Giva’s great-nephew, who works afternoons and evenings here. He thinks the Reeve is a phony and wants to save enough gold to leave town. Asked about Jandy he points out the horse and wagon are still at the stables. For 15gp he tells what he saw at Deadmill (see the Swallowed Man). The office door is nearly always locked (only the Reeve has the key) but is easily picked. Light: Dim inside until the lamps are lit at 3pm. Save (WIL): Get Drum to talk without paying his price. Success: WIL save. Drum decides the party are worth it and tells his Deadmill story for less (or for nothing). Failure: Drum shrugs: 15gp, or nothing. The horse and wagon in the stable: One horse in four stalls, and a wagon beside it. Both bear the livery of the Cities. (Warden: Jandy’s. He was scheduled to leave on the day he went to Deadmill.) Onward: Get into the Reeve’s office; Back to the square; Cross the alley to the Butcher Shop; Leave town. 3. The Reeve’s Office --------------------- Read aloud: A dank, uncomfortable room at the back of the inn, empty save for a single desk and a locked cellar door. On the desk lies a small black book. Warden: The desk has a single drawer; inside is a small black book: a fake tithing record (handout: The Reeve’s tithing book). Compared with the true record in the cellar, or with its twin in Jandy’s satchel at Deadmill, it proves the Reeve has been stealing from the tithe owed to the Cities. The cellar door is locked; both Reeve Trellis and Drum have keys. Picking the office door is easy; the cellar lock takes a DEX save or the key. Light: A shuttered window; dark without a lamp. Save (DEX): Pick the cellar door lock. Success: DEX save. The lock gives; the stairs go down into damp-smelling dark. Failure: The pick slips and scrapes loudly; someone in the tavern looks up. The Reeve’s desk: A single drawer. Inside, a small black book of columns and sums. (Warden: The fake tithing record.) Onward: Go down into the cellar; Back into the tavern. 4. The Cellar ------------- Read aloud: A small, dank space filled with crates, the air heavy with the scent of damp earth. A workbench with tools leans against one wall. In the ceiling of the south-east corner, a ladder rises to a trapdoor. Warden: The crates hold clothing, household items and food, marked for the tithe of one of the great cities: meant for Jandy, who failed to collect them a week ago. The workbench has household tools scattered on it and a false drawer hidden underneath. Inside is the town’s true tithing ledger (handout: The true ledger). Compared with the fake ledger upstairs or its twin in Jandy’s satchel, it proves the Reeve has been stealing from the tithe owed to the Cities. The trapdoor leads up into the alley between the inn and the Butcher Shop. A thick chain is looped through it and held by a large brass lock; only Reeve Trellis has the key. This is the trapdoor Aldra saw the Reeve carrying bags out of. Light: Pitch dark. Save (WIL): Notice the workbench is deeper than its drawers. Success: WIL save. A false drawer slides out from under the workbench. Failure: Just a workbench. A second, slower search will find it. The workbench: Hammers, awls, twine. Underneath, a drawer that is not quite flush with the frame. (Warden: The false drawer: the true tithing ledger.) The crates: Clothing, household goods and food, every crate marked for the tithe of one of the great cities. Onward: Back up the stairs; Out through the alley trapdoor (if unchained). 5. The Butcher Shop ------------------- Read aloud: A rustic two-story building beside the Stuffed Inn, a headless chicken painted on its north door. The ground floor has no windows. Inside, the floor is gritty with wood chips and feathers, and a large, bloody butcher block divides the room. In the south-west corner a flight of stairs leads up. A woman stands behind the block, visibly distraught and putting a brave face on it. Warden: Flavia, Aldra’s wife and co-owner of the shop, is here all day. She offers that her husband always took off his pendant (three squiggles at an angle) before sleep, and that she hasn’t seen it anywhere. She last saw him two weeks ago, counting coins at his desk as she went to bed, as he often did late into the night. She saved the half-finished ledger he was working on in the desk drawer upstairs; the key hangs on a small silver chain, discreetly, around her neck. Asked about Fasha, she has heard he takes late-night walks on East Lake Pass; she dislikes him immensely, calling him rude and arrogant. Asked about Giva: a grumpy, superstitious old crone, but Aldra found her charming. What happened (Warden only): on the night he was murdered Aldra was at his desk when he saw the Reeve carrying large bags out of the cellar trapdoor. He slipped out quietly, careful not to wake his wife, and followed. Fasha ambushed him; later that night Fasha dragged Aldra’s limp form to Bone Sump and murdered him to feed to Vuk. The butcher block has a hidden compartment (a latch underneath) holding the day’s earnings: 1d20 x the hour of the day in gp. The money is taken out each evening and locked in the desk upstairs. Light: No windows downstairs: lamps. Save (WIL): Win Flavia’s trust enough for the drawer key. Success: WIL save. She unhooks the little silver chain from her neck and hands over the key. Failure: She keeps the key. She will open the drawer herself, and watch. The butcher block: A great scarred block of wood, dark with blood. Underneath, a small latch. (Warden: The hidden compartment: today’s earnings, 1d20 x the hour of the day in gp.) Onward: Go upstairs; Back to the square; Across the alley to the inn. 6. Above the Butcher’s ---------------------- Read aloud: Eight windows, two to each side, behind fine window dressing. A four-poster bed fills the north-east corner. A beautiful wooden desk stands beneath an ornate painting of a robed figure rising from the waters. Warden: Window views: north, Giva’s home and the Stone Forest; west, the Stuffed Inn, including the basement exit; east, East Lake and White Tower Fens beyond; south, the town square and the Farming Path. The bed is a regular bed. Under it is a small dagger (d6) with a gold hilt worth 20gp. The desk: paperwork and writing implements, and a single locked drawer. Sitting at the desk gives ample view of the alley between the inn and the butcher’s, including the basement exit. Flavia keeps the drawer key on a chain around her neck. Inside is a sales ledger (handout: Aldra’s half-finished ledger) and 870gp. The ledger is half-finished, exactly as Flavia found it on the night Aldra went missing. The painting: Rivulus, a humanoid creature rising from the waters, wearing a white robe with three squiggly lines cut into the front (the same mark as Aldra’s pendant). Flavia says it was bought only a few months ago at great expense. Worth 400gp. Light: Daylight through eight windows. Save (STR): Force the desk drawer without the key. Success: STR save. The drawer splinters open. Failure: The desk holds, and the noise brings Flavia up the stairs. Under the four-poster bed: Dust, and a small dagger with a gold hilt. (Warden: A dagger (d6), the hilt worth 20gp.) Holds: 1 x Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage). The desk: Paperwork, pens, a locked drawer. From the chair, the alley below and the chained trapdoor are in plain view. (Warden: The drawer: the half-finished sales ledger and 870gp.) The painting: A humanoid creature rising from the waters in a white robe, three squiggly lines cut into its front. (Warden: Rivulus. Worth 400gp.) Reward: A gold-hilted dagger. Under the bed: d6, hilt worth 20gp. Reward: 870gp in the desk drawer. Flavia’s and Aldra’s money: taking it is theft. Onward: Back downstairs; Follow the trail Aldra followed. 7. Giva’s Home -------------- Read aloud: A single-room shack on the north side of town, built from wood more weathered and older than any other in Isthmus Town. The door is freshly painted bright purple, and dried plants are stuffed into the top of the frame. Inside, a hot wood stove fills the west wall and a small bed is tucked beneath the north window. In the kitchen, a table is set with two glasses and a bottle of wine. The old woman who opens the door looks you up and down and does not like what she sees. Warden: Giva: the oldest person in Isthmus Town, grumpy on the best of days; she dislikes most people and especially hates Fasha. Great-aunt of Drum. The door is recently painted; she believes the purple protects against evil spirits. The dried plants are wolfsbane and other herbs to ward off werewolves. The wine is a very old vintage, worth 50gp. She says she sets it out "for company", and makes it very clear the party is not who she is waiting for. She will admit that the person she is waiting on (Jandy) missed their last rendezvous: he was meant to stop by on his way out of town nearly a week ago. She likes Jandy, who interviews her about "the old days". He missed their last visit a few days ago; when they last spoke he told her he planned to visit some of the old lumber mills in the region. He was not supposed to leave until that afternoon, but she assumed urgent business had called him back to the Cities. Giva is one of only two people who know of Bone Sump (Fasha is the other), and she can decode the archaic script on the Deadmill paddles. Light: The stove glows; one small window. Save (WIL): Stand up to Giva long enough to be let in. Success: WIL save. She snorts and steps aside. "Don’t touch the wine." Failure: The purple door shuts in your faces. Mentioning Jandy opens it again. The table set for two: Two glasses, polished, and a dusty bottle of very old wine. (Warden: Worth 50gp. Set out for Jandy.) Onward: Back to the square; Go and look at the old mills. 8. The Roads of Twin Lakes -------------------------- Read aloud: Twin Lakes lies north of the Cities, a few days by horse through the Humpbacks. South of Isthmus Town the farmland runs along the Farming Path, with a trail branching east to Dunston. To the north, Old Mill Road runs a short way to the edge of the Stone Forest, a vast wood dotted with old mills and lumber paths. West Lake still gives fish and water; East Lake is ringed by a winding lakeside pass and little else, its water sour and its fish long gone. The region has a name for safety, but nobody travels at night if they can help it. Warden: Distances: Dunston is one hour from Isthmus Town; White Tower Fens two hours from Dunston or from town; East Lake Pass is three hours round; the Cities three days on horseback. The region map shows the overview; the Wilderness Procedures are unlikely to be of much use at these distances: use the tables here instead. Whenever the party leaves Isthmus Town, roll 1d6 on Rumors Heard on the Road (reroll repeats). Whenever the party travels between two points, roll 1d6 on Encounters; roll twice at night. Both bandits and night cats are known to pursue vulnerable parties after dark. Encounter 2, the Kettlewright, sells mostly kitchenware but, if pressed, sells the Fletcher’s Ire in his pack for 100gp. Encounter 6, the frog trappers, sell spiced legs (2gp) or a vial of toad excretions (25gp, 2 uses): a psychedelic and a sort of truth-serum. Encounter 4 is the bandit ambush (scene: The Stuck Cart). Light: Daylight on the roads; dangerous after dark. Save (DEX): Get clear of the bloodsucker swarm. Success: DEX save. Into the smoke of a torch, or away downwind; the swarm loses interest. Failure: Bitten all over: add a Fatigue. Save (STR): Hold on to your gear in the sudden torrent. Success: STR save. Soaked, but everything is still where it was. Failure: A resource is lost: a torch goes out, a Ration is dropped, a shoe is lost. Onward: Stop for the woman with the stuck cart; Take the trail to Dunston; Take Old Mill Road north to Deadmill; Walk East Lake Pass; Back to Isthmus Town. 9. The Stuck Cart ----------------- Read aloud: Where the trail dips, an unarmed woman is hauling at a cart full of fish crates, its wheels sunk to the hubs in mud. She waves you over. "Please. It won’t budge, and I’ve been at it an hour." Her clothes are remarkably clean for someone who has been at it an hour. Warden: Encounter: The Stuck Cart. If the party stops to help, 3 bandits leap from the foliage in ambush: a Bandit Leader and two Bandits (one has a short bow). Unprepared PCs fail their DEX save automatically (they do not act in the first round). Players who noticed the clean clothes and said they were wary make the save as usual. Morale: save using the leader’s WIL (13). If the leader is killed, the bandits retreat. The woman runs at the first blow. The cart (+4 slots) is in fine condition once unstuck. The crates are empty. Light: Daylight under the trees, or dusk. Save (STR): Heave the cart out of the mud. Success: STR save. The wheels come loose with a sucking sound. Failure: Stuck fast. Another try, or more hands. The stuck cart: Fish crates, every one of them empty. The cart itself is sound. (Warden: A cart: +4 slots once unstuck.) Reward: A cart (+4 slots). Once unstuck. The crates are empty. Onward: Go on; On to Dunston. Chapter 2: The Return of Vuk Dunston and Fasha’s farm, East Lake Pass and the Downs, White Tower Fens and Bone Sump. 10. Dunston ----------- Read aloud: A thin circle of ramshackle homes built far apart from one another, once a fishing village before the water of East Lake turned sour. Impoverished fishers and unlucky farmers live here now. A path leaves the circle north-east for East Lake Pass. On the west end stands a frail, decrepit farmhouse beside a broken corral and a withered field. On the south-east, a house with half its roof caved in has a wide woven tarp hung where its south wall should be. Warden: The Abandoned Home (south-east): completely bare inside, without furniture, but the floorboards look brand new. Fasha (with the Reeve’s help) hired workers to renovate it; the two brothers on the road (rumor 3) were hired to repair "the old Crawko place in Dunston". The flooring is nearly finished, but an imperfect section in the south-west corner is still open, where a single person could climb in halfway. Under the floorboards are two large sacks: Fasha’s cut of the tithe, worth 200gp each. Removing them takes time and draws considerable attention during the day. Fasha’s Farm is the next scene. Fasha is the right-hand man of Reeve Trellis; for some time he has helped the Reeve steal from the tithe owed to the Cities and hidden a portion of the goods here in the dead of night. Light: Grey daylight, mist off the lake. Save (DEX): Get the sacks out without being seen. Success: DEX save. Out under the tarp and away, unseen. Failure: A fisher sees it all, and Fasha will hear of it tonight. The new floorboards: Brand-new boards in a house with half a roof. In the south-west corner, one section is not yet nailed down. (Warden: Two large sacks under the floor: Fasha’s cut of the tithe, 200gp each.) Reward: Two sacks of stolen tithe. 200gp each, under the Abandoned Home’s floor. Onward: Go to the farmhouse on the west end; Take the path to East Lake Pass; Back to the Farming Path. 11. Fasha’s Farm ---------------- Read aloud: Three sheep graze in a half-broken corral, their troughs nearly empty. The field beside it is decaying crops and unirrigated dirt, as if no one had tended it for months. The farmhouse is a single-room hovel: an ice-box, a moldering bed, a small wood stove. The floor is muddy and strewn with reeds and grasses that do not grow anywhere near here. Warden: Fasha: once a meek, selfish farmer, now revelling in the strength and insight of the Eye of Vuk. Encounter: Fasha, if he is home (evenings he is out on East Lake Pass, or taking a victim). If necessary he flees to White Tower Fens, hoping his pursuers trigger his traps there. Given the chance he drags any defeated opponent to the Temple of the Fungal Lizards to be sacrificed. He wears the Eye of Vuk (no Suraru will ever attack its wearer; it gives him +1d4 STR and DEX, already in his stat block). The ice-box is empty and clearly long unused. The bed: long animal hairs line the sweat-stained sheets. The stove: a small box is buried beneath the ashes, holding 130gp and a Tideborn pendant worth 25gp. The pendant (three squiggles at an angle) was Aldra’s. The reeds Fasha brought in from the Downs after leaving Aldra’s body at Bone Sump. Light: Dim; one small window. Save (WIL): Work out where the reeds came from. Success: WIL save. Bog reeds: the Downs, east, off East Lake Pass. Failure: Reeds. Just reeds. The small wood stove: Cold ashes. Something hard and square is buried under them. (Warden: A box: 130gp and Aldra’s Tideborn pendant (25gp).) The moldering bed: Long animal hairs line the sweat-stained sheets. Reward: 130gp and Aldra’s pendant. In a box under the stove ashes; the pendant is worth 25gp. Onward: Back to the circle; Follow the reeds to East Lake Pass and the Downs. 12. East Lake Pass and the Downs -------------------------------- Read aloud: A lakeside path overgrown with shrubs and wet grasses winds along East Lake and through the Downs before turning west towards Old Mill Road. The Downs are a muddy, stinking bog shrouded in mist, a favorite source of horror stories. Frogs call. Somewhere birds lift off the water. To the east, at a fork in the trail, a small wood rises out of the mist, and above it the broken stump of a white tower. Warden: The Downs: the only creatures here are frogs, fish and birds; the horror stories are all untrue. The deposits of mud and stink hold a multitude of corpses, of animals and of those who left the trail. Parties travelling on foot add a Fatigue. (Twins on the road say folk used to come here to lick frogs; White Tower Fens gives them the creeps.) The fork: the East Lake Trail turns east into White Tower Fens; the pass goes on towards Old Mill Road. Fasha takes late-night walks here. A hunter on the road says a wind from the east carries something foul, "like death rolled over": Bone Sump. Light: Mist; dusk comes early in the bog. Save (STR): Keep your feet in the Downs. Success: STR save. Mud to the knees, but on. Failure: Down in the stinking mud; with the Fatigue from the march, a second one. Shapes in the mud: The bog is full of the dead: deer, dogs, a cow, and further out something in a coat. Onward: Take the trail east into the fens; Follow the pass round to Old Mill Road; Back to Dunston. 13. White Tower Fens -------------------- Read aloud: A small wood east of the Downs, named for its ruined white tower, shrouded in mist from the bog. The trail winds between the trees. It is very quiet here. A small creek runs south through the wood, crossed by a single log. Warden: Fasha’s traps, in the order the trail meets them. 1. Whistlewood: an almost invisible wire across the path, tied between two trees. If broken it gives a high-pitched sound only animals can hear. 2. Pit Trap: hidden beneath a carpet of leaves and debris, a small pit lined with sharp wooden stakes (d6 STR damage). 3. Log Trap: a small log across the creek offers an easy crossing. When weight is applied to its center it rotates, loudly dumping the victim into the creek below, which is teeming with spinemoss. Spinemoss holds a numbing toxin: contact with skin leaves the victim deprived and their attacks impaired for 1d4-1 hours. Fasha flees here when pursued, hoping his pursuers trigger the traps. Light: Mist under the trees. Save (DEX): Catch yourself at the edge of the pit. Success: DEX save. A foot goes through the leaves and you throw yourself back. Failure: Down onto the stakes: d6 STR damage. Save (DEX): Keep your balance as the log turns. Success: DEX save. You leap clear as it rolls. Failure: A loud splash into the spinemoss: deprived, attacks impaired for 1d4-1 hours. A wire across the path: Hardly visible: a wire strung ankle-high between two trees. (Warden: Whistlewood. Broken, it sounds a note only animals hear.) A carpet of leaves: The leaves here lie a little too evenly. (Warden: A pit of sharpened stakes: d6 STR damage.) The log across the creek: A small log across the creek. The water under it is thick with a pale, bristling moss. (Warden: It rotates under weight in the middle. Spinemoss: deprived and attacks impaired for 1d4-1 hours.) Onward: Go to the white tower; Follow the creek south to its end; Back to the pass. 14. The White Tower ------------------- Read aloud: A broken tower forty feet high, white as snow, its upper part missing entirely. A thick ladder stands against its side. From the top of the ladder you look down into darkness. The smooth white walls glitter in your light. No plant grows inside. Far below, something shines. Warden: The bottom of the tower is a pool of viscous, amber-colored liquid four feet deep. It is an acid that harms only flesh (4 STR damage on contact). Any other material placed in it is undamaged, and if fully immersed is perfectly preserved. It is highly flammable and burns away completely in a few moments, leaving its contents unharmed. The shine: an armored skeleton from long ago, still wearing perfectly preserved chainmail. On its belt are a bag of ancient gold pieces (82gp) and a torn silk rope (42ft). The glittering on the walls is residue from the acid: oily to the touch, it stings like nettles. Light: Dark inside; the walls glitter in any light. Save (DEX): Climb down inside without touching the residue. Success: DEX save. Down to just above the pool, hands clean. Failure: The oily residue stings like nettles; slip, and the hand goes into the amber: 4 STR damage. Something shining in the amber: An armored skeleton under four feet of amber liquid, its chainmail as bright as new. (Warden: Chainmail, 82gp in ancient coins, 42ft of torn silk rope. The liquid: 4 STR damage to flesh. Burn it off first.) Holds: 1 x Chainmail (2 Armor, bulky). Reward: Chainmail, 82gp in ancient gold, 42ft of torn silk rope Onward: Climb back down; Go south to the end of the creek. 15. Bone Sump ------------- Read aloud: The creek ends in a small bog a few minutes’ walk south of the fens. The smell of rot and decay lies over everything. Animals have drowned here, and starved, stuck fast; there are many corpses in many states of decay among the reeds. On the west end of the bog rises a large mound of grass and detritus. It looks freshly made. Warden: Bone Sump is on no map and is known only to Fasha and Giva. It was here, walking six months ago, that Fasha heard a woman’s voice calling from beneath the waters: Vuk. She begged him to free her; he agreed and was given the Eye of Vuk. Aldra’s body is among the corpses, floating in the reeds, well preserved by the bog’s chemistry. His chest is torn open and the heart removed. Returning it to a Tideborn acolyte earns the 250gp bonus. The mound: pushing the detritus aside reveals stairs down into the earth beneath the bog: the entrance to the Temple of the Fungal Lizards. The stairwell smells earthy and slightly floral. The temple is a building-sized ship shaped like a beetle; this entrance is its "head". Two sconces at eye level in the stairwell hold diamond-shaped objects that can be removed and are valuable (150gp each, bulky). They are lights, controlled from the Light Room, and are presently off. Light: Grey; the stairwell is pitch dark. Save (STR): Haul the body out of the sucking bog. Success: STR save. Out, and onto firm ground. Failure: The bog takes a boot and nearly takes you: add a Fatigue. A body among the reeds: A burly man floating face up in the reeds, wonderfully preserved. His chest has been torn open; the heart is gone. (Warden: Aldra. 250gp more from the Tideborn for his return.) The fresh mound: Under the grass and detritus, steps go down into the earth. The air from below smells of soil and, faintly, of flowers. (Warden: The temple stair. Two diamond-shaped lights in its sconces: 150gp each, bulky.) Reward: Aldra’s body. 250gp from the Tideborn, returned to an acolyte. Reward: Two diamond-shaped lights. 150gp each, bulky. Onward: Go down the stairs under the mound; Back north into the fens. Chapter 3: The Swallowed Man Old Mill Road, Deadmill and its time loop, the waterwheel, and the Frog Witch. 16. Old Mill Road ----------------- Read aloud: A short dirt road runs north from Isthmus Town to the Stone Forest and quickly loses itself among the trees. The Stone Forest stretches away north without end, until the Marble Sea. Just at the edge of the wood, through the trees, you can see the dark shape of a mill. Above you, in the boughs, something goes tick-tick-tick. Warden: The Stone Forest: for centuries its lumber fed the Cities, until gems and ore drew their hunger south. Entering it after dark, making a loud disturbance or stepping off the path triggers a roll on the Wilderness Events table (pack). If Annafranax has returned, the grove and the mill are gone, replaced by a massive sinkhole (see the ending If the Gate Has Opened). Encounter: Night Cats. A common arboreal predator here: intelligent, nocturnal marsupials that hunt in packs, and hunt by day as well. The only warning is the tick-tick-tick from the boughs as they coordinate, then they go after whoever is last in the marching order: the target makes a DEX save or takes damage directly to STR. Critical damage: the Night Cat begins to eat the target (d4 STR damage) while they are still alive. The text gives no pack size; three is an Elrune choice (scale it). Morale: the pack saves on its first casualty and at half its number. Light: Gloom under the trees, darker towards the mill. Save (DEX): Throw off the night cat that drops on you. Success: DEX save. Claws rake the pack and miss the neck. Failure: Damage straight to STR. Onward: Go on to the mill; Back to Isthmus Town. 17. Deadmill ------------ Read aloud: At the edge of the forest an old gristmill stands in a grove of overgrown pillars of living wood, in near-constant darkness. It is half sunk into the ground. Its great paddles stick out from the north side above a dried-up riverbed. You are facing its south door. As you watch, it opens. A man steps out, a frumpy, middle-aged man in a scrivener’s coat. He glances back over his shoulder as if he heard something, shrugs, turns, and takes a step, and the ground swallows him. Thirty seconds later, the door opens again. Warden: Local teens think the grove is haunted. It is not. The ground: the mill is slowly sinking, and some of the ground has the properties of quicksand. The south entrance is unsafe: a DEX save to escape; a failed save sinks the victim further (at most 3 attempts). The paddles are mostly hidden from the south, save the tip of one painted a bright, unfaded white (The Waterwheel). The man is Jandy, in a time loop. Every 30 seconds the door opens and he steps out, looks back as if hearing something, shrugs, turns and falls to his death in the quicksand. The sound he hears is the Relic recharging after its last loop. The loop is broken by saving Jandy, or by freeing the Relic from under the millstone and taking it a short distance away. Drum’s story (15gp): a few nights ago local teens played a game, standing on Old Mill Road with their backs to the mill’s west entrance as long as they could. Drum lasted longest, giving up only at a "popping" sound behind him; he turned and saw a man walk out of the south entrance, shortly before being swallowed by the ground in front. The man looked vaguely familiar and was not a local. If rescued, Jandy says his last memories are of entering by the west entrance, noting the fine paddles through the east window, and going out by the south door to look; he fell in the quicksand, died, and was reborn inside the mill. He remembers nothing of his deaths. Light: Near-constant darkness under the arboreal pillars. Save (DEX): Struggle out of the quicksand. Success: DEX save. Out onto firm ground, black to the waist. Failure: You sink further. (At most 3 attempts.) Save (DEX): Catch Jandy before he steps into the ground. Success: DEX save. You grab his collar as he turns. The loop is broken. Failure: Your fingers close on air. Thirty seconds until the door opens again. The ground before the south door: The earth in front of the door is dark and slick and moves when you look at it. (Warden: Quicksand: DEX save to escape; each failure sinks the victim further, at most 3 attempts.) Onward: Go round to the west entrance and in; Go round to the paddles on the north side; Wait in the grove (the full moon); Back down the road. 18. Inside the Mill ------------------- Read aloud: A large millstone fills most of the room, attached to metal machinery. A small leather satchel leans against the south wall. The floor tilts: the whole building is sinking, the south side lower than the north. Warden: The millstone: a search reveals something metallic and glowing beneath it. It is the Echo Spark, stuck in a loop both by the weight of the millstone and by Jandy’s continual deaths: its charge is restored, then spent, over and over. The machinery: the wooden lever that turns the stone has rotted away; the grindstone cannot be turned from in here. (The paddles outside can turn it.) The satchel is Jandy’s: a dagger (d6), a notebook, a tithing record, Rations (2 uses left), a Torch (3 uses) and 23gp. The notebook holds a short history of the region and snippets of interviews with Giva, with a section called "The Lumber Trade, a History" (handout: Jandy’s notebook). The tithing record disagrees with its twin in the cellar of the Stuffed Inn (handout: Jandy’s tithing record). Sinking: the south side has sunk halfway into the ground. If more than three people (Jandy included) are inside the mill at once, it fully sinks into the earth: a DEX save to escape or to accomplish anything of note. Light: Dark; a little grey light through the east window. Save (DEX): Get out as the mill goes under. Success: DEX save. Out of the west door as the earth closes behind you. Failure: The floor drops. You are inside a mill that is inside the earth. The millstone: Beneath the great stone, at the edge, something metallic glows and fades, glows and fades. (Warden: The Echo Spark. Only turning the stone from the paddles frees it.) Holds: 1 x Echo Spark. A small leather satchel: A dagger, a notebook, a tithing record, half-eaten rations, a torch and a few coins. (Warden: Dagger (d6), Rations (2 uses left), Torch (3 uses), 23gp, and the two handouts.) Holds: 1 x Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage), 1 x Rations (3 uses), 1 x Torch (3 uses). Reward: The Echo Spark (relic) Reward: Jandy’s satchel. Dagger, Rations (2 uses), Torch (3 uses), 23gp. Onward: Out to the paddles; Back out to the grove. 19. The Waterwheel ------------------ Read aloud: A pair of sturdy waterwheel paddles sit motionless over a riverbed that is completely dry, full of dead leaves and other detritus. The paddles show no rot at all; their paint is as white as the day it was laid on. Something is carved into the wood of both. Warden: The paddles: an unusual script is carved into both. Pushing them by hand turns the millstone inside just enough to pull the Relic out from underneath; it takes at least two able-bodied people. The script is an archaic phrase that only Giva, Jandy, or a person learned in ancient texts can decode (handout: The paddle script). The leaves: partly hidden in the debris and dried humus is a well-preserved portable iron cage: a Wisp Lamp, in which Annafranax has trapped a Wisp. It has been here more than a week absorbing Jandy’s many deaths, and has grown so large the cage is nearly too small for it. Contact with iron is very painful for Wisps, and it is in near-constant agony. It wishes only for freedom, and revenge. If freed before Annafranax returns, it flies straight to the witch’s home, leaving a trail of fire in the wake of its vengeance. Light: Grey light along the dry riverbed. Save (STR): Turn the paddles counter-clockwise. Success: STR save (two people at least). The paddles creak round; inside, the millstone grinds aside. Failure: They will not move that way. (The script says which way.) The white paddles: Fine strong wood, bright white paint, and a line of strange, angular script carved deep into each paddle. (Warden: "To prime, turn counter-clockwise." Two people pushing turns the stone inside.) An iron cage in the leaves: A small portable iron cage, well preserved, hot to the touch. Light writhes inside it. (Warden: The Wisp Lamp. Opened, the Wisp flies to Annafranax’s home in fire.) Holds: 1 x Wisp Lamp. Reward: The Wisp Lamp (relic) Onward: Into the mill by the west door; Back round to the grove; Wait for the full moon. 20. The Frog Witch ------------------ Read aloud: The full moon is rising over the Stone Forest when someone comes down through the grove. At first she is a young woman with long auburn hair. Then she is something squat and almost amphibious, with wide wet eyes. Then she is a young woman again. "You are standing," she says pleasantly, "in my way." Warden: Annafranax, an elder Half Witch of the Stone Forest. She relies on illusion and intelligence and cares nothing for petty morality. She wants to travel the Roots, mostly for new curatives and lost magic, and she eats mostly fungi, and the occasional rude traveler. She returns to Deadmill two days after the adventure begins, in the evening. A few days before the adventure she came to retrieve the Echo Spark from under the millstone, saw what a death loop could do, and hid the Wisp Lamp nearby to feed the Wisp on Jandy’s endless suffering. On the full moon she means to toss the Wisp Lamp into the quicksand: the energy will rip open a Gate to the Roots. She is immensely powerful but very old and avoids combat whenever she can. She has near-perfect knowledge of the forest and its history and can offer the party cures for nearly any ailment. She always keeps her word: she will bargain. She carries four of these spellbooks: Animate Object, Arcane Eye, Auditory Illusion, Beast Form, Befuddle, Haste, Pacify, Push/Pull, Read Mind, Thicket, True Sight, Visual Illusion. If she is killed, every bird in the Stone Forest attacks her murderer until they are dead or have fled the Wood. A young woman on the road crossed the Humpbacks to buy a cure from "the Frog Woman" on the next full moon. Light: Moonlight in the grove. Save (WIL): See past the witch’s changing faces. Success: WIL save. Through the illusion: an old, old woman, tired, careful, and sure of her bargain. Failure: You believe whichever face she shows you. Onward: Back to the mill door; The night ends. Chapter 4: The Temple of the Fungal Lizards The beetle-ship beneath Bone Sump, the Surarus and their Imperator, Vuk, and how it all ends. 21. The Antechamber ------------------- Read aloud: The stair ends in a chamber of smooth blue-black metal, cold to the touch, that no tool has ever marked. Small chambers are cut into the east and west walls, each with a single waist-high pedestal. Small statues are fused onto three of them. On the fourth, in the south-east, there is only a ring of something like copper. Warden: Throughout the temple: no light. Sconces with diamond-shaped objects protrude from the corners of each room (lights controlled from the Light Room, currently off). The walls and floors are painted blue-black and made of a foreign alloy that mundane weapons cannot chip or break, though fire and explosive powders have some effect. Two Surarus roam the temple: they appear on both Encounter and Environment results of the Dungeon Events table (the temple events table here). The statues can each be twisted off, but make a very loud noise doing it (roll on the temple events table). Each is worth 50gp. North-west: a bulbous cluster of eggs, held by a scaled hand. South-west: a cluster of fungal spores growing from a salt-like pillar. North-east: a large, veiny spore; the outline of something reptilian is visible within. South-east: a copper-like ring is all that is left of whatever once sat here. Light: None. Bring your own. Save (DEX): Twist a statue off as quietly as it can be done. Success: DEX save. It comes away with a shriek of metal, but only one. Failure: A long scream of metal echoes down the halls. Roll on the temple events table. The north-west statue: A bulbous cluster of eggs, held in a scaled hand. (Warden: 50gp; twisting it off is very loud.) The south-west statue: A cluster of fungal spores growing from a salt-like pillar. (Warden: 50gp; twisting it off is very loud.) The north-east statue: A large, veiny spore. The outline of something reptilian is visible inside it. (Warden: 50gp; twisting it off is very loud.) The south-east pedestal: Only a copper-like ring, where something once sat. Reward: Three statues. 50gp each; loud to remove. Onward: Go south, then west; Go south, then east; Back up the stair. 22. The Columbarium ------------------- Read aloud: A thin wall divides this room, with chambers built into each side. On the north side are stacks of brittle paper; on the south, rows of chipped pottery, urn upon urn. On the south-west wall two long horizontal seams run in parallel a few feet apart. Warden: The paper: useless withered scrolls and fragments of eggshell piled together. Buried beneath the detritus is a small tube of scaled leather; stuffed inside is a Watersnatch (relic). The pottery: ancient urns in stacks. Searching them all takes at least two turns (characters can split the work). A pot in the first row holds the mummified remains of a fragile, bird-like creature, valuable only to specialty buyers (150gp). At the back is a nondescript urn, firmly attached to its chamber: twisting its top opens the hatch to the Maintenance Tunnel, but makes a very loud noise (roll on the temple events table). The seams: a hatch to the Maintenance Tunnel. Too narrow for a crowbar or blade; no handles, buttons or levers in sight. Light: None. Save (WIL): Keep at the search through every urn. Success: WIL save. Two turns of patient work: the bird-like mummy, and the urn that will not lift. Failure: Dust and potsherds; a turn lost. Roll on the temple events table. Withered scrolls and eggshells: Useless scrolls crumbling to dust, fragments of eggshell, and under it all a small tube of scaled leather. (Warden: The Watersnatch is stuffed in the tube.) Holds: 1 x Watersnatch. An urn in the first row: Inside, the mummified remains of a fragile, bird-like creature. (Warden: Worth 150gp to a specialty buyer.) A nondescript urn at the back: This one does not lift. Its top turns, a little, with a grinding sound. (Warden: Twisting it opens the hatch to the Maintenance Tunnel, loudly.) Reward: The Watersnatch (relic) Reward: A mummified bird-creature. 150gp to a specialty buyer. Onward: Through the hatch (twist the urn); Take the passage south; Back along the hall, east; Back to the antechamber. 23. The Breeding Chamber ------------------------ Read aloud: Enormous fungal growths sprout from sacs scattered across the floor. All but one have burst, leaving gaping holes. The fourth is intact: a nodule twice the size of the others. It pulses slowly, and a thin heat comes off it. Warden: The fungus: embryonic chambers for the Suraru. A learned person would note they burst weeks ago. The nodule contains a fully grown Suraru, ready to hatch. The sac bursts open if a loud noise is made nearby, or on an Encounter result on the temple events table. If woken, it attacks any creature in sight, as hatchlings often eat their unhatched siblings. Encounter: The Hatchling. From here the long Hall of Glyphs runs south. Light: None; the nodule gives a faint warmth, not light. Save (DEX): Cross the chamber without a sound. Success: DEX save. The nodule pulses on, undisturbed. Failure: A scrape of a boot on the metal floor. The nodule splits. The intact nodule: Twice the size of the burst sacs. It pulses. Something inside shifts its weight. (Warden: A fully grown Suraru. Loud noise or an Encounter roll and it bursts out.) Onward: Go south down the long hall; Back along the hall, west; Back to the antechamber. 24. The Maintenance Tunnel -------------------------- Read aloud: Grey, barren corridors. U-shaped bars stick out of the wall at the end of each passage. Midway along, a long cloth lies half buried under rubble. Warden: The tunnel connects the Columbarium to the Waste Disposal and the Light Room. Twisting a U-shaped bar opens the hatch at that end. The cloth: among the debris is a very well-preserved skeleton of a tall, bird-like humanoid with a small red crest on its head. Its throat is ripped open, and it is wrapped in Moon Cloth (relic). It carries a small, curved dagger with a red jewel on it: the Curved Dagger (relic), which opens the door of the Interrogation Room. Light: None. Save (STR): Shift the rubble off the cloth. Success: STR save. The rubble slides aside. Failure: It shifts, and keeps shifting: a turn lost and a crash that carries. Roll on the temple events table. The long cloth under the rubble: A tall, bird-like skeleton with a small red crest, its throat torn open, wrapped in a cloth that is warm to the touch. At its belt, a small curved dagger with a red jewel. (Warden: Moon Cloth and the Curved Dagger.) Holds: 1 x Moon Cloth, 1 x Curved Dagger. Reward: Moon Cloth and the Curved Dagger (relics) Onward: The hatch to the columbarium; The hatch to the waste disposal; The hatch to the light room. 25. The Hall of Glyphs ---------------------- Read aloud: A long hall runs south. Its east wall overflows with intricate carvings, scene above scene, from the ceiling to the floor. Warden: The carvings, topmost to bottom (handout: The Hall of Glyphs): humanoid figures on a tower point at an object falling from the sky, like an enormous beetle; tall winged figures in enormous headdresses stream out of a hole at the front of the "beetle", followed by a pair of crouched, lizard-like creatures; the lizard creatures rip apart the onlookers and overwhelm the tower; the winged figures stand above a crowd of kneeling humanoids, their lizard "pets" standing aside. The temple is that beetle. The winged figures are Vuk’s people; the lizards are the Suraru. Light: None; the carvings throw deep shadows in torchlight. Save (WIL): Make sense of the carvings in the dark. Success: WIL save. The story falls into order, top to bottom. Failure: Too much, too strange in the torchlight; another turn to study them. The carvings: A tower; a falling beetle; winged figures and lizards; a tower overwhelmed; a kneeling crowd. Onward: Go on south; Back north. 26. The Waste Disposal ---------------------- Read aloud: A square room with a square well in its center, waist-high. Three nozzles stick out of the south wall, each above a drain with a grate; there are no controls anywhere. On the west wall two long horizontal seams run in parallel a few feet apart. Warden: The well: hundreds of feet deep. A light shows ancient refuse floating in the water at the bottom. The nozzles are automatic showers: they spray scalding water whenever weight is placed on their drain. A single chirp from a corner light sconce is the only warning. The drains: pulling up the grate in the south-west corner triggers a hatch in the west wall, a secret door to the Maintenance Tunnel. The seams are that hatch: like its companions, too narrow for a crowbar or blade, with no handles, buttons or levers. Light: None. Save (DEX): Leap clear at the chirp. Success: DEX save. The scalding spray hisses against the floor where you were. Failure: Scalded. The Warden sets the damage (the text gives none for these showers). The drains under the nozzles: Three grated drains under three nozzles. A faint chirp from the corner. (Warden: Weight on a drain: a spray of scalding water. The chirp is the only warning.) The grate in the south-west corner: This grate lifts. Somewhere in the west wall, something clicks. (Warden: Opens the hatch to the Maintenance Tunnel.) Onward: The hatch in the west wall; Take the passage south; Back north. 27. The Light Room ------------------ Read aloud: The room smells like ozone. By the east exit, a small pad is set into the wall at shoulder height. A diamond-shaped board is built into the north wall. On the west wall, two long horizontal seams. From here you can see clear through into the room beyond the east exit, and further, to a fungal growth in the chamber past it. Warden: The smell: an invisible forcefield between this room and the Preparation Room. It gives only a minor shock on contact but cannot be passed by any normal means. The pad controls the forcefield. There is no other way of shutting it off, save disconnecting the control board. The board: a dial controls the light sconces in every room. Turned to extreme brightness, the diamond-shaped bulbs in every room explode after one dungeon cycle (d4 STR damage to anyone nearby); three immediate chirps from each sconce are the only warning, and every nearby Suraru comes straight to the Light Room. The board can be removed, but then every wall sconce and the forcefield are permanently disabled; it would be very valuable to an Aurifex or similar (500gp). A small switch under the board opens a secret door to the Maintenance Tunnel in the west wall. The seams: the hatch to the Maintenance Tunnel, too narrow for a crowbar or blade. Light: None, until the dial is turned. Save (DEX): Pry the board out of the wall in one piece. Success: DEX save. It comes away whole (500gp to an Aurifex). Every light and the forcefield die. Failure: A shower of sparks: a turn lost, and the sconces chirp. The diamond-shaped board: A board of strange alloy with a single dial, and under it, a small switch. (Warden: The dial: lights on, or extreme brightness (bulbs explode after one dungeon cycle, d4 STR damage; Surarus come). Remove it (500gp): lights and forcefield gone for good. The switch: the west hatch.) The pad by the east exit: A smooth pad at shoulder height. The air beyond the exit tingles. (Warden: Touch it: the forcefield goes down.) Reward: The light board. 500gp to an Aurifex; removing it kills the lights and the forcefield. Onward: East, once the forcefield is down; The hatch in the west wall; Back north. 28. The Preparation Room ------------------------ Read aloud: The room smells faintly of ozone. It is bare save for a grate in the floor and an enormous nozzle in the ceiling. From here you can see back into the room with the board, and south to a great fungal growth. Warden: The smell: the forcefield in the hall to the Light Room; it can only be disabled from there. The nozzle activates automatically when any weight is placed on the grate: a massive gush of superheated water (3 STR damage). A single chirp from a corner sconce is the only warning. The passage south ends at the fungal growth in the Chamber of Worship: the Suraru Imperator’s sac blocks it completely. Light: None. Save (DEX): Throw yourself clear of the gush. Success: DEX save. Steam fills the room; you are clear of it. Failure: Superheated water: 3 STR damage. The grate in the floor: A grate in the middle of the floor, under a nozzle as wide as a barrel. (Warden: Weight on it: superheated water, 3 STR damage. One chirp of warning.) Onward: Back west; South (the growth blocks the way). 29. The Chamber of Worship -------------------------- Read aloud: The room smells like a slaughterhouse. Streaks of blood and viscera cross the floor. An enormous fungal chamber is growing in the south-west corner. Two upright, scaled shapes are crouched by it, eating, and placing large chunks of flesh in a pile at its foot. Warden: Encounter: The Chamber of Worship. Two Surarus are sleeping, eating, and piling flesh near the growth. If one is killed, the other attempts to wake the Imperator by slashing open the sac. The growth is a Suraru Imperator; it blocks the west exit to the Preparation Room completely. The gore: the remains of all of Fasha’s previous victims (except Aldra) are here, each missing the heart, made plain by a deep wound in the chest. Depending on the day (the Victim Schedule) there may be one potential victim still living, tied up and unconscious. Morale: Surarus are fiercely loyal to their Imperator and fight to the death to protect the sac; if the Imperator dies, they always flee to prepare a new breeding sac. No Suraru attacks someone wearing the Eye of Vuk. The Curved Dagger’s damage is enhanced against the Imperator. Light: None. The Surarus see perfectly in complete darkness. Save (DEX): Cut the captive loose while the Surarus feed. Success: DEX save. Ropes cut; the body is dragged into the hall unnoticed. Failure: A Suraru turns its head. It sees perfectly in the dark. The gore on the floor: Bodies, or what is left of them, each with a deep wound in the chest. (Warden: Fasha’s victims, hearts taken. Perhaps one still alive, bound and unconscious (the Victim Schedule).) The fungal chamber: A great swollen mass of fungus filling the corner, pulsing, warm, and far too big. (Warden: The Suraru Imperator’s sac.) Onward: Follow the short hallway east to the metal door; If Vuk has broken free; Back up the long hall. 30. The Interrogation Room -------------------------- Read aloud: A short hallway ends at a large metal door. A single hooked gash is cut into its right-hand side, and a small window is set into it six feet up. Beside the door, on the left, is a metal handle, slick with blood. Through the window: a room with a small slot in the wall over a heap of something dark, two chains hanging from the ceiling above a black stone block, and a cloud of grey ash turning slowly round and round the room, though there is no wind. Warden: T10a. The door is normally opened only by slotting the Curved Dagger into the gash. The window shows the whole room; its glass is thick but breakable. The handle opens a drawer like a mail slot: hearts are dropped through it into the room (and if the drawer outside is open, the one inside closes). T10b. The viscera under the slot are hearts from Vuk’s victims, Fasha’s victims (at least one; see the Victim Schedule). The block has a small crack on one side and breaks easily there after a few minutes of smashing: inside is a large blue memory prism (the Memory Prism relic: bulky, 1000gp; handout: What the prism remembers). The cloud is Vuk, now an ash phantom, raised to unlife by the exposure of her decaying flesh to the prism. She cannot leave the room until she has consumed three human hearts. Vuk: a former Queen, murdered by her own kind as their civilization ended a millennium ago, cursed to haunt the chamber of her death, now meaning to rule again. In full form a 7ft-tall Lich Queen with bird-like features and a magnificent yellow crest. She cannot return to full form until she has eaten three hearts and the door at T10a is opened; at the start she has eaten Aldra’s, so two remain. Until then she is trapped here. If the party arrives within 24 hours of her transformation, she has broken free and is in the Chamber of Worship (The Queen Reborn). She is immune to mundane attacks. She can be destroyed only by submerging her remains in water or by destroying the memory prism that binds her; once reborn, only the prism. Choking Hold: as an ash phantom she envelops a target, controls their body like a puppet for one action, then drops the paralyzed body (d4 STR damage); they die of asphyxiation unless the ash is somehow expelled (STR save). Light: None; the prism glows blue once the block is broken. Save (STR): Cough out the choking ash. Success: STR save. The ash comes out of you in a black cloud. You breathe. Failure: You cannot breathe. Someone must get it out of you, now. Save (STR): Smash the block open at its crack. Success: STR save. A few minutes of smashing and the block splits: blue light. Failure: It holds; the ash turns towards the noise. The dark stone block: A block of black stone jutting from the floor under two chains, a small crack in one side. (Warden: Smash it at the crack: the Memory Prism (bulky, 1000gp). Destroying the prism destroys Vuk.) Holds: 1 x Memory Prism. Under the slot: A small slot in the wall, and under it a dark heap of blood and viscera. (Warden: Hearts, dropped through the drawer outside.) Reward: The Memory Prism (relic). Bulky, 1000gp. Destroy it to destroy Vuk. Onward: Leave the temple; Back to the chamber. 31. The Queen Reborn -------------------- Read aloud: She stands among the gore of the chamber, seven feet tall, robed in grey ash that settles slowly into cloth. Her face is a bird’s, long and narrow, and on her head is a magnificent yellow crest. She turns it towards you as a hawk turns towards a mouse. "So," she says, in a voice like dry leaves. "The new subjects." Warden: Run this scene only if Vuk has been reborn: three hearts eaten and the door at T10a opened, within 24 hours of her transformation she is found here, in the Chamber of Worship. Encounter: The Queen Reborn. Atlas conversion: the adventure calls her a Lich Queen and gives no numbers for her full form, so Elrune uses the Warden’s Guide Lich stat block unchanged. She is immune to mundane attacks; reborn, she can be destroyed only by destroying the memory prism that binds her to this realm (submerging her remains no longer works). Fights against her are about the prism, not her HP: while the prism is whole she cannot be harmed. If the Surarus or their Imperator still live, they fight for her. Fasha, if alive, is her lieutenant. Light: None, but her crest catches any light like gold. Save (WIL): Hold your ground before the Queen. Success: WIL save. Your legs obey you. Failure: Panic: you flee or freeze (panicked until you overcome it). Onward: Run for the prism; Flee the temple. 32. What Became of Twin Lakes ----------------------------- Read aloud: Whatever you found under the bog and in the grove at the forest’s edge, the news of it gets back to Isthmus Town before you do. People come out of their doors to look at you. Warden: Record the ending that fits. If Vuk is reborn: she quickly moves to dominate the region. Within months Isthmus Town is deserted; any who remain are dead or have joined her cause. With Fasha as her lieutenant she slowly conquers Twin Lakes, proclaiming herself the Queen Reborn. Her brood dominates the countryside until the Cities declare the lands permanently unsafe. As the Marchguard gather at the boundary, hope that the Queen stays in her new realm grows thinner by the day. If the Gate has opened: unless she is stopped, Annafranax opens a Gate to the Roots two days after the adventure begins. Deadmill and its grove are replaced by a large sinkhole, accessible only with climbing tools. Within weeks creatures not seen in these lands for millennia rise from the depths, changing the landscape for good; so near a settlement, the death toll is high. The Cities marshal their most powerful forces to ring the forest; Isthmus Town survives in name only, a military outpost and last refuge on a new frontier. If Vuk is reborn and the Gate has opened: weeks after the Gate opens, Vuk takes her armies into the Roots in search of lost artifacts of her era. Slowly, Gates all over the world begin closing, and there are whispers of an army greater than any in recorded history marshaling for war. If Vuk is stopped and the Gate is not opened: a renewed calm settles on Isthmus Town. As rumor spreads through the Cities of a region full of ancient temples and strange artifacts, the hamlet sees economic growth rivaling its old days of glory. The locals (save Giva, perhaps) are happy, and soon adventurers, scholars and explorers begin eyeing the Stone Forest, wondering what the Wood might hold. Rewards: 750gp from the Tideborn for Aldra’s whereabouts, 250gp more for his body returned to an acolyte; 200gp apiece from the Cities for Jandy, only with the tithe intact and accounted for. Reward: 750gp from the Tideborn. For Aldra’s whereabouts; 250gp more for his body. Reward: 200gp apiece from the Cities. For Jandy, only with the tithe intact and accounted for. PEOPLE AND CREATURES ==================== Reeve Trellis ------------- A charismatic figure, well-liked and ruggedly handsome, with an affected drawl and no memory for names. Owner of the Stuffed Inn and recently elected to handle town affairs. Steals from the tithe with Fasha’s help and knows Fasha killed Aldra; fear and selfishness keep him complicit. Stays out of the party’s way, but works against them if they show interest in Aldra. Sends questions about Jandy’s belongings to Drum. The official tithing record in his office is a fake; the true one is under the cellar workbench. If his life is threatened he confesses to the pilfering, never to the murder. He hired the workers for the Abandoned Home in Dunston ("a real philanthropist"). On the Victims table (6). Fasha ----- A farmer from Dunston, once weak and ill-mannered, now strong, sharp-eyed and pleased with himself. Stats: 10 HP, 14 STR, 13 DEX, 5 WIL, fists (d8+d8) or hook knife (d6) Stat block: Fasha (CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes, CC BY-SA 4.0): 10 HP, Armor 0, STR 14, DEX 13, WIL 5, fists (d8+d8) or hook knife (d6). Wears the Eye of Vuk (already in his numbers). Six months ago, walking near Bone Sump, he heard Vuk’s voice under the water, agreed to free her and was given the Eye. Two weeks ago he ambushed Aldra, who was following him and the Reeve, and took him to the temple to have his heart eaten. Every other evening he kidnaps a victim for Vuk to eat the next morning. Flees to White Tower Fens, hoping pursuers trigger his traps; drags defeated foes to the temple. Aldra ----- The town butcher: burly, well-liked, a devout Tideborn, husband to Flavia. Missing two weeks. Dead. Saw the Reeve carrying bags out of the cellar trapdoor, followed, was ambushed by Fasha and murdered at Bone Sump; Vuk ate his heart. His body floats in the reeds there, well preserved, the chest torn open. Flavia ------ Aldra’s wife and co-owner of the Butcher Shop: visibly distraught, putting on a brave face. Speaks for the Tideborn hook. Knows about the missing pendant, the half-finished ledger in the locked desk drawer (key on a silver chain round her neck), Fasha’s late-night walks on East Lake Pass (she calls him rude and arrogant), and that Aldra found Giva charming. On the Victims table (8). Jandy ----- A middle-aged, frumpy Scrivener and tithingman for the Cities, who travels by horse and wagon in the Cities’ livery. Fell into the quicksand at Deadmill a week ago, died, and is caught in a loop by the Echo Spark. Was writing a minor history of the region and interviewing Giva. If rescued: entered by the west door, saw the paddles through the east window, went out the south door and fell in; reborn inside. Keeps a record of tithes in his side bag (the satchel in the mill). Giva ---- The oldest person in Isthmus Town: grumpy, superstitious, behind a bright purple door. Great-aunt of Drum. Hates Fasha; likes Jandy and waits for him with a bottle of old wine. Knows of Bone Sump and can read the paddle script. On the Victims table (2). Drum ---- A sarcastic, lanky teenager who works afternoons and evenings at the Stuffed Inn. Giva’s great-nephew. Saving every coin to leave town; thinks the Reeve is a phony. Points out Jandy’s horse and wagon. Tells what he saw at Deadmill for 15gp. Has a key to the cellar. On the Victims table (4). Annafranax ---------- An elder witch of the Stone Forest who wears two faces: a young woman with long auburn hair, and something squat and almost amphibious. Stats: 9 HP, 11 STR, 14 DEX, 17 WIL Stat block: Annafranax (CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes, CC BY-SA 4.0): 9 HP, Armor 0, STR 11, DEX 14, WIL 17, no attacks. The Frog Witch. Wants to travel the Roots for curatives and lost magic. Hid the Wisp Lamp at Deadmill to feed on Jandy’s deaths; on the full moon (two days after the adventure begins, evening) she throws it into the quicksand and opens a Gate. Avoids combat, keeps her word, bargains, offers cures for nearly any ailment. Spellbooks: four of Animate Object, Arcane Eye, Auditory Illusion, Beast Form, Befuddle, Haste, Pacify, Push/Pull, Read Mind, Thicket, True Sight, Visual Illusion. Killed: every bird of the Stone Forest attacks her murderer until they die or leave the Wood. Corsetta -------- A weaver of Isthmus Town. On the Victims table (1). Franz ----- The town chandler. On the Victims table (3). Beju ---- A widower of Isthmus Town. On the Victims table (5). Nicolas ------- A traveler passing through. On the Victims table (7). The Kettlewright ---------------- A traveling tinker riding alongside, burdened by gleaming tin. Sells mostly kitchenware; if pressed, sells the Fletcher’s Ire in his pack for 100gp (encounter 2). The frog trappers ----------------- A man and a woman cooking over a roaring fire by the road. Sell spiced frog legs (2gp) or a vial of toad excretions (25gp, 2 uses): a psychedelic and a sort of truth-serum (encounter 6). The woman with the cart ----------------------- An unarmed woman pulling a cart of fish crates, its wheels stuck in the mud. Bait for the bandits’ ambush. Her clothes are clean despite her efforts. She runs at the first blow. Bandit Leader ------------- A hard-faced outlaw in mail with a long sword. Stats: 6 HP, 2 Armor, 13 STR, 14 DEX, 13 WIL, long sword (d10, bulky) Stat block: Bandit Leader (CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes, CC BY-SA 4.0): 6 HP, Armor 2, STR 13, DEX 14, WIL 13, long sword (d10, bulky). The bandits test morale on the leader’s WIL; if the leader is killed the bandits retreat. Bandit ------ An outlaw with a sword, waiting in the foliage. Stats: 4 HP, 1 Armor, 12 STR, 12 DEX, 9 WIL, short sword (d6) or short bow (d6) Stat block: Bandit (Cairn pack): 4 HP, Armor 1, STR 12, DEX 12, WIL 9, short sword (d6) or short bow (d6). CAS-1 gives them 4 HP, 1 Armor, STR 12, DEX 12, WIL 9, sword (d6), one with a short bow (d6): the same as the Warden’s Guide Bandit. Night Cat --------- An intelligent nocturnal marsupial that hunts the boughs in packs. Stats: 6 HP, 9 STR, 14 DEX, 5 WIL, claws (d6+d6) Stat block: Night Cat (Cairn pack): 6 HP, Armor 0, STR 9, DEX 14, WIL 5, claws (d6+d6). Critical damage: The Night Cat begins to eat the target (d4 STR damage) while they are still alive. Ticks from the boughs as the pack coordinates, then goes for whoever is last in the marching order: DEX save or damage straight to STR. Hunts by day too. Suraru ------ A bipedal reptilian, scaled and crouching, with claws and teeth. Stats: 6 HP, 1 Armor, 14 STR, 12 DEX, 5 WIL, claws (d6+d6) or teeth (d8) Stat block: Suraru (CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes, CC BY-SA 4.0): 6 HP, Armor 1, STR 14, DEX 12, WIL 5, claws (d6+d6) or teeth (d8). Sees perfectly in complete darkness; fiercely loyal to the Imperator; flees to make a new breeding sac if it dies. Never attacks the wearer of the Eye of Vuk. Two roam the temple; two are in the Chamber of Worship. The hatchling ------------- A fully grown Suraru bursting wet from a fungal sac. Stats: 6 HP, 1 Armor, 14 STR, 12 DEX, 5 WIL, claws (d6+d6) or teeth (d8) Stat block: Suraru (CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes, CC BY-SA 4.0): 6 HP, Armor 1, STR 14, DEX 12, WIL 5, claws (d6+d6) or teeth (d8). Hatches on a loud noise or an Encounter roll and attacks any creature in sight (hatchlings often eat their unhatched siblings). Suraru Imperator ---------------- A huge reptilian ruler, still half inside an enormous fungal sac. Stats: 10 HP, 1 Armor, 16 STR, 12 DEX, 11 WIL, claws (d8+d8) or venomous bite (d6, blast) Stat block: Suraru Imperator (CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes, CC BY-SA 4.0): 10 HP, Armor 1, STR 16, DEX 12, WIL 11, claws (d8+d8) or venomous bite (d6, blast). Critical damage: A body part dissolves in venomous acid, and the target loses 1 point of Armor. Sleeps in the growth in the Chamber of Worship until the Surarus slash the sac open. The Curved Dagger’s damage is enhanced against it. Vuk --- A cloud of grey ash that circles slowly through a sealed room, though there is no wind. Vuk as an ash phantom: no stat block (the adventure gives none). Immune to mundane attacks; destroyed only by submerging her remains in water or destroying the memory prism (after rebirth, only the prism). Trapped in the Interrogation Room until she has eaten three hearts (Aldra’s is the first) and the door is opened. Choking Hold: envelops a target, controls their body for one action, drops it paralyzed (d4 STR damage); they die of asphyxiation unless the ash is expelled (STR save). Vuk, the Queen Reborn --------------------- A seven-foot queen with a bird’s face and a magnificent yellow crest. Stats: 14 HP, 1 Armor, 8 STR, 8 DEX, 18 WIL, soul dagger (d8) Stat block: Lich (Cairn pack): 14 HP, Armor 1, STR 8, DEX 8, WIL 18, soul dagger (d8). Elrune conversion: CAS-1 names her full form a Lich Queen and gives no numbers, so the Warden’s Guide Lich is used as it stands. She is immune to mundane attacks; reborn, only destroying the memory prism destroys her. Treat her HP as untouchable while the prism is whole. The Wisp -------- A trapped light writhing inside a small iron cage, hot to the touch. Stats: 3 HP, 6 STR, 17 DEX, 12 WIL Stat block: Will-o-Wisp (Cairn pack): 3 HP, Armor 0, STR 6, DEX 17, WIL 12, no attacks. Caught by Annafranax in the Wisp Lamp; grown huge on Jandy’s deaths; in agony from the iron. Freed before the witch returns, it flies straight to her home, leaving a trail of fire. STAT BLOCKS =========== Fasha ----- 10 HP, 14 STR, 13 DEX, 5 WIL, fists (d8+d8) or hook knife (d6) - A farmer from Dunston, formerly weak and ill-mannered, now revels in the newfound strength and insight gained since wearing the Eye of Vuk. - If necessary he will flee to White Tower Fens, hoping that his pursuers trigger his traps there. - Given the opportunity, he will drag any defeated opponent to the Temple of the Fungal Lizards to be sacrificed. Source: CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes (CC BY-SA 4.0). Annafranax ---------- 9 HP, 11 STR, 14 DEX, 17 WIL - An elder Half Witch, making her home deep in the Stone Forest. Relies on illusion and intelligence for survival. - Can change her form depending on the audience and their intentions: at times a young woman with long, auburn hair, at others squat and almost amphibious. - Although she is an immensely powerful being, she is also very old and will try to avoid combat as much as possible. She always keeps her word. - Carries four of the following Spellbooks: Animate Object, Arcane Eye, Auditory Illusion, Beast Form, Befuddle, Haste, Pacify, Push/Pull, Read Mind, Thicket, True Sight, Visual Illusion. - If she is killed, every bird in the Stone Forest will attack her murderer until they are dead or have fled the Wood. Source: CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes (CC BY-SA 4.0). Bandit Leader ------------- 6 HP, 2 Armor, 13 STR, 14 DEX, 13 WIL, long sword (d10, bulky) - When testing Morale, the bandits save using the leader’s WIL. If their leader is killed, the bandits will retreat. Source: CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes (CC BY-SA 4.0). Bandit ------ 4 HP, 1 Armor, 12 STR, 12 DEX, 9 WIL, short sword (d6) or short bow (d6) - Outlaws who raid settlements, attack ships, or ambush travelers. Groups of four or more are a detachment. - A detachment always travels with one leader wearing chain mail or similar (2 Armor) and a long sword (d10) or crossbow (d8). - Loyal: When testing Morale, save using the leader's WIL (13). If the leader dies, the others will flee. Source: Cairn Second Edition, Warden's Guide (CC BY-SA 4.0). Night Cat --------- 6 HP, 9 STR, 14 DEX, 5 WIL, claws (d6+d6) - Intelligent, nocturnal marsupials that make their homes in forests and swamps. Hunt in packs. - Critical Damage: The Night Cat begins to eat the target (d4 STR damage) while they are still alive. Source: Cairn Second Edition, Warden's Guide (CC BY-SA 4.0). Suraru ------ 6 HP, 1 Armor, 14 STR, 12 DEX, 5 WIL, claws (d6+d6) or teeth (d8) - Bipedal reptilians, birthed from large fungal growths that they spread and cultivate. They have perfect vision even in complete darkness and are fiercely loyal to their Imperator. - If their Imperator dies, they will always flee in order to prepare a new breeding sac. Source: CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes (CC BY-SA 4.0). Suraru Imperator ---------------- 10 HP, 1 Armor, 16 STR, 12 DEX, 11 WIL, claws (d8+d8) or venomous bite (d6, blast) - Rules over a brood of subservient Surarus, who will fight to the death to protect the sac. - Critical Damage: A body part dissolves in venomous acid, and the target loses 1 point of Armor. Source: CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes (CC BY-SA 4.0). Lich ---- 14 HP, 1 Armor, 8 STR, 8 DEX, 18 WIL, soul dagger (d8) - Powerful sorcerers that paid the ultimate price for immortality: their own life. Now their thirst for power knows no bounds. - Maintain unlife by binding themselves to an earthly artifact, which is typically protected by at least d6 other undead servants. - Carry up to six of the following spellbooks: Animate Object, Arcane Eye, Deafen, Disassemble, Elemental Wall, Frenzy, Gate, Hover, Hatred, Identify Owner, Knock, Pacify, Raise Dead, Raise Spirit, Shield, Sleep, Smoke Form, Telekinesis, Telepathy, Teleport, Vision, Wizard Mark. Source: Cairn Second Edition, Warden's Guide (CC BY-SA 4.0). Will-o-Wisp ----------- 3 HP, 6 STR, 17 DEX, 12 WIL - Nocturnal spirits of cool flame, commonly found in dense woodlands, marshes, and swamps. - Known to lead travelers astray, to a corpse, or back home again. Source: Cairn Second Edition, Warden's Guide (CC BY-SA 4.0). TREASURE, RELICS AND SPELLBOOKS =============================== Fletcher’s Ire -------------- A heavy bar of tungsten, marked with symbols. When carried, a single missile attack is impaired when fired at a target within thirty feet of the bar. Bulky, three charges. Recharge: Bathe the bar in a molten lead furnace, then cool. Slots: 2. Where: In the Kettlewright’s pack (encounter 2): 100gp if pressed. Vial of toad excretions ----------------------- A vial (2 uses) sold by frog trappers. Acts as a psychedelic and a sort of truth-serum. Slots: 1. Where: The frog trappers’ vial (encounter 6), 25gp, 2 uses. Fishing equipment ----------------- A popular commodity in Isthmus Town. Slots: 1. Where: At the town market, 15gp. Bog shoes --------- A pair; a popular commodity in Isthmus Town. Slots: 1. Where: At the town market, 10gp a pair. Useful in the Downs. Rainproof clothing ------------------ A popular commodity in Isthmus Town. Slots: 1. Where: At the town market, 15gp. Dagger, Cudgel, Sickle, Staff, etc. (d6 damage) ----------------------------------------------- Slots: 1. Where: The gold-hilted dagger under the bed (hilt 20gp); Jandy’s dagger in his satchel at Deadmill. The Eye of Vuk -------------- A heavy iron medallion strung on a fine silver chain. No Suraru will ever attack someone wearing this amulet. A WIL save is required every time the amulet is put on. On a fail, the wearer becomes more ruthless, more cruel, and more reptilian each time. Wearing it increases STR and DEX by 1d4 points each. Additionally, the wearer’s sense of smell and vision is enhanced. Once per month, the wearer can fully recover STR by shedding their skin. The effects wear off if the amulet is taken off for longer than a few days. Slots: 1. Where: Worn by Fasha. WIL save each time it is put on, or the wearer grows crueller and more reptilian. No Suraru attacks its wearer. Chainmail (2 Armor, bulky) -------------------------- Slots: 2. Where: On the armored skeleton under the acid, perfectly preserved. Burn the acid away first. Echo Spark ---------- A Relic that activates only when someone dies in its presence, pulling them back through time to approximately 30 seconds before their death. They do not retain any memories of their death but are otherwise unchanged. One charge. Recharge: Crush with the weight of an elephant. Slots: 1. Where: Under the millstone; freed by turning the paddles. Taking it away breaks Jandy’s loop. Rations (3 uses) ---------------- Slots: 1. Where: Jandy’s, 2 uses left. Torch (3 uses) -------------- Slots: 1. Where: Jandy’s, 3 uses. Wisp Lamp --------- A well-preserved portable iron cage in which a Wisp is trapped. Contact with iron is quite painful for Wisps. The Wisp inside has absorbed Jandy’s many deaths and grown so large the cage is nearly too small for it. It wishes only for freedom, and its revenge. Slots: 1. Where: In the leaves of the riverbed. Opening it sends the Wisp to burn Annafranax’s home. Visual Illusion --------------- A silent, immobile, room-sized illusion of your choice appears. Filled with rich, colorful pages very much like a children's bedtime story. Slots: 1. Where: One of Annafranax’s four spellbooks (the Warden picks four of twelve: these four suit an illusionist). Auditory Illusion ----------------- You create illusory sounds that seem to come from a direction of your choice. Produces random and occasionally inopportune sounds throughout the day. Slots: 1. Where: One of Annafranax’s four spellbooks. Beast Form ---------- You and your possessions transform into a mundane animal. Covered in thick fur, its edges lined with small teeth. Slots: 1. Where: One of Annafranax’s four spellbooks. True Sight ---------- You see through all nearby illusions. Cannot be concealed by magic, and sticks out like a sore thumb. Slots: 1. Where: One of Annafranax’s four spellbooks. Watersnatch ----------- A cylindrical object that can absorb up to a wagon’s load of water (or roughly 1000 gallons). 1 Charge. Found stuffed inside a small tube made of scaled leather. Recharge: Remove from moisture of any kind for a month and a day. Slots: 1. Where: In a scaled leather tube under the withered scrolls. Moon Cloth ---------- Very warm and highly weather resistant. When held in moonlight, it can be woven into any shape, growing by a foot per hour. Petty. Slots: 0. Where: Wrapped round the bird-like skeleton under the rubble. Curved Dagger ------------- A small, curved dagger with a red jewel on it (d6). Used by overseers to control their unruly “pets.” When used against a Suraru Imperator, its damage is enhanced. Acts as a key to open the door at T10a. Slots: 1. Where: On the bird-like skeleton. The key to the Interrogation Room; enhanced against the Imperator. Memory Prism ------------ A large blue memory prism (bulky, worth 1000gp). Absorbs the final moments of a person’s life on a minute by minute basis. The longer the exposure, the more memories are recovered. If another dies in its presence, their memories replace those that were stored. Direct contact with the prism replays the stored memories directly to the mind of the person in contact with it, as if they were experiencing them first-hand. Slots: 2. Where: Inside the stone block; 1000gp. Destroying it destroys Vuk. FIGHTS ====== The Stuck Cart -------------- Foes: 1 x Bandit Leader, 2 x Bandit. Tactics: They leap from the foliage when the party stops to help; unprepared PCs fail the first-round DEX save automatically. The archer stays back. Morale on the leader’s WIL; if the leader dies, they retreat. Scaling: As written: three bandits. Five or six characters: the woman is a bandit too, with a dagger (Warden’s choice). Night Cats ---------- Foes: 3 x Night Cat. Tactics: Tick-tick-tick from the boughs, then they drop on whoever is last in the marching order (DEX save or damage straight to STR). Critical damage: the cat starts eating the target alive. They retreat into the trees on a failed morale save. Scaling: The text gives no number: two for three characters, four for six. Fasha ----- Foes: 1 x Fasha. Tactics: Fists or the hook knife at the nearest. Hurt, he runs for White Tower Fens and his traps. Victorious, he drags the fallen to the temple. Scaling: No change; he fights alone. The Hatchling ------------- Foes: 1 x The hatchling. Tactics: Bursts from the nodule and attacks any creature in sight, claws or teeth. Scaling: No change. The Chamber of Worship ---------------------- Foes: 2 x Suraru, 1 x Suraru Imperator. Tactics: The Surarus see in the dark and protect the sac. If one is killed, the other slashes the sac to wake the Imperator. They never attack the wearer of the Eye of Vuk. If the Imperator dies they flee. Scaling: Add the two roaming Surarus if they have not been met yet (five or six characters). The Queen Reborn ---------------- Foes: 1 x Vuk, the Queen Reborn. Tactics: Immune to mundane attacks; only destroying the memory prism ends her. She fights to keep the party from the Interrogation Room. Any surviving Surarus and Fasha fight with her. Scaling: No change: this fight is about the prism. PLACES ====== Twin Lakes ---------- An isolated region north of the Cities, a few days by horse through the Humpbacks, between two freshwater lakes and the Stone Forest. Safe by reputation, dangerous at night: bandits and night cats. Isthmus Town ------------ The region’s only real settlement, on a narrow strip of land between West Lake and East Lake: fewer than thirty families, fishing and fried cod. Market 8am to 2pm. The Reeve runs it and robs it. The Stuffed Inn --------------- The only tavern in Isthmus Town: shared rooms at 10gp a night with onion soup and weak beer, stabling at 5gp. The Reeve’s office and the cellar hold the two tithe records. The Butcher Shop ---------------- A rustic two-story shop with a headless chicken painted on its north door. Flavia downstairs; the desk upstairs looks down on the alley trapdoor. Giva’s home ----------- A weathered single-room shack on the north side of town with a bright purple door. Wolfsbane in the frame; wine for Jandy on the table. Dunston ------- A thin circle of ramshackle homes, once a fishing village, by the soured water of East Lake. Fasha’s farm on the west end; the Abandoned Home and its tithe sacks on the south-east. The Downs --------- A muddy, stinking bog shrouded in mist and in horror stories, crossed by East Lake Pass. The stories are untrue; the corpses are real. A Fatigue on foot. White Tower Fens ---------------- A small wood east of the Downs, named for its broken white tower. Fasha’s traps; the acid pool and the armored skeleton in the tower. Bone Sump --------- A small bog where the creek ends, full of drowned and starved animals, on no map. Known only to Fasha and Giva. Aldra’s body; the mound over the temple stair. The Stone Forest ---------------- An unending wood stretching north to the Marble Sea, dotted with old mills and lumber paths. Night cats. Wilderness Events after dark, off the path or after a loud noise. Deadmill -------- An old gristmill at the edge of the Stone Forest, half sunk in a dark grove that local teens call haunted. Not haunted: a time loop, quicksand, the Echo Spark and the Wisp Lamp. The Temple of the Fungal Lizards -------------------------------- Something built of blue-black metal, buried beneath the bog. A beetle-shaped ship. Surarus, their Imperator, and Vuk. FACTIONS ======== The Tideborn ------------ A hierarchical religious sect that worships Rivulus, a petty god of rivers and lakes. Its initiation is a ritual drowning that occasionally kills; survivors take a water name (Carp, Reed, Oxbow). Only clergy must undergo the ritual; the sect has grown among rural folk near water. Aldra was devout. They pay 750gp for his whereabouts and 250gp more for his body returned to an acolyte. A whittler on the road blames them for Aldra. The Order of Nine ----------------- A consortium of merchants, scholars and the very powerful, with great wealth and a vast network of spies. Its focus is discovering, identifying and regulating Relics; lately the Roots, which it believes are the origin of most Relics. It pays handsomely for any information on Gates: Deadmill, the temple and its artifacts would interest it. The Cities ---------- The distant centers of power the Twin Lakes tithe is owed to, three days south on horseback through the Humpbacks. Pay 200gp apiece for Jandy, only with the tithe intact and accounted for. If Vuk rises or the Gate opens, the Cities seal the region with their most powerful forces. The Marchguard -------------- The guard at the margins of the realm, who keep what lies beyond from crossing over. They gather at the boundary if Vuk is reborn and conquers Twin Lakes. TABLES ====== Rumors Heard on the Road (1D6) ------------------------------ 1. A family from Dunston with a cart of fish: "West Lake, it’s alright for fishing. But it’s nothing compared to East Lake in my day. I tell you, when the lumber was good, the fish were good, too. Go ask that old goat, Giva. She remembers." 2. Twins with fishing poles: Only one speaks. "Folks used to go to the Downs and lick frogs, you know. Come up with all sorts of crazy stories, sayin’ it’s haunted and all that. It isn’t true, of course. Except for White Tower Fens. That place gives us the creeps." 3. Two workers with a wagon of lumber: "Yeah, me and my brother Berk here were hired to repair the ol’ Crawko place in Dunston, the one that fell down, what, ten years past? Seems a bit strange, seeing as how we weren’t told who is payin’ for it. But the Reeve said this fellow was a real philanthropist and wanted to give back." (The Abandoned Home.) 4. An old man whittling at the town exit: "This business about that butcher, I think those Tideborn freaks are responsible. Did you know that they drown their own, embracing only the survivors into their ranks, all the while treating the dead as unworthy?" (Untrue.) 5. A young woman in fine clothes, walking west: "I crossed the Humpbacks just to see the Frog Woman, out there in the woods. I’ve heard she makes curatives for all sorts of problems... I’m waiting for the next full moon to try and find her." (Annafranax.) 6. A hunter with a bloody net: "Have you been through the Downs lately? A wind is blowin’ from the East, carrying with it something foul, like death rolled over." (Bone Sump.) Encounters between places (1D6) ------------------------------- 1. Bloodsuckers: A swarm drawn to body heat, nearly impossible to fight off, but they fly willingly into open flame. Unless avoided, everyone adds a Fatigue. 2. A Kettlewright: Rides alongside, burdened by gleaming tin. Sells mostly kitchenware; if pressed, sells the Fletcher’s Ire in his pack for 100gp. 3. A sudden torrent: Wind and floating vegetation drench the party. Each character loses a resource (a torch goes out, a Ration is dropped, a shoe is lost). 4. The stuck cart: An unarmed woman asks for help with her cart’s wheels in the mud; her clothes are clean. If the party stops, 3 bandits leap from the foliage (the Bandit Leader and two Bandits). Unprepared PCs fail their DEX save automatically. The cart (+4 slots) is fine once unstuck; the crates are empty. 5. Thick mud: Mossy loam gives way to thick mud, popping noisily with each step. Nearby animals scatter. Anyone on foot adds a Fatigue. 6. Frog trappers: A man and woman cooking over a roaring fire. They sell the day’s catch: 2gp for spiced legs, or 25gp for a vial of toad excretions (2 uses), a psychedelic and a sort of truth-serum. Victims (1D8) ------------- 1. Corsetta, a weaver: Fasha takes her in the evening; Vuk eats her heart the next morning. 2. Giva: Fasha hates her. Taken in the evening; her purple door does not stop him. 3. Franz, a chandler: Taken in the evening. 4. Drum: Taken walking home from the inn. 5. Beju, a widower: Taken in the evening. 6. Reeve Trellis: Fasha cleans up his loose end. 7. Nicolas, a traveler: Taken on the road. 8. Flavia: Taken in the evening from the Butcher Shop. Temple events (1D6) ------------------- 1. Encounter: One of the two roaming Surarus. Roll Reactions; it sees perfectly in the dark. (On this result the hatchling in the Breeding Chamber also bursts its sac.) 2. Sign: Claw marks, a dropped scrap of flesh, a smear of blood leading south. 3. Environment: One of the two roaming Surarus, drawn by the noise, or a sconce chirps somewhere close. 4. Loss: A torch gutters out in a draft from nowhere; resolve it before moving on. 5. Exhaustion: The party must rest (roll again), add a Fatigue, or eat a Ration. 6. Quiet: Left alone, for now. CLOCKS ====== The Victim Schedule (5) ----------------------- Days since the adventure began. Day 1 and day 3: no one. Days 2 and 4: roll on the Victims table in the evening; Vuk eats the heart the following morning. Day 5: Vuk awakens at sunset, unless the party stops it. At 2: Another name. By morning the town is whispering another name: someone did not come home last night. (Warden: Roll on the Victims table. The victim is bound in the Chamber of Worship until morning.) At 4: And another. A second empty bed. Doors are barred early in Isthmus Town now. (Warden: Roll on the Victims table. This is the third heart: Vuk can rise once her door is opened.) At 5: Sunset. A cold wind comes off the Downs at sunset, carrying a smell like death rolled over. (Warden: Vuk awakens. Within 24 hours she is in the Chamber of Worship (The Queen Reborn).) The Full Moon (2) ----------------- Days until Annafranax returns to Deadmill (the evening of the second day) and throws the Wisp Lamp into the quicksand. At 2: The full moon. The full moon rises over the Stone Forest, huge and orange. (Warden: Annafranax is at Deadmill this evening. Unless stopped, the Gate opens and the grove becomes a sinkhole.) HANDOUTS ======== The Reeve’s tithing book ------------------------ A small black book in a neat, confident hand. TITHE OF ISTHMUS TOWN, owed to the Cities. Fish, salted: so many barrels. Cloth: so many bolts. Coin: so much. Every column tallied, every season signed: Trellis, Reeve. Found in the desk of the Reeve’s office at the Stuffed Inn. The sums are small. Smaller than you would expect from thirty families. The true ledger --------------- The same columns as the Reeve’s black book, the same seasons, the same hand, but every sum larger, some by half again. In the margin, against several nights, a name: Fasha. A tally of sacks, carried out by the trapdoor of the Stuffed Inn. Jandy’s tithing record ---------------------- The tithingman’s own copy, in a frumpy, careful scrivener’s hand: what Isthmus Town owed the Cities, season by season, as counted and witnessed. It matches the ledger hidden in the cellar of the Stuffed Inn, and not the Reeve’s black book. Jandy’s notebook ---------------- A short history of the Twin Lakes region in a scrivener’s small hand, with snippets of interviews with Giva about "the old days": the logging camps, the mills, East Lake when the fish were good. One section is headed THE LUMBER TRADE, A HISTORY. The last page lists old mills to visit. The first is Deadmill. Aldra’s half-finished ledger ---------------------------- The butcher’s sales ledger, columns of cuts and coins, stopping halfway down a page as if the writer stood up mid-sum. In the margin, in the same hand, smaller: "Trellis again. Third time this month. What is in the bags?" The paddle script ----------------- Carved deep into both white paddles of the mill at Deadmill, in an archaic script: an old phrase that only someone learned in ancient texts could read. Decoded, it says: "To prime, turn counter-clockwise." The Hall of Glyphs ------------------ Carved from the ceiling to the floor. At the top, human figures on a tower point at something falling from the sky, like an enormous beetle. Below, tall winged figures in enormous headdresses stream out of a hole in the front of the beetle, followed by a pair of crouched, lizard-like creatures. Below that, the lizards tear the onlookers apart and overwhelm the tower. At the bottom, the winged figures stand above a crowd of kneeling humans, their lizard pets standing aside. What the prism remembers ------------------------ At first only darkness. Then a cowl is pulled from your face: you are in a room with two chains, and your arms are strung up by them. Two figures in grotesque masks with large reddish crests question you in a harsh, unintelligible tongue. One points to a lizard-like creature in the corner. It comes at your stomach with its talons, and there is a bright light as it slices you open. The door opens. Someone else comes in. More gibberish; the interrogators and the lizards rush out and slam the door behind them. You look down at the wound in your stomach. Then everything goes dark. ENDINGS ======= The Queen Reborn ---------------- Within months Isthmus Town was empty. A queen with a bird’s face rules Twin Lakes now, and the Cities have declared the lands unsafe. The Marchguard watch the boundary. Warden: Vuk rose. Fasha is her lieutenant. The Sinkhole ------------ Where Deadmill stood there is only a great sinkhole, and things climb out of it that no one has seen in these lands for a thousand years. Isthmus Town is a garrison now, the last refuge on a new frontier. Warden: Annafranax opened a Gate to the Roots. The Gates Close --------------- The Queen took her armies down into the deep places. All over the world, the old ways underground are closing one by one, and in the Cities people whisper of an army greater than any in history. Warden: Both: Vuk reborn and the Gate opened. A Renewed Calm -------------- A renewed calm settles over Isthmus Town. Word of ancient temples and strange artifacts brings new trade, and old Giva grumbles about all the strangers eyeing the Stone Forest. Warden: Vuk destroyed and the Gate not opened. BOARDS ====== Twin Lakes ---------- The region overview at ten metres a square: the Stone Forest along the north, West Lake and East Lake with Isthmus Town on the isthmus, Old Mill Road north to Deadmill, the Farming Path south to the Humpbacks, Dunston south-east, East Lake Pass round the lake through the Downs, White Tower Fens and Bone Sump in the east. One square is 10 m; 60 by 48 squares. Rooms: Isthmus Town, The Stone Forest, Deadmill, Dunston, The Downs, White Tower Fens, Bone Sump, The Humpbacks. ::::::::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::::::::o:::::: :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::~::::::: .........................o..........................~....... .....................................................~...... .....................................................~...... .....................................................~...... .........~~~~~~~.....................................~...... .......~~~~~~~~~~~............................o.....o.~..... ......~~~~~~~~~~~~~.................................o.~..... ....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.............................oo...~..... ....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.............................o...~..... ....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~..........~~~~~..............o..o~..... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.......~~~~~~~~~................~..... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~......~~~~~~~~~~~.......o.....o.~..... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~......~~~~~~~~~~~.............o~...... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~.........o...~...... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~.............~...... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~.............~...... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.....~~~~~~~~~~~~~.............~...... ....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~......~~~~~~~~~~~~~...:::::::::~::::... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.o.....~~~~~~~~~~~....:::::::::~::::... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~........~~~~~~~~~~~....:::::::::~::::... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.........~~~~~~~~~~~....::::::::::::::... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.........~~~~~~~~~~~~~...::::::::o:::::... ...~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.........~~~~~~~~~~~~~..:::::::::::::::... ....~~~~~~~~~~~~~~.........~~~~~~~~~~~~~..:::::::::::::::... ....~~~~~~~~~~~............~~~~~~~~~~~~~..:::::::::::::::... .....~~~~~~~~~.............~~~~~~~~~~~~~..:::::::::::::::... .......~~~~~................~~~~~~~~~~~...:::::::::::::::... ............................~~~~~~~~~~~...:::::::::::::::... .............................~~~~~~~~~....:::::::::::::::... ...............................~~~~~......:::::::::::::::... ..........................................:::::::::::::::... ..........................................:::::::::::::::... ..............................o...........:::::::::::::::... ..........................................:::::::::::::::... ............................................................ ............................................................ ............................................................ .........o...........o...........o...........o...........o.. ...o...........o...........o...........o...........o........ ............................................................ ............................................................ Isthmus Town ------------ The high street and the square; the H-shaped Stuffed Inn with its stable, the Reeve’s office and the chained trapdoor in the alley; the Butcher Shop; Giva’s purple door; insets of the inn’s cellar and the butcher’s second floor. One square is 1.5 m; 60 by 46 squares. Rooms: The town square, The north road, The Stuffed Inn, The Reeve’s office, The stable, The alley, The Butcher Shop, Giva’s home, The cellar of the Stuffed Inn, The Butcher Shop, second floor. ............................................................ ............................................................ ................o...........................########........ ............................................#....o.#........ ............................................#......#........ ............................................#o.....#........ .############.....#######...................#..o...#........ .....##.....#.....#.....#...................#......#........ .....##.oo..#.....#.....#......#########....########........ ..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........#..... ..#...........#.............................#.........#..... ..#############.............................###########..... ............................................................ ............................................................ Dunston ------- The ring of ramshackle homes by sour East Lake: Fasha’s farmhouse, corral and field on the west end, the Abandoned Home on the south-east, the trail from the Farming Path where the cart is stuck, and the start of East Lake Pass. One square is 1.5 m; 56 by 44 squares. Rooms: Dunston, The trail from the Farming Path, Fasha’s field and corral, Fasha’s farmhouse, The Abandoned Home, East Lake Pass. ............................................~~~~~~~~~~~~ ............................................~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...........................................~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...........................................~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...........................................~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...........................................~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ...........................................~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ............................................~~~~~~~~~~~~ ........................######..............~~~~~~~~~~~~ .........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.......... ..............o.....#....#.......#.......#.............o .o...........o......#..o.#.......#.......#.......oo..... ...........o........#....#.......#..o....#.....o........ ......o...........o.######....o..#.......#o...........o. ........................................................ ...o...........o...........o...........o...........o.... .o...........o...........o...........o...........o...... ........o...........o...........o...........o........... ........................................................ ........................................................ Old Mill Road and Deadmill -------------------------- Old Mill Road into the Stone Forest, the dark grove of overgrown pillars, the half-sunk mill with its south door over quicksand and its west entrance, and the waterwheel paddles over the dry riverbed. One square is 1.5 m; 50 by 44 squares. Rooms: Old Mill Road, The grove at Deadmill, The west side of the mill, Inside the mill, The waterwheel. :::::::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:::::: ::::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::::::::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 :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::::::::o::: :::::::o:::::::::::::::...::::::::o:::::::o::::::: ::::::o::::::::::::o:::...::::o::::::::::o:::::::: :::::o::::::::oo:::::::...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:::o:::::::...o::::::::::o::::::::o::: :::::::o:::::::::::::::...::::::::o:::::::o::::::: ::::::o::::::::::::o:::...::::o::::::::::o:::::::: :::::o::::::::o::::::::...::::::::::::::o::::::::o White Tower Fens ---------------- East Lake Pass and the stinking Downs, the fork into White Tower Fens with Fasha’s three traps, the broken white tower over its pool of amber, and Bone Sump at the creek’s end with the mound and its stair. One square is 1.5 m; 60 by 48 squares. Rooms: East Lake Pass, The Downs, White Tower Fens, The white tower, Bone Sump. .........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........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........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........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........o..~.....o........ ::::::~~~~~~~~~::::::::::...................~~.............. ::::::o~~~~~~~:::::::o:::...................~............... :::o::::~~~~~:::::o::::::...........:::::::::::::::::....... ::::::::::::o::::::::::::...........:::::::::::::::::....... :::::::::::::::::::::::::...........::::::~~~~~::::::....... :::::::::::::::::~~~:::::...........::o::~~o~~~~:::::....... :::::::::::o::::~~~~~::::...........::::~~~~~~~~~::::....... ::::::::o::::::~~~~~~~:o:...........:::o~~~~~~~~~::::....... ::o::::::::::::~~~~~~~:::...........::::~~~~~~~~~::::....... :::::::::::::::~~~~~~~:::...........::::~~~~~~~~~::::....... ::::::::::::::::~~~~~::::...........::::~~~~~~o~~::::....... :o::::::::::::::o~~~:::::...........:::::~~~~~~~:::::....... :::::::::::::o:::::::::::...........:::::o~~~~~::::::....... :::::::o::::::::::::::o::...........:::::::::::::::::....... :::::::::::::::::::::::::...........:::::::::::::::::....... :::::::::::::::::::::::::................................... The Temple of the Fungal Lizards -------------------------------- The beetle-ship under Bone Sump: the antechamber, the columbarium and breeding chamber off the hall, the maintenance tunnel down the west side, the waste disposal, light room and preparation room, the long hall of glyphs, the chamber of worship, and the interrogation room behind its metal door. One square is 1.5 m; 60 by 64 squares. Rooms: The antechamber, The hall, The columbarium, The breeding chamber, The maintenance tunnel, The hall of glyphs, The waste disposal, The light room, The preparation room, The chamber of worship, The interrogation room. ############### #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.........# #.........# #.....o............######...o.....# #.......................#.........# #::::..............######.........# #::::.......o......# #.........# #::::..............# #.........# #################### ########### LICENCE (AGAIN) =============== This adventure is adapted from CAS-1: Trouble in Twin Lakes by Yochai Gal, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://cairnrpg.com/adventures/first-party/cas-1/). Changes: converted for Elrune. This adaptation is licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.