The Understairs

The Understairs

Type	Dungeon
Status	Explored March 908 TA
Location	Teufeldorf
Hex	5211
Campaign	The Ranger's Gate
Adventure #	138

The stairs leading down from the basement of 9 Nightingale Way are ancient - clearly built before the house above it. They are weathered as if this area were once above ground and exposed to the natural elements. The stone, while old, is sturdily built and seemingly solid.

After descending 20 feet, the stairs dump out onto a long underground tunnel. The tunnel is square - 8' wide and 8' high. A narrow ledge on either side of the tunnel juts out about 18" leaving a 5' channel in the middle of the tunnel.

DC: 15 Jump. Fail: DC 15 Dex or fall face-first into the muck.

Here Be Monsters

Here Be Monsters Map

To the southwest, the tunnel is long and continues into the darkness. To the southeast, the tunnel runs for about 20 feet before breaking into a junction.

Check to see if surprised - Carrion Crawler. Two adults, two smalls left.

Moving to the southeast, the party will encounter a large worm-like creature with rows of caterpillar legs along its underside. Eight long pseudopods emerge from beneath a fang-line maw in its bulbous head and drip with some sort of venom. It is currently moving along the ceiling.

The unusual thing about the creature is that four of its tentacles seem to be trapped in a brightly-colored scarf which has been wound tightly around the appendages.

The scarf is a Mummer's Ruff.

NOTE: Only four attacks.

The tunnel breaks into the side of a 20' x 20' junction. The ceiling of the junction is cone-shaped pushing another 20 feet into the darkness. You find yourself about 10 feet from the floor of the junction room. Another tunnel at ground-level leads off at a right angle to your position. The floor of the room is dominated by a 10' wide metal grate set into the stone - slitted to allow water to pass through. The rest of the room's floor is a collection of wood and other debris. Two more carrion crawlers are here along with two young.

Eyes on Evil

Eyes on Evil Map

You can see the flickering of two large, eyes in the darkness ahead. Each eye is about 3 feet across. In the distance beyond that you can hear chanting, low and steady. Suddenly, a scream of pain pierces the air. And then silence.

After a few minutes, you can hear the very faint sound of a man's voice, low and melodic.

The two large eyes are actually windows into another room - which is filled with flickering torchlight. You are about 30 feet up from the floor of the room beyond. Looking down, you can see a room below that is both mesmerizing and terrifying. A set of polished marble bleachers lead down to a semicircular stage also made of the same grey stone. The marble is veined with a red stone that appears to glow in the torchlight.

The light is given off by a number of wall sconces, each surrounded by a silver mirror which reflects the light back towards the stage. The back of the room is lost in shadows, but it was clearly designed to hold several hundred spectators. The crowd, however, is much smaller than that. About 30 hooded figures are dressed in black. The cowls of their robes are pulled up to mask their features. Each has a red-and-white clasp at the neck of their robes.

The stage, is where the scene grows strange. A fully-armored knight lies on a marble table. He is struggling against chains set into the floor and holding him spread eagle under the watchful eye of another robed figure. The robed figure is dressed like the audience members. He holds in his hand - at least you assume it is a man from his voice - a set of long needles.

The only feature that is obvious is a large mask of tragedy built into the opposite wall. The mask is 10 feet across and nearly 25 feet high.

NOTE: The eyes appear to move. This is actually a swarm of skitterdark that are there to catch interlopers.

One of which he is pushing under the knight's helmet at the neck. The crowd begins chanting in a low voice. The man whispers something in the knight's ear. The knight shudders, and speaks in a pinched voice through what must be clenched teeth.

"The Angel King Comes Tomorrow"

Thank you, the hooded figure, says. Taking a long dagger, he takes it from his robes and quickly inserts it under the helmet. Blood flows on the white marble. The knight shudders and dies. The audience twitters with excitement.

NOTE: This is pass phrase to get into Teufeldorf Castle or through the Nobles' Gate. It is good for one week.

NOTE: This is the basement of the Twilight House. The disruption will cause guards to be place inside and outside the building. The inside guards are two assassins (one of which will run for help.

The paladin is Harrison Barnes.

There are now guards around the Twilight house.

Escape

Escape Map

The tunnel continues for 180 sloping down. As you move along, the center channel starts to rush faster and faster. The volume of water also seems to be increasing as if fed from underwater tributaries.

As you get to the end of the tunnel, the water rushes through an iron grate into what looks like a natural cave beyond. The walls past the grate are natural. Only about a foot or two of airspace lies between the top surface of the water and the cave ceiling. After five or ten feet, the cavern appears to be completely submerged.

DC 20: Careful examination shows six skeletons pushed up against the grate just under the surface of the water. One of the skeletons is wearing a taut black band with a black metal skull. Two gems have been stuck into its eye sockets

NOTE: The skeletons are actually a Skulleton

Skulleton and Dead Man's Headband, 2 Spell Gems - bloodstone

A secret passageway opens to a stone ladder is built into the wall here. It rises directly up into a small 5' x 5' shaft cut into the ceiling of the tunnel.

After climbing 50', the tunnel ends in a stone block. The block flickers with a strange pattern of squares and letters. The image of a mighty oak tree sweeps into your mind.

Noticeable to any ranger in the group is a small niche near the top of the ladder. The niche appears to be solid stone to anyone else. Inside the niche is a key. This is the Wooded Key.

Unexplored

Unexplored Map

The water rushes down from two tunnels towards a large room which seems to be catch basin for the sewers. In the center of the room is a large pool of fetid water. It swirls around a central drain. Over the edge of the drain, water falls into a 10' diameter gray clay pipe leading straight down.

With the recent rainstorms, the pool is fairly full and the stream of water running into the drain is steady.

A structure at the north end of the room has been built seemingly of old crates and discarded lumber. About 20 feet in height, the wooden structure is actually a platform. You see a table and four mismatched chairs in near the edge as well as an old stove - which appears to be lit with a pot of coffee warming on its surface. Across the back of the platform, a number curtains have been erected into a wall - again, mismatched and likely discarded from homes above.

Three figures, dressed in leather are here. They appear to be playing cards at the table.

NOTE: A fourth figure is always on guard.

NOTE: A coil of rope is attached to the western wall. This is how the thieves get up and down.

This is the home of the Clankbite brothers - gnomes of little skill - who are trying to form their own Thieves Guild called - The Key and Dagger Society. The leaders are two twin wizards - Chester and Tom. They have six other brothers who are just plain old thieves.

NOTE: The twins both have a potion and a scroll.

Behind the Screen

The area behind the screen is little different from the scene in front. The ramshackle wooden platform goes back another 20 feet where it is attached to the stone wall of this area.

On the back wall is painted in white a symbol.

Four cots have been set up along the sturdier parts of the platform. Clothes and other personal items are strewn about the cots - which appear fetid and uninviting. This is clearly a dorm area.

A 15' long wet wooden plank is leaning against the wall, and at the back of the room is a large treasure chest.

Chest of Lehman

CR 2, XP 600 Type magic; Perception DC 25; Disable Device DC 25

Trigger proximity (alarm); Reset automatic (1 hour) Effect spell effect (summon Gelatinous Cube) - above the chest - all who are inside the area need to make a DC 15 reflex save to jump out of the way.

The chest contains 140 gold pieces in a small bag. There is also a rolled up rope ladder which is damp that has two hooks at the top. It is 60 feet in length. Finally, there is a scroll with a drawing on it.

Down the Tube

The wooden plank allows easy access to the tube by laying it across the gap of water. The lip of the drainage tube shows two places where the green slime has been scraped away (same size as the ladder hooks). Dropping the ladder down the tube, the bottom rung hangs at an opening.

Green slime and moss covers the inside of the drainage tube. Water rushes over the top of the tube and pours into shaft below. You can hear the water hitting the ground below - but it sounds very far away.

As you reach the bottom rung, the drainage shaft continues down as far as you can see. Water from above forms a waterfall effect on the slick walls of the shaft. Cut into the wall, and just barely visible through the water is a tunnel. It looks as if the tunnel is much older than the shaft you have descended. As if, the shaft was cut and accidentally intersected the tunnel.

NOTE: On the far side, the tunnel goes for about 20 feet and ends in rubble.

NOTE: The other end of this tunnel ends at the Armitage Inn - the source of otherworldly contact.

The Ranger's Tunnel

Stepping into the tunnel, it is immediately obvious that the stonework is much older and of much finer quality. The tunnel is ten feet wide and ten feet tall, and there is no center groove for water and sewage.

Iron sconces, many rusted and broken line the walls every 10 feet or so.

NOTE: Checking out the floor shows grooves cut in about two feet from both walls running down the shaft - this was for carts to load/unload material back in the Second Age - when this was above ground.

NOTE: Following this tunnel down for a quarter mile (1000 feet) will take them clearly into the Bryn Mawr forest outside of town. And, to the Ranger's Gate!