The crypts and chambers below Fevils tower form the domain of ErThork, a raaig. The scroll that the PCs are searching for rests within his treasure hoard, in Area 16.
1. Tower Basement. This is a large, low-ceilinged chamber of dark stone. Black sand scuffs beneath your feet, and small pieces of rubbish can be seen here and there on the floor. There are exits to the north, south, east, and west. You can hear scurrying and high pitched squeaking to the east. The door that leads from the stairwell is new, made from stout mekillot bone and bound with iron. It features a strong iron lock. The western and eastern doors are of ancient, rotted wood and are in bad shape. The door to the south is of wood sheathed in green 15 bronze an is quite strong for its age. The scurrying comes from a nest of normal rats in the northeast corner of the room.
2. Crypt Chamber. The stonework here is rough and crude, and the floor is uneven and pocked. A number of small crypts fill the room, their doors largely rotted away to expose the foul contents. The air is stale and unclean. As you enter, you hear the rustling of movementthe mindless dead of this place are rising to attack you! The crypts are made of dressed stone and fitted with doors of rotten old oak, bound with bronze. Each one contains 1d8 burial niches, most of which are full. Each round, the skeletons of one crypt rise, leave their crypt, and move to attack the party. The × marked crypts each contain six skeletal, juju zombies. They appear as normal skeletons at first but move more swiftly, with a burning light in their eyeless sockets. A search of the various crypts uncovers a number of artifactsbronze plates and goblets, small statuettes of bone or amber, and small pieces of clothing and jewelry on the skeletons. Most have decayed beyond any value, but there is a hidden compartment in southernmost of the juju zombies crypts that contains a steel long sword +1, a wand of frost with 13 charges, and a pouch of six rubies valued at 120 sp, 50 sp, and 4 × 30 sp.
3. Looted Crypts. This chamber resembles the other crypt chambers, but the vaults have been sacked long ago. Oddly enough, not a single ancient corpse can be found within this room. The door to Area 4 is made of stout iron bound, ancient wood. It is covered with ancient writing, now undecipherable. There is nothing of interest here.
4. Passage Cavern. The stonework in this chamber is the crudest you have seen so far. It appears to have been excavated as an afterthought to the construction of the original complex. Three winding passageways exit this chamber, leading off into the gloom. To the west, a single door of iron bound wood stands ajar. It is covered with ancient glyphs. There is little debris in the room, and nothing of any interest. The northernmost passage leads to a cave-in that blocks all passage.
5. Cellar. This passage seems to have been burrowed rather than cut through the mixed sand and stone. An awful stench fouls the tunnel. Suddenly, the tunnel opens on a cluttered room of dressed stone, filled with a litter of tattered, ancient corpses and their burial vestments. Squatting among the dusty mummies are several dog-like humanoid creatures. With howls of hunger, they attack! This room was a cellar to one of the ruins above. It now serves as the lair for a pack of ghasts that feed on the crypts. There is a trapdoor in the ceiling that leads to a rubble-choked ruin east of the treasure tent. The ghasts often hunt in the ruins above. They can hear the PCs approaching and will try to surprise them as they emerge from the tunnel. The cellar contains a number of rotting casks of vinegar, a few empty crates of rotten foodstuffs, and the debris of the ghasts. A careful search reveals one corpse that is only a few weeks old-the remains of a slave who failed Fevils test of initiation. A suit of scratched up, leather armor rests beside the body.
6. Stronghold Basement. A large, well-built chamber of the ancients that appears to be a basement. A set of stairs airs lead up to the surface from one corner of the room. A few rotten and splintered racks along the walls may have once held arms and armor, but only dust remains. The stairway leads up to an ancient door of riveted, iron plate. The doors frame is very old and rotten, and any attempt to wrench the door open will pull it off its hinges. The PC who tries to force the door must make a saving throw vs. death or stumble back down the stairs with a heavy iron door on top of him, taking 3d6 damage. The way to the surface is blocked by rubble and sand. The western door is sturdy, made of rusty iron plate, riveted to a frame. It is stuck hard; treat it as locked for purposes of forcing it open.
7. Crypt Chamber. This crudely-cut chamber contains even rows of stone crypts. The air is foul and stale with the smell of moldering bones. The scratching and chattering of rats is obscenely audible in this room. Suddenly, you hear the creaking of an opening door and a low moaning from the tombs Eight of the nine crypts in this room contains 1d8 burial niches. Each niche is occupied by a zombie. Each melee round, one crypt empties as its occupants shamble out to attack the intruders. The X marked crypt contains eight juju zombies. The zombies will not leave this room. Various odd urns, plates, burial vestments, and ornaments can be found in the crypts, but nothing of any value remains here.
8. Armory. The two rusty iron plate doors to this room are both locked and stuck in place as though magically held. A sun burst symbol is em blazoned on each door, along with ancient glyphs. Each of the doors has a glyph of warding on its face that shocks the first person to touch the door for 24 points of damage. A save vs. spells reduces the damage by half. The air in this room is exceedingly stale, but does not seem poisonous. Thick dust covers the floor. As you enter, you see several faded banners along the wall slowly dissolving with exposure to the fresh air. Several racks along the walls hold weapons of various sorts; it seems that this room was an armory. A thorough search of the room reveals a bundle of 40 steel-headed arrows whose shafts are no good, six bronze-headed spears with rotten shafts, a metal reinforced target shield, two steel open faced helms, more than one dozen ruined crossbows, two steel-headed halberds with decayed shafts, and six rusty iron short swords. A steel bastard sword +1, flame tongue, and a shield +1 are here as well.
9. Well Chamber. This small chamber features a dark well shaft about 10 feet in diameter. A few ancient murals linger on the walls, the paint peeling and undecipherable. You can barely see the reflection of your torches in the water 20 or 30 feet below. There is a large underground lake beneath this chamber. In Othands prime, the water level was high enough to dip water from this room. The lake is about 150 feet in diameter, and its surface is 20 feet below the rim of the well. It is the home of a very old and hungry cistern fiend. The worm waits for characters to descend into the well, but will hurl itself up the shaft to attack if they delay. The fiend can only attack characters within 10 feet of the well mouth. It will not leave the well to pursue intruders. If reduced to 10 hp or less, the cistern fiend drops back into the well and hides in the lake.
10. Bone Chamber. This rough hewn, rock chamber littered with bones of all descriptions. A number of them have been broken and gnawed on. The bones vary in age from ancient dust to new, shiny remains. Despite the alarming nature of the room, there is little of interest here.
11. Ancient Shrine. A large bronze-sheathed door of ancient oak guards this chamber. Dire runes are emblazoned on the doorway. Within the room a number of stone benches face an evil altar, dedicated to some forgotten god. The walls are decorated with carvings of old, nightmarish creatures. Thick dust covers everything. The altar is a slab of dark stone with a pair of ruined bronze braziers to either side. A close search of the altar reveals a secret compartment underneath that is trapped with a spring-loaded dagger. The dagger attacks with a THAC0 of 15 and inflicts 1-4 points of damage if it hits. It is smeared with a black oily substance, but the poison is so old that it is harmless. The compartment is empty.
12. Fountain Room. An ancient wooden door hangs in ruins on its bronze hinges. Within the room, you can hear water splashing quietly. The water comes from a fountain against the western wall. The room is well made with stone dressing in good condition. The fountain is a stone basin 4 feet in diameter and about waist-high. A hideous statue stands above the basin, and dark water trickles from its mouth to the pool. The dust on the floor is marked with dragging tracks. The water of the fountain is poison; treat as type J. One round after drinking, a victim must make a saving throw vs. poison or die. Even if the save is made, the victim still suffers 20 points of damage. There is nothing else of interest in this room.
13. Rubble-Strewn Room. All kinds of debris litters this room. Wrecked masonry, tattered banners and tapestries, and a few ancient corpses can all be found here. The room is of well-dressed stone, and the faded images of old murals can still be traced along the walls. An exhaustive search of the room turns up little of interest. One of the old bodies lies above a bone dagger +2, and another one clutches an iron short sword in its hand.
14. Rubble-Strewn Room. A room of rough cut and undressed stone, this chamber is littered with debris, including heaps of dirt, a few old corpses, wrecked furniture, and broken weapons. A crude wall painting wraps around the room, showing an ancient procession of unknown purpose. Any character who scrutinizes the wall painting finds that it displays an ancient religious procession. A temple shown in the painting lies over the secret door to Area 16. The rubbish contains nothing of interest.
15. Throne Room. A double row of pillars marches down this mighty hall, supporting a ceiling that is fully 20 feet overhead. The walls stretch far to each side. You immediately see an impressive throne across the chamber, flanked by dimly burning torches. A horrible spectral figure rises from the throne and points at you. Destroy them! it hisses. From the shadows of the pillars, eight gaunt figures in ancient bronze armor emerge. Their eyes burn with a cold flame as they advance on you. The spectral figure is the raaig ErThork. He was once the high priest of the evil temple, and his belief in his dark gods has sustained him in unlife. ErThork is the master of these chambers and passages. If defeated, he will flee through the secret passage to Area
16. The armored figures are juju zombies who will fight to the death. ErThork can only be harmed by iron or steel weapons, regardless of enchantment. He can use a death gaze at will; the victim must make a saving throw vs. death or die. His touch permanently drains 1d4 points of Intelligence. A heal, wish, or restoration spell is the only way to restore lost Intelligence. Beings reduced to zero Intelligence are slain and rise as raaigcontrolled zombies. The throne room is decorated with a number of rotten old banners and faded tapestries. The throne itself is made of ancient carved oak, and is in poor condition. The zombies armor is in very bad shape, but three of the eight sets are salvageable. In their present condition they are worth 30 sp each.
16. Treasure Cavern. This rough chamber carved from the living rock is mostly unfinished. It is full of ancient artifactsbanners, coats of arms, weapons, furniture, and chests and coffers. A set of branching tunnels exit the room. If ErThork was not killed in Area 15, he will make his last stand here. If the PCs discover this room before they go to 15, ErThork will be here with four of his juju zombie guards. The southeast passage winds its way under the ruins for about 200 yards before exiting in a sand-choked cellar. The raiders do not know of this unguarded exit. ErThorks hoard is large, but a lot of it is composed of worthless debris. The ancient furnishings and banners are without value. The following items of interest can be unearthed here: one chest, locked, containing 400 sp and a pouch with five emeralds worth 40 sp each; one chest, locked, containing 800 cp and a steel short sword +3; one coffer, locked, containing 20 gp, a fruit of healing, a wand of magic missiles with 22 charges, a ring of feather falling; one weapon case containing a light crossbow of distance and 12 steel quarrels +2 a scroll of protection from petrification; a scroll with wall of force, teleport, and cloudkill; and a bookshelf containing several academic scrolls. One of these is the Psionatrix Acamedicia. The scroll is in an ancient tongue. A comprehend languages allows it to be read. If a PC does read the scroll, show him Excerpts from the Scroll in the Map Book.
17. Hidden Cave. This is a small chamber of natural rock, fitted with a door of mekillot ribs bound with giant hair. The floor is covered with black sand. If any PCs check the floor, they discover a few faint tracks in the sand that lead to the secret door in the west wall of this chamber. There is nothing else of note in this room.
18. The Priests Crypt. The secret door conceals a
chamber of beautifully finished stone. It is bare,
with four alcoves containing dark idols of the ancient world. A fifth alcove holds the body of an ancient priest upon a bier of dark stone. The air is still
and dank in here. The body is all that is left of
ErThorks mortal shell.
Especially observant PCs may note that the body
bears a resemblance to the spectral raaig. Anything
that happens to the body happens to the raaig as
well. ErThork cannot bear the sight of his own
body and cannot stay within this room for more
than one round before fleeing. The body wears a
golden pectoral worth 130 sp, and two jeweled
bracelets that are actually bracers of defense AC 4.
1. Tower Basement: A spiral staircase leads from Fevil's tower into this large basement chamber. The chamber is constructed from stone as black as the sand that covers the ruins above.
2. Ancient Crypts: This roughly carved chamber has a dirt floor. A film of black sand covers the hard-packed dirt. Stone crypts fill the chamber. Some ancient artifacts can be found in and around these crypts, but those who seek them must overcome the skeletons that guard this place of the dead.
3. Ancient Crypts: Like chambers 2 and 5, this chamber houses a few stone crypts. Unlike the others, these crypts have all been broken into and looted.
4. Passage Cavern: This cavern connects to a series of tunnels that lead to similar chambers beneath the other ruins. The tunnels also lead to entrances to the surface. The iron door that rests partially open is covered with arcane icons from the ancient world.
5. Ancient Crypts: This roughly carved chamber has a dirt floor. A film of black sand covers the hard-packed dirt. Stone crypts fill the chamber. Some ancient artifacts can be found in and around these crypts, but those who seek them must overcome the zombies that guard this place of the dead. A passage in the northern wall leads to the chambers beneath the other ruins and entrances to the surface.
6. Well Chamber: An ancient well, long-since dried out, rests in the northwestern corner of this chamber. The well leads to unexplored levels farther below the ground.
7. Bone Chamber: This natural chamber, complete with irregular columns of rock that stretch from floor to ceiling, has a carpet of ancient bones. Some of the bones have crumbled to dust, while others stick up white and shiny from the powder-covered ground.
8. Ancient Altar: This ancient temple has rows of stone benches set before a black altar. The altar, obviously dedicated to some ancient god of evil, is decorated with nightmare carvings of creatures that no longer walk the surface of Athas.
9. Fountain Chamber: A fountain fills the western half of this chamber. The fountain features a large obsidian bowl. Black water spills from the gaping, tooth-filled maw of a nightmare creature with evil wings sculpted from a single piece of obsidian. The water seems to have no source or drain, yet it never ceases, nor does it spill out of the bowl. Drinking the water has killed many of the initiates Zeburon has sent down here, but their bodies have been dragged away by the walking undead.
10. Rubble-Strewn Room: Various items can be found in the heaps of rubble scattered about this room, including objects made of metal. Some are broken, some whole. A few are even thought to be magical.
11. Rubble-Strewn Room: See 10 above, but note that a secret door is located in the southern wall.
12. Treasure Chamber: This large natural chamber is littered with ancient treasures collected by Er'Thork, a raaig that lords over these ancient ruins. A forking passage leads to the ruins and entrances to the surface.
13. Throne Room: Great pillars line the walls of this
throne room, and a great throne rests along the southern
wall. Tattered tapestries hang on the walls, but whatever
images once adorned them have long-since faded. The
throne is the regular haunt of Er'Thork, the raaig that
rules these ancient chambers. A secret door leads to stairs
that drop deeper into the bowels of Athas.