Horga-at-Horg’s quarters
East of the entrance cavern, Horga-at-Horg serves as the guardian of the headquarters. She frightens away or murders trespassers who aren’t discouraged by the poisonous pool. If the trespassers appear formidable, Horga secretly escapes through the emergency passage that links her quarters with the main chamber and warns the Council. Horga eats small animals that die drinking from the pool; an antidote supplied by Thagya guarantees Horga’s immunity to the poison. A large boulder against the north wall conceals a narrow passage that slopes gently into the earth for about 20 yards, opening into the main chamber of the headquarters.
The Main Chamber
Here general Alliance meetings take place. Many alcoves and ledges serve as storage areas and sleeping platforms for guests. A clear pool provides a source of fresh water. Long stalactites hang from the ceiling, and trimmed and sanded stalagmites form crude but comfortable seats. A soft yellow light bathes the entire chamber, courtesy of the thousands of isha moths clinging to the ceiling. The subterranean isha moths co-exist peacefully with the Alliance. The moths share their natural fluorescence, and the members grow and harvest a special fungus to feed the moths and keep them healthy. A broad crevasse snakes across the floor of the east end of the main chamber. Instead of filling it in, Thagya ordered the crevasse covered with a lattice of branches and a layer of dirt spread across the top. Should intruders invade the chamber, the Alliance members try to maneuver them into the crevasse, where they drop 30 feet and land on sharp stones. A network of passages links the main chamber with several smaller caverns, each with a designated purpose:
Thagya’s Quarters
This sparse room contains only a floor mat, several storage pots with Thagya’s spellbook (actually a disordered pile of non-magical scrolls), and the dusty obsidian pedestal intended for Nibenay’s head.
Moth Hatchery
Glowing isha moths cover the walls of this cavern, packed so densely that their light burns the eyes. The moths spin silken webs like spiders, making nests for their eggs. The nests hang from the ceiling like heavy curtains. Shallow pits dug in the floor hold fungus and fresh water for the moths.
Workshop
Storage shelves packed with beakers and canisters, long wooden lab benches, and towering stacks of scrolls fill this cavern. Thagya and his aides use it for magical and scientific research. Thagya’s current project involves an intriguing application of the isha moth webs. Thagya discovered that soaking the webs in a solution of salts and herbs makes them waterproof and elastic, capable of being sewn into airtight balloons. Thagya envisions immense hot air balloons made from the treated webs. Carrying baskets of passengers, the balloons would make aerial assaults against the sorcerer-king’s palace. Though he has prepared enough webs to manufacture a large balloon, Thagya has yet to find a suitable mechanism to direct airborne movement. Nor has he come up with an altitude unit to let the passengers control how high the balloon rises. Research continues.
Fungus Farm
Long troughs cut into the cavern floor hold abundant clusters of greenish fungus. Thagya’s aides monitor the fungus, adding fertilizer and other nutrients as needed. Harvested fungus fills wheeled storage bins, which aides push to the hatchery to feed the moths. Storeroom This room holds poisonous salts for the entry cavern pool, antidote wafers for the poison, dried foods, medicines, and weapons. Dormitory Alliance members and their guests use the many bunk beds here. Some mischievous members have carved an unflattering caricature of the Priest Child Siemhouk in the wall. For amusement, they conduct mock tributes in her “honor.”
Infirmary
This cavern contains beds with soft mattresses-of
feathers and moth wings. The ailing and the wounded
recover here. A staff of trained aides, including clerics
with healing magic, attend to patients’ needs around the
clock. Both members and animals receive equal care.
Current patients include an immature kank with a
cracked exoskeleton, an erdlu with a chronic indigestion,
and an abandoned mekillot egg which the staff is
attempting to hatch. Healers scatter the bones of animals
that don’t recover on the shores of the poison pool, in the
entry cavern, to intimidate intruders.