Nearing the end of your journey to the
ruins of a castle known as Evermore, your
party chances upon a strangge and unexpected
sight. To the left of the road is a
large, man-made pit. To the right is a
crumbling structure not unlike a temple.
In front of the temple sleeps a male
servant holding the reins of two fine horses.
If the dozing servant and fine horses
aren't enough to catch your attention, the
structure you face is not marked on your
map. Milard, the map-making thief who
generally provides you with your maps, is
usually reliable in these matters.
You check your map again. Sure
enough, the ruins of the castle sit high
upon the hill above you, but you find no
sign of the temple-like structure before
you. Although this road is a seldom traveled
one, surely a structure of this size
would have been noted. Shrugging, you
give in to the suggestion to take a break,
and possibly enjoy a bit of snooping.
The servant
Naturally, the servant will be terrified at
the sight of a band of mercenaries gaping
at him, however, calm and sensible reassurances
will settle him. If this is approach
is taken, he will tell the party all he
knows.
1. He is the servant of the young adventurer
named Hagee. They were lost and
came upon this place two nights ago. The
servant's name is Murp.
2. His master decided early the next
morning (about 30 hours ago), that he
might find something of value inside the
building, so he crawled in through the big
crack in the front center of the building.
He has not yet returned.
3. Murp doesn't know what to make of
his master's delay. Although anxious for
his safe return, he isn't overly concerned
as his master has disappeared for longer
periods of time in the past.
4. Early the previous evening a peasant
family passed by. Murp tried to converse
with them, but a combination of the language
barrier and their insistence on
passing quickly made any meaningful
dialogue impossible. Only a few words or
phrases were clear to him: "taboo," "vile
and slimy," "temple of doom," and something
about a "collie."
5. Murp hasn't heard or seen anything
from the temple or the pit.
The temple
There are no doors or windows in the
building. There are no tracks or signs of
wildlife at all around the building within a
radius of 100', except for those of the
party, or presumably, Hagee's.
Any character passing through the
opening into the building will immediately
see a fallen fighter with something
wrapped around him. Closer inspection
will reveal that the corpse (which matches
the description of Hagee) was bitten by a
rather large poisonous snake, now loosely
wrapped around the body; the snake is
minus its head.
The inside of the temple is 35 square
feet of open space. If asked, the DM
should describe the temple's interior as in
a state of terrible decay. It appears that
this may have been quite posh at one
time, but no signs of any religious symbols
are left. Markings in the middle of
the floor indicate that there might have
been some solid structure here, perhaps
an altar, at one time.
If the room is thoroughly searched the
characters will find a secret trapdoor in
the floor and another in the ceiling, both
perfectly centered, (the one in the floor is
exactly where the altar may have been).
The door in the floor is a decayed secret
door which cannot be opened intact. If it
is dug out or disintegrated away, it will
reveal a remarkably thick stone-blocked
floor (actually a thick ceiling). The door
in the ceiling appears to be made of wood
and still in relatively good condition.
Actually, one good blow will send the
rotting planks crashing to the floor, followed
by five thick snakes, each about
15' long.
These snakes are descendants of the
original ones kept in the temple decades
ago. Though usually tropical in nature,
they have adapted to this climate and
have lost none of their natural abilities.
Two of the snakes are constrictors
(pg.
111, MM II), and three boalisks
(pg.
19, MM II), but it's impossible for any
but a druid to tell them apart in here. The
light of day peeping through the cracks
provides enough light for the boalisks'
gaze to be seen.
If, after the battle, the ceiling area is
searched, an old metal tankard with a
snake motif will be found (figure A). If
the tankard is moved it will be evident
that something metal is inside -- a
strange key that is unlike any other ever
seen by the party members (figure B).
Except for Hagee's personal belongings
(chain mail shirt, shield, and +1 sword)
nothing else of value can be found.
The pit
The pit is 25 square feet at the top an is
obviously constructed from blocks. A
Light spell cast on an item and dropped
down the pit will show that it is well over
100' deep, and seems to be made of natural
rocks (rather than blocks) towards the
bottom. As a matter of fact, the pit opens
up after 100' and the sides of the last
hundred or so feet cannot even be seen. If
the edge of the pit is searched by a ranger
or druid, there are signs that there was
once a large wooden structure here, possibly
a winch.
If the characters desire to descend into
the pit by rope, 225' will be needed. At
the 100' mark, characters will be attacked
by the pit's inhabitants, a swarm of jaculi
(pg. 53, Fiend Folio) The walls of the
natural cavern are honeycombed with
tunnels and holes perfectly suited for the
20 jaculi to project themselves from, like
javelins. They'll strike their targets or fall
(or both), then crawl in a hole to begin
their long climb upwards to their nests.
The entire process will take them at least
ten minutes. No more than ten jaculi will
strike in any one melee ruond; although
their bites aren't particularly damaging,
the DM should determine the effects of
the attack on anyone holding onto a rope,
climbing, etc.
figure C
The illustration above depicts the original
entrance to the temple. A huge metal
plate covers the oddly-shaped doorway.
The figure to the left of the door demonstrates
the door's height.
Once at the bottom of the pit, the original
entrance to the temple is revealed
(figure C), an ornate wall covered with
ancient runes. This wall will appear to be
magical to Detect Magic (it has an
unusual Preservation spell cast on it to
prevent decay and erosion). A huge metal
plate covers the doorway, and a
strange keyhole above it. The key from
the ceiling of the temple fits this lock. If a
thief attempts to pick the lock, a 50% to
his chance will apply due to the age and
complexity of the lock. If Detect Traps is
attempted at this time, a trip mechanism
for releasing something from above inside
the doorway will be detected.
The trap is an iron
cobra (Fiend Folio),
but the poor thing died years ago and will
now just plop down in a pile of rust, most
likely scaring the wits out of unsuspecting
party members.
Inside the doorway is a 20 square foot
antechamber with another obviously
decayed iorn cobra in the middle. Inside
this iron cobra, however, are three poisonous
snakes (MM II, pg. 111), who are
more than willing ot let the party pass,
but if they are disturbed by someone
hacking or kicking at the rusty cobra, the
snakes will immediately attack. The DM
should roll their poison effects randomly.
Past the antechamber is a huge tunnel
that twists endlessly into the darkness. To
the right is a large cave with a firestand <fire
snake> at
the entrance (figure D). One minute after
the brazier is lit, the fireside that has
magically been laid into the metalwork as
a trap will come to life and attack if given
the chance (Fiend Folio, pg. 38). Under
the coals is a ruby which resembles the
coals because of its sooty covering. It
belongs to the firesnake.
The cave is shallow but wide; a carved
marble chest (figure E) can be seen in its
depths. A Detect Traps cast on the chest
will show nothing, but Detect Magic
spell will indicate that it has magical properties
(again, the magical preservation).
The chest is easily opened; the contents
include an oil lamp (figure F), one scroll
case (figure G), some sort of pipelike
musical instrument (figure H), and a
matched set of armbands (figure I).
Behind the chest lies a small but expensive-looking
goblet (figure J). This item is
a magical trap in that it will shatter if
touched, and that sound will awaken the giant amphisbaena snake
lying just out of
sight in the winding tunnel (pg. 88, MM). This snake has been down here
since the temple was built, and it is huge
(HP 60, MV 15", AC 2, Bite 1-6). It will
move toward the party immediately
upon hearing the shattering noise or the
pipelike musical instrument.
Once the snake is defeated, the party
can loot what they will and leave (but
remember that any jaculi left alive will
now be in place for more attacks). Nothing
else but the bones of past victims lie
within the tunnel.
The treasure
1. Pewter mug, worth 450 gp.
2. Ruby, worth 1,250 gp.
3. Carved marble chest (very heavy),
woth 1,000 gp.
4.Silver ornate oil lamp (when rubbed
will grant one Wish), worth 6,000 gp
unrubbed, 1,000 gp rubbed.
5. Scroll cae (six scrolls containing 2
Snake Charm spells, 2 clerical Sticks to
Snakes spells, and 2 Neutralize Poison
spells). Total worth: 6,000 gp.
6. Pipe of Snake Summoning (as druidic
spell Animal Summoning II, but only
for
snakes; can be used twice per day), worth
3,500 gp.
7. Armbands of Snake-changing (as
magic-user's Polymorph
The history of the temple
A subcult of Kali formed their temple
here centuries ago (thus the confused
reference to "collie" by the peasants), but
focused more on the associated snakes
than on the goddess. After a while Kali
became aware of this and expressed her
displeasure by destroying all within the
temple but the snakes. Meanwhile, one of
the order who had been up to Evermore
Castle (extracting blackmail money, no
doubt) returned with some valued items.
Discovering the destruction of the temple,
he fearfully hid the loot and himself down
in the pit where the most holy giant snake
was kept. Eventually, the priest bcame
supper for the amphisbaena, and the
treasure was left behind.
If the DM desires he can have the
tunnel stretch back into the hillside until
it opens up into the dungeons of Evermore
Castle. This could provide a whole
new adventuring area for the party.
Maybe even some of the other snakes
have slithered up to the castle and are
waiting for lunch.
