121 rooms · levels 29–36
This cavern is quite large and has several features. Many stalactites hang from the ceiling, while several very large stalagmites have grown up from the floor of the cavern. On the floor appears to be a very old etching. The etching looks like a quarter circle and has some glyphs written within and around the etching. The symbols appear to be the glyphs for three of the basic elements. Along the left edge is the glyph for water, while along the right edge is the glyph for fire. Within the section of circle is the glyph for earth. The only apparent exit is the long tunnel leading north.
This cavern has large amounts of gem and precious metal deposits in its walls and ceiling, and a vein of silver runs overhead among small clusters of topaz. It would take a fortune in money and labor to mine it. Curiously, the floor is bare of any deposit at all, worn smooth by heavy bodies that seem to pass through the stone as easily as through the air. Tunnels leave in all four directions: south to the cavern of the etching, north deeper into the Delve, and east and west into glittering side caverns.
The walls and ceiling here are crusted with metals and gemstones, and small chips of them glitter in the corners, too small to be worth the trouble of collecting. The floor is worn by the same traffic as the other caverns. The intersection of tunnels lies to the east, and a cavern strewn with broken stone opens to the west.
You are standing in a side cavern that ends against a wall of damp rock. Somewhere water is dripping, but the sound echoes so much you can't tell where it comes from. Now that you think about it, most of the caverns and tunnels so far have been bone dry. A dark red glint shows among the pebbles on the floor. The intersection of tunnels is back to the west.
This large cavern is wetter than the others. The drip from the stalactites is steady, though not enough to form puddles on the floor, and the air is heavy with humidity. Some of the stalactites are very large, and very still. The junction of tunnels is back to the east, and a pale glow comes from the west.
This large cavern glows with a pale light, which comes from some lichen on the walls. There is more moisture in this room, so life can be supported. There don't appear to be any shadows, as the light comes from all directions at once. Another strange feature of this room is that it has only two exits: the damp cavern to the east, and a tunnel bending away to the north.
This area of the complex doesn't have as many tunnels. The tunnel turns almost ninety degrees here, and the sound of running water is quite clear, coming from the east. The ground is damp and there are a few small puddles on the floor. The glowing cavern lies back to the south.
This cavern has very wet walls and lots of mud in the center. There is a small spray of water coming from the floor in the center of the mud puddle. The water seems to feed the puddle, but the puddle doesn't seem to expand at all. The water does look clean and refreshing though. The only exits to this cavern are to the east and west.
This tunnel has some moisture in it, and you can hear the near-constant drip of water on the floor. Some small gemstones are scattered about, but nothing large enough to bother with. There are only three ways on: back east to the broken cavern, south into a side cave rusty with ore, and down a wide, rough shaft that drops into the dark.
This large cavern is littered with small stones and other debris. It looks as if something large fought here and broke several stalagmites in the process, leaving their stumps jagged and pale. Whatever it was, it is gone now, and the debris gives no sign of where. The way back to the east glitters with gems, while the tunnel leads on to the west.
This small cavern has lots of iron ore in the walls and ceiling, rust-red streaks that stain the stone. A blacksmith could supply an army with this much iron. There doesn't seem to be any mining going on around here though, and the walls all look naturally formed. The only way out is the fork to the north.
This grotto is rich with silver ore. Many fine silversmiths would sell their souls to possess such a wealth of silver; there is probably a king's ransom here, although it would have to be mined. The only way out is back east.
This is the bottom of a large shaft that climbs up into the tunnels above. The walls are very rough and provide plenty of hand and foot holds for the climb. Here a small tunnel leads off to the west. It is about the size of a halfling, but it appears that even a half-giant could crawl through it. Not many people would want to.
This cavern is glittering with crystals. They are not the kind someone would mine for profit, but in their natural state they make the whole cavern sparkle with light. Small diamond deposits glint in the corners. The path through here is well worn, as though traffic is common, running north and south.
A large emerald deposit is embedded in the ceiling of this cavern, too high to be closely inspected for quality, and it casts a faint green sheen over the floor. The floor here is as clear of debris as most other places. The crystal cavern lies to the south, and a long, high cave opens to the north.
Many gemstones sparkle in the ceiling and walls here. You can easily pick out several topaz and amethyst clusters. Several small clusters of diamonds and sapphires grace the walls while a long vein of gold runs throughout the room. The whole design of the ceiling and walls sends warm fuzzies throughout your body. The cave ends here; it continues back to the west.
This is a high, domed cavern with a tremendous gold vein running in spirals around the ceiling. The pattern is mixed with some small silver deposits and some small clusters of diamonds. A large tunnel leads north, the cave continues to the east and west, and the emerald cavern is to the south.
The gold and silver veins form a spiraling pattern on the ceiling, and the quartz clusters flicker like stars in the night. The cave ends here in a wall of glittering rock; the large cavern extends well to the east.
The floor here is littered with debris and small gemstones. On the walls are some large claw marks, which account for the fact that there are no gemstones in the walls, but plenty on the ceiling: the gems disappear at about the height of a half-giant. The passage runs from the crossing of tunnels in the west to a blue glitter in the east.
The walls of this cavern glitter with a deep blue color. They are covered in sapphires, and the ceiling is speckled with gold nuggets. The walls here are free of claw marks and full of gemstones. The clawed passage leads back to the west, and from the tunnel to the south comes a steady wave of heat.
A wave of heat pours from the eastern tunnel, making this cavern far warmer than the rest of the Delve, and a red glow flickers on the walls from that direction. The room is coated with obsidian, and there isn't much else in it but the heat and the rocks. The sapphire cavern is to the north, and to the south a white radiance spills out of a side chamber.
A white radiance fills this room. You look around in awe at the diamonds set into the walls and the white gold circling the ceiling. In the center of the ceiling is a giant onyx. Unlike the rich but natural tunnels of the rest of the complex, this chamber was made this way, and nobody has tried to mine it: small diamonds even lie on the floor, waiting for the common adventurer. The warm cavern is to the north, and a bare cavern lies to the south.
This cavern is bare in contrast to the others. There are no glittering gems in the ceiling and walls, no stalagmites growing from the floor, not even stalactites hanging from the ceiling. Several bare offshoots lead off into the rock, but each ends in a blind hole after a few paces. The only real ways on are the white chamber to the north and a tunnel climbing upward, its walls marked by tools.
The tunnel climbs up out of the Delve and twists out of sight to the east. You can hear the faint echo of steel on rock ahead, but these tunnels make it hard to tell distance. This tunnel is bare of anything worth mining, and it appears to be a made tunnel: the marks in the walls could have come from mining tools, which would explain why nothing of value is left in them.
The tunnel takes a sharp turn here, from the west to the south. There is some rubble on the floor which doesn't seem to come from this part of the tunnel. The pounding sounds a little louder here, and is beginning to become annoying.
This cavern has several piles of crushed rock around it. The piles are about three meters high, and there are five of them. There appears to be a substantial mining operation nearby, and the pounding grows louder to the south. The only exits are to the north and south.
This small cavern is built like a defensive outpost. Two piles of rubble stand on either side of the northern exit, lower than the piles in the rubble cavern, dug out from behind to make a barricade against whatever comes up from the Delve. The other clue that this is a guard post is the pair of guards standing behind it. The tunnel goes on to the south.
The tunnel takes another sharp turn here, leading you closer to that awful banging sound. Whatever is making it must be deaf. There are some small piles of rubble along the sides of the tunnel, and the ceiling and walls have been stripped bare of anything of value. The tunnel runs to the north and to the west.
This is a hallway that has been carved out of the surrounding rock. You can see statues lining the walls ahead of you, and a layer of obsidian has been placed on the floor. There are lights to the west and the sound of hammers on stone seems to come from the same direction. You can hear very little else above the pounding.
This long, tall hallway is magnificent in its splendor. The floor is tiled with obsidian, the walls have beautiful hangings, and the ceiling has silver inlaid in a flowery pattern. Lining the walls on either side are bronze statues of beings that look similar to genies. The entrance to the hallway is to the east, and the hall continues to the west.
The hallway continues in its luxurious splendor. The obsidian floor is polished to a shine, and the silver in the ceiling doesn't have a spot of tarnish on it. Just to the west the hall bends sharply away toward the light and the pounding, and to the east it runs back toward its entrance.
The hallway takes a sharp turn to the north here. The hallway to the north shows the signs of some light and the source of the deafening pounding is most definitely to the north also. The hangings on the walls here show pictures of genies lounging around and watching humans labor.
The hallway comes to an abrupt end here with a huge stone gate. The gate is closed but you can see what looks like another corridor on the other side. The only other apparent exit from this room is back down the hallway to the south.
You press onward, squeezing through this tiny tunnel. There are some rocks and pebbles on the ground, and you hurt your hands and knees crawling through. In either direction, you can see the tunnel widen out into areas in which you can stand up, comfortably.
This is an immense cavern which is more than one hundred paces wide. The ceiling can barely be seen, and the floor is so smooth it almost seems to have been polished. There is nothing on the floor except a single, VERY large boulder. Except, didn't that boulder just move?
The heat in this room is unbearable. Your clothes quickly catch fire and you drop to the ground in agony. In the process, you coat yourself in molten rock and are soon burned to ash.
This cavern is crossed by veins of quartz, and there are some small chunks of silver in the ceiling. The sounds of your footsteps echo throughout. The main tunnel runs on north and back south, and a silvery gleam comes from a side cave to the west.
This tunnel is worn smooth with the passage of time, and the walls are seamed with dull iron ore. There is no sound other than your steps, which echo throughout. The floor is littered with small rocks, and now and then something sparkles in a corner. The main tunnel runs north and south, and the muddy cavern lies to the west.
This is a junction of tunnels, all of them very similar. The walls appear to have been clawed at, like an animal trying to dig insects out, and the scratches show quartz and marble beneath. It's a wonder the complex is still standing, with so much empty space under so much rock. The main tunnel runs on north and back south, and a damp passage leads west.
Tunnels converge here from three sides. This cavern has several small stalactites hanging from the ceiling, and the floor is clear of obstructions but for a few small glittering stones and a scatter of fallen rock. The main tunnel continues north and south, and a passage scarred with claw marks leads east.
This tunnel appears to have been clawed out of the surrounding rock. There is considerable debris on the floor, mostly chunks of granite with some small gemstones among them, and a vein of opal shows in the wall. The long cave is to the south, and from the north come loud scratching sounds.
This tunnel is still in progress. The claw marks are fresh and there is a significant pile of rocks on the floor, with gemstones still mixed in; it wouldn't take long to pick them out. Bones lie among the debris too, gnawed and scattered. The only way out is back to the south.
This hallway is a mined tunnel with lots of details carved into the walls. The carvings depict beings of all kinds of races mining gems while dao watch over them. The floor is polished granite and the ceiling is speckled with gemstones in a wavy pattern. The hall continues to the north and a gate lies to the south.
This hallway is covered with carvings showing humans and elementals being enslaved by dao. The floor is made of granite and inlaid with gold swirls. The ceiling is checkered with diamonds and emeralds. To the north is an intersection and the hall continues to the south. East and west of here appear to be living quarters of some type.
This room has several cots lining the far wall. This appears to be a barracks where the guards come to sleep while off duty. The cots which are not being used are very neatly made. The dao seem to be a neat group of beings at least.
The far wall of this room is lined with cots. At the foot of each cot is a small table to place personal items. This must be where the off-duty guards come to rest and relax. In the middle of the room is a card table and there are four chairs placed around it.
This room echoes with the very loud ringing of steel on stone. The awful sound seems to be coming from the western corridor. That and the hall to the east appear to be under construction. They do not appear as finished as the southern or northern hallways. The intersection itself is still rough in its construction. There are no carvings on the walls here and no tiles placed on the floors. The halls to the north and south both are tiled and have carved walls.
This hallway is still rough stone. It appears that it is in the process of completion. There are places where carvings have been started on the walls, and the floors appear to have been smoothed out. There are piles of granite dust underneath the areas where carvings have been started. There are rooms to the north and south which look like living quarters.
This room is full of dirty dishes and pots. There is a lot of heat coming from a flat rock against the southern wall. It appears that the flat rock is used as a stove. The room itself is filthy. There are rats running around the floor, scraps of rotten food lying in piles on the table in the center of the room, and the floor is covered in crumbs and rat droppings.
This room appears to be what most would consider a standard pantry. This has just one difference. The shelves are covered with rotten meat, moldy bread and cheese, and wilted vegetables. This is probably not the food given to the dao for dinner. There is plenty here to eat, but most of it would be questionable about its being edible.
There is very little which has been done with this room. The walls are very rough and have no carvings yet. The floor is also rough and does not appear to have been smoothed out yet for the purpose of laying down tiles. There appear to be living quarters to the north and south, while to the east you can hear some quiet groans.
This room is fully carved and tiled. The walls depict a very large dao standing over hundreds of slaves of varying races. The slaves are mining out a tunnel and separating any gemstones and precious metals which are included. The large dao in the carving is carrying a huge whip with flayed ends.
This room is not decorated like the other places in the area. There aren't any carvings on the wall. The carvings are on the floor tiles instead. The tiles are carved with the likenesses of skulls and bones while the walls are decorated with hundreds of styles of whips. The southern wall is lined with cots. There are eight cots against the wall. All are unoccupied and neatly turned down.
This room is not much more than a cave that has been carved to the point where the walls are fairly smooth like walls. The room is dim and damp and the floor is covered with molding straw. There are several dirty and tired looking humanoids lying about. Most of them look beaten and overworked.
This hallway is obviously unfinished. The walls seem to be freshly carved from the rock. The walls still show the marks of picks and other tools. The floor is rough granite and has yet to be polished and smoothed for the placement of tiles. The awful sound of mining can be heard very clearly here, and appears to be coming from the west. An intersection is to the east.
This room has been carved out of the surrounding granite rather recently. The dust and dirt on the floor has yet to be removed and some large stones are piled near the entrance. There appears to be the beginnings of a closet in the east wall, but not much has been done yet.
This room is apparently going to be a sleeping chamber. There is an empty closet in the west wall and the floor has been polished to a flat surface. The ceiling and walls still need to be smoothed and the floor is waiting to be tiled, but otherwise this room is about finished.
This appears to be the end of the planned hallway. To the west it opens into a large room, and the agonizingly loud pounding is most definitely coming from there. The hallway continues to the east. There are no doors in the side walls yet, but chalk marks on both of them show where future doors are planned.
This is the northeast corner of what appears to be a huge mining operation. There are humans and demihumans using picks along the north wall, and other humanoids sorting gems out of stone, and even more humanoids carting the loose stone away. There is the sound of someone shouting in the distance, and occasionally, you can hear the crack of a whip above the pounding. The mine continues to the west and south. A hallway leads to the east.
This corner of the mine is being pushed outward. Humans hack at the far walls to widen the cavern while elves cart the stone away, so maybe it is being sorted elsewhere. The crack of a whip can occasionally be heard to the south. To the east, the mine appears mostly empty of gems.
This area of the mine is under the heaviest work. The slaves are cutting into the far walls, where very large clusters of diamonds sit in a deposit of platinum. The slave driver is pushing the slaves here very hard to mine it as fast as possible. The mine continues to the north and east.
This is the southeastern corner of the diamond mine. The sound of a cracking whip can be heard to the west, as well as substantial mining sounds. This area of the mine appears to be left for sorting diamonds and other gems out of the mined rock. To the east is where slaves are carting the sorted rock.
This room is where the slaves bring all the sorted rock and stone. There is a large hole in the floor where rock appears to be dumped. Lots of stones and dirt are lying on the floor around the edge of the hole. There is some heat emanating from the hole.
This is where the slaves dump all the sorted rock. There is quite a bit of heat emanating from this room. There isn't anything here but some melted stone. Actually, if the stone melts down here, what is that going to do to a person? Well.............
This hallway is well furnished with an onyx tiled floor and carvings with gold inset. The ceiling is speckled with diamonds and jade. To the east and west appear to be finished residences while to the north the hall continues on. To the south is an intersection. A loud banging sound comes from the south.
This is the northern end of the North Hall. There is a large, heavy door leading to the north and what appear to be living quarters to the east and west. The hallway continues south. The door to the north is carved stone with gold and silver inlays. The carving on it appears to be a huge dao standing and ruling over several hundred other dao. The carving is quite intricate and almost seems that all the dao in it are alive and watching you.
This room is pleasantly decorated with a bed and a dresser of clothes, but the carvings on the walls are still consistent with the others. There is the similar theme of dao leading slaves through the caves in order to mine precious gemstones for profit. This room's floor is not tiled. Instead, it is carpeted with a white fur rug. It is very soft and appears to be fairly valuable.
This room is furnished with two beds and a table. There is a small closet-type area in the south wall which appears to be empty. The walls are carved in typical patterns of dao ruling over slaves. The ceiling has a mixture of gemstones sparsely scattered around it. There are a few diamonds, some emeralds, several rubies, and even some quartz crystals.
This room is furnished with a dresser, a bed, and a chair. The bed is a canopy bed with a red silk canopy. The dresser is made from what appears to be an oiled redwood. There is some gold inlay around the top of the dresser. The chair is an oiled oaken chair which is quite sturdy and should be able to hold a lot of weight. There is some silver along the arms of the chair.
This home appears to be more richly furnished and decorated than the surrounding area. The bed in this room is a canopied bed with a velvet canopy and a lace screen which separates the user from the room. This bed is in contrast to the cots which have appeared elsewhere. The ceiling is heavily inlaid in gold and platinum which swirls around giant ruby clusters. The carvings on the walls show dao wearing silk and velvet clothing while they walk around a city bazaar.
This room is a small, but high-ceilinged room with some basic decoration on the walls. There are some carvings on the walls, but these are not like the horrific slave scenes of before, but of a rich and powerful ruler as he leads his people in a grand celebration of some sort. The ceiling is vaulted and has a representation of the night sky, with diamonds representing the stars and a giant piece of moonstone representing the full moon. The floor is tiled in onyx and there are oil lanterns attached to the walls in strategic places to provide light.
This room is small, but serves its purpose quite well. Three walls are lined with pegs and on several of these pegs, a cloak or jacket is hanging. It seems to be a standard cloak room and the only exit is to the east.
This room is the southern end of a huge banquet hall. Only the richest kings or lords could afford a bigger one. The hall extends north for quite a ways, and a huge table stands further north. Smells and sounds of cooking drift in through a wide doorway to the east, and the foyer is to the south.
This is the center of the grand dining hall. A monstrously large table fills the middle of the floor, but there are no chairs or seats around it: the dao eat standing, or float. The hall continues to the north and south.
This is obviously a kitchen, but its proportions are astounding. There is a stove which could hold six giant kettles and an oven in which two dozen loaves of bread could be baked at once. Considering the size of the dining hall, a kitchen would need to be this large. The odors from the last meal still roam about the room, but nothing is cooking at the moment. The hall is to the west, the servants' quarters to the east and the pantry to the south.
This room is spacious, yet dark. There are many hooks and hangers on the walls and several buckets on the floor. Brooms, mops, buckets, dust pans, and rags make up the population of this small closet.
This appears to be a living area. The beds along the south wall are well kept and neatly made. The whole room is not extravagant in any sense of the word, but it is comfortable. It would be a good guess that the servants resided in this room.
This looks like a standard pantry. There are several shelves of food and other kitchen supplies, and the food here looks edible and fresh. There may even be enough to take along on a picnic. The kitchen is to the north, and a narrow door east opens into a broom closet.
This is the north end of a huge dining hall. The room appears to be able to hold several thousand people at once, if necessary. There is a huge table to the south where the main area of the hall is. Doors to the east and west lead into the east and west wings of the complex, while to the north is where the Khan listens to his visitors.
This appears to be a residential wing. The designs on the wall depict things much different than what seems to be common with the dao. To the north, around the doorway, is a picture of an underwater castle built into a coral reef. To the south is a forest-like scene with several sylvan creatures gathering around a human. The hallway continues to the east, and to the west is the Grand Hall.
This part of the hallway depicts a flaming castle surrounded by a moat full of lava on the north wall. Pictured on the south wall is a scene of a marid swimming amongst sharks and fish. The hallway continues to the east and west and there appear to be guest residences to the north and south.
The walls of this section of the hallway are similarly carved as the earlier sections. To the north, a scene of a tall, beautiful woman who is wrapped by a cyclone of air. Around this woman stand some creatures which appear to be air elementals. There also appears to be a dragon in the background. Around the southern exit is a scene of an island in the ocean with whales and sea-going birds occupying the space around the island.
The walls of this room are covered with an extensive carving. The scene which is depicted is an enlarged and expanded version of the one outside the door. There is a woman surrounded by a whirlwind who is flying amongst several air elemental type creatures. In the background are two dragons flying in opposite directions. This room is fairly comfortable and seems well ventilated.
This room appears to depict the gathering of all four elements in one scenario. The carving on the wall is that of an island in the middle of the ocean, with a large volcano in the center. The volcano is actively spewing ash and lava into the air. The waves of the ocean are rough with the wind that is bending the trees on the island slightly. There is a storm overhead which is sending a flash of lightning across the sky and dropping rain onto the island. Beyond the carving, the room is quite comfortable and simply furnished with a bed and dresser.
This room's decoration consists of a carving depicting a castle in the middle of a mountain range with a moat of hot lava. The mountains surrounding the castle are all active volcanoes with lava pouring down the sides. At the entrance to the castle stands a large efreet waiting to greet visitors.
This room is comfortably decorated with a bed and a dresser made of coral. The walls are covered in a carving showing a marid swimming among several ocean creatures. These creatures include sharks, large fish of various species, and whales. In the background is a castle made from the heart of a living coral reef.
This room is lavishly furnished with a canopy bed and a coral dresser along with a writing desk and chair. The walls of this room are covered with a carving that depicts the same castle as outside in the hall, but much larger and more detailed. In this carving, the small pieces of plants and the tiny air bubbles can be seen floating in the water around the pictured castle.
This room is marvelously crafted from the heart of the stone. The walls are carved into the design depicted on the outside of the door but the details here are incredible. The leaves on the trees seem to be individually grown and placed onto the wall. The animals appear to almost have real fur. You can almost feel the breeze ruffling the leaves and the smell of grass and flowers can almost be sensed.
This large chamber is where the Khan holds his meetings with guests and other dao. He sits in his throne while listening and when passing judgment. The chamber is richly decorated with many diamonds in the ceiling. The floor is tiled in an onyx which also has some mother of pearl inset at intervals, but not in the central walkway. The walls are carved with a depiction of a great hoard of treasure consisting of precious metals and piles of gems. This room has definitely been designed to make an impression on visitors.
This is the room the Khan sits with guests and visitors when detailing a treaty or making agreements of trade. There are some comfortable seats around a medium sized table. The exit to the west leads out to the audience room while the exit to the east appears to lead to a storage room.
This room is filled with shelves designed to store parchment and paper items. This appears to be where all the maps and non-crucial treaties are kept when not being referenced by someone. This room doesn't appear to get a lot of use, judging by the build up of dust in several areas of the room.
This room is void of furnishings with the exception of three items: a large table, and 2 chairs. On the southern wall are several clips which would appear to be able to hold maps or diagrams. There are exits to the north and east while the audience room is to the south.
This room has shelves upon shelves of books. The books cover just about every imaginable topic in about 25 different languages. The shelves here are stuffed to capacity and there doesn't seem to be an empty space in the room.
This room is somewhat cozy in the fact that this room has a desk, a chair, and a desk lamp. In the corner is a lounge chair with another lamp beside it. This appears to be where the Khan spends a lot of his time when not meeting with visitors or advisors.
This room is the Khan's private sleeping chamber. There is a huge canopy bed along the south wall, and a lounge chair and lamp along the west wall. Against the east wall is a large bookcase which is almost completely filled with books for the Khan's private reading pleasure.
This is the Khan's private treasure room. There are riches and treasure beyond your imagination. Piles of gold coins, items of magical power, and pillage from conquered lands all lie here in this room. And it's yours for the taking.
This area has a small pulpit at the north end of the room, beside the door to the priest's room. In front of this pulpit is a large chunk of diamond, about the size of your head, fixed to a stand which is in turn fixed to the floor. The rest of the room is filled with pews facing the pulpit, where worshippers come to hear the sermons of the Khan's priest. The audience room is to the east, and a door in the west wall leads deeper into the sanctuary.
This room is a small temple of worship for the dao. There is an altar here made entirely of diamonds, resting on a small dais. At the base of the dais, attached to the floor somehow, is a row of feather pillows. There is a closed gateway in the west wall, and a humming sound comes from behind it. The chapel of this small religious area is to the east, through the door.
This room is void of any decoration of any kind. There is a familiar feeling about this room though. As you look around, a white glow surrounds your body and you become disoriented for a moment.
This room is nearly bare. There is a small cot in the corner and a writing table and chair against the wall near the door. Next to the cot is a small stand with a book of religious writings. This priest does not live in comfort.
This hallway seems almost drab in comparison to other areas in this complex. The floor is plainly tiled in onyx, but the walls here are not carved and there are no gemstones in the ceiling. There seems to be no display of wealth or grandeur within this wing. It feels almost business-like.
This part of the hall matches the rest of the hall. It is very plain compared to the rest of the complex. There is a sign on the wall to the north which reads: The Great and Worthy Accountant of the Great and Mighty Khan of the Dao. To the south is a similar sign reading: The Soul of Wisdom and Intelligence, Advisor of the Great Khan of the Dao. The hall continues to the east and west while openings in the walls to the north and south lead to offices.
This is an office of what appears to be the Khan's accountant. There are dusty ledgers piled in every corner of the room. On the desk which takes up three-quarters of the room not taken over by ledgers, stand one small pile of books and ledgers. Also on the desk are several pens and bottles of ink. You can only hope that the treasurer of this race can keep the books neater than he can keep his office.
This room is immaculately clean and organized. There are bookshelves along the east, south, and west walls. At the top of the shelves are signs which read "Public Policy," "Foreign Affairs," and "Military Tactics and History," respectively. The small desk in the center of this room is clear of clutter and has a large oil lamp on it for reading. In a stand on the corner is a large magnifying glass.
This appears to be the end of the west wing. There are three steel doors set into the surrounding stone, one each to the north, south, and west. The floor is tiled in the same onyx tile but in front of each door is a worn spot which looks like two feet. These doors appear to be guarded around the clock. What is behind them is probably valuable.
This vault is the storage room for all the gold mined in the local operation. It also holds the tithes to the Khan from all the other dao clans not in the Dismal Delve. This is the store of gold for the supply and running of this complex.
This room holds the platinum stores for the complex. Most all of it came from the mining operation, yet some has been gained on raids. The bars of platinum stacked here are worth a lot of money.
This vault is huge. It contains the main product of the local mine. There are all kinds of gems in this room: rubies, diamonds, sapphires, topaz, emeralds, and more. The worth of this room is extreme. No wonder there are guards outside the door.
This is a small, narrow tunnel through solid rock, and the stale air smells of dust and stone. Above, the tunnel climbs steeply back toward the earthy brown rift it came down from, a hard scramble but a way out of this plane. Downward and to the south the tunnel squeezes on toward a chamber where something very large waits. Strangely, the usual sense of the world pressing down on you is missing here: it is almost as though you stand on top of the world, with more of it still above you.
This room is very bare and empty, save for the HUGE elemental standing here, a hill of living stone that guards the way into the plane. The narrow tunnel leads back to the north, and a large, white door is set into the south wall.
This room glows with a bright light. It seems to surround you and infuse you with an energy you have never felt before. Suddenly, the light grows very intense.
The walls of this room are embedded with large gemstones and deposits of precious metals. In the center of the room is a large bowl, placed on a pedestal. The bowl has been segmented off into eight sections. In a clockwise direction from the north, the sections contain rocks, lava, flame, smoke, air, mist, water, and mud. The smell of burning rock fills the room and the humidity of the mist seems to dampen your clothes. There seems to be a lot of smoke in the air, yet breathing does not appear to be difficult. Piled in the northeast corner of the room is a stack of obsidian chunks, which look like they could be made into interesting weapons. In the northwest corner is a small pile of perfect pearls. In the southeastern corner is a pile of glass ingots, while in the southwestern corner stands a shimmering ice sculpture of a large dragon. A wall of still water in the east side of the room leads back to Zolgan's underwater workroom.
You stand in a room where the walls are covered with some strange wall-paper. This is the nice and cozy home of a strange half-giant barbarian, who belongs to the past. On the walls you see nothing in particular, except a large painting on the southern wall. Things that you can see in the room are a large desk, a chair and a BIG sofa!!!! You note that you are not alone in the room. The owner is here!!!
You stand on a hill overlooking the port of Arnhem. The stench of sulphur reaches your nostrils. You can faintly see the river Loberan dividing Arnhem into an old district and a new one. The old district on the far bank is a jumble of small houses built close together without any logic whatsoever, where only marujans live. Near the river lies the craftsmen's district, a very busy one, so it seems, and beyond it the small garrison and the trade council. Below you to the north is the southern gate of Arnhem.
You stand outside the southern gate of Arnhem. You can hear the noise and announcements of the Arnhem guards and inhabitants. You clearly see that this is a small city concentrated on trading goods from the icy north. You note further that the city gate is old and rusty, it seems like the council of Arnhem didn't run their city too well. To the north you see the beginning of South Bay Street, one of the large streets of Arnhem.
You stand on the beginning of one of the large streets of Arnhem, the South Bay Street. The street is covered with cobblestones. You can see that the garbage collection doesn't work properly, it is very dirty. The wind ruffles your hair while you stand here thinking of what to do. To the north the South Bay Street continues, and you can hear the remote noise of a market center to the north.
South Bay Street meets two other streets here, and the way beyond is blocked by carts and crates. To the west Harbour Street runs down beside the harbor of Arnhem, and eastward is Luxor Street, with its fine, good-looking houses. The gate is back to the south. A stench of half-rotten fish comes from the west.
This is the beginning of Luxor Street, the most luxurious street in Arnhem. The houses are made of white stone and are very clean; the people who live here seem to have a lot of money and know how to keep filth and crime away. Farther along, past a locked iron fence, you can faintly see a little chapel. South Bay Street is back to the west.
The Harbour Street is a really filthy street, covered with mud and dirt. There are wheeltracks at both sides of the street continuing Westwards. The smell of half-rotten fish is getting stronger and is coming from the West. There is a lot of movement here.
Standing on the filthy Harbour Street makes you wonder if there is any kind of law and order in this city. Harbor workers pace back and forth carrying boxes of half-rotten fish, and the customs house looms over the street, its doors barred. To the south the Black Harbour Shop welcomes you with its open doors, and the street runs back to the east.
Standing inside the Black Harbour Shop, you notice that this is not the place you really would want to work in. All kind of fish hangs down from the ceiling and the stench is horrible. A strange fat big man is standing here, he must be the owner of this shop. A worn note is hanging on the southern wall.