145 rooms · levels 35–51
The gatehouse of the wooden fortress stands quietly in the misty haze that covers the hills. Fingers of smoke rise from inside the walls, leaving gray streaks between the keep and the dull sky above. A massive gate of timber and iron looms to the west, barring the way into the tall, sturdy fortress, and arrow slits look down on it from the wall above. The road leads away to the east.
The main entryway is a broad yard inside the gate, where the garrison gathers in the event of a siege. Sconces line the walls, ready to light the whole yard at need, and along the wall above the gate are firing places for archers, set behind a fair measure of cover. The gate to the east leads out of the fortress. A short walk to the west brings you to the watch headquarters and its tower, and to the south a great bronze door opens into the heart of the fortress.
Stone walls mix with wooden beams here in a clever blend of strength and give. A ladder climbs up into the watchtower that keeps an eye on the land around the fortress, searching for invaders. A stone archway to the south marks the way to the arsenal, where the weapons of the castle's soldiers are kept, and the main entryway lies back to the east.
The countryside spreads out to the horizon below, a wondrous mix of forest green and earthen brown. Small roads crisscross their way through the vegetation that chokes the land, and rivers and the creeks that break off from them glint between the trees. A large bell hangs in the center of the tower with a long rope dangling from it, the alarm that would call the troops to arms at the first sign of a siege. The ladder leads back down.
A bed to rival a king's sits in all its splendor against the northern wall of this massive room, and a desk backed by a tall, comfortable chair stands by the west wall, inviting you to sit down and work. A cord hangs from the ceiling, no doubt ringing a bell somewhere to summon the servants. To the south an ornate wooden door leads back to the entrance of the guest chambers.
Large cots line the eastern wall, each stacked with identical blankets and pillows. A pit in the middle of the floor is charred black from the fires that warm the soldiers through the cold season, and the smell in here is nearly overpowering; the corridor to the south offers some relief.
The wall ahead is your first clue that this is a dead end. A large tapestry hangs on the northern wall proclaiming the glory of the general, and to the west a particularly massive door bears a large brass symbol that states his greatness in no subtle terms. The hallway leads back to the south.
Massive dingy tapestries hang from the ceiling and drape over the stone walls, shutting out both cold and noise. A large table stands against the back wall with a huge oaken chair at its head. Dried bits of food are spilled across the floor, and large wine stains linger on the cloth hangings all around the room. To the east a rather large wooden door leads back into the hallway.
The ceiling of this passage is so far up that it seems to fade away into the sky. Sconces line the walls, holding giant-sized torches that a smaller person could easily mistake for bonfires. The hallway runs a long way south toward a massive open-air courtyard; a door to the west opens into a storeroom, and the great bronze door to the north leads back to the main entryway.
Racks of weapons line the walls, all of them made for giants: great spears, axes and two-handed swords, showing their girth to all who look. To the east a door leads back into the long hallway.
Torches in sconces high up on the walls light this corridor, whose stone walls lead straight to the large room to the south; even from here you can see the weapons lining its walls. The watch headquarters is back to the north.
The hallway makes a sharp bend here, from the south to the west. Sconces fitted with massive wooden torches are set every few paces along the corridor, and the stone floor and walls give it a cold, drafty feel.
The hallway ends in a small antechamber with two doors. To the west a door fit for a storm giant looms, its iron-bound planks the picture of strength. To the south is a slightly smaller door, and quite a bit of noise comes from behind it: some sort of common room. The corridor leads back to the east.
Tapestries drape the stone walls of this room, giving it a warm, comfortable feel, and braziers burn brightly in all four corners, a rare luxury in this place. A short hallway leads off to the west, a massive door to the east opens on the antechamber, and the guest chambers lie behind the doors to the north and the south.
The small hallway bends slightly and runs straight into a large wooden door to the south. Torches and braziers burn brightly, giving off warmth and light in abundance. To the east the hallway opens back into the entrance of the guest quarters.
The corridor turns here, leading deeper into the fortress. The strong smell of sweat nearly overwhelms you as you near the barracks to the north, whose stench is beyond anything you can imagine. The hallway runs off to the west, and to the south it continues along the east wall.
The hallway makes a bend here. High up on the stone walls are sconces set every few paces, most of them holding a large torch for warmth and light. To the south is a large wooden door, the corridor runs off to the east, and to the north it continues.
Massive racks of equally massive weapons stand end to end along the walls. Torches burn bright in their sconces, giving a good look at the contents of the room: of all the weapons here, the giants' favorite is clearly the massive iron mace, by far the most common in the arsenal. The corridor leads back to the north.
Several large tables line the walls of this plain room. One is used for simple card games, the others for more interesting ones, and a large box sits in a corner. The stone walls make every noise seem to come from all directions at once. To the north a large door leads back into the antechamber.
This chamber houses the fortress's most important guests. Large crimson tapestries drape the walls, and braziers bathe the room in a welcome warmth. A large bed stands against the wall with a wooden desk beside it. A large door to the north leads back to the corridor.
This chamber is lined with crimson tapestries, clearly the favorite color of the current chief. A giant-sized bed is pushed into the corner, covered in rich but dirty linen, and several empty bottles stand in another corner, the remnants of the last evening's celebration. A large door leads south.
Large sconces line the stone walls, each holding an equally massive torch. The floor is dusty, unswept in quite some time. A large wooden door opens to the west, and the corridor runs north toward the barracks and south toward the heart of the fortress.
The closet is much like any other closet in the fortress, with a few crates stacked in the corners, all heavy with dust and grime. Torch sconces line the walls, but they have been burned dry for months at the very least. To the east a door leads back into the hallway.
The Hall of the Chief is a huge chamber dedicated to the praise, and near worship, of the chief. Heads taken from massive beasts line the walls, racks of exotic weapons are displayed in expensive glass cases, and crimson tapestries hang from the ceiling to soften the bare stone. A large door leads north to the chief's bedroom, and to the south lies the hall's entryway.
The torches here burn low in their great sconces, and the dust of the corridor shows the tracks of many feet going to and from a door in the west wall, behind which someone once kept house. The hallway runs north and south.
The chamber is in shambles and has clearly not been used in quite some time. What were once wash basins lie rotted and scattered across the floor, and the mops and brooms are so crusty with age that they can never be used again. To the east a large door leads back to the hallway.
Torches sit high on the stone walls, shedding light from all directions. The wall opens to the west on a small sentry post, and to the north the corridor makes a sharp bend. Deep shadows stretch where the light fails to reach the stone, leaving ominous purple stains scattered about at random. The hallway intersection is to the south.
The post is only large enough for maybe two giants. A couple of chairs line the west wall, a basin of semi-clear water sits by the east wall, and arms and equipment are stacked in a corner, a bit less than organized. The hallway runs past to the east.
A second guest chamber, a little plainer than the first: the tapestries here are a faded brown rather than crimson, and a single brazier struggles to warm the room. A bed sized for a cloud giant takes up most of the floor, its linen rumpled, and a traveling chest stands open and empty at its foot. A door to the north leads back to the entrance of the guest chambers.
Passing through the arch gives little more view than the entryway behind. The huge door to the south is made of iron and heavy hardwood, quite unbreakable, its hinges fastened into the stone by bolts that weigh no less than fifty pounds apiece and run a full foot into the blocks. To the west is the entryway to the private Hall of the Chief.
This entryway is surprisingly clean for a giants' keep. To the north a large stone archway is bordered with tapestries of the epic battles of the past, and giant-sized suits of armor stand in the corners, holding possibly the largest battleaxes in the land. To the east a smaller archway leads to yet another giant-sized door, and the intersection lies to the west.
The intersection is small by a giant's standards, but it still towers over any creature not of their size. Sconce-lined corridors run off to the north and to the south. To the west a short hallway ends in a massive wooden door, and to the east hang the tapestries that mark the beginning of the Hall of the Chief.
Directly to the west is a huge wooden door, held against the wall by heavy iron hinges, with a handle that offers more than ample grip. Torches line the hallway, giving off enough light to see by. To the east the hallway runs on to an intersection.
The central courtyard is grand indeed, by giants' standards. Its fire pit is so massive that it could consume a small forest, and tables of rough pine stand end to end around it, making a nearly complete square for the feasts held here. Doors to the east and west lead into the castle's hallways, and a long hallway runs north toward the main gate.
A door to the east, another to the west, and the hallway running on to the north and the south are the only marks of this place. Both doors are huge, weighing no less than six hundred pounds apiece. The smell of bad food drifts in from the west, choking out every other odor in the fortress.
The entrance to the kitchen is much what you would expect of giants: bits of food are scattered across the floor, most of them picked clean by the rats. A strong smell of alcohol comes from the west, giving away the chief's plans for this evening, as for every evening. The main kitchen is to the west, and the hallway to the east.
The kitchen is warm and full of smells. Over the fire against the west wall hangs a large cauldron of some thick stew, and a large rack on another wall holds the whiskey and ale the chief favors. The kitchen continues to the south, and to the east a small entryway leads to the hall beyond.
Voluminous crimson tapestries envelop the stone walls of this room in blood-red sheets, and skins and rugs hang between them. A desk of massive redwood slats lashed together with leather thongs stands against the western wall with a chair to match its girth behind it, and a shelf once made for books now holds the heads the chief has deemed worthy to stay in his presence. A very large door in the northern wall leads out.
This tiny cubicle could serve the chief as a little-finger warmer, yet it is used for weapons storage. It is so small that it holds only a single massive axe, much too heavy for a man to wield, unless he is a giant. To the west a small door leads back into the crate storeroom.
This looks to be the storeroom for crates. Stacks of wooden boxes stand everywhere there is room, but none of them holds any goods at all; the illusion is complete, and the crates truly are empty. A door to the north leads back to the study, and a small door to the east opens on a closet.
Large sconces line the stone walls, each holding an equally massive torch, and a tapestry hangs on the west wall. The floor is dusty, unswept in quite some time. To the west is a large wooden door, to the south a stone archway leads into what looks to be an open-air training ground, and the corridor runs back north to the intersection.
The chamber is quite small by giant standards, though any of the smaller races would call it roomy. A large table of solid wood dominates the room, covered in bits of last night's meal. Sturdy wooden doors lead east and west.
A huge easy chair sits before a gigantic fireplace, a bearskin rug spread on the floor in front of it, and old, rusty weapons hang in holders all along the walls. Torches burn in sconces on the west wall just above the fireplace's grate. Doors lead to the south and east.
Beyond the secret door a large staircase of iron and wood stands in the way, leading down into darkness. You cannot make out what lies below, so you had better be careful going down into the placid shadows. To the east is the door, barely visible against the stone wall.
The ogre quarters are large and dirty. Beds are set every few steps, leaving the ogres very little room to live in, and the dirt caked on the stone walls and floor gives the room a musty, grimy smell. The door to the south leads back to the entrance of the slave quarters.
Torches line the hallway, giving ample light. To the south looms a large door of wood and metal, quite impressive, and from the north comes the smell of cooked food, a bit less appetizing than you are used to. Solid stone walls stand on either side, though one torch on the western wall sits oddly crooked in its sconce.
The top of the steps is much smaller than most rooms in the fortress. The way down below the castle is made of wooden planks that creak loudly underfoot. To the east a door leads back into the main fortress, and the stairway leads down into the earth.
Here is much like the rest of the kitchen: another large fire burns against the west wall under a cauldron of the same thick stew. To the south a small doorway leads into a pantry of sorts, dark but easily searched, and the kitchen continues to the north.
A large open area lies before you, enclosed by a thirty-foot wall of logs. Two large buildings stand to the south and a watchtower rises to the southwest. The barking of dogs gives away a kennel to the west, and the compound continues to the south; the corridor of the fortress is back to the north.
This place smells awful. Large cages are set at regular intervals around the kennel, all of them stuffed far past their room with large, nasty-looking dogs that bark and snarl at anyone who passes, bred for one purpose only: combat. The entryway to the training grounds is to the east.
The entrance to the slave quarters is what you would expect: cold, dirty and rather foul-smelling. A door in the northern wall leads into a living area of some kind, and past a high arch to the south lies what looks to be a dining area for the slaves. The great steel door is to the west.
A huge door of metal and solid wood dominates the east wall, giving off an aura of cold, heartless strength. Sconces fitted with torches on either side of it cast long shadows into the hallway. The hallway leads back to the north.
Barrels and crates fill much of this storeroom, and all of them seem to hold alcohol of one sort or another. Large kegs of ale are piled in one corner, reserved for the chief himself. The kitchen is back to the north.
This barracks houses the recruits who train in the compound. Cots line the eastern wall, a dozen of them in a row, and a hole in the middle of the floor has been charred black by the fires that warm the room in the cold season. The stench is nearly overpowering; the open compound lies to the west.
These are the training grounds of the fortress. Training weapons lie stacked in a pile, left from the morning practice. To the south is an office of some sort, to the east a barracks that smells, unsurprisingly, of sweaty giants, and to the west the central watchtower. The entryway is back to the north.
A large rope ladder leads straight up into a wooden guard tower, placed where it can keep watch over the trainees or serve in the defense of the fortress itself. The training compound is to the east.
A man who has visited an orc cave will have seen only half of what is in this room. The usual piles of straw that orcs use for beds are here, and the familiar stench with them, but the sheer filth that fills the room is simply unbearable. Scum is piled everywhere, some of it the product of natural bodily processes, the rest quite unidentifiable. A door leads back into the dining hall to the west.
Any man who ate in this place would surely not survive the trip to bed. Caked grime of rotten food and dirt covers the floor, the tables and the chairs. To the north an archway leads back to the entrance of the slave quarters, and a door to the east opens into another sleeping chamber.
The office holds a small cot for sleeping and a massive wooden desk for work. Rough stone walls give the room a confining air, as if it would like to imprison you forever in its gray interior, and the dirt floor is dry and dusty. To the north you can see the compound where new troops train.
Rows of giant-sized beds crowd this long room, so close together that a giant must climb over his neighbors to reach his own. Boots, belts and half-eaten bones lie where they were dropped, and the air is thick with snoring and sweat. A large door to the north leads back into the hallway.
The tower is placed to see inside the compound as well as out over the rolling land around the fortress. Four large windows mark the firing positions, and a large rack of bows stands in the corner. The rope ladder you came up leads back down.
An easy chair sits in one corner. Every bit of wall holds a bookshelf crammed with books. A cooler full of beer sits next to the chair, and Marist's headphones lie on its seat.
The tunnel bends here, from the west to the south. The stench of troglodytes, a reek like rancid oil, grows stronger toward the south.
The tunnel widens into a low cavern where water drips from the ceiling and pools on the floor until the earth drinks it. Gnawed bones and filthy scraps of hide show that troglodytes den here. The tunnel runs east and west.
The tunnel is dark and cool, its natural stone untouched by human hands; unlike the rest of the underground, no sconces were ever set here, as if this part was never explored. The tunnel turns here, running east and south.
Entering the room greets you with a wall of dead, cold air. The walls are carved from plain, dull stone, giving the room a natural feeling, and tapestries nearly rotted away with age hang on them, telling of powerful times and of eras that will come again. To the south is the entrance to the temple.
The tunnel turns from the west to the south here. A cool, damp breath of air rises from a great open space to the south.
The tunnel is wide here, its walls slick with the oily musk of the troglodytes who use it. Ways lead off to the north, the east and the south.
The passage is dim and quiet. Set into the west wall is an old black door covered in runes that seem to shift when you look away from them. The tunnel runs north toward the troglodyte caves and south toward the worked halls of the slave quarters.
The temple seems to have been abandoned for many years. Tall statues of some ancient pantheon stand stolid and powerful, glowing faintly with innate magic, and the walls seem to be made of a translucent, smoky crystal. To the west you can feel the tingle of powerful magic, while to the north there is only dead, cold air. The rune-covered door is to the east.
The room is large and extremely cold, unnaturally so. A large altar covered in dried blood stands defiant in the center of the unholy chamber, and magic tingles in the air, nearly numbing in its awesome presence. Deep crimson shadows are cast in every direction by the evil that thrusts its way into the world around the altar. The only exit is to the east.
The sentry post looks much like the rest of the underground tunnels: stone walls that hold the cold as easily as a basin holds water, and sconces fitted with torches for light. To the south you can see the entrance to the prison.
The cavern is massive, rising a full seventy feet to the ceiling and twice that in width. To the east your light glints off the surface of a small pool of water, and a dark tunnel runs off to the north.
After a tight squeeze you enter a large cave. Water drips somewhere, and the stench is intensely strong and foul; only every bit of your self-control keeps your lunch down. A small opening to the south might lead out, and a narrow opening to the north leads into darkness.
Pallets of straw are piled haphazardly along the east wall, and an old oaken barrel half full of a murky liquid sits in one corner. Rats scurry away at your approach, and a dank, musty smell nearly knocks you over. Someone has swept one corner clear and scratched letters and figures into the wall there, as if to teach. The only exit is the door to the south.
The bulk of the bugbears' compound lies to the south; ahead you can see a large fire in a pit, used for both warmth and light. To the north a dark tunnel runs across your path.
Pallets of straw are piled haphazardly along the walls of this crowded pen, and the floor is a mess of small, clawed footprints. An old oaken barrel half full of a murky liquid sits in one corner, and rats scurry away from you as you approach. The only exit is the door to the south.
This pen is the smallest and darkest of them all, barely more than a hole in the rock. A heap of rotten straw serves for beds, and the air is so stale that a candle would gutter. The only exit is the door to the south.
The natural passage picks up again. To the south the cave widens out to become far larger than usual, and the distant rumbling of a massive creature can be heard even here. To the north is a cavern that smells of animal remains of various sorts.
The tunnel is dark and cool, its stone walls natural, with no sign of tampering by human hands. A door in the west wall leads to the worked halls of the slave quarters, and the rough corridor runs a long way north into the dark.
The hallway takes on a less natural look here, plainly cut by tools rather than water. To the north is a slave pen, a door to the east opens on a rough natural corridor, and the hallway runs on to the west.
The hallway looks a little less natural here: though still carved from the earth, it has clearly been cut by other than natural means. To the south is what looks to be a compound of bugbears, and the corridor runs east and west.
This is a wide hall of dressed stone, its floor scored by the chains of the slaves driven along it. To the north is a slave pen, and the hallway continues east and west.
Continuing down the tunnel you come upon a large metal door to the west. A warning is written on the stone wall: anyone who attempts to escape will be dealt with harshly when returned to their cell. To the north is a small room packed with beds for slaves, and to the east the hallway continues.
The smell of unwashed bodies is everywhere, and from the rooms around you come the moans of prisoners and the screams of the tortured. Ways lead off in every direction: the guard checkpoint to the south, a sentry post to the north, a metal door to the east, and to the west a particularly gruesome scene, a torture chamber.
This chamber holds implements for torturing prisoners large and small: iron maidens, a huge rack, thumbscrews, chains, whips, branding irons and many other instruments of pain. Several of them still hold their last occupants, in various states of decomposition. A large fire burns perpetually in the middle of the room, giving it a hellish look. The way out is to the east.
As you move some of the rubble around, a strange blue glow fills the cave. As the glow intensifies, the pile of rubble swings out of your way revealing a large tunnel!
The tunnel is nearly the same as the rest, but the noise is quite different: a deep breathing, mingled with a resonant rumbling that sounds suspiciously like growling. To the west is an opening in the tunnel wall large enough for a dragon, funny how that happens. A pile of rubble is heaped against the east wall, and the tunnel leads back north.
Beyond the opening is possibly the most spectacular sight of this generation: a truly massive cavern that seems to have been made by the gods themselves. Mounds of gold, silver and platinum are piled in nearly every free space, and the air tingles with magic, all of it tied to the great creature who calls this place home. The way out is to the east.
Large piles of straw line all of the stone walls. Torches are scarce, but there are enough of them to light the room, and the walls are hewn from the rock itself, keeping it quite cool. To the west is an open cavern, and beyond it a large fire.
This place seems to serve as the morning-after area. A small pool of water lies placid in the middle of the room, probably used by the bugbears to wash out their mouths each morning, and a board with a crude map hangs on the wall. To the east are the sleeping quarters, and to the west a large fire burns in the middle of an open cavern.
A large fire pit dominates the center of this meeting room, and a fierce blaze rises from the hot coals at its base, giving ample light. To the east you can make out what must be the living quarters, to the north the compound continues, and a weathered wooden door leads south.
This cell has bloodstained stone floors, and chains are mounted in the walls. A skeleton lies crumpled in one corner, and there is a mildewed smell in the air. The only exit is the cell door to the west, back into the guard station.
The room has three large cell doors, to the south, the east and the west. Torches burn in rusted sconces set at regular intervals, and two large chairs stand in the corner for the prison guards. To the north a short hallway leads back to the entryway of the dungeon.
The tunnel narrows here toward a solid-looking wall of stone. The floor is slightly smoother than the rest, as if something once made its home here, and a low, crumbling passage leads on to the east beneath a sagging ceiling. To the west the tunnel continues and bends toward the south.
The tunnel is large and damp; small rivulets of water condense and run slowly down the walls. There is no sign of giants anywhere, as if they have never come this far into the tunnels. To the west is the strange pile of stones, and the tunnel runs on to the south and the east.
Unlike the rest of the halls down here, this one was cut by hand. Sconces line it, none of them holding a torch. To the south a barred door holds prisoners of the most unfortunate kind, and the thick smell of human decay nearly chokes you. The guard post is to the west, and the row continues to the east.
Here is the entrance to the dungeon of the giants. An oil lamp burning on a nearby table eases the darkness, giving the guards just enough light to work by. To the south is a natural passage, and to the east a row of prison cells.
The bugbear quarters smell, if possible, worse than the giants' living areas. A foul, musty stench hangs over the place, seemingly immune to the slight breeze that travels the tunnels under the fortress. To the south a wooden door marks the edge of the compound, and to the north is only more bugbear territory.
Manacles of all shapes and sizes line the walls of this cell, their rusted chains pegged into the stone. The floor is stained with the blood of earlier occupants, rats scurry away at your approach, and the smell of death is very strong. The only exit is to the north, back into the guard station.
The man, driven insane from torture starts yelling at you! "You'll never get me to talk! I'll kill myself first!! Johan? Is that you? No!! It's a trick!!!! I'll never talk..... NEVER!!!" With this he grabs at the bars on the cage. One of the metal bands breaks and he uses this new weapon to take his own life. Meanwhile, the three manticores have been making a great deal of noise in their attempt to get at you.... Suddenly, the chain is pressed past its limits and snaps! The manticores rush forward to attack you!
Manacles of all shapes and sizes line the walls of this cell, their rusted chains pegged into the stone. The floor is stained with the blood of earlier occupants, and scratches on the door show where someone tried to claw their way out. The only exit is to the east, back into the guard station.
Entering this cavern is tougher than it first seems, not for any obstruction but for the smell: nearly noxious fumes from the remains of animals force their way up your nostrils, doing their best to choke the life out of you. Bones litter the floor like ants. To the west is a natural tunnel leading north and south.
The natural tunnel meanders on beneath the fortress, crossing and recrossing in a web of corridors that run deep into the earth. The darkness is complete. A stone pillar stands in the middle of the cavern, carved with writing. To the east is a very large cavern, and the tunnel runs on to the north and the south.
Large kegs line three of the four walls, each branded with the mark of a mug. A quick taste tells you that whatever is in them went stale long ago, much to your dismay. To the north a door leads back into the storeroom.
The hallway continues here unhampered, away from the inhabited part of the caves. The sconces in the walls hold nothing but ash. The corridor bends here, running south into darkness and back to the west.
Sconces are staked into the walls, but their torches have long since burned down to ash, and the darkness is nearly complete. To the north the strong scent of sweat and decay nearly overpowers you; the hallway runs on to the east and the west.
The hallway leads away from the torchlight and the massive iron door it shows to the west. Naturally hewn stone walls close in around you, choking out the light and seeming to take the breath from your lungs. A dank, musty smell drifts in from the north, where there is a sturdy wooden door. The passage continues to the east.
A massive metal door dominates the whole cavern. Hinges the size of a giant's chest hold it in place, and a lock larger than a goblin keeps it shut against intruders. What could be dangerous enough to warrant such a barricade? The door is in the east wall, and to the south is a well-lit area.
The tunnel takes a bend here toward the south. The darkness cannot be escaped; a light only postpones the inevitable. To the west you can make out the tunnel and a very large hole in the middle of its floor, and to the south is a small alcove.
The darkness here is complete; no giant or man has ever come into these caves to live, it would seem. A large opening yawns in the floor, very dark, and it looks very dangerous to enter. The tunnel runs east and west.
The natural tunnel turns sharply here, from the east to the north. Its walls are rough and wet, and the floor is littered with loose stones that clatter away into the dark when kicked.
The stairs end in a dim hallway. Stone walls press in on you, and you honestly wonder how a giant ever managed to squeeze through with so little room to spare. To the south the hallway continues into darkness, and the stairs lead up to a small room.
This is the keeper's office. The keeper is a giant charged with keeping the underground establishment secure. Against the southern wall stands a massive oaken desk backed by a large wooden chair, and torches line the walls, giving more light than anywhere else you have seen below the fortress. A wooden door leads west.
Several smoky torches light this room, whose walls are hewn from natural stone, giving it a dark, fearful feel. To the north stands a heavily guarded metal door of some sort, and to the east is a small office. To the south a smooth natural corridor runs off into the darkness, and the stairs are to the west.
The foot of the stairs is dark and humid, and the air seems to stick to your skin with a creepiness not often felt. To the south a passage has been partially concealed, but it is still visible to the naked eye. To the east an opening leads into a compound of some sort, and the wooden stairs climb back up into the fortress.
Four huge metal cages swing from chains, making a loud squeaking sound. The bars of these cages look very brittle. In one cage the skeleton of a dwarf hangs between the bars, and a man wearing rags stares at you from another. On the far wall three manticores sit bound by huge chains and collars. Upon seeing you, they charge, tugging at their chains!
The chamber is small but well stocked: a huge pile of gold lies in the middle of the room, no doubt the reason for the manticores. Crates line the walls, but all of them seem to hold useless pieces of junk, trinkets the chief saw fit to keep as treasure. The only exit lies to the east.
Creatures seem to have made this their home in the past: piles of scum and food remains lie scattered about, and the smell is intense, burning your senses like a hot iron poker. To the north is a tunnel that bends off toward the west.
The hallway ends abruptly at a very solid wall. A single torch burns in a sconce, giving minimal light, and the low ceiling and close walls make this a very uncomfortable place to be. The dust on the west wall looks lighter than elsewhere. To the north the hallway leads back to a flight of stairs.
This rather large room is stacked with many different and interesting artifacts. A large tapestry of crimson cloth hangs on the northern wall, like those of the chief's own chambers, and torches burn eternally, fueled by magical fire, conveniently leaving no shadows to hide in. To the east the secret doorway leads into a dark hall.
The room is rather cluttered, with broken crates scattered aimlessly about. The walls are stone, the whole passage carved from the ground itself. To the west is another chamber that smells a bit like animals, and a bit like dirty humans as well; the hidden way back to the stairs is to the north.
This chamber is much like the last, with scattered wood everywhere. It is dark but for one low-burning torch in a sconce on the western wall. From the north come strange noises, animal growls mixed with human murmuring. The concealed room is back to the east, and another cluttered chamber lies to the west.
The tunnel begins to open up, and the sound of running water comes from the south. To the west is a small alcove that looks to have been a storeroom at one time, and the hallway runs back north. The air is more humid here than anywhere else you have been under the fortress.
The giants abandoned this storeroom long ago. Tools with rotted wooden handles line the walls, most of them no more than rusted hulks of steel, and a single empty sconce on the back wall has long since burned out. To the south is a nearly rotten wooden door, and to the east the tunnel.
No torches line the walls of this passage, whose smooth natural stone follows the contours of the earth. To the west the corridor continues into the darkness, and to the north it opens into a larger, better-lit chamber that seems to be inhabited.
This hallway has never been cleared out fully. Piles of rock are pushed against both walls, and what little of the floor shows is remarkably smooth and finished; strange, that debris should lie on it. A small opening to the west gives onto what looks like a natural cavern, and the hallway runs back to the east.
This natural cave looks to have been a room of some sort once. A broken cot lies against the western wall, long abandoned, and a chair sits in the corner as if no one has sat in it for years. A thin stream trickles across the floor. The smooth passage is to the east.
The tunnel opens into a large cavern. A few paces to the south is the edge of a wide pool, and the soft sound of flowing water comes from beyond it, though the darkness hides how fast the water is moving. The hallway leads back north.
As you wade into the water, you quickly realize that the current is picking up at an incredible rate. Just as you decide that it would be best to move back to the shallows to the north, a sharp undertow grabs at your legs, and you are sucked under and dragged unceremoniously toward the east.
The undertow quickly drags you along, roughly slamming your body against any available obstruction it can seem to find. As you are tossed, you quickly lose all sense of direction, but the last glimpse you get is that of you quickly being dragged away from the fortress by the current.
After tumbling for what seems like hours, you come to rest in a secluded little pond outside the walls of the fortress. A river lies to the south.
Four huge metal cages swing from chains, squeaking loudly. In one cage the skeleton of a dwarf hangs between the bars; over the metal band he broke from another lies the corpse of the insane man, who drove it through his own heart, and there is blood everywhere. A narrow door hides in the shadows of the west wall, and a cluttered chamber lies to the south.
This room is empty but for a pile of rotting meat in one corner, which smells very bad. To the north you think you see many torches, and you hear a loud squeaking sound. Another cluttered chamber lies to the east.
You float in some strange plane for what seems like a long time. Looking ahead of you, you see a light that is getting brighter and brighter with each passing minute.
You wade down into the pool. As your feet touch the water, the faint glow intensifies, and suddenly everyone in the party is surrounded by a bright white light.
As you are walking down this tunnel, you hear a strange 'click' followed by a rumbling. Looking behind you, you see that the tunnel has started caving in! Running forward as fast as you can, you make your way towards the other end of the tunnel.
The short tunnel gives way to a smaller cavern with a small pond in its center. Its surface is placid, as if fed from below rather than by any stream, and deep down in the water a faint white glow shimmers. A short tunnel to the west opens into a very large cavern.
As you walk past the opening, the large pile of rubble glows blue again. Silently, the pile swings back where it had been, closing the tunnel behind you.
The row of cells runs on. Behind the barred door to the south something shifts in the straw, and the stone floor is worn smooth by the boots of the guards pacing past. The hallway continues east and west.
The walls of the cell are carved from the stone itself. A small patch of moldy straw is piled in the corner, and beside it sits a small bucket of what used to be water. The darkness here is complete. To the north is the passageway.
The row of cells ends here. The bars of the last cell, to the south, are rusted through, leaving a gap a person could squeeze through, and a faint point of light glimmers against its back wall. The hallway leads back west.
The walls of this cell are carved from the living rock, and hundreds of scratches cover them, a prisoner's count of days that stops in the middle of a row. A bucket lies on its side by a heap of moldy straw. To the north is the passageway.
As you squeeze your way past the rusted bars you feel a slight tingling in your spine. As the tingling becomes blinding pain, your eyes focus on a point of light against the back wall of the cell. The intensity of the bright point increases until its raw power engulfs your body, instantly incinerating it.
As you dangle down here, you hear a rumbling sound. Looking about you, you see rubble starting to fall down on you. A boulder strikes you and you black out. The next feeling you have is one of floating.....