A tale of two tombs

Corridor with walls covered in bas-reliefs. The west exit leads to the Bright Outside (in the wall of a black stone cliff), while the east exit leads to a vaulted room with a trapped entrance containing a sarcophagus.

• → Bas-relief. In hieroglyphic form, a fresco depicting a king with a sun-shaped head in a flying ship commanding thousands of slaves building pyramids. Pressing the tip of the largest pyramid opens the secret passage to B.
• → Trapped Entrance. Opening the sarcophagus triggers the trap: a 10' block of stone falls from the ceiling and blocks the way back out (12d12 damage to anyone in the area. The trap is has been properly reset by maintenance.
• → Sarcophagus. Made of black stone and without decoration. Contains an angry, hungry jackal-headed zombie.

JACKAL-HEADED ZOMBIE. HD 4, HP 18, ARM -, ATT bite d8, SP Contagious (if the damage roll is 5-8, CON check or turn into a zombie in Δ8 hours), ML –

Includes two fully reset pit traps.

• → Pit traps. The first, in the narrowest part of the room, is a double pit trap. The first one just at the entrance opens onto a pit 9 feet wide and deep (d6 damage). Right behind it is another pit trap of the same size but bristling with rusty spikes (3d6 damage). Both can be avoided by walking very carefully along the walls. The second trap is triggered when the double door is pushed open: two pendulum blades drop from the ceiling (2d8 damage to anyone standing in front of the door).

Filled with magical darkness. The walls and the nine massive pillars supporting the vault are covered with a slimy substance. Four skeletons wander around aimlessly.

• → Magical darkness. No light can penetrate it. Creatures that can see in the dark can see normally there.
• → Slimy substance. Poisonous on touch: CON check or paralysis for 1d6 minutes.
• → Skeletons. A recent addition not listed by the Surveying section. Attracted to noise.

SKELETON (4). HD 1, ARM rotting leather Δ6, ATT rusty scimitar d6, SP just bones (piercing and slicing weapons have disadvantage on damage), ML –

The trap has been reset. Stepping on one of the floor tiles (slightly different color) at the bend in the corridor opens a trapdoor in the ceiling, releasing hundreds of infuriated scorpions. All occupants of the corridor not carrying a torch receive one point of damage and must make a CON check to resist the poison (Δ6 venom with a frequency of 1 minute).

The floor of this room has collapsed, creating a gaping chasm. The trap in this room clearly malfunctioned.

• → Chasm. It sinks deep into darkness and prevents anyone from crossing the room without special climbing or flying equipment or skills. Descending into it is not a problem if careful. Leads to I. A gleaming object half-buried halfway down the slope.
• → Gleaming object. A horned, dwarven helmet. A host whith a favor by Maintenance may recognize Mog's helmet.
• → Trap. Attempting to open the false double door in the south wall normally causes the north door to close and the ceiling to lower until it crushes everything in the room. One of the gigantic hydraulic jacks burst through and smashed through the floor, causing it to collapse completely.
• → False double door. Bronze, with bas-relief similar to the ones in A. Attempting to open it causes squeaking and rattling, but the trap is broken and does not trigger (see above). Pressing certain hieroglyphs in a certain order opens secret passages to the east (from which a golden glow escapes) and west (stench of rot and death).

A bronze beetle the size of a cow, set with rubies, erected on a carpet of gold and silver threads. Weeks' worth of carousing for a party of adventurers (carpet: 2,000 gp, beetle: 1,000 gp, 20 rubies: 150 gp ea.). Two hooded figures, stinking of death, apparently meditating on either side of the beetle.

• → Two silhouettes. Ssk and Zzk, two guardian ghouls. Attack immediately unless one of the hosts is undead. In that case, they ask to parley (decades of this is boring, they want a steady job at Dungeon, Inc.).

GHOUL. HD 3, ARM shriveled skin Δ4, ATT 2 x claw d6, SP paralyze (CON check or paralyzed for d4 turns), ML Δ6

A well with perfectly smooth walls rises 60 feet to H above. A soporific gas stagnates in its upper part (CON check or fall asleep immediately). Falling down the shaft: 3d6 damage.

At the top of the well from G, black walls that seem to absorb light. An imposing sarcophagus radiating a sickly, dark radiance. Contains the mummy of Atrabilis, wearing a sun-shaped onyx mask. It awakens and attacks as soon as the sarcophagus is opened (a host owed a favor by Recruiting has a 50% chance to remember a drunk evening at the Silver Goblet with Mnemonis II, a mummy working at Recruiting and Atrabilis' distant cousin. In which case, a simple "Mnemonis sends his best wishes" or something similar is enough to strike up a conversation.)

ATRABILIS, greater mummy. HD 8 (36 hp), ARM bronze breastplate Δ6, ATT 2 x sickles d10, SP terror (WIS check when encountered, or incapacitated for d6 turns), infection (CON check or contract a wasting disease: cannot recover HP until treated by magical means), vulnerable to fire (damage x 2), ML Δ12 (Δ6 when faced with fire.)

From this point on, all the rooms described belong to The Deep Elf Outpost aerie, for which the hosts do not have a map.

Low-ceilinged room partially filled with piles of rocks and rubble (from the opening to E above). Two booted feet poke out of one pile. The corridor to the south (towards the Hub) is blocked by the landslide. Clammy air wafts in from the north tunnel.

• → Booted feet. There is actually a dwarf in those boots! Mog, crushed to death. At his belt, a lamp of the detective (foot- and fingerprints up to 1 day old appear in its light, whatever the surface. Δ6 uses).
• → The Hub. Listening carefully, one can hear the pickaxes and shovels of the Maintenance team clearing the passageway from the other side. In 1d4 hours, the employee of the month's team will crawl through to deal with the clients in the aerie.
• → North tunnel. An arrow whistles through the air and strikes the first host approaching the corridor (DEX check or 1d8 damage, with advantage if the host was particularly careful). Then, the sound of quiet, quick footsteps moving away. The arrow's fletching seems to be of elven make.

A pond fills three quarters of this cave. Several corpses are floating on the water or laying on the shore. Footprints in the mud.

• → Corpses. Seven bugbears, peppered with arrows with typical elven fletching
• → Footprints. A lot of them. A host with tracking skills can make out that the bugbears were heading west (toward K). Another group left three sets of slender-footed tracks, which seem to come from the north (L), head south (I), then turn back and head north again, walking hastily, accompanied this time by footprints of smaller, heavier boots with a strange gait (a tied-up dwarf).

In the far part of the cave, a dozen large straw mats surrounding a campfire. Hiding in the dark beyond, eight young bugbears and two elders minding them.

• → Bugbears. Frightened by the recent attack. Open to communication with "normal people" (any goblin language will do). What they say:
• Three ugly elves! Two in shiny armor, and one in robes, casts nasty light from fingertips!
• They have a prisoner: a stinky dwarf!
• We are good hunters! We come with you? We keep the meat; you keep the rest.

BUGBEAR. HD 2 (7 hp), ARM Studded leather Δ6, ATT club or cleaver d6, SP ambusher, ML Δ6

An enclosure containing a dozen giant albino rats. Giant mushrooms growing on stalagmites

• → Giant albino rats. Ultra-aggressive unless a bugbear is present.

GIANT ALBINO RAT. HD 1, ARM Δ4, ATT bite d4 (CON check or lose Δ4 CON every day, magical treatment required to recover), ML Δ6

• → Mushrooms. Regularly release itchy spores (CON check or sneeze loudly for the next hour). Bugbears are immune.

The centerpiece of the aerie. About one hundred skeletons of elves. Remains of weapons, armor, and shields from another era, corroded. Some bear the emblem of the Black Spider, others that of the White Tree. The northern tunnel leads to the Bright Outside (a ravine sheltering a petrified forest). A muffled squeak followed by a loud, distant clack! can be heard coming from the west (N).

An old, genuine altar of black marble veined with red, consecrated to the black spider goddess of the deep elves. The tabletop is broken, the pillars toppled. It gives off an ominous aura. A myriad of tiny red and black spiders swarm over the remains. A secret passage (to O) in one of the north tunnels opens when a fake stalagmite is pushed in, with a muffled squeak, and closes with a loud clack! sound.

• → Ominous aura. Within 6' radius: WIS check or disadvantage on all rolls for 4d10 minutes

A long slippery spiral staircase leads to a vaulted room containing a silver coffin. The clients are here. The dwarf Gamog lies on the ground, bound.

• → Clients. If the hosts have closed the secret passage behind them (Clack!), the three elves are ready. If they have left the passage open, there is only 30% chance they heard the door squeak. If they are not alerted, the elves are busy disarming the coffin's trap. After the fight, an old scroll may be found in the priest's satchel.
• → Coffin. Silver-plated and engraved with the symbol of the White Tree. Lightning burst out of it (2d6 damage within a 6' radius) if anyone tries to open it without caution. Contains a very ancient elven skeleton dressed in a silk robe embroidered with silver thread (old but still worth 200 gp). He wears a gold crown decorated with plant motifs (500 gp).
• → Gamog. Tied up, red beard, half conscious (1 hp). Once healed, he can explain that the floor of Room E collapsed when they were rearming the trap, how the dwarves fell into the aerie below, and how he was captured by the elves while trying to dig his brother out from under the rubble. A friend for life to the hosts if they bring him back safe and sound and help him recover the body of his deceased brother (Δ6 favor with Maintenance).
• → Scroll. It is a fake from Publicity. It tells the story of the elf king Eliandel, who went to fight the deep elf high priestess in her own temple. He won the battle but lost his life and was buried with his riches not far from the site of his great victory.