Vorg'varga Vek

Hex 11.14. Toxic fumes permeate outside the cave known as Vorg'Varga Vek (“Cave of Change” in Dweorg Tongue). A strange and noxious ooze bubbles from the deepest cracks below the surface, where DWEORG crystal snoopers ruptured a subterranean chamber filled with strange yellow-green ooze.

Soon after, the DWEORGS sold the rights to the mine to an expedition of shrym explorers and scientists who wanted to study the odd ooze. Rumor has it, there was some sort of disaster and the shryms disappeared.

Vorg'Varga Vek is deep and requires two days travel to reach the chasm at the bottom. The mine is filled with MUTANTS: QUOBS with eight limbs, SLURPWORMS with fur, and THORNY BINGLES as translucent as windows, amongst other oddities.

The lowest chamber is filled with barrels of glowing ooze. A large, bronze automaton, called a sputter-delver, tirelessly moves barrels from one side of the chamber to the other.

PROFESSOR WHISK

A shrym archaeologist whose company set out to delve the Drippy Downs. Her team of scientists uncovered something far more dangerous than they realized and now Whisk is alone trying to pick up the pieces of an expedition gone sideways.

• Traits: Brilliant, unwilling to leave, stutters.
• Motivation: Find her team of scientists and cleanse the toxic ooze.

quests

ORIGIN OF THE OOZE

A shrym dressed in a hazmat suit rushes over to stop anyone from getting too close to the ooze. She introduces herself as Professor Whisk, and she was sent to check on the disappearance of her fellow scientists. Some shadow corporation must have dumped a huge volume of toxic ooze here. Her own company, Archaeological Empiricism, was attempting to seal the ooze in barrels before the team of scientists disappeared, to detoxify it. Whisk is greatly concerned about her coworkers, not to mention the local wildlife! Perhaps the Green Gallivanters would know what to do.

• The nearest Green Gallivanters are at the Last Tree in the Used T'Be Forest (p366). They know that only the purifying magic of a UNICORN can detoxify the ooze, turning it to harmless ash.
• The only UNICORN in the Drippy Downs is Paldar the Thunderhoof who roams the Riddle Spinney (12+ Exploration Check).

what's going on

• The shrym scientists who bought the mine to study the ooze have all turned into MUTANTS, except for Professor Whisk.
• The ooze is the same ooze from the Spill (p126). Years ago, Oilmonger Plastic Factory secretly attempted to remove the toxic material out of Fleabag County to this remote underground area, but the efforts were futile (see quest Dampening the Glow p127).
• The ooze is mutagenic. Vitality Check: On a failure, roll on the Mutations table (see Bestiary Vol. 1).

rumors

• A team of archaeologists ventured into Vorg'Varga Ket and never returned
• The ooze in Vorg'varga Vek seems similar to the toxic sludge in the Spill.

MUTANT MENACE

A gigantic mutated, wooly worm creature haunts the mine and blocks the way out. Deal with the monster and clear the way for Professor Whisk, her sputter- delver, and yourselves to escape the mine.

• The MUTANT monster (L6-C) is an amalgamation of unfortunate creatures (the shrym scientists, a CLUNCH DRAGON, and QUOB), stitched together with the faces and limbs of the lost shrym scientists. Not a sight for the faint of heart!
• One could try to Parley with it, as if reasoning with the scientists (Disadvantage), otherwise the MUTANT is angry with the world and their plight.