22. ARCH SMUGGLER'S OFFICE. This room, once the office of the arch smuggler (chief of the smugglers), is nicely appointed with plastered walls, paintings, rugs and wooden furniture, including a desk, chairs, chests, shelves, and cupboards, all of which are covered in dust. The only apparent exit is the short passage to the east that leads to the door to Area 21.

Desk. This is in the center of the room, facing the door to the east. A fine padded chair sits behind it, and three plain chairs face it. On the surface is a fancy inkwell (5 gp value), which is empty. The drawers are pulled open, as if rifled through, and some papers are scattered on the floor. A secret compartment in the desk contains a purse with 2d20 gold pieces and a journal, and a second secret compartment concealed within the first contains three potions in waxed-sealed vials: healing (red liquid), poison (orange), and speed (silver), and a shark-shaped key that opens the door to the crypt of the arch smugglers (Area 25). The journal contains evidence that at the time a member of the governing council of Portown was being bribed by the smugglers; this member is now deceased but his son is on the current council.

Cozy Corner. In the northeast corner are four comfortable upholstered chairs facing each other, and between is a small table, on which are two empty bottles of spirits. Nearby, along the east wall, is a small cabinet with glass doors holding a few more bottles of fine spirits, all partially filled, and several glass tumblers.

Bookshelves. Further west along the north wall are two dusty bookshelves holding books on a variety of topics (sailing, the ocean, travelogue, far-off lands, dice games, etc). If examined, none were published more recently than fifty years ago. There is a total of 30+d10 books, and each has a 5% chance of being a rare book worth 1d6 gp.

Cupboards. Along the west wall are three heavy cupboards, each with doors that are closed but not locked. The northernmost one contains shelves with a china dishes, silverware, goblets and table cloths, all now antique and worth a total of 30 gp. The middle one contains spare clothing, hats and boots for sea or town; and the southernmost one contains a variety of small practical items of low value such as candles, lanterns, handtools, etc.

Secret Door. Each cupboard is anchored to the wall, and will not move if pushed. However, the northernmost one is actually set on concealed tracks and, if two hidden catches inside are released, can be slid forward, revealing a 3' high opening leading to Area 23. Handles on the back facing the opening allow it to be pulled back into place once inside.

Chest. On the south wall, towards the west, is a large chest, unlocked and empty. This once held the gold coins now in Area 20.

Cabinet of Curiosities. On the south wall, on the east side of the room, is a cabinet in the form of a set of shelves, each with its own tip-up glass-fronted door. It is not completely full, but some curiosities remain, each of which will fetch 10d10 gp if sold to a collector:

---a perfectly polished orb, four inches in diameter, of unknown purple and green stone, which is strangely heavy for its size (30 lbs).

---a fake "mermaid" constructed from a monkey's torso grafted onto the tail of a fish.

---a "unicorn horn"; in actuality, a narwhal horn.

---a set of five bone dice with numbered faces shaped into the five Platonic solids.

---a clear, hand-sized rectangular stone; a sunstone, non-magically allowing the sun to be detected when the sky is overcast.

---an elaborately branched piece of brilliant orange coral. If inspected, several branches are broken. This coral, if ground, can be used to make a potion of poison.

---a finely detailed, palm-sized model of a sailboat, signed on the bottom with the artist's name (Suderlyn).

The sailboat is in actuality much more valuable than it appears, as it is a magical miniature sailboat. It can be commanded (using the artist's name) to either return to full size (20' feet long) or shrink. It has a cabin with bunks for four, but could seat up to 10 without discomfort. The speaker of the command word must also touch it to cause the change, which is slow (1 turn). It will change 1d20+20 times before remaining full size.

21. MEETING ROOM. This large room (150 feet east-west and 70 feet north-south), once used by the smugglers for meetings, contains furniture in disarray, a drinking fountain, and a skeleton on the floor.

Exits. There are two visible exits: In the center of the south wall, a short passage leads to the door from Area 17, and in the center of the west wall is a wooden door to Area 21. The latter is locked, and can either be opened with the key on the skeleton in Area 7, or by picking the locking. Beyond this door a short passage leads to Area 22 (to be described). 

Secret Door. There is also a small secret door in the center of the north wall, which can be opened by depressing a stone on the floor in front of it, allowing the door to swing inward into the room. Beyond the door is a 10 foot long passage leading north to a staircase down to Area 24.

Furnishings. The room contains two heavy wooden tables, each 10' long and 5' wide. One is upright near the eastern wall, and has five wooden chairs still around it, and a number of old candle stubs sitting upon it. The other lies on its side a few feet away from middle of the northern wall (it was unsuccessfully used to brace the secret door from being opened from the other side...). Scattered about the room are nine more intact chairs and the broken remains of ten chairs. In the northeastern corner of the room is a tall triangular cabinet, of sturdy wooden construction, filled with old pewter pitchers and drinking vessels. 

Drinking Fountain. In the southeastern corner of the room is a small basin of water, which is fed by piper mounted in the rock above the basin, and which appears to drain through a hole in the bottom. The flowing water remains clear and is safe to drink. 

Remains. On the floor near the overturned table lies a non-animated skeleton, still wearing decaying leather armor and backpack, and with a dagger nearby. The skeleton is intact, except for its left hand, which is missing. The backpack contains a rusty set of lock picks, flint & steel, torches, and a fine triple-pronged grappling hook (worth 35 gp) attached to old rope, 50' in length (50% chance of breaking if used to support weight).

Dice Dragon. A dice dragon, once a companion to the smugglers, still nests in a crevice in the wall behind the top of the cabinet in the northeast corner. Its possessions include six gems (roll the value of each randomly on the gem table) and a shiny brass key that it found that will open the crypt doors in Area 24. It cannot speak, but has a bit of chalk to write with, and with friendly PCs will communicate an offer to gamble for the key if a gem of at least least 100 gp value is wagered.

Dice Dragon (1): DX 18, AC 2, HD 1+1, hp 6, #AT 1 bite for 1d6 or breath faerie fire 3x/day, target is +2 to be hit for 4d4 rounds

19. OPEN PIT. A 10-foot wide tunnel runs 70 feet east-west between Areas 18 and 20, but is interrupted by an open pit, 40 feet from Area 18 and 20 feet from Area 20. The pit fills the width of the tunnel and is 10 feet across. This was once a covered pit trap, but the cover long ago collapsed into the water. A thief could climb past using the wall on either side without much difficulty (+5% to Climb Walls).  

The pit is 15 feet deep, but 5 feet of it is filled with water. If observed, two unusual things will be noted about the water:

18. GREEN GROTTO. Beyond the gate in the south wall of Area 17, a rough-walled natural tunnel slopes down to the south 120 feet to the north end of a large cavern (50' wide east-west by 500' long north-south). On approach, a dim light is visible, and within the ceiling glows, allowing natural vision without a light source. The air is humid and warm, water drips from a profusion of stalactites, and the floor is dense with shrub-height vegetation. 

Flora. The glow emanates from a massive colony of phosphorescent fungus, also known as foxfire, growing across the cavern roof. The lush vegetation includes a variety of oversized club mosses, ferns, horsetails, and mushrooms. A carpet of ordinary moss covers the floor and inactive stalagmites, and extends part of the way up the walls and active stalagmites.

Fauna. For centuries, a colony of iguanas have dwelled here, feeding upon the strangely fast-growing plant life, which has allowed a number of them to grow to enormous size.

If the party makes noise near the entrance, the largest of these lizards will slowly approach, as it is old enough to dimly remember being fed by the humans (smugglers) that once came here and used its brethren to pull carts up and down the tunnel from the sea cave. It will come disconcertingly close, sniffing for fruit or vegetables but will not bite or otherwise harm the PCs unless attacked, in which case it will defend itself and then attempt to flee. It will also let out a distressing hiss that will call several other elder iguanas to its aid. The iguanas can attack twice each round, by biting and whipping their spiked tail.

Otherwise, if the party enters the vegetation, there is a 1 in 6 chance each round that the largest lizard will approach. 

Grotto Iguanas (6) (DX 10, AC 2, HD 3+1, hp 24, 20 x 2, 16, 14, 12, #AT 2: 1 bite for 1d6, 1 tail whip for 1d6)

There are numerous smaller iguanas in the cave that may be spotted by the party but will immediately flee to the safety of small holes in the walls.

Concealed Tunnel. In the west wall of the cavern, 70 feet south from the north end, and concealed behind several large stalagmites, is the entrance to a tunnel heading 140 feet west to Area 12. This can be found in the west wall is carefully examined. The last 10 feet of the tunnel before Area 12 is mostly filled with a sloping pile of sand, and entry to Area 12 will require digging out a few feet of sand at the top of the pile. 

Hot Spring. Starting at 240 feet from the south of the entrance, there is a mild hot spring, 30 feet in diameter and 5 feet deep, in the center of the cavern. 1d4-1 of the large iguanas will be relaxing in its warm waters at any time.

The Statue. At the very southern end of the cavern there is what appears to be yet another moss-covered stalagmite; however, on inspection it will be noted that it is growing out of a square-shaped slab. Removing the moss will reveal that the formation is actually a grey granite statue, roughly carved into a robed figure with a distinctly reptilian face. 

The statue is enchanted, rendering it impervious to ordinary weapons or tools, and magic cast upon it will be absorbed as a rod of absorption without effect. The first five spell levels that are absorbed will serve to incrementally awaken a shade that dwells within, which will visibly manifest as the statue slowly becoming of noticeably finer quality; i.e., more lifelike.

Once awake, the shade within will attempt to communicate telepathically with the most recent caster. However, it only speaks a forgotten tongue and thus the caster will not understand it without assistance; a Read Languages spell cast upon self will suffice. The statue itself has a permanent effect allowing it to understand any language.

If understanding is achieved by one of the PCs, the shade will introduce itself as Thss'tk'tss, a sorceror who lived aeons ago in a now forgotten civilization. Thss will offer to instruct the caster in spellcraft in exchange for more spells cast upon it. Treat the statue as a 13th level wizard, and thus able to absorb up to 72 spell levels total, and knowing and able to cast any spell of levels 1-6 using the levels it has absorbed. If attacked, the statue can defend itself using such spells. It can only use absorbed spell energy for casting; it has no ability to memorize spells.

It can teach a magic-user a spell in an amount of time equal to one week per spell level. The magic-user must cast one spell level on the statue each day of study. The statue will eventually use the absorbed levels to cast strange spells that will allow it grow a new flesh body for the shade to inhabit. The DM can decide whether the reborn Thss will remain a beneficent mentor to the PCs or has another, more sinister purpose.

Troodontoid Statue: DX 18 (casting only), AC 0, MU 13, hp 46, #AT 0; SA spell-casting; SD absorbs all spells and magical effects; immune to normal weapons

See the full "new monster" write-up of the Troodontoid Statue here. 

17. HOLDING AREA. Here the long east-west tunnel running from Area 16 to Area 19 widens, creating a chamber about 20 feet north-south and 40 feet east-west. This space was once used by the smugglers for storing goods brought up from the sea cave. However, at some point in the years after the ceiling of the tunnel collapsed (see Area 15), this chamber was bricked off from the rest of the tunnel. This brick wall is in the center of the west wall, and blocks exit to Area 16 (unless broken through previously by PCs). 

Extending out from the brick wall is a pair of rails, which terminate about 2/3 of the way into the room. At the end of these rails rests a metal "minecart", four feet wide and high, and six feet long (96 cubic feet capacity). Unlike the one in Area 15, this one is empty, but again the wheels are rusted and will not turn unless oiled.

In the north wall is a wooden door, which stands ajar, and leads to a short passage into Area 21.

To the east, the space again narrows to a tunnel that is 10' wide, which leads to Area 19. 

In the south wall is an opening to a passage heading south, which is blocked by a metal gate, but this can be opened with a simple latching system. Beyond this gate can be seen a tunnel, which heads south to Area 18.

The corners of the room contain wooden crates (with dimensions of 4' x 2' x 2'). There are 24 crates (6 in each corner, stacked in various configurations). Opening them will take 1d6 rounds per crate. Many are empty, as all valuable goods were removed from here long ago, but a few still hold items of low value. When a crate is opened, roll 1d12 for the contents, and then cross that item off the table for future rolls:

1-6. Empty.

7. Nest of Least Aggroaches (10d4). (DX 15, AC 7, HD 1/8, 1 hp, AT 1 bite for 1 point; SD "death stench" when slain). When the crate is opened, these will swarm out and start biting.

8. Conch shells (2d20): most are worth 10 sp, but one is a rare deepwater specimen that will fetch 100 gp from one collector in Portown.

9. Mouldering books (2d20): These outdated nautical books are now worthless, but sealed inside the binding of one is a magic-user scroll with two spells (clairaudience and clairvoyance). If books are inspected closely, make a secret door check to notice.

10. Bottles of Rotgut (2d20): Wax-sealed small bottles of poor-quality moonshine. Drinking one will temporarily boost hit points by 1d4, but the imbiber must save versus poison or be debilitated until sleeping for 10 hours (-1 on all attacks). 

11. Marbles (1d100). Stone marbles of adequate quality, worth one copper piece each.

12. Sneezum in sealed opaque jars (2d20): A tiny pinch of this powder, imported by caravans from the south, is a delicious spice but larger quantities will induce fits of sneezing. If a jar is not opened carefully, the opener must save versus poison or begin violent, uncontrollable sneezing for 1 round, automatically dropping whatever is in their hands, including the jar, which will then require anyone within 10' feet to also save. (The PCs could probably find a way to use this in combat). Each jar is worth 1 gp.

14. RAIL TUNNEL. This is a long tunnel, 10 feet wide and high, that extends a few hundred feet east and west, terminating at Areas 15 and 16 (see above). At the midpoint, it can be entered from the Twisty Tunnels to the south (Area 13).

Running along the center of the tunnel for its full length, is a rusted pair of rails which are 4 feet wide and obviously made for wheeled cart, like a minecart, to be roll on (although there is no cart here right now). The walls and floor show occasional signs of being worked to widen and smooth the passage, and old timbers shore up the ceiling every 20 feet. Every so often an odd bit of timber, rope or metal, or empty rum bottle lies discarded at one side or the other of the tunnel.

13. TWISTY PASSAGES. This is a natural labyrinth of narrow, winding passages that is supernaturally challenging to navigate due to the effects of a dying smuggler's curse. This area can be entered from either the stream tunnel to the south (Area 11) or from the north (Area 14, to be described).

Movement. Due to the disorientation, movement in the Twisty Passages is handled differently than standard movement. Each turn, roll 2d6 and add the total number of turns the party has spent in the area (i.e., add 1 on the first turn; add 2 on the second turn, etc), and then consult the following table:

Encounters in the Twisty Passages (2d6 roll + turn number):

3-4. Nothing. The party wanders aimlessly.

5. An Item. A piece of equipment, showing signs of age and disrepair, is found on the floor of the tunnel (roll on the "Equipping the Adventurer" reference sheet; re-roll if the result doesn't make sense; e.g., a horse).

6-8. Cursed Doubloon. A double-sized platinum coin (worth 10 gp) lies on the tunnel floor. If any character handles it, note this, as they will suffer a penalty on a save made when leaving the area (see below).

9. Eerie Noise. The party hears one of the following noises echoing through the tunnels (roll 1d6): 1. Coins Jingling; 2. Scraping; 3. Thudding Footsteps; 4. Crunching & Cracking; 5-6. Ghostly Whispering. If the party moves towards the noise, there is a 3 in 6 chance that the next turn will be either #11-12 below (for noises 1-4) or #13-14 (for noises 5-6). 

10. Skeletal Remains. Human bones, scattered about, along with 1-2 items per #5 above. If a platinum doubloon is brought into the area, the bones will begin scraping themselves together, which after 1d4 rounds form into a partial skeleton (treat as a skeletal torso below in #11-12), and inexorably move towards the doubloon. 

11-12. Undead Smuggler. The animated remains of a smuggler, now cursed to search the tunnels endlessly for platinum doubloons. They will move inexorably towards and attack any character carrying a doubloon, but will depart if given all doubloons possessed by the party. (The ghost periodically steals the doubloons back and scatters them throughout the tunnels). 

Form (roll 1d6):

1. Skeletal Torso (DX 3, AC 9, HD 1/8, 1 hp, AT 1 claws for 1 point, turned as skeleton with a +2 on the roll), and wears/carries 1-2 items per #5 above. This is the upper half of a skeleton, and pulls itself across the floor with its arms.

2. Skeletal Legs (DX 12, AC 9, HD 1/8, 1 hp, AT 1 kick for 1 point, turned as skeletal torso). This is the lower half of a skeleton (pelvis and legs).

3. Skeleton (DX 12, AC 7, HD 1/2, 2 hp, AT 1 claws for 1d6). Carries 1-2 items per #5 above, and 0-2 (1d4-2) doubloons.

4. Skeletal Duelist (DX 15, AC 6, HD 1, 5 hp, AT 2 weapons; turned as zombie). Wears leather armor and wields sword & dagger (2 attacks/round), and has 0-3 (1d4-1) doubloons.

5. Zombie (DX 6, AC 7, HD 2, 9 hp, AT 1 claws for 1d8). Wears leather armor and a backpack with 1d4 items per #5 above, and has 0-3 (1d4-1) doubloons.

6. Big Zombie (DX 4, AC 5, HD 3, 14 hp, AT 2 bones for 1d6; turned as a ghoul). Wears chainmail and wields two large bones.

13-14. Mysterious Figure. Just visible down one tunnel stands the silhouette of a short figure. If approached, it withdraws into the darkness. If followed, it will lead them to the Ghost's Resting Place in the next turn (see below); otherwise, roll again as normal.

15-16. Ghostly Thief. A random party member must save versus spells or have a random piece of small equipment or treasure (preferentially a magic item) spirited away to #17-18 below.

17-18. Ghost's Resting Place. This area appears as #10 Skeletal Remains (see above). However, a narrow niche in one wall conceals a small hiding space (5' diameter, 5' height). This is difficult to find; treat as a secret door unless led here by the Mysterious Figure above. Inside the space, a skeleton sits against a locked chest holding roughly 1,000 platinum doubloons (value 10,000 gp), as well any items of characters that were stolen. Opening the chest will cause the ghost to materialize before the party. 

The Ghost. The characters hear a whisper that the ghost, Ness Sentra, was once the leader of the "importers" operating in these caves. They operated successful for decades, until she executed a heist of platinum doubloons from the wizard Zenopus. This proved her downfall, as her second-in-command, Mot Daxor, grew obsessed with the coins, and led a faction in mutiny against her. She slew Daxor in a duel but was backstabbed by one of his cronies. Mortally wounded, she fled here, and before dying swore that all who came for the treasure would be doomed to search for it forever.

The ghost is treated as an Reinvigorating Spirit, a new monster written up here. It will only restore a lost level once the curse has been lifted.

Reinvigorating Spirit (1): DX 9, AC 3, HD 4, 30 hp, AT 1 touch for 1d6

Lifting the Curse. The characters will sense that the curse can be lifted placing the remains of Sentra in her rightful place in a sarcophagi in the Crypt of the Arch Smugglers (Area 24), where Mot Daxor was instead entombed, and that the coins will then be theirs.

19+. An Exit. Roll the d12 again, on 1-6: exit to the south (Area 12); on 7-12: exit to the north (Area 14). When attempting to leave the area, each character must save versus spells, with a -1 on the roll for every 5 doubloons handled. On a failed save, the character will feel compelled to continue searching the caves for doubloons, and will lose one point of wisdom for each day spent outside the caves. This loss is permanent until the curse is lifted.

Chronologically on this blog, the previous post installment was Area 12 and the next posted installment will be Area 14.

Notes:

The name and description are inspired by the "maze of twisty little passages, all alike" in the original text adventure game, Adventure (aka Colossal Cave), which I played once on a memorable evening in the early '80s, and then more extensively in its cloned form in Infocom's Zork I on my home computer. (The pointcrawl map format that I am using for these drafts is also inspired by the hand-drawn maps that players would make for navigating these games). And then, obviously, having a pirate (Adventure) or thief (Zork) in the maze that steals stuff is also inspired by those games.

(the black squares represent the niches described below)

7. DRY STORAGE: A large cavern, and very dark; entering from the west with a light source will reveal a circular space with irregular walls, a dry stone floor, and scattered rubble, the largest of which is an immense fallen stalactite in the center of the room. No other exits are clearly visible, although the rough walls create many shadowed areas (which hide a number of niches; see below). Rusted torch sconces are attached to the wall on each side of the entrance to the room.