The Quality of Gold
Part 15: Prison Break!
Comments in Blue have been added after publishing.
Details
Chapter 10: Prison Break!
If Brunin breaks them out of their cells (after convincing Brunin that they are legit and not spies), he will help them create convincing fakes of their sleeping bodies using ratty blankets and old clothes. He is hesitant to allow the party to attack the guards right away since that will be the end of the ruse and all guards will be on the lookout. Instead, he suggests that the party wait in their cells until he can sneak into the guard room and try to get their belongings. If they agree, Brunin will return in 1d6 hours with all of their gear except for the most powerful magic item they possess which is now the property of a guard. (Fitz = Striking Scythe, Tuck = Striking Greatsword, Skratte = Wayfinder, Tempest = Necklace of Fireballs, Plink = Bag of Holding + contents.
If the party escapes on their own, they will not have any intel and will either need to storm a guard post unarmed or find their way to the secret opening at the south end. The other inmates know what is going on, but don’t know any details of where or how since they have not left their cells. They can tell the group that they were brought in through one of the three guard posts that have stairways leading up. They can also impart that they were stripped of their belongings in a room in the same level as them and that’s where they are kept until the Guard Captain (Dougal Wicker) comes to retrieve them. Note that the guards tend to ‘find’ random items and hide them on their persons if they look particularly nice. Big, obvious things that can’t be hidden are left for the Capt.
Ancient Crypt
The old crypt that connects to the underground river has been long abandoned except for a pair of angry Cairn Wights which will attack anyone who comes into their resting place. The place is old, full of cobwebs and dust except for a faintly ‘clean’ are where the prisoners and Brunin have been travelling.
AC1 – This room has a large area in the south wall that appears to have collapsed a long time ago. Fresh tracks can be easily seen on the dirt and the larger stones have been moved to the side to allow easier passage. The remains of 6 stone sarcophagi line the north and east walls. All are intact, but some are slightly shifted out of place. If anyone opens the coffins, they each contain a skeletal body with a rusted sword and shield laid in repose.
AC2 – The closed doors lead into a similar room to A1 except that two of the sarcophagi appear to be damaged and next to them are creatures with remnants of armor, old but dangerous swords and burning hatred in their eyes. They have collected a few odds and end from previous foolish explorers over the past few decades. 760gp, 140sp, 6x100gp rubies, stylized silver miniature cutlass or saber necklace (Dagger of Eternal Sleep (5)), wide dark leather belt with inscribed hands breaking a chain (symbol of Kurgess – demigod of healthy competition, sport, and physical development. (Lifting Belt (4))
AC3 – Side chambers are empty, but do have thinner, damaged stone coffins and cobwebs, collapsed areas. If someone enters either of the marked areas, they will trigger a collapsing ceiling trap.
AC4 – Side chamber with buried coffin. Unless the party spends some time removing the huge boulders from the collapsed coffin to the south, they may miss the valuable treasure buried with a long dead merchant. If they spend at least 1 hour (each additional person who helps with successful DC19 Athletics reduces the time by 15 minutes). Inside coffin is an ancient skeleton and a suit of +1 Resilient Fire-Resistant Breastplate
AC5 – The northeast corner of this room has collapsed and a fresh tunnel continues north through the ground. Dirt tracks on the ground indicate that many people have recently crossed the room.
AC6 – ancient stairs have been blocked for centuries and do not lead anywhere.
Start here for 2/27/24
The Underground River
The intersection of underground rivers is now home to a recent tribe of Xulgaths (trogs) who have made camp on the southern shores and caves. The entire area stinks of rotten fish and the Xuls will ignore anyone who travels through the passages toward Stonehaven and are afraid of the huge Globster who has snacked upon some of their fellows. The trogs will jump up and down to ‘scare’ off the intruders and cheer when they leave. However, if the party stops here to discuss anything, the trogs most recent acquisition, a human prisoner, will call out desperately for help. “Oh gods, the smell! The smell!”
Hopefully the party will feel the need to rescue the hapless human and if they begin to move towards the caves, the trogs will begin moving to intercept. In a large cave where the leader of the trogs now lives, a beat-up Traven Thorpe will be found, bound by hundreds of feet of rope. He explains that he heard that the party was captured by the Citadel and snuck into the Opera House to find a way to free them. He has been following them covertly and was going to warn them about coming back into town, but was not able to. He has good instincts, but not very good planning and got in way over his head. He asks if they need help and if the party turns down his offer, he appears greatly relieved. He will gladly accompany the refugees back to the camps under Stonehaven.
UR1 – The tunnel from Stonehaven ends at a large underground lake. Old planks laid between dry areas reveals that this area has been recently used. A hungry visitor that crawled in a couple days ago now lurks in the waters waiting for anew meal.
UR2 – Groups of Xulgath gather to fish and eat on the southern banks. They are naturally cowards, so they stay on this side of the water unless they feel they can get an easy kill. They are afraid of swimming in the water since a couple of their kind have become meals for the hungry Globster.
UR3 – A pair of Xulgath stand ‘guard’ in this room and are supposed to warn their leader if anyone comes this way and to keep out the other trogs. Anyone who approached are croaked at threateningly but when they discover that these are not their fellows, they begin screaming, backing into the corner and throwing weapons or belching their goo at the intruders.
UR4 – if the party begins attacking the trogs outside, they will line up in defense of their leader (or placed in line by him). The leader will toss his javelin at the closest opponent then attacks with his great axe. He has a small collection of loot that he collected from other victims over the last few months stuffed into a sack around his waist.
Brunin’s Master Plan
Brunin has been exploring the underground areas carefully and stealthily. He has found the guards are not really expecting trouble so far underground and therefore as long as they keep the prisoners quiet and alive, their jobs are secure. However, the industrious dwarf has been thinking long and hard about what is happening and what can be done.
He knows that the Necromancer has hundreds of undead penned nearby in an area of new construction below the dungeons. He also knows, from overhearing conversations that the Necromancer and her enforcer Lady Rowena come and go from the dungeons without having to go through the guard posts. This might be a matter of magic for the Necromancer (it is) but Rowena must use more mundane means. He has so far not been able to discover their secret route.
What he has discovered is possibly the demise of the whole operation – but it will be dramatic. While digging out the passage from the prison cell and exploring the underground river, he discovered fresh stone and dirt that was laying about here and there. With his mining skills, he determined that the foundation of the Citadel and the massive plinth of the mountain upon which it was built, has been eroding over many centuries. The construction of the Dead Pens have dislodged some of the stone from the weak spots in the mountain. Brunin believes that by diverting three of the branches of the underground river into particularly unstable sedimentary formations, he could bring the entire mountain; Citadel, Dungeons and even the undead army crashing into buried ruin and permanently putting a halt to this evil place!