chooseswhichsuperiortobequeathitto.Yahruenjoysplaying
themoffagainsteachother.
Ifhisbodyguardsaredefeatedandheisfacingdeath,
Yahruofferssmallbitsofinformationforthepromiseof
freedom.Inadditiontothelayoutanddefensesofthetemple,
Yahruknowsthefollowing:
RasNsicommandstheyuan-tiofOmu,buthiscommand
istenuous.Thehighpriest,Fenthaza,isRasNsi’schief
rival.
RasNsiisslowlybeingeatenawaybyamagicaldisease
forwhichthereisnoknowncure.
RasNsihasmadeapactwithapowerfullichnamed
Acererak,whoconqueredOmulongagoandbuiltatomb
beneaththecity.Thetomb’sentranceismarkedwithan
obelisk.(Yahrucanprovidedirections.)
AcererakslewtheninegodsofOmubeforeenslavingthe
city’shumanandminotaurinhabitants,whichheusedto
buildhistomb.
18 .Yuan-tiNests......................................................................................................................................................................
Thesedankcatacombshavebeenconvertedinto
sleepingquarters.Thewallsarelinedwithalcovesthat
nowserveasnestsforyuan-ti.
Whenthecharactersarrive,twelveoftheeighteenalcoves
areoccupiedbysixyuan-timalisons(twoeachoftypes 1 , 2 ,
and 3 )andsixyuan-tipurebloods.Theremainingsixalcoves
arecurrentlynotinuse.Passingthroughtheareawithout
beingspottedisimpossibleunlessthecharactersusemagicto
hidethemselves.
Ifthegonginarea 9 isstruck,alltheyuan-tiinthisroom
gathertheirweaponsandinvestigate.
19 .SlaveGrotto.......................................................................................................................................................................
Thesedankcatacombshavebeenconvertedinto
sleepingquarters.Thewallsarelinedwithalcovesthat
nowserveasnestsforyuan-ti.
Whenthey’renotworking, 2 d 10 slaves(commonersof
variousraces,alignments,andgenders)dwellhere.Forslave
names,seethe“ChultanNames”sidebarinthebook’s
introduction.Threeyuan-tibroodguards(seeappendixD)
guardtheslavesforSlavemasterIssar,atype 3 yuan-ti
malisonwearingaredclothheaddress.Issarismore
interestedingazingathisownreflectioninahandmirrorthan
puttingtheslavestowork.
Issaristoostatelytospeaktothe“meat”underhis
command.Instead,he’schosenaChultanslaveboynamed
Khotitotranslatehissubtle,unspokengestures.Atwitchof
thetailcouldbeinterpretedasanordertofetchwater,orthe
flickofthetongueanapproval.Intruth,Khotimakesupmost
ofwhathesees.Issarcouldn’tcarelesseitherway,aslongas
thecorrectamountofdeferenceisshown.Ifstrangersappear
beforeIssar,Khotiquestionsthemonhismaster’sbehalf.
Slaves
UnderIssar’ssupervision,theslavesaresupposedtobe
wideningthesecavernstocreatenewsleepingquartersforthe
yuan-ti.However,progresshasbeenslow.Theslaveswore
downorbrokemostoftheirtools,andIssariswaitingforthe
deliveryofnewtools.
Theslavesarephysicallyhealthy,buttheirwillshavebeen
brokenbymentaltraumaandtranquilizingdrugs.Their
emotionssurfaceonlyduringrest,whenthedreamsofthe
NightSerpentwrenchthemscreamingfromtheirtroubled
sleep.
Theslavesarenotchained.Presentedwithanopportunity
toescape,mostbecomeparalyzedwithindecision.Breaking
theirfuguerequiresstrongwordsandasuccessfulDC 17
Charisma(PersuasionorIntimidation)check.Armedslaves
whocometotheirsensestrytoslaughterasmanyyuan-tias
theycan.Theyknowthetemple’sdefensesandgenerallayout,
exceptwithregardtoareas 11 and 12 (whichthey’venever
seen).Treasure
Issarcarriesanironkeythatunlocksthedoubledoortoarea
13 .Hisredclothheaddressissewnwithmalachitegemstones
( 250 gp),andhepreensinagoldenhandmirror( 75 gp).20 .UndergroundRiver...........................................................................................................................................................
Anundergroundriveropensbeforeyou.Stalactiteshang
lowoveritssurface,anddrippingwaterechoesinthe
dark.
Theriverlinksvarioussectionsofthecomplex.Thewater
variesbetween 5 and 30 feetdeep,andthecurrentisn’tstrong
enoughtopresentahazardtoswimmers.Tothenorthand
south,theriverdescendsintosubmergedtunnelsthatspread
formilesunderthejungle.Rowboats
Whenthecharactersarrive,apairofrowboatsarepulledup
ontheshorenearthetunneltoarea 23 (seechapter 5 ofthe
DungeonMaster’sGuideformoreinformationonrowboats).A
cowbelldanglesfromahookattheprowofeachboat.Ringing
eitherbellsummonsthehydrainarea 21 ,whicharrivesin 1 d 6
rounds.Yuan-tiBroodguards
Guardingtherowboatsandwatchingthesecretentrance
(area 23 )arefouryuan-tibroodguards(seeappendixD).If
theydetectintrudersnotdisguisedasyuan-ti,onebroodguard
runstowarntheyuan-tistationedinarea 19 whiletheothers
attempttorepeltheinterlopers.
Thebroodguardsstopandquestioncharactersdisguised
asyuan-tipurebloods.Toblufftheirwaypasttheguards,the
charactersmustsucceedonagroupDC 10 Charisma
(Deception)check.Ifthegroupchecksucceeds,the
broodguardswavetheminsidewithoutcheckingtheirstory.If
thegroupcheckfails,thebroodguardsmarchthemtomeet
SlavemasterIssarinarea 19.21 .Hydra’sLair.......................................................................................................................................................................
Anundergroundriverwidenstoformafloodedgrotto.
Tothewest,apebble-strewnbankrisestoadoor
recessedinthecavernwall.Nearthemiddleofthelake,
bonesclinglikeatidemarktoarockypillar.Ahydralurksunderwaterinthisvicinity.RasNsitreats
themonsterashisbelovedpetandregularlyfeedsitslaves,
prisoners,andsubordinateswho’vedefiedhim.Thehydra’s
victimsareboundandferriedonrowboatsoverthedeepest