13. STARRY CAVERN
Thestructural damage andthe skeletal remains in this
areaare evidence of the destructive spell battle fought
herecenturies agowhenthe orcsandtheirmercenary
wizards stormed the mines.
Glittering minerals in the ceiling of thislarge cavern catch
the lightandsend it back to create theimpression of a starry
night sky.Dozens of skeletons-many crushed under fallen
debris-are scattered across the floor.
Thecaveis large enough that it contains twofreestanding
structures. Eachof these stone buildings is proportioned
for human use, as opposed to the dwarf-sized doorways
andfurnishings you've seen elsewhere in the mines. Both
structures have battered and blackened masonry walls,their
double doors cracked andscorched.
Thecavern is divided by an escarpment, intowhich a flight
of stairs has been cut. Passages leadoutof this areato the
north, south, and west.Thedamaged buildings are described in areas 14 and
- Minerals in the ceiling are pretty,but theyare neither
magical nor valuable.
Anycharacter proficient in Arcana cansense a subtle
aura of magicin thiscavern. (A detect magicspellreveals
the same.) Theaurabecomes stronger as oneapproaches
the northern building (area 15).
14. WIZARDS' QUARTERS
Thedoors leading intothisareaare cracked, theiriron
hinges partially melted.Wrenching or smashing openthe
doors requires a successful DC15 Strength check.
Dust, ash,walls blackened by fire,andheaps of debris
beneath the sagging ceiling showthatthis room was
damaged by a destructive blast. Thefurnishings-tables,
chairs, bookshelves, beds-are charred or splintered, but
otherwise wellpreserved. A scorched ironchest stands near
the foot of oneof the beds.Thisroom contains the restless spirit of the lastwizard
to die here:Mormesk the wraith. He is not immediately
visiblebut rises up out of the floorwhen a livingcreature
enters the room.
Mormesk wasa powerful mageuntilhe methis endin
the spellbattle at the climax of the ore attack. Centuries
of anger havepoisoned his soul,transforming himintoa
hate-filled apparition.
Mormesk leads the undead thathaunt WaveEchoCave.
Thewraith spends his timeherebecause the treasure
he hadamassed in life is in the scorched chest(seethe
"Treasure" section). No longer corporeal, he cannot touch
or possess the wealth he enjoyedin life.
Thisbuilding served as a guesthouse for visiting
wizards working in the Forge of Spells (area 15),mostof
whomwere humans fromnearby cities.Thefurnishings
are all human proportioned.
ROLEPLAYING MORMESK
Mormesk speaks in gravewhispers. When the wraith first
rises up fromthe floor,it says,"Yourpresence is offensive
to me,yourlife forfeit.My treasures are minealone,not
yours to plunder!" If the characters makeno attempt to
reason withthe wraith, it attacks.
If the characters try to reason withthe wraith, it
listens to whattheyhaveto say,provided theyhavenot
harmed it in anywayor seized anyof its property. The
wraith is irrevocably evil,so the onlywaythe characters
canstayits spectral hand is to offerit something a
formerwizard wouldconsider valuable in exchange for
their lives.Mormesk values magic items(particularly
scrolls),spellbooks, andarcane knowledge. Whatever
the gift,a character mustsucceed on a DC10 Charisma
(Persuasion) checkto convince the wraith of its value.
Regardless of what the characters offerit, the wraith
won'trelinquish the wooden pipein the scorched chest.
It will,however, partwiththe coins andgemsif the
characters agree to kill the spectator in the Forgeof
Spells.(Thewraith doesn't explainwhat a spectator is. It
merely points toward area15.)Onceit receives its gift,the
wraith allowscharacters to peruse its booksandkeep the
secret mapin oneof them (seethe "Treasure" section).TREASURE
Thescorched chest is unlocked andcontains 1,100cp, 160
sp, 50 ep, three diamonds (100gp each),anda wooden
pipeadorned withplatinum filigree(150gp).
A handful of magically preserved tomes remain on the
shelves. Mostare justhistories, but onehasa mapsewn
intoits cover.Themap'spresence canbe discerned with
a successful DC12 Intelligence (Investigation) check.The
shows the location of a dungeon of yourowncreation.
When the characters finishtheirexplorations here, this
old map canleadthemto their nextadventure.47
PART4: WAVEECHOCAVE