A narrow ledge overlooks a largecavern that houses a
surging, seething bodyof water. Therhythmic booming heard
throughout the mines is louderhere.At regular intervals,
a freshsurge of water funnels into this chamberand slams
against the walljust belowthe ledge.The echo suggests that
this cave might be one armof a much larger cavern to the
northeast.Theledgethathugs the southwallis 15 feetabovewater
level.However,when watersurges intothe caveevery 2
minutes, it raises the waterlevelby 10 feet.Aftera minute,
the waterlevelreturns to its normal depth of 20 feet.- OLD STREAMBED
Thestream flowingfromarea 10 to area 18 usedto
continue through thislowpassage, eventually emptying
out intoarea16.
Thispassageway is barelyfourfeethighandis obstructed
by roundedboulders and pebbles. It mighthave beena
streambed, though no water flowsherenow.Thedwarves diverted the streamintothe channelleading
to area12 to drivethe waterwheelin the smelter.Then the
earthquakes thatrocked WaveEchoCaveduring the final
spellbattle of the orc invasioncollapsed the floorin area
18, diverting the streamonce again.Theold streambed
remains as a usable passage thatcircumvents the undead
in area 12, althoughNezznar hasnot yet discoveredthis.- COLLAPSED CAVERN
Nezznar's servants occupythiscavern, guarding against
undead incursions andcarefully sifting through the
rubble. TheBlackSpider's divinations suggest thatsome
valuable treasure is hiddenat the bottomof the rift that
wascreated when thisareawasdestroyed.
A wide rift fills the eastern half of this cavern. A stream pours
out of the westwall,thentumbles down into the rift and
flowsout again to the north. Several ropes are secured to iron
stakes along on the western edgeof the rift, leadingdown to
the chasm floor.Three bugbears are stationedhere. Twoof them are
clearing rockon the rift floorwhileonemorestands guard
in the westernhalfof the cavern.A doppelganger named
Vhalak supervises the operationin the guiseof a male
drow.If a fightbreaks out in the maincavern, the two
bugbears in the rift climbup the ropesto join the fray.
Rift.Therift is 20 feetdeep.Climbing up or down
without usinga rope requires a successful DC10 Strength
(Athletics) check.A creature thatfailsthe checkby 5 or
morefallsandtakes 1d6bludgeoning damage per10 feet
fallen,landing proneat the bottom.
DEVELOPMENTS
If twoor morebugbears are killed,the doppelgangertries
to retreat to area 19 to warnNezznar.
TREASURE
Nezznar's divinations are accurate. Buried underheavy
rubble at the bottomof the rift is the crushedskeleton of
a dwarfwearing gauntlets of ogrepower.Theremains are
hidden fromviewbut canbe foundwitha successful DC
20 Wisdom (Perception) check.Each character searching
canattempt onecheck per hour.- TEMPLE OFDUMATHOIN
Nezznar usesthisroomas his headquarterswhile he
explores the minesandsearches for the Forgeof Spells.
I
Six crackedmarble pillars line the wallsof this hall,at the
north end of which stands a nine-foot-tall statue of a dwarf
seated on a throne, a mighty stone warhammer across his
lap. Largeemeralds gleam in the statue'seyes.
Thedust and debris covering the floorhas beenswept to
one side,and a campsite of sorts nowspreads in frontof the
statue. Halfa dozen bedrolls and packsare neatly arranged
around a rough-built fire pit. A woodentable stands on the
west sideof the room between twopillars.If the room'soccupants are not awareof the charactersas
theyenter,addthe following:Twobugbears stand by the table,flanking a dark elf dressed
in blackleather armor androbes. He clutches a blackstaff
witha carved spider at the top and frowns as he sees you.
"It seemsthat I must dealwithyou myself.A pity it must
end this way."Nezznar the BlackSpider is joined by fourgiantspiders
thatdefendtheir master to the death.If theyare expecting
trouble, the spidershidebehind pillars, andNezznar casts
invisibility on himself andstands near the table.Makea
Dexterity (Stealth) check for the spiders.Whenintruders
appear, the spiders try to entangle themin websbefore
closing to meleerange.Nezznar joinsthe frayon the
round afterthe spidersattack.
If the doppelganger fromarea 18 retreatedto this
area,it assumes the guiseof Nundro Rockseeker so that
Nezznar canusethe "dwarf"as leverage to forcethe
party's surrender (although the drowwon'tactually harm
the doppelganger). Seethe "Roleplaying Nezznar" section
for moreinformation on the drowvillain.
Statue.Thestatue depicts Dumathoin, the dwarvengod
of mining.Anycharacter whohasproficiency in Religion
recognizes the deity.Thestatue is beautifullycarved, and
its emeraldeyesappear extremely valuable. However,
the jewelsare cleverfakes madeof worthlessglass, as
closeinspection anda successful DC15 Intelligence
(Investigation) checkreveals. Nevertheless, a powerful
spellprotects them,anda detect magicspellreveals a
strong auraof abjuration magic surrounding the statue.
A character canclimbthe statue easilyandpry a jewel
loosewitha successful DC10 Strength check. However,if
eithereye is removed,the pillars thatlinethe wallscrack,
triggering a ceiling collapse. Each creature in the room
mustmakea DC15 Dexterity savingthrow,taking 4dlO49
PART4: WAVEECHOCAVE