Anarrowledgeoverlooksalargecavernthathousesa
surging,seethingbodyofwater.Therhythmicboomingheard
throughouttheminesislouderhere.Atregularintervals,
afreshsurgeofwaterfunnelsintothischamberandslams
againstthewalljustbelowtheledge.Theechosuggeststhat
thiscavemightbeonearmofamuchlargercaverntothe
northeast.Theledgethathugsthesouthwallis 15 feetabovewater
level.However,whenwatersurgesintothecaveevery 2
minutes,itraisesthewaterlevelby 10 feet.Afteraminute,
thewaterlevelreturnstoitsnormaldepthof 20 feet.
17. OldStreambed
Thestreamflowingfromarea 10 toarea 18 usedto
continuethroughthislowpassage,eventuallyemptying
outintoarea16.
Thispassagewayisbarelyfourfeethighandisobstructed
byroundedbouldersandpebbles.Itmighthavebeena
streambed,thoughnowaterflowsherenow.Thedwarvesdivertedthestreamintothechannelleading
toarea 12 todrivethewaterwheelinthesmelter.Thenthe
earthquakesthatrockedWaveEchoCaveduringthefinal
spellbattleoftheoreinvasioncollapsedthefloorinarea
18,divertingthestreamonceagain.Theoldstreambed
remainsasausablepassagethatcircumventstheundead
inarea12,althoughNezznarhasnotyetdiscoveredthis.
18. Collapsed Cavern
Nezznar’sservantsoccupythiscavern,guardingagainst
undeadincursionsandcarefullysiftingthroughthe
rubble.TheBlackSpider’sdivinationssuggestthatsome
valuabletreasureishiddenatthebottomoftheriftthat
wascreatedwhenthisareawasdestroyed.
Awideriftfillstheeasternhalfofthiscavern.Astreampours
outofthewestwall,thentumblesdownintotheriftand
flowsoutagaintothenorth.Severalropesaresecuredtoiron
stakesalongonthewesternedgeoftherift,leadingdownto
thechasmfloor.Threebugbearsarestationedhere.Twoofthemare
clearingrockontheriftfloorwhileonemorestandsguard
inthewesternhalfofthecavern.Adoppelgangernamed
Vhalaksupervisestheoperationintheguiseofamale
drow.Ifafightbreaksoutinthemaincavern,thetwo
bugbearsintheriftclimbuptheropestojointhefray.
RiftTheriftis 20 feetdeep.Climbingupordown
withoutusingaroperequiresasuccessfulDC 10 Strength
(Athletics)check.Acreaturethatfailsthecheckby 5 or
morefallsandtakesld6bludgeoningdamageper 10 feet
fallen,landingproneatthebottom.
Developments
Iftwoormorebugbearsarekilled,thedoppelgangertries
toretreattoarea 19 towarnNezznar.
Treasure
Nezznar’sdivinationsareaccurate.Buriedunderheavy
rubbleatthebottomoftheriftisthecrushedskeletonof
adwarfwearinggauntletsofogrepower.Theremainsare
hiddenfromviewbutcanbefoundwithasuccessfulDC
20 Wisdom(Perception)check.Eachcharactersearching
canattemptonecheckperhour.19.TempleofDumathoin
Nezznarusesthisroomashisheadquarterswhilehe
explorestheminesandsearchesfortheForgeofSpells.Sixcrackedmarblepillarslinethewallsofthishall,atthe
northendofwhichstandsanine-foot-tallstatueofadwarf
seatedonathrone,amightystonewarhammeracrosshis
lap.Largeemeraldsgleaminthestatue’seyes.
Thedustanddebriscoveringthefloorhasbeensweptto
oneside,andacampsiteofsortsnowspreadsinfrontofthe
statue.Haifadozenbedrollsandpacksareneatlyarranged
aroundarough-builtfirepit.Awoodentablestandsonthe
westsideoftheroombetweentwopillars.Iftheroom’soccupantsarenotawareofthecharactersas
theyenter,addthefollowing:Twobugbearsstandbythetable,flankingadarkelfdressed
inblackleatherarmorandrobes.Heclutchesablackstaff
withacarvedspideratthetopandfrownsasheseesyou.
“ItseemsthatImustdealwithyoumyself.Apityitmust
endthisway.”NezznartheBlackSpiderisjoinedbyfourgiantspiders
thatdefendtheirmastertothedeath.Iftheyareexpecting
trouble,thespidershidebehindpillars,andNezznarcasts
invisibilityonhimselfandstandsnearthetable.Makea
Dexterity(Stealth)checkforthespiders.Whenintruders
appear,thespiderstrytoentangletheminwebsbefore
closingtomeleerange.Nezznarjoinsthefrayonthe
roundafterthespidersattack.
Ifthedoppelgangerfromarea 18 retreatedtothis
area,itassumestheguiseofNundroRockseekersothat
Nezznarcanusethe“dwarf”asleveragetoforcethe
party’ssurrender(althoughthedrowwon’tactuallyharm
thedoppelganger).Seethe“RoleplayingNezznar”section
formoreinformationonthedrowvillain.
Statue.ThestatuedepictsDumathoin,thedwarvengod
ofmining.AnycharacterwhohasproficiencyinReligion
recognizesthedeity.Thestatueisbeautifullycarved,and
itsemeraldeyesappearextremelyvaluable.However,
thejewelsarecleverfakesmadeofworthlessglass,as
closeinspectionandasuccessfulDC 15 Intelligence
(Investigation)checkreveals.Nevertheless,apowerful
spellprotectsthem,andadetectmagicspellrevealsa
strongauraofabjurationmagicsurroundingthestatue.
Acharactercanclimbthestatueeasilyandpryajewel
loosewithasuccessfulDC 10 Strengthcheck.However,if
eithereyeisremoved,thepillarsthatlinethewallscrack,
triggeringaceilingcollapse.Eachcreatureintheroom
mustmakeaDC 15 Dexteritysavingthrow,taking4dl0PART4:WAVEECHOCAVE49