watchesthemcloselytobesurenoonetakesmorethan
twentyingots.
Restingatoponecrateisagauntletmadeofgoldandsized
foranadultdwarf.ThedwarvesofChultcallitMoradin’s
Gauntlet,andit’scustomarilywornbytheoverseersof
Hrakhamar.Itisfinelycraftedandworth 2 , 500 gp,thougha
wealthydwarfwouldpaytwicethatmuchtoacquireit.
7 .ImixShrine
It’sunclearwhatthedwarvesusedthisareafor,butthe
firenewtsconverteditintoashrine.
Thereekofsulfurandburningfleshassaultsyour
nostrilsasthetunnelopensintoasmallchamber.At
thenorthernendoftheroomisafive-foot-tallstatue
madeofiron,copper,gold,andsilver,crudely
hammeredtogetherintoaformsuggestingsomething
vaguelyhumanoidbutalsofiery.Fourfirenewtsworship
beforeit.TheworshipersaretwofirenewtwarlocksofImixand
twofirenewtwarriors(seeappendixDforthefirenewts’
statistics).Theyfighttothedeath.
Thestatueweighs 150 poundsandrepresentsImix,the
evil,fieryprimordialatthecenterofthefirenewts’militarized,
theologicalsociety.Thestatuehaslittleartisticmerit
(firenewtsarepassablesmithsbutpoorartists).Ifthegold
andsilverareseparatedfromtheothermetals,they’reworth
20 gpand 400 sp,respectively.Analbinodwarforacharacter
skilledatsmithingcouldsmeltoutthevaluablemetalswith
theequipmentinHrakhamarinafewhours.
AcharacterwhomakesasuccessfulDC 13 Wisdom
(Perception)checkwhileexamining(orsmeltingdown)the
statueofImixrecognizesanobjecthammeredintoitsflames
ashavingoncebeenpartofakey.It’stheonlybitof
adamantineonthestatue,andonlythetoughnessof
adamantinepreventeditfrombeinghammeredoutofall
recognition.Oncetheadamantinefragmentispickedout,a
morecarefulsearchturnsupasecondfragmentofgold,so
thoroughlyhammeredthatit’sbarelyrecognizable.Thesekeys
onceunlockedthedoortothetreasury(area 6 )andare
beyondrepair;solittleofthemremainsthatnotevena
mendingspellcanfixthem.
8 .Smoke-FilledCavernsThesizeandshapeofthisareaareimpossibleto
determine.Cloudsofroilingsmokestingyoureyes,and
driftingembersburnyourthroatasyoubreathe.You
can,however,barelymakeoutwhatlookslikealantern
fartherbackinthesmoke.
Theselinkedcavernsarethelairoftwosmokemephits.
Whatthecharactersperceiveasadimlanternisadancing
lightsspellscastbyoneofthemephitstolurethecharacters
deeperintothenoxiouslair.
Allofarea 8 isheavilyobscured.Characterscanmove 10
feetperroundbyfollowingawallwiththeirhand;moving
fasterthanthatmeanstaking 1 bludgeoningdamagefrom
bangingheadsandshinsintostoneprotrusions.After 2 rounds
inthesmoke,eachcharactermustmakeasuccessfulDC 10
Constitutionsavingthrowatthestartofeachofhisorher
turnsorgainalevelofexhaustion.Thosewhoholdtheir
breathwon’tgainexhaustionforaslongastheirbreathholds
out;characterswhotiewetragsacrosstheirnoseandmouth
ortakesimilarprecautionshaveadvantageonthesaving
throwfor 10 rounds,butthentheragdriesoutinHrakhamar’s
intenseheat.
Themephitsaren’tinterestedinattackingadventurers
directly,butthey’llgleefullylootthebodiesofanyonewho
collapsesinthesmoke.Ifcornered,theybegformercy.They
offertotradeinformationfortheirlivesifacharactermakesa
successfulDC 10 Charisma(Intimidation)check.Theyknow
theforgeisinfestedwithfirenewts,wherethenewts’giant
stridermountsarekept,andthattwodwarfprisonersaretied
upinthecellsduewestofthemephits’lair.
9 .CellsandPassagetoWyrmheartMine
Firenewtsarenotorioustorturersandeatersofhumanoid
flesh.Prisonersaretiedup,gagged,andtossedhereuntilthe
firenewtsdecidehowtoinflictthemostintenseandlongest-
lastingpainonthem.Mostprisonersaredeadwithinatenday,
buttheywishfortheendmuchsooner.
Dwarvesaretheexception.There’smuchaboutthe
workingsofHrakhamarthefirenewtsstilldon’tunderstand.
Captureddwarvesaretorturedforhintsabouthowthe
foundry’stoolsandmachineswork.Twolucklessalbino
dwarfwarriors(seeappendixD)aretied,gagged,and
blindfoldedherewhencharactersarrive.TheirnamesareLaz
DrumthunderandMalkarStonegrist.Botharewoundedand
have 1 hitpointremaining.Theyarealsostarving,dehydrated,
andsufferingfrom 5 levelsofexhaustion.Lazwillrecover
normallywithtimeandcare,ormagicalhealing.Malkarhas
gonemad;heshuddersuncontrollablyandscreamsnonstopif
hisgagisremoved.Alesserrestorationspellorcomparable
magicisneededtorestorehissanity.IfLazandMalkarare
takentoSithiVinecutter,sheandhercompanionslookafter
them.
Thetunnelwindssouthward 40 milestoWyrmheartMine,
whichhasbeentakenoverbythedragonTzindelorandher
koboldminions(see“WyrmheartMine").Thetunnelis
passableandtherailcarttracksareintactforthefulllength,
butencounterswithcarrioncrawlersandgiantspidersare
guaranteed.AscharactersgetclosertoWyrmheartMine,they
mightalsoencounterbandsofkobolds.Thealbinodwarves
knowwherethetunnelleadsbutarequicktowarncharacters
aboutthereddragonthathastakenoverWyrmheartMine.
10 .MineCartBay
Thedwarvesparkedtheirorecartsandflatbedrailcarts
herewhentheyweren’tinuse.Twoofeacharestillhere,and
bothareinminimalworkingcondition.
Thefirenewtsusetheareaasstablesfortwelvegiant
striders(seeappendixD).Thegiantstridersaretethered,but
thetethersaremeantonlytokeepthemfromcrossingthe
westernmostlineofcarttracksandwanderingthroughthe
tunnels.Anangryoralarmedstridercaneasilybreakloose,
andtheseviciouscreaturesbecomebothangryandalarmed
whentheyseehumanoidswhoaren’ttheirfirenewtmasters.
Assoonasanon-firenewtentersarea 10 ,thegiantstriders
beginstamping,growling,andstrainingattheirtethers.
Beginningonthefollowinground, 1 d 3 giantstridersbreak
looseeachroundandattackorjoininanongoingbattle.They
don’tattackfirenewts,andafirenewtcanhopontoagiant
striderandrideitasamountusingthestandardrulesfor
mountedcombat.Hvalspyd
TheHvalspyd(thenamemeans“whalespear”)isa
longshipsizedforfrostgiants: 250 feetlong,withsailsmade
fromwhitedragonwings.It’sanchored 100 yardsoffabeach