Tirana's Lair, Part 6 (Desnus (V) 1st, 4709 AR)

The heroes continued their exploration.

Shambling Nightmare. The thorny plants that cover this room are dangerous to most creatures. Anyone moving through this room at a fast speed automatically takes damage, as does anyone who falls prone. The room’s guardians were immune to this damage. In addition, the tangling roots make it impossible to charge and increase the difficulty of acrobatics, although they do not slow movement.

The plants themselves are not the room’s only hazards. The faintly glowing magically treated water in the wall fountain and the central irrigation trench is highly acidic. Both the fountain and trench are 5 feet deep and filled more than halfway with the glowing, weed-choked water. Any non-plant creature touching it takes acid damage.

A 20-pound stone chest containing treasure sat at the bottom of the wall pool. The chest sat on a pressure plate which, when disturbed, caused the fountainhead to spray acid on everyone within range. Secured in the chest was a belt of giant strength +2, a scroll of symbol of scrying and 3 gp.

Two shambling mounds defended this place fiercely against all comers. When the heroes first arrived, the shambling mounds hid in the southern corners of the room in the copious plant matter before attacking without warning. Those who failed to notice them were surprised. When the opportunity presented itself, the shambling mounds bull rushed heroes into the acid. Once angered, the shambling mounds were fearless and fought to the death.

Lord of Scarabs. The outer walls of this room-within-a-room are smooth and featureless. In the center sits a second, smaller structure: a massive block of stone that rises nearly to the ceiling. Across its sides flow horizontal bands containing thousands of miniscule engravings, reproduced larger on the two sets of bronze double doors that lead into the stone block from the east and west.

The heroes recognized the multitude of carvings as variations on a theme — each a slightly different representation of a scarab beetle. While unlocked, the doors are extremely heavy and required effort to open.

Inside the smaller room is darkness, interrupted only by a faintly glowing sarcophagus apparently constructed entirely out of gold. Runes like those on the outer doors cover its surface, but these appear to skitter and dance across it. When the heroes examined the moving runes on the sarcophagus, some of them were compelled to open it.

When the sarcophagus was opened, a mummy who waited inside the sarcophagus burst forth to attack. After standing up, the mummy struck out at the nearest foe. It focused first on those caught by its despair or nauseated by the scarab swarm. The Lord of Scarabs knew no fear and fought until destroyed.

The mummy was accompanied by a scarab swarm. The swarm of horrible biting scarabs flooded the chamber within seconds and continued to pour from between the Lord of Scarab’s bandages. For as long as the Lord of Scarabs remained extant, so too did the swarm. Heroes in the room automatically took damage from the scarabs and some of them became nauseated. Characters not touching the floor were immune to this damage. Once the Lord of Scarabs was destroyed, the scarabs retreated to the coffin and remained still, refusing to attack or to defend themselves.

Buried among the flood of beetles were a deep blue sapphire worth 1,000 gp, a gem-encrusted crook worth 375 gp, a golembane scarab, a ring of counterspells, and 19 gp. The sarcophagus itself is worth 5,000 gp for its gold alone, but removing a half-ton box from the complex is no easy task.

What Lies Beneath. The pool is 30 feet deep, and the lazy current was easy to navigate until the water elemental used its vortex ability.

A water elemental was left in this chamber. When the heroes took the boat partway across the pool and away from shore, the water elemental capsized it. It then entered a vortex and maintained it as long as possible, attempting to suck the heroes below the surface. The elemental fought to the death.

A River Runs Through It. The rough stone floor of this room is bisected by a ten-foot-wide channel barely containing a torrent of dark, fetid water that ripples with oily colors and occasionally emits tiny sparks. At the western end of the channel, a waterfall plunges from a hole in the ceiling, filling the channel before rushing out through a dark opening in the eastern wall. The room is thick with mist, and a thin sheen of pale fungus coats every surface.

The waterfall occupies the channel closest to the western wall. The current in the channel is strong.

All surfaces in this room are covered in a thin film of slimy fungus. Additionally, the thick fog makes it easier for creatures to hide.

This room is home to a pair of hungry lobster-like creatures with thick armored shells. They each had a pair of tiny eyes gleaming above a mouth full or writhing tentacles. They lurked beneath the surface in the 10-foot-deep channel. The creatures attempted to use the water to their advantage, grappling the heroes and then dragging them towards the water.