Bramble Wolf, Hasegawa Tōhaku, and Apparently Jones stood around a table in the captain's cabin on the pirate dhow known as the Emerald Eye. They were examining a detailed map of an inlet at the mouth of a river. A dashed line led inland and halfway up a mountain to an X with the words "Snakes Head".
Captain Moleman walked in rubbing his over-sized hands in a towel and announced, "Good news! I've got the pump working! With men working on every shift we'll have all the water pumped out of the hold in about two days. After that, it'll be about ten days to sail this this tub back to Port Nyanzaru. By the way, did any of you see the inside of the hull? The hull of this ship is LASHED to the bulkheads with ROPE! There's not a nail on this entire heap! This ship is SEWN TOGETHER!"
"Hmm, interesting," replied Bramble, not paying attention.
Captain Moleman glanced at Xoc-Wik the B'alam warrior sitting vacant eyed in the corner. Next to him stood Zeynap, likewise staring off into the middle distance. "What's wrong with them?"
Tōhaku replied, "Hmm, Brain Fever I believe it is called, hmm."
"Didn't he just get over that?" the theran captain asked, indicating Bramble.
"Hmm, yes, we've all had it at one point. Hmm."
Moleman recoiled, "It's not, you know, CONTAGIOUS, is it?"
"Hmm, oh no, I do not think so. Its cause is mysterious."
Captain Moleman cautiously let down his guard, "Okay then... Say, I been wondering. What do you people call yourselves anyway? Are you a a band? A group? A league or assembly? Do you have a team name or a mascot or something? What word should I use to describe you when I write about you in my log?"
"Hmm, we avoid labels, we like to keep it informal."
"Right. Well, we're all set to make way north to Port Nyanzaru like we planned."
"We're heading south!" declared Bramble, clapping a weight down on the maps.
"Wait, what? We had a deal! We're going back to Port Nyanzaru and claiming the bounty on this ship! You promised me half!"
"We promised you one thousand gold!" interjected Apparently.
"The bounty - is - two thousand - gold - pieces!" replied Moleman, deliberately pausing between each word for emphasis, "One thousand is half of two thousand!"
"We promised you one thousand, specifically. It's important in case we get a bigger reward." said the blue-skinned scout.
Captain Moleman pinched the bridge of his nose and furrowed his brow. "Why would - ?" He cut himself off, "You know what? Never mind! If we're not going to Port Nyanzaru, where are we going?"
Bramble replied, "Jahaka Bay."
"If you're looking for the secret pirate hideout, good luck. Only the crew you took on from the Dragonfang know where it is and they swore a blood oath to protect its secret. Plus, they said that even if they got you close, only the captains knew how to pilot the ships past the rocks that shield the entrance."
"We're not going to the secret base." said Bramble.
"We're not? I thought that was why you hired me in the first place?"
"No. We're looking for hidden treasure!"
CHAPTER 12, "THE TREASURE OF SNAKE'S HEAD CAVE"
- Bramble Wolf - a theran barbarian wise-man (Wildhunt Shifter Druid) searching for the legendary origin of his tribe.
- Apparently Jones - a blue-skinned demijin caravan guide and animal trainer (Air Genasi Ranger) from Akasa, the land of sky mountains. Having failed to find work in Port Nyanzaru as an animal handler, she has joined the expedition to the interior as a scout.
- Chak'sa - Apparently's parasaurolophus companion.
- Xoc-Wik - a b'alam warrior (Tabaxi Fighter) from the jungles of Bres, searching for those responsible for the destruction of his tribe.
- Zeynap Shiravadakar - a Eusebean smuggler (Human Warlock) bearing the spirit of a celestial unicorn.
- Hasegawa Tōhaku - a Horaian kamenin monk (Tortle Kensei Monk), a traveler, explorer, and artist. He was a friend of Nova Scotia Blackman in Akwa-Obio, the city of scholars.
JAHAKA BAY
Two days later, the Emerald Eye sailed past the mountaintop lookout that surveyed the ocean for leagues around. They had some means of sending messages from the mountaintop to the secret anchorage but it meant nothing. There were no ships currently docked in the hideout. The Dragonfang was alerted when the Emerald Eye was taken and its subsequent counterattack proved unsuccessful. There simply wasn't anyone at the anchorage to warm. Besides, the Emerald Eye wasn't sailing for the anchorage.
Mist poured slowly out of Jahaka Bay like a gaseous glacier. The mist created a thin fog that forever enshrouded the bay and limited visibility to less than two miles. Captain Moleman sailed the ship slowly and always kept the dark silhouette of the shore in view. If they sailed past the hidden anchorage they had no way of knowing.
THE ANCIENT LANDING
On the north shore near the waterfall was an ancient stone quay covered in moss and ferns. Overgrown stone steps formed a path up the side of the mountain. The base of the mountain where it met the bay was covered in jungle but a league beyond the mountainside was bare of trees and covered in tall grass, ferns, and rocky scree.
Captain Moleman opted to anchor the ship off shore. Bramble, Apparently, and Tōhaku took the rowboat captured from the Dragonfang to the quay. They disembarked and hauled the rowboat ashore.
SNAPPING TURTLES
The path leading up from the quay was steep. The path was at the bottom of a ravine. The banks to either side of the path rose sharply and were covered in ferns, palms, and small trees. To the left the path widened where a sink-hole had collapsed and was now filled with black water covered in leaves.
The expedition had barely started up the path when a snapping turtle the size of a hippopotamus skidded down the bank through the undergrowth from the right. The beast blocked their path and approached menacingly.
Apparently stepped forward and attempted to calm the giant reptile. Suddenly another snapping turtle emerged from the sinkhole and attacked Bramble and Tōhaku. Bramble immediately transformed himself into a bear and engaged the creature in hand-to-hand battle!
Apparently did her best to distract the turtle blocking her path. She would occasionally let down her guard and the giant turtle ineffectually snapped the air near her.
DM Comment - I let Apparently user her actions to make "Animal Handling" rolls against the creature's Armor Class. Why Armor Class? Why not? One DC is as good as another. Anyway, on a success, she held out her hands palms out like Chris Pratt vs the Velociraptors in Jurassic World and the turtle made no attack. On a fail, it would attack her normally. She failed a few times. As it happened, every time it attacked her it missed.
Bramble and Tōhaku fought the snapping turtle until it retreated into the sinkhole. Bramble dove into the water and finished it off. He transformed back into a human and felt around the bulk of the dead beast, searching the mud for any coins or items that may have belonged to previous victims. He managed to pull a handful of coins out of the mud and returned to the surface.
Tōhaku moved to assist Apparently with the other snapping turtle. They injured the beast and Apparently managed to coax it into climb up the bank and return from whence it came.
DM Comment - Once the thing was bloodied, I ruled that Apparently could convince it to retreat on a successful Animal Handling check. As a Ranger with the "Caravan Master" background, handling beasts is kind of her big thing, so I want her to be able to shine at it.
Tōhaku, who as a chelonian himself could hold his breath for up to an hour, dove in to search around. He scooped out more coins. Tōhaku returned to the surface, coughing. He had managed to accidentally swallow some water.
To their disappointment they managed to scrounge little more than a few dozen copper and silver coins. They gathered up their muddy loot and continued up the path.
Tōhaku began coughing and cleared his throat.
THROAT LEECHES
During their hike up the mountain, Tōhaku began coughing and hacking uncontrollably. Bramble gently grabbed his arm, turned him around, and examined him closely. Bramble lifted Tōhaku's head and squeezed the tortoise-man's throat. Tōhaku coughed and expectorated on the ground. Bramble took a close look. Tōhaku had coughed up a tiny leech.
"Did you swallow any of the water back there?" asked Bramble.
"Hmm. Yes, possibly."
"You've got throat leeches. I can't do anything about it now. Will you be okay until tomorrow?"
"Hmm. I'll do my best. Hmm."
SNAKE'S HEAD CAVERN
The area indicated by an "X" on the pirate map corresponded with the location of a mine on Apparently's map of the coast of Chult so the expedition expected to find an abandoned mine.
When they arrived, they instead saw a massive serpent's head carved from the stone of the mountain. The entrance resembled a cave that led down the snake's throat.
"That's a mine?" said Apparently, incredulously.
"Hmm. I believe this structure was created by the ancient Nagina Samrajya, the ancient serpents that once ruled the world."
"I guess they had mines too," quipped Bramble, "Well, there's plenty of day left. Shall we go in?"
"In THERE?" said Apparently, "That goes under GROUND!"
"Yes, that's the idea," said Bramble, "Is there a problem?"
"No! I mean, well, it's under the GROUND! I don't like not having the sky over me." explained the blue-skinned demijin, daughter of an air-spirit.
The party made preparations to enter. Apparently lit a torch. "Great," she complained, "I'm going to die underground."
They entered the serpent's gaping maw. The passage was circular like a turned left. They came across a chamber to the right. The chamber contained a funnel like pit filled with writhing snakes.
Apparently sniffed, "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"
Tōhaku examined the pit. "Hmm. I don't think so," he rasped, still uneasy from the leeches living in his throat. They continued down the passage to the left.
They encountered another brank and kept left. At the third branch, the way left was blocked by rubble from a cave-in. Daylinght peeked through the gaps in the fallen boulders. They went right and encountered a twenty foot wide chamber with passages going left and right. The left passage obviously connected to the collapsed area they saw earlier. They entered the chamber and disturbed a colony of bats living on the ceiling. The bats swarmed and clawed at each member of the expedition as they fled the chamber.
They took the passage to the right. They soon entered another chamber. This chamber was created by a cave-in and the floor was filled with rubble. They kept to the right side of the wall, avoiding the rubble, and continued. The passage appeared to loop back the way they came. They soon found a small five-foot wide tunnel dug into the right wall of the passage. There were steep but shallow steps crudely cut into the floor.
SERPENTINE GUARDIANS
They climbed the steps and emerged into a wide passage heading left and right. Before they could enter the passage, they were attacked!
The two attackers were roughly humanoid with a thin sinewy body, a long serpentine neck and head sporting vicious fangs, a snake-like tail, with ropy clawed arms and legs. The two creatures acted as guardians and tried to prevent anyone exiting the narrow tunnel.
The creatures fought savagely with no tactics and no regard for their own safety. Their claws tore deep rends and their fangs stabbed like twin daggers! They were terrible opponents but were eventually overcome.
The party quickly caught their breath after the battle.
"What were THOSE things?" demanded Apparently angrily.
"Hmm. I'm not sure. I believe they are the Nagina Samrajya. I have never seen one and until recently thought them a legend."
"Great!" spat Apparently, "I'm going to die. Underground. Killed by SNAKE things!"
They group pressed on, taking the way to the right. A narrow side passage to the left emitted a horrible odor and was bypassed. They eventually rounded a corner and entered a long chamber shaped like an arrowhead.
Within the chamber were four of the horrible serpentine creatures and a human woman wearing nothing more than a small layer of thin silk over her breasts and lap! To the horror of the expedition from the surface, the woman had slit eyes like those of a snake! They strange group bore no source of illumination and seemed at home in the total darkness of the subterranean passages.
The woman pointed at the expedition and cried out, "Intruders! You must defend the master! Let them not enter beyond that point!" She hissed and a long forked tongue shot out.
Battle ensued! Tōhaku took the right flank while Bramble took on the form of a bear and engaged the woman to the right. Apparently threw the torch onto the ground and loosed arrows from her bow at the attacking snake-creatures!
The human looking woman sprayed Bramble with poison and attacked him with an scimitar! Bramble soon defeated her, rending her to shreds with his long ursine claws.
Bramble and Tōhaku had a more difficult time fighting the other more bestial serpentine creatures. They were pushed back the way they came. Bramble was forced to resume the form of a human and retreat to aid his companions. At different points both Apparently and Tohaku had fallen before the snake-thing attacks only to be rescued by Bramble.
As they retreated, the snake-things seemed to halt and allow them to leave. The party slowly withdrew. On their way out, Apparently drew her bow and loosed an arrow at one of the snake-things, striking it. The snake-thing broke its formation and chased her down.
Apparently screamed, "NO! Not underground! I don't want to die underground!"
Apparently was saved by Tōhaku and Bramble who intervened to defeat the snake-thing. The remaining two snake-things allowed them to withdraw without further incident.
Repulsed, the expedition retraced their steps and exited the caves. They decided to exit through the collapsed tunnel, squeezing through the tumbled rocks. On their way out they were swarmed and bitten by nasty insects. They managed to escape the caves. It was late afternoon and they were two hundred feet to the left of the snake's head entrance.
Apparently scouted the countryside and found a safe place to camp. There they rested and healed their injuries.
TRY AGAIN
The trio woke at dawn on the shadowed western slope of the mountain. They gathered their equipment and made their way back to the entrance of the caves.
This time they decided to avoid the passage to the left and took their chances with the pit of snakes. Tōhaku was feeling better. He had coughed up the last of the leeches during the night and gotten plenty of rest. They made their way around the edge of the pit with ease.
There were two exits from the chamber of the snake pit. They took the exit tot he right and soon encountered - another snake pit!
They made their way around the edge but Bramble and Apparently both fell in. Luckily they were able to crawl out before they could be bitten by any venomous snakes at the bottom.
They look a long winding passage and looped back around. They came across a wide chamber with no floor. The bottom simply sank away into darkness. Several pillars of stone rose in the middle of the chamber, requiring one to leap from pillar to pillar. One could not see the far end of the chamber in the dim torchlight.
Tōhaku, who weighed over four hundred pounds in his shell, said, "Hmm. No." and they retraced their steps. They followed another long winding passage that looped back around to the chamber with no floor. They took a passage to the right which immediately branched left and right like a "V". The path to the left looked cracked and unsafe. The floor was uneven and covered in rocks. The walls seemed loose. The ceiling looked ready to collapse. Tōhaku advanced cautiously and was able to avoid the collapsing rocks from the ceiling.
This time it was Bramble who said, "No. Let's take a different way."
They took the passage to the right which zig-zagged and branched again. The way to the right bore a foul odor so they went left. The passage ended at a "T" with a passage to the left and a passage that led down crudely cut steps that descended steeply to the right.
At the bottom of the steps they encountered another branch. They took the left which zig-zagged again. There they found a curious section of cavern wall cut smoothly with right angles that formed a rectangle.
Bramble and Tōhaku simultaneously exclaimed, "Secret door!"
Tōhaku found the mechanism that opened the door. The wall swing outward revealing a rectangular room.
At the center of the room was a large circle drawn in chalk. Tall black candles surrounded the circle. Foul smoke that smelled of brimstone emanated from the center of the circle, filling the room with a malodorous miasma. Within the circle was a large beast, loathsome to behold. It resembled a humanoid vulture with black skin, scales, long clawed arms and feet. It was one of the Shang - Extra-dimensional demons from the Abyss of Gadha!
On the other side of the the shang was a muscular human-like figure of a man. But it was no man! It bore the head of a massive cobra and its skin was covered in scales! The cobra-man hissed at the interlopers and immediately called for help in its hissing guttural tongue!
The trio moved into the corner of the room. Apparently loosed arrows at the cobra-man while Bramble called upon the spirits of the forest to create a large sphere of flame! The cobra-man cast an enchantment upon the trio but only Tōhaku was affected. Bramble smacked Tōhaku on the head in order to snap the tortoise man out of his reverie.
The cobra-man moved around the hideous shang and engaged the trio in hand-to-hand combat. The cobra-man wielding a long scimitar. Whenever it struck, it drained life force from its victim. Bramble was soon laid low by the scimitar which seemed to reinvigorate the cobra-man. Apparently restored Bramble's health with a wilderness spell of healing. The trio counterattacked and soon defeated the cobra-man but was forced to quickly flee the room when the called-for aid arrived at the room's entrance.
Apparently tried to listen to the door but could hear nothing so the trio continued their search for the pirate treasure.
At the next branch they went left. They immediately encountered another branch and went left again. They immediately came across a third branch. Both paths led down crudely cut steps. They went left but encountered a dead end.
"Why would anyone build steps to a dead end? It doesn't make any sense!" complained Apparently.
Bramble simply shrugged.
They retraced their steps and went right. The steps descended into a grotto with a deep body of water. Apparently continued holding the torch while Bramble entered the water. The water was clear and he could see in the dim light from the torch. At the bottom of the pool he saw a closed treasure chest. He also saw two giant octopuses resting nearby.
Bramble exited the pool and transformed himself into an octopus. He then took the end of a rope and returned to the water. The two octopuses left the third octopus alone. Octo-Bramble tied the rope around the carrying handle on the chest and Tōhaku and Apparently hauled it out of the pool.
They opened the chest. It was filled with hundreds of gold and silver coins, four vials of liquid and one smaller philter of liquid, and a sealed scroll case.
TO BE CONTINUED...
DM Comments
I threw this side-quest into the campaign because I could tell my players were getting tired of not having a dungeon crawl in a while. The story was getting pretty complex and even repetitive with all the pirate ship attacks lately so I wanted to give them a good old fashioned delve.
I was originally going to adapt a generic mine map into a dungeon but then I remembered I had this stand-alone dungeon I designed way back in 2014 for Dungeon Crawl Classics. It was even written as a location for hidden pirate loot! I never got to use that dungeon so I dusted it off and updated the creatures.
I'll post the full dungeon as soon as they escape.
So, whenever I essentially ad-lib a session I wind up missing several opportunities that I didn't consider until days later.
This time I wish I had tied this better to earlier campaigns in the same setting. Instead of a Vrock in the summoning circle, I should have made it a naga, specifically Explictica Defilus from when I ran Against the Cult of the Reptile God.
Also, I should have had any ranged attack that went across the circle break the binding and release the demon, and any melee fighting adjacent to the circle should require a Dexterity Saving throw to avoid breaking the circle. Alas, I played it too safe.
Also, Yuan-Ti Broodguards are EFFING TOUGH, YO! They're as bad as Pterafolk in their ability to deal out damage in a turn.
Finally, I had made a prop for the players that served as a kind of secret guide that Captain Al-Saryak would have used to navigate the tunnels to find his hidden treasure. I totally forgot I even made it until I found it when I started writing this blog after the session.
The drawing represents the passages and branches, indicating which branch to take, left or right, that would take you to the treasure. I really wish I had remembered this and handed it to the players when they found the map.
Two days later, the Emerald Eye sailed past the mountaintop lookout that surveyed the ocean for leagues around. They had some means of sending messages from the mountaintop to the secret anchorage but it meant nothing. There were no ships currently docked in the hideout. The Dragonfang was alerted when the Emerald Eye was taken and its subsequent counterattack proved unsuccessful. There simply wasn't anyone at the anchorage to warm. Besides, the Emerald Eye wasn't sailing for the anchorage.
Mist poured slowly out of Jahaka Bay like a gaseous glacier. The mist created a thin fog that forever enshrouded the bay and limited visibility to less than two miles. Captain Moleman sailed the ship slowly and always kept the dark silhouette of the shore in view. If they sailed past the hidden anchorage they had no way of knowing.
THE ANCIENT LANDING
They continued along the coast for another three days. They eventually arrived at the mouth of the River Tath. Tath poured over a waterfall into the bay. Mountains flanked both sides of the canyon from which the river flowed.
On the north shore near the waterfall was an ancient stone quay covered in moss and ferns. Overgrown stone steps formed a path up the side of the mountain. The base of the mountain where it met the bay was covered in jungle but a league beyond the mountainside was bare of trees and covered in tall grass, ferns, and rocky scree.
Captain Moleman opted to anchor the ship off shore. Bramble, Apparently, and Tōhaku took the rowboat captured from the Dragonfang to the quay. They disembarked and hauled the rowboat ashore.
SNAPPING TURTLES
The path leading up from the quay was steep. The path was at the bottom of a ravine. The banks to either side of the path rose sharply and were covered in ferns, palms, and small trees. To the left the path widened where a sink-hole had collapsed and was now filled with black water covered in leaves.
The expedition had barely started up the path when a snapping turtle the size of a hippopotamus skidded down the bank through the undergrowth from the right. The beast blocked their path and approached menacingly.
Apparently stepped forward and attempted to calm the giant reptile. Suddenly another snapping turtle emerged from the sinkhole and attacked Bramble and Tōhaku. Bramble immediately transformed himself into a bear and engaged the creature in hand-to-hand battle!
Apparently did her best to distract the turtle blocking her path. She would occasionally let down her guard and the giant turtle ineffectually snapped the air near her.
DM Comment - I let Apparently user her actions to make "Animal Handling" rolls against the creature's Armor Class. Why Armor Class? Why not? One DC is as good as another. Anyway, on a success, she held out her hands palms out like Chris Pratt vs the Velociraptors in Jurassic World and the turtle made no attack. On a fail, it would attack her normally. She failed a few times. As it happened, every time it attacked her it missed.
Bramble and Tōhaku fought the snapping turtle until it retreated into the sinkhole. Bramble dove into the water and finished it off. He transformed back into a human and felt around the bulk of the dead beast, searching the mud for any coins or items that may have belonged to previous victims. He managed to pull a handful of coins out of the mud and returned to the surface.
Tōhaku moved to assist Apparently with the other snapping turtle. They injured the beast and Apparently managed to coax it into climb up the bank and return from whence it came.
DM Comment - Once the thing was bloodied, I ruled that Apparently could convince it to retreat on a successful Animal Handling check. As a Ranger with the "Caravan Master" background, handling beasts is kind of her big thing, so I want her to be able to shine at it.
Tōhaku, who as a chelonian himself could hold his breath for up to an hour, dove in to search around. He scooped out more coins. Tōhaku returned to the surface, coughing. He had managed to accidentally swallow some water.
To their disappointment they managed to scrounge little more than a few dozen copper and silver coins. They gathered up their muddy loot and continued up the path.
Tōhaku began coughing and cleared his throat.
THROAT LEECHES
During their hike up the mountain, Tōhaku began coughing and hacking uncontrollably. Bramble gently grabbed his arm, turned him around, and examined him closely. Bramble lifted Tōhaku's head and squeezed the tortoise-man's throat. Tōhaku coughed and expectorated on the ground. Bramble took a close look. Tōhaku had coughed up a tiny leech.
"Did you swallow any of the water back there?" asked Bramble.
"Hmm. Yes, possibly."
"You've got throat leeches. I can't do anything about it now. Will you be okay until tomorrow?"
"Hmm. I'll do my best. Hmm."
SNAKE'S HEAD CAVERN
The area indicated by an "X" on the pirate map corresponded with the location of a mine on Apparently's map of the coast of Chult so the expedition expected to find an abandoned mine.
When they arrived, they instead saw a massive serpent's head carved from the stone of the mountain. The entrance resembled a cave that led down the snake's throat.
"That's a mine?" said Apparently, incredulously.
"Hmm. I believe this structure was created by the ancient Nagina Samrajya, the ancient serpents that once ruled the world."
"I guess they had mines too," quipped Bramble, "Well, there's plenty of day left. Shall we go in?"
"In THERE?" said Apparently, "That goes under GROUND!"
"Yes, that's the idea," said Bramble, "Is there a problem?"
"No! I mean, well, it's under the GROUND! I don't like not having the sky over me." explained the blue-skinned demijin, daughter of an air-spirit.
The party made preparations to enter. Apparently lit a torch. "Great," she complained, "I'm going to die underground."
They entered the serpent's gaping maw. The passage was circular like a turned left. They came across a chamber to the right. The chamber contained a funnel like pit filled with writhing snakes.
Apparently sniffed, "Snakes. Why did it have to be snakes?"
Tōhaku examined the pit. "Hmm. I don't think so," he rasped, still uneasy from the leeches living in his throat. They continued down the passage to the left.
They encountered another brank and kept left. At the third branch, the way left was blocked by rubble from a cave-in. Daylinght peeked through the gaps in the fallen boulders. They went right and encountered a twenty foot wide chamber with passages going left and right. The left passage obviously connected to the collapsed area they saw earlier. They entered the chamber and disturbed a colony of bats living on the ceiling. The bats swarmed and clawed at each member of the expedition as they fled the chamber.
They took the passage to the right. They soon entered another chamber. This chamber was created by a cave-in and the floor was filled with rubble. They kept to the right side of the wall, avoiding the rubble, and continued. The passage appeared to loop back the way they came. They soon found a small five-foot wide tunnel dug into the right wall of the passage. There were steep but shallow steps crudely cut into the floor.
SERPENTINE GUARDIANS
They climbed the steps and emerged into a wide passage heading left and right. Before they could enter the passage, they were attacked!
The two attackers were roughly humanoid with a thin sinewy body, a long serpentine neck and head sporting vicious fangs, a snake-like tail, with ropy clawed arms and legs. The two creatures acted as guardians and tried to prevent anyone exiting the narrow tunnel.
The creatures fought savagely with no tactics and no regard for their own safety. Their claws tore deep rends and their fangs stabbed like twin daggers! They were terrible opponents but were eventually overcome.
The party quickly caught their breath after the battle.
"What were THOSE things?" demanded Apparently angrily.
"Hmm. I'm not sure. I believe they are the Nagina Samrajya. I have never seen one and until recently thought them a legend."
"Great!" spat Apparently, "I'm going to die. Underground. Killed by SNAKE things!"
They group pressed on, taking the way to the right. A narrow side passage to the left emitted a horrible odor and was bypassed. They eventually rounded a corner and entered a long chamber shaped like an arrowhead.
Within the chamber were four of the horrible serpentine creatures and a human woman wearing nothing more than a small layer of thin silk over her breasts and lap! To the horror of the expedition from the surface, the woman had slit eyes like those of a snake! They strange group bore no source of illumination and seemed at home in the total darkness of the subterranean passages.
The woman pointed at the expedition and cried out, "Intruders! You must defend the master! Let them not enter beyond that point!" She hissed and a long forked tongue shot out.
Battle ensued! Tōhaku took the right flank while Bramble took on the form of a bear and engaged the woman to the right. Apparently threw the torch onto the ground and loosed arrows from her bow at the attacking snake-creatures!
The human looking woman sprayed Bramble with poison and attacked him with an scimitar! Bramble soon defeated her, rending her to shreds with his long ursine claws.
Bramble and Tōhaku had a more difficult time fighting the other more bestial serpentine creatures. They were pushed back the way they came. Bramble was forced to resume the form of a human and retreat to aid his companions. At different points both Apparently and Tohaku had fallen before the snake-thing attacks only to be rescued by Bramble.
As they retreated, the snake-things seemed to halt and allow them to leave. The party slowly withdrew. On their way out, Apparently drew her bow and loosed an arrow at one of the snake-things, striking it. The snake-thing broke its formation and chased her down.
Apparently screamed, "NO! Not underground! I don't want to die underground!"
Apparently was saved by Tōhaku and Bramble who intervened to defeat the snake-thing. The remaining two snake-things allowed them to withdraw without further incident.
Repulsed, the expedition retraced their steps and exited the caves. They decided to exit through the collapsed tunnel, squeezing through the tumbled rocks. On their way out they were swarmed and bitten by nasty insects. They managed to escape the caves. It was late afternoon and they were two hundred feet to the left of the snake's head entrance.
Apparently scouted the countryside and found a safe place to camp. There they rested and healed their injuries.
TRY AGAIN
The trio woke at dawn on the shadowed western slope of the mountain. They gathered their equipment and made their way back to the entrance of the caves.
This time they decided to avoid the passage to the left and took their chances with the pit of snakes. Tōhaku was feeling better. He had coughed up the last of the leeches during the night and gotten plenty of rest. They made their way around the edge of the pit with ease.
There were two exits from the chamber of the snake pit. They took the exit tot he right and soon encountered - another snake pit!
They made their way around the edge but Bramble and Apparently both fell in. Luckily they were able to crawl out before they could be bitten by any venomous snakes at the bottom.
They look a long winding passage and looped back around. They came across a wide chamber with no floor. The bottom simply sank away into darkness. Several pillars of stone rose in the middle of the chamber, requiring one to leap from pillar to pillar. One could not see the far end of the chamber in the dim torchlight.
Tōhaku, who weighed over four hundred pounds in his shell, said, "Hmm. No." and they retraced their steps. They followed another long winding passage that looped back around to the chamber with no floor. They took a passage to the right which immediately branched left and right like a "V". The path to the left looked cracked and unsafe. The floor was uneven and covered in rocks. The walls seemed loose. The ceiling looked ready to collapse. Tōhaku advanced cautiously and was able to avoid the collapsing rocks from the ceiling.
This time it was Bramble who said, "No. Let's take a different way."
They took the passage to the right which zig-zagged and branched again. The way to the right bore a foul odor so they went left. The passage ended at a "T" with a passage to the left and a passage that led down crudely cut steps that descended steeply to the right.
At the bottom of the steps they encountered another branch. They took the left which zig-zagged again. There they found a curious section of cavern wall cut smoothly with right angles that formed a rectangle.
Bramble and Tōhaku simultaneously exclaimed, "Secret door!"
Tōhaku found the mechanism that opened the door. The wall swing outward revealing a rectangular room.
At the center of the room was a large circle drawn in chalk. Tall black candles surrounded the circle. Foul smoke that smelled of brimstone emanated from the center of the circle, filling the room with a malodorous miasma. Within the circle was a large beast, loathsome to behold. It resembled a humanoid vulture with black skin, scales, long clawed arms and feet. It was one of the Shang - Extra-dimensional demons from the Abyss of Gadha!
On the other side of the the shang was a muscular human-like figure of a man. But it was no man! It bore the head of a massive cobra and its skin was covered in scales! The cobra-man hissed at the interlopers and immediately called for help in its hissing guttural tongue!
The trio moved into the corner of the room. Apparently loosed arrows at the cobra-man while Bramble called upon the spirits of the forest to create a large sphere of flame! The cobra-man cast an enchantment upon the trio but only Tōhaku was affected. Bramble smacked Tōhaku on the head in order to snap the tortoise man out of his reverie.
The cobra-man moved around the hideous shang and engaged the trio in hand-to-hand combat. The cobra-man wielding a long scimitar. Whenever it struck, it drained life force from its victim. Bramble was soon laid low by the scimitar which seemed to reinvigorate the cobra-man. Apparently restored Bramble's health with a wilderness spell of healing. The trio counterattacked and soon defeated the cobra-man but was forced to quickly flee the room when the called-for aid arrived at the room's entrance.
Apparently tried to listen to the door but could hear nothing so the trio continued their search for the pirate treasure.
At the next branch they went left. They immediately encountered another branch and went left again. They immediately came across a third branch. Both paths led down crudely cut steps. They went left but encountered a dead end.
"Why would anyone build steps to a dead end? It doesn't make any sense!" complained Apparently.
Bramble simply shrugged.
They retraced their steps and went right. The steps descended into a grotto with a deep body of water. Apparently continued holding the torch while Bramble entered the water. The water was clear and he could see in the dim light from the torch. At the bottom of the pool he saw a closed treasure chest. He also saw two giant octopuses resting nearby.
Bramble exited the pool and transformed himself into an octopus. He then took the end of a rope and returned to the water. The two octopuses left the third octopus alone. Octo-Bramble tied the rope around the carrying handle on the chest and Tōhaku and Apparently hauled it out of the pool.
They opened the chest. It was filled with hundreds of gold and silver coins, four vials of liquid and one smaller philter of liquid, and a sealed scroll case.
TO BE CONTINUED...
DM Comments
I threw this side-quest into the campaign because I could tell my players were getting tired of not having a dungeon crawl in a while. The story was getting pretty complex and even repetitive with all the pirate ship attacks lately so I wanted to give them a good old fashioned delve.
I was originally going to adapt a generic mine map into a dungeon but then I remembered I had this stand-alone dungeon I designed way back in 2014 for Dungeon Crawl Classics. It was even written as a location for hidden pirate loot! I never got to use that dungeon so I dusted it off and updated the creatures.
I'll post the full dungeon as soon as they escape.
So, whenever I essentially ad-lib a session I wind up missing several opportunities that I didn't consider until days later.
This time I wish I had tied this better to earlier campaigns in the same setting. Instead of a Vrock in the summoning circle, I should have made it a naga, specifically Explictica Defilus from when I ran Against the Cult of the Reptile God.
Also, I should have had any ranged attack that went across the circle break the binding and release the demon, and any melee fighting adjacent to the circle should require a Dexterity Saving throw to avoid breaking the circle. Alas, I played it too safe.
Also, Yuan-Ti Broodguards are EFFING TOUGH, YO! They're as bad as Pterafolk in their ability to deal out damage in a turn.
Finally, I had made a prop for the players that served as a kind of secret guide that Captain Al-Saryak would have used to navigate the tunnels to find his hidden treasure. I totally forgot I even made it until I found it when I started writing this blog after the session.
The drawing represents the passages and branches, indicating which branch to take, left or right, that would take you to the treasure. I really wish I had remembered this and handed it to the players when they found the map.
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