The Underlabyrinth

Deep below the last city something moves in the sewer stalking a ramshackle gondola along a tunnel lined with vines, waiting to drag it under the filthy water with its powerful tentacles. A small boat sits in the middle of an enormous lake seated in a dark cavern. The fisherman triumphantly pulls an eel from the depths guided by the dim green glow of the fluorescent purifying algae that coat the water. A ranger slowly and carefully draws a bow to take aim at a four armed gorilla in the bio luminescence of a subterranean forest.
This is The Underlabyrinth; a beautiful but predatory cavern system underneath the Bastion City.

Geography

The Underlabyrinth is a massive, interconnected, and largely unexplored set of sewers, underground lakes/rivers, and subterranean jungles. It spans the entirety of the city's borders and is unfathomably complex. Its sewers and rivers are often used as a means of traveling. However, most of this travel is clandestine in nature because of the dangers posed by creatures lurking in its murky waters. There are also a collection of caverns containing weird jungles of glowing fauna filled with alien creatures, odd fruit, and stalked by strange predators. It is said in legends that a lower section of the Underlabyrinth exists inhabited by unfathomable horrors that enslave humanoids and feed off of their minds.

Fauna & Flora

Cavern Lakes and Rivers

In the many lakes and rivers that riddle the Underlabyrinth there are a multitude of strange creatures. The most common by far is the cave-algae. It is a kind of algae that naturally purify water. They give off a faint green glow when in the dark and are harvested and baked into green hard-tack biscuits. They are even scooped up to be used as a substitution to a light source, though they must be used soon after harvesting lest they lose their glow. Further, there are also the under-eels. These eels make up the bulk of the 'seafood' produce eaten by city goers. The eels are about 1' to 3' long and are teethed with luminescent dots along their slimy bodies. Another cavern-dweller is the cave-squid. These subterranean squids come in many forms. The most common one being a small 3" to 5" in length all the way to 50' to 100' in length. In addition, there are a multitude of odd bio luminescent fish. There are even rumors of Krakens and great Dragon Turtles lurking in the deepest depths.

Cavern Jungles and Cave Dwellers

In the Underjungle many twisted creatures lie in wait in the underbrush. Four armed primates dwell in the trees and freakish tentacle endowed panthers stalk the undergrowth. Screeches originating from fungi can be heard in the distance and the flapping of bloodthirsty flocks of flying horrors fills the sky. Great hammer headed beasts lumber through the tangle crushing all underfoot. Birdlike reptiles hunt in packs, outsmarting prey. The Underjungle is a perilous place. Not all the creatures of the caverns live in jungles underground. Some live in the tunnels and caves not yet claimed by the glowing fauna of the Underjungle. Most of these creatures are adapted to use the stalactites and stalagmites as camouflage. For example, the Darkmantle. This creature clings to the tops of particularly dark caverns and relies on the darkness to conceal itself as a stalactite. Once a creature, or in underground lakes and rivers a boat, passes underneath it, it drops and unfurls cloaking itself in magical darkness to descend upon the prey. Another cave-dweller is the Piercer. This creature hunts on the same principle of the Darkmantle, laying in wait for its pray to pass below for it to plunge down upon. However, the Piercers come in colonies. One final hideous beast that lurks in caverns be the Roper. The Roper is the mature form of the Piercer. It has one large eye, several flailing tentacles, and a gaping maw lined with many razor shark teeth. It looks nearly indistinguishable from a stalagmite when is closes its eyes and mouth and stows its tentacles. It waits on the cavern floor for prey to stray to close so it may snap its beady eye open and drag the struggling creature into its disgusting maw.

Natural Resources

Its lakes are often used for fishing, for they contain a multitude of bio luminescent fish, eel, and squid. These lakes also often contain an algae that purifies water and is used for food. There are also vines that grow on damp tunnel walls that are harvested and cooked for food above.

Alternative Name(s)

The Underdark, The Caves, The Undermaze, The Undertunnels, or The Darkmaze.

Type

Cave System

Included Locations

• The Underjungle