Chapter 2: A Servant’s Dues

Dungeon Details

Floors: The floor consists of large slate slabs, cut into 2 foot squares and laid 1/4 inch apart, the cracks sealed with fine gravel mixed into grey clay-soil. The rougher texture of the stone-layers and the seams has lead to a nauseating buildup of foul smelling grime.

Walls: The walls of this floor are rough stone bricks, packed together with grey clay-soil.

Warmth: As you decened down the stairs to this floor, the first thing you noticed was the chilling draft, which seems to bite through clothes and chill to the core. The stone is cold enough to slightly stick to whatever bare skin touches it, though it is mostly slicked by grease and grime.

Light: This level is also dark, with no perceivable windows to shed even dim light into the rooms. The only possible sources of light are a handful of rusted wrought iron lanterns and half-burnt candles on servant’s bedtables.

A: A broomstick leans into this corner, it’s stick carved with the name “Elena”, and it’s straw bound by thin bronze strips.

C: The goblin’s horde is kept in this hallway, and a brighter goblin has figured out how locks work and has locked the door from the inside. He looks out through one of the locks (if the party is stealthing 50% chance he’s looking through the other one), and will stab a thin spear through the keyhole if one of the party members attempts to pick the lock. If they break the door down, he is thrown back and takes 2d6 damage. The horde contains a bunch of shiny shells, 2 of them Suna, a dagger, some gold and silver pieces, and a gilded scroll (arcana DC 14 to figure out that it’s an elementary (-1, usable by non-magic users) scroll of moonbeam.

E: A goblin crouches down here with two rusted iron short swords, which he rushes the party with as they continue down the hallway. He’s attempting to hide (roll stealth).

1: A closet, hidden behind a false dresser. Empty bottles litter the ground, and an iron candleholder, burnt almost to a stub, rests on the ground.

2: A common room, complete with 3 tables and 10 chairs. Some of the tables have candles (1d6 in total) melted down on them, each enough for a few (1d4) minutes of light. 1d4 goblins are relaxing here, one playing five finger fillet at an incredibly roughed up table. The door is stuck, and a strength check (DC 8) must be made to shove it open.

3: A sort of landing, pegs line the walls, jackets and hats eaten by time hanging loosely on them. Mouldy woven straw mats carry shoes and boots, untouched for years. The trapped door is a simple boot filled with pebbles, placed upon the ajar door, which swings outwardly towards the hall. (DC 10 to notice the toe of the boot upon the door, should it fall it alerts the goblins in adjacent rooms.

4: Inside this locked room rests the remains of a humanoid, reduced to only yellowed bones through the decades. In it’s pelvis rests a set of smaller bones. It’s hand lays over a book, the underside of which is slashed 7 times. It’s skull is a web of cracks, flowing from a dagger still pushed inside.

5: There are yet more beds in this room, these made with less perfect craftsmanship, the legs cut unevenly, the boards lacking of any polish, varnish, or detail. The mattresses are sackcloth wrapped straw, which have been ripped open, the straw used for a large nest upon a side table, seemingly from another room, which sits in the middle of a room. DC 12 perception reveals 2d12 stirge hanging from the ceiling. Light sources alert these stirge. Searching the nest reveals a fist sized orb of blood-ember surrounding a faintly visible probiscus. (See coarse clot item article). Beside one of the beds there is a dresser. Once opened, a deed is visible. When the deed is read out loud, the user casts Leomund’s Tiny Hut.

6: A hobgoblin sits upon a simple wooden chair as if his throne, goblins scurrying to meet his every need, fires lit on either side of a carpet rolled from his feet ahead. (2d6+3 goblins are in this room, as well as a hobgoblin who fancies himself king, the fires are made from burning matresses and whatever else the goblins can find). There is a treasure hoard behind the throne, containing some scraps of uncooked meat, 2 Suna, a set of chain mail with many of the rings broken and rusted (-1), and a tinderbox.

7: A mostly barren room, goblins are attempting to repair their weapons on makeshift benches. 2d6+1 goblins are here with -1 weapons.

8: This room is extremely dark, with the only light coming from the room before it. When the PC’s decide to bring a light into the room, they realize that they are able to light the candles that are scattered throughout the room. There is a big furnace in the back of the room with a metal front door to seal in the flames (it’s off). The door onwards is locked. If the PC’s investigate the furnace, they can see that a key is fastened inside on the other side of the furnace. A PC would have to crawl to the back of the furnace to grab it, or use a long item to *attempt* to grab it from a distance. Once the key is grabbed, the iron door of the furnace closes, locking itself. The flames start emanating from the side they entered to the other side. There is a glass window on the other side that the PCs could potentially break to grab them out of the trap if they fail the actual solution. The actual solution to this trap is to investigate the entirety of the room before entering the furnace. To the left of the furnace written in a red paint is the phrase “The gnoblin holds the answer”. On the inside of the furnace, once the flames are on, a valve is visible with a picture of a goblin holding it. This is beside where the flames start to appear, so the PC would either have to notice it before hand in a dark furnace with a DC 15 Perception (DC 10 if they have darkvision). If they fail to perceive the picture and valve, they (as I mentioned earlier) could try to scream for help, and get the party to potentially notice and help. If they crawl through the fire to the valve, they take 2d4 fire damage each round. If they aren’t a small creature, their arms are too long to get a weapon to hit the glass themselves.

9: A storage room, where the goblins have shoved some items they don’t need, such as cooking tools (one set, -1 to checks due to missing tools and wear), 3 broken chairs, a tattered and shattered screen, splattered with blood, and an ornate metal food tray.

10: This room contains 3 pantries and a small wood fueled oven. Everything in the pantries is rotten, save for some sealed pickled meat, which has dispersed in flakes over time, the vinegar puffing up the meat and giving it an extremely rubbery texture, worsening an already meger meal. There are a few (1d6+2) stirge trapped one of the pantries, and they fly out when opened.

11: Another sleeping room, this one is protected, with makeshift fortifications facing each door. Additionally, four beds have been put together in the center of the room, and no goblin is within 5 feet of it. There are 2d4+2 goblins in this room, a quarter of which (rounded up) are on guard. One of the goblins that are asleep is a goblin captain.

12: A dining room, there is a large table placed in the centre of this room, 5ft by 20 ft. There are chairs spaced every 2 ft along the table, and an unadorned white carpet has been laid over the length of the table.

13: 5 beds rest here, the wood worn and weary from time, each surrounded by a privacy screen, the stylized paper now torn and curled. Goblins are sleeping here, roll 1d4+1 for their number.

14: 3 beds are in this room, as well as a chest with some mouldy clothes. 1d6 goblins are gambling, rolling rough yellowed dice, carved from something’s knuckle bone.

15: A common room, with chairs and side tables along the walls. (5 chairs and 3 side tables). In one of the side tables is a book, that, upon reading, appears to be a diary with most of the pages missing. Two pages are left, one full and the other a frantic scribble. (Check Elena’s journal for the first one) The second page reads: He knows, he knows, he knows, I’ve got to go. He knows. If you find this Mary, burn it, don’t let him see it, he can’t know it all.