The Lost Library of Q'Sh - 3

The Lost Library of Q'Sh - 3

5). The hallway is very wide and has an arched ceiling that peaks 15ft overhead. It is extraordinarily dusty inside and the ceiling is choked with spiderwebs. When either set of doors (north or south) is opened the dust will be stirred and a small whirlwind will begin to dance in front of the open door. It will spin faster and faster and the dust will begin to form into the shape of a man. If disturbed the forming figure will give a loud moan of anguish and fly apart leaving a pile of dust behind, but if it is left alone it will become the figure of a tall robed man holding a book. He will hold out this book to the characters so that they can see the cover. On it is the sigil of a snake swarming around a set of runes. There are runes also inscribed along the body of the snake but in a different language. If Comprehend Languages is cast upon the book it will reveal dozens of names though one stands out as if embossed (Zuel). The runes upon the snake remain undecipherable. The names around the snake will begin to shift and push against the snake's encircling body and the snake's body will begin to constrict. The figure of the robed man will let out a scream and both man and book will explode in a cloud of dust. If the figure of the man is touched at any point during this process he will collapse in a pile of dust, though the book itself can be touched by the caster of the Comprehend Languages spell.

Empty sconces where torches once rested alternate left and right down the hall every 20ft and if the 1st sconce (where the secret door is marked) is turned to the left a grinding sound will be heard, a small vibration will run through the floor and the walls, while dust shakes from the ceiling. The 10ft section of wall which holds the sconce will recede about an inch and stop. It is jammed shut. The movable wall will take magic or picks and sledge hammers to take apart. It is an actual thick section of stone wall formed of stone slabs weighing a couple of hundred pounds each and expertly fitted together (damn that dwarven craftmanship) so knocking it apart will probably involve a good deal of time, a slight chance of stones falling on the character and a great deal of noise).

Once the obstruction is cleared a half-dozen skeletons will burst from the dark interior of the room; each armed with sword and shield. The leader still wears a rusty shirt of chain (he is AC4) while the others wear the scraps of rotted leather armor they wore in life but are now of no additional protection. They bear longsword and shield (giving the other 5 skeletons AC6) and do the damage of their weapon unlike their more generic brethren. They will fight to their destruction.

If the thick cobwebs of the hall are searched or set afire (the webs will ignite but they burn sluggishly taking 2 combat rounds for a 10ft section to burn through) a mummified body will drop to the ground (with the chance of falling on anyone standing directly under it. As the first 10ft section is burned a body will drop from the entangling webs (or if the webs are cut away or the body found within and pulled from them). 2 more bodies can be found among the cobwebs and will be found when half the spiderwebs are burnt or removed.

The first body is that of a dwarf wearing a chain shirt and helm. He carries a battleaxe clenched tightly in one withered fist. He has a pouch at his belt contain 30gp.

The second body is that of a man wearing robes and carrying a staff. He has a medallion made of silver with a small red gem at its center worth (10gp) and a scroll tube in his belt containing what appears to be the spell for Burning Hands but if cast will cause the scroll to burst into flame and engulf the caster for 1d12 Dmg.

The third body is that of an elf wearing a fine shirt of chain and carrying a longsword. His body will be the last discovered.

If all three bodies are discovered or when any attempt is made to open the northern doors or turn the sconce in the hall to trigger the secret door a huge spider construct will drop from the ceiling. It will immediately animate the 3 bodies who will rise and attack the characters. This creature radiates magic and is not undead. It is made from the hollowed out body of a giant spider.

Giant Spider Construct - 12hp, 2HD, AC6, 1 Attack (Bite for 1d10) Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage. Slashing/Chopping/Blunt weapons cause double damage. Can animate and control up to 3 corpses.

Body 1 (dwarf)- 8hp, 1HD, AC5, 1 Attack (1d8 by weapon or 1d3 weaponless). Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage

Body 2 (man) - 4HP, 1HD, AC 10, 1 Attack (1d6 by weapon or 1d3 weaponless). Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage.

Body 3 - (elf) - 6hp, 1HD, AC5, 1 Attack (1d8 by weapon or 1d3 weaponless). Arrows cause no damage. Stabbing/Thrusting weapons cause 1HP damage.

The northern doors are similar to the southern except that these have pull rings in them. They are also warped shut and require a combined strength of 30 to open them but doing so will trigger the Giant Spider Construct to release its three animated corpses (if not already released) and attack.