The Caverns Below
From Aput's journal
Year of the Eagle
 
Ophiuchus, 2 Scorpius: We spent an uneventful night in our camp near the falls. We sorted out the large number of coins liberated from the well, All the coins were cast in the ancient Hyperborean mints – most were coppers (more than 25000), nearly 100 pounds in silver, about half that number in gold, with 300 platinum snowflakes mixed in. At least our ship won’t lack ballast on our return to Ft. Thunder.
   We also examined the liberated tomes in greater depth, finding such useful titles as “On Proper Scribing” (in Esquimeaux), “Perfect Pictish Messages” (Pictish, of course), a discourse on Chanderling (in Kimmerian – including a crafting formula for constructing a floating lantern), a Viking scroll about an ancient prison (including a map), a Hyperborean ledger detailing shipping routes & various cargos, & a random Goedelic book on barrel making.
   Of the spellbooks, we learned that two previously belonged to Cryomancers (both Esquimeaux, though one was Coastal & the other Tundra), a Kimmerian Necromancer’s Black book “666 daemon names & How to Summon Them without Losing Your Soul”, an Amazonian magician’s spell scrolls, as well as two priestly scrolls penned in Hyperborean. Fortunately, our traveling party’s understanding of various languages is a broad one.
After breaking our fast & gathering our exploration gear, we broached the fall’s veil, heading into the depths hidden in the troll’s lair. What lay beyond the ancient bone-fish skeleton whose stairs wound deeper into the mountain?
We shall see…
 

 
   The stairs wound down, twisting deeper into the heart of the mountain. We followed the steps for an hour, give or take, before exiting into a small cavern. (We lost all sense of direction, but I plan to assign a relative north to the rest of this entry.)
  A stone slab lay on one side of the chamber, atop with we found an ancient blade (quite corroded) & a set of iridescent scale mail sized for a Hyperborean, with rainbow-colored fish emblazoned across the chest. I recognized the symbol as one honoring Dagon. Our later magical examinations revealed that it was ensorcelled to provide better protection as well as granting the wearer water breathing (much like the spell I know). It also bore a subtle enchantment – one that granted power over those of an underwater nature as well as directing the wearer into the worship of Dagon & Kthulhu over time.

   Two tunnels exited into the chamber – leading to our relative [r] Northwest & the [r] East. The NW passage ended after a short distance, revealing an odd stone plinth & signs that something had been dragged across the floor. Discarded silk netting found near the base of the plinth was likely an unsuccessful attempt to move the plinth elsewhere. Atop the plinth, we found a pentagonal depression, shaped to contain a 12-sided object, about half a foot along each edge.
   Returning to the first chamber we headed east, reaching a T-junction after a short walk. Tonrar scouted ahead, up the left tunnel & quickly returned to tell us about another cavern where strange, squat men were dragging stones to build a barricade. Deciding that we should investigate, we moved onward, into the room, our lights revealing a vaguely ovoid cavern roughly 6 paces by 8 paces across with two exits beyond the short stone barrier. Half a dozen strange creatures with broad faces, reptilian eyes, huge fists, & worm-colored skins lurked behind the wall – some cowered before our lights & others hurled stones at us. They spoke in a strange sing-song dialect. Odder still – the words seemed to be all once phrase, spoken in turn by each worm-man. Half of them fell before our blades and the remaining three fled deeper into the tunnels, reaching a rough collapse of stones & dirt, into which the trio squirmed & wriggled until they were beyond our sight, lost in the dirt & rocks. Another cavern opened off the barricaded first into a similar chamber full of large mushrooms. About half still had yellowish caps covered with a splash of purple spots. Perhaps these were food for the worm-men. We plan to check ourselves later. I also collected a body, for a later examination.
 
   Zotis snuck away during our search of the mushroom chamber to explore the right-hand tunnel at the T. “Spiders, on the walls. Quite large as well”.
   Had the spiders not set their nest in the junction, we might have passed them by, but that wasn’t the case, so they were dispatched quickly. We discovered the desiccated remains of previous victims wrapped in silk. Mere bones remained, along with a few coins (7 electrum).
We chose against heading east once our scouts returned to inform us that the chamber beyond was crawling with fire beetles. That’s a problem for some later time. Before turning our attention to the northern passage, I saw some strange markings on the wall. None of us understood the language, so I took some rubbings for a later examination.
   The northern tunnel turned to the northeast, with a northwest passage opening after a few steps. Before heading deeper, we opted to check further along the NE path, which quickly bent back to the south, leading into the cavern with the fire beetles.
   Fallen in a pocket space we found the remains of a Viking explorer. His broadsword, a horned helm, a coin pouch, & a scroll case were all that remained. (89 silver, 29 gold). His sword was of a fine make, (& magical as well) with a thorny rose etched along its length. My guess is that he was a skald, as we found a vellum rolled within the scroll case scribed with his notes & a self-portrait of his recent adventures. I plan to transcribe them into my own notes, when I have more time. For now, we venture deeper into the complex.




 
(I left a page for the transcription).
 
   “I found the Roman legionaries in an old Hyperborean copper mine from before the Green Death. The legionaries were mining, but I observed their efforts as feeble. Carelessly they struck the rock with rusty [hole rotted in the vellum here] equally peculiar that they were still garbed in their harness, which appeared in poor repair. Then I realized that these men were no longer alive. They were walking corpses!
   “I retreated before they could detect my presence, but then I was pursued by their descendants: the Little People. These abominations have Roman facial features, but they are small, with pale skin and eyes that glow like lamps. I do not believe that they are still men. I think they have degenerated to something different. Maybe this is why their paternal fathers, the Romans. Are cursed with undeath. Never should they have taken wives in the terrifying depths of Underborea.
   [large patch of rot] and it is in a southern cave of this system. I have heard that it is called the Stygian Stone, a dodecahedron-shaped rock, each of the 12 faces engraved with a curvilinear alien character. The Little People, the cursed progeny of the Romans, revere the artefact.

Last edited by jjungers (1/18/2025 6:59 pm)