Page 72 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

Western Alcove. The western fountain is filled with
of the chamber's walls, the stone appears to e algae, and some bullfrogs are raising a brood of tad-
crudely worked. poles in the water.
Two corroded bronze braziers stand in the poo . To-
12. THE TOMB OF HURAKAN
ward the middle of the room, two broken urns, eac
(Ewe-RA-kan, god of the flood)
apparently once about four feet tall, poke up out o t e
If the characters approach from the north (through the
water. In the darkness on the eastern wall appears to be
corridor marked 12A), read:
an enormous growth of an overall greenish hue that gives
off the same silvery gleam as the slime trails.
This passageway is slime-covered, and a stream of water
trickles away from the door. There is condensation on the
The water in the central area of the floor is 2 feet deep,
walls, door, and ceiling, some of which drips down on
and the floor is very slippery-moving across this dif-
you. A quiet sound of dripping and splashing echoes in
ficult terrain costs 3 feet of speed for every 1 foot trav-
eled). Any sudden actions, including those necessary the corridor. This door is tightly sealed and appears to be
for combat, might result in the character taking a spill. warped outward or wedged shut. The door's hinges are
A character who takes the Dash action or tries to fight mounted on this side.
while in the room must first succeed on a DC 10 Dexter-
ity saving throw or fall prone.
Moat. The 10-foot-wide section of floor that runs along The door requires a successful DC 20 Strength (Ath-
the east, west, and north sides of the room is 10 feet letics) check to pull it open. The difficulty is due to the
ower than in the rest of the room, creating a 12-foot- fact that the room behind the door is entirely filled with
deep moat. Characters who don't probe ahead will be water, which has bowed the door and jammed it shut.
unable to detect the drop-off until it is too late. Those who listen at the door will hear a slight splashing
Lime. The walls are heavily coated with lime, which and gurgling, if they hear anything at all.
also pollutes the water. If a character stands in this wa- Opening the door will release a wave of water. Those
·er for more than 30 minutes, the soaked portions of the hit by the water take 2 (ld4) bludgeoning damage and
character's clothing begin to rot away. must succeed on a DC 15 Strength saving throw or be
Creature. The phosphorescent glow on the eastern knocked down and washed along the passage to the
·vall is actually a giant slug named Tecuziztecatl (see north, then westward. A creature that succeeds on a
appendix B), the Lord of Snails. Tecuziztecatl (Tay- DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check while moving around
COO-zeez-tay-COT-el) is highly intelligent and quite the a corner can grab onto the stonework there and halt its
.>0aster. In ancient lore it was considered to be related to movement. When the flood washes to area 11, the water
;:he moon, a fact of which it is quite proud. During com- bursts open the doors there (if they weren't open al-
::>at the slug will detail, in Olman, what it has in store for ready), and anyone in the water is dumped into the moat.
;:he characters and how hopeless their situation is. A character who is washed down the hall must suc-
If it begins to lose the combat, the slug will either ceed on DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to keep a hold on
• urrender" and after bargaining agree to help the party, anything in hand. Heavy objects sink to the floor in the
or else it will flee and conceal itself in the moat. If the hall, but lighter ones are washed into the moat.
characters allow themselves to be helped, the slug will
precede them to the north side of the moat and stretch 12B. TOMB, SOUTH ENTRANCE
·t body across the gap, making it appear to be solid If the characters traverse the corridor from east to west,
ground. Those who step on the slug without taking pre- describe the area as they advance.
-autions will plunge into the moat.
The slug will lead the party toward the Tomb of Hura-
This hall is strewn with mud and flotsam. Water accumu-
.--.an (area 12) and instruct them to open the door. Once
lates in the center of the corridor and flows westward to
;:he door is open, Tecuziztecatl will flee from the party
and hide in the bottom of the moat. where a stone block in the southern wall has shifted out
Eastern Alcove. The eastern fountain has a small of place. The corridor turns north, and the flow of water
amount of concentrated lime solution near the bottom follows it, then goes under a door made of bronze-bound
dealing damage as the lime in area 5). It looks like
wood. The door has a handle and a keyhole.
doudy water. A small amulet lies beneath the caked
jme. The amulet (worth 65 gp) is made of brass and
-hrysoprase, engraved with the words "Lord of Snails." Opening the door will reveal stairs going down into a
: is possible to use the amulet as a bargaining tool with small room. A pool of water fills the entire chamber. An-
· e giant slug, which will accept it in return for allowing other door is across the way, but only the top 3 inches of
;:he characters passage to the Tomb of Hurakan. it can be seen above the water.
In the southeast corner of the eastern alcove, a swarm
of rats nests in the rubbish. The swarm is made up of
diseased giant rats.

CHAPTER 3 I THE HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN