Page 87 - Tomb of Annihilation

The dwarves left three ore carts in the mine, all in beneath them. Stored food and water is inedible, but the
working order or repairable. The cart track circling other supplies are mostly still usable, even if they won't
the main shaft is quite steep; not as steep as stairs, but be especially useful to adventurers. They consist of tools
steeper than most ramps. The ore carts are built so that for mining, stone-working, and iron-working, shovels.
the downhill end (the front) is higher than the uphill end lanterns and candles, miners' helmets, heavy gloves,
(the back). This allows them to sit level on the sloping spare wheels, axles, and brakes for ore carts, grease,
track, but they look odd on level ground. A heavy draw thick rope, tar, brushes, brooms, and so forth.
rope and harness are hooked to the back of each cart so
that a trained dinosaur could pull the heavy load up the 3. ORE CART
track. A stout, lever-operated brake controls its descent. An ore cart sits on the tracks at the entrance to the mine, I
I
Carts can be shunted onto the side passages if the
tracks are switched using a crowbar (one is stashed
near each siding). When characters arrive, the tracks held in place by a block under the wheels.
are set to bypass all the sidings and run straight through
to the bottom.
The cart's metal box is still solid, but one of the axles
Some carts' brakes are in better condition than oth-
is broken and the other screeches horribly. The supply
ers. If a brake fails, the cart races out of control round
shed (area 3) contains the parts and grease to get it roll-
and round the pit until it smashes into the barrier at the
ing again. The old brake looks solid, but each time it's
bottom of the track. Everyone in the cart when it hits
used, it has a 10 percent chance to fail utterly. This risk
takes ld6 bludgeoning damage per 20 vertical feet the
is recognized by someone who inspects the brake and
cart descended. Those who bail out before the cart hits
makes a successful DC 10 Intelligence check. The brake
takes hall damage, based on how far the cart descended
can be repaired with spare parts from the supply shed.
before they jumped, but each creature must also suc-
ceed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or tumble
4. UPPER SHAFT
over the edge of the track and plunge to the bottom of
Inside the mine, the cave opens into an enormous,
the shaft.
250-foot-deep pit. The dwarves left a stout stone col-
l. OFFICE umn in the middle to support the roof, and they built a
wooden walkway to span the pit from south to north.
Despite many broken or missing planks, the walkway
This building has walls made of closely fitted stone with is fundamentally solid. Tracks for the ore carts descend
around the walls of the pit in a clockwise fashion.
large windows, and a wide, overhanging tile roof. It's now
Enough daylight filters through the mine opening to cre-
overgrown with vines and creepers, but the structure is
ate dim illumination to the bottom of the shaft.
still solid.
The kobolds living in the mine believe (correctly) that
this upper level is haunted by dwarven spirits. The ko-
bolds avoid the upper level of the mine except when they
The door is swollen shut and must be forced open with
must exit or enter. They use the wooden bridge exclu-
a successful DC 12 Strength (Athletics) check, but the
sively and never walk along the cart track past area 5.
windows can be climbed through easily. Startled lizards
and birds flee through the windows when anyone enters.
5. HAUNTED FORGE
The building's contents have all rotted. Ledgers
This was the dwarves' forge and workshop. Many of the
mildewed into slime long ago. Tables and cabinets arc
miners retreated here when Tinder attacked, but the
covered with creepers, bird droppings, and the bones
dragon incinerated their barricades and then burned
of small animals. Stools collapse if any weight is put on
them out with her breath. The entire area from the
them. There's no information and nothing of use here.
bottom of the steps to the backs of the chambers is
2. SUPPLY SHED scorched and black. A dozen or more (it's difficult to sort
them out) charred skeletons litter the chambers. One
dwarf skeleton is more recent than the others (the body
This building is made from closely fitted stones and has been dead for three years) and not charred; it lies
has a tile roof, but no windows. Portions of the wall are near the base of the steps, in a face-down, head-down
position that implies the dwarf died while scrambling
crumbling where tree roots arc pushing the stones apart.
down the steps. This was a member of Hew Hackin-
Gouges and scars show where someone tried to hack
stone's expedition who fell victim to the haunted forge.
through the heavy door with axes but gave up after mak·
Six specters haunt the forge, three in each chamber.
ing little headway. They are all that's left of the mine's dwarven defenders.
The first character to enter either chamber is attacked
by the specters in that chamber, and those from the
The axe marks are only a few feet off the ground (having
adjoining chamber arrive 2 rounds later. The specters
been made by kobolds). The door can be forced open
can't leave the forge.
with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check.
Treasure. Most of the dwarves' possessions were
Dozens of crates and barrels are stacked inside.
burned or melted by dragon fire, but one skeleton wears
Several have been toppled over by tree roots growing
a mithral breastplate that survived the flames.
CHAPTER 2 I THF LA!-10 OF CHUl:T