DM: Thistletop Dungeon, Level One

The stairs leading down are carved stone, not laid stone. They appear to have been quarried into the island rock. There are rumours, backed up by the time-smoothed shape of the rock itself, that the island was once the head of an enormous statue that towered over the surrounding land.

You take the central set of stairs (you found another in the northern section of the complex) moving down to long flights of stairs that run at the slightest angle. It takes a left hand braced against the wall to make sure and steady progress. As you move down, the light fades, and the air becomes damp and stale.

The stairs open into a large room 20+ feet by 15 feet. A single lantern hangs from a hook on the wall next to where the stairs enter this room from the north. Several rickety doors open into this room, and a few discarded dog pelt rugs lie forgotten in the northeast corner. There is the stench of goblins here.

*

Lloyd motions at the eastern door. It is as good as any, and the lack of any signs of noise of life from behind any of the other doors means that ultimately you had to pick one. East it is.

Gryffin moves over to the door, eyeing the lock. It is a simple mechanism, and within a few minutes the door is open.

Beyond lies a short corridor that opens out into a rough-hewn room. The ceilings are about 8 foot high, and a hooded lantern sits unlit just inside the corridor. You move quietly inside. It would, as Lloyd suggests, be a good idea for someone to take a light. The half-elf moves forward, lifting the hooded lantern from the hook on the wall. The reservoir of oil sloshes around, almost full. The wick is primed. It takes only a few seconds to light to lantern.

Crates, barrels, and mounds of miscellaneous refus lie heaped against the walls here. To the north, the sound of crashing surf echoes in.

As you are entering the corridor, Arao, bringing up the rear, hears some course laughter and a shrill, playful shriek, echo from behind the leftmost door on the south of the main hall.