The Gaming Den

*

'Fathomdeep Mine' reads the peeling sign over the dark tunnel mouth cut into the foot of the mountain. When the Dwarfs abandoned this place, they left all the headgear behind. Winch systems have been left to rust where they stand, along with the mine carts they pulled, and the tracks the carts ran on. You approach the boarded-up entrance and prise off enough planks to allow you access. Lighting your lantern, you step into the dripping darkness beyond.

Water plops incessantly from the roof of the tunnel into the puddles that have formed between the sleepers of the rails, and you are reminded of the fact that this used to be a Dwarf mine when you are forced to bend almost double to pass along certain stretches. Thankfully, not much further on you reach a junction, where you find you are able to stand upright again. The mine cart tracks continue into darkness along the left-hand tunnels, while to the right is another passageway which looks like it was constructed solely for miners making their way on foot.

Do you want to follow the tunnel to the right, or would you prefer to keep following the mine cart tracks?

"I'll tell you the way we ought to go," Brokk tells you, "and that's right. That's it, turn right here, then right again, down the pit shaft and that's where we'll find The Mole. It's an old tunnelling machine which would speed things up a bit and no mistake, if we could get it working, that it. But it would definitely be the quickest way through the mine, and probably the safest too." Now return to 190 and choose which way to go.

You follow the right-hand tunnel into the dank darkness. You have not gone very far when the bobbing nimbus of your lantern reveals another tunnel turning to the right. Do you want to go this way, or will you keep to your present course?

The tunnel us significantly smaller that the main one and you have to crouch in places again to get through. You gradually become aware of a scratching, grating sound, as if something is trying to burrow its way out of the rock. Part of one tunnel wall suddenly cracks and collapses into the passageway. Emerging from the hole in the rock-face is a huge, armoured beetle-like head. The huge insect has no eyes, but does have mandibles capable of chewing through the very rocks of the earth, and quite capable of chewing through your armour - and you! Monstrous mandibles clicking, the Rock Grub 0 bane of miners everywhere - attacks.

ROCK GRUB SKILL 7 STAMINA 10

If you kill the huge rock-boring insect, wiping the Grub's viscous yellow blood from your blade, you consider which way to go now. The Rock Grub's bored tunnel has provided you with an alternative route into the earth. Do you want to keep to the Dwarf-cut tunnel, or do you want to crawl headfirst into the Rock Grub's tunnel to see where it leads?

*

The secondary tunnel ends at a descending shaft and a ladder. Climbing down the ladder takes you into a larger Dwarf-made cavern, standing at the centre of which is the most incredible contraption you have ever seen. It is a construction of wood and metal, with large spiked wheels, caterpillar tracks and a massive drilling head at its prow. Impressive as the machine looks, you can't help noticing that it has also started to rust badly and you doubt that it's still in working order. Continuing on foot, you leave the chamber entering another Dwarf-cut tunnel.

"Meet the Mole," Brokk says proudly, waving a hand at the incredible device. "The most marvellous tunnelling machine this side of the Witchtooth Line. Now, of we can only get it to work, we'd make it to the deepest part of the mine in no time." Do you want to see if Brokk can get the Mole working and use that to make your way through Fathomdeep Mine, or would you rather continue on foot?

Brokk gives the machine a few judicious taps with his battle-axe and then climbs up into the tunneller's cockpit. You join him as he pulls at the levers and punches buttons on a brass panel in front of him. And then, with a throaty roar, the Mole's engine roars into life. "Just as I hoped!" Brokk chuckles in delight. "There's still some juice left in the glowstones after all. Okay," the Dwarf declares, tugging at another level and gripping the steering control in his calloused hands as he pushes a wooden paddle on the floor with his feet, "here goes nothing!"

And then you are off, the Mole rattling and clanking as Brokk steers it directly towards a wall of solid rock. The drill-head screeches as it runs up to speed and then, with a grinding roar, it connects with the rock-face. The machine chews through rock and mud with ease. There is nothing for you to do but sit back and enjoy the ride as Brokk directs the tunnelling machine through the earth, heading deeper and deeper into the mine.

Eventually, the mass of rock and earth in front of the machine collapses and, with a whirring scream, the drill-bit hits empty air. The Mole has ploughed through into a large natural chamber deep below the mountain. As the machine powers down, you and the Dwarf climb out of the cockpit to see where it has brought you. Add the codeword Enihcam to your Adventure Sheet and turn to 80.

*

You are standing on one side of a cathedral-like cavern. A waterfall cascades into a chill lake to the left and on the far side of the chamber you can see an ominously dark fissure leading, you suspect, to a network of caves beyond. If you want to proceed any further, you have no choice but to enter the crack in the cavern wall for yourself. Watching your footing on the uneven floor, you follow the fissure up into the cave network until the way onwards splits. From here you are going to have to go left, entering high-roofed gallery hung with stalactites, or right, following a low-roofed cleft which heads downwards again.

"What you're seeking lies through there," Brokk says, pointing towards the fissure with his axe, "but from here on, you're on your own. I'll wait for you, but I'll go no further myself. That place is cursed, I tell you." Make a note of the fact that Brokk is no longer travelling with you (meaning that you lose any of the benefits that come from having him you with) and then return to 80 to decide on your next course of action.

Thaluikhain wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 09, 2023 4:19 pm

(And I was expecting the guide to last for longer, especially once we got rules for them)

The crawl-way opens out into a broad cavern, the roof of which appears to be supported by nothing but a few menhir-sized boulders. A pool of crystal-clear water has collected within a natural bowl in the rock, which sparkles and glitters with a rainbow of mineral deposits. If you want to pause to drink from the pool, turn to 132. If not, turn to 171.