Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You see before you a short corridor, leading to the top of a spiral staircase descending below, at the Eastern end. At the left of the top of this stair you can see a corridor leading off. Behind you is the door into the temple.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are standing on a spiral staircase leading both up and down. The stone of its steps shows the wear of many years of passage by many feet. Bending down to look closer at the steps you realise that brown spots on the stair mark very recently spilt blood, no more than a few days old.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are in a short corridor, lit only from its Southern end. To the South it enters another passageway, to the North it terminates at a closed oak door.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You stand in a North-South corridor, at the base of a flight of stone steps leading up into darkness. To the South you can see a dim reddish glow, to the North there is nothing to see, but you can hear a drip of water.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are in a small stone room, its walls draped with dark tapestries representing the interiors of huge temples. In the center of the room is a table with a golden dish sitting upon it. Beside the dish is a rolled up parchment, and also a small notebook. In one wall of the room there is a closed door.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You stand in a huge stone chamber, its ceiling low and heavy, but the walls lost in darkness. Three very dim shafts of light descend from the roof, picking out the edges of a huge stone edifice sitting in the middle of the room. It is a crypt of some kind, with the huge statue of a man in armour laid out across the top. On its sides you can make out carvings of snakes. You may examine this if you wish.

There are three exits from this chamber, a corridor leading North, one going East, and an archway in the Western wall. To the South, in front of what is clearly the entrance to a fourth pasage, lies a huge mound of fresh rubble. It is clear that someone, or something, has collapsed the roof over the entrance to the tunnel in the last few days, no more than a week at most. Examining the debris you decide there is no way that you could hope to get through it, it is filled with huge blocks, some of which have been driven deep into the stone floor of the chamber. From your knowledge you guess that this passage must be the one which led to the Door with the Four Locks, and you can only hope that there is still another route remaining to it.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

Making your way down the dark and dank corridor you finally emerge into a small space where water bubbles up from the ground and collects into a small pool. The water from this pool then overflows into a channel which runs around the edge of a much larger chamber. Crawling across this channel you find yourself in a huge celler, lit by tiny skylights high above. On every side stand huge casks of wine and beer. On another side you see racks of smaller bottles containing spirits of all varieties. On the further side of the room you can see a flight of stairs leading upwards, you may climb these, or go back up the dark corridor.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand at a junction of two passages, beneath an iron grill that lets through a tiny ammount of light. One of the passages runs North-South, the other leads off East, and then turns North. To the South you can see that the passage runs into a T-junction, to the North there is only darkness.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

Unrolling the scroll you see the print of a woodcut upon it. The woodcut shows an underground chamber dominated by a huge crypt. The lid of the crypt has been pushed aside, so that the huge statue of a knight that lies upon it is in danger of crashing to the ground. Out of the tomb there issues a huge scaly serpent, which is coiled around a the struggling form of a man in armour studded with glittering blades. The man weilds a huge sword with which he is attempting to slay the huge creature.

Clearly depicted on the scroll are 3 exits from the room, two passages opposite each other in walls to the left and right, and a third, larger, arch, in the right of the further wall, above which someone has added the symbol of a large door.

When you have finished with the scroll you roll it up and replace it on the table.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

Examining the huge tomb you realise that the lid is a fraction ajar. You touch it very cautiously, not expecting it to move, but it instantly sides aside. As soon as it has done so a huge scaly form explodes from the crypt, bringing with it a charnel scent. Its body coils crushingly around you, as you struggle for a weapon. The outcome of your fight is...

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You stand in the dead Northern end of a long low stone passage way, lit by a single cauldron full of dimply flaming oil. This oil lights the huge shape of a creature crouching at the end of the corridor. Behind you is a huge pile of rubble where the walls and ceiling have been collapsed across an archway, completly blocking the way North. The only visible exit seems to be a narrow passage leading off to the West near to you. In the east wall long alcoves hold bundles of rags and bones that were once surely bodies, while the wall opposite is studded with skulls set into the very stone, which shine palely in the dirty light. Above you black smoke rises to the ceiling and vanishes somewhere into the stone.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand in a narrow low-ceilinged passageway, at a junction of three corridors, one leading East into a large chamber, one leading South and then turning West, and one leading North and then also turning East.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand in the middle of a long narrow passageway, almost like a crack in the rock, which runs East-West. To the East the passage vanishes into utter darkness, to the West a glimmer of dirty red light from somewhere reveals a carved archway. Another corridor of greater width runs North from where you stand, towards a shaft of dusty light shinning down into the darkness.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand in a corridor running East-West, its walls decorated with faded designs of snakes and dragons. The passageway to the East turns quickly South, while the Western one goes off into darkness. Another passageway runs South from where you stand.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand at the junction of a North-South passage and one running West into darkness. To the South you can see a dim shaft of light coming from somewhere above, but to the North there is only a dark junction.

Looking down you see something lying on the floor. Examining it, you see that it is a copper dagger, inscribed on the blade with the symbol of a skull surrounded by a flame, made of some glassy black stone. A memory reminds you that the symbol of the black skull represents one of the evil Houses of the Dark Elves.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand in a narrow East-West corridor. To the West of you stands a carved archway leading into a room, to the East the corridor goes towards a T-junction a short distance away. Leading South of where you stand is a corridor that appears to terminate in a dead end a little distance away.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You stand in a corridor with painted walls, at a point where an archway leads into a parralel passageway. You may go East or West in this passageway, or East or West in the other passageway.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You emerge from the passageway into a chamber lit by two burning dishes of oil that fill the air with stinking smoke. Looking down you realise that the floor is alive with venomous serpents, who are already beggining to crawl in your direction. There are two exits by which you may flee, both leading North, one turning East, the other vanishing in the smoke.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are now in a corridor running East to West. On the walls you can see a huge design of a man wrestling with a three-headed serpent. Just to the South of you a corridor runs off into darkness, with what appears to be the scent of burning oil drifting from it. To your immediate West a carved archway leads into a chamber from which ruddy light issues. To the East you can see an archway in the Northern wall.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You now stand at the foot of a spiral staircase leading upwards, beside an archway between two passageways.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are in a long corridor running North-South. At intervals flickering torches describe cricles of red light in the darkness. To the South the passageway turns to the East, to the North it appers to go on as far as you can see.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are now in a small square room with a ceiling high above. In the center of the room is a stone plinth on which sits a large brass or gold bowl. Inside the bowl is a dark oil which is burning, throwing up a column of roiling smoke. Within the oil you can see the image of a large red key.

         

You may attempt to grab the key, or simply leave the room.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

At the top of the stairs there stands a man-sized mirror fixed to the wall. You may go down the stairs or touch the mirror.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are now in a low ceilinged room. In the center there is a huge Hole in the floor, surrounded by a low wall. The stone head of a huge serpent emerges from the far wall, jutting out over the hole. From the mouth of the serpent a slow stream of water drips down into the darkness, and when you listen closly you think that you can just make out the echo of the drops hitting water far below, but you decide not to examine it any closer.

To the left of the serpent's head you notice a narrow door, which you may try to enter if you wish.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

Halfway up this corridor you feel the ground suddenly give way below your feet. A whole section of the passageway swings down and you plunge down into a dark and stinking space below. Feeeling around you find bones, skulls, and things that scurry away at your touch, but no exit. The walls of the chamber are slick with moss and water, there is no escape. More.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You are now in a long corridor lit by guttering torches which pick out the dampness of water dripping down its walls. To the South the corridor goes on for as far as you can see, while to the North it ends in a closed door of oak bound in iron.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You reach out to grasp the key, but your hand passes straight through it. Instantly the image dissolves into smoke, and the flames in the bowl of oil flicker out. There is nothing more to do in this room.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

When your hand touches the mirror it melts into it and you suddenly find yourself transported to another place, far beyond the Village.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You enter the room and find a bare cell, furnished only with a bone dry wooden bench. On the wall opposite the bench a skeleton dressed in rags is chained to the wall by one wrist. Light enters the chamber by means of three wooden trapdoors high above you, against the Eastern wall, with what appears to be sunlight seeing between the planks of which they are made. You may leave the chamber, examine the body or table, or Search for hidden doors.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

You bend to move aside the rags from the sad spectacle of the skeleton. Instantly a brightly coloured snake shoots from the empty rib cage and burries its fangs into your hand. Shooting pain consumes you, and...

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

Into the wood of the table someone has scratched a picture of what appears to be a key with the point of a knife. Below this the words "Find the secret of the four locks and the test of four objects before opening the door!" There is nothing else of interest here.

Section 1: The Serpent Tunnels

Looking through the notebook you find a number of jotted paragraphs.

        Do not open the door with four locks without knowing the
        correct one, otherwise it will spell certain death!

        Beyond the door lies the test of four objects, this too
        must be known!

        The Old Man of the black room knows the secret of the four
        objects of the test, but I do not know where in the labyrinth
        the secret of the correct lock lies!

There is nothing else of interest in the book.