Something breathes in the dark, strained and ravenous. The halls are quiet, their spaces forgotten and abandoned to the mountains’ creatures, yet a feeling creeps across the skin of the adventurers now walking the ruins. They are not alone. And though the discovery of kobold traps and tunnels confirms this, it is only false security. A larger threat has already made these Reaver halls its home. It searches for food, scrounging through rotten scraps as its body withers under the stress of a magical blight. It is maddened, weakened, and desperate. But should it catch the scent or sound of other living creatures, whose flesh might sate its hunger for even a moment, it will muster the strength to hunt.

The party is in the Reaver tunnels. They have explored the upper level and now find themselves descending into the central, where the Reavers would once convene at the beginning and end of each day. The mess hall, kitchen, storerooms, and additional work areas await them, all holding clues to how the Reavers lived and why their home now lies abandoned. But progress invites danger, as the adventurers must continue to navigate the traps and attacks by Fireblood kobolds. And, should the echoes of their movements reach its ears, the group must also contend with a starved, blighted mountain troll that has found its way into the shadowed halls.

The central level is only the second of three sections of the Reaver tunnels. You can find all the details of the upper level in the previous section, and everything that brought the party to this point in the adventure index…

Central Level

The compound’s central level contained its various living areas and the work that supported them. This included the majority of living quarters, as well as a communal dining hall and attached kitchen and storeroom. A farm was established to help supply both the kitchen and the alchemy laboratory, allowing the compound to function self-sufficiently. Though the damage to this level is not as extensive as the rooms above, there are still notable collapses that have cut off or obstructed access to particular rooms, namely the majority of living quarters and much of the farm chamber.

5. Central Living Quarters

The hallway makes it only a short distance before it is claimed by collapsed rubble and stone. The doorways to three rooms remain free of the cave-in, though closed doors hide whatever is within, while a stairwell proceeds both upwards and downwards, and the corridor continues away from the rooms, clear of debris yet filled with silent darkness.

Like those on the upper level, the central living quarters were granted to residents responsible for the nearest tasks, namely farmers, cooks, and those supporting them. These rooms are structurally identical to those above, and the same cave-in has rendered most of the rooms inaccessible. Those that can still be reached once belonged to workers who were affected by the spreading blight and grew erratic and paranoid, with aspects of their rooms showing the results of their declining mental states.

The hallway that connects the rooms extends southward to area 6, the central intersection chamber. A stairwell on the hallway’s western side also connects to the respective hallways of areas 1 and 13, the upper and lower living quarters.

Blighted stone. The stone exposed by missing bricks and collapsed tunnels in this area is badly affected by the blight, lowering the DCs of skill checks to study it by 2 _{(see the ‘Blighted stone’ section of ‘The Reaver Halls‘)}.

Locked doors. The doors of areas 5.b. and 5.c., central quarters 2 and 3, are locked (requiring a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick).

5.a. Central Quarters 1

The door stops against stacked furniture. Spare wooden chairs, desks, and other decor have all been piled in a careful stack emanating from the opposite corner, with enough to fill most of the room. The many surfaces are all thickly laden with dust and patches of darkened rot are visible on the wood.

The Reavers kept a stock of spare furniture, as workers would often come and go from the tunnels and living quarters were frequently traded between residents. These would usually be limited to avoid excess, resulting in the rooms’ sparse decoration. But those departing began to outnumber those arriving, forcing the Reavers to dedicate one of the first rooms left vacant as a storage space. The room gradually filled with unused furniture until the remaining residents stopped bothering to clear vacant rooms, before finally departing themselves.

The furniture itself is of basic but sturdy construction, with little embellishment. The details that are present vary in design between different pieces. A character that is proficient in the use of any artisan’s tools can make a DC 12 Intelligence check with proficiency to identify that the furniture was created by several different craftsmen. If the character is proficient in the use of carpenter’s or woodcarver’s tools, they have advantage on the check. A character that looks over the furniture can also make a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check, recognizing similarities to furniture in Greybanner on a success.

Blocked door. The stacked furniture is in the way of the room’s door, preventing it from fully opening. The door opens to leave only enough space for a Small or smaller creature to fit through, or a Medium creature to squeeze through.

Blighted wood. A character that looks closely at the furniture can identify patches of rot spread across the wood. This rot is thickest where the wood is touching the walls and appears to have been transmitted between pieces of furniture wherever they are touching. If the character inspects the rot, they can make the same skill checks as if studying the area’s blighted stone _{(see the ‘Blighted stone’ section of ‘The Reaver Halls‘)}, recognizing similar symptoms and a possible connection to the blight of the Bramblejade forest. The effects of the blight are clear but minor, lowering the DC of skill checks to study it by 1.

Treasure

Several gaming sets have been left on a nightstand beside the door, including two dice sets and one playing card set.

5.b. Central Quarters 2

The door shifts open to a room coated in grey dust. It is still decorated beneath the colorless veneer, with the required bed and wardrobe and a desk that is set for writing, yet your gaze is drawn beyond the furniture to the opposite wall. A pile of ash and charcoal is heaped on the floor, with a blackened radius that fades outwards across the brickwork. Collected rags also sit to the side of the door and near the bed, stained the same burnt black.

Many of the compound’s residents experienced bouts of nightmares and paranoia as a result of the blight infecting the surrounding stone and eventually their food. Their reactions and severity varied, with the worst symptoms being felt by the alchemist Franklin Hilrich. Hilrich became violent and accusatory, particularly towards others he believed were also affected by the blight. He went as far as to ransack the room of Tollun Gadsta after the latter’s departure, searching for what he thought to be a source of the blight _{(see area 1.b., the ‘Upper Quarters 2‘)}.

Franklin was slowly consumed by the affliction and eventually succumbed to his symptoms, sequestering himself in his room and burning many of his belongings in an attempt to purge them of corruption. This included the blighted gemstone that he had taken from Gadsta’s room _{(see the ‘Treasure’ section)}. He stuffed the border of his room’s door with rags to ensure that he suffocated in the resulting smoke.

Franklin’s room was locked after his death. Its interior remains an untouched snapshot of that time, as none of the already dwindling Reavers were willing to deal with his personal effects. These include a bedframe placed against the northeastern wall and a wardrobe in the northwestern corner. A writing desk and chair are positioned against the southern wall, with a shelf above. The curved eastern side of the room is bare save for a roughly 5-foot-diameter mound of ash and charcoal piled at the base of the wall. The stone around and above it is blackened with burn marks that diffuse across the rest of the room where the smoke spread.

Locked door. The door to the room is locked (requiring a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick).

Ashen evidence. A character that looks closely at anything in the room recognizes that much of the dust covering the furniture is actually ash. Sifting through the charcoal, or observing the pile with a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check, reveals small scraps of the items that were burned, including wood and leather, around its edges, as well as glass and metallic pieces among the ash. Dusting off the metal objects shows them to be remnants of clothing, such as buckles and buttons. A gemstone is also hidden within the ash _{(see the ‘Treasure’ section)}.

The piled rags beside the door are also stained black from ash and smoke. A character that inspects the rags finds that many of them are items of clothing made for a humanoid that would have stood a few feet taller than an average human. The staining on the rags is uneven and patterned in a way that suggests that they might have been rolled up or twisted when the staining occurred. If a character looks closely at the door and succeeds on a DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check, they notice that the edges of the door facing into the room are dusty but free of ash. A character with both of these clues can make a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check to deduce that the rags had been used to tightly seal the border of the door, trapping the smoke inside.

Blighted stone and wood. The room’s bed, as well as the bricks surrounding it and those of the western floor, show signs of the blight. A character that succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check of the room notices the blight by visible rot spreading across the bedframe. The bricks near the bed also show discoloration and affected texture. The same is only visible on the western side of the room if the ash covering the surfaces is wiped away. On a roll of 16 or higher, or upon closer inspection, the character also identifies that both instances of corruption appear to radiate outwards from singular points of origin. The blight surrounding the bed spreads from patches beneath and next to the frame, suggesting that something in it, potentially Hilrich himself, was the source. On the other side of the room, the stone’s blight originates from a single, focused point within the pile of ash, where a red gemstone is buried _{(see the ‘Treasure’ section)}.

A character that inspects the affected areas can make the same skill checks as in any other area of blighted stone to glean information about the blight, including recognizing similar structural decay and the presence of necrotic magic within the wood _{(see the ‘Blighted stone’ section of ‘The Reaver Halls‘)}. The blight in the western portion of the room is particularly potent, lowering the DC of skill checks made to study it by 2.

Treasure

The room’s writing desk is still decorated with a half-burnt candle, a dried ink bottle, and several pages of parchment. Its drawers and the shelf above it contain a number of implements that could comprise roughly half of a set of alchemist’s supplies, but are missing any flasks or vials. This set can be completed with tools found in the upper alchemy laboratory _{(see the ‘Treasure’ section of rea 12, the ‘Upper Alchemy Laboratory‘)}. A set of Medium-sized common clothes, as well as a leather apron and a handful of other common clothing items, still hang in the wardrobe.

A crystallized bloodeye is buried in the pile of ash. Though coated in soot, the gemstone is undamaged.

A character that has seen both the bloodeye and the dagger left behind in area 1.b., upper quarters 2, and that succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check identifies that the gemstone is likely what was once set in the dagger’s pommel, before being extracted and taken.

The party may have found a bloodeye, but they will need a skilled craftsman with the facilities to work if they are going to enchant a weapon with it. Their options for what to do with the gemstone are covered in the adventure’s conclusion.

5.c. Central Quarters 3

Close to half of the room has crumbled away, a ceiling collapse appearing to have crushed everything beneath it into the room below. What remains in the room is coated in dust and debris that scattered from the collapse, draining the scene’s color in a film of grey.

The resident of the damaged room left behind no identifying decorations save for modifications they once made to the room’s door while overcome with paranoia _{(see the ‘Locked door’ section)}. Their basic furniture remains where it was left, with a bedframe opposite the door and a closed but unlocked chest at its end. The collapsing ceiling crushed whatever was kept in the northern half of the room.

Collapsed floor. The collapsing floor of area 1.c., upper quarters 3, destroyed much of the two rooms below _{(see the ‘Collapsed floor’ section of area 1.c., ‘Upper Quarters 3‘)}. This damage has combined with the spreading blight, leaving the edge of the collapsed floor brittle and unable to hold weight. Treat the floor within a 2-foot border of the edge of the collapse as if it were a collapsing tiles trap.

Locked door. The room’s owner was a victim of blight-induced paranoia and sought to protect themself from those around them. They added three additional locks to the door of their room. These included two latches, each with an attached lock, as well as a pair of metal hooks that a wooden board could be placed in to bar the door. Though the door is locked (requiring a successful DC 15 Dexterity check with thieves’ tools to pick), these additional locks have been left unlatched, and a wooden board is lying on the ground beside the door.

Treasure

The chest by the end of the bed contains two spare blankets and a set of common clothes that are sized for a Medium humanoid of roughly 7 feet in height. Beneath these items are loose coins totaling 2d4+2 sp and a keyring with four keys. Three of these keys correspond to this room’s locks, opening the lock built into the door and those of the two added latches, while the fourth opens a cabinet in area 12, the upper alchemy laboratory _{(see the ‘Treasure’ section of area 12, the ‘Upper Alchemy Laboratory‘)}.

6. Central Intersection Chamber

One corner of the diamond chamber is caved in, the barest edges of a tunnel visible around spilling bricks and stone. The others all extend in hallways that proceed into the surrounding darkness, the walls between them holding a ruined wooden noticeboard, small shafts that ascend out of view, and an attached stairwell that connects to levels above and below.

The intersection chamber, like those above and below, acts as a connection between larger sections of the compound. The central level’s chamber primarily served to bring residents to the adjacent mess hall for meals and meetings, though it also connects to the expected living quarters and work areas on its level. As such, it features little decoration other than a noticeboard attached to the southeastern wall. A stairwell extends to the northwest, with stairs that ascend to area 2, the upper intersection chamber. A set of stairs also descends, though collapsed stone has filled the lower stairwell with earth, blocking it.

Cardinal corridors. The intersection chamber connects four hallways that each extend from one of the room’s corners in a different cardinal direction. The western hallway is collapsed entirely, with debris spilling into the room. To the north is area 5, the central living quarters, while the eastern path connects to area 7, the mess hall. The southern hallway gradually curves to the east to connect to area 12, the upper alchemy laboratory, though a large portion of it is caved in _{(see area 6.a., the ‘Central Southern Hallway‘)}.

Ventilation shafts. The chamber’s northeastern and southwestern walls are set with paired ventilation shafts _{(see the ‘Ventilation shaft’ section of ‘The Reaver Halls‘)}. These share vertical shafts with those of the intersection chambers above and below.

The right shaft of the room’s northeastern pair is filled with enough ash to spill out onto the floor in front of it. A character that looks through the ash, or that succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check that includes the shaft, finds scorched remnants of items that were burned in the shaft’s fire. These include metallic pieces of trinkets and details from clothing, shards of glass, and even melted cutlery.

Notice papers. A wooden bulletin board is attached to the southeastern wall. Faded scraps of parchment remain from several of the postings, most of which are written in Common. They read the following:

All alchemists please report to…
… contamination. Additional precautions have been drafted and must be…

Please report any nightmares, hallucinations, or other distress. We can no longer guarantee that only alchemists have…

Kitchen schedule for…
Alcohol is to be rationed until the alchemists have had time to…
… once we can be sure that the barrels are not…

Bring back the booze
If we have to stay here at least let us get…

Another note is written in Giant and reads the following:

The human alchemist is to be buried according to their customs. His body will be taken…
A meeting will be called to address his belongings and…

… the meantime, our priority is the serpents. We must ensure they do not meet the same fate or we risk…

A final note has been pinned to the board with a dagger. It is written in Common and is mostly intact, though portions of the writing have faded. it reads the following:

Do not stay here
There is something in the stone. It leaked out from where the Reavers venerate their honored dead and invaded our blood and eyes and dreams. I watched it happen to so many. It will happen to you too if you…
… won’t let it happen to me. I tried to stay and understand…
This place is lost. Its history survives only in those of its people who left before…
… leave my notes and journals. May my memories of this place remain with them.
… before it takes you too. Save yourself and forget this place, as I should have.

Looking closely at the note reveals that its left edge is torn as if it were removed from a book. A character that notices this has seen the journal or notes in area 13.a., lower quarters 1, and that succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check deduces that the page is likely taken from the journal. If the character has read the journal, they do not need to make a skill check and easily confirm that the note is the page removed from the book _{(see the ‘Surviving notes’ and ‘Treasure’ sections of area 13.a., ‘Lower Quarters 1’)}.

Kobold tunnels. A kobold tunnel is hidden within the right shaft of the northeastern pair of ventilation shafts. Its entrance is adjacent to where the 15-foot diagonal shaft meets the vertical shaft that is shared by the different levels’ intersection chambers. The tunnel is completely hidden from any creature that does not climb into the ventilation shaft to find it, but allows the kobolds access to all three levels by climbing through the vertical shaft.

Kobold traps. The intersection chamber features several traps. They include the following:

• Warning chimes are strung between the pairs of pillars in the northern and southern hallways, which lead to areas 5 and 6.a., the central living quarters and central southern hallway, respectively.

• A collapse in the chamber below has left an area of the floor weakened, creating a collapsing tiles trap. This area covers a line from the northern support pillar to the eastern, extending 5 feet to the northeast and 10 feet to the southwest. The stone in this area is strong enough to support an average Medium creature but crumbles under any greater mass, such as two Medium creatures, a Medium creature and a Small creature, or a single Large creature. Creatures that fail to avoid the trap fall 20 feet into area 14, the lower intersection chamber, where they land on a pile of debris.
  Triggering the collapse is also likely to alert the troll resting in the cellar _{(see ‘Waking the troll’ in the ‘Developments’ section)}.
• A webbing blastbox is hidden in the eastern hallway. It is positioned at the bottom of the northern wall in the space directly outside of the door to area 7, the mess hall. A damaged brick was removed to fit the box, with pieces of the brick then replaced in front of it to hide the disturbance, requiring a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot. The box is triggered by a tripwire strung across the hallway. A kobold is likely to be waiting in area 6, the central intersection chamber, to capitalize on the box triggering _{(see ‘Webbing blastbox’ in the ‘Developments’ section)}.

Developments

Webbing blastbox. If the group moves eastward towards area 7, the mess hall, a kobold that is monitoring the party’s movements from within the tunnel entrance in the northeastern ventilation shaft emerges from its hiding place. It remains hidden and waits for the webbing blastbox trap at the entrance to the mess hall to be triggered _{(see the ‘Kobold tunnels’ and ‘Kobold traps’ sections)}. It uses this opportunity to safely make a light crossbow attack from around the corner, prioritizing any character that is restrained by the webs. It then retreats back into the same tunnel.

Additionally, a kobold hides in a tunnel in area 7, the mess hall, waiting for the blastbox to be triggered and the party to move far enough away so that it can scatter caltrops into the webs _{(see ‘Hallway blastbox’ in the ‘Developments’ section of area 7, the ‘Mess Hall‘)}.

Waking the troll. The blighted mountain troll resting in area 9.a., the cellar, can be roused if sufficient noise is made in the intersection chamber, such as by setting off the room’s traps _{(see the ‘Kobold traps’ section)}. If the collapsing floor is triggered, the troll must make a DC 8 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice the disturbance. The troll makes the check with disadvantage due to being exhausted _{(see the ‘Pursuing its prey’ section of area 9.a., the ‘Cellar’)}. The webbing blastbox exploding is loud enough to alert the troll without the need for it to make a skill check. The DCs of both of these checks may change if any doors between the intersection chamber and the troll are closed _{(see ‘Determining DCs’ in area 9.a., the ‘Cellar’)}.

6.a. Central Southern Hallway

The hallway before you is choked by loose earth and collapsed bricks. Its ceiling has given way under the weight of the mountain, falling and filling the space, hiding whatever room is beyond it. Only a narrow gap remains in the upper corner where the arching stonework holds firm, offering a claustrophobic crawlspace pressed between the debris and the remaining ceiling.

The hallway that runs southward from the intersection chamber turns to the southeast, then runs eastward to connect to area 12, the upper alchemy laboratory. Some time ago, the southern hallway of the upper level collapsed, its stone too blighted to hold the earth back. This collapse broke through into the hallway below, filling most of its space with rubble and cutting off access to any other rooms and stairs that it once connected to. Only a small upper corner is still clear where the bricks held back the falling stone. This opening is easily reached by climbing the debris but is only large enough for a Small or smaller creature to fit, or a Medium creature to squeeze through. A 20-foot section in the middle of this traversable space tightens further, requiring creatures to crawl prone.

Another path branches northwards from the clear section of hallway in the east, closer to the alchemy laboratory, but is quickly cut off by rubble. The room beyond was entirely lost in the collapse that claimed the second workshop _{(see area 3, the ‘Workshop‘)}.

Kobold tunnels. A kobol tunnel is hidden in the tighter section of the traversable tunnel. The tunnel has a slab of broken floor tile that completely covers and disguises its entrance as part of the collapsed rubble, and that can be removed or replaced as a bonus action.

Kobold traps. Two glue jars are wedged into the rubble of the tunnel. They are approximately 15 feet away from the entrance to the kobold tunnel in either direction, in the spaces before the tunnel tightens. The jars are hidden in the uppermost traversable tunnel, requiring a successful DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot. They face downwards and are rigged with short wires that are anchored to the same debris around them, requiring the wires to be manually pulled in order to open the jars and coat the spaces beneath them in glue.

Developments

Glue jars. If a kobold is forced to escape through the tunnel in the southern hallway and believes that they might be being followed, they pull the wire of any glue jars they pass, emptying the jars behind them _{(see the ‘Kobold traps’ section)}.

7. Mess Hall

Beyond the door is a large chamber that rises twice the height of the others. It is centered around a thick wooden tabletop held up by protrusions of natural stone that bends in a U-shape around a long firepit. This was clearly a banquet hall, a thoroughfare of activity that now lies silent, grey, and marked with odd scratch marks and cold, blackened ashes that scatter outwards from the firepit, an unsettling smear curving through a nearby doorway. One end of the room is wider, a table and racked kegs decorating one corner, while the opposite supports a staircase that ascends to an upper-floor entrance. The walls’ brickwork patterns unfurl on either side of the room, forming borders around smooth stone canvases carved with depictions of warriors battling great beasts. They then curve to meet each other at the other end, where three banners hang in the darkness, their fabric torn and colors faded and stained with darker splatters.

The mess hall is the central point of the Reaver compound. It was fashioned as a banquet hall for the residents to take their meals, but also served as the primary meeting point whenever the situation called for an assembly. These events were rare, usually limited to cultural celebrations or the changing of seasons. It was outfitted for these purposes, with enough space to seat everyone staying in the tunnels at any one time around a central firepit that was kept perpetually burning. The room’s walls were carved with depictions of old Reaver tales, while three banners were later hung along the eastern wall, each representing one of the groups of people that were inhabiting the halls before their abandonment: the Reavers, Greybanner residents, and Fireblood kobolds.

Unlike many of the other rooms, the mess hall was not stripped of all of its contents as the Reavers left, as the items it contained were not personal, and many were deemed not worthy of the effort of removing them. Much of the kitchenware was packed into crates that are stored under the table in the northwestern corner, beside which is a stack of firewood. A rack of kegs covers the adjacent western wall, though several kegs have been removed and all of them have been emptied. Five chairs are stored under the southwestern staircase, all of high quality and with intricate geometric designs carved into their wood, matching the patterns that decorate the tunnels’ walls. A character that inspects the chairs notices that they are of varying sizes, suggesting that they were for people of different lineages.

In recent days, the mess hall and adjacent rooms have been used as a feeding ground for a mountain troll. The troll had discovered an opening to a large ventilation shaft that once carried the firepit’s smoke safely to the surface _{(see the ‘Ventilation shafts’ section)}. It took to carrying, or often dropping, its prey down this shaft, killing them on impact. It would then drag the bodies into the privacy of area 9.a., the cellar, where it could eat undisturbed. This practice gradually blighted the troll, which is currently resting in the cellar _{(see the ‘Developments’ section of area 9.a., the ‘Cellar’)}.

An open door in the southeastern corner connects the room directly to area 8, the kitchen, from which food was once served. A larger door that is left slightly ajar exits westward into a connection to area 6, the central intersection chamber. Stone stairs rise to an upper-level balcony above this door, where another exit once led to area 2, the upper intersection chamber, though the hallway has collapsed, a pile of earthen rubble sealing the exit and forcing the door partway open. A final northeastern exit has been left closed and barred from the other side, preventing access. The path beyond descends to area 18, the veneration hall.

Ceiling. The mess hall’s ceiling is higher than other rooms. Its northern, eastern, and southern walls are 30 feet tall, with the ceiling then arching to 50 feet above the floor. The western wall rises flatly to a height of 40 feet to accommodate the upstairs entrance, before arching to the same 50-foot height.

Ventilation shafts. The mess hall’s arched ceiling curves to form a 5-by-10-foot ventilation shaft that rises directly above the firepit to funnel the smoke from the pit out of the room. This is balanced by four intake shafts set along the room’s northern and southern walls. These shafts are the usual 5-foot openings, placed between each of the carvings that decorate the same walls _{(see the ‘Wall carvings’ section)}.

Ash and blood. The firepit’s ashes have been scattered from the impacts of the troll’s prey being dropped down the ventilation shaft. Its center is darkened with blood. The smear leading out of the pit is the same mixture of ash and blood and traces a path from the pit, through the kitchen and storeroom, and into area 9.a., the cellar. A character that investigates the smear, the ashes, or the stains on the banners can easily identify the inclusion of blood, all of which has long dried, and can make several skill checks to recognize additional details. These include the following:

• On a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check of the firepit’s ashes, the character notices that the scattering patterns radiate outwards from beneath the ventilation shaft and resemble heavy impacts. On a roll of 15 or higher, they clearly recognize multiple impact patterns.
• A character that makes a successful DC 13 Wisdom (Survival) check of the bloody trail identifies it as coming from a creature no larger than Medium. On a roll of 15 or higher, they see that the smear is made up of distinct layers, suggesting that whatever caused it occurred multiple times with gaps of time in between.
• A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check of the trail also recognizes that it lacks disruptions or footprints and therefore resembles tracks left by an animal dragging its bleeding prey behind it, rather than an injured creature crawling across the ground.

Many of these skill checks can also be made in other rooms that the blood trail passes through _{(see the ‘Bloody trail’ sections of areas 8, 9, and 9.a.)}.

Scratch marks. The nearby troll has become erratic as the blight affects its mind. One symptom of this is aggression, which has caused the troll to lash out randomly in the areas surrounding its feeding ground. It has repeated this several times as the smell of dried blood awakens and draws it back to nearby rooms, the troll’s sickened mind not realizing that smell comes from the trail left by its own past hunts _{(see the ‘Ash and blood section’)}.

These marks include damage to the table, scratches on the room’s pillars, and claw marks carved into the central pillars and the inside of the ceiling’s ventilation shaft from the troll attempting to climb out. The most noticeable of these is the damage to the banners, behind which are long claw marks raking down the length of the wall _{(see the ‘Faction banners’ section)}. They extend the highest on the wall’s southern end, having damaged the banner on the right the most and tapering down across the other banners towards the room’s north. Similar marks are visible on the tabletop, the northern door, as well as the eastern door to the kitchen, and the wall surrounding it.

The scratch marks are all in sets of three to five and extend up to 12 feet high on the affected walls, with no obvious pattern to their placement. They gouge deep into the wood of the doors, leaving noticeable breaks and splinters, while the stone shows shallow cuts that chipped pieces out of the bricks’ edges. A character can make several skill checks in the affected areas to deduce information about the scratches, including the following:

• A character that succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) or Intelligence (Nature) check of the marks determines that the creature that left them is most likely Large-sized and possesses significant strength, given the height that the marks reach and their depth in the wood and stone.
• On a successful DC 13 Intelligence (Nature) check, the character notes that the lack of pattern differs from normal animal behavior, such as sharpening claws or marking territory, and instead resembles frenzied attacks.
• A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check of the marks on the eastern wall has a character notice that they are focused on the areas behind where the banners have been shredded away, suggesting that the banners were the targets of the scratches, which cut through to damage the wall behind them.

The troll has also lashed out in other rooms that it frequents, leaving scratch marks that the characters can make the same skill checks to investigate _{(see the ‘Scratch marks sections’ of areas 8, 9, and 9.a.)}.

Drifting stench. The putrid smell of the troll’s feeding ground drifts into the mess hall. Any character that enters the room and succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check notices the smell and is able to follow it toward its source to the east. A character that moves within 30 feet of the southeastern doorway has advantage on their check.

Blighted wood. One of the barrels left against the western wall held a supply of water, which blighted the wood badly enough that it breaks from anything more than the lightest touch. A character that looks closely at the barrels or that succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check of the area near them notices signs of rot on the barrel’s exterior. This rot has spread into the surrounding wooden frame. If the character inspects the rot, they can make the same skill checks as if studying the tunnels’ blighted stone to glean information _{(see the ‘Blighted stone’ section of ‘The Reaver Halls‘)}. The blight is particularly potent in the barrel’s interior. If it is opened, the DCs of skill checks made to study its blight are lowered by 3.

The blighted barrel is not the same one as the barrel containing a hidden kobold tunnel _{(see the ‘Kobold tunnels’ section)}.

Additionally, a character that has encountered other objects that once held blighted water, such as in area 9.a., the cellar, can make a DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check to deduce a connection between them and the barrel in the mess hall. The character surmises that the rot likely spread from whatever was held in the containers, which were used across various rooms in the tunnels. The character does not need to make this check if they have successfully investigated the blight in the well chambers or the water cavern, as they recognize that the culprit was likely the blighted water _{(see the ‘Blighted stone and wood’ sections of areas 9.b. and 15.a., the ‘Northern Well’ and ‘Lower Southern Well’, as well as the ‘Blighted Water’ section of area 17, the ‘Water Cavern’)}.

Wall carvings. The carvings that decorate the northern and southern walls depict different Reavers hunting and battling fearsome creatures. These images are interpretive and are not given titles or explanations, so the validity of their events cannot be proven. These depictions show the following, reading from east to west:

Northern wall

• Two Reavers, one an archer and another with an axe, facing a golem formed of rocks and boulders.
• A Reaver brandishing a spear against three massive wolves.
• A Reaver leaping from a cliff to strike at a giant.

Southern Wall

• A dragon breathing fire against a Reaver’s shield, while another fighter attacks the dragon from above.
• A Reaver clashing with a large, hunched humanoid with long claws. The creature appears to be on fire.
• A flock of enormous bats descending on a group of Reavers, who hold them back with shields and spears.

A character that closely inspects the carvings notices chips and flecks of faded paint that once colored the mural, particularly within the carved lines that form the images, indicating that they were once colored. A character that succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check also notices that the depicted Reavers vary in size, even in comparison to each other, suggesting that the group was composed of people of different lineages. If the character rolls a 14 or more and has seen the Reaver half plate in the MacHale Manor’s trophy room _{(see area 20, the ‘trophy room‘, of the MacHale Manor, in the ‘In Walls that Talk’ adventure)}, they also recognize distinct similarities between the armor’s design and that of the depicted warriors. A character that has seen the armor worn by Rako Trolltaker _{(see the ‘Reaver armor’ section of ‘Rako Trolltaker‘ in ‘The Kobold Vanguard‘)} but has not seen the armor in the Manor must roll a 16 or higher to notice the similarity.

If a character has seen the statues in area 18, the veneration hall, and succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) check, they recognize that several of the Reavers depicted in the carvings have details that match the statues _{(see the ‘Honored statues’ section of area 18, the ‘Veneration Hall’)}. These primarily include the individuals’ weapons and armor, as well as their approximate size, suggesting that they depict the same people.

A character that succeeds on a DC 13 Intelligence (Nature) check of the second carving on the southern wall identifies the hunched humanoid creature as a type of troll. If the character has encountered a troll before, they have advantage on the check.

Faction banners. Three banners hang on the eastern wall, each one representing one of the groups that inhabited the Reaver halls. These banners have been damaged, bloodstained, and are thickly coated in dust, obscuring much of their details. This is the result of both age and the nearby troll _{(see the ‘Ash and blood’ and ‘Scratch marks’ sections)}.

If a character chooses to inspect the banners, read the following:

Three large banners hang across the wall, all equal in size and placement. Their age has left them weathered, and dried blood stains the fabric, hiding their designs and almost completely obscuring their colors, while their lower portions appear to have been lost to more deliberate damage, ending in frayed shreds. But you can still make out the details of their designs underneath. The middle and right banners appear to be warm brown and red, respectively. The patterns that form the three banners’ borders are also still lightly visible. The leftmost has a different silver line down either side and one in its center, which then meet and combine halfway down, while the middle’s border is geometric and interlocking, and that of the right banner appears to be two thicker, textured lines that wind around each other.

Cleaning the banners reveals more of their designs. If a character chooses to do so, read the following:

1. Greybanner

Surprisingly, the banner’s color changes very little as the dust clears. The fabric is similarly grey across its entire length and features no identifying heraldry or insignia. It is decorated with only the three silver lines that border it and descend its center, the outer two turning inwards halfway down the fabric to meet with the central line and form a triple helix. Now able to look closely, you can see that each of these lines has unique detailing. One is barbed with thorns, another resembles rope, and the third is its own winding geometric pattern.

The banner on the left is one of early Greybanner, during the first period of unity between its three original factions. These factions are represented by the lines forming its border. The thorned line represents the Bramblejade druids, the rope is for the Gallows’ Sons mercenaries, and the third is for the mountain Reavers. The lines’ movement down the banner symbolizes the factions coming together and uniting as a single people.

A character that views the cleaned banner can easily recognize the obvious connection between its colors and the town of Greybanner. A character that succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check also notices the similarities between the border of geometric lines and those that decorate the walls of the Reaver halls, as well as the border of the second banner, if they have seen it. On a roll of 12 or higher, the character can also deduce that the thorned line corresponds to the Bramblejade forest. If the character is aware of the Gallows’ Sons and rolls a 14 or higher on their check, they deduce that the rope line must likely connect to the mercenary group. This DC may be lowered depending on how much information the party has gathered pertaining to the Gallows’ Sons’ involvement in Greybanner’s founding.

2. Reaver banner

As the central banner is cleaned, its color brightens from brown to burnt orange. Its border pattern is stitched from stone-grey thread in lines that form strong, geometric shapes, weaving and knotting together along the length of the fabric. The bottom of the banner is tattered and missing, though the central heraldry remains. The border lines rise diagonally from the shredded sides to the center, where they meet and overlap in an intricate series of knots in the approximate shape of three diamonds.

The central banner belongs to the Reavers themselves and bears their heraldry. A character that succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Investigation) check to inspect its patterning deduces its respective faction through its resemblance to the patterns on the walls of the Reaver halls. They also connect the pattern to one of the border lines of the first banner, if they have seen it. A character that has seen the same symbol in areas 16 or 18, the serpent dens or veneration hall, recognizes its repeated use and can apply any information they have gleaned from the different appearances, including its resemblance to mountain peaks _{(see the ‘Wall carvings’ section of areas 16 and 18, the ‘Serpent Dens’ and ‘Veneration Hall’)}. The knowledge that the symbol represents the Reavers can likewise be applied to draw conclusions in other areas _{(see ‘Evidence of an alliance’ in the ‘Development’s’ section of area 18, the ‘Veneration Hall’)}.

3. Fireblood banner

Details are revealed as the dust clears despite all but the very top of the banner having been torn away. Its fiery crimson shines through, accented by the golden thread that forms a border you can now identify as two entwined snakes. A pair descends either side of the fabric, coiling around each other but quickly disappearing where the fabric ends.

The right banner belonged to the Fireblood kobolds that once inhabited the halls alongside the Reavers. The clan has never had official heraldry and so was given one by the Reavers in order to recognize them and their alliance. Its border represented the stonefire vipers that the two factions shared, with pairs of winding snakes that would have then met in the banner’s center to form a symbol that more directly connects the kobolds and Reavers. This symbol has been lost as a result of the damage that the nearby troll dealt to the banner _{(see the ‘Scratch marks’ section)}, though some shreds of it can be found in the cellar _{(see the ‘Stinking waste pile’ section of area 9.a., the ‘Cellar’)}.

Kobold tunnels. The kobold tunnels connect to the mess hall in two different locations. These hidden entrances include the following:

• In the ventilation shaft above the fire pit. The opening to the tunnel is approximately 10 feet above where the room’s ceiling rises to form the shaft, making it just over 55 feet above the firepit. Its entrance is not hidden and has a 50-foot length of rope coiled at its edge, with one end anchored by a piton driven into the stone. A pouch of blinding powder is hung beside the entrance _{(see the ‘Kobold traps’ section)}.
• Behind one of the barrels set against the western wall. The back of the keg has been removed and its rim is flush with the wall to hide the tunnel entrance behind it, allowing the kobolds to easily sneak into the empty barrel. A hole has also been cut in the side of it that faces down for the kobolds to enter and exit from. The hole is not visible unless a character inspects the area under the barrels, in which case they spot the hole and scattered dirt and stones from the digging.

Kobold traps. The mess hall features a number of traps. These include the following:

• A warning chime is strung on in the inside of the western doorway, set to be triggered by the door opening. A character that is in the western hallway when the door is opened and that succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check spots the wire through the opening doorway before the chime is triggered. The door can only be opened to a 2-foot opening without setting off the chime.
• A tripwire is strung between the support columns that hold up the raised platform in the room’s west, attached to a swinging stone trap. The stone is precariously balanced on the northwestern corner of the raised balcony and swings southward when the trap is triggered, affecting the area between the pillars.
• A pouch of blinding powder hangs within the ventilation shaft above the firepit. The rope holding it is tied to a nail driven into the stone beside the opening of a kobold tunnel _{(see the ‘Kobold tunnels’ section)}. It has no automated trigger and must be released manually by a creature that is able to reach it. Additionally, a fuse is attached to the bag that can be optionally lit as part of the action of releasing the bag, causing the powder to ignite moments after it lands in the fire pit.
• A snare is hidden beside the southern edge of the table, in the space before the table curves. The snare is anchored to a beam on the underside of the table, with 5 feet of cord connecting it, while the noose has been carefully hidden under ash taken from the firepit, disguised to look natural.

Additionally, a hidden webbing blastbox awaits just outside of the eastern entrance _{(see the ‘Kobold traps’ section of area 6, the ‘Central Intersection Chamber‘)}.

Several of these traps are loud enough to alert the nearby troll to the party’s presence when they are triggered _{(see ‘Waking the troll’ in the ‘Developments’ section)}.

Developments

Waking the troll. The blighted mountain troll resting in area 9.a., the cellar, can be roused if sufficient noise is made in the mess hall, such as by setting off the room’s traps _{(see the ‘Kobold traps’ section)}. If the warning chime trap is triggered, the troll makes a DC 8 Wisdom (Perception) check to hear the ringing. If either the snare or blinding powder is triggered, the DC for this check is 17. The DC for the troll to hear the swinging stone trap is 15 if a creature fails its saving throw to avoid the trap. If all creatures in the stone’s path successfully avoid it, the trap does not make enough sound to alert the troll. The DCs of these checks may increase if any of the doors connecting the mess hall to the cellar are closed _{(see ‘Determining DCs’ in area 9.a., the ‘Cellar’)}.

Evidence of an alliance. The third of the eastern banners once belonged to the Fireblood kobolds, indicating that they once called the tunnels home alongside the Reavers _{(see the ‘Faction banners’ section)}. The banner is badly damaged and its central symbol is lost, though a snake-like border pattern remains. Rako or a kobold slinkscholar can recognize the pattern as resembling serpent scales if the banner is cleaned and they view it closely. This suggests to them that someone in the Reaver tunnels may also have kept stonefire vipers, though it does not confirm an alliance between the Reavers and kobolds, as the use of heraldry was limited to the kobolds in the Reaver tunnels and is not a tradition of the current Firebloods. As such, this evidence must be combined with other examples of the kobolds’ influence in the tunnels to serve as proof of their alliance.

Hallway blastbox. The kobolds take advantage of the webbing blastbox trap in the hallway to the west being triggered _{(see the ‘Kobold traps’ section of area 6, the ‘Central Intersection Chamber‘)}. In addition to a kobold attacking from the west _{(see ‘Webbing Blastbox’ in the ‘Developments’ section of area 6, the ‘Central Intersection Chamber’)}, another kobold waits in the mess hall for the party to move further away.

Once the same trap has been triggered and the party has moved far enough away for a kobold to move safely, such as the group progressing into another room, a kobold traptinker emerges from the tunnel hidden behind a northwestern barrel _{(see the ‘Kobold tunnels’ section)}. The kobold carries an additional bag of caltrops and scatters both into the closest webbed spaces, being sure to cover the full width of the hallway, before returning to the tunnel that it emerged from, provided that it is safe to do so. If returning to the barrel would risk the party spotting the kobold, it instead attempts to pass through the webs before scattering the caltrops and then escaping to the hidden tunnel in area 6, the central intersection chamber _{(see the ‘Kobold tunnels’ section of area 6, the ‘Central Intersection Chamber‘)}.

Treasure

A barrel placed beside the southwestern end of the table contains 3 bloodlight crystals. Crates under the northwestern table contain stacks of basic cutlery and kitchenware, though none are of notable quality.

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What’s Next

We are now halfway through the interior of the Reaver halls, and the most dangerous areas await. The next section will cover the second half of the central level, including storage areas, a farm, and alchemy laboratory, as well as bringing the party face-to-face with the ravenous blighted troll that sleeps nearby. While you wait for its release, you can always return to previous sections to see how the characters came to the tunnels, or have a look through the Adventure Index and previous adventures in and around Greybanner. We also love to hear what you think of the adventure, so feel free to leave any comments or questions you might have!

You can also support the writing of this adventure by supporting me on Patreon. In exchange, you can even have your own custom fighter as an entrant in the arena’s Grand Tournament!

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