The Buried City - a Chaldean dungeon

In a sparsely populated region of Agon's main continent, a recent storm revealed long-hidden Chaldean ruins. Though nature has already begun to reclaim what the wind unearthed, the ruins of a large, crumbling villa are still visible, as are broken statues that lie scattered near it. A number of broken paving stones, protruding from the earth at twisted angles, indicate that the villa was once part of a larger whole. Presumably, the ruins were part of one of the town centres that the Chaldeans built to administrate the provinces of their empire.

The grave robbers

On the ground floor of the broken villa, a large, freshly dug hole leads down into the earth. Near the hole, many clues – broken crates, rope, and the odd discarded artefact – indicate recent activity. Ropes and pulleys, as well as an improvised, hand-pulled elevator, hang down into the darkness of the round hole, which is guarded by a small band of armed thugs. The thugs tell all who approach to be on their way, and attack those who fail to comply.

A large excavated Chaldean chamber directly underneath the hole contains the improvised headquarters of a large-scale tomb raiding operation. A large number of thugs attack all who descend into the building, first using slings and crossbows, then drawing swords and scimitars. All who survive the onslaught will be able to search through a large collection of Chaldean artefacts gathered near the entrance, ready to be hoisted up out through the ceiling. Most of these items are of interest to collectors only.

The rooms of the building's single underground level have been thoroughly plundered, and most of the objects that were too large to be stolen have been vandalised in some way or other. The leader of the grave robbing operation doesn't engage in the general melee in the first chamber, but waits (along with his elite guards) to ambush intruders in his fairly luxurious quarters, which lie in the western part of the excavation.

The deeper tomb

A single, large and barred trapdoor conceals a winding stairway leading further down. The trapdoor has been barricaded with an assortment of items that were handy at the time, such as statues, blocks of stone and crates full of rocks and debris. It should be obvious that the descent has been barred by the grave robbers, and that someone or something has tried to break into excavation area from below.

Below the barred trapdoor lies an ancient Chaldean burial complex. Dozens of nobles rest in beautifully decorated sarcophagi that are placed within richly furnished chambers. The chambers join together to form an unbroken circle, which the stairs access through a door at its southern end.

The circle of chambers is defended by a number of Revenants, fighting as a team, and in the northernmost chambers, two dead nobles rise as Greater Mummies if anyone disturbs their place of rest. The mummies are powerful spellcasters, and they wear headpiece-stones of exceptional value. From the northern end of one of the mummy chambers, a steep, winding stairway leads further down.

The departure chamber

After a long descent, the stairway opens up into a tall-roofed stone chamber. Here there are no symbols or paintings on the walls, but the floor is covered in water that reaches a human male to the waist. Floating in the far end is a small, black boat which is still intact, even if it appears to be centuries old. A warning is written near the entrance: “We have sailed but our shadows remain. Approach at your peril.”

If anyone enters the chamber, several Grievous Shades rise from the waters to attack them. At the same time, the door slams shut and doesn't open from the inside until the last shade is killed. Among the attackers is a Sentient Shade of exceptional size, who wears the Chaldean headpiece of a pharaoh. Rich treasures lie aboard the ship, including a relic which grants a bonus to all woodland resources when inserted into a clanstone.

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