Something In The Wind

Jason Mills May '99

[Game Masters of other role-playing systems, check out Something In The Wind Conversion Notes, which deals with particular conversion issues connected with this scenario. See also General T&T Conversion Notes.]

"Down a wooden hole in stone,
Down the ladder, all alone,
Near the cold winds, in the dark
Lived the dragonsbane, Tullark."

Players' Introduction

Your travels take you through the sleepy valleys of Smokey Bulge. The area is a bit of a laughing stock in the rest of the world because local legend insists it was once home to hundreds of dragons. But the notion of this gormless little hill county ever having been terrorised by dragons is ridiculously provincial. Nonetheless, the friendly atmosphere of the place, the gentle countryside and the quaint tales told around the tavern firesides bring many a visitor. It is not far off the main travelling route, and you have yourselves decided to make a minor diversion to spend a night in one of these warmly-regarded villages.

Abergossip is in fact no more than a hamlet, and there is only one inn, the Sorcerer's Tail. This establishment is larger than the size of the village would seem to justify, and is testimony to the lively attraction the area holds for weary travellers. The signboard outside shows a two-headed grinning sorcerer in flowing blue robes, with a long hairy tail spiralling around him. He is standing on the head of a dead dragon whose tongue is hanging out. The painting is awful, but this only adds to the charm. It is early evening and there is nothing you want more than a pleasant night in a warm inn, with a flagon of strong ale and a few "sorcerer's tales" to wash it down. You enter the inn.

The Sorcerer's Tail

The main tavern area is large and spacious, with plenty of leg-room for a good sprawl. A high chair by the fire is used by storytellers and minstrels.  The delvers will be greeted by Boris the barman, a decent fellow, though not quick with a smile. Although the tavern is well-filled, the delvers will notice a scrawny little old woman with intense eyes watching them from the table at the end of the bar. This is Metrushka, mother to Boris (and Ivan). She has a habit of absently fondling a locket round her neck, the only item of adornment on her otherwise drab and well-worn clothes. An L2SR on CHR would be required to win her trust enough to see inside, where there are tiny paintings of Boris and her dead son, Ivan. (Keen-eyed delvers [L2SR on LK] may notice a similar locket under Boris's open shirt, now and then swinging into view.)

The ale is a very reasonable 3SP per tankard, and single rooms are 2GP per night, whilst a hearty supper is 8SP. The tankards are embossed with pictures of a variety of odd fellows, one on each mug. Some have too many limbs, some have wings, some have horns, some scales. All they have in common is that each stands on the head of an apparently dead dragon (its state of health is indicated, as on the sign outside, by the telltale dangling tongue...).

The local entertainment is a game called Winds of Chance. Each player (usually no more than 5) stakes up to 6 coins. They roll 1D6, add their stake and subtract another D6. (Minus scores are referred to as "less 3", etc.) The highest score wins the pot. To complicate things, a roll of 6 on the first die is an instant loss. Players can add a further stake after the first rolls, to bump up a bad result, but now each pair of coins adds 1, and the maximum "uppage" still can't exceed 6, nor can a score be raised beyond the highest "upped" score so far. In the event of a draw, the pot is held over for a second round - but those who were "blown away" by a 6 are still out (unless everyone was). It can soon mount up. Locals play with silver, but other travellers are likely to fancy their chances with gold.

Although Metrushka occasionally slips under the bar flap to serve drinks, it is Boris who does most of the work, and it seems to be Boris alone who rushes in and out of the kitchen preparing food. He is obviously overburdened. This does not seem to be due to peevishness on the mother's part, for she is clearly too frail to do much more; but the delvers may think it odd that this thriving establishment does not hire more staff.

Metrushka sits in her quiet corner silently observing, and sipping what looks like water (though inquisitive delvers will lose a point of CON and 2 points of IQ if they try her firewater - both restored by morning). However, as the evening progresses, it is Metrushka who slides out and climbs onto the high chair by the fire, to begin regaling the crowd with tales of the sorcerer. Each fantastical story is preceded by this verse, with locals murmuring it in unison:

"Down a wooden hole in stone,
Down the ladder, all alone,
Near the cold winds, in the dark
Lived the dragonsbane, Tullark."

This Tullark character gets up to all kinds of improbable tricks. Although there is an inordinate amount of dragon-slaying in all this, these are really standard folktales, dressed up with local flavour. Each is met with applause. In one tale, Tullark spends months pursuing a cyclops to steal a magic jewel from its eye, only to leave it unharmed when the fellow instead offers the sorcerer his lifelong service. In another, Tullark imprisons a dozen evil spirits in empty wine bottles. But mainly he kills dragons. One odd thing, which is never explained or even directly referred to, is that Tullark seems to appear in a bewildering variety of forms - as depicted on the tankards. Metrushka is apt to say: "At this time the sorcerer had the wings of a vulture," or: "Around then Tullark was in the form of an ogre, with teeth all down his back". It is a little peculiar. In the final tale, Metrushka says that Tullark returned to his treasure hoard deep inside "the Howling Hill" and was never seen again. (With an L2SR on LK, delvers may note that one or two locals make a gesture of covering their ears at the mention of this place.) As soon as she has finished this story, Metrushka slips off the chair and returns to her table.

If the delvers enquire of her as to why Tullark took so many forms, she shrugs and says only that "it is said he stood often in the Winds of Change." If, on the other hand, they ask where the Howling Hill is, she becomes furtive and flustered, looking round for Boris (who is fortuitously absent). If pressed hard, she may exclaim: "I let one man go there to die, I will not send more!" This cryptic remark will be followed by a chap leaning over the other end of the bar saying: "Boris, either go down the ruddy steps or come up the ruddy steps, I'm gagging for an ale here!" Boris has been standing on the cellar steps listening to his mother. She looks up in horror as he steps up and meets her gaze for a long moment. Then he goes to serve the ale. Metrushka will say not a word more, and if the delvers make a fuss Boris, and if need be the regulars, will intercede. (If the delvers can't be hinted into triggering all this, let them overhear Metrushka's conversation with another traveller.)

In The Morning

The delvers are awakened early by Metrushka banging on their doors. She is distraught - Boris has disappeared! She tells them in a rush about Ivan and about how Boris wouldn't believe he was dead. It's clear to her that after her slip last night - which, in her distress, she blames the delvers for - Boris has realised where his brother went and has gone after him with some crazy notion of rescuing him - even though he left a year ago! She begs the delvers to hurry to the Howling Hill and bring back her only remaining son. The game's afoot!

Howling Hill

Howling Hill is 5 miles north, where Smokey Bulge begins to give way to rockier and more mountainous country. Metrushka's directions lead the delvers through low green rolling valleys and woodlands to a strange and looming hill. Sure enough, an unsettling howl can be heard coming down the hillside, some peculiar effect of the wind over stone presumably. This sound is constant, but the pitch is continually rising and falling. The hill itself is rough and stony, growing very steep towards the summit, where the land hooks over unusually. There seems to be a large opening in this formation, but the delvers can't be sure from down here; in any case, the slope is almost vertical up there, and it would be almost impossible to reach the summit.

Metrushka, repeating what her son Ivan told her a year ago, has told the delvers to follow the thin path to where a number of boulders lie, clearly having fallen from the summit many years ago. Beyond that point the hill is nigh on unclimbable, but our heroes have been told to "look for the boulder that is not a boulder". Though it was not obvious what this meant (even to Metrushka), the delvers, once they have negotiated the scrawny and almost invisible path for half an hour (3x L1SR on DEX to avoid falling and sliding; each fall 2D6 hits, armour counts, shields don't), will soon discover that among these rocks is an outcrop that looks like a boulder but is in fact part of the hillside. There is a vertical cleft at the back of this. (L3SR on LK to notice, on this stony ground, that the area around this entrance is much trodden. No chance of identifying the tracks. Having spotted this, L2SR on LK to notice thin strand of smoke rising from hillside higher up - out of reach.)

The Upper Level

When the delvers slip through this opening, the weird howl is cut off, and they will find themselves in a rough, dark cave about 30' across, with an exit on the far wall. Their entrance causes panic among a couple of hundred tiny bats, who flit around their heads for a minute or two, chittering horribly, but which soon settle on the ceiling again. The smell in here is not good, for the floor is deep in crunchy bat-droppings. Some of this is fresh and slippy, and some of the hard stuff is apt to cave in beneath one's feet. The floor is in any case lumpy and spiky with stalagmites. Anyone falling in here (L2SR on DEX to avoid) will take 3D6 hits.

Having crossed this vile den, the delvers will reach a winding passage about 3' wide. An alcove shortly beyond contains a 2' statue of a blue-robed sorcerer standing on a dragon's head. His own head has been knocked off and removed (by orcs), but all 6 arms unmistakably invite the observer to LEAVE! As they proceed along the passage's 30' length, the delvers will begin to hear chattering, non-human voices. (Anyone who speaks Orcish will recognise it as coarse fireside banter.) The light of a fire shows on the walls.

The last turn of the passage opens out into a larger cavern, where about 20 orcs sit, lie and slouch around a fire, munching on hunks of meat and loudly slurping a hearty stew. An exit across the cave shows more firelight. Assuming the delvers do not make hostile moves, the orcs will react to their entrance by going quiet and looking to their leader, Kullash. Without making himself known, he will first say in Orcish: "Your mothers were whores to dung-merchants." (An orc called Borog will begin a wheezing laugh, facing the wall to hide it. He is so tickled that he cannot stop laughing throughout what follows.) Any delver who understands this would need to make an L2SR on CHR if he wished to conceal any telltale reaction. Having thus established whether the newcomers can understand Orcish (if they can, he will attempt to pass off the remark as aimed at his followers, or, what the hell, fight!), he will proceed to welcome them in Common, in his slimy and suspicious manner. He wil invite them to share in the meal - they have just returned from hunting, he says - and will be insulted if they decline. There are only 2 options - fight or eat.

If they elect to eat, delvers will be offered a stew in roughly-hewn wooden bowls, to be got into the mouth with big hunks of bread. (As Borog continues to wheeze, Kullash, irritated, sends Weedle and Grib to drag him off into the armoury. They return soon.) This stew is actually very tasty, meaty and flavoursome. But one delver will discover a piece of metal in his mouth, a sort of concave oval disk. If he chooses to swallow it, L2SR on CON to avoid choking, in which case there is time for others to make 3 attempts to relieve him (Heimlich manouver!), each an L3SR on DEX, one success will suffice - otherwise the idiot will simply choke to death. If, on the other hand, it is got out of the delver's mouth, it will need to be looked at in good light to identify it. This will attract the attention of the orcs, who will watch the delver in silence. The object is half of a locket (Boris's), the inside surface bearing a picture of Metrushka...

If this does not lead to a fight, Kullash will insist on showing them around his home - though he dismisses the kitchen (where a sack holding 600GP and a pouch of 30 gems is stored and 2 orcs are turning what's left of Boris over a spit) as unworthy of their attention. (It is from this 'kitchen', incidentally, that smoke emerges through a crack high on the hillside.) The other orcs will follow along, still eating sloppily, still watching carefully.

The 'armoury' is a long chamber in which two very rough trestles 4' high support a 30' long pole with 30 crossbars, each 2' long. This pole is well made, of fine wood, smoothed and varnished, and an L1SR on IQ will tell the delvers that it is not the handiwork of the orcs (unlike the trestles). Hung on the crossbars are any number of weapons and odd scrag-ends of armour. (Boris's haladie is hung here, by the loop that holds the double sheaths together; it emits vibes, of course. His broadaxe is here too. L2SR on LK to spot either of these worrying inclusions.) For any weapon in the rulebook, there are D6-3 examples here, several to each crossbar. There are also lanterns, rope and whatnot. Kullash (relishing the prospect of a good scrap), will, if asked, allow the delvers to take one item each - "as a gifffffft!"

Finally Kullash shows them the privy, where Borog is squatting over a 3' wide hole, still wheezing with laughter. Around this hole is a finely worked rim of polished wood, of the same kind as that forming the armoury rack. Two hooks on the inner surface of the hole, about a foot apart, would have held the ladder. (L1 SR on IQ if the delvers still haven't twigged what the armour rack was.) On the back wall of this cavern is gold-inlaid scrolled writing, but the gold has been hacked at and smeared with orc bowel-products. An L2SR on IQ will be needed to read the words: "No wise man long forgoes the Winds of Freedom."

The privy is not a shaft that might be climbed, but only a hole in the roof of a larger cavern, 30' below. Kullash and his cronies will be equally happy now either to kill the delvers outright or to force them into the hole. (They won't mind if Borog goes down too, it's all good fun.) Their jests will become more and more earnest until one of these outcomes is achieved. (It would be a kindness to hint to none-too-powerful characters that fighting this many orcs is not wise...) If the delvers are made to jump or fall down the hole, they will land safely in the (5'high, 10' across) midden without so much as a hit point of damage; but obviously they will be covered in - Well, charisma saving rolls relating to social interaction will be a level higher until they have had a good bath and a complete change of clothes. Without an L2SR on CON, they will throw up, which in turn loses them 1 CON point.

Borog, if he's down here and isn't left to suffocate, will cheerfully become a temporary ally in the name of survival. The orcs above will defecate, urinate, and throw hunks of Boris on the delvers until they get bored. (If anybody landing in the midden makes an L3SR on LK, they will find the missing head of the statue, which says "LEAVE NOW!" whenever you meet its gaze. Of course, it also emits vibes.)

The Lower Level

With an L1SR on IQ, delvers will twig that it isn't quite as smelly down here as it should be: there is a cold breeze coming from somewhere. (Indeed, were it not for this breeze circulating the air down here, they would not only have asphyxiated on the stench but also have been blown to smithereens when they struck a naked flame for light...) They are in a large, high cavern, naturally formed but with the floor levelled out at a later time (by the wizard, who made the old place more homely). There are 3 exits from this chamber; the passages are like the chamber, roughly-formed but smooth-floored. After falling 30' into a heap of distracting material, the delvers will have lost their orientation; but if anyone has a compass to consult they will find that the 10' high passages are to the north, the east and the south-west. Over the northern passage a 2' long dragon's skull is affixed. It is not magical.

The Bedchamber

To the south-west is a long winding passage with a 2' statue partway along. This one has its arms folded and features 3 heads, one atop another. On meeting the gaze of any head, the delvers will hear it say: "No wise man fights the Winds of Sleep." If the statue is lifted, a recess will be found beneath it with a red button in it. Pressing it arms (and disarms) the portcullis trap ahead, but has no audible or visible effect. (This is a non-magical device.) Tullark would habitually 'set the alarm' when he went out, and the trap is NOT ARMED unless the delvers arm it!

On the way into the chamber (roughly 30'x20'), delvers might, with an L3SR on LK, notice the slot across the roof of the entrance (it is concealed by the form of the rock and the shadows). If the trap is armed, then stepping onto any part of the second yard of the tiled flooring in Tullark's bedchamber will cause a 400lb portcullis to fall across the entrance. In the time it takes to fall a delver on the trigger area might escape the room with an L1SR on SP - but if he tries and fails, he will need an L1SR on LK to avoid being caught under it... (Call it a single blow of 100 hits.) It is made of meteoric iron, which dispels magic of levels 1-3 within 30' (which is why, for his own convenience, Tullark housed it in a slot 40' high). The bars are 1" thick, forming 7" squares, and the whole thing is about 10' square. The delvers will have to find their own way out of that. (More than once Tullark came home to find intruders caught in his little trap. He liked to give them the choice of death or 5 minutes in the Winds of Change...)

The 'bed' in this bedchamber is a wonder of the world. It is the complete skull of a huge dragon. It is 8' wide, 20' long and 8' high. No one will be making a necklace of these teeth! It is possible to see, through the gaps, a skeletal blue-robed figure lying on a more conventional bed where the tongue would have been. (Three legs protrude from the robes and there is a small horn rising from the figure's forehead, but these were mere fashion accessories to Tullark.) Magical vibes emanate from the giant skull, but this is merely an enchantment which causes the upper part to swing up for ready access to the bed when a certain word ("dragonsbane") is spoken aloud; the same word will close it again. It can be lifted manually if the delvers can manage 1000lbs (dragons are very thick-skulled...). If not, they may be reduced to prodding at the corpse with sticks...

They will no doubt be surprised to discover that the corpse does not leap into life and attack them. Tullark passed away quietly in his sleep. He is not resting, only dead. With a certain wizardly pride, he eschewed magical gimcracks and there are no magical items to be found on him at all. There is a ring on his right index finger, an ornate affair showing the head of a dead dragon - with the tongue lolling out. It is solid gold, worth 300GP of itself, and more to a collector of wizardly relics, but it has no magical properties. Also, on a chain around his neck, is the key to the cyclops' ankle-cuff.

In the north-east of the room is a full-length mirror on a stand. This is magical - but isn't a lot of use. It acts as an ordinary mirror, but if the dragon's head in the centre of the top frame is touched it suddenly shows the view from the top of Howling Hill, where the winds emerge. Tullark could see if he had visitors using this device. Another touch restores it to a normal mirror. (In fact there is a gem at the top of the hill, placed there by the wizard, which acts as the 'camera', and it and the mirror together would be immensely valuable - but even if the delvers knew it was there they would have great difficulty reaching it. It's even difficult to fly there because of the howling wind.) There is nothing to prevent the delvers taking this mirror if they want to burden themselves.

The Library

The eastern passage winds past a 2' statue of the blue-robed sorcerer, this time with goat's hooves and giant butterfly wings. Those meeting its gaze will hear it say: "A wise man rides the Winds of Knowledge." The passage leads to a chamber about 30' each way. There are bookshelves all around the walls and a large, finely-polished dark table in the middle, with a single chair of the same wood. This chair is grand and comfortable, although each arm is a slender dragon's skull (~200GP each if the delvers are gauche enough to steal them). Open on the table is a big dusty book on the anatomy of birds (Tullark was trying to learn how to direct the effects of the Winds of Change so that he could take any chosen form). There is also a case of dark wine bottles, 12 in all (though the case could hold 16), with a few silver goblets standing beside it. On the side of the case are the gold-inlaid words: "No wise man sets his face against the Winds of Pleasure."

Unlike the other messages the delvers have seen, this one is intended not as a useful motto but as a trap to intruders. Tullark never touched this 'wine', for in fact the bottles contain 12 evil spirits, minor demons which he imprisoned there for just this purpose. However, wizards will detect, confusingly, both good and bad magical vibes from this 'wine', because the bottles themselves are magical. If one is uncorked (Borog could not resist...), or shattered, the furious demon will emerge in the form of a roaring whirlwind. Books will fly everywhere and the delvers themselves will be bowled over (taking 3D6 hits from the fall and flying objects - they are in no state to use shields effectively). It will attempt to possess one of the delvers at random - L2SR on CHR to resist. If it fails, it will howl in rage and whoosh out of the chamber seeking its freedom (woe betide the orcs); but if it succeeds, the hapless character will begin attacking the other delvers with everything he has. After each round of combat, he may try an L2SR on CHR to oust the spirit, with a bonus of 2 to the roll for each elapsed round (as he gathers his willpower). Either he will ultimately oust the spirit, or be killed or otherwise subdued by his companions. The hateful thing then takes its leave. The empty bottle may be used to capture any demon, ghost or other non-corporeal spirit by uncorking and recorking it in its presence - but no spirit can be imprisoned twice, and they come out angry... (The remaining, 'full' bottles, would make good presents for unwanted acquaintances.)

Though this is a fine library, most of the books are on non-magical subjects. They remain of value to scholars - indeed, they would fetch several thousand GP as a job lot. One shelf contains 20 spell books of all standard spells; these can only be learnt, and slowly, by a wizard with the requisite IQ and DEX to cast them. There are also a couple of rather odd books on this shelf, emitting neutral magic vibes...

The Book of Laughter is a magically humorous tome. Merely opening it and looking in causes the reader to collapse in a fit of insane giggling. Though this infectious chortling henceforth improves the character's sunny demeanour and thus increases his CHR, it also addles his brain: roll 1D6, subtract it from IQ and add it to CHR. This effect is repeated each time the same person looks into the book - handle with care! (Curiously, this book has no effect on Borog.)

The Book of Nonsense is completely unintelligible. The reader, however, will be totally fascinated by it, and will not be able to stop reading unless forcibly separated from it - in which case he will behave as if his IQ were 3 until he is allowed to finish it. However, having completed it the whole thing will suddenly click together in his head. In fact the process of reading it tidies up the reader's brain, and when completed (D6 hours) adds 2D6 to IQ. Subsequent readings by that character have no effect (and it has no fascination for him), and the book disintegrates into dust after it has been read 3 times.

The Book of Tongues will permit the reader to learn a language (their choice, other than Wizard Speech) after 1D6 hours of reading. It can be used 3 times before falling to dust.

Finally, hidden under the seat of the chair (where it will be found if and only if they search the chair) is a fragile scroll reminding Tullark of an advanced wizardly technique in case he lost the knack. Merely exposing this scrap of paper to the air will begin its decay, and a wizard wishing to read it must make an L2SR on LK to do so before it crumbles. Having succeeded, he will still need an L2SR on IQ to understand it. It teaches a spell-casting trick whereby the wizard can regain expended Strength points at 1 per combat round instead of 1 per turn.

The Cyclops

Proceeding through the northern passage - no statue! - the delvers will come to a chamber in which is chained the cyclops, Groltan. He has been here for over a hundred years, on a heavy 15' iron chain spiked into the centre of the floor. For all his strength, Groltan cannot pull the spike or break the chain. The ankle-cuff, which passes through a link of the chain, is made of mithril and enchanted so that the wearer's inconvenient bodily functions are negated: Groltan need not eat, sleep, excrete, nor even age. This cuff has a lock whose key is on Tullark's corpse; otherwise it is unbreakable (not so Groltan's leg, however...). Groltan, who bought his life from the wizard in return for lifelong service, has had more than he bargained for. No one has passed this way, bar the odd bat or bird - and Ivan - for a century. Groltan, desperately alone and having given up hope of Tullark's return, wants only his freedom now. He will attack if the delvers attempt to pass him, not to guard the Winds, but only in frustration at the prospect of endless years without rescue; but if they will free him he will offer no harm to them, and will even help them on the way out. He is interested only in the 'Winds of Freedom'. He will even offer the cuff as reward for his freedom (it would fit a human thigh or neck, or perhaps as a crown).

The delvers, however, might be swayed in their decision by the sight of his great ruby eye, which reeks of magic. This fist-sized gem is the source of the cyclops' prodigious strength - as well as his vision! He will not accept blind weakness as the price of freedom, so there is only one way to relieve him of this gem... 

Ivan could not pull the spike any more than could Groltan. Tullark used a spell to weld the spike to the floor, and to render the whole floor as hard as cast iron - attempts to use a pickaxe will inflict 2D6 damage on the wielder, against which armour is clearly useless. Ivan, anxious to get to the legendary Winds, did not search the earlier chambers, and told Groltan that Tullark "wasn't there".

Groltan, believing this, will not think to mention to the delvers that the key was kept round the wizard's neck unless they mention the corpse. Groltan let Ivan pass with a promise that, once strengthened by the Winds, he would return and break the chain. In fairness, Ivan meant to do so; but Groltan, though desperate, will be wary of such a promise this time: he might permit one delver to go forward, but not the rest.

It's worth noting that Groltan cannot reach either exit on his chain's length, though he can cover the whole width of the room.

The Bone Pit

The floor of the next chamber is sunken by a yard or so. It is a foot deep in bones - snake bones. Neutral magic may be detected down there. Tullark couldn't be bothered with constantly refilling his snake pit, or with throwing out the overflow if they bred, so he got hold of a few hundred male snakes and enchanted them to live forever - in this room. (He didn't use this kind of magic, or that of Groltan's cuff, on himself because he suspected it would have unpleasant repercussions if it interacted with the Winds of Change. We shall find out.) However, snakes being snakes, they have by this time eaten - and excreted - each other's flesh completely and are now lying bored and dormant in the pit. If the delvers set foot down there, the place will become a clattering mass of seething vertebrae. These snakes have not eaten for almost a century...

Crossing this room, apart from anything else, is very disturbing. If the delvers fail an L1SR on CHR they will turn back before halfway across and return to the entrance, gibbering and clenching their eyes shut. They may try again in a few minutes. Either way, they will be attacked by D12 snakes each in their journey. Though these dry horrors can no longer produce venom, their fangs and the repulsive clasp of their enwrapping skeletons are worth 1D6+2 per snake. It isn't feasible to fight these things, since by the time you single one out as a threat it is already upon you - and anyway, the attempt would slow you down. Armour - but again, not a shield - is effective. Once the delver steps out of the room, the snakes lose their enchantment and fall away into pieces, like a novelty puzzle. (Groltan, of course, could readily carry the delvers across, but his CON by no means matches his ST and he is unarmoured, so he will not be making more than one trip.)

The Fountain

Of course, Tullark's own policy was just to let the snakes do what they liked and then take a swig from this healing fountain! Intruders could do the same, but a little trick of the sorcerer's worked very well against that...

The fountain is very pretty, stylised without being garish. The water spouts from the upraised head of a baby dragon in bronze, and curls outwards in a dozen fine jets into a pool 8' across and a foot deep. The wall of the pool is 2' high and a foot thick, good for sitting on and gazing into the pool. Chained to this wall are a dozen golden goblets (30GP each for the cheapskates). On the bottom of the pool is a mosaic showing the blue-robed wizard in twelve different forms, radially arranged, none of them very clear beneath the ripples. Any connection the delvers draw between the 12 jets, 12 goblets and 12 pictures is entirely spurious, however. There are also coins in the pool, and on the north wall are the gold-inlaid words: "No wise man suffers long the Winds of Thirst."

The entire circus emits neutral magical vibes. Drinking from the fountain with bare hands will restore CON at 1 point per mouthful. Tullark found, however, that intruders tended to favour the goblets. These negate and reverse the effect of the water - delvers lose 1 point per mouthful, and if they don't specify that they are taking only a single gulp, it may be assumed that they had 1D6 swallows (after seeing all dem dry bones, they will be thirsty!). Separated from the fountain, the goblets have no magical properties.

Delvers throwing a gold coin in the water and making a wish will find that they are one gold coin poorer. On the other hand, anybody gauche enough to remove a coin from the water will find that all the gold on their person turns instantly to water - except the coin they have just picked up, which shows a grinning sorcerer on one side and an inscription around the other: "No wise man succumbs to the Winds of Greed." It's only worth 1GP, but it will always magically return to the delver's purse one hour after it is spent.

Anybody urinating in the pool will instantly turn to stone and a stream of clear water will issue from them into the fountain forever more. (Well, not quite: in fact this enchantment only lasts 1 day, by which time Tullark had usually discovered the culprit and planned some further 'entertainments' for him.)

The Bat

It is not only sorcerers and foolhardy adventurers who enter the Winds of Change. Occasionally some humble creature will stumble in, and the surrounding countryside will briefly be plagued by a crocodile-headed magpie or a dragon-sized dragonfly. In this cavern, hanging among the stalactites (Tullark did not use this chamber, and it remains in its natural state), is a prodigious bat with a 10' wingspan. It also has two rows of clawed feet, 8 in each row, running up the length of its body. The basic upshot is that a scrap ensues. The creature has an MR of 160, and also has a unique scrabbling attack. Picking on a single combatant at random each round, it will claw off and ruin a single piece of armour, or a shield, magical or otherwise, on a roll of 1-4 on a D6.

Beyond the bat is a narrowing passage over which is the gold-inlaid warning: "No wise man goes down here in a month of Sundays." Roaring wind can be heard. At the end, the Winds of Change, already losing their potency, whoosh through a funnel of rock at hundreds of miles an hour. It is hard to breathe. Anything thrown into this wind will disappear so swiftly that an L1SR on IQ will be needed to realise - or persuade oneself! - that it was blown away and not teleported out of the world altogether. Any delver bonkers enough to step, fly or climb out will be lost to the world forever, taking a series of grotesque forms as he is battered against the rocks while plunging into the abyss. Still, one has to give them the opportunity...

The 'Prep Room'

Here Tullark would psyche himself up for the ensuing, potentially fatal, gamble with fate. A large but ordinary mirror on the east wall is surmounted by a gilded trim bearing the words: "Is this who you want to be?" (This mirror might startle the delvers, since it faces the entrance.) On the north wall is a huge, gold-inlaid message: "No wise man scorns the Winds of Chance and Change." By the south wall is a bronze plinth atop which sits - unaffixed - a green crystal ball, which of course reeks of magic.

A delver who chooses to peer into the crystal ball will be transfixed for a full minute, during which time he will see the highs and lows of his life replayed in the glass (though nothing will be visible to anyone else). This may have a profound effect on the character's self-image. He must make an L2SR on the higher of LK and CHR. If he fails, the visions have built a reckless resolution inside him: it is time he changed his life! If it was LK on which he rolled, he will, come hell or high water, step into the Winds of Chance in the next chamber; if CHR, then the Winds of Change. If the roll was successful, however, the vision has strengthened the character's self-esteem: add 2 to the attribute on which he rolled. Having retained his perspective, he can choose which, if any, Wind(s) to enter.

If, however, the delver is pulled away from the crystal ball before his vision was complete, he will be very shaken up: it will be as if he had failed a roll on both LK and CHR, and in a state of high distress he will insist on trying both Winds.

The orb is worth 100GP, but has no magical properties outside of these caves, except a faint glow that is sufficiently eerie to make people avoid you on a dark street.

The Chamber of the Winds

This enormous cavern is enormously impressive even without the enormous powers it contains. Huge stalactites meet vast stalagmites all around, and the centre of the chamber is like a clearing in a petrified forest. Three great openings half as high, and just as jagged, as the 100' high roof, are each surmounted by a gold-inlaid message. To the west: "No wise man stands often in the Winds of Chance." To the north: "No wise man long forgoes the Winds of Freedom." And to the east: "No wise man stands long in the Winds of Change."

In the centre of the cavern is what at first seems to be a jumble of huge skeletons. In fact it is the bones of Ivan, picked clean by scavenging birds and bats. He stood too long in the Winds of Change, and crawled out 50' long, with 2 heads, one that of a long-necked horse, the other grossly misshapen, several confused limbs and a long tail with a triangular blade at the end. (This would make a very practical boot-scraper at the doorway of a tavern.) If the delvers rummage through these enormous bones they may find (L2SR on LK) a tiny locket, inside which are pictures of Boris and Metrushka. The return of this might bring some certainty and minor relief to the old woman, though compassionate delvers would not give her the true details of her elder son's fate (much less those of the younger's!).

The northern opening is a passage that narrows into darkness. The east and west openings each front a black abyss through which mighty winds howl. Though magic pours out of each, the effects of the Winds will only be felt by those bold enough to step out onto the little spur of rock which, in each case, juts out over the chasm. From there they may faintly see the thousands upon thousands of heaped dragon bones far, far below. (The ancient dragons knew when their time had come, and each would, with dignity and some ceremony, retire into the appropriate abyss and simply wait to die.) Important: a delver cannot be pulled back from the spur: it is as if his feet are welded to the rock. He must return of his own free will or die on the spur - in which case he will be blown into the abyss.

Those who are compelled by the effects of the orb in the 'Prep Room' cannot wait any longer than the time it takes for a cursory inspection of the chamber and bones: they will rush to the Winds to meet their destinies. Those not so compelled are free to study as long as they like, and to watch the effects of the Winds on their companions; but beyond the messages there is no useful information to be found in this huge, unnerving space.

The Winds of Chance

The delver who steps out onto this spur of rock takes a gamble with fate. He must roll a D8 and a D6. This will lead to further dice rolls. Each of these first two rolls will determine a type of dice (Dice A and Dice B in the table below) to be used in the subsequent rolls. In these subsequent rolls, Dice A is rolled, Dice B is subtracted, and the result is applied to one of the delver's Prime Attributes. This is repeated for each attribute, in the order ST, IQ, LK, CON, DEX, CHR. If a dice result comes out negative then of course the attribute is reduced; and if any attribute except LK or CHR falls below 1, the character is dead.

* If you don't have a D30, use a D10 and a D6, where 1-2 on the D6 means 'add nothing', 3-4 means 'add 10' and 5-6 means 'add 20'.

This rigma-roll may be repeated as many times as the delver wishes, each full gamble on all attributes representing 1 minute in the Winds; but each time he must roll the D8 and the D6 again to determine the new Dice A and Dice B; and each time, the D6/ Dice B column moves one to the right.

For instance: on his 5th cycle a delver rolls the D8 and gets a 6, so for each attribute he will roll and add Dice A, a D20; but alas, on his D6 he rolls a 5. Dice B is therefore a D100, and our hero, subtracting a D100 from each attribute, may be in deep trouble. For Strength he rolls a 15 on Dice A and a 7 on Dice B (phew!), so gaining 8 extra Strength points; but for IQ he rolls a 9 and a 42 - he must subtract 33 from IQ! (Of course, by his 5th cycle this may not be a problem.)

(The Game Master may add a bit of visual fun to all this by laying out all the relevant dice and placing a 'Dice A' strip of paper numbered 1-8 alongside, along with a 'Dice B' strip labelled 1-6, which will start off with its number 2 beside the D4. On each run-through, the Dice B strip can be moved along by one die, to mimic the effects of the table.)

As the player/delver twigs the system, he is likely to become increasingly uncomfortable with these powerful but dangerous Winds. After each full gamble, therefore, he has the option to withdraw back to the chamber, but must roll at least 5 on 2D6 (this is an 'L0SR' on LK) - otherwise he mis-times his retreat and must undergo another cycle.

Players should ideally be sent out of the room so they don't twig the system until they experience it for themselves. Characters, however, will observe the hero on the ledge seeming to swell and shrink and strain and sink and rise and howl into the Winds. Only when he steps back into the chamber will they receive any settled impression of the changes he has endured (reduced or enhanced musculature, increased charisma, etc.). The character (and the player!) cannot give any more coherent description of the process he underwent than that he felt himself going through rapid changes, and that it seemed to him that both the danger and the opportunities would increase the longer one stood in the Winds. A lucky character can become very powerful here, and delvers have had enough hints by playing the analogous game in the Sorcerer's Tail. Note that if a character returns to the Winds, he will not resume at the first column for Dice B, but will pick up where he left off. The Winds remember!

The Winds of Change

Much enjoyed by Tullark, these Winds begin to change your body, slowly and moderately at first, then much more drastically if you linger. Tullark learned exactly how far to push it. Ivan did not. These changes are 'virtual', they are embodied possibilities, until the delver steps out of the Winds; therefore, any resulting changes to attributes, or other effects like bursting armour, will not take place until then. This is important. Observers will see the delver bulging and changing in all manner of disturbing forms, blurring together like some giant amoeba.

Any delver wearing Groltan's cuff, incidentally, is in trouble: the cuff resists physical change, and if the delver is in the Winds long enough to endure 3 changes, it will explode, giving 6D6 hits on the delver's unmodified CON. Armour is of no use, and if the delver fails an L1SR on LK, the limb bearing the cuff will be blown off. (Woe betide he who wears it around his neck...) The delver should be warned from the start that he can feel a hot vibration building in the cuff. (Groltan himself, by the way, will not wish to risk his new-found freedom in these dangerous winds, nor will he look into the orb. Borog, on the other hand, is a wildcard.)

Here's how it works: every 10 seconds in the Winds of Change results in a new change flowing over the delver's body. But the Winds are very seductive, filling the delver with a feeling of sensuous power and elation. Thus, he may step out of the Winds only on making an L3SR on CHR, to resist their addictive influence. This may be attempted after each change, and each time the delver receives a bonus to the dice roll equal to the number of changes undergone. This represents his growing understanding of the danger he faces! (Thus, after 27 changes even the Hunchback of Notre Dame would escape - but he would look even more grotesque than when he went in!) The thing is, the cumulative effect of these changes may be more than the delver's body can take (look at Ivan). When the delver does emerge from the Winds, he must roll 5D6. If the total is lower than the number of changes endured, the delver will keel over and die. Otherwise, the delver (if honest) will describe the experience to his companions as an increasingly risky but very exciting process, which required great willpower to resist.

To determine the effect of each change, roll a D20 and add 2 x the number of changes already undergone. (This adjustment pushes the delver towards more radical effects.) Reference the result on the table below. After 20 changes (!), just continue to add 40 to the D20. If the same change is rolled twice, it is cancelled out: wings appear and then disappear, a head bloats and then shrinks, etc. In cases of contradictory changes, the later change takes precedence.

The Winds of Freedom

This passage narrows and slopes ever more steeply downward. It becomes apparent that it is going to approach the vertical, and it will be necessary to slide and pray. Though the delvers may concoct various contrivances to avoid or delay this, it's actually perfectly safe: after a few moments of hurtling through the darkness, they will emerge from an aperture in the face of the overhang at the back of Howling Hill. At this point Tullark would have cast a flying spell; but at the bottom of the scoop-shaped cliff, centuries of upthrusting wind have deposited tons of soft detritus - soil particles, leaves and whatnot. Though the swift exit and 100' drop is a little hair-raising, the delvers will land safely in this heap, which is at least more hygienic than the midden. Whether they return to the Sorcerer's Tail with sad news for Metrushka is up to them; she will probably put two and two together anyway.

Groltan will take his leave and enjoy the open sky. Borog, if present, will return to his mates - and if he has been transformed, he will probably kill them all for the laugh...

Possible Follow-ups

1. Metrushka, hearing the delvers' news, goes a little bit loopy. With a tear in her eye and an iron resolve, she sets off to find out for herself what has become of her sons. Patently she will die in Howling Hill if the delvers don't go with her...

2. Groltan finds, after a few weeks without his ankle-cuff, that he is ageing rapidly. Angered by this cruel joke of fate, he comes looking for the delvers, either to retrieve the cuff or to wreak his (not entirely rational) revenge.

3. Borog tells his mates what happened and they all have a muck-about with the Winds. Twenty mutant orcs begin terrorising Smokey Bulge, and the locals get 'wind' that it is all the delvers' fault. They can face the bandit orcs or a lynch mob...

Hey, let me know how it goes! I'm on jason@vitalspot.f9.co.uk.

The End

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Updated 04/07/00 by Jason.