Mission Title: Skitter's Gambit - Morequendi Outpost Infiltration (Stealth Mission)
Map: --- "Skitter's Gambit" - Morequendi Outpost Infiltration Map --- [Hidden Tunnel Entrance (1) - Entry Point] --- [Main Corridor (2)] --- [Common Room / Mess Hall (3)] | | [Guard Quarters Alpha (4)] --- [Spider Brood Chamber (6)] | | [Armory / Equipment Storage (5)] --- [Officer's Quarters (7)] | | [Commander's Office (8)] --- [Secure Ledger Vault (9) - Objective] --- Area 1 (Hidden Tunnel Entrance - Entry Point) --- Description: This crudely shored-up tunnel, smelling of damp earth and stale lamp oil, serves as a discreet, unauthorized access point into a small Drow outpost. The air is still, carrying the faint hum of unseen arcane wards. It's clear this passage is rarely used, offering a chance for covert entry. Exits/Connections: To Main Corridor (2) (North). --- Area 2 (Main Corridor) --- Description: This short, torch-lit corridor is the central artery of the outpost, its stone walls bearing scorch marks from minor arcane mishaps and crude, spider-like symbols. The space feels largely deserted. Exits/Connections: To Hidden Tunnel Entrance (1) (South), To Common Room / Mess Hall (3) (East), To Guard Quarters Alpha (4) (West), To Armory / Equipment Storage (5) (North). Creatures: None. --- Area 3 (Common Room / Mess Hall) --- Description: This functional chamber serves as a combined mess hall and common room for the Morequendi. A stone table is littered with discarded rations and gambling dice. The air is thick with the pungent smell of strange, cooked fungi and stale spirits. It appears recently used but currently empty. Exits/Connections: To Main Corridor (2) (West). Trap: It contains a trap (type: tripwire connected to a cascading pile of heavy, ceremonial daggers). Perception DC 14 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Slashing Damage. (Noise of activation would draw immediate suspicion from Area 2). --- Area 4 (Guard Quarters Alpha) --- Description: This cramped room is filled with a single crude sleeping mat and a personal footlocker. Tattered clothing and discarded personal items are strewn about. The air is stale and smells strongly of unwashed bodies and cheaper lamp oil. A few ominous, web-filled cracks mar the ceiling, hinting at hidden access or dangerous creatures above. This room is currently unoccupied. Exits/Connections: To Main Corridor (2) (East), To Spider Brood Chamber (6) (South). Creatures: None. --- Area 5 (Armory / Equipment Storage) --- Description: Racks of various Morequendi weapons – wickedly curved daggers, poisoned hand crossbows, and ornate rapiers – line the walls of this small armory. Shelves hold pouches of poisoned bolts and vials of strange, dark liquids. The air smells sharply of oiled steel and spider silk. It seems recently organized but is currently empty. Exits/Connections: To Main Corridor (2) (South), To Officer's Quarters (7) (East). Secret Passages/Areas: A loose stone in the floor beneath a discarded weapon stand (Perception DC 17 to find) conceals a small, hidden cache containing a few venomous spider fetishes or a minor, non-magical personal item. --- Area 6 (Spider Brood Chamber) --- Description: This dark, damp chamber is filled with large, unsettlingly quiet web cocoons. A low, constant chittering sound emanates from within the silken shrouds. The air is thick with the musky, animalistic odor of arachnids, mixed with a faint, cloying sweetness. Several empty, intricately woven harnesses hang from pegs on the wall. While no handler is present, the presence of even one restless spider here would be catastrophic for stealth. Exits/Connections: To Guard Quarters Alpha (4) (North). Creatures: None. --- Area 7 (Officer's Quarters) --- Description: These quarters are slightly larger and more orderly than the Guard Quarters, hinting at a higher-ranking Morequendi. Personal effects seem more valuable, and the cot is cleaner. A faint, arcane hum can be felt, possibly from a personal ward or dark artifact. This room is currently unoccupied. Exits/Connections: To Armory / Equipment Storage (5) (West), To Commander's Office (8) (North). Creatures: None. --- Area 8 (Commander's Office) --- Description: This private office belongs to a high-ranking Morequendi commander. A heavy, obsidian desk is covered in reports and correspondence written in an elegant, spidery script. Shelves hold disturbing trophies: dried humanoid heads, preserved monstrous spider specimens, and a few valuable but sinister-looking artifacts. Exits/Connections: To Officer's Quarters (7) (South), To Secure Ledger Vault (9) (North). Creatures: None. --- Area 9 (Secure Ledger Vault - Objective) --- Description: This small, heavily fortified chamber is protected by a thick, steel-reinforced door with multiple arcane locks and a complex, spiderweb-like locking mechanism. Inside, shelves are lined with meticulously organized, iron-bound ledgers and scrolls. On a central, obsidian pedestal, protected by subtle magical wards, rests the "specific, sensitive item" that Skitter requires: a small, intricately carved spider effigy, or a unique, encrypted ledger detailing criminal dealings. There are no creatures here, but the security measures are paramount. Exits/Connections: To Commander's Office (8) (South). Trap: The obsidian pedestal holding the objective is protected by a Pressure Plate Ward. A barely visible arcane glyph glows faintly on its surface. Disarming requires a successful Thievery/Arcana check (DC 16). Failure triggers a localized sonic burst (2d6 Thunder damage) that will alert any creature in Area 8 and Area 2. Objective: This area holds your objective. The primary goal is discreet retrieval of the "specific, sensitive item" from this highly guarded location without being seen or triggering alarms. Success means carefully bypassing the sophisticated defenses and any lingering magical wards, proving your mastery of stealth.
