The party has been approached by a syndicate of merchants who have in their possession a weathered tablet of stone bearing a much eroded hieroglyphic script of unknown origin. The merchants claim that the stone comes from the legendary city of Atlantis, sunk beneath the waves some 9000 years ago. A read languages spell cast on the hieroglyphs confirms that fragments of the inscription do indeed refer to the city of Altantis, unfortunately much of the inscription is too highly eroded to be legible, making it impossible to establish any context.
Accompanying the tablet is a stained sheet of torn vellum parchment which shows a hitherto unknown archipelago deep in the wastes of the great southern ocean, purportedly the origin of the tablet. The merchants assure the party that the provenance of the map and tablet is excellent, having been recovered some 30 years ago from the hoard of an infamous pirate, who was scourge of the coast nearly century ago, but was until recently overlooked.
The merchants have offered the party a goodly sum, plus a percentage on any profits arising from the voyage, to the party it can only look like a win-win situation …
The party will embark on the caravel, the Mary Elwyn , along with a complement of over two hundred sailors, merchants and various other specialist trades.
Note: if the tablet is restored by means of a mend or similar spell then a full translation can be obtained
“... this being some 30 leagues in a straight line from the city of Atlantis, eastwards grow the groves of the gods ….. (chunk missing) ….. have erected a circle of guardians to keep the rising waters at bay …. (chunk missing)..... we pray that our salvation come soon for if not then we must”
[here ends the inscription]
Arrival
After a relatively uneventful voyage of two months duration, the Mary Elwyn has made landfall
Late on the 2nd day a cluster of ruins will be spotted on a low limestone ridge.
Unless the party acts decisively the merchants will order the ship anchored in the lee of the island overnight. The night will prove uneventful and at first light a ship boat (with presumably the party) plus a dozen sailors will be launched.
The Ruins
Pushing through smokebush scrub the party will find that the ruins consist of a single large building, possibly a temple. The structure is long since roofless, although a number of pillars remain standing. Inside the building is empty apart from piles of tumbled rubble. One wall appears to have had a bas relief carved into it, but the stone is too eroded to make out what was once depicted.
Further exploration in and around the ruins will prove largely fruitless, except for the following details.
If the party excavates the ruins, a layer of ash will be located beneath the foundations at a depth of about 1 metre (approx. 3' ). The ash clearly pre-dates the erection of the present ruins.
The surface of a road is partially visible around the front of the building. The trace of the ancient road shows up clearly as a barren line amid the encroaching smoke bush and it can be seen to be heading down to the beach on the other side of the ridge.
The weathering on the ruins has created deeply in-scored lines on the soft limestone, suggesting that the ruins are of great antiquity.
The Road
The road plunges straight into the curling breakers of the surf. If the party follows the road from the beach into the sea, then as they shoulder through the battering waves and are swallowed by the opalescent waters, they will see the road stretching away before them, as straight as an arrow, until it is swallowed by the green-blue of the ocean.
The Statues
These great monolithic figures stretch away through the clear waters as far as the eye can see. If viewed inline it will become obvious that the statues form a giant curve, with its centre veiled somewhere in the mysterious blue-green depths beyond. The statues are for the most part whole, and well preserved, although a few nearer the shore show evidence of tidal erosion.
The statues depict long faces, helmeted and with deep overhanging brows. The helmets are Grecian in design sweeping back to the nape of the neck and with nose and check pieces. The features of the statues are too generalised to make any judgements of the ethnicity they represent, but the strong narrow clean shaven chins and deeply recessed eye sockets suggest a Caucasian people.
Each statue bears an identical inscription upon its base, which if translated will read:
For the protection of Atlantis
The Hamlet
This can occur as a random encounter, or should the party be following the road underwater, they will encounter the hamlet after a distance of approximately 5 miles (8 km) from the coast of the island, the seabed being at a depth of about 70- 80' (25 metres)
The hamlet consists of a number of well preserved stone houses, constructed from carved limestone blocks. Aside from being roofless and a slight accumulation of sandy sediment piled up against their foundations, their state of preservation is extra-ordinary. One house in particular may catch the eye the party, as it is located on a slight rise (and if it is day) will be surrounded by a backdrop of blue water, suggesting a cloudless summer sky. To complete the illusion a growth of green kelp which has taken root alongside one wall, resembles a large shrub as it slowly undulates in the clear water.
If anyone approaches the “shrub” too closely the foliage will whip out in a froth of bubbles and attempt to ensnare and drown it chosen victim, for the shrub is actually a ...
Strangler weed HP 18 AC 7
The house is empty, the only point of interest being an elaborately carved bas-relief in one bedroom which depicts a scaled fish-man, If the characters are familiar with tritons there is a base 50% chance of recognising the carving (rising to 100% if the characters have had extensive contact with tritons in the past).
Should the party remain at the hamlet for any length of time (in excess of about 2 hours) there is a 5% chance (cumulative per hour) that a brace of white-tip sharks will swim into the village. These sharks will lazily cruise through the village with only a desultory flick of their tails; unless they scent blood in which case they will immediately become highly alert and circle the hamlet for upwards of an hour.
Progressing on from the hamlet the party will enter progressively deeper waters. The light will fade (during daytime; at night the ocean bed will be pitch black) and soon they will encounter a strange forest of kelp, amongst the kelp an accustomed eye will pick out the dangerous forms of more strangler weed.
The kelp forest after some miles gives way to a rolling plain of primaeval oceanic ooze, spotted here and there by ancient ruins. The depth of water has been steadily increasing (the road descending a slight, barely noticeable incline) and by the time the party reaches the plain they will have crossed the threshold into depths of eternal night.
The ruins (if investigated) will be uniformly devoid of treasure and will provide few hints as to the nature of their inhabitants, although if inspected thoroughly, fireplaces and other details will reveal their terrestrial origins.
Even the ruins will give out after a time, and the party will find themselves following the road across an apparently endless plain, surrounded by walls of impenetrable night, with only the pale glimpse of an occasional fish which with a flick of its fins will disappear into the curtains of darkness as quickly as it appeared. Just as they are beginning to despair (wait for the players begin to bicker or become bored …) out of the darkness will loom rocky walls. The road leads directly into the cliff face and disappears beneath two massive bronze valves (huge doors towering a full 30'). The valves are smooth and featureless (part from intricate carvings) having no apparent means of opening from the outside.
Getting Inside
Any sort of reconnaissance will reveal any number of smaller portals. These are circular doorways about the height of a man, with a central vertical split separating either side of the door. On each side are fist sized indentations, which if pushed simultaneously will result in the doors sliding apart. Inside will be a blank passage, approximately 30' in length, and about 8' in height. At the far end of the passage is an identical set of doors. The outer doors will remain open for approximately 2 minutes before sliding gently shut. The water will then drain through holes along the length of the passage, and only then may the inner doors be opened. The inner doors may not be opened while the outer ones are open, and vice versa.
The City
When the party enters the dome they will find themselves on a high terrace looking out over a shadowy sea of roofs, roads and canals beneath the vast crystal dome which arches away above. In the midst of the city glows a single beacon of light. If the party stops to listen, they will become aware of an immense stillness.
Once they descend from the terrace into the streets below, the impression will grow stronger, even it the water in the canals seems unmoving.
As the PC's continue their explorations or maybe in the operation to recover the treasures from Posidon's temple they will stumble across the following scene:
In the middle of darkened street the PC's will see in the distance pale young woman, her beautiful features distressed, cradling a baby protectively to her breast. As the party watches she will dart towards the entrance of a building, only to back away fearfully. This behaviour will be repeated at least twice. If the party calls out to her, she will ignore them.
NB should the party hang back and observe (for more than a minute or two) they will notice that the behaviour of the young woman will be repeated identically a number of times. After about 5 minutes she will suddenly blink out of existence, and a half minute later the party members might become aware of the slosh of water in the canal next to them.
If the party runs to her aid, she will suddenly morph into a writhing pseudopod which will lash out at the party, and from the surrounding canal, dozens more erupt, reaching out for the PC's.
From the canals two shoggoths will haul themselves, and from behind, a 3rd shoggoth hauls itself onto the road, blocking their retreat
Shoggoths
hp 90, 92, 88
trident
of fishcommand, warning, submission
marid bottle
(ampora)
amphora
squid staff
horns of the tritons
The Island
Downwind from the archipelago is an island of emerald which crowns seas of sparkling blue. If sounded, it will be found that the ocean floor plunges steeply here into the abyssal depths.
The island has three high central volcanic peaks clad in verdant jungle that tumbles over itself in wild abandon, like a frozen wave of vegetation. Numerous coves of black volcanic sand punctuate the tall cliff's that surround the island, allowing a landing to be made with a long boat (manouvering the Mary Elywn in will prove impossible).