Subterranean tunnels of Zadash

Located under the Evening Nip in Zadash, this network of river tunnels leads to the northeast for seventy miles to the Ounterloch and Berleben Swamps. Used by The Gentleman and his Troupe, this river system aids in the smuggling of people and illegal goods into and out of the city.

The Myriad Headquarters Entrance
The entrance to the Gentleman's secret headquarters is behind a hidden and locked trapdoor in the storeroom of the ground-level floor of the Evening Nip. It is accessed through a spiral staircase that leads down about forty feet and turns a corner into the stone-set subterranean tavern.

The Tunnel
The tunnel is tight and weaves a bit. After a right turn, the tunnel continues for 300 feet, eventually splitting into two and leading to a small resting chamber and a storage chamber. Further down, an archway to the side leads off into a side chamber. At the end of the tunnel is a set of stairs that descend into a natural river cavern.

Small Resting Chamber and Storage Chamber
The small resting chamber has a set of tables and a bunk. The storage chamber contains stacked crates.

Side Chamber
The side chamber has a pit and about four cages that have different creatures inside making strange grunting and snorting sounds. There is a smell of dung, fresh and old, and very strong pheromone creating a very unpleasant scent.

Natural River Cavern
At the bottom of the stairs is a wooden dock that connects to the underground river. The docks are located at a curve in the river, which continues in two different directions. The tunnel to the right goes against the flow, northeast. Along the river are a few lanterns with a soft, greenish glow. They burn perpetually in certain areas, bolted into the rock and stone. Beside the dock four different four-person boats are tied to the edge.

Northeast River Tunnel
The current of the river moves at a fair speed; not rapid, but can pull boats along. At this point of the river there are no green lanterns any more and it becomes a pitch black cavern. The dimensions of the tunnel seem to shift at times because of the river. Sometimes it squeezes in where it’s just the river and the edges of the tunnel are fifteen feet from side to side. The ceiling is fifteen feet high, sometimes a bit lower. It gets colder and colder the further down the tunnel goes. The tunnel eventually splits up and divides into two tunnels, before merging back together about 10-15 minutes ahead of where the entrance to the abandoned research facility iss.

The Left Tunnel
Heading down, the water picks up a little speed and seems to dip suddenly before picking up with a mild splash. There are a few rocks that break the surface. At the top of the ceiling are stalactites, sometimes concealing darkmantles that look like any other part of the cavern ceiling. Lining the walls are two large figures covered in greenish algae and vines that look like they're made of earth and stone.

A little bit further up the tunnel, on the north side of the riverbank, there is a shift in texture and a mild rock slide. The cavern wall changes into bits of solid, smooth stone and a portion of it is collapsed into a rock slide pushing into part of the river. A ten-foot wide portion of the wall has fallen in along with part of the ceiling, and above it is just dirt. Behind the cave-in, there is a passageway into an Abandoned Research Facility. Further down, the tunnel re-merges with the right tunnel.

Right Tunnel
This tunnel has a 15-foot drop waterfall, at the bottom of which are large, slick stones that have been carved through by the river over time and have settled beneath the waterfall. These stones would have spelled doom for a boat that had the misfortune of going over the edge of that waterfall. This was evident by the many destroyed and broken ship pieces that covered the soft dirt and silt among the jagged rocks. Behind the waterfall, there was an opening that was wide enough for at least one medium humanoid to pass through, though not wide enough for a boat.

Behind the Waterfall
Behind the waterfall, there was a soft river floor, which came up to a plateau of a small, enclosed ten-foot chamber. The interior of the chamber had no secret compartments or any alcoves, but was empty except for a partial elf skeleton against the back wall. It had manacles attached to its wrists, neck, and feet, which were all connected by a singular chain in the center. The body was pretty rotted. Whatever clothing they were wearing was very basic material and bits of it were eaten away with fungus and mold over time. The manacles were very well made and had a small rune at the connecting point.

With Kara in the front and Dweez picking up the rear, the Mighty Nein were led down towards the river docks that would take them towards the task The Gentleman had put them on, as to clear their names and safely lead Horris out of the city. Seeing through Frumpkin's eyes, Caleb saw as the party was blindfolded and looped around the tavern for a while to disorient them. They were then led to a storeroom containing a locked trapdoor which opened on a 20-foot ladder descending into a packed dirt tunnel supported in sections by wood beams. The tunnel continued on to a set of stairs that descended into a natural river cavern leading in two different directions. Build into this space was a series of docks illuminated by green perpetually burning lantern light. Guarded at the edge of the dock were four roped off boats.

Taking their leave of Kara and Dweez, the party took two of these four-person boats were instructed to travel with the river northwards for around a mile to where the texture of the wall on the left-hand side of the cavern changed because a small portion of it had collapsed. The river moved at a fair pace, and aided in their progress by Yasha and Jester each rowing their respective boats, the party made their way down the river cavern. Caleb's Dancing Lights illuminated the cavern so that the party could see ahead of them on their progress forwards through the around 15-foot diameter tunnel.

Traveling further and further to the northeast, the air down the tunnel became noticeably colder to the point where their breaths were visible. They reached a point where the river split into two separate paths. After some deliberation, the party decided to take the left path.

Left Tunnel
Taking the left tunnel, the boats passed through a small section of rapids with rocks jutting out of the five-foot deep water, though the party managed to evade these obstacles easily with the aid of their light sources. Over time, the party began fooling around, which led Nott to attempt to ski barefoot behind the boat with the aid of her Ring of Water Walking. Although successful in her fun for some time, Nott eventually smashed her knee against a rock and needed to be pulled back into the boat. Attracted by the sound of their revelry, the party was assaulted by darkmantles that had been clinging in wait upside-down on the tunnel's ceiling seemingly appearing as stalactites to unwary prey.

Further down, lining the walls were two large figures covered in greenish algae and vines that looked like they were made of earth and stone. Slow moving and bottom heavy, these creatures dragged themselves towards the river's edge in an attempt to reach the boats. Outpaced, the creatures gave up their pursuit and returned back to rest by the tunnel's walls.

Boat Battle
A little bit further up the tunnel, on the north side of the riverbank, there was a shift in texture from the general millennium-old mineral buildup of the tunnel's walls to that of smooth stone. A mild rock slide pushed partly into the river where a ten-foot-wide portion of the wall had fallen, bringing down some of the ceiling and dirt above. Caleb cast Detect Magic, sensing that behind this collapse was a faint hint of magic, and with the aid of the party the rock was cleared out to reveal a faint purple glow further in and the passageway into an Abandoned Research Facility.

Leaving Nott, Caleb and Yasha to rest and read at the entrance to the abandoned research facility, the rest of the party went off the explore the right passage of the subterranean river.​​​​​ Reaching the waterfall, Beau poked her staff through it and discovered that her suspicions of a passage behind it were true. Excited at the prospect of finding something interesting, Molly disrobed and dove under the waterfall, shortly followed by Fjord.​​​​​ Hopping back into their boats after a long rest the party made their way past the path they had initially taken and eventually made their way back to the docks where Kara escorted the party back to the Evening Nip to report on their adventure and findings.

On their journey back Caleb noticed through Frumpkin's eyes that in the side chamber with the pit, there were two additional cages that were larger in size with heavy meshes of metal.