Chapter 6 - Introduction

Deadstone Cleft is the remote canyon lair of a xenophobic clan of stone giants who worship Skoraeus Stonebones. If the characters defeat the zealous stone giant thane Kayalithica and obtain her conch of teleportation, they can use it to teleport to Maelstrom, King Hekaton’s undersea citadel (see chapter 10, “Hold of the Storm Giants”). Obtaining the conch is the adventurers' primary goal in this part of their mission. Whether they kill the stone giant thane or not is up to them.

Stone giants aren’t the only antagonists the characters must face. Thane Kayalithica has won the allegiance of the Blue Bear tribe of Uthgardt barbarians, many of whom are camped in Deadstone Cleft. See chapter 3 for more information on this tribe.

Stone Giants

Before running this part of the adventure, review the information on stone giant in the Monster Manual.

A Pox on the Land

Unlike most stone giants, Thane Kayalithica is a neutral evil extremist. She is using the dissolution of the ordning as an excuse to destroy what she has come to fear and abhor-the rapidly spreading civilizations of humans and their ilk. Kayalithica’s followers, who are predominantly neutral, believe that violence against small folk is justified, because their thane has assured them that she is heeding the will of Skoraeus Stonebones.

Kayalithica believes that the works of the small folk are a pox on the land. They desecrate the very stone upon which they are built. By obliterating them, she hopes to impress the gods and elevate her people to the top of the ordning. By the time the adventurers set a course for her canyon, Kayalithica has already led major assaults against the nearby settlements of Orlbar and Llorkh. The stone giant thane now has her sights set on Loudwater or Parnast, and she has asked Skoraeus Stonebones to send her divine guidance about which community to attack next.

Not all members of Kayalithica’s clan support the thane. A few have fled into the nearby mountains and foothills, fearing that Deadstone Cleft has become a cursed place. These stone giants won’t easily be turned against their thane, but they might be persuaded to help adventurers survive the perils of Deadstone Cleft by providing information about the canyon and its defenses. They can also shed light on Kayalithica’s evil intentions.

The Great Stillness

A stone giant of Deadstone Cleft can enter a meditative state that leaves it petrified for a time. When the petrification ends, the giant awakens with tremorsense (see the Monster Manual) and the ability to cast a handful of spells for a limited time. Stone giants refer to the petrified state as Olach Morrah, which translates as “the Great Stillness.” The giants of Deadstone Cleft gain the following feature.

Olach Morrah

The giant meditates for 1 hour, during which time it can do nothing else. At the end of the hour, provided the giant’s meditation has been uninterrupted, it becomes petrified for 8 hours. At the end of this time, the giant is no longer petrified and gains tremorsense out to a range of 30 feet, as well as a measure of innate spellcasting ability based on Wisdom. For the next 24 hours, it can innately cast the following spells, requiring no material components:

3/day: meld into stone, stone shape

1/day: stoneskin, time stop

The adventure notes which giants have recently completed the meditation and emerged from their petrified state with tremorsense and the ability to cast spells.

Deadstone Cleft

In the desolate, fog-shrouded foothills of the Graypeak Mountains is a dead-end canyon with the petrified bodies of stone giants embedded in its hundred-foot-tall gray walls. The corpses create a sense of unease and dread, warning visitors that Deadstone Cleft is a place of death. As cold wind passes through the canyon, it produces a moan that seems to issue from the gaping mouths of the bodies, adding to the eerie atmosphere. Dotting the canyon walls are several openings that lead to stone-carved tombs and other chambers, some open to the sky and others beneath hundreds of feet of stone. Carved stone bridges also span the canyon.

Deadstone Cleft is sacred to the stone giants of the Graypeak Mountains, for it contains an ancient temple dedicated to their god, Skoraeus Stonebones, and a magical stalactite, the Steinfang, into which the giants carve questions. The carvings fade on nights of the new moon and are replaced with answers. The giants believe that these replies come from Skoraeus Stonebones himself, though in truth they are produced by an ancient, evil earth primordial trapped under the Graypeak Mountains since the dawn of time. Human and dwarven miners have long avoided the canyon for fear of antagonizing the stone giants known to dwell at Deadstone Cleft. The stone giants don’t tolerate uninvited guests in their hallowed halls, attacking them on sight.

Adventurers can find the canyon by traveling up stream along an arm of the Loagrann River. This great flow once carved the canyon out of the rock that now surrounds it. Time has reduced it to a stream that tumbles along the canyon floor before widening and continuing its long journey southwest, where it merges with the Delimbiyr River on its way to the sea.

Reaching Deadstone Cleft

No roads lead to Deadstone Cleft (shown on map 6.1), but characters can traverse the foothills of the Graypeak Mountains and cross shallow rivers to reach the canyon, with or without horses. They can also take a boat up the Loagrann River. Use the Random Wilderness Encounters table in chapter 3 to generate encounters, as desired. The characters can also reach Deadstone Cleft by air, using the methods discussed in the sections that follow. See the “Approaching the Canyon” section for more information on where they can land and the likelihood of them being spotted.

Airship

If the characters have an airship (see the “Airship of a Cult” section in chapter 4), they can use it to reach Deadstone Cleft and avoid both the rugged terrain and any land-based random encounters.

Flying Mounts

Characters can obtain griffon mounts in Fireshear or hippogriff mounts in Hawk’s Nest. Neither settlement is close to Deadstone Cleft, requiring the characters and their mounts to rest between flights. Characters mounted on hippogriffs can travel 54 miles per day (three 3-hour flights with 1-hour rests in between). Griffon riders can travel 72 miles in the same amount of time. Any NPCs who accompany the characters on this excursion remain with the mounts, protecting them while the characters explore Deadstone Cleft.

Approaching the Canyon

Billowing clouds of mist lightly obscure Deadstone Cleft, the location of which is ultimately betrayed by the moaning wind that passes through it-a haunting dirge that can be heard up to a quarter mile away. Guarding the mouth of the canyon is a roc that the stone giants have tamed (see area 2). Characters who see the mouth of the canyon can also see the roc’s nest nearby.

The canyon is easily spotted from the air, as are three nearby caves that are open to the sky (areas 5, 7, and 12). Characters who have an airship or flying mounts can land above or inside the canyon, or in one of these open caves. If the characters approach Deadstone Cleft in an airship and move into the roc’s line of sight, the roc takes to the sky and attacks it. The airship can’t outrun or outmaneuver the roc, which is too big to land on the deck or reach creatures on the deck with its claws. The roc can bite creatures on deck, but it prefers to attack the balloon itself (see the “Airship of a Cult” section in chapter 4 for the balloon’s statistics). If it successfully brings down the airship, the roc spends a few rounds picking through the wreckage in search of food before returning to its nest. If the characters approach on flying mounts, the roc attacks them only if they approach within 120 feet of its nest and it can see them.

Characters above the canyon have the option of climbing down into the jagged rift at a point of their choosing. The sounds of their descent are muffled by the wind.

Denizens

Ten stone giants reside in Deadstone Cleft when the adventurers arrive, including Thane Kayalithica. With the exception of the giant in area 6, who checks on the roc, the giants remain in their caves and wait for enemies to come to them. Once they enter combat, the giants pursue enemies that attempt to flee.

The Blue Bear tribe of Uthgardt barbarians shares Kayalithica’s belief that civilization is a blight on the land. The barbarians stalk the foothills of the Graypeaks and hunt wild game in Delimbiyr Vale. They also occupy several caves within Deadstone Cleft and look after the stone giants' cave bear pets. Hydia Moonmusk, the fearless daughter of the Blue Bear tribe’s great chief, has made a den for herself in the bear cave near the mouth of the canyon (area 3).

Characters who allow Hydia enough time to gather her tribemates might face all of the Uthgardt barbarians in Deadstone Cleft at once. The stone giants prefer to wait for enemies to come to them.

The Deadstone Cleft Roster table summarizes the locations of the canyon’s inhabitants when the characters approach and indicates how those creatures react when intruders are detected.

Deadstone Cleft Roster

Deadstone Cleft Reinforcements

Reinforcements

Many stone giants and Uthgardt barbarians haunt the Graypeak Mountains and its foothills. For every hour that passes during the characters' exploration, there is a chance that other creatures pay a visit to Deadstone Cleft. At the end of each hour, roll d100 and consult the Deadstone Cleft Reinforcements table to determine what comes knocking. Reinforcements enter through area 1. How these creatures behave is up to you and should depend on the state of affairs at Deadstone Cleft when they arrive. If the newcomers spot corpses lying about, they might explore Deadstone Cleft expecting to find trouble within. If all seems normal and quiet, they might stick around only briefly.

At your discretion, one or more stone giants among the reinforcements might be neutral or neutral good, with strong misgivings about what Thane Kayalithica is doing to shake up the ordning. Any such giant can, with a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, be convinced to turn against Kayalithica and help the characters in some fashion, provided the characters are able to communicate with it. For an example of how non-evil stone giants might behave, see area 13.

Deadstone Cleft: General Features

A stream runs through the canyon, with stone embankments on both sides. In a couple of places, bridges made of petrified logs span the stream. Characters can traverse these logs without needing to make an ability check.

Ceilings: The central canyon-as well as areas 5, 7, and 12-are open to the sky. Unless otherwise noted, caves have 50-foot-high ceilings with 30-foot-high passages connecting them.

Climbing Walls: The walls of Deadstone Cleft have abundant handholds and are fairly easy to climb, requiring a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check.

Fossilized Stone Giants: Dead, fossilized stone giants stand in alcoves throughout the canyon and caves of Deadstone Cleft. They’ve been here so long that they have partially joined with the surrounding stone. These stone giants are grim reminders of Ostoria, the long-lost giant empire. Ostorian stone giants were slightly taller than their descendants; the fossilized stone giants stand between 20 and 24 feet tall. Erosion has worn smooth their features. The dead stone giants are harmless, albeit eerie to behold. They can be climbed with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Illumination: Stone giants have darkvision and don’t need light sources to see. Nevertheless, some of the caves in Deadstone Cleft are dimly lit with giant torches to keep them warm and dry. Also, many of the caves inhabited by Uthgardt barbarians contain campfires (see areas 15A-15D).

Ledges: The walls of the canyon have ledges in various places that are 30 to 50 feet high. The map has elevation markers to indicate the height of each ledge. Some of the ledges are connected by 10-foot-wide stone bridges that span the canyon. Many interior areas have 10-foot-high ledges-the stone giant equivalent of stairs.

1. Canyon Entrance

The mouth of the canyon is a grassy ravine with a shallow but swift-flowing river at the bottom. A moss-covered log spans the river at one point. As one heads north into the canyon, the grass gives way to barren gray rock.

Through the mist and fog, characters can see petrified stone giants along the canyon walls (see the “Deadstone Cleft: General Features” sidebar). They can also see a giant bird’s nest atop a 60-foot-tall promontory (area 2) and three cave mouths, one on the west side of the river (leading to area 6) and two on the east side (leading to areas 3 and 15A). Unless the characters take steps to remain hidden, they are spotted by the roc in area 2.

2. Roc’s Nest

The stone giants refer to the roc of Deadstone Cleft as the Jotunglang (meaning “the giant above”). To sneak past the gargantuan bird, the party must succeed on a DC 14 group Dexterity (Stealth) check. If the group check fails, the roc detects one or more trespassers and screeches. The inhabitants of areas 3 and 6 investigate the disturbance, emerging from their caves 2 rounds later.

Treasure

The roc’s nest is 30 feet across and consists of felled trees, wagon wreckage, crushed bales of hay, and the occasional bent shield or rusty helm. Characters who search the roc’s nest find a scratched-up wooden chest containing 4,500 sp as well as 1d3 magic items. Roll on Magic Item Table H in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the first item, and on Table B for any other items.

3. Bear Cave

This dry cave is tucked under a grassy bulge in the mountainside. The main cave is home to a mated pair of cave bears (use the polar bear statistics) and one cave bear cub (use the black bear statistics). Hydia Moonmusk, the leader of the Blue Bear tribe in Deadstone Cleft, rests in a chamber at the back of the main cave. She is the daughter of the Blue Bear tribe’s great chief.

She is a gladiator, with the following changes:

• Hydia’s alignment is chaotic evil.
• She speaks Bothii (the Uthgardt language) and Common.
• She carries three spears.

The cave bear cub fights only in self-defense and follows characters around if they feed it. Characters who search the cave find nothing but a few gnawed bones.

Treasure

Hydia carries a hide pouch containing seven 50 gp gemstones. She gives the roper in area 12 a gemstone every time she passes through its lair.

Development

Hydia and the adult cave bears investigate any disturbances outside. If they detect intruders, Hydia commands the bears to attack while she gathers the other members of her tribe, beginning with the warriors in area 15A. Avoiding high ledges, she heads north through areas 4, 5, and 9, to the camp in area 15B. Then she heads to area 15C, passing through areas 9 and 10 on the way. Next she moves through area 12 to reach area 15D, bribing the roper in area 12 with a gemstone. Gathering all of her tribemates takes about 10 minutes. With them in tow, she doubles back through area 12 and makes her way south through the central canyon.

4. Gorgon Mud Pool

Three fossilized stone giants stand in alcoves along the south wall of this cave, the floor of which gently slopes down to a 70-foot-wide, 20-foot-deep pool of gorgon mud (see below). Natural light illuminates a rising tunnel to the northwest that leads to a high ledge overlooking the canyon.

This cave contains a stone giant that has gained the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter) and cast a meld into stone spell on itself. It hides in the eastern wall, between the tunnels that lead to areas 5 and 15A. It uses its tremorsense to detect intruders. As soon as a character passes by, the giant emerges from the wall and tries to shove that character into the pool of gorgon mud on its first turn in combat. It does so if it succeeds on a Strength (Athletics) check contested by the target’s Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check (the target chooses the ability to use).

When the giant appears, it surprises characters who have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score lower than 12. After attempting to shove a character into the mud, the giant attacks the party with its greatclub.

Gorgon Mud

This pool of thick, magical mud is treated as quicksand (see the “Wilderness Hazards” section in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide), and it also can petrify creatures that become immersed in it. A creature that ends its turn in an area of gorgon mud must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw or be petrified. Gorgon mud removed from its pool becomes ordinary mud. The pool radiates an aura of transmutation magic under the scrutiny of a detect magic spell.

A petrified creature can be pulled out of the mud. For simplicity’s sake, assume that a petrified Small character weighs 250 pounds and a petrified Medium character weighs 600 pounds.

5. Thanes' Tomb

This cave, open to the sky, has 100-foot-high walls. The cave floor is bowl-shaped, with a 10-foot-deep pool of rainwater in the middle. Five fossilized stone giants wearing stone regalia-the remains of long-dead thanes-stand in alcoves, their eyes wide and mouths agape. Set into the walls are three pairs of carved stone doors with simple stone hinges. The doors are 25 feet tall and weigh several tons, but are well balanced on their hinges; a character can pull one open with a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check.

This room contains two stone giant that have gained the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter). They have used meld into stone spells to sink into the floor near the tunnels that lead into this area. They rise up and attack intruders, surprising those who have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score lower than 12.

Behind each door is a rough-hewn chamber with a 50-foot-high ceiling. The southwest chamber appears empty but contains a nasty surprise (see “Trap”). The giants store their valuables in the rooms to the east and northeast (see “Treasure”).

Trap

The floor in the middle of the southwest chamber is illusory and conceals a circular pit that’s wide enough for a giant to fall through (marked on the map with a dotted circle). Any creature that treads on this section of floor falls through the illusion into a chute that slants toward the south and plunges the creature into the pool of gorgon mud in area 4. Prodding the floor reveals the illusion, which can be dispelled (DC 16).

Treasure

Lying on the floor of the northeast chamber are four giant-sized sacks. Each sack contains 3d10 × 100 cp, 2d10 × 100 sp, and 1d10 × 100 gp, plus 1d3 mundane items, determined by rolling on the Items in a Giant’s Bag table in the introduction.

On the floor of the east chamber is an old rowboat big enough to hold six Small or Medium characters and their gear. The stone giants use it as a storage container. It contains five more sacks of treasure, their contents determined as above. In addition, one randomly determined sack in the rowboat also contains a magic item, determined by rolling on Magic Item Table G in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

6. Roc Handler

This cave is unfurnished. A stone giant stands guard here and passes the time by chiseling pictograms into a wall and then using its stone shape spell to wipe the wall clean and start over. This giant has gained the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter). When it spots intruders, it tilts its head and gives them a quizzical look before casting stoneskin on itself and advancing to attack.

Development

If the stone giant hears the roc screeching in area 2, the giant casts stoneskin on itself and then investigates. It takes 2 rounds for the giant to reach the end of the south tunnel.

7. Tomb of the Skodkong

Here lies the tomb of the Skodkong (“Fog King”), the first of Deadstone Cleft’s thanes. Unlike most stone giants, the Skodkong had pale gray skin-hence its moniker. The chamber is open to the sky and has 100-foot high walls. Pools of rainwater have formed on the floor to each side of a giant slab of pale gray stone. Three dead, fossilized stone giants in alcoves loom above the Skodkong, posing no threat to intruders.

The stone slab is actually the Skodkong’s reshaped body, which has giant hand-shaped indentations all over it. Any creature that presses its hands to the stone leaves shallow indentations in its surface, as though the slab was made of soft clay. Nothing else can reshape or penetrate the stone.

The first character who attempts to reach into the slab is irresistibly pulled into it, after which the stone instantly hardens. While trapped in the stone, the character is restrained, can’t hear or see anything, and has total cover. The character hears a deep, rumbling voice say, “Ask!” in Common. The character can now ask the Skodkong three questions, and it provides truthful, all-knowing answers that only the character can hear. (You can take the character’s player aside if you wish, because the other characters can’t overhear what’s being said.) Once it has answered three questions, the Skodkong releases the character, who is pushed out of the slab. The Skodkong can’t be contacted more than once during this adventure. If the character drawn into the slab asks no questions, the Skodkong expels the character after 1 minute. Once that character is expelled, another character can attempt to contact the Skodkong as described above. Only one character at a time can be pulled into the slab.

8. Stonecarver’s Cave

Characters must scale a 10-foot-high ledge to reach this cave, regardless of the direction from which they approach. Light from a single torch reflects off gem deposits in the walls. Two stone tables rise naturally out of the floor. Resting on them are several giant-sized awls and chisels.

Treasure

Characters who have time on their hands can chip gemstones from the walls using picks and similar tools. A character who spends 1 hour doing so excavates 100 gp worth of uncut gems. The cave holds 15,000 gp worth of uncut gemstones. The walls are bare once all of the gemstones are removed.

9. Goat Cave

A large campfire burns in the middle of this cave. The fire illuminates wall carvings that depict stone giants heaving boulders over their heads.

Sitting around the campfire are two stone giant. They are meditating in order to gain the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter). If they remain undisturbed for another 30 minutes, they turn to stone and remain petrified for the next 8 hours. If they detect intruders before then, they rise to their feet and hoist their stony greatclubs. Enraged at the interruption, they attack the intruders and pursue those who flee.

Ten-foot-high ledges form wide steps that curl up the south wall to a tunnel that leads to area 15B. A tunnel in the northeast wall leads to a naturally lit, 30-foot high ledge overlooking the canyon. To the northwest is a sunken side-cave containing sixteen mountain goat, which the stone giants occasionally eat. A 10-foot-high ledge traps the goats inside the cave. The goats are non threatening.

10. Mushroom Farm

This damp cave contains a large, shallow pool, around which colorful beds of moss grow. Sprouting from these mossy beds are scores of mushrooms that range in height from a few inches to 5 feet tall. The stone giants consider the mushrooms a delicacy and eat them raw. A narrow stream originating from a fissure in the north east tunnel feeds the pool before snaking westward and spilling into the canyon.

A stone giant bathes in the pool. It has gained the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter). If it hears intruders approaching, it uses its meld into stone spell to sink into the stone at the bottom of the pool. If the characters disturb the pool or attempt to cross the room, the giant rises up and attacks with its greatclub. Characters with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score lower than 16 are surprised by the giant as it rises from the pool.

Clinging to the 50-foot-high ceiling are ten piercer. As a bonus action on its turn, the giant can hum a tone and cause one of the piercers to drop on another creature in the cavern. The piercers don’t attack otherwise.

11. Overgrown Tunnel

The fungi in area 10 have spread throughout this tunnel. A forest of sticky mushrooms ranging in height from a few inches to 3 feet tall covers the floor, and the fossilized stone giants standing in alcoves along the walls are covered with blue, gold, and scarlet moss.

When one or more characters reach the middle of this area, have all the characters in the tunnel make a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check. Those who fail the check are surprised when two black pudding boil out of crevices in the floor and attack.

12. Warriors' Tomb

This cave, open to the sky, has 150-foot-high walls with scores of natural, moss-covered ledges and overhangs. Firelight spills from an opening at the top of a 30-foot high ledge in the northwest wall. Beyond this ledge is another cave (area 15D) that can be reached by ascending through a tunnel in the northeast wall.

A 5-foot-deep pool of rainwater stands in the middle of the floor between three stalagmites, and the fossilized remains of four stone giants fill alcoves carved into the walls. Harmless bat nest in their gaping mouths during the day and flutter around the cave at night.

The southernmost stalagmite is actually a roper that feeds on the bats but craves more succulent prey. It attacks characters as they move through the room. The stone giants and the Blue Bear barbarians appease the roper by offering it gemstones. If the roper is offered a gemstone worth 50 gp or more, it swallows the gem and lets intruders pass unmolested. The roper must be bribed every time one or more creatures want to cross the room safely, and it costs one gemstone regardless of how many creatures are trying to pass.

Treasure

The roper has twelve 50 gp gemstones, four 100 gp gemstones, and one 500 gp gemstone in its gizzard, which can be retrieved once the creature is dead.

Development

The Uthgardt in area 15D can hear sounds of combat here. They respond by hurling spears at intruders from the top of the 30-foot-high ledge overlooking the cave.

13. Skoraeus Stonebones

The stone giants have carved the back wall of the canyon into a 150-foot-tall statue of their god, Skoraeus Stonebones, who looks like a powerfully built stone giant with spikes protruding from his head and shoulders. The monument is an astonishing bit of stonecraft in terms of its sheer size. Rivulets of water pour down from the mountain onto the statue, which channels the water into a stream that flows out through the canyon. The sound of falling water is quite loud here, and a thick mist drifts over everything. Characters who inspect the statue and succeed on a DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check spot a crystal ball -sized orb embedded in its right eye (see “Treasure”).

Two stone giant kneel before the statue, their heads bowed, their stone greatclubs lying on the ground beside them. They haven’t performed the meditation ritual and thus don’t gain the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter). Characters who attack surprise them. These giants are neutral, however, not evil. They have begun to question Kayalithica’s sanity and are praying to Skoraeus Stonebones for wisdom. If the characters attack them, the giants become enraged and retaliate in kind. If the characters get their attention in a nonthreatening manner, the giants rise to their feet and look at them quizzically, but don’t immediately reach for their greatclubs. The giants speak and understand Giant only. If the characters ask them about Kayalithica or her conch of teleportation in that language, the giants share the following information:

• Kayalithica is in the temple. (The giants can point the way to area 14, but they also warn the characters that only stone giant thanes are permitted in the temple.)
• She carries a conch of teleportation given to her by King Hekaton.
• She is carving questions into the Steinfang, a giant stalactite. The answers to her questions will come to her during the next new moon.
• Kayalithica believes that she can please her gods and elevate stone giants to the top of the ordning by wiping out the blasphemous works of the surface dwellers.

These giants aren’t brave enough to stand against Kayalithica at this time, but they won’t hold a grudge if the characters attempt to eliminate her.

Treasure

Embedded in the statue’s right eye is an orb of the stein rune. Any character within reach of the orb can pry it free with a blade or similar tool. Stone giants who witness the theft do their utmost to kill the thief and recover the orb.

14. Temple

Only stone giant thanes are allowed inside this hallowed cave. All other stone giants must remain outside or face certain punishment, by order of Thane Kayalithica and the others who have come before her. The Uthgardt are likewise forbidden to enter, as are the characters.

The fossilized remains of three long-dead thanes stand in alcoves carved into the west wall, their eyes fixed on a rocky island surrounded by gorgon mud (see area 4). The mud, which Kayalithica refers to as the Fjellblod (“blood of the mountain”), oozes into the cave through stone grates in the northeast and southeast walls. The mud is 20 feet deep. Two sturdy stone bridges span the mud pool, connecting the island to nearby ledges. Overlooking these bridges are two more fossilized stone giant thanes.

The room’s most prominent feature is the Steinfang, a 40-foot-long stalactite that hangs from the ceiling above the island. From a base 20 feet in diameter, it tapers to a rough point a few feet above the surface of the island. The Steinfang is etched with questions written by Kayalithica in Dethek, the Dwarvish script. The stone giant thane is carving new questions into the stalactite when the characters arrive. By entering the cave, the characters have committed a blasphemy that Kayalithica can’t forgive. She is a stone giant, with the following changes:

• Thane Kayalithica is neutral evil and has 170 hit points.
• She has a Charisma of 14 (+2).
• She has gained the benefits of the Olach Morrah feature (see “The Great Stillness” section earlier in this chapter).
• She wields an adamantine greatclub. This magic weapon has no bonus to attack or damage rolls. A creature can attune to it, and the weapon enlarges or reduces to be an appropriate size for that creature.

Once during this adventure, as an action, Kayalithica can point to one of the fossilized stone giants in this cave and cause it to animate as a Huge stone golem with 195 (17d12+85) hit points. Its statistics are otherwise those of a stone golem. She animates the giant that stands closest to the character or characters she considers the most threatening, then orders the construct to attack them. The golem obeys Kayalithica’s commands; it crumbles and is destroyed instantly if she dies.

If the characters make ranged attacks against her, Kayalithica casts meld into stone and hides within the stalactite. She waits until they are close before emerging to attack them with her adamantine greatclub. The Steinfang is impervious to all spells of 3rd level or lower, but has vulnerability to bludgeoning, slashing, and piercing damage from adamantine weapons. It has AC 15, a damage threshold of 10, and 100 hit points. When the Steinfang drops to 0 hit points, it explodes, and each creature on or above the island must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 70 (20d6) bludgeoning damage from flying debris on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. A creature melded with the Steinfang when it explodes takes no damage and appears out of the midst of the explosion.

Kayalithica’s Questions

Like her ancestors before her, Kayalithica believes that the stalactite allows her to commune with Skoraeus Stonebones, the god of stone giants. In truth, the Steinfang is part of a malevolent earth primordial named Draunn, which lies trapped somewhere deep beneath the Graypeak Mountains. The primordial sleeps most of the time, waking only on nights of the new moon. Other thanes who earlier allowed themselves to be corrupted by the Steinfang were held in check by King Hekaton, but with him out of the way, Kayalithica is free to cause the harm that her “god” demands.

Any creature can carve questions onto the stalactite. These questions (along with anything else carved into the stone) remain until the next new moon, when the carvings are replaced by answers written in Dethek, the Dwarvish script. Any carving that isn’t a question simply vanishes, with nothing appearing in its place. Questions that Kayalithica has carved into the Steinfang include:

What must I do next to please you, noble father?

Do the dream-creatures pose any danger to us?

Are there any traitors in my clan?

Can these puny barbarians be trusted?

Is the gnome lying about Loudwater’s defenses?

The primordial isn’t an all-knowing entity-quite the contrary. Its answers are motivated by a desire to sow discord, and it has no knowledge of anything happening in the world. If the characters wait around to see what answers appear, roll a d20 and assume that the next new moon occurs in that many nights. Its answers to the above questions are as follows: “Destroy the works of the surface dwellers,” “Yes,” “Yes,” “No,” and “Yes.”

Treasure

Thane Kayalithica has three pouches (the equivalent of normal-sized sacks) tied to a mithral belt (worth 750 gp) around her waist. One of the pouches contains 500 pp. Another contains her conch of teleportation and seven 500 gp gemstones. The third holds a rock gnome clockmaker named Elister Noggins. Although he isn’t treasure per se, the affable rock gnome promises them “a hefty reward” if the characters see him safely to his shop in Loudwater.

Development

Elister the rock gnome was captured by a stone giant and brought to Kayalithica because he claimed to have useful information about Loudwater’s defenses. When Kayalithica questioned the gnome, he tried to discourage her from attacking the town by inflating his description of its defensive capabilities. Kayalithica is waiting for the Steinfang to confirm whether the gnome spoke truthfully. In the meantime, she keeps Elister tucked away. He has survived by using his magic to create food and water. He claims there was no point in trying to escape Deadstone Cleft on his own, since the stone giants would probably kill him for trying. Elister has the statistics of a priest, with the following changes:

• He is Small and chaotic neutral.
• He has a speed of 25 feet.
• He has darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
• He has advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.
• He has the create food and water spell prepared instead of spirit guardians.
• He speaks Common and Gnomish.

A devout worshiper of Gond, god of inventors, Elister gives the party a small clock (worth 1,500 gp) from his shop as a reward for saving his life and getting him home safely. The clock contains a tiny bell that rings at the top of each hour and can be heard out to a range of 60 feet. After ringing at highsun, the clock must be wound or it stops working. Winding the clock requires a tiny key (which Elister provides) and takes an action. The clock keeps excellent time.

Characters who visit Elister’s shop in Loudwater discover that he has a gnome-sized clockwork companion. The construct, Tick Tock, has the statistics of animated armor except that its size is Small and it has 27 (6d6+6) hit points. It follows Elister’s commands only.

If the characters have an airship, Elister takes a shine to it and asks to remain aboard, offering to oversee repairs and serve as an emergency medic. The first time he and Tick Tock are left aboard the airship by themselves, they try to steal it and fly away.

15. Uthgardt Camps

Each of these caves has walls engraved with maze-like patterns and whorls. The ceiling has numerous stalactites hanging from it. Several Uthgardt barbarians of the Blue Bear tribe inhabit each cave. Some are resting; others are eating, sharpening weapons, or standing watch. Each member of the tribe has a primitive bedroll. The barbarians investigate loud noises in adjacent areas.

15A. Beer Barrel

This cave reeks of strong beer. The odor originates from a 10-foot-diameter barrel that stands against the eastern wall. It radiates an aura of conjuration magic and magically refills itself with beer each day at dawn. The stone giants found the barrel in the cellar of a destroyed tavern in Llorkh and kept it. An engraved stone mug sized for stone giants is set into a niche above the barrel.

Five Blue Bear tribal warrior (CE male and female Uthgardt humans) lair here. If they aren’t drawn elsewhere, two are sleeping in their bedrolls, one is sharpening a spear, and two others are standing guard by the stone column in the western part of the cave. A 10-foot-high ledge to the southeast overlooks an empty side cave.

15B. Gathering Cave

Thane Kayalithica holds clan meetings here. As an action, she can command a stone throne to rise from the floor or melt back into it. At this time, however, ten Blue Bear tribal warrior (CE male and female Uthgardt humans) are using the cave as a lair. If they haven’t been disturbed, half of the warriors sleep in their bedrolls while the rest dine on roasted goat and sharpen their weapons around a large campfire that burns in the middle of the cave.

15C. Shaman’s Cave

Characters hear chanting as they approach this cave unless its occupants have been drawn elsewhere.

The northern area of the cave is 10 feet lower than the rest of the cave floor. It contains four bedrolls that belong to three berserker (CE male and female Uthgardt humans) and one Uthgardt shaman of the Blue Bear tribe. The berserkers are gathered around a campfire in the main area, chanting a prayer to Uthgar while the shaman dances in a counterclockwise circle around them with his sacred bundle clutched tightly to his chest. Roasting on a wooden spit above the flames is a dead goat.

15D. Rust Monsters' Cave

Six Blue Bear tribal warrior (CE male and female Uthgardt humans) dwell here. Three sleep in their bedrolls while three hunker down next to a campfire that burns between a rocky pillar and two tall stalagmites. Southeast of the campfire is a 30-foot-wide hole in the south east wall that looks out into a naturally lit grotto (area 12), the floor of which lies 30 feet below.

Two large wooden cages are tucked under a natural overhang along the north wall. The cage doors have simple sliding bolt locks, and opening a cage door requires an action. One cage is empty; the other holds two captured rust monster. The rust monsters can’t harm anyone while they are confined to their cage, although their antennae are long enough to touch metal objects brought to within 1 foot of the cage bars.

Development

If the tribal warriors are drawn elsewhere, they release the rust monsters and leave them to guard the cave. They don’t release the rust monsters otherwise.

Character Advancement

If Kayalithica has the conch of teleportation and the characters obtain it, they can use it to teleport to Maelstrom once a character attunes to the item. The characters might have a few issues to resolve before using the conch, such as seeing Elister safely returned to Loudwater. The characters should advance to 9th level before moving on to chapter 10, “Hold of the Storm Giants.”