Original module in 1980 for 1st Edition written by Harold Johnson and Jeff R. Leason. Art by Erol Otus
24 Marpenoth, The Year of Twelve Warnings (1494 DR)
Shrine of Tamoachan, Jungles of Chult
Eleven days after leaving Port Nyanzaru, the intrepid adventurers found themselves beneath the jungles of Chult, quite possibly according to Dr. Bones, inside the hidden shrine of Tamoachan.
During the night at Camp Righteous, a party of Batiri goblins attacked the group a short while after midnight. Fortunately, Tanjarra was on watch when the attack happened. His sharp monk senses alerted him before the goblins could sneak up to them.
The fight didn't last long with a few goblins and their leader escaping back into the dark jungle. During the attack, the goblins even tried to free both canoes. Tanjarra, again came to the rescue, by leaping into the dangerous water and brought back a canoe the goblins managed to push into the river.
The next two days were spent traversing through thick jungle with Neverwinter leading the way, the halfling archeologist hacking away through the dense forest.
During a short break from their arduous trek, a disheveled human woman suddenly ran into the clearing. She was hysterical, screaming about losing sight of her brother and how their guide, a dwarf named Hew Hackinstone, had been eaten in one bite by a tyrannosaurus rex that suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
Suddenly, the jungle nearby erupted as a huge tyrannosaurus rex burst into the clearing chasing a human man who was screaming while running as fast as he could.
"Hal!" the woman screamed. "You're alive!"
"Run!" was all the man could yell back.
"Run!" Neverwinter Bones echoed. He was already a few steps behind the man being chased by the ravenous dinosaur.
Everyone followed, staying just running several feet ahead of the terrible lizard as it tried to bite down on the slowest in the group, which happened to be Neverwinter who quickly fell behind the other 'taller', faster people.
Seconds later, the hard ground beneath their feet opened up. Dust filled the air and the sunlight disappeared as darkness swallowed them all!
***
Sometime later, everyone started to slowly rise and shake or wipe the thick dust off themselves. Everyone was alive, including the two people who narrowly escaped being eaten by a tyrannosaurus rex.
When asked who the two were and what they were doing in Chult, the man introduced himself as Hal Charlen. He introduced his sister, Merced Charlen.
Hal said both of them were on an expedition through Chult as part of a vacation they planned on while on a business trip to Port Nyanzaru. Hal said they were both from Cormyr, a country in Interior Faerûn. Their family owned and operated a spice trading coster based out of Port Nyanzaru, Athkatla, and Ormpur. Many of the spices they sold like saffron were from places like Ormpur, a city at the eastern tip of the Shining Sea. Recently, vanilla which was gaining popularity in Cormyr was being shipped out of Port Nyanzaru or even Athkatla in Amn. Vanilla originally came from the continent of Maztica but is now being grown in Chult as well. Hal said their spice coster owns a warehouse in Port Nyanzaru. He and his sister were sent to the port city to look in on their family business. They decided to take a trip into the jungle while they were here. They hired a guide, purchased supplies, and had spent nearly twelve days in the jungle when they stumbled into the tyrannosaurus rex.
The adventurers were surprised that the ill-equipped brother and sister had survived for twelve days in the unforgiving jungle. Perhaps they had a really good guide, they thought.
Hal asked if the adventurers would safely return his sister and him to Port Nyanzaru. The group agreed to except they weren't planning on returning just yet.
Hal, disappointed, offered to pay the group to ensure their safe return. He offered 3,000 gold pieces to each of them, a princely sum by most standards. The group negotiated the price up to 6,000 GP each.
Merced, who was clearly distraught at the strong possibility of dying, agreed to the price despite her brother's reservations. The added condition, however, was that if either one of them died the group would not receive a single copper piece.
With the price settled, the group looked around at their surroundings. Neverwinter lit a lantern while Brostaff uttered the command words which made his magical ring light up, illuminating up to 20 feet all around him.
The long, narrow chamber, they found themselves in ran east-west. In the center of the chamber was a domed shape on the floor. On the east wall was a blank-faced stone door. The west end of the room was blocked by fallen stone and rubble, the result of the collapse that brought the entire group down into the chamber. The two side walls appeared to have several niches cut into them. The shape in the center of the chamber appeared to be a small alcove, protected by a half-dome with the open end facing toward the door in the east wall. This alcove was set in a recessed, shallow, tiled wall, one foot deep, and ten
feet wide. The alcove itself was four feet high. The recess contained some sort of display. The display appeared to be a diorama depicting a hunting party of warriors, in feathers and deer-hide garments, in a mountainside scene. Some have pulled down a stag with the aid of a dog, another group was cleaning a small mule deer, and others have cornered a panther with their spears. A scout watched the panther from an outcropping above. He held a metal staff with a loop in its end. It looked like a shepherd's crook. The three niches on both the northern and southern walls were five feet wide and about three feet off the floor. Each niche contained a diorama depicted some aspect of tribal life. The six-inch-tall figures in all of the displays appeared to be made of stucco, realistically, and brightly painted. The scenes portrayed represent fishing, farming, religion, warfare, the creation story, and crafting.
A cave-in completely blocked the west end of the chamber. At short intervals, small amounts of rubble and dirt came spilling into the room. Several large stones appeared to have wedged themselves tightly, closing the collapse.
Hal tried to scramble up the fallen masonry and dig his way out, but only caused some of the debris to come loose. One fell and almost struck him. The others told him to stop. Digging their way out through the collapsed area was clearly not an option.
They would have to find another way out!
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