Lower Cavern of the Crucified
This cavern is at the bottom of the shaft leading from the Cavern of the Crucified.
Geography
This cavern is at the bottom of a natural volcanic vent. Two long deep gashes run alongside between the walls and the floor. A small ridge about 3 foot high runs along the floor here. At the bottom of the gashes are magma pools. The floor is carved out in a design that looks like a map of a maze, and ends at the far wall with a raised area about 1.5 ft high. On it is an amber sarcophagus with bits chipped off, and blood on it, some old some new. Attached to it is bits of iron rich meteor shards on the outside. It is giving off a yellowish lambent light, filling the room.
Ecosystem
Moss, lichen & fungi are sparse round the entrance of the cavern, converting the gasses given off by the magma into a breathable atmosphere. This helps to sustain a nest of Troglodytes who live here.
Localized Phenomena
Disturbing visions of torture are given off from the sarcophagus, especially if it is touched.
Fauna & Flora
Besides the moss, lichen & fungi living here, there is a Troglodyte nest living out of the cavern. It is found in the middle of the cavern. Also, Vitus Nhung regularly sacrifices to the Council of 13 here.
History
The cavern was initially discovered at the same time as the others. When the the Dwarves & Elves ventured down initially they found that the amber sarcophagus was sitting in the centre of the main cavern and dragged it down to where it is now. The Dwarves had carved out the cavern and put it on the pedestal. They have visions of a hell-like maze of mass torture, and people they called the 'surgeons of pain'. The amber sarcophagus turned out to have one trapped in it which it still has a connection to. Worship of it quickly spread, and a force of unknown beings appeared, and a type of organic creature that feeds on emotion especially the extremes of pleasure and pain. When humanity first arrived in the region and started to use the upper caverns they too started to worship the same creature. Also, over time the the creatures that appeared, started to manifest semi-organic material that grew out of the environment. They manipulated the substance and grew it to do some specific functions, linking everything into a hive mind, where they could feel extremes of emotion far more easily. This was after the being in the sarcophagus showed others in the Underdark how to manipulate the material after a glimpse into the future. This was shown to them by the being trapped in the sarcophagus.
The only way to destroy such a sarcophagus is to tip it into the magma flow at the bottom of the tears in the ground. This is no easy task to complete, and not guaranteed to work, if anybody discovers it. And all the while no one is sure if it would work. Also, with Vitus Nhung, he eventually discovered this cavern and communicates regularly with the being. He sacrifices other sentient beings to it, and learns how to evoke extreme emotions in his victims while transforming them into the undead, passing all knowledge on to the Necrocult.
Type
Cave
Contested By
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