#30000 A Wild Valley~ You move slowly through the green vines and thick undergrowth that cover the valley floor. It would appear that not many have come here in ages. To the west, the land rises to leave the valley. To the east the vegetation clears to give way to a strange uprising of stone. ~ 300 c 4 D1 The uprising looks like some huge beast set to pounce. ~ ~ 0 -1 30001 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30057 E info credits~ Ancalador *by Mercutio * *Copyright 1994 by Curious Areas Workshop * 1) Edit room #00 to connect with somewhere in a jungle in your mud. Exits can be joined to this room from any direction but from the east. Edit the room description to reflect the new exit. * Note: Mercutio has provided room #57 as an easy connection point, connecting from room #00 to room 6121 in the Haon-Dor forest. * 2) Check the following items to make sure the value used for spells conforms to the same spell on your mud. *#03 -- Strength(39), Strength(39), Poison(33) *#04 -- Sense Life(44), Detect Poison (21) *#08 -- Energy Drain(25) *#22 -- Detect Invisible(19), Poison(33) * If your mud does not allow some of these as 'wand' or 'potion' type items, replace with a suitable spell of your own choice. * 3) Add specials, if desired, for the mobs listed in the 'notes' section. * 4) Fix the files to conform to your database style, if needed. * Here are some recommended specials for the mobs: Spellcasters: #02, #03, #06, #15 Poisonous: #01, #10 Flame Breathing: #09 Undead: #00, #03, #04, #05, #06, #12 * Credits * We are greatly indebted to Tarkin and Freja of VieMud (viemud.org 4000) for all the time and code contributed. * Thanks to the players at VieMud, for playtesting above and beyond the call of duty. Even more thanks to the people supporting C.A.W. and using our areas. We love your feedback, even the flames. * Mercutio's donation to the Curious Areas Workshop is highly appreciated. ~ E uprising stone~ The uprising looks like some huge beast set to pounce. ~ S #30001 Before The Dragon~ You stand before the Dragon Ancalador. You can still make out its petrified form despite the earth that has filled in the crevices between its limbs and the huge oaks, dwarfed by the dragon itself, which have grown there. A vague evil emanates from the once-alive stone that terrorized nations long ago. ~ 300 0 4 D1 The huge maw lies frozen in midsnarl. You could find enough purchase to scale the tongue and enter inside, should you want to. ~ ~ 0 -1 30002 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30000 S #30002 In The Dragon's Mouth~ Rows of stone teeth as large as trolls line the walls here. A tongue of pitted stone leads east, behind stone molars as large as iron shields. ~ 300 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30003 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30001 S #30003 By Some Stone Tonsils~ You are in the back of the dragon's mouth. The throat continues down and something oozes from petrified sinuses above. ~ 300 ad 0 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30002 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30004 S #30004 A Throat Of Stone~ The floor is uneven -- the middle of the passage being lower than the sides, which rise up to the walls. The whole passage is slightly graded, moving east and downward. ~ 300 ad 0 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30003 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30005 S #30005 Further Down The Dragon's Throat~ The tunnel begins to lose its steepness and merely runs eastward now. The shapes of what might be petrified muscles line the walls. ~ 300 ad 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30006 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30004 S #30006 A Junction~ You are in a four way junction. The dragon's throat continues east and west, but by squeezing under some stone flaps you can make out tunnels leading north and south. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 You peer under the petrified flap and see a faint light amid darkness. ~ ~ 0 -1 30007 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30055 D2 You peer under the petrified flap and see a faint light amid darkness. ~ ~ 0 -1 30010 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30005 E flaps flap~ Who can say which part of draconian anatomy this might be? ~ S #30007 A Stone Tunnel~ This circular passage of stone gradually curves up to a place of great light and heat. ~ 300 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30006 D4 All you can see upwards in a great glare followed by gusts of hot wind. ~ ~ 0 -1 30008 S #30008 A Dragon Lung~ Ancient fires burns here, awaiting the rebirth of their master. ~ 300 d 0 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30007 S #30009 The Heart Of The Dragon~ Runes which glow with a blue light are carved into the stone walls of Ancalador's heart chamber here. Their magical purity counters his evil and makes for a holy balance that is Neutrality. It seems some music lover has set up residence here, judging by all the instruments and sheet music floating here. ~ 300 dj 0 D0 You see the chamber wall dilate open for you, leading to the tunnel beyond. ~ ~ 0 -1 30055 S #30010 A Stone Tunnel~ This stone passage is lit by a great light and fierce heat from its far end, which lies above. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30006 D4 You must cover your eyes rather than peer into the sun-like brightness. ~ ~ 0 -1 30011 S #30011 A Dragon Lung~ The nuclear fires that empowered the dragon with its frightful breath are here, and though they have been smoldered for so very long, they scorch you and make you rue the choice wearing of metal armor. ~ 300 d 0 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30010 S #30012 Ancalador's Stomach~ The dragon's throat ends, revealing a huge cavern lit from below by eerie and diffuse lights of yellow and green. Even more amazingly, a wooden bridge spans the the stalactite-roofed cavern! A steep grade leads down to the cavern floor safely enough and the bridge leads east. ~ 300 cd 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30013 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30055 D5 Though steep, the climb down seems arduous, but not overly hazardous. ~ ~ 0 -1 30020 S #30013 A Wooden Bridge~ You cannot imagine who would want to build a bridge in this fantastic cavern. Large stalagmites sit and rise up while the eerie lights seem to move in the mists below. The bridge continues to the east. ~ 300 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30014 D3 You see the entrance ledge to the stomach chamber. ~ ~ 0 -1 30012 D5 The stalagmites look up menacingly at you. ~ ~ 0 -1 30016 S #30014 A Wooden Bridge~ You are in the middle of the wooden bridge. Large stalagmites rise around you and the eerie lights continue to dance in the mists below. The bridge continues to the east and west. ~ 300 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30015 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30013 D5 The stalagmites look up menacingly at you. ~ ~ 0 -1 30016 S #30015 A Wooden Bridge~ The wood here is old and acid eaten, similar to the rest of the bridge. The deadly stalagmites jut up from below and more of the green and yellow light can be seen to move in the mists below. The bridge ends at a small plateau to the east. ~ 300 d 0 D1 You see the bridge meet the end of the cavern. ~ ~ 0 -1 30026 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30014 D5 The stalagmites look up menacingly at you. ~ ~ 0 -1 30016 S #30016 A Stalagmite Forest~ You take the plunge off of the wooden bridge and find yourself stuck between several stalagmites. It hurts to move much, and you cannot see any way short of magic to escape this predicament. ~ 300 d 0 S #30017 The Acid Forest~ Sharp stalagmites reach up wards, created by the mineral ichors dripping off stalactites far above. Pools of acid fill every crevice on the craggy cavern floor. The cavern continues to the south and east. ~ 300 d 4 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30018 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30020 S #30018 The Acid Forest~ The stalagmites here are large and rainbow-hued, like giants in jester's garb. Puddles of weak stomach acid are pooled on the floor. The cavern stretches in all directions but north. ~ 300 d 4 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30019 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30021 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30017 S #30019 The Acid Forest~ Sharp stalagmites reach upwards, created by the mineral ichors dripping off stalactites far above. Pools of acid fill every crevice on the craggy cavern floor. ~ 300 d 4 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30022 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30018 S #30020 The Acid Forest~ You stand before an amazing sight. Wrapped within the mists here on the cavern floor is a forest of oddly shaped stalagmites surrounded everywhere by puddles of what must be the remnants of the dragons stomach acid. ~ 300 d 4 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30017 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30021 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30023 D4 You see the ledge at the entrance to the stomach cavern. ~ ~ 0 -1 30012 S #30021 The Acid Forest~ You are in the center of the dragons stomach cavern. A wooden bridge passes far overhead. Sharp stalagmites poise here to meet those who would drop from it. ~ 300 d 4 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30018 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30022 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30024 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30020 S #30022 The Acid Forest~ The stalagmites here are large and rainbow-hued, like giants in jester's garb. Puddles of weak stomach acid are pooled on the floor. A steep climb up leads to a large plateau at the end of the cavern. ~ 300 d 4 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30019 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30025 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30021 D4 Apparently it is too steep a climb to go back up. ~ ~ 0 -1 -1 S #30023 The Acid Forest~ Mists swirl around strange crystal egg shells here. The cavern continues to the north and to the east. ~ 300 d 4 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30020 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30024 S #30024 The Acid Forest~ Sharp stalagmites reach upwards, created by the mineral ichors dripping off stalactites far above. Pools of acid fill every crevice on the craggy cavern floor. ~ 300 d 4 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30021 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30025 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30023 S #30025 The Acid Forest~ The stalagmites here are large and rainbow-hued, like giants in jester's garb. Puddles of weak stomach acid are pooled on the floor. The cavern stretches to the north and west. ~ 300 d 4 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30022 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30024 S #30026 The End Of The Stomach~ The wooden bridge ends here, on a large plateau above the cavern floor. The plateau overlooks the entire forest of acid and stone below. A tunnel set in the cavern wall to the east has been shored up with a wall of plaster and bones. Two very large skull-knobbed doors have been set in it. ~ 300 ad 0 D1 You see a huge set of doors fashioned from bones. ~ door doors skull~ 1 30018 30056 D3 You see the wooden bridge. ~ ~ 0 -1 30015 D5 You see a steep climb down to the cavern floor. ~ ~ 0 -1 30022 S #30027 The Dragon's Pancreas~ You are in an oddly shaped chamber, what might have been some foul organ of Ancalador. A yellowish light fills the room from nowhere, as if only by the dragon's will alone. The feeling of malignant evil is great here, which is only compounded by the large sign overhead which reads, 'Memento Mori', or in the common tongue, 'Remember to Die.' The chamber has exits worked into it, to the east and down. ~ 300 d 0 D0 You see a fissure in the organ wall. ~ fissure~ 1 -1 30056 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30045 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30049 S #30028 The Small Intestine~ You enter a featureless tunnel of what must be the beginning of the dragon's small intestine. Small piles of human bones and armor bits have been left here. The tunnel continues north and to the west a rougher tunnel can be seen. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30029 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30056 S #30029 The Small Intestine~ The tunnel twists to the south and to the east. ~ 300 ad 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30030 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30028 S #30030 The Small Intestine~ The smooth tunnel curves to the west and to the south. ~ 300 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30031 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30029 S #30031 The Small Intestine~ The blank walls of the tunnel run north and south. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30030 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30032 S #30032 The Small Intestine~ The tunnel comes from the north and dips sharply downward here. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30031 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30033 S #30033 The Small Intestine~ The featureless tunnel leads up and north. Echo bounce off the blank walls, whether from near or far, you cannot tell. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30034 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30032 S #30034 The Small Intestine~ Bits of broken equipment from long dead adventurers have been collected here. The tunnel runs north and south. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30035 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30033 S #30035 The Small Intestine~ The tunnel bends from the south to the east. You imagine the remains of many a brave warrior who dared the dragon passed here, torn and unmourned. ~ 300 ad 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30036 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30034 S #30036 The Small Intestine~ The blank walls of the tunnel lead west and south. ~ 300 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30037 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30035 S #30037 The Small Intestine~ The smooth tunnel contracts to the south of here into a new tunnel. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30036 D2 The new tunnel seems composed of different textures. ~ ~ 0 -1 30038 S #30038 The Large Intestine~ Unlike the the small intestine, the walls here have a nook and cranny quality about them. They are quite rough and dust fills many of the spaces. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30037 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30039 S #30039 The Large Intestine~ The smell of dust is thick in this section of the tunnel that runs to the west and to the north. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30040 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30038 S #30040 The Large Intestine~ The rough walls of the tunnel scrape your armor and cuts your exposed skin as you travel north or south. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30041 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30039 S #30041 The Large Intestine~ The tunnel drops to the east but you find many handholds among the nooks and crannies. ~ 300 ad 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30042 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30040 S #30042 The Large Intestine~ The roughly hewn tunnel constricts to the south. ~ 300 ad 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30043 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30041 S #30043 A Stony Sphincter~ You are in a narrow tunnel, barely able to walk upright without knocking your head. A breeze from the south swirls the dust here and you begin to believe that safety is not far off. ~ 300 ad 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30042 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30044 S #30044 At The Dragon's Tail~ You have never been so happy to see the light of day! You are by the dragon's stone tail, which is covered with green, growing vines and small, violet flowers. The birds sing and you can make out a faint path to the south, leading back around the dragon-hill. A skull-topped signpost flanks an unused road to the north. There is a large plot device blocking the way along the road to the north. ~ 300 c 3 D0 A large plot device blocks the unused road to the north. ~ ~ 0 -1 -1 D2 You see a path leading around the dragon, back to its toothy maw. ~ ~ 0 -1 30001 D3 There is a strange hole in the rock wall, circular in shape. ~ ~ 0 -1 30043 E plot device~ This large and strange creation is merely a device often used by writers to steer people away from something that he or she does not want them to see at the present moment. Speaking of which, you *did* see the path leading away to the south did you not? ~ E sign signpost~ The signpost reads in ancient runic script: The Penultimate Tower of Wizardry was rumored to exist, once, just down this road... who knows if this is true? For though many have went on to see, none have returned to claim it true... --Mercutio the Bard of the Realm ~ S #30045 An Undead Garden~ Shaking shrubberies and quivering palms surround a few skeletal trees that make up this gruesome garden. The shriveled plantlife, set in niches within the deformed chamber walls, seem to have all died and come back from the afterlife somehow. Openings in the petrified organ wall lead west and down. ~ 300 d 0 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30027 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30050 S #30046 The Private Chambers~ This small room seems to have been carved by hand from the pancreas of Ancalador. It has some amenities, like a soft bed and a small alchemist's workbench, but if the dragon is ever freed from his stone prison, he will surely be quite unhappy about this situation. The only exit is west. ~ 300 d 0 D3 Outside is the amphitheatre chamber. ~ door coffin~ 1 -1 30047 S #30047 The Macabre Amphitheather~ You are in on a wide, circular ledge overlooking a large slab of stone in the chamber below. Crude seats are fashioned here from the surrounding porous rock and the walls are decorated with various bonesaws and a quote in blood, 'That fell arrest without bail.' A coffin lid door is set in the east wall, while steps cut into the rock lead down and west. ~ 300 d 0 D1 You see a doorway made from a coffin's lid. ~ door coffin~ 1 -1 30046 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30048 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30051 S #30048 The Temple Of Death~ You are in a small shrine in honor of the 'Pale Priest of the Mute People'. Here, Hell's Grim Tyrant is sought as a source of inspiration and wisdom by the Guildmembers. The chamber walls open to exits heading down and east. ~ 300 d 0 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30047 D5 ~ ~ 0 -1 30052 S #30049 Cold Storage~ The stink of this storage chamber makes you balk at once. Through your nausea you make out cadavers kept cool in niches in the stone walls. Barrels of dust and decanters of blood fill the room. On the wall, in some dark ink, is scrawled, 'That dreamless sleep.' The chamber exits south and up. ~ 300 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30052 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30027 S #30050 The Kennel Of The Demised~ This chamber of hard stone is empty save for a sturdy iron ring set in the floor. A large, heavy chain with collar at one end is attached to the ring. Small print on the collar reads, 'Quietus.' ~ 300 d 0 D2 ~ ~ 0 -1 30051 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30045 S #30051 The Operating Room~ This circular chamber is dominated by a large stone slab in the center which bears the stains of countless horrible experiments. The cruel work that goes on here is generally viewed from the amphitheatre above by the guild apprentices and patrons. ~ 300 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30050 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30047 S #30052 The Guildhall~ This is the largest chamber cut from Ancalador's pancreas. A long feasting table made of coffins lashed together fills the length of the room. On the wall, in the dried ichor that passes for blood in demons, is written, 'A debt we must all pay.' A set of double coffin-lid doors is to the west, and other exits are to the north and up. ~ 300 d 0 D0 ~ ~ 0 -1 30049 D3 ~ door doors coffin~ 1 -1 30053 D4 ~ ~ 0 -1 30048 S #30053 The Altar Of Annihilation~ You stand before the horrific Altar of Annihilation where the magic and power of extinguishment and dissolution are full explored. You feel the countless ceremonies of extinction performed here, like a gloom that pervades the altar, which looks like a huge rib cage centered with a demon's skull. Before the altar is a black iron grating covering a dark pit where the ebb of life is glorified in sacrifice. ~ 300 d 0 D1 ~ door doors coffin~ 1 -1 30052 D5 You can't see much, but you don't like the little you do see. ~ grating grate~ 2 30005 30054 S #30054 The Darken Pit~ The very evil of this place seeks to extinguish your light as if the gloom had a nefarious soul of its own. You know true fear as something moves in the darkness... toward you. ~ 300 ad 0 D4 You see a black iron grating above you. ~ grating grate~ 2 30005 30053 S #30055 A Stone Tunnel~ The dragon's throat continues east and west on a path which neither rises nor falls. On the south wall, to the dragon's left, a warmth can be felt, followed by a feeling of pure evil. ~ 300 ad 0 D1 You see the tunnel open up to a great cavern beyond. ~ ~ 0 -1 30012 D3 ~ ~ 0 -1 30006 S #30056 A Stone Corridor~ You are in a circular tunnel of stone. The walls are irregular and pockmarked. The tunnel continues east and west. ~ 300 acd 0 D1 You see the beginning of a new, smoother tunnel. ~ ~ 0 -1 30028 D2 It seems you might be able to pry the fissure open. ~ fissure~ 1 -1 30027 D3 You see the bone doorway leading towards the stomach cavern. ~ door doors bone~ 1 30018 30026 E walls~ A small fissure appears to be set in the south wall. ~ S #30057 Muddy Riverbank~ You are on the south bank of a rushing river. An old, mossy and huge stone slab hangs over the riverbank, allowing you to cross towards a great forest. A verdant valley stretches before you to the east, while the terrain to the west and south quickly become mountainous, and impassible. ~ 300 0 5 D1 ~ ~ 0 -1 30000 S $~