• GENERAL INFORMATION: There are two parts to this level. The western half houses the forges and quarters of General Kael's right-hand man (dwarf) Orzo. The eastern half contains the laboratories and testing chambers of the archmage Cespedes.
  
• d1. Entry hall This is a large open hallway with a stairway up to the main level.
  
• d2. Raw materials This area contains raw materials, mostly metallic ores. A ramp leads down to area d3, and several carts are parked here.
  
• d3. Forges At the bottom of a ramp lies the dark, acrid chamber where the dwarf Orzo plies his trade. There are two large furnaces here, as well as a number of racks and shelves holding tools and equipment. There is a good chance that someone will be in here working at anny given time.
  
• d4. Antechamber This area contains gloves, vests, and other clothing needed for working with heat and flame.
  
• d5. Skavv's quarters These are the quarters of the sole spellcaster among Orzo's band, the priest Skavv (male dwarven P7 of Pyremius, ac2, hp 51, chain mail +3, flame tongue mace.) Skavv's only true allegiance is to Orzo, and he tends to stay out of the general affairs of the fortress. In a lockbox protected by a glyph of warding (fire, or course) the priest has 2000 gp, 7 opals worth 500 gp each, 3 oils of fiery burning, 3 potions of healing, and a scroll with flame strike.
  
• d6. Orzo's quarters This large, singular room is the dwelling-place of the dwarf Orzo, General Kael's right-hand henchperson. It is sparsely furnished: an old iron bed in the northeast corner, several large trunks and chests, and dozens of tools, weapons, and pieces of armor. Orzo is quite messy, and his chamber reflects that. Scattered about the items on the floor are the following ones of note: footman's mace +1, warhammer +2, dagger +2, shortsword +2, helm of protection +2, a (disassembled) suit of dwarven-sized plate mail +2, ring of vitality, potion of flying, crucible of melting, and 24 gemstones worth 100 gp each. Hidden under old clothes in one of the trunks is a lead box containing six large (5000 gp) diamonds, 7 bars of platinum (200 pp i.e. 1000 gp each) and a sackful of golden rings (32, each worth 100 gp.) Orzo's truly valuable magic items will always be on his person.
  
  

  Orzo dwarf, male, 9th level warrior (83 hp) This dwarf is Kael's most trusted servant and the fortress' chief blacksmith. He is violent, noisy, messy, and absolutely fearless in battle. Orzo wears a suit of specially-crafted plate mail +4 that fits him perfectly and grants him 50% magic resistance. He fights with two weapons: a +3 axe of hurling and a +3 dwarven hammer of throwing. He is able to throw one of these and fight with the other, then switch out, due to the gauntlets of dexterity that he wears. He also has a girdle of frost giant strength and a ring of protection +3, as well as a ring of fire elemental control.

  
  
  
• d7. General quarters This chamber holds 9 beds, but Orzo's assistants only number 5 at the moment. They are: Norkin (gnome F7, shortsword +2 of quickness, dagger +3 of throwing, chain mail +2), Beezel (dwarf F5/T6, military pick +2, net of entrapment), Rexthor (dwarf F8, 2-handed warhammer+3, girdle of hill giant strength, plate mail +2), Cronak (dwarf F5, battleaxe +2, chain mail +1, boots of speed), Arvik (gnome F6, shortsword +1, flame tongue, ring of fire resistance.) These people are Orzo's assistant blacksmiths and all of them are adept at the forge. Each has personal treasure totalling 3000-6000 gp, mostly in gemstones.
  
• d8. Mines This area is useful for its veins of nearly-pure iron. They are mined by slaves who are kept in area d9. An assortment of picks and hammers can be seen here, as well as buckets and wheelbarrows.
  
• d9. Slave pen The poor wretches who dig for iron live here when not working. They consist of 7 hardy men (0th level humans) who are slowly wearying after days of long toil. Last week, they numbered 13 until some were killed trying to overwhelm their captors. These men would be happy to join any rescuers.
  
• d10. Barracks This large area is quarters for 42 of General Kael's elite soldiers. Each such man is a human fighter of level 3-6; all have weapons and armor of the highest quality, fully one-third of which are magical (70% +1, 20% +2, 10% +3.) Each of these soldiers has personal monies totalling 200-500 gp (gemstones and coins.)
  
• d11. Trash chamber This large area is the final destination of all waste material in the fortress. The reason why lies at the bottom of the 200' pit to the east: a gigantic otyugh (62 hp) that lives well from all the refuse. Its pit is 25' square and protected by an iron railing. Typically, the trash is hauled to this room and then fed into the pit at regular, balanced intervals. The stench here is overpowering, and the door into here is thus a well-fitting one.
  
• d12. Stairs to caverns These steps lead down, to the cavern level.
  
• d13. Small cells These are all empty at this time. There are 24 of them, each able to hold a large humanoid.
  
• d14. Large cells These are also all empty. There are 12, each able to hold 2-3 humanoids of average size.
  
• d15. Antechamber of Cespedes This chamber is a huge hemisphere of 100' radius. None, save Cespedes and those under his wing, dare to enter this area. One good reason why stands impassively in the center of the chamber: a four-armed iron golem (hp 80, 4 attacks instead of one, no breath weapon.) This monstrosity was one of the archmage's earliest creations and has served him well. Its four arms' weapons are a hammer, a sword, an axe, and a pick. The golem will not leave this chamber, but it will do its best to destroy intruders who set foot within.
• d16. Entry platform This is a rounded stone platform that protrudes at a height of 50' over the vast pool of water that is area d18. A 15' walkway crosses the pool. Important note: This area, as well as areas d17 and d18, are enchanted to negate all flying and levitation magic and effects. One can advance by using the stone walkway, or one can fall into the water.
• d17. Aqueous walkway This vortex of swirling water blocks the path, such that one must walk through it to advance without leaving the path. Unfortunately, walking through the vortex summons a tempest of maximum size (96 hp) at which point the living storm is then compelled to do its best to annihilate any intruders.
• d18. Pool This large body of water is 50' beneath the walkway and exits of the large square chamber. It is quite deep, at least 500', and it is populated by a variety of extraordinarily large and aggressive marine life. This is due to the planar gateway at its bottom, which leads to the Elemental Plane of Water. Cespedes worked out an arrangement with a godling from that plane, whereby they assist one another at times; this is one such way. Suggestions for encounters, should one prove stupid enough to enter the water: giant sharks, kraken, water elementals, eyes of the deep.
• d19. Fire pit The walkway forks past the water, and here its stone extends all the way down, creating a 15' barrier between the pool and this pit of fire. While this contains no gateway to another plane, it does house two fire elementals of the largest size (16 HD, 115 hp) who will actively attack any intruders. Aside from the dual exits reached by the walkway's forks, a round platform extends over the eastern portion of this fire-pit. or other
• d20. Round platform This area is used by Cespedes to invoke fire-summoning magic, commune with natives of the Elemental Plane of Fire, or use the elementals here to provide heat for his experiments. It also makes a handy place to launch attacks at intruders before retreating to the east.
• d21. Twin guardrooms Each of these large chambers contains two ranks of guards: a pair of death orbs and a fire-powered iron golem. Death orbs are small, flying metal spheres (ac -5/0 if unmoving, HD 10, hp 40) with various built-in weaponry (blades, flamethrower, net, poison or other gas, and so on.) They fly at a 24" rate and can be programmed for various tasks. In this case, each pair is programmed to watch for intruders via the tiny passages from these guardrooms to area d18, and then fly back here to attack (they may also attack in d18 if intruders happen to fall in the water.) The fire-powered iron golems are identical to normal iron golems (hp 80) except that their weapons are aflame and do an extra 2-16 hp of damage (plus ignite some material) and they can breathe a cone of flame every third round (8-64 hp damage, save for half.) All of these guardians will pursue intruders out of the guardrooms if necessary.
• d22. Zzzaz' chambers This area consists of a wedge-shaped chamber which feeds two smaller, spherical chambers. It is the domain of the will-o-wisp Zzzaz.
  
  

  Zzzaz will-o-wisp (60 hp) Like all of its kind, Zzzaz is a flying ball of light, a being of pure energy that feeds off the life force of dying creatures. It lived in the swamp to the south of Harshaak, but when construction began on the fortress, too many workers were lost in the swamp, and Cespedes took note and eventually reached an agreement of some kind with Zzzaz. There is a problem, though: the wisp doesn't get to feed often enough for its liking. Without darkness and a swamp to lure prey, Zzzaz' combat options are limited. A pitched battle in or around the fortress would be a unique new situation for it.

  
  
  The chamber to the south has a tiny (4") tunnel that winds and turns through hundreds of feet of solid rock before opening to the outside, far from the fortress' main entrance.) Lying in a niche in one wall are the following treasures: a huge, heart-shaped diamond worth 10000 gp, a +3 dagger of dancing (as the sword) and a ring of four wishes.
• d23. Statues This hallway-like area is populated with a half-dozen statues of superb quality. They are, of course, past victims of the inhabitant of area d24.
• d24. Medusa's chambers This is the living quarters of the medusa, Karissa, and her maedar mate (hp 35, 30.) Karissa is an example of someone who was once useful to Cespedes (for his experiments with stone and flesh) but now just sits around, for the most part. She would probably leave if she had a better place to go. Amidst the nondescript furnishings here are a total of 8500 gp worth of coins, gemstones, and jewelry, as well as a gem of insight and a jar of magical salve that renders petrified creatures back into flesh (there is enough left for 5 applications on a human-sized creature.)
• d25. Cespedes' chambers This room is surprisingly devoid of furniture, furnishings, or anything one would expect to find in someone's living area. Cespedes has evolved beyond such needs or desires, and spends most of his time in the laboratories. This chamber's main use now is for storage: there are thousands of books here, neatly sorted amidst half a dozen bookshelves. Amidst these volumes and tomes is one of each type of magical book, including the cursed ones. About one in every hundred of the books also contains 2-5 wizard spells of random level.
• d26. Closet This area is full of clothes and chests. One of the cloaks is a cloak of displacement; next to it hangs a robe of stars. Within one of the chests are a pair of boots of invisibility, a pair of bracers of defense, ac 4, a wand of paralyzation, a bag of tricks, a flask of curses, and three inert ioun stones. Propped in one corner is a staff of withering.
• d27. Laboratory This vast workroom, with its 30' ceiling, is Cespedes' true home; there is a lot to see here. Workbenches hold various creations: a half-completed stone golem, a wheeled orb with blades on every side, a giant metallic spider, an iron serpent. Lined up against the south wall are five large glasteel tubes containing creatures preserved in fluid (a rust monster, a demon, a shambling mound, gray ooze, 3-headed troll.) A sixth tube, of some substance even stronger than glasteel, holds what appears to be an animated glob of quicksilver (actually a quicksilver golem, which proved far too chaotic and dangerous after its creation.) A series of casks on the western wall contain various solutions and reagents that Cespedes uses in his experiments. A block of granite, 8'x6'x6', rests in the southeast corner. A small round table holds a 6" stone golem; this golem can grow to full size (and vice versa) if the proper command word is spoken. A bubble of force set against the western part of the south wall holds a captive fog elemental (16 HD, 108 hp.) Scattered in various places about this are are the following: beaker of plentiful potions, elven-sized plate mail +3 of etherealness, 3 flasks of oil of fiery burning, wand of frost, ring of flying, prison of Zagyg, arrow of undead slaying.
• d28. Storage This locked chamber has a strong, thick door. It contains many shelves, upon which are stacked hundreds of jars, scrolls, and loose material components - including a lot of rare ones.
• d29. Cell This doubly-protected holding area is actually a stasis field: it has no gravity, and unseen forces keep whatever is in here positioned in the center of the room, in suspended animation per the terms of the imprisonment spell. Its current occupant is the iron dwarf.
  
  

  Iron dwarf dwarf, male, 13th level fighter (130 hp) Created more than five hundred years ago by the mad archmage Malgorth, the iron dwarf is a thoroughly insane, perpetually enraged being who lives only to destroy. There exists a talisman, somewhere, that binds the iron dwarf to the will of its bearer. At this time, Cespedes has captured the dwarf and is holding him in stasis. The iron dwarf is the ultimate warrior, his body fused into adamantine armor which was merged with numerous enchantments and protections. His armor is +5 full plate mail (ac -5) including a full helm; many of its joints are embellished with short spikes. The armor has the following items built in: ring of regeneration, ring of sustenance, necklace of adaptation, girdle of storm giant strength, helm of mind shielding, boots of striding and springing. Fused into its right hand is an adamantine battleaxe +5. The iron dwarf is quite adept with this weapon (#att 5/2, thac0 -3, dam 1-8+17) but can also attack with fists, feet, etc if the axe is somehow immobilized.

  
  
  On the northern wall, between the two sets of doors, there hangs a rod on a loop on a peg in the wall. This rod is necessary to disrupt the stasis field and bring its occupant back into the world of the living.
• d30. Laboratory/Crucible This is the northern section of the workroom. Its main feature is the huge 15' wide crucible set into a 5' deep pit in the floor. This item is the Melting Pot, an ancient artifact with many powers. It can melt or freeze anything placed within it; it can create almost any substance; it can open portals to other planes. The thing is fashioned from dull grey metal; it weighs 1000 lbs and cannot be moved save by physical means. Just to the west of the crucible and its pit are three piles of molten metal and other scraps. The northeastern corner of this area is piled high with ingots of various metals. In the southeastern corner stands a 20' man of metal, Talos.
  
  

  Talos Adamantine golem (144 hp) Talos is a 20' golem fashioned from the strongest metal alloy known to mortals. Its skin is a gleaming gold-silver hue and it has a shortsword built into one hand. Its creator is lost to the history books, but for now, Cespedes controls it. Talos can only strike once per combat round, but it has a thac0 of -3 and does 5-60 hp damage when it hits. Its strength is equal to that of a titan and it is ac -10. Once every three rounds, Talos can breathe a cloud of thick grey vapors; anyone caught within must save vs petrification at -3 or be permanently turned to iron (only a wish can restore someone from this state.) Being made of adamant, Talos is virtually indestructible. It is completely immune to fire, acid, poison, mental magic, and so on. Cold attacks of more than 10 HD power will slow it for one round. Lightning heals it 1 hp per HD of intended damage. Only a +5 weapon can damage the golem's body. Its only real weakness is that it weighs 10,000 lbs and thus cannot venture to some places. Talos moves at a ponderous 6" rate.

  
  
  
• d31. Mechanical storage In this room's many shelves and tables are hundreds of useful bits and pieces - springs, gears, tubes, wires, and the like. A half-built metallic humanoid rests on one table, while three damaged death orbs (see area d21) lie on another.
• d32. Storage This chamber contains bits and pieces of armor and a few weapons. Several barrels hold water, oil, tar, wine, seawater, and who knows what else.