Bitterroot Grotto
The echoes of pickaxes and the stench of swamp rot fill the narrow tunnels.
A damp, cramped cavern system carved from slate and limestone. Low-hanging stalactites drip cold water onto floors slick with moss and dwarf-made debris.
The air is chilly and smells of sulfur and wet animal fur. Dim, flickering lanterns provide weak light in inhabited rooms, while water constantly drips with a rhythmic pinging sound.
☠ Threat
Grulg the Sickly is a young troll whose growth was stunted by the cavern gas. Though smaller and weaker than a full-grown troll, he is fiercely territorial and has organized a group of desperate dwarf exiles into a crude personal guard. His insatiable hunger drives the group to kidnap travelers from the nearby road, leading to a mounting pile of bones in his lair.
History
Once a promising silver vein discovered by the Iron-Toe dwarf clan, the grotto was abandoned after miners breached a chamber of noxious gas. In the years since, the surviving outcasts stayed behind, eventually being joined and bullied by a sickly troll who claimed the central larder as his throne. The dwarves now serve the beast in exchange for safety and scraps of meat.
Encounter Table
CRDesperate dwarves looking for dropped items or scrap metal.
Overgrown rodents attracted to the smell of the troll's kitchen.
Rumours & Whispers
A local miner claims he saw a troll dragging a cart of stolen goods into the hills.
The Iron-Toe dwarves are offering a reward for anyone who recovers their clan tankard.
Travelers say the grotto walls are literally made of silver if you can survive the gas.
Quest Hooks
Quest giver: Throrin Iron-Toe
A dwarf named Throrin seeks his family's silver tankard which was lost when Bitterroot Grotto was overrun.
50 gp and a letter of recommendation to the Dwarf Council.
Quest giver: Magistrate Kaelen
The local magistrate is worried about the 'green giant' kidnapping travelers and wants the cave cleared out.
100 gp and a set of masterwork traveler's clothes.
Corridor Notes
A series of discarded dwarf boots lined up neatly against the cave wall.
An abandoned mining pickaxe embedded so deeply in the stone it cannot be removed.
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