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Dungeons
Lair · Medium · Level 5 · Medium

The Horned Warden's Labyrinth

A wet, clear trail crosses the threshold, and something heavy scrapes behind the stone.
Rooms
12
Foes
14, CR 1/4 to 4
Traps
5
Treasure
895 gp
123456789101112Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Hoofmarked Vestibule

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

A gelatinous cube patrols the labyrinth, drawn by the faint psychic residue leaking from the hidden central chamber.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    Gelatinous CubeCR 2

    When: Every 20 minutes of exploration, or after loud combat in rooms 3, 6, or 8.A transparent cube slides through the passages with bones and scraps of armor suspended inside it.
  2. 2

    2× StirgesCR 1

    When: When the party rests in an unsealed corridor or leaves a wounded creature unattended.A pair of scavenging stirges clings to the ceiling, their swollen bodies nearly black in the dim light.
  3. 3

    Minotaur ShadeCR 2

    When: When the party becomes lost, breaks a shrine ward, or spends more than an hour underground.A restless minotaur shade circles the old routes, appearing as a horned silhouette that fades when watched directly.

Rooms

12
1

The Hoofmarked Vestibule

1 foetreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

The entrance is a square vestibule of fitted stone, its ceiling stained by smoke and its floor scored with old hoof marks. Five exits offer different routes inward, including a concealed seam in the eastern wall; from below comes the faint sound of something scraping stone.

Features

  • A cracked stone relief depicts a horned figure holding a key.
  • The north door hangs slightly ajar; the southern doors are locked, and one eastern seam hides a secret door.

What the GM knows

Monsters

Gray OozeCR 1/2

A gray ooze clings beneath the entry lintel, nearly indistinguishable from wet mortar until disturbed.Tactics. It drops onto the first creature beneath it, then retreats along the ceiling toward the nearest passage if injured.

Treasure

Vestibule Purse and Key18 gp

A leather purse wedged beneath a loose floor tile, containing old trade coins and a brass key that opens the southern locked door to .
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The room connects to rooms 1 through 4 and directly to room 8 by a concealed route. The listed doors include two southern locks; treat them as separate doors if the map shows both. A successful Intelligence (Investigation) check spots the eastern secret door; its latch is a carved eye.

1 door: W (normal)

The place

What it is

This abandoned labyrinth was built to confound intruders and shelter a minotaur lord, whose carved tracks still guide the lost in circles.

Atmosphere

Cold air carries the smell of wet stone, old blood, and sour slime.

The threat

A gelatinous cube patrols the labyrinth, drawn by the faint psychic residue leaking from the hidden central chamber.

History

The labyrinth was cut into the rock by the followers of a minotaur war-chief remembered only as the Horned Warden.

Rumors

1d5
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A caravan guard swears a clear-sided monster swallowed a spear without slowing down.
  2. 2The old hill has a hollow place beneath it, and people hear hoofbeats there on moonless nights.
  3. 3A scholar claims the labyrinth's shrines are a map, though every copy of the map ends at a blank center.
  4. 4Someone found a silver votive mask in the ruins and dreamed for three nights of a face with tentacles.
  5. 5The minotaur's treasure is not beneath its throne, despite the carvings that point there.

Plot hooks

3
Rescue and recoveryThe Missing TabletsA scholar's expedition entered the labyrinth to recover a set of tablets and has not returned. Their last note mentioned a door that appeared only when a carved eye was touched.From: Deren, a careful archivist with a bloodstained mapReward: A payment of 250 gp and the expedition's recovered research, worth 150 gp to a scholar
InvestigationThe Quarry's New CrackA local mason has found unfamiliar hoof-marked stone in a quarry and fears the labyrinth is spreading toward the surface. The party is asked to find and silence the source of the periodic tremors.From: Sefa, a quarry forewoman who keeps a chipped stone token from the siteReward: A sealed purse of 300 gp and free stonework repairs for the party
Occult investigationDreams Beneath the HillThe desecrated illithid corpse has begun appearing in the dreams of people who sleep near the old ruins. A priest wants the remains sanctified, but the wards must be understood before anyone disturbs them.From: Tamas, a village healer troubled by shared dreamsReward: A scroll of protection from evil and good, plus 200 gp

Corridors

4

  • Between and

    A broad, translucent smear crosses the floor and climbs the wall, marking the recent path of a gelatinous cube. A rusted helm and a few cleanly dissolved bones lie in the track.

  • Near the secret entrance to

    A line of shallow hoofprints ends abruptly at a blank stretch of wall. The stone there is warmer than the surrounding corridor, and a small carved eye has been rubbed smooth.

  • Between and

    Old iron rings are set into the corridor walls at shoulder height. Several hold scraps of chain, while one holds a fresh strip of gray hide that twitches when touched.

  • Near and

    Three copper pipes run along the ceiling, carrying a soft ticking sound from the shrines. One pipe has been cut and packed with black wax, muting the sound in the adjoining passage.

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