Skip to content
CharGen Icon
CreatePricing
Dungeons
Cave · Large · Level 6 · Hard

The Sighing Cut

Violet light crawls over the flooded stones as a slow thud answers from beyond the locked door.
Rooms
2
Foes
2, CR 2 to 7
Traps
2
Treasure
290 gp
12Entrance
Select a room on the plan to open it.

The party is in

1. The Spring Threshold

Seen

Something wanders by

At a glance

The threat

The arena is held by Brask, a former scholar's guard who survived the cave-in and has since bound himself to the crystal seam.

Wandering monsters (1d3)

  1. 1

    Resonance LizardCR 2

    When: A loud impact, a prolonged argument, or the crystal seam being disturbed draws it from a crack in the passage.A slick-scaled lizard follows the crystal seam, its throat clicking with a faint echo before it strikes.
  2. 2

    2× Crystal-Eyed SkulkersCR 3

    When: They appear after a creature bleeds in the connecting passage or leaves food behind unattended.A knot of pale cave scavengers with bony ridges and violet-flecked eyes noses through abandoned gear.
  3. 3

    1d4× Sparkscale MothCR 1

    When: It flutters out when a bright magical light or an Investiture surge flashes in either room.A bat-sized stone moth flutters erratically, shedding faint sparks whenever it brushes the crystal.

Rooms

2
1

The Spring Threshold

1 foe1 traptreasuresecret

What they see

Read aloud

A shallow pool covers the floor of this square entry chamber, reflecting violet light from a crystal seam above the northern door. The single way onward is a stout, locked stone door; beyond it, a slow rhythmic thud carries through the rock.

Features

  • The northern door is locked and bears a worn carving of a hand held open beneath a crystal.
  • A cracked miner's lantern lies half-submerged near the western wall.
  • The crystal seam hums when a creature speaks a sincere promise aloud.

What the GM knows

Monsters

Resonance LizardCR 2

A pale, slick cave lizard with glassy violet scales has made its nest beneath the lantern. It watches from the water until someone approaches the door.Tactics. It uses its echoing hiss to disorient a target, then bites and retreats beneath the water. It fights only while cornered and flees if reduced to half its hit points.

Traps

Falling CapstoneDC 14 bludgeoning damage

A pressure plate concealed beneath the pool sits just before the locked door. When stepped on, a stone block drops from the ceiling and the door's crystal carving flashes brightly.Disarm. A Perception check spots hairline seams around the plate. A character can wedge it with a metal spike or disable the counterweight with a Dexterity check using thieves' tools.

Treasure

Miner's Coin Purse35 gp

A sealed leather purse tucked inside the lantern contains old trade coins, still spendable in nearby settlements.
Room secrets · GM only

Notes

The north door can be picked with a Dexterity check using thieves' tools, or opened with a Strength check. Noise from the door or a loud fight alerts Brask in . The lizard is wary, not malicious, and can be distracted with food.

1 door: N (locked)

The place

What it is

The Sighing Cut is a compact cave complex carved around a vein of luminous, Investiture-reactive crystal.

Atmosphere

Cold mineral water ticks from the ceiling, and a low, steady note hums through the stone.

The threat

The arena is held by Brask, a former scholar's guard who survived the cave-in and has since bound himself to the crystal seam.

History

Miners cut this cave open while clearing a blocked spring, then discovered a violet crystal seam that answered spoken vows with a faint hum.

Rumors

1d4
Roll a rumor

  1. 1A miner swears the cave answers promises with a hum, though no one has ever proved it.
  2. 2The old keeper challenges everyone who enters, but some claim he once let a wounded trespasser go.
  3. 3A surveyor vanished near the spring cave after reporting that the crystal light pulsed like a heartbeat.
  4. 4People who sleep too close to the cave wake remembering a fight they never had.

Plot hooks

3
RescueThe Surveyor's Last NoteA local stoneworker asks the party to recover a missing surveyor, whose last note described a crystal that answered a spoken promise. The surveyor is alive but trapped in the arena's side recess.From: Deni, a slate-stained mason who smells of wet stoneReward: A pouch of 120 gp and a crystal charm that glows softly near active Investiture
InvestigationA Promise in StoneA scholar wants a small, intact sample from the violet seam to understand why it reacts to oaths. Brask considers any attempt to chip the crystals an assault on the old order.From: Pellin, a calm, round-faced researcher from a nearby study houseReward: A set of alchemical supplies worth 100 gp and access to the scholar's library
ConspiracyThe Oath-Taker's TrailSomeone has been using the cave's resonance to make hired guards swear binding promises before taking work. The party is hired to find the source and stop the practice before more people are coerced.From: Geth ap Rhun, a blunt caravan factor with a cracked walking stickReward: A 150 gp contract payment and a favor from the caravan factor

Corridors

2

  • The passage between and

    A narrow seam of violet crystal runs through the connecting passage. It vibrates faintly near Investiture, making whispered words carry farther than expected.

  • Along the eastern wall of the connecting passage

    Old boot prints vanish beneath a thin layer of clear water, then reappear facing the opposite direction. A successful Perception check spots that the reversed prints are recent.

Media

0 images

No images yet.

Visual sheet

Turn The Sighing Cut into a sheet

A high-res, share-ready sheet you can post or print.