Dark Road (Priest Spell)

This spell serves as an unerring direction finder underground or in darkness, to an item, chosen during the casting, which the caster has handled before. Once during the course of the spell, if the direction to the object lies through a wall, includ­ing the natural rock of a cavern, the caster can touch the wall and create as passage much like the 5th level wizard spell, passwall.
The object sought must be a specific, portable item, well known to the caster, typically a spare holy symbol, undergarment, memento, or even a nondescript stone that the priest keeps hidden in his abode. The spell points to it even if the item has moved for any reason, and thus a priest can be de­ceived when using this spell to learn directions. Conversely, when the item is being carried on a known journey, the priest can use multiple dark road spells to trace the progress of the carrier.
A dark mad spell operates correctly even when miles underground, in areas of strong natural or magical radiations, and through most known mag­ical barriers.
The passage power creates a temporary open­ing four feet wide, six feet high, and 20 feet deep, through solid stone, earth and rocks, mud, sand, wood, plaster, metal, and even magical barriers created by spells of 6th level or less. The tunnel can slope and curve, changing its grade or shifting one foot for each foot of its run. (Up or down and left or right, but never changing its direction to zigzag, or to rise and then fall. Only one change in gradient or shift in direction from the straight is possible.) The passage lasts for one round per level of the caster, and cannot be ended at will. It can be traversed by any being or thrown item regardless of the caster's will, and can be combined with other dark mad spells to create a longer passage. When it closes, the passage expels items and beings within it; there is no known way to entomb a creature or object by closing a dark mad tunnel upon it. Dark mad tunnels are unaffected by dispel
item sought, and a preserved eye (or tears from the eye) of any burrowing or earth-phasing creature, from a mole to a xorn.
Notes: Granted by the Shar, Mistress of the Night, evil goddess of the Forgotten Realms set­ting. This spell is found only in a few exception­ally rare tomes.
Category:Priest Spells
Category:Spells from Priest's Spell Compendium
Category:Spells