Dungeon Contractor Sued After Load-Bearing Pillar Turns Out to Be Decorative

The Dungeon Operators Guild has filed suit against Stonewright and Sons, a subterranean construction firm, after a structural audit revealed that 14 pillars on Sublevel 4 of the Crimson Crypts -- all marked as load-bearing in the original blueprints -- were decorative installations incapable of supporting the 40,000 tons of earth above them. The discovery was made after a partial collapse during an adventuring party's encounter with the sublevel's resident minotaur, which created a shockwave that caused three of the pillars to crumble, revealing them to be hollow plaster shells painted to resemble granite. 'They looked very convincing,' said structural engineer Dorvin Plumb, who inspected the damage. 'Excellent paint job. Good texture work. From a theatrical standpoint, they're first-rate pillars. From a not-being-crushed-by-a-mountain standpoint, they're decorative molding.' The collapse buried the minotaur, blocked two corridors, and revealed a previously unknown void space behind the wall that turned out to be Stonewright's tool storage, containing a lunch cooler, three hardhats, and a note reading 'Don't forget to come back for these -- Gavin.' Gavin Stonewright, the firm's lead contractor, has defended the work. 'The client wanted 14 load-bearing pillars. We bid the job at 14 load-bearing pillars. But have you seen the price of enchanted granite? It's through the roof. Which is ironic, because the roof is what came down. We substituted a cosmetic alternative to keep costs manageable.' When asked whether he informed the client of the substitution, Stonewright said, 'We sent a memo. The memo may have been in the lunch cooler. The lunch cooler was in the void space behind the wall. So, in a sense, the information was on-site.' The minotaur, who survived the collapse with minor injuries, has filed a separate workers' compensation claim against the dungeon operator, arguing that its workplace was 'structurally unsound and in violation of at least seven provisions of the Subterranean Building Code.' The case is expected to proceed to arbitration. Stonewright and Sons has offered to repair the damage at a discounted rate. The offer has been declined. 'We're going with a different contractor,' said dungeon operator Margrave Kessler. 'One who uses actual stone.'