HERE RESTS ~~~~~~
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RAZER OF TEMPLES
SLAYER OF KINGS
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~~~~ ICONOCLAST!
The elder woman of the town believes the outlaw may have found the long-lost Valley of Wells, where the ancient forefathers buried their gods. A town council has determined that an expedition should be sent to the valley across the great lake to investigate the madman's claims and bring back evidence of the legends. You will be part of this expedition.
ALTERNATIVELY....
1. You have noticed in the corners of every map you have ever seen a smeared section, corresponding to the same place. It's never exactly the same way twice. Sometimes the corner is cut out entirely. Sometimes a legend or compass has been drawn over it. Sometimes someone spilled dark wine on it. Nobody asked knows what lies at its center. Will you?
2. A man of some importance has gone missing, and his wealthy family is offering a bounty for his return. His name is Hundar of House Fingol-Mar, and he left with his childhood friends one month ago to explore some ruins he'd heard about from a talking spider. His last scryed position is the ghost town of Cast. (If this is chosen, the old woman in Cast will cackle and point towards the Valley of Wells if questioned about Hundar.)
3. How do you kill a god? The Shadow Hermit says that across the Great Lake, beyond the ruin of the ancient town, there exists a void from which nothing may ever escape, even the gods! Go there with great hubris, mortal!
4. You find the outlaw's charcoal rubbing above, along with a map showing the path to the Valley. A great big black blot exists where one might expect the 'X'.
5. The wizard-ecologist Sigmund Brief has discovered that the waters surrounding this unknown mountain valley flow upwards against gravity! Where do they lead? Tenure awaits!
THE VALLEY ACROSS THE LAKE
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| Made in Hexographer. 1 Hex = 1 Mile |
1. Ruins of Cast
Only one denizen of the town remains: an old woman sitting upon a stone, as if guarding the way. She wears a dirty white robe and holds a broken walking stick. She will cackle maniacally, and when asked a question will say: “I do not remember”. Then she will slowly slump over and die on the spot. She has in her pocket a wooden plank that says: “My Name Is ~~~~~~~” The last word has faded away.
To the north lies a forested valley, with tall broad hills swelling up to the east and west. The narrow Reverse Stream flows backwards, against gravity, through the Ruins of Cast and up into the valley.
Reverse Stream. 2-5ft wide. Weak current. Flows north, against gravity, into the hills.
2. Valley of Wells
A pit, and then a passage to Room 19, Level 2. It is dark, and filled with ancient household refuse (pots, furniture, clothing, etc.)
The body of a massive Purple Worm slowly segments along, foot by foot. It has forgotten its aggression… unless provoked.
Dark pit 15ft deep, filled to the brim with rusty ceremonial weapons.
Angry stone face leers up from beneath the earthen well plug. Become cursed! The next time one who viewed the face makes an important die roll, they roll twice and take the worse result.
- Hidden 30ft pit trap overgrown with grass, bottomed out by bumpy stone statue fragments.
- Functional well. Sign posted above it: "This well was dug by ~~~~~~~~~"
Valley Caves
4. Crawling Bats - Leads down to Room 10, Level 1. Guano-covered filthy bats unnaturally crawling around the cave floor on their legs and wings. The climb down is difficult and slippery from the guano. A climb check is required, even with rope, unless excellent harnesses are made to control the descend. Failure causes 30ft of fall damage as feet and handholds slip, and one goes cascading down into the smelly darkness.
5. Upside-Down Idol - Mossy cave contains a stone idol carved from a stalactite hanging from the ceiling. Depicts a mischievously-grinning youth, craning their neck around so that their head is rightside-up, while their body is upside-down (the neck is somewhat grossly long). A stone altar is carved on the ceiling, upside-down, along with:
- Handholds on the side of the cave, that one could use to climb up to it.
- Rotten rope on the ground, and little stone hoops to tie oneself to stand upside-down by the altar.
A lectern just below the altar, that one could place a book upside-down to read.
The reverse river flows into a narrow passage. A great seal, now crumbled. Above the threshold, beside crumbling plaster there remains the word: “OBLIVION” The full message, if the remaining plaster is removed: “May those who enter embrace OBLIVION.”
(Dungeon link TBA.)
The ruin of a tower juts upward like a broken femur. A wizard named BA-UL lives among this husk, and has forgotten all of his magic and knowledge. Pathetic and dirty, he scrambles about in rags, surviving off of a Jar of Everlasting Egg. He believes himself a powerful wizard still, and will attempt to command respect. If ever he tries to cast a spell, though, he will not remember the words nor the motions, and break out weeping from his own dementia.
The tower interior contains a pile of grass and refuse where BA-UL sleeps, a horrible smell like a thousand farts, and the word 'BAUL' inscribed upon a single loose flagstone. When not using it he keeps the Jar of Everlasting Egg hidden in the grass.
When encountered BA-UL is…
Sleeping so quietly one might think he's dead. Will be angry if awoken.
Descending down his tower slowly, dramatically, like Saruman.
Staring up at the spot on the hill where The Keeper resides. He listens for variations in his torment.
Making out with faces on the Jar of Everlasting Egg disgustingly. Yokes in his beard. Will be angry if interrupted.
Staring up at the sky without a single thought in his brain.
Attempting to scry in a puddle of water unsuccessfully. Frustrated that it’s not working.
He remembers his name: BA-UL. This is not his name - it is the tower’s, but it is the only name he can remember. He will fumble with this for some time if questioned.
The Jar of Everlasting Egg can produce 2000 kilocalories of eggs each day. (About two dozen chicken eggs. Twelve dozen quail eggs. One ostrich egg.) These eggs can be incubated and hatched, taking as long to hatch as they normally would after having just been laid. Careful experimentation can eventually conjure any kind of egg provided it's equal to or less than an ostrich egg.
The Mystery Egg. In the midst of the tower is a pile of refuse. It smells like ten thousand farts. In this pile there is a strange red egg. BA-UL sometimes incubates it without knowing. Sometimes he mothers it. Whatever it is, however it hatches, it will not act as it normally does. What is it? (d6):
- Dragon. A strange one. As it dreams embryonic dreams, it makes BA-UL more caring and territorial, like a mother crocodile.
- Phoenix. Needs everburning fire to hatch (see below). Loyal to whomever feeds it digested meat.
- Basilisk. Need a chicken to incubate it. Will eat the chicken. Tamable with considerable work.
- Tiny Man. Hatches a 1ft tall fully grown man who knows one Level 9 spell. Can't talk or communicate initially, but he can learn.
- Yolk of Perfect Health. Unhatchable. Contains a golden yolk that heals all ailments and reverses magical aging.
- Demon King. Sealed away in a dark egg and forgotten for 1000 years. Whispers to those who touch it to crack its shell. If broken open, the Demon King will reward the breaker with a single Wish before flying off into the sky to initiate the End Times.
On the peak beyond the tower there is a cursed place - a small abode that once kept watch on signal pyres on the mountains. But the Keeper, in a time of great need, forgot their duty, and was cursed to everlasting torment for their indolence. The Keeper was cursed to burn immortally for 300 years (we're around 200 now) upon the fire that he had failed to light, and stays there now as a smoldering Prometheus. He has no notion about how long his torment has been.
He speaks in a crackling rasp. Every time he is asked about why he burns, he’ll have a different story. He makes it up, either from memory loss or shame. (d4)
A watcher during the war who forgot his duty (true, this one, but The Keeper doesn't know that.)
Fell in love with a demigod, and her mother, a god of flame, disapproved.
He was a righteous man, but the gods tested him with misfortune and he cursed at them. In response, they decided to torment him forever.
He swallowed the heart of a magma elemental, thinking it would grant him immortality. It did, but it tied him down to the earth and left him in this state.
The Keeper laments his fate, but believes it is just. If he is informed that the nature of this place causes forgetfulness, then he will rage and despair, and throw himself from the everburning pyre and instantly crumble into ash. Those who touch him risk the fire spreading to their flesh, and must Save vs. Magic or slowly start burning with flesh-addicted fire.
The Everburning Coal where his heart once was can be harvested, and used as a heat source or infinite fuel. It is valuable, though taking it while the Keeper still exists risks the everburning fire spreading to one's flesh.
Beneath the Tower...
Behind the Tower there are stone steps leading down. Steps worn smooth by time and erosion. When it rains the steps become as a river. The way is dark. Leads to Room 17, Level 1: Cistern Entrance.
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