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55 fantasy adventure sites, regions and settlements wt

“Stop writing adventures and use these” —Geek & Sundry

This book brings together the award-winning Trilemma Adventures: one- and two-page adventure locations for fantasy role-playing games. Each location is written to be usable separately; perfect for one-shot sessions, side quests, or to help populate your home grown campaign setting. All have been lavishly illustrated and laid out to make them easy to run, straight from the book. This book is packed with caverns, castles, underworld cities, labyrinths, mansions, flying tombs, hidden temples, and fallen shrines. Also inside is more than 60 pages of new material: an illustrated bestiary, an appendix of magical items, a complete index, and six regional overviews that tie the adventure locations into a ready-to-use campaign setting.

http://trilemma.com Credits

Michael Prescott Andrew Young Sarah Golden Writing, Cartography, and Layout Editing Copyediting www.trilemma.com ThatOneGM.Weebly.com | @ThatOneGM on Twitter

Adventures

Evey Lockhart Michael Atlin Skerples violentmediarpg.blogspot.com Stellarium of the Vinteralf coinsandscrolls.blogspot.com No God but Dissolution Development: The Task of Zeichus, The Oracle’s The Haunting of Hainsley Hall (writing) Decree, A Clutch of Shadows Stephanie Bryant www.mortaine.com/blog / @mortaine on Twitter Kira Magrann Sean Winslow Can’t Sleep—Clowns Will Eat Me www.serpentcyborggames.com www.larkvi.com @kiranansi on Twitter In the Care of Bones, Tim Groth Sirens of Blood and Sea The Shattered Gate @frightenedtweet on Twitter Botany consultant The Raindrinkers

Illustration

Juan Ochoa Jeff Brown Graphics Nate Pride www.juanochoa.co www.jeffbrowngraphics.com www.natepride.com Acolyte, Avatar, Bog Strangler, Bone Devil, Carreg, Cover (Tannòch Rest-of-Kings) Lantern Worm, Lavish Sorcerer, Cave Drake, Cave Squid, Chalk Hound, Dire Fleas, Rumor Mill, Storm Seals Grush, Handwolves, Heelan, Hulk Larva, Lady of Memory, Menaka, Moon Baby, Novy Dom, Onddo, Justine Jones Peter Mullen Orc, Owlshade, Paladin, Priestesses, Rarities, justinejonesillustration.com pmullenblog.blogspot.com Ricalu, Sand Monarch, Selk, Sylph Spider, Tcheth, Dradkin & Fleshpriest, Vampire, Wraith Crypt Servant, Heelan Phib, Shadow Bohka, Tinker, Vinteralf, Warbody Vampire Tree, Void Worm

Lauren Bryce Michael Lavoie Russ Nicholson @brycescribbles on Twitter instagram.com/artofmichaellavoie russnicholson.blogspot.com Slewt Sarcas, Wizard Flower Cave Stitcher, Jorn, Lady Memory’s Garden, Undine

— 1 Table of Contents

How to Use this Book...... 4 Three for the Grave...... 46 Do It for the Beast...... 92 The Adventures...... 5 A Clutch of Shadows...... 48 His Eternal Progress...... 94 Adventure Location Summaries...... 6 The Chains of Heaven...... 50 The Sorcerer’s Feast...... 96 Stellarium of the Vinteralf...... 8 The Motes of Eternity...... 52 The Man From Before...... 98 Steeps of the Ur-Menig...... 10 The Sky-Blind Spire...... 54 The Wagoner’s Table...... 100 A Litany in Scratches...... 12 The Lenses of Heaven...... 56 The Raindrinkers...... 102 Tannòch Rest-of-Kings...... 15 The Roots of Ambition...... 58 The Mouth of Spring...... 104 The Cage of Serimet...... 16 Lair of the Lantern Worm...... 60 Into the Silent Temple...... 106

The Raid Mirror...... 18 The Cleft of Five Worlds...... 62 Bestiary...... 108 Circle of Wolves...... 20 The Call of the Light...... 64 Rarities...... 130 Though Flesh Be Vast...... 22 Veil of the Once-Queen...... 66 History of the Tristhmus...... 138 The Coming of Sorg...... 25 The Moon is a Mirror...... 68 The Shape of the World...... 141 The Necromancer’s Wish...... 26 No God But Dissolution...... 71 A Legacy of Magic...... 143

The Extent of Gamandes...... 28 The Mermaids’ Knot...... 72 Gazetteers...... 144 The Unmended Way...... 30 Basilica of the Leper Messiah...... 76 Strielund...... 144 The Task of Zeichus...... 33 The Shattered Gate...... 78 The Grinvolt Coast...... 146 In the Care of Bones...... 34 The City of the Carreg...... 80 Claimsun & Birevia...... 148 The Lantern of Wyv...... 36 Midden of the Deep...... 83 The Borderlands...... 150 House of the Tyrant...... 38 Sirens of Blood and Sea...... 84 Tealwood & Noripur...... 152 The Haunting of Hainsley Hall.....41 Mulciber’s Flute...... 86 The Ur-Menig...... 154

The Full-Dark Stone...... 42 Can’t Sleep—Clowns Will Eat Me.88 Rumors and Hooks...... 156 The Oracle’s Decree...... 44 The God Unmoving...... 90 Index...... 166

— 3 How to Use this Book the Adventures Resisting Things Reskinning for Your Campaign This book is a compilation of adventure locations Many deadly poisons, crushing boulders, or Two setting elements are worth mentioning up for use with fantasy role-playing games. Each horrible magical effects are described inside. I front, since they appear in a lot of adventures: location is a dangerous, faraway place that holds write as if the effects simply occur, but if your the Seree and the Martoi. the promise of reward: insight, magic, allies, or system allows saving throws, resistance rolls, The Seree briefly had a region-dominating treasure. or skill or stat tests to avoid terrible things, use empire controlled by powerful, squabbling Each adventure is written to be usable those as you see fit. sorcerers. Their reign came to a sticky end a few separately. Try one out as a one-shot, link centuries ago at the hands of vengeful demigods. several together in a series, or use them to One-Shots, Rumors, and Hooks The Martoi are several thousand years older, populate your own home-grown setting. If you’re considering using an adventure for a the first wielders of magic in the historical single-session game, it’s often a good idea to give record. They refused to yield to mortality and Adventure Locations the PCs a strong motivation to engage with the now haunt the world as translucent, fey undead. I call them adventure locations, because adventure location. I toss off lots of little names (e.g., villages), they’re not written with a pre-planned sequence A large table provides hundreds of rumors, and I hope you’ll define them for yourself of events in mind. Your players might show up bits of lore, and hooks (see page 156). Hooks instead worrying about “canon,” but the index at and make friends, burn the place down, or take are overt invitations to adventure, suitable for the back lists anything that appears more than one look and run away. All these are fine. presumptive framing of the session or for a once. “quest giver” NPC in play. Concise The table also includes fragments for longer- Note on Format I’ve been ruthless in squeezing them down to as form play. Rumors are bits of recent news, In the adventures, I call out notable features small a size as possible, cramming them with overheard gossip, or readily available opinion. to draw your eye to the major details. Since the my best ideas. Lore is more detailed but older information, two-page format leaves no room for repetition, I With a few exceptions, they fit on a two-page suitable for finding in books or from learned also use forward references to indicate when spread, which is short enough that you could sages. something is described later on in the same skim several of them on your subway ride to adventure. game night. My hope is that you find this book a the Setting useful addition to your GM’s “go bag.” The implied setting of the adventures draws Note on Adventure Order inspiration from the prosaic fantasy of the The adventures in this book are presented in the System Neutral Earthsea series, the weather-stained cloaks and order they were written, with a few exceptions. This book has no stats; the adventure locations purposeful wanderings of Lord of the Rings, with The six one-page adventures have all been are system neutral. This means they’re easiest a dash of the parade of wonders of Rupert Bear. paired with a nearby three-page adventure, for to use with games where coming up with stats Over the years it took to write these adventures, pagination purposes. on the fly is practical (maybe with a few hasty a more concrete setting started to appear—the Also, two had lengthy births: A Litany in notes in the margin). For most systems, this is world of the Martoi, the Seree, and the people Scratches (page 12) was slated to be #3, but I pretty easy. If you’re comfortable ruling on the of the Tristhmus. This is described at the end let it sit for nearly a year while I figured out how effects of being run over by a wagon, sprayed of this book (see “History of the Tristhmus” on to map it. A Clutch of Shadows (page 48) is with flaming oil, or having your left arm turned page 138), along with a map, and two-page officially adventure #21, but it was hidden until to dust in your preferred game, you’ll be fine. gazetteers for major regions of note. a limited release in November 2018.

4 — The Adventures Adventure Location Summaries

Stellarium of the Vinteralf (8) the Raid Mirror (18) House of the Tyrant (38) An abandoned observatory teeters on the edge An orc summoner with a portal mirror goes from Guilds maintain a stranglehold over a cliffside of a glacier. Wolves, hibernating Vinteralf (seal- warlord to regional threat. Blight orcs, demonic trading city, ruled by a secretive, paranoid people), blue lichen, invisible ice dragon. spirit, giants, flying ship. monster.

Steeps of the Ur-Menig (10) Circle of Wolves (20) the Full-Dark Stone (42) Natural cave system borders the colossal Ur- Possessing werewolf spirit tries to free its A bison-ogre mage has tunneled into a hidden Menig caves. Carreg (clay people), isopods, cave imprisoned brethren from beneath a stone circle. Seree spell-engine vault in the hopes of dragon. Vinteralf, mad hermit, naive villagers. resurrecting his master. Storm seals, jackal- headed automatons, dire fleas. a Litany in Scratches (12) Though Flesh Be Vast (22) Raiding dogfolk are stymied by the crypt full An underground Dradkin community teeters the Oracle’s Decree (44) of undead beneath a creepy, ruined monastery. on the edge of factional collapse. Dradkin, cave A mad Heelan sorcerer spreads desertification Carnivorous plants, small drake. horrors, soil mother, vampires. from a ruined, cliffside fortress-cavern, waiting in vain for news and orders from his homeland. Midden of the Deep (83) the Necromancer’s Wish (26) Oracular toad, water shades, mounted Heelan A mountain of fossilized drake dung crawls with A Ricalu sorcerer unwittingly turns all who hunting band. giant insects and the ghosts of Carreg miners. enter his community into Ricalu. Leviathan Ichor grubs, monstrous grub-mother. isopod, desert lynx. Three for the Grave (46) Miserable swamp villages rely on blasphemous the Cage of Serimet (16) the Extent of Gamandes (28) rituals to make it through the hard years. Golem A dying order of paladins keeps watch over a Void gulls and the Nuss wage war with Carreg babies, demonic wind, parasitized bears. hedonistic summoner’s prison. Otherworldly survivors in the ruins of a shattered plane. dinner guests, animate statue. a Clutch of Shadows (48) the Unmended Way (30) A dour garrison defends a conquered Dradkin Tannòch Rest-of-Kings (15) Retired mercenary giants conduct a secret temple against counter-attack. Isopods, golem, A trio of ogres haunts the ruin of a holy order’s operation to protect lowland peoples from the wraiths, chitin drake. tower, looking for the magical secrets of dead mass poisonings of the Martoi. Kidnappers, sorcerers. Wily nun, bone devils, divine tree. tinkers, giants, Martoi (fey) sorceress. the Chains of Heaven (50) A mountaintop fortress is the site of a Seree the Task of Zeichus (33) in the Care of Bones (34) facility for wrenching magic from celestial beings. A fey court is frozen in time by immortality gone Curious giant spiders infest an old shrine of Sorcerer, Nuss mongrels, warbody of Deel. wrong. Martoi (fey) nobles, vampire. Panur, watched over by the spirits of former pilgrims. Giant carp, spectral priest. the Motes of Eternity (52) the Coming of Sorg (25) A retired guardian turtle-dragon watches over Desperate cultists hide from the horrors they’ve the Lantern of Wyv (36) uplifted jungle animals, but it’s all going wrong. summoned while bickering about what to do. The floating laboratory-tomb of a gelatinous Void gull archaeologists, the cruel demigod Demonic hunger aberrations. wizard hangs over a wyvern-patrolled bay. Dendra.

6 — The Adventures the Sky-Blind Spire (54) the Moon is a Mirror (68) Do It for the Beast (92) Ricalu conspire to steal silver from a kastromatic An old, shrine-filled palace is home to a legendary A Seree guardian, now serving a demonic Power, labyrinth-tower. Ricalu, ogre veterans, dire seer, replaced by a terrifying inversion. Dogfolk, builds an entourage of cloned cultists in a cursed pelicans, undines, spirits of the dead. brass soldiers, moon baby. cavern temple. Automatons, blood snakes.

No God But Dissolution (71) the Mermaids’ Knot (68) His Eternal Progress (94) A sealed tomb is packed with the remains of dead A village cult serves up visitors for the An emperor tortoise leads a ghostly procession, demigods. Skeletal gladiators and numerous experiments of the troll-mermaids up in the dogged by a needling sorcerer. Bandit wasps, dangers. “holy pool.” Sorcerer made of bugs, splice hydra. reality-bending toad. the Lenses of Heaven (56) Basilica of the Leper Messiah (76) the Sorcerer’s Feast (96) An astral customs checkpoint has been subverted A lich peddles influence from a walled-in leper The manor of a long-dead sorcerer displays his by the demons it was set up to keep out. Craesten colony and plots to overthrow the earth. Quietus favorite memories and most dangerous treasures. (lobster chef), slewts (newt-people), astral skeletons, gray monoliths, ermine demon. Sylph spider, magical boars, automatons. cultists, chalk hounds. the Shattered Gate (78) the Haunting of Hainsley Hall (41) the Roots of Ambition (58) A gnome outcast preaches to a choir of animals, Ghosts need help dislodging an unwelcome Artifact hunters and ambitious druids wage mutated by energies leaking from a spell engine squatter from their creepy old mansion. ecological war on a desert plateau. Soil mother far below the ruins. Guardian lizard. (fungal megabeing), Onddo (fungal servitors), the Man from Before (98) Heelan, oil demons, giant arthropods. the City of the Carreg (80) The children of an oil-gathering village risk Within the Ur-Menig is a besieged city, barely everything to help a hidden giant. Apocalypse Lair of the Lantern Worm (60) held against a tide of monstrous invaders. larva, sorcerer giant, sphere of needles. An order of Heelan mystics brave water-filled caverns to worship a time-looping wyrm. Heelan Sirens of Blood and Sea (84) the Wagoner’s Table (100) mystics, proudskulls, waterlogged undead. Man-eating sirens worship an ancient sea A Seree-era tribute wagon propels itself goddess and help local women get revenge. through wintry mountain paths on a mission of the Cleft of Five Worlds (62) Giant crab. generosity. Demon wolves, ancient wizard. Regional overview—the Seree Lycaeum hangs over a massive sinkhole filled with underworld Mulciber’s Flute (86) the Raindrinkers (102) communities. Tcheth, murk stars, automatons, Far below the ground, a flute-playing devil rules Five nomadic clans avoid the strange weapons of cave stitchers, Jorn, wraiths. an infernal landscape. Cultists, demon wretches, the Martoi by drinking only rain. pit lords, hell knights, lost paladin, Mulciber. the Call of the Light (64) the Mouth of Spring (104) A ruined tower houses a lantern that draws and Can’t Sleep—Clowns Will Eat Me (88) Beneath a quiet shrine is a flooded cavern, used traps hapless remnant automatons, left over A circus comes to town, bringing delights, as an initiation for the wives of Spring. Crawdad from the Seree war with the gods. insomnia, and a nightmarish dream eater. sorcerer, selkis (seals), tentacled malak.

Veil of the Once-Queen (66) the God Unmoving (90) Into the Silent Temple (106) The Martoi fortress of Tanibel is wrapped in fey A pirate-controlled island worships a divine Exploring the lower level of the Sun Temple (p. illusions, making it seem like the thriving city it octopus, remnant of a drowned nation. Undead 48), eleven years after the failed Grinvolt assault was in life. Talking animals, giant spiders. reavers, garfish, the god unmoving. (played out during the Kickstarter campaign).

The Adventures — 7 STELLARIUM OF THE VINTERALF the Situation A millennium ago, the Vinteralf con- Tunnel to structed an observatory from the hard- Mount Vinteralf est ice, deep in the frozen starlands, to Rith Encampment steal secrets from the heavens. the Great Stores Nothing stays the same in that alien Stellarium land, and the grinding of the ice has Hall of carried the Stellarium into peril: it now Altar of the Orrery stands at the edge of a melting glacier. the Star Kings It will soon fall to its doom. The final Vinteralf expedition from the starlands met with disaster, so when the Stellarium falls, its secrets will be beyond the reach of the star- priests forever. This they cannot allow. Last Stand Forge Room Mounts Rith & Affanal Glacier The icy realm of the star people is cov- Face ered with thick glaciers, which inch their way southward every year. A Collapse range of crags stands in their way, Forge where the glaciers are crushed between Run-Off mountainous teeth. Ice Cavern Chute One such glacier grinds itself to its doom between the flanks of Mount Rith and Mount Affanal. Hot Spring Steaming d4 Rumors for Nearby Cavern Valley Mount 1 The villagers of Steaming Valley Affanal have been selling dragon scales they supposedly found in the river. Steaming Valley Ice Cavern Hot Spring Cavern 2 A year ago, a “castle” appeared Scalding-hot spring water trickles down Following the stream leads to a wide A pool of sulfurous water bubbles up atop the upper valley glacier, the center of Steaming Valley, giving it but low opening in the bottom of the from hot springs. One of the Vinteralf but none have ventured in. its name. On calm mornings, the valley glacier. During the day, a luminous tunnels emerges here. fills with drifts and curls offog . blue glow filters through the undulat- Every few hours, a geyser bursts 3 An astrologer prophesies that The snow is melted in a wide band ing, slick ceiling; the floor is rock and out of the pool, blasting everything with next year will reveal that a along the stream’s banks. Both banks streaked with blue lichen. scalding water and steam. great calamity has befallen the are choked with hardy vegetation, Heaps of slag hide the forge run-off “star people of the north”. lush in all seasons. Glacier Face chute. Roll an interesting find. 4 It is said that the great hero, Camping in the valley is likely to The glacier face is cracked and fissured Vilin, once ventured into the draw the attention of a large pack of from the stream’s heat. Climbing is Vinteralf Tunnels frozen north and found a great wolves, which normally live on the easy, but there is a risk of large piec- The Vinteralf hacked their way to the observatory where the future plentiful small creatures (rats and es of ice coming loose, falling off, and hot spring cavern under the ice to avoid could be learned. hares), but who will attack the unwary. bringing down careless climbers. the attentions of the Wyrm Jokun. 8 — The Adventures This tunnel leads several miles through their art before dying from the sword’s protect and refrigerate her kills. It is d8 Interesting Finds the glacier to a now-abandoned camp potent magics.) full of scorched books, frozen elk, polar 1 The starsword Grugnir. The on the surface of the glacier. Two forge assistants stand guard: bears, Vinteralf, and a single mangled invisible rays it casts cause The camp is little more than a snow- golems made of ice and silver. They can halfling inThavir ’s livery. blindness d4 hours after first filled basin now, but careful search be- be pacified by speaking the names of Roll twice for interesting finds. seeing the naked blade, lasting neath the snow reveals a crude map of any of the smiths. 3d6 hours. the Stellarium on bear-skin vellum. Roll on the interesting finds table. Altar of the Star Kings 2 Scintillating dragon scales. Apart from the surviving areas of the A serves as an al- slab of black stone Strong as steel, clear as ice, they structure, the map also shows a kitchen the team orge reat orge tar to the high kings of the north. Be- S F (G F ) can be ground to make excellent and extensive barracks, now melted. This forge itself is a ring of white met- hind it on the wall is a star map. lenses. Scrapes on the walls. al, enchanted to bring up high-pressure Many of the constellations will seem Forge Run-Off Chute steam from below the bedrock wherever unfamiliar to modern astrologers, but 3 Snow goggles with polished This vertical ice tunnel was once used it is affixed. It is suitable for the- cre the largest stars are represented by di- yellow lenses that prevent snow to dump hot slag from the forge. The ation of magical artifacts and working amonds of the highest quality. blindness (and the effects of the walls are stuck with many sharp bits of with white metal or dark glass. When it Roll on the interesting finds table. starsword Grugnir). iron slag that froze here. is used, it triggers minor earthquakes. 4 Star charts that aid in A fine rope dangles here, still af- Stores navigation and divination. fixed to the top from when Thavir and the Great Stellarium Thavir’s quartermaster, Ploos, barri- 5 d8 spell scrolls. the Vinteralf made their ascent. The A huge, pivoting reflector catches star- caded herself here in the high astrolo- white rope is made from the fibers of light and concentrates it into a deadly ger’s private kitchen. She is dead and 6 Graven silver-inlaid tusk, with arctic “bone trees,” and is very strong. but nearly invisible beam. ravaged by blue lichen, though its markings that aid the work of Bone tree rope never frays, and piec- The beam causes horrific burns to progress has stopped now that her body astrologers. es cut from it will reattach if placed end the unprotected. On a 6 on a d6, it also is too cold for it to grow. Roll a find. 7 A valuable item (gem, weapon, to end. provides insight into a grave problem. jewelry) contaminated by blue All properly conducted astrology done Last Stand of Prince Thavir lichen. Forge Room here is as precise and accurate as you The Vinteralf Prince Thavir and his 7 8 The Wyrm Jokun. The curved wall of this ice room is could fear. hibernating guards lie arm in arm, carved with high-relief figures of Roll on the interesting finds table. frozen and seemingly dead. They are Vinteralf smiths making gleaming heavily armed, but Thavir’s blue jade Blue Lichen swords and armor. Hall of the Orrery scabbard is empty. A flaky, blue-gray lichen that rapidly (In fact, it shows a succession of thir- The Wyrm Jokun burst in through the They entered through one of the tun- turns exposed skin into more lichen. teen smiths working on Grugnir, the side of the tower (formerly the tower’s nels, but were trapped here for weeks It grows at body temperature, and be- starsword, each contributing the best of library), and now uses it as a larder to by Jokun. comes dormant in cold temperatures. If touched by warmth, they will awaken in d4 hours and resume their the Wyrm Jokun quest. They are angry, starving veter- Firebreathing Jokun arrived from the ans with many victories behind them, east, drawn by the power and majesty and the Stellarium is rightfully theirs. of the Stellarium. 15 paces in length, with powerful Vinteralf wings, Jokun is nevertheless slender These glacier-dwellers from the far enough to weasel her way through the north are three paces tall, with almost Stellarium corridors. seal-like faces. They are stubborn, mus- Her scales are as clear as glass, but cular, and wrapped in thick blubber as strong as steel, and she is invisible against the cold. They are inventive when she sleeps. and determined in battle. They can un- Cold radiates from her body, for she derstand southern tongues, but only if naturally absorbs heat. She prefers her spoken slowly and simply. food with an icy chill. The Adventures — 9 TANNÒCH REST-OF-KINGS Long-Ruined Parapet Collapsed and Burned A trio of wise, speaking finches alights A great fire gutted the upper levels. A here when Abasha is elsewhere. giant pile of soot-stained rubble hides the Accord of Tannòch Lower Level They are fiercely loyal the crushed, rotted remains of a dozen of At the center of a mist-shrouded lake Once housing the kitchen and cellar, to Marta and will lie the order, along with much burned fur- stands Tannòch Rest-of-Kings. An the ogres have left it unrecognizable most cunningly to niture and a bit of silver plate. ancient accord protects any sor- but for a great, black iron stove. The aid her in any way cerers interred here from final judg- ogres shelter and rut here in the they can. Gnarled Oak of Cicollus ment, so long as their rituals and ar- worst weather. Curving stairs lead Planted here by the god Cicollus to up- tifacts are interred with them. down to the mausoleum. hold the accord, its wood groans with Last winter, Tannòch fell silent. the task of keeping vengeful devils at The order of nuns is gone, eaten by Mausoleum & Sacristy bay. Once every seven years, it will an- three horrible ogres. Hundreds of granite niches line the swer one question asked of it, with the walls; thirty are smashed open. full knowledge of the gods. Molluck-a-Glisten (Ogre) Each contains a funeral urn en- Gray-green, sinewy, and slick, he graved with runes of permanency. Interred Magical Artifacts swims as a seal, grubbing about for 10% contain a bit of jewel- Periapt of the Earthen Kings: The oysters. He is stir crazy and relishes ry, none magical. 10% will wearer can “swim” through stone, but the chance to drown boaters. release wraiths, panicked must endure potent feelings of suffoca- that judgment for their tion and disorientation. Hideous Abasha (Ogre) wicked deeds has ar- High Priest’s Dagger: Silver-bladed Largest of the three, she climbs spi- rived at last. dagger, inlaid garnets; gives a victim’s der-wise on iron nails and spends her trait to its wielder: in choosing, it re- days watching through the drizzle wards cruelty and mocks restraint. from the tower top. She can throw Umber Tome of Withered Zun- masonry half the length of the lake, let: Each reading reveals a traitor’s and she misses the taste of brain name, but inflicts a deformity. lapped from a freshly cracked skull. Pewter Rings of Enoch VI: At will, the wearer’s fingers double in length Stanus Ash-Eater (Ogre) and acquire giant strength. The favored apprentice of the late Diadem of the Weylords: Once/day, Halad al Bim has come to reclaim his target must obey wearer’s simple spo- master’s diadem. He sold his soul ken command. and one of his eyes in exchange for Natural Caverns giant-sized, monstrous allies. A network of caves winds through Marta, Sacrist of Tannòch He smashes the niches in the the slate-like rock. They are steep, Sole survivor of her order, Marta is a artifacts (above), and knows how to use mausoleum, finds nothing, and eats dark and treacherous, scarcely pass- tough old nun who oversaw the ar- all of them save for the diadem. the ashes of the dead in rage. Their able at their narrowest. tifacts of Tannòch. She has escaped As the last of her order, if she dies, vengeful spirits now infuse him, driv- In the topmost cavern, a dessi- death by use of the Periapt, and for the accord is broken. d4+1 bone devils ing him further into obsession. cated gnome lies in a dip under a months she has sought a way to drive will gate in, coalescing from the mist on If he is injured, his lost blood takes heap of fallen bricks where the cave off the ogres. She is emaciated, pale, and the landing with an unearthly howl. on vermin form (worms, rats, a tiny connects to the mausoleum. He still kept alive mostly by her iron will. They waste no time ascending Tan- homunculus) and animates with the clutches his pick axe. In his effects Zealous and domineering, she will ex- nòch to burn the Oak of Cicollus, then spirit of a sorcerer-king from the fu- are a few coins, rope, and a scrap of pect PCs to defend Tannòch as a matter smash their way inside to claim the nerary ash. parchment that lists the artifacts he of duty. If they don’t, then, they too are souls of the interred. They ignore by- These will seek safety and warmth, hoped to steal. invaders that must be driven off. standers, but cruelly engage any oppo- then allies (through pity or decep- Any loud noise here will bring In addition to the Periapt, Marta sition. If they succeed, they are free to tion), and finally magic and thralls. Molluck to investigate. carries all of the island’s other magical roam the earth as a reward. The Adventures — 15 THE LANTERN OF WYV the Situation hangs the lantern, a mammoth con- The wizard Radomenus placed her struction of white-flecked stone, a quar- tomb in the sky as a testament to Seree ter league above the water. power. A magical barge is said to have carried her to her final resting place the Wyverns high in the air. Wyverns are giraffe-sized winged ter- This was long ago, and few still know rors, with the murderously playful de- the meaning of the “black lantern” meanor of house cats. They tear people that hangs in the sky over the bay—not from the ground, carry them to a height, least because the entire land of Wyv drop them, and then repeat. has fallen, overrun by flying serpents. They are the offspring of Nulga (see Those who dare its shores, howev- page 52) and a debased mystical or- er, might notice the black speck racing der (which they later ate). along the waterline, for Radomenus’s They have oddly human laughs, funeral barge never stopped, endless- and if need be, beg for their lives in ly making its final tour. human voices. They have four eyes, each of which is a precious gemstone. Rumors for Nearby Wyverns patrol all day, drifting high Wyv itself has few regular travelers be- on the updrafts, and will notice boaters. cause of the wyverns, but rumors have been brought back by sailors: the Funeral Barge • A black lantern hangs over a bay This flying barge makes an endless tour in Wyv, big as the moon, been there of the bay, cycling once every hour, day to catch game along the forest trails will try to leap in from tree branches on forever and night. It visits a sequence of ruins that spiral out from the tower. its next pass. d6 will make it in. • Wyverns mean boating is unsafe that at one point represented the high- The barge hovers where the top within miles of the coast lights of Radomenus’s holdings. of the tower once was, some 10 paces the Coastal Tour • A curious wyvern always attracts It flies at running speed, and for above the low, jagged masonry. After a The barge makes a half-hour loop more most of the time is head-height above 20-minute wait, it flies off. around the bay. Visible occupants • Traddle pearls aren’t from Traddle, the water. are guaranteed to attract a patrolling but come from a secret people still The barge is encrusted with gull the Forest wyvern, bored and hungry. living among the Wyv forests droppings, fish bones, twigs, and The barge then darts at breakneck • The birds of Wyv know more’n they leaves. Its funeral pennants have rot- speed over Radomenus’s farmlands, the Ascent let on ted to flapping rags, and the wood is long grown up into a mature forest. It After this, the barge heads to the lan- sun-bleached and soft. A wyvern tooth plunges through a barge-shaped hole in tern, rising steadily. It “docks” at the Lantern Bay (root and all) is lodged in the bow. the canopy, worn from countless trips. underside, easing up to a small stone The uninhabited coast of Wyv is dotted The barge is easily damaged, but any Within the forest lives the Jarret ledge that projects out directly under with mile-wide copses, separated by piece not forcefully dislodged from its clan, some 45 strong. They hunt deer a central shaft. long, grassy aisles. Wyverns make it position continues to fly in formation. and dive for oysters in the bay. Their The shaft is 10 paces wide, 100 paces so, or so it’s said. Nervous deer chew shaman can read Seree, knows the tall, and made of smooth stone. Adven- saplings in the gloom, until every soft the Ruined Tower history of the lantern, and wants its turers will require some means to climb growing thing is eaten, then they must The barge’s first stop is Radomenus’s secrets to benefit his people. (or fly) to gain access—the shaft was brave the gaps and risk being snatched tower. This is now a ruined stump, over- The Jarret use the barge to tell time, once filled with buoyant levitation- en up from above. grown with young trees and bushes. A and they’ll notice any occupants. They chantments, but no longer. Lantern Bay is a broad inlet, run- hermit lives within; he has grown fat have not yet dared try to board it, but if The barge waits here for ten minutes, ning ten miles inland. Over the bay from using Radomenus’s ring of force they see that others have done so, they then flies back to the ruined tower. 36 — The Adventures Inside the Lantern tombs) from here, well into the blight- Helm The “moon” is rocky and bleak, but has Above the “dock,” the lantern has three lands (which are shown “unblighted”). An inlaid quartz circle in the floor breathable air and denizens of its own. interior levels. The scrawing of nesting glows softly. At its center, a funnel is (It is actually just a distant part of the sea birds from the crown fills the en- Laboratorium cut into the floor, flanked by two emp- earth, only seeming to be a separate tire structure. Dusty jars of pastes ty silver sconces. A world due to a kind of celestial mirage.) Every surface is engraved with po- and powders, brittle nearby rack holds 22 If the chosen ley lines don’t intersect, lite speculations by Radomenus’s ma- scrolls, and half-writ- large crystals, or no crystals are placed in the sconces, sons, apprentices, and glyph-wardens ten spells are every- Crown each matching the lantern moves into the luminous as to the one true purpose of “her excel- where, along with a a different ley void—that howling, empty home of the lency’s stone” (as they call it). colony of bats in line color from void gulls and the disembodied Nuss. Their guesses: a tomb; a means of the forge. the laboratori- There is enough sand for almost a resurrection; an unparalleled magical um maps. hundred journeys. laboratory; an astral conveyance. In fact, it is all four. Helm the Crown A hundred sea birds of assorted spe- Restoratorium Sand Chamber cies (mostly gulls, and worsh nits) gath- This room contains ceremonial embalm- er. At night, they cuddle in the lee of ing tools, mostly broken. The black Dining the crown against the sea winds. table, a solid block of dark granite, Quarters A faint glow comes from the heals all injuries at a touch. Bro- guano-spattered surface. If the ken bones are replaced by crystal- runes there are cleaned off, the line mesh; wounds are filled with Laboratorium levitation magic in the central Kitchens glistening white flesh. The results shaft begins working again. are repulsive, but functional. Three possessed birds (a gull and two large nits) have Kitchens gold rings on their beaks; these Restoratorium Once a well-stocked store and kitch- carry the personalities of Rado- en, this area is crowded with barrels, menus’s grave servants (long dead). sacks of ingredients, and shelves. All is Quarters Sepp was the cook and quartermaster, smashed to bits. Stores Anof was her valet, and Eshal main- Many rat carcasses can be seen tained the stone. Nowadays, they most- (dried and dusty), ranging from mouse- ly joke and plan their next bird bodies. to dog-sized. Maps of After a moment, an undead giant the known Radomenus rat the size of a sheep will rouse itself world are Constant exposure to the white sand and attack. Only its rear legs function, streaked with and the black table have reduced the but its nerveless body is hard to stop. 16 color-keyed ley wizard Radomenus to a huge glob of lines. A similar map Dock Astral Conveyance white, gelatinous flesh. Quarters of the moon is marked If a measure of white She can no longer operate the lan- Spartan accommodations hold simple with six lines, using six sand is poured into tern herself, but hates the idea of in- cots for three servants on the lower additional colors. the stone funnel while truders. She is slow, but devious, and level and one for Radomenus, above. the sconces hold crystals, can crawl along walls and ceilings. Sand Chamber the lantern teleports. It moves to the She spends her days fuming in the Dining Gentle heat pulses from a basin filled ley line intersection indicated by the helm, but she investigates as soon as These chambers are dark, empty but with several tons of fine white sand. choice of crystals. This is gentle, appar- she hears visitors. She can hurl power- for broken furniture. The wall of the Extended exposure to the sand causes ent to those inside only from the sud- ful lightning 4× daily and can summon dining chamber shows a map of major weeping sores, dementia, and internal den change in barometric pressure and and control wyverns with the force of Seree sites of interest (cities, towers, bleeding. These begin within hours. the alarmed squawking of the birds. her mind. She will not give in easily. The Adventures — 37 its window sill. The chains dangle on ruler, begging Titardinal to give up his THE SKY-BLIND SPIRE the outside of the tower, allowing a har- mad project and return to his seat by rowing climb to the window below. the throne as advisor. the Situation with the intention of stealing silver For example, it’s possible to climb The wizard Titardinal’s final work was from inside the tower. down from room 4 (whose window looks 7. the Fountain Room a kastromantic spire, a spell in the They have made two forays into the out west from the third floor) into room Titardinal used this fountain to com- form of a tower. With it, he hoped to tower so far, and are preparing for 9 (the pelican roost), by climbing down mune with the lake spirit, learning its force the spirit of the great lake at their next trip inside. from window 3W to window 2W. weaknesses. d6 undines float in the its base to perform great magic. They have crude knives, slings, water, appearing as ghostly children. He died before he could use a bit of stolen silver, and a jeweled the Ritual Sequence If any sparks are present, the un- it, however, and the tower has scabbard, chased with gold. Their Titardinal engraved each room with a dines take on translucent serpent form changed hands many times shaman has two sky-blue cloaks number, representing the correct or- and emerge to attack and reclaim them. since then. and a scroll with a peculiar ritual: der to visit each room to cast the tow- The fountain contains a defender’s er’s spell. blade and most of a suit of plate ar- Titardinal’s Spire the Curse of Sky-Blindness Everyone entering room 1 attracts mor, but the undines will only yield A narrow tower stands on a The Ricalu shaman has surrounded a tiny, orbiting spark of energy stolen this in return for a solemn oath to de- rocky outcrop, jutting into the tower area with buried teeth to from the lake spirit. stroy “the altar.” the lake. A large door inflict the curse of “sky-blindness” At room two, a second spark joins, facing the lake is the on its occupants: those inside are and so on, until, by room 23, adventur- 9. Dire Pelicans’ Roost only ground-level en- completely blind to anything blue. ers are surrounded by a cloud of ethe- This room stinks like a fishmonger and trance to the tower. Blue things aren’t in- real fireflies, casting the equivalent of is home to seven dire pelicans, all Anyone observ- visible, but those cursed torchlight around them. large enough to swallow humans. They ing the tower will never notice them If an adventurer steps into any room fly in and out all day, catching fish out during daylight by sight alone. out of the proper sequence, all of the on the lake. will see huge, The effect begins an sparks are dispelled. They must begin They do not normally wander the dire pelicans hour after entering and again at room 1. tower halls, but they are territorial, re- flying from the lowest set of win- lasts a day after leaving. Onset is lentless, and vindictive if disturbed. dows, fishing in the lake. too gradual for those affected to notice, 1. Unwelcoming Hall At night, bellows of rage and frustra- but the curse lifts suddenly. Titardinal filled iron gibbets with bod- Pelican Attack tion echo from the upper windows. ies (long decayed to skeletal remains) to The pelicans attack by snapping, bat- the Blue-Clad Thieves frighten off visitors. tering, and when they can, swallowing Ricalu Camp The Ricalu have been sending lone A ring of water breathing adorns their prey whole. Once a victim is held Three days ago, eight Ricalu goblins thieves in blue cloaks into the tower to one bony finger. in the sac, the pelican will flee to sub- set up camp under a sky-blue tarp, sneak out what treasure they dare. A pewter scroll case contains a due them enough to fully swallow. message from the ancestor of a nearby Subduing involves alternately grind- the Tower of Gates ing the sac against the pelican’s body to d6 Encounters (hourly) The tower’s every window and doorway crush the victim, violent shaking, and 1 A giant from rooms 16 &17 is a subtle magical portal, making its slurping water into the sac to cause suf- investigating the man-smell interior geometry completely different focation. This can take a long time. 2 Huge muck-fly from thecone from its outside appearance. The interior map shows each win- Roost Floor 3 Ricalu thief in a blue cloak dow’s exterior height and facing (e.g., The floor of the roost is a crunching 4 The halls echo with the giants’ window 4N looks northwards from the carpet of twigs, feathers, fish remains, mournful homeland songs 4th floor). guano, and eggshell. A pelican beak in the corner is stuck 5 Young dire pelican, possessed the limbing hains with three from a fa- by spirits from the Bleak Stair C C venomous quills From the third floor and up, every win- tal last meal. A potion of leaping is 6 d3 undines from the fountain dow has a thick, rusty chain bolted to beneath it. 54 — The Adventures 13. the Bleak Stair 15. Changeling Cone imperceptible: to most eyes, the shaft drinking (and spitting) molten lead. A Four wicked idols leer from alcoves, An error in Titardinal’s work: those de- simply appears conical, narrow at pot of bubbling, molten lead simmers while invisible, hungry spirits fill the scending (20 paces) to the fly-swarmed the bottom, and wide at the top. over the fire in room 17. air with their whispers. garbage heap double in size for Tucked in Faroch’s iron armor is a Prayer, meditation, or delay will d6 days; those ascending shrink by 16/17. Hall of the Giants scrap of vellum. It depicts a lunar con- bring forth Titardinal’s wraith men- half. These changes are Four giants from Firevault vergence to occur in d1000 days that tor, Bezaal, who will try to manip- claimed the spire two years will briefly open a portal to the City of ulate visitors into completing the ago, before the Ricalu came. Fire, far below the ground. ritual sequence. They are distressed The stairs are a kastroman- and wary, as their 18. Tapestry Room tic construction: descending hoard has begun to A beautiful blue tapestry hangs them engraves one’s aura shrink. Worse, the blue across the archway in the north wall, with an unseen rune. The tapestry over the north obscuring passageway “A”. It is rustic rune is not magical, but exit in room 18 now in style, but elaborate and finely woven, signals to underworld prevents them from and shows a stylized map of the sur- powers that the bearer has finding their way out rounding region. It predates the tower, a destiny at the lowest depths of the tower. which is not shown on it, and it is not and should be allowed to descend. They have six sacks particularly accurate. Climbing the stairs sad- of silver loot, one containing a cir- Anyone affected by sky blindness dles the wearer with a gray clet of clear sight. cannot see or focus on it and will be un- hook. Like an invisible, aware of the northern corridor unless intangible fishing line, The Twins they make a careful study of the room. this trails behind and Affa and Isho, in- To everyone else, the northern wall is snares spirits. Unhook- separable twins, simply not interesting enough to reach ing a spirit, however, takes feud constantly. their conscious awareness. skill. By means of these hooks, They are the sole Titardinal filled the stairway surviving members of 22. The Study with ghosts caught in both fifteen siblings who - mur Shelves hold a dozen tomes on kas- the upper and lower worlds. dered one another fight- tromancy; a hundred torn sketches of The idols keep ing over a cursed alternate tower layouts litter the floor. them imprisoned, coin. They de- All show a 24th “altar room.” Margin binding them as an test wizards notes contain half-written love poems unwilling congre- as a result. to his “drowned” lover, “Vilin.” gation. 24. Rooftop Altar Hungry Spirits Faroch & Sossa The tower’s roof is accessible only from Dead bodies rean- Armored room 23, window 5S. Wind from the imate here; sleep- Faroch lake howls across the parapets. ers and the badly is the Bringing a full set of sparks to the injured must resist leader, stone altar completes Titardinal’s possession. Once they but master spell. Lightning arcs from the have a body, possess- Sos- lake and strikes the spark-bearer; if ing spirits will seek to sa is they survive, they are granted a wish. (d6) 1-2: return to a near- feared The lake spirit will send a mighty by village to say goodbye most. She is storm ghost as a last ditch counter. properly; 3-6: murder the a veteran of the siege After d3 wishes, the lake spirit and nearest person in a futile of the City of Fire, where the undines die, and the lake becomes act of revenge. she learned the trick of gray and barren. The Adventures — 55 LAIR OF THE LANTERN WORM stomach cramps but gains the ability to drakeskin is bolted to the floor of the breathe underwater for d6 weeks. chamber. If heaved three times, the bellows the Situation upon it into the swirling water, which Proudskull Nests heats the forge so much that the stones Deep in the desert, an order of Heelan is chest deep to a man here. Eleven Heelan proudskulls glow white hot, burning the exposed mystics practices a strange and lethal The water is mildly acidic, but caus- live here in this sequence of three small, skin of anyone nearby. form of divination in a network of cliff- es only itching. (To Heelan, it causes dry caverns. Each has a score of silver side caves. painful, caustic burns.) bullets drilled into its bony crest, signi- Tomb of Carduros Brought from deep underground by The sound of visitors’ splashing, fying successful hunts or kills in battle. This is the dwelling place of Saranok, an unnatural source, the water—toxic however, may (1 in 3 chance) draw out Here they serve the mystics faithful- master of the mystic order. Ancient, to Heelan—is a source of mystical won- the lantern worm, for the mystics ly in the hopes of with scales of stone from a century of der to them. have trained it to expect live offerings earning a place water exposure, he no longer seeks the It is also home to a strange and thrown into the water of the Cave of among them. worm and wears no mask. deadly creature of the underworld, a Offerings. They each All his questions have been an- lantern worm. have terrible swered, and so Saranok contents him- Cave of Offerings burns in various self with the tutelage of his three wiz- Rumors of this Place A twin waterfall cascades stages of healing ened protégés. Various rumors and half-truths are down from the upper vault, from their trips out The presence of strangers, however, available to inquiring folks near the one side splashing down a through the water, will arouse his curiosity. Are they best plateau: slippery limestone ramp, to hunt or simply to fed to the worm as sacrifices? Or do • The Heelan know of a secret oasis the other a straight drop of prove their mettle. they come with questions of their own, where water can be found. 20 paces. questions that may lead him to new • Astrologers have divined the forge The flat-topped offering Mystics’ Chamber and unexpected insights? that birthed Vilin’s spear. stone is a sticky mess of Three mystics live here • The Heelan pay tribute to a water shade bones and gi- in abject squalor. Once the Tale of Carduros serpentine god-in-the-flesh. ant camel spider carapaces, Heelan proudskulls, long The walls are engraved with a long tale • A hermit named Carduros knows from sacrifices brought by exposure to the water in pictograms, depicting Carduros’s the secret of hiding from one’s the mystics. has hardened their exile from the underworld as punish- destiny. skin into stone-like ment for the crime of enchanting a • Heelan proudskulls that earn Glowing Cavern carapaces. sword for a many-armed demon. twenty kills are admitted to a secret Waist-deep water flows swiftly Each carries one of In fact, it does not commemorate order that prophesies the future. here, but the lantern worm the three Masks of Carduros but was carved by the artisan • The high plateau conceals a silver has laid a cluster of eggs in Carduros, stone rel- himself as a final diary. door to the underworld. the far corner. An eerie blue ics that conceal the Toward the end it grows sullen, em- • The Ballads of Vilin tell of the hero light emanates from them. wearer from all forms phasizing long years wishing he could snatching the secret of his death The rubbery, transparent of divination. return to his home in the deeps. from the light of a dread lantern he eggs are stuck to the wall If threatened, they d6 Cave encounters found in the desert. with a glue-like slime which will feign surrender, • A desert explorer returned with can be dissolved by wine or “allowing” access to 1 d6 Heelan phibs strange orbs [from the glowing spirits. The glue is stronger the lantern worm. 2 d3 Heelan mystics cavern] that glowed for months. than the eggs, which will rip open if pulled. the Great Forge of Carduros 3 Saranok from the tomb, with d8 Traitor’s Path d6 eggs contain imma- The mystics’ chamber was once the proudskulls Humid air blows out into the desert ture worms, half a pace long and tight- forge of Carduros, legendary under- 4 d10 proudskulls from the nests, from the traitor’s path, a sequence of ly coiled within the egg. Each matures world artisan. proving their worthiness slimy stepping-stones in the stream. and hatches in d8 months, but will die Here there is a of hard, porous forge 5 d3 undead phibs The second-to-last stone is false, if prematurely hatched. Anyone drink- yellow stone unique to the underworld. crudely hinged to tip anyone stepping ing fresh egg fluid experiences powerful An enchanted bellows of bone and 6 the lantern worm 60 — The Adventures the Sarcophagus the Worm Seekers strength of the desert and reverting to Undead Phibs Carduros carved his own sarcophagus Carduros forged his masks to hide from a “degenerate,” amphibian form. Those that die in the light of the worm’s from that same indestructible yellow retribution from below as he con- Their minds dulled by wa- snare go on as rotting undead until stone of the underworld from which the tinued to enchant weapons ter, their bodies soft- the water turns them to mush. forge is made. from his place of exile. ened, they slither The Heelan have been unable to The mystics, Silver Door like animals the Upper Vault open it, for the seam of the lid is false. however, use them All around, water springs from leagues In fact, the lid and sides are of one to practice a bi- below, magically drawn from the piece, and must be lifted together. zarre, risky form bones of the earth. Inside is: of divination. Inset in a mighty column is an • Carduros’s remains (mostly dust) Donning ra- Upper Vault impenetrable, flawless silver door, • Six ingots of white metal zor-spiked whose only feature is a keyhole. • Three ingots of dark glass collars, One of the gates • A stone mold in the shape of a key they seek to the under- that could open the silver door in out the world, it can the upper vault. worm to en- only be opened Tomb of ter its snare by a key of white the Lantern Worm Carduros the Lantern Worm and be killed. metal or dark The worm is a slimy horror fifteen pac- Should the brute worm eat the glass, taken from es long and as thick as a thigh. Its head collar (which it does 9 in 10 times, Mystics’ Carduros’s mold. is bare bone, the white jaws delivering being ravenous), it chokes and dies. Beyond the door is a Chamber venomous bites from a pike’s reach The snare dissipates, and the terri- smooth, vertical shaft with blinding speed. Most strikes are fied worm-seeker awakens, that drops several miles fatal, severing flesh and bone. alive once more. into the depths. At the tip of its tail bobs a lantern With practice, If a white metal key of bone, whose dread light casts a pro- worm-seekers can is used, the door leads Traitor’s phetic snare: if the worm is slain while glimpse a pro- to an underworld rich Path the lantern still shines, time seemingly phetic vision Proudskull with exploration, cul- rewinds d20 minutes, undoing any- through the act ture and discourse. Nests thing that happened. Everyone affected of dying, and If a dark glass key is used, the same remembers the rewound events. return to share to the underworld serves up its worst demons In fact, the snare is a prophetic, it. (See table: Desert for a fearsome reckoning. mass hallucination, and the “rewind- Torn by the Either way descending the shaft is a ing” merely an awakening. worm.) significant logistical challenge, due to Glowing Nevertheless, if the lantern is Use of the masks is es- its tremendous height. smashed in dream or in life, the worm sential, as it prevents the Cave loses this power. worm from remembering its White Metal, Dark Glass own death and learning not to eat These are divine materials left over d6 Torn by the worm the collars. from the forging of the world. Only 1 sudden, terrifying death Mask-wearing mystics fear nothing dragon fire and Carduros’s forge are the 2 worm bites throat, death within the caverns, and if threatened, hot enough to shape them. Drop whispers a clue will retreat deeper into them to attempt through the caverns, Blades forged from either material to draw attackers into the worm’s light. chasing fish. will cut straight through normal 3 clear vision of a possible ally Dry Heelan scorn them, armor. These items can bear en- 4 clear vision of enemy doings Heelan Phibs sometimes hunting them for sport. The chantments that would evaporate 5 clear vision of the past Not all Heelan can endure the trials of worm ignores them, instinctively mis- lesser matter. their apprenticeship in the cave. Some taking their wriggling motion for that 6 clear vision beyond the gray veil fall to water-lust, abandoning the of its young. The Adventures — 61 Unsen is a dirt-stained bean farmer, the Wives of Spring THE MERMAIDS’ KNOT obsessed with punctuality. He refines One in four villagers that visitors meet “locust salt” from mountain rocks and is in league with the ‘Wives of Spring’, the Situation 1. Welcome outsiders in a friendly lines his terrace with it, to “keep away a secret nature cult. The steep, mountainside village of manner. the chirpers.” The Wives have worked their way Magda is tucked against a cliff. On a 2. Introduce them to someone more into Magda over many years and seek high plateau above it is an ancient and senior at the first opportunity. to undermine the priestesses. terrible pond, home to the chalk mer- 3. Discover a reason for them to They warn off the most vulnerable maids. Under the mermaids’ direction, petition the priestesses, visitors, if they can do so without arous- the village has grown strong and pros- and bring them for an Chalk Dome ing suspicion. perous. It is also unjust and cruel. Ev- audience. When they meet armed and capa- ery year, the mermaids’ need for sacri- 4. Never speak to ble visitors, the Wives advise them ficial victims grows. outsiders alone. to stay alert and together. They the encourage visits to the priestesses, Rumors for Nearby Three Villagers Holy Pond which the wives secretly hope will • The wilds around Magda are thick Yossan is a mid- upset the status quo. with huge locusts. dle-aged goatherd, They may suggest presenting • Magda is ruled by a powerful tight jawed and Hall of the priestesses a gift of a small mirror priestess. tight lipped. Failures (in the hopes of starting a fight). Calling • Great wisdom and healing can be Thara is a Arch found in Magda, but the price is young glass- Three Wives of Spring high. blower, intense- Doffna Strand is a midwife, sad- • A man I know apprenticed his son ly curious about eyed but warm. She stoops to to the priestesses in return for a the outside world. conceal her full height. great healing. When they reunited, Cissik’s Beeran is a the boy fled from his father and was Chamber sunburnt and Bubuliga’s not seen again. Shrine to leathery village Chamber • When the priestess of Magda is Suvuvena warden who is angry, swarms of locusts fly. fiercely protective Avorask’s • Magda buys fine sand in quantity of the village, despite Temple Pit of Chamber and blows the clearest glass with it. its troubles. Vitality • Tinkers never wander alone near Mise the Dull has a deformed Magda; they say the locusts will arm. He feigns stupidity, but his take you. eyes twinkle with clever schemes. • The priestesses of Magda pay well He is always armed with a rusty blade. for rare eggs. the Priestesses Magda Village The uppermost houses and the tem- Two hundred souls live on the terrac- ple building are occupied by twenty es of Magda village. They herd goats, white-clad priestesses. grow legumes, blow glass, and serve the Most have lived in the village their priestesses in word and deed. whole lives, but eight were once outsid- Magda is not an innocent, naive the Village of Magda ers and have been trained to fight with backwater: it is an organized, carniv- long knives or short swords in various orous community designed to exploit places. visitors. Everyone knows their part in a They are led by Sanesta, a woman choreographed pattern that has played with piercing blue eyes, a chiseled jaw, out many times: and many questions. 72 — The Adventures Suvuvenism • Any visitors of unusual descent or else in their group (e.g., “The price d6 Chirper life stages The priestess would say they revere who are obviously magical will be is Martak’s hand!”), or someone in 1 Terrified, mute villager fleeing “the mysteries of life.” In truth, they told they are special and must see the village who happens to be out contact while making ghastly, practice a distorted version of Suvu- the mermaids. of favor. chirping wheezes venism, taught to them by the mer- • Up to two visitors will be told they 2 Feverishly digging a hole with maids by the pond’s edge. “show potential” and urged to the Chirpers bare hands Suvuvenism reveres the perfection of “remain behind for training” (so Anyone foolish enough to remain be- life through chimeric transformations. they can be turned into chirpers). hind alone with the priestesses is later 3 Nestled in the hole, comatose Mirrors are blasphemous, as they are • Petitioners who are seeking a great drugged and taken to Avorask. 4 d2 huge, moist locusts emerging associated with vain attachment to the act will be used to settle scores. In his laboratory, he removes lung from the husk of the buried present form. tissue and implants a pair of immature villager Great Acts spayid locusts. These parasitic crea- Petitions Sanesta is known to perform four great, tures cause the lungs to atrophy, but 5-6 d6 mature giant locusts, the Sanesta receives petitioners in the miraculous acts: they oxygenate the blood in the place of size of a large dog temple, a large house decorated with • A profound healing of disease or the original organs. mermaid imagery. The priestesses use injury (though scars remain) Victims immediately lose all power of Close inspection of the platform reveals ceremony to prevent casual conversa- • A divination or wise pronouncement speech. Instead, when they open their the stains of hundreds of sacrifices, tion during petitions. in answer to a question mouths, out pours the ghastly chirping mostly washed away by wind and rain. They begin with a long, admiring • Creation of a magical ingredient, wheeze that is their namesake. The pond basin deepens very gradu- chant about strange beasts from afar. poison, or alchemical reagent—or at Victims (usually terrified at this ally and is only three paces deep around They then wait for petitioners to an- least knowledge of where it can be point) are told they are blessed and are the chalk dome at its center. swer in kind, naming exotic beasts they obtained made to serve the priestesses silently. know about. • Restore a reasonably intact body In a few months’ time, the irresist- the Chalk Dome The priestesses do this to extract to life ible compulsion to flee into the land The chalk dome’s entrance is under- knowledge from visitors. They crave Afterwards, Sanesta enters a trance around the village sets in. (See Chirp- water and rises up into the dark, air- news of such beasts, their eggs, and and intones one of three things as a er life stages table.) The priestesses do filled dome (like a beaver lodge). their young, as this wins favor with the price for her miracles: not interfere. The walls are plastered with sac- chalk mermaids. • Three months of service performed rificial fat which the pale chalk mer- by the petitioner or someone with Locust Collecting maids smear on themselves before go- Goals of the Priestesses them who “shows potential” Villagers are forbidden from harming ing out into the harsh sun. The priestesses attempt to use visitors • The sacrifice of a rare animal giant locusts, but may shoo them away A second tunnel drops down into the for one or more of the following: • An act of violence against someone from crops with brooms or thrown salt. mermaid’s lair. It appears empty, but is Every few months, the priestesses actually filled withlight water. venture into the wilds at night to catch the locusts in large sacks. These are the Light Water brought back to Avorask for egg har- The entire cavern system below is filled vesting and to be fed to the hydra. with light water, an alchemical amni- otic fluid. It is quite clear (turning to the Holy Pond cloudy yellow at about sixty paces) but This pool of black, still water was has the same index of refraction as air, hewn from a plateau on the mountain- making it hard to notice unless touched. side a millennium ago. Stagnant rain- Unlike normal water, surface dwell- water fills it, and a musty smell wafts ers can breathe and speak within it. up when the breeze blows. As it is slightly less dense than nor- At its edge is the calling arch, a mal water, unprepared swimmers will marble platform and archway from sink immediately and quickly. which the priestesses can call forth the Falls in light water cause no dam- chalk mermaids. age, but only strong swimmers (e.g., The Adventures — 73 aquatic creatures, athletes) can rise off Her touch instantly bonds flesh to flesh, • Inhale magic (counter-spell) rituals. Most are incomplete, but the the bottom. Running is impossible, but as if one piece from birth. If attacked, • Summon demonic fish whole ones include lesser telekinesis, the extra buoyancy makes leaping and she will use this to deform enemies or • Disorienting glare (victims confuse flight, and the ability to see through climbing much easier. affix them horribly to one another. which way is up) stone (100 paces). Flames still burn if immersed, but Bubuliga is wracked with doubts Cissik is impetuous and hot-headed, weakly and without much heat. Start- about Avorask, fearing he may be a but she respects strength. Magic use Shrine to Suvuvena ing new fires from flint and steel is im- warped creation. impresses her, especially if it hurts her. In the center of this large, pillared hall possible once inside the light water. is the ruin of Vmnn’s earthcraft—a Chambers granite conveyance he used to flee from Increased Vitality & Healing Her chambers hold an over- the depths of his underworld homeland. Anyone breathing light water for more sized set of plat- A hundred etched metal plates he than an hour begins to feel an increased inum surgi- brought with him have been affixed to vitality. Exposure to it doubles the cal tools Chalk Dome the pillars; together they form a course rate of resting and healing within the and a in chimeromancy. Mastery of chimero- cavern system. mancy and worship of Suvuvena are the synonymous. the Chalk Mermaids Holy Pond Well-read readers may find uncom- The sisters Bubuliga and Cissik are three-vol- fortable similarities between prayers hideous—not true mermaids, but albi- ume set of to Suvuvena and the healing petitions no Jorn (bristly trolls) fused to the tails notes she made to other gods. of giant lungfish. made while Hall of Failures They are the sole surviving creations learning from Calling the Hydra of a long-dead Dradkin chimeromancer, the plates in Arch Two decades ago, the sisters succeeded Vmnn. the shrine. in splicing eight mighty serpents into a He impressed upon them the mys- single creature. teries of the creature-god Suvuvena: Cissik Cissik’s It sings like a choir, a pipe organ of the gods’ act of creation is not complete. Younger than her sis- Chamber made flesh, but discordantly— Flesh is merely the raw material for the ter by a hundred years, Bubuliga’s with joyous, ecstatic, and ongoing task of perfecting living forms. Cissik was blinded by Chamber Shrine to terrified voices all inter- They fervently believe that foolish, a venomous creation a Suvuvena twined as one. delicate humans are a dead end. century ago. When alarmed, the hy- Above all else, the sisters seek magi- She relies on her keen sense of dra cries out with the stolen cal lore and the raw materials for their smell and her ability to detect fine Avorask’s human voices of the chirpers. own chimeric experiments. water currents. Pit of Chamber There is something irresist- Over the years, she has put a lot Vitality ibly primal about the sound. Only those Bubuliga of crystals into her brain (see “The of great will can resist joining its dread- Outwardly more calm and reasonable Full-Dark Stone” on page 42). ful song, singing wordlessly at the top than her sister, Bubuliga trusts no one. She may use any of these powers of their voices. She moves about with a bodyguard at will: The especially weak willed can do of d6 enthralled, early-stage chirpers. • Control fish nothing else while they sing. She responds to intruders with pa- • Venomous bite (paralytic) The hydra spends most of its time tience and reasonable offers, but only • Crabskin (as plate armor) If impressed, she floating in thepit of vitality, occasion- to buy time to find reinforcements. Once per day she may: may call for a truce (re- ally swimming around the pillars of the She has more technical mastery of • Freeze water (blocking a corridor or straining Bubuliga if necessary) and shrine. It will respond to the sisters’ chimeromancy than Cissik, and it was a 2-pace sphere) propose sharing knowledge rather than calls, arriving quickly. she that began splicing the eight mighty • Ray of weakness wasteful fighting. Hydra blood and eggs are alchem- serpents to form the hydra. She cares • Stunning thunderclap In her chambers, Cissik has a col- ically auspicious, nearly as potent for the beast like a beloved child. • Water to mucus (3-pace radius) lection of wooden tablets etched with and useful as dragon ingredients. 74 — The Adventures Bubuliga used both in their next cre- The sisters correct him compulsively, ation, Avorask. but as a behaviorist, Avorask dismisses the distinction: in carrying out Suvuve- Hall of Failures na’s divine vision with such accuracy, This narrow hall is lined with glass he is her, is he not? containers. Each writhes with one of Avorask’s goals exceed anything the the sisters’ flawed creations. sisters imagined. While they intended Lopsided horrors made of tentacles, to create new and better forms for the exposed organs, teeth, and eyes press glory of Suvuvena, Avorask dreams of against the glass. welding all of the world’s life into a sin- These are not originals, but replicat- gle, ecstatic organism. ed painstakingly by Avorask from the sisters’ attempts, flaws and all; he set the Pit of Vitality them here as a reminder of their inept- This dark, natural cavern is much itude (as he sees it). murkier than the others. A reddish Apart from the obvious insult, the glow filters up through the sedi- sisters view this enshrinement of forms ment-filled water. past as a hair’s breadth from the vanity Those descending will find that the of mirrors, and they resent it. bottom is a thick carpet of human organs, knitted together by Avorask’s Avorask chimeromancy. Building on their success with the hy- Scores of victims, barely recogniz- dra, the sisters went on to create a com- able as people, squirm and heave as posite being of their own design. one, silently mouthing the ecstasy of Avorask is a man made of arthro- flesh united. pods, fused together by hydra’s blood The light wa- and prayers to Suvuvena. ter is made of His lungs are locusts; his skin is a their exhalations, carpet of beetles. His eyes are holes and their ecstasy filled with flies. A huge centipede is the cause of its makes up his guts; his hands are clus- healing potency. ters of mantids. Nestled among He comes to pieces when you fight the arms, lungs, and him, but he can reassemble at will. other organs that waft Like Bubuliga, he can knit flesh at lazily in the currents are will, but his chimeromancy is so great eleven hydra eggs. that flesh responds to his directions at 20 paces’ distance. He can sew shut Hydra Eggs mouths and eyes on sight. Because of their chimeric origin, hydra eggs must gestate (2-8 weeks) within Avorask’s Vision light water, else they hatch into eight As an intelligent, composite being, separate, skinless serpents. Avorask has rather alien ideas about identity and individuality. Pronunciation Guide After absorbing Vmnn’s teach- Bubuliga—buh-BOO-lih-gah ings, he began referring to himself as Cissik—SISS-ick Vmnn—and sometimes as Suvuvena. Suvuvena—suh-VOO-vuh-nah Suvuvenism—suh-VOO-vuh-nism The Adventures — 75 Bestiary

Each acolyte of Raal has different orcish gifts: passive, but if disturbed they can burst explosively, Aether Serpent glowing, night-seeing eyes; a tough leathery splashing anyone nearby with flaming oil. See When the astral wind blows strangely, the sands hide; claws and bestial strength; regeneration; “The Man From Before” on page 98. of that realm form into writhing serpents which to take sand and soil as sustenance; or even grind along the dunes in pursuit of material ageless vitality. Automaton, Servant travelers. The sands of the astral realm are They may also have numbed limbs, weakness, These Seree-made automatons have bodies soaked in the dreams and fears of the ages, so leprosy, or rotting flesh—before overuse of the of wood, leather, and brass. They are built for the bite of an aether serpent inflicts potent, ritual causes them to succumb to unthinking hard labor, and are a full head taller than most incapacitating visions of lives long past. Do not ghouldom or death. humans. tarry in the astral realm! Their heads are human skulls, each one Ant, Blight containing a small, coral-like crystal of topaz, Acolyte of Raal Blight ants bring total destruction when they agate, or garnet, which holds the automaton’s Occasionally, a vision or seer catches a glimpse come, like a slow-moving wildfire. Dog-sized habits of endless servitude. of the dread ritual of Thiru that made the scout ants find and mark suitable food. A few These ‘wizard flowers’ were grown in the primordial orcs (see p. 122). Some try to mimic hours later, squads of forager ants arrive and brains of acolytes not suited for powerful magic. the ritual, consuming the spirits of the dead, carry away anything living. Horse-sized blight Automatons occasionally do oddly life-like in the hopes of obtaining the power of those soldier ants watch over the operations and things (scratching an itch, leaning against a legendary creatures. protect the smaller ants from reprisals. wall) before resuming their duties. Unfortunately, the ritual is subtle, and Trees, bushes, injured or slow-moving imperfect performance has many side effects. animals—everything they can cut down and haul is pulled underground to rot in their subterranean fermentation pits. Their ravages are cyclical: they enter an area, strip it down to the bare ground, and move on. After a few years (if the soil hasn’t dried up and blown away) the area begins to recover. Saplings grow and the animals return, but not long afterwards, so do the ants. Blight ants prefer hot, dry climates, as their colonies are vulnerable to flooding in more temperate lands. In cold weather, they grow sluggish and vulnerable to hot-blooded scavengers. This small mercy is all that keeps them from sweeping over everything.

Apocalypse Larva Fat white grubs (2 paces long) cling to cavern walls, sloshing with precious oils. They are

108 — Bestiary A skull collar (an enchanted brass sleeve with Bandit wasp nests are cottage-sized, spherical a central post) affixes the skull and animates globs of wax nestled high on cliff walls, the upper the body with the impulses from the flower. This stories of ruins, or large, ancient trees. The nests makes the skulls interchangeable, giving their crawl with forearm-sized larvae, which secrete minders the ability to replace the skulls with the demon-repellent wax. They nose about others, trained for different tasks blindly, but if bothered, they reply with a jet of In novel situations (e.g., if attacked, told what hot wax (painful and blinding). to do), servant automatons react appropriately on a 1-2 on a d6; otherwise, they ignore what’s Blue Lichen happening. A flaky, blue-gray lichen that rapidly turns exposed skin into more lichen. It grows quickly Automaton, Vault Jackal at body temperature, but is dormant in the The Seree also maintained a store of crystal- numbing cold of its native climate, where it is infused skulls for defensive purposes, made found as blue-gray streaks on ice. Because it from starved jackals. grows painlessly, blue lichen infections can go Automatons with jackal skulls hunt in packs unnoticed for hours. of up to 8, sneak carefully, attack from ambush, and stop only when their victims are torn apart. Bog Strangler Bog stranglers haunt the swamps, bogs, and Avatar of Suvuvena moorland pools between villages. They live out An avatar of Suvuvena is the penultimate an illusion of their lives from long ago, poor chimeric creation, a person made of arthropods, gatherers, charcoal burners, and fishers. The fused together by hydra’s blood and prayers to great working of the Martoi let them live as Suvuvena, shaper of life. they did thousands of years ago, but only as Its lungs are locusts; its skin is a carpet of reflections in still water. beetles. Its eyes are holes filled with flies. A huge centipede makes up its guts; its hands Bandit Wasp are clusters of mantids. It can disassemble or These giant wasps live in colonies of 2-20 reassemble at will. adults, each the size of a calf. They fly noisily, As a master chimeromancer, the avatar’s gaze easily heard in the distance. Their glossy chitin instantly bonds flesh to flesh, as if one piece from protects like metal armor, though their legs and birth. It can use this to deform its enemies, or eyes are delicate. affix two or more of them to one another. It can They arrive in groups of d6, seize people, sew mouths, noses, and eyes shut with a glance, sheep, or goats with their hooked legs, inject causing blindness and suffocation. venom, and fly home to feed their captured prey As intelligent, composite beings, avatars to their larvae. have rather alien ideas about identity and Bandit wasp venom has a powerful effect: individuality. anyone injected becomes completely unaware of While most chimeromancers strive to create bandit wasps, as if they (and their larvae) did new and better forms for the glory of Suvuvena, not exist. Many victims have been carried off an avatar dreams of welding all life into a single, without protest, calmly enjoying the view from ecstatic organism. the air.

Bestiary — 109 As extracting money became harder, STRIELUND the lords turned to bandits and mer- cenaries for collection. Peasant revolts a Land Divided flared up in response to this betrayal. A Once a great partnership between two decade ago, these culminated in a flotil- walled cities, Saltbride and Last- la of riverboats sailing down the Learin fort, the land is in a painful transition. to attack Saltbride in open rebellion. Southwestern Strielund is steadily Aided from within the city by the Em- turning to swamp, reclaiming the fer- balmer’s Guild, the rebellion killed tile lands around Saltbride. few the quarter-lords in residence. The eastern lands around Lastfort are enjoying a boon; though it has a d8 What’s on the table? long dry season, plentiful rains have Poor/rich tables use worst/best of 2d8 made it prosperous and growing. 1 Thin, river cabbage soup Saltbay 2 Boiled water chestnuts A century ago, Saltbay was a deep-wa- 3 Leech turnovers, heavily salted ter port. The rising water levels and and baked rock hard heavy silt coming down the Learin 4 Stewed pond-apple river have turned it into a muddy shallows, now practically a lagoon. In 5 Speckled eels, spit-roasted the winter, when the water levels are 6 Marsh heron, boiled in wine and highest, the northern mouth of Saltbay cloves closes completely, cut off from the Ha- ver Soont by a muddy bar. 7 Honey-filled pastries Now, an alliance of low households gov- inaugurated with a lavish ceremony 8 Smoked turtle skewers, crusted erns a violent, unstable city. and feast, and then sealed forever be- Saltbride with mustard seeds and pepper In an attempt to impose stability, the hind sturdy locked doors and layers of From the water, Saltbride is an impres- citizens’ council bans guildfolk or trade- deadly traps. sive city. Slate-rock towers rise high d8 Saltbride encounters folk from leaving Saltbride (otherwise Though tempting to raid for revenue, over the walls, decked with colorful 1 High-born beggars, with many would leave for Lastfort). the council hasn’t managed to devote pennants. Up close, it is less grand. The mausoleum secrets to sell A bi-weekly fair in a burned-out the necessary resources to enter them, pennants are torn; the harbor is clogged upper city courtyard brings together at least not safely. The first clumsy with rotting ships now too large for the 2 Fishers, looking to spend some of marshland farmers and city tradefolk. attempts ended in disaster: one freed Saltbay’s muddy shallows. their coin a hostile cave squid, and another un- The narrow streets of the lower city 3 Undew mercenaries, here to Mausoleum Towers leashed a plague of clockwork scarabs are flooded three paces deep, and the broker a trade with Birevia The tallest structures in Saltbride are that troubled the city for months. people now use floating rafts of swamp the mausoleums, flat-topped and pre- 4 Guild household, surreptitiously willow logs over channels of rank water cipitously high. Each owned by a sepa- mbalmer s uild packing for escape to Lastfort E ’ G and algae. Mildew attacks everything, rate noble family, the towers sprout out Over time, the specialists hired to fill and tiny flies are everywhere. 5 Farmer-citizens on watch, of the tops of palatial townhomes like the mausoleums with traps to protect dragging a thief off for drowning gray, windowless cylinders. New layers them became known as the embalmer’s Rebellion 6 Lye guildfolk, collecting laundry were added as necessary or to show off guild, though they knew more of locks For a century, the quarter-lords around in a pull-boat the wealth and seniority of their fami- and snares than of the dead. Saltbride kept levying the people as if ly—once per generation, when possible. They were badly abused by a nobility 7 Pressers from the Unmended Way the land was still prosperous—desperate The towers began to grow when keen to preserve the secrets of the mau- (page 30) looking for marks to fuel the lavish dowries and bequests the flooding first began, borne out of soleums, and many were locked away needed to buy their way into Lastfort as 8 Spies for Lastfort, re-roll for a belief that the wet earth was a pau- or murdered after their tasks were com- their households shifted eastwards. their cover story per’s grave. Each new layer would be plete, breeding obvious resentments. 144 — Gazetteers When the rebellion laid siege, the guild Wicker Trading Posts the flood waters came, they mated with maintains an opulent wooden palace in opened secret ways to let them in. A few watery crossroads are perma- eels and produced a brood of aquatic the new quarter where he does a steady Though promised a place of honor, there nently inhabited. New, wicker stories hybrids, each as long as a skiff. They trade, accepting “gifts” from those who is no legitimate work for them now, and squat atop flooded stone ruins. These ambush from the water like alligators, need introductions at court or advice the lavish lifestyle of master artisans is are dire places, home to exiles and out- but bury themselves in the mud over on how to make do, but most have seen unpopular in the new regime. laws, but folk who don’t make them- winter, sometimes not waking for doz- their fortunes fall. Many have turned to crime, smug- selves useful are not welcome long. ens of years. The fishers blame sight- Several historical, high-profile mar- gling people and stashed riches out, or ings on strong pond-apple cider. riages that had joined families of the working to plunder the mausoleums in d8 River/Wetlands encounters two cities were annulled posthumously, secret for their own benefit. 1 Dredging crew (d6 locals in a Lastfort Area disenfranchising hundreds. skiff), stirring up silt or cutting For centuries, Lastfort was a stagnant, Some have become little better than Trade with Birevia weeds to clear a waterway dour town, a last bastion for Border- bandits themselves, making punitive With command of the Haver Soont, Bi- 2 Local eel-gatherers with lands herders to retreat to. Squat, tin- mounted raids into central Strielund, revia supplies much-needed essentials baskets; wading or boating. roofed buildings huddled behind its claiming goods and “hostages.” Others to Saltbride: salt, tin, and small metal parapets. abandon noble pretensions for merce- 2 items, as well as salted meat and oil no 3 d4 +1 mercenaries in 4-person The shifting land has blessed it. The nary work. Those who still cling to for- longer available directly from Lastfort. skiff(s). Roll d6. On 1-2 they’re once marshy peninsula is drying out, tune lobby for war to retake Saltbride. They also buy inland delicacies—hon- “tax collecting” for Lastfort; leaving rich soil and meandering plains d10 NE Strielund encounters ey, smoked turtle, and heron. 3-4 unemployed and turned to dotted with old bridges that span dry, banditry; 5-6 carrying trade Unfortunately, the lords of Birevia grassy ruts. 1 Traveling wizard goods to or from Birevia. fear legitimizing the peasant collective New farmsteads are built every year, 2 Mounted patrol from Lastfort by trading directly and so use mer- 4 Tinker, with a pull-boat of and the land is thick with wheat and (d8+1) cenaries based in Undew as interme- tinwares, rope, and leather. sunflowers in high summer. 3 Noble/bandit raiding party, diaries. By edict, goods to or from Bi- The impassable Hullknives Bay 5 Emperor heron, d8 others near d10, mounted, excellent gear revia cannot be sold in Saltbride, and protects from the bandits of Undew, so transactions must conducted in the 6 Disheveled artisan family and Lastfort’s patrols are mounted, de- 4 Mounted drovers from High (d8 of various ages), fleeing haunted coves of Gruel’s Shore. terring land raids. Kellan, bringing a herd of The mercenaries are known to sud- Saltbride on foot d6×10 cattle to Lastfort, or denly insist on extortionate prices and 7 Wyvern eel Within the Walls returning with trade goods resort to armed robbery when they feel Food is plentiful, but the influx of fam- (spirits, oil, lye, salt) 8 Great snapping turtle lucky. Only the sternest Saltbriders ilies from Saltbride has seen every last 5 Ruins of a burned-out Seree row out to meet them. scrap of land built upon. A new, “out- tribute wagon (see page 100), Herons & Wyvern Eels er city” has sprung up—wooden homes its vexed timber still grinding Gruel’s Shore The dense swamps are said to be enclosed by a double palisade. Skills 6 Farmers (d6) heading to Once an area thick with prosperous haunted by ghosts that call out in hu- are in demand, and tinkers that once Lastfort, secretly armed and manorial holdings, it’s now a broad, man voices. These tales arose from the served the farmlands have settled down aiming to rescue relatives saltwater swamp. For centuries, the emperor herons, practically invisible as petty artisans. trees were farmed as pollards (pruned with their algae-streaked plumage, de- The lords and half-lords of Lastfort 7 Tinker pulling a small cart to sprout slender poles). Abandoned, spite their gigantic size. They are nat- have seen their coffers swell; they crave of goods, topped by a large they have grown huge, and now the ural mimics, with excellent hearing, luxuries from afar. Established fami- birdhouse full of chirping pipits. flooded forests look like rows upon rows and repeat animal or human cries for lies jealously guard their power—only 8 Lost, sunblind Dradkin fleeing of massive hands reaching up out of hours. Voices or phrases can sometimes those with land or family connections from Incerat (see page 22) slimy waters, grasping the air. be repeated for great distances across into the inner city may join (or even ad- 9 White velvet hunting spiders The manorial houses and the sur- the forest, from heron to heron, bring- dress) the council. (d6) from the abandoned shrine rounding stone cottages have fallen ing strange, garbled news. Displaced quarter-lord families from (see page 34) to ruin, but they remain useful hiding Adding to the tales are wyvern eels, Saltbride have not fared as well; some spots for bandits and other travelers descendants of old Half-Lord Gaven’s who had dual holdings are established. 10 d3 giant aurochs from the who don’t mind getting their boots wet. two captive wyverns. Left behind when The First Lord of Saltbride (in exile) Borderlands (see page 150) Gazetteers — 145 Rumors and Hooks d1000 Rumor (gossip, tidings) Lore (tomes, secrets, prophetic vision) Hook (opportunity, one-shot) Stellarium of the Vinteralf (page 8) 001-007 A cathedral of ice has appeared at the north end of The great steam forge of the Vinteralf is one of the A pricelessly valuable, self-healing rope washed Steaming Valley, perched on the glacier. only forges hot enough to work divine white metal. down Steaming Valley; its maker must be found. 008-014 A white, winged “demon” has been seen twisting in Vinteralf seers in their icy Stellarium could pull The visible Stellarium means the strange Vinteralf the air above the north villages, a bad omen. ritual secrets from the stars themselves. are closer than we thought; establish trade! 015-020 A wolf covered in blue growth came staggering out The Vinteralf’s Stellarium was governed by Prince The deadly Wyrm Jokun has taken residence on a of Steaming Valley; villagers burned it. Thavir, wielder of Grugnir, the blinding starsword. glacier; find it and put an end to its ravages! Steeps of the Ur-Menig (page 10) 021-027 Years ago, a wizard often walked the Northrut, but The wizard Bethelan had a pact with the Carreg to A talent of silver to whoever finds and returns they say he went into a hole and never came out. carry him far and wide via underground roads. Half-Lord Joun from his trek along Northrut! 028-034 Ottlecop’s public house uses insect shells for plates; Bethelan found a way to trap a demon in a A trio of strange, cave folk visited Ottlecop village they’re so huge! Gifts from Bethelan, ‘fore he died. labyrinth of musical crystals, most unwisely. last month, offering gems for “stout mercenaries.” 035-041 Half-Lord Joun led three horsemen along Northrut The wizard Bethelan supposedly made his greatest Vilin’s band all knew each others’ thoughts, thanks to learn what left huge drag-marks; none returned. discoveries in a cavern near Ottlecop. to a musical trick they learned in Bethelan’s caves. A Litany in Scratches (page 12) 042-048 That old track was once the road to the High A thriving monastery once stood at the edge of the A map has been found to a ruined monastery, once Uttvelt, a wall of stone as high as you like. High Uttvelt and paid for goods in fine silver. said to be filled with silver. 049-054 When the village sooth was a slip this high, monks The monks of New Spring are well versed in secret If the fort at the High Uttvelt were reclaimed, the would come here from the west, with silver. knowledge and turn away no travelers. pass to Slakesea would be safe once more. 055-061 A pack of dogfolk went west through here a month Within the order of New Spring, a terrible rot has Sooth Marta knows a place of sacred healing, if it ago with a look in their eyes I didn’t like one bit. taken root: a quest for blasphemous immortality. can only be cleansed and reconsecrated. Midden of the Deep (page 83) 062-068 Weirdly shaped ghosts crawl from the ground, The source of the Carreg’s wealth is a huge deposit An expedition into the deep seeks insects of all wailing. Stay a month, you’ll see! Try the ham? of drake dung in the deep, filled with gems: here! kinds; some make useful remedies and fetch silver! 069-075 Years ago, lanky, eyeless miners would emerge Carreg miners risked garnet-jawed hulk larvae to A crust of earth has fallen, revealing a mound of from the caves, spending gems just for food! fetch their gems from the deep places. glittering gems and moving lights far below. 076-082 This? Pretty, right? My great-great-gran got this A host of Carreg was entombed in a great mine; Enormous insects, all different, have been carrying for baking a pie for a man with backwards knees. their anxious spirits call out for rest to this day. off anyone caught alone. This must end. The Cage of Serimet (page 16) 083-088 We’ve seen your sort down here before; several of The summoner Yorta has been sentenced to The summoner Yorta knows a way to lost Saaru, you live down that way, in a cave lit by a tiny sun. unending imprisonment by the Order of Serimet. beyond the astral realm, but he is prisoner to zealots. 089-095 There was a battle here in my father’s time, a The paladins of Serimet have all gone, left for a Wise, innocent Yorta’s gifts and guidance are lost great many against one. I’m not sure who won. deep cavern where they guard their great enemy. to the world while he lies in chains. Free him! 096-102 Last I saw of my daughter was twenty years ago; There are many rituals to invoke Serimet, but none The lunatic Order of Serimet holds a wizard in she hunted wizards with the order. work. This wasn’t true twenty years ago. chains. They must have money and valuables!

156 — Rumors and Hooks Index

A bone devil. See demons Sifoon 81, 154–155 wives of Spring 72, 104–105 bone trees. See materials Spittle 151 worm seekers, Heelan mystics 61 accord stones. See Seree books Thiru (destroyed) 53 , 108, 141 Cwealm. See demigods Acolytes of Raal. See cults Book of Immortals 14 Tlarba 56–57 aether sand. See materials of Undibol 82, 124, 130 Twosister 149 D aether serpent 17, 108 Testament of Many 82 Wint 153. See also Flame of Wint dark glass. See materials Aggal 151 umber tome of withered conch of fog 91, 131 al Bim. See magic-wielders Darpera. See regions Zunlet 15, 136 condenser of Panur 35, 131 Deel. See demigods analeaf. See herbs brass soldier 70, 110 conveyances ancestral host 146. See also spirits of demigods. See also gods barque of Stryggal Ninestakes 130 Angnes 21, 51 the dead C Birevian cog 149 ant, blight 19, 108 Brégnes 21 Carduros. See magic-wielders coracles, Claimsun 148 Cicollus 51, 64 anvil of the ice lords 50, 130 Dradkin earthcraft 74 apocalypse larva 98–99, 108 Carreg 10, 28–29, 78, 80–82, 83, 110 capture of 141 cave squid 111 lacuna 53, 133 gnarled oak of 15 fire oil 99 pool of seven ways 17 Aridenn. See regions cave stitcher. See demons imprisonment 40 chalk hound 57, 111 portal mirror 18 Cwealm 21, 51 astral realm 26 Radomenus’s lantern 37, 142 astrology 9 changeling 111 dead, various 71 charioteer’s helm 45, 131 tribute wagons, Seree 101 Deel 25, 50, 51. See also warbody automaton 62–63, 93, 97, 101 Vinteralf starsleigh 45, 136 vault jackal 43, 109 Chime of the Martoi 33 circlet of 97, 131 chirper 73 couatl 17 shattering 141 vault servants 43, 108 crab-climb oil 131 avatar of Suvuvena 109 circlet of Deel 97, 131 Dendra 53 circlet of essential visions 35, 131 craesten 57, 112 Egesa 21, 51 avorask, chimeromancer. See also avatar crawling ghosts. See Martoi of Suvuvena cities Gamandes 28 City of Fire 55, 115 crown of the Once-Queen 67 goddess of the ocean 85 crypt servant 112 B Darkvale 139, 148 Inwitsorh 21 Heilia 117 crystal knife 131 Leádstæf 20–21, 128 bandit wasp 95, 109 High Kellan 150 cults Panur 34–35, 51, 141 larva 95 Hrel (fallen) 154 Acolytes of Raal 108 final rest 148 bitter ointment 29, 130 Lastfort 145 Believers of Morton 21 missionary 51 black cube 97, 130 Millvale 147 Blessed Children of Ciber Mulce 86 Serimet 16–17 black gruel 46, 130 Murkseat 63 Blighted Order of Sorg 25 She-of-Dissolution 71 black table 130 Novy Dom 38, 140, 149 Carreg rust desperants 81, 111 Sigordine 50, 51 blade of solace 35, 130 Once Martoliin 138, 149 Daughters of Elil 59 demons Blightlands. See regions Owlshade 76, 139, 153 Exhorts of Panur 148 ‘the beast’ 93 blue lichen 9, 109 Pale Yugra 62 of the Beast 92 bone devil 15, 110 bluetongue. See drugs Pelark (destroyed) 94, 114 Order of Serimet 16 cave stitchers 63, 111 boars, giant 96 Quell 140 root walkers 147 cursed bears 46 bog strangler 66, 109 Saltbride 100, 139, 140, 144 Suvuvenism 73 dream eater 89, 114

166 — Index

Alphabetical Locations Basilica of the Leper Messiah...... 76 House of the Tyrant...... 38 The Roots of Ambition...... 58

The Borderlands...... 150 In the Care of Bones...... 34 The Shattered Gate...... 78

The Cage of Serimet...... 16 Into the Silent Temple...... 106 Sirens of Blood and Sea...... 84

The Call of the Light...... 64 Lair of the Lantern Worm...... 60 The Sky-Blind Spire...... 54

Can’t Sleep—Clowns Will Eat Me.88 The Lantern of Wyv...... 36 The Sorcerer’s Feast...... 96

The Chains of Heaven...... 50 The Lenses of Heaven...... 56 Steeps of the Ur-Menig...... 10

Circle of Wolves...... 20 A Litany in Scratches...... 12 Stellarium of the Vinteralf...... 8

The City of the Carreg...... 80 The Man From Before...... 98 Strielund...... 144

Claimsun & Birevia...... 148 The Mermaids’ Knot...... 72 Tannòch Rest-of-Kings...... 15

The Cleft of Five Worlds...... 62 Midden of the Deep...... 83 The Task of Zeichus...... 33

A Clutch of Shadows...... 48 The Moon is a Mirror...... 68 Tealwood & Noripur...... 152

The Coming of Sorg...... 25 The Motes of Eternity...... 52 Three for the Grave...... 46

Do It for the Beast...... 92 The Mouth of Spring...... 104 Though Flesh Be Vast...... 22

His Eternal Progress...... 94 Mulciber’s Flute...... 86 The Unmended Way...... 30

The Extent of Gamandes...... 28 No God But Dissolution...... 71 The Ur-Menig...... 154

The Full-Dark Stone...... 42 The Oracle’s Decree...... 44 Veil of the Once-Queen...... 66

The God Unmoving...... 90 The Necromancer’s Wish...... 26 The Wagoner’s Table...... 100

The Grinvolt Coast...... 146 The Raid Mirror...... 18

The Haunting of Hainsley Hall.....41 The Raindrinkers...... 102