THE CALL OF THE LIGHT

an Adventure Location by Michael Prescott

CALL OF THE LANTERN
From the bridge, anyone car-
rying patterned magic (mem-
orized arcane spells, or whose
THE SITUATION be reached by its broad, curv- The pair of statues guarding
thoughts are being augmented
The Seree empire was de- ing bridge. the entrance are named in
by magical devices) will feel a
stroyed at the peak of its pow- To those who can tell, the engravings as ‘The Twins’, al-
powerful compulsion to enter
er, scrubbed from the world by architecture is mostly from the though they are quite unlike:
the killing room and fall into
the gods for its audacity. late Seree period, but with in- one has the sinuous body and
the pit.
But the matter wasn’t set- congruous elements (especial- slitted nostrils of an under-
This compulsion is stron-
tled overnight, as the wizards ly the curved bridge, gateway, world dradkin, while the oth-
ger the more patterned magic
resisted mightily. and east balcony). er has vague features—only
being carried. Seree automata
The servants of heaven were The uneven courses in the a hint of eyes, nose and
(whose minds are entirely pat-
forced to make bargains with outer brickwork suggest hasty mouth. Both wield long,
terned magic) cannot resist at
dark powers of the earth before or troubled construction. smooth lances.
all. For them, the lantern’s
they were able to achieve victo- magic has a range of several
ry in this forgotten war. leagues.
GARDEN
The tower of Sar Ebil is the Once every few
OF WOE
site of one such bargain. Here, months, a battered au-
the servants of heaven and the tomaton emerges from the
powers of the earth joined forc- forest and joins its fellow vic-
B
es to build a magical place to tims in the pit.
draw in and destroy as many
Seree automata as possible.
When the war ended, the
THE FACE OF
delicate alliance collapsed, and B
DISCORD
those bound to the tower’s pur- The graven face
pose were forced to remain. A watches all that
approach, and will
RUMORS FOR NEARBY squirt anyone ap-
proaching in heavy
1. A great hero is entombed in
armor (i.e. who looks
the tower and will emerge at a
RITUAL CHAMBER like an automaton)
time of the people’s need. [mis-
FACE OF with a jet of oil of dis-
leading]
cord.
2. In my grandfather’s time, a DISCORD
The face appears to
child went into the tower and VAT A be a wrathful aspect of
returned with a helm that let
WEAPON the demigod Cicollus, but
him fly like a bird. [true]
RACK trained observers may no-
3. Sorrowful moaning
tice dradkin angularity in
comes from the tower
the style of carving.
on the full moon [true]
4. Once, on the full
THE PIT The high relief in the
KILLING ROSTER archway shows a
moon, a wooden
ROOM TWINS serpent (a Seree
man came down OF
symbol) writhing
from the tower. The
amid a chaotic
locals burnt him and
constellation of di-
found a ruby in his
amond stars.
head. [true]
5. Years ago, warriors
from the barony came
THE THE LANTERN THE KILLING ROOM
to try to take TWINS
The floor and walls are
the tower, but battered, chipped and
none returned. burnt from battles be-
[false] tween the servants of
THE
6. Another IMPALED heaven and the autom-
wooden man has TITAN HEAP atons drawn here.
been seen return- A reclusive and par-
ing to the tower; anoid hermit, Scaggol,
some say he is tall watches from the shadows
and has but one arm, of staircase A. If he feels
others say he is short, with MENIGAN threatened, he will fire a
a metal helm. [misleading] SHAFT shot from his bow, and scam-
per up to the Garden of Woe
SAR EBIL TOWER to awaken a defender (deter-
mine which randomly).
Built on a high, rocky place,
the tower of Sar Ebil can only

Copyright © 2016 Michael Prescott — CC-BY-NC 3.0 — c b n a — More at http://blog.trilemma.com v0.91 pg. 1/2
 tal, celestial and underworld All they know is that the sum-
What do you find on
d6 warriors who fought the sum- mons indicates that the pow-
the heap?
moned automatons. ers are once again at war with
1 skull, a wizard flower of The dates on the tiles reveal mortal sorcerers.
semi-precious gemstone a history to the curious and pa- purpose: climb toward the
inside tient: built five centuries ago. light.
GARDEN OF WOE The automatons are trapped
2 a shattered limb of wood, Dozens died in the first year,
The most fearsome warriors in a cycle of climbing, falling,
brass and leather and a few months later it had
were ‘encysted’ in the seven and climbing. None can speak.
to be reclaimed from the Seree
3 an injury from sharp soil beds of this darkened hall,
by Nurabel (a mortal name),
metal or splintered wood awaiting the hour they had to
who is honored for invoking
fight again. THE IMPALED TITAN
4 a functioning automaton the ritual to relight the lan- Although pinned by a hunter’s
Pouring water on a soil bed
with d4 limbs attached tern. lance, once a month the full
awakens its occupant instant-
This happened again in moon gives this massive gar-
5 a gardening or cooking ly. The beds contain Su-Yal,
years 3, 8 and 22 of the tower, dening automaton a scrap of
implement a dradkin hero of the under-
with the last recorded death in mental freedom.
world; a pair of demonic pan-
6 a unique heap relic year 49. At these times, he tosses
thers with claws and teeth
of dark glass; a cadaverous an automaton or two up out of
THE VAT
A mighty iron vat rests on a
RITUAL CHAMBER changeling who adopts the the pit in the hopes of freeing
Soft, blue light comes from the form of her enemies, and a them. Few manage to leave the
hinged platform. It is five pac-
four pillars surrounding the mortal warrior in fine armor reach of the lantern before the
es high and easily weighs sixty
ceremonial pool. Each is en- from beyond the Striel moun- moon wanes, and so nearly all
talents. At the bottom rests a
graved with instructions for tains. of them soon fall back in again.
few gallons of oil of discord.
A winch allows it to be tilted one of four rituals. These are Two other mortals died
simple, but only possible on the during their hibernation and
SNUFFING THE LANTERN
toward the pit on a badly rust- If the lantern is somehow de-
ed chain. dias at the center: has rotted to mere bones.
stroyed or extinguished, two
If the winch is turned, the 1. Lighting the lantern re- Awakened warriors will ex-
things happen: a magical pulse
oil begins to dribble down onto quires the juices from six apoc- pect to see familiar faces call-
awakens d4 warriors from the
the heap. This elicits a chorus alypse larva. ing them to battle, and have
Garden of Woe, and the au-
of crashing and clanking from 2. Encysting a ‘twin’ in the no idea they have slept for four
tomatons are freed.
the automata. Garden of Woe requires centuries.
Ten of the largest will pro-
If the vat is lowered all the a quantity of soil from a
tect their fellows; the rest are
way down, the chain snaps, the child’s grave. THE HEAP entirely focused on the menial
vat rolls off its base and falls 3. Brewing oil of dis-
Thirty paces below the work of servitude.
into the pit, smashing the lan- cord requires the ground
killing room is a miser-
tern and a good lot of the heap. crystal brains of Seree
able scene. THE MENIGIAN SHAFT
automata.
Called by the lantern
OIL OF DISCORD 4. Calling for aid from Disused now, this shaft drops
and then either ambushed
This black, gritty oil disrupts the powers by sacrificing a two miles into the vast and
by the tower’s warriors of
the formation of magical pat- willing victim means either a dark spaces of Ur-Menig.
Ur-Menig
old or merely smashed by
terns. Wizards smeared with celestial warrior of hot white A gentle, armadillo-like
the fall, hundreds of au-
can produce no coherent magic, metal forms on the balcony or creature with sensitive, search-
tomatons have accumulat-
only showers of hot sparks. a demonic cloud of searing grit, ing eyes lurks near the top.
ed here.
It will animate inert autom- teeth and claws flies up the Visitors from below far be-
Forty can still
atons or even heavy armor, shaft. low once paid it to squeeze
move, although
causing violent twitches and Since the alliance was through the bars to retrieve
the magic of the
jerks until carefully rinsed off. broken long ago, these curiosities from the heap, but
lantern bends
It is not easily contained, as dread beings are none have come in years.
their minds
it has a nasty habit of seeping free to act
to a single
past corks and stoppers. how they THE HEAP RELICS
please.
WEAPON RACK Roll d6 to see which:
A large weapon rack stands 1. A spade that does the work
mostly empty except for three of six, though its user
wicked-looking man-catchers must eat as six do or be
and a hunter’s lance, a mag- crippled for a day
nificent spear with a point of 2. A drake skeleton
smoky glass. Anyone pierced 3. A Seree battle stan-
by it is held fast until it is dard, woven of a cloth
pulled out. that cannot be pierced
4. A mace that turns its
THE ROSTER OF TWINS victim’s bones to honey
Engraved tiles 5. A scrying glass
commemorate 6. A spider shield
shield,
the “twins” whose metal legs
who died seize weap-
here: mor- ons

Copyright © 2016 Michael Prescott — CC-BY-NC 3.0 — c b n a — More at http://blog.trilemma.com v0.91 pg. 2/2