TEXT: Copyright © 2016 Michael Prescott - cbna  - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ - Find more adventure locations at http://blog.trilemma.com
  v1.01 pg. 1/2
  The SiTuaTion
  At the roof of the world, 
  the 
  Seree 
  constructed 
  a 
  fortress, an enchanted prison 
  meant to wring magic from 
  the gods themselves.
  The Seree fled centuries 
  ago when a trio of demigods, 
  led by Deel, razed it and 
  freed their trapped kin.
  Now, 
  the 
  prison 
  is 
  controlled by the sorceress 
  Nacharta, who claims Seree 
  ancestry and seeks to reclaim 
  the powers of her forebears.
  The Granary
  Nacharta’s forces keep 
  a store of “witch-grain”. A  
  steady stream of ensorcelled 
  birds and insects bring seeds, 
  nuts, and beetles gathered 
  in the valleys below, and  
  deposit  them through holes 
  in the mud-thatch roof.
  The WeST ToWer
  Empty, save for two 
  Nuss mongrels spying 
  on Nacharta’s activities.
  The orrery
  Once 
  used 
  to 
  chart 
  divine motions, its ornate 
  spheres are now blistered, 
  flaking metal.
  Rotating it once advances 
  the heavens by one day, and 
  ages the mover by one year.
  The SouTh ToWer
  This empty shell holds 
  stairs down to the inner 
  halls. The Nuss mongrels 
  keep their use of it secret.
  The PiT MouTh
  This magical pit once 
  snared celestial beings from 
  the heavens, trapping them 
  with an intense gravitational 
  pull.
  The effect is unsettling,  
  as if the ground (though flat) 
  tilts sharply toward the pit’s 
  edge, and anything near is 
  dragged in.
  The 
  anchored 
  chain 
  drops 30’ to the top of the 
  remnant, a massive pile of 
  stones and debris, littered 
  with dead birds.
  The norTh ToWer
  Apparently an enormous, 
  single block of pink stone, 
  the north “tower” bears scars 
  from the battle and several 
  later attempts to break in,  
  but it remains impregnable.
  Breaching the tower’s 15’ 
  thick walls will draw the 
  attention of Sigordine.
  The 
  hairline 
  doorway 
  outlines are a ruse and do 
  not open.
  The Winch houSe
  Nacharta’s minions built 
  this dry stone structure from 
  collected rubble.
  d3 
  acolytes 
  and 
  d6 
  thralls tend a stone oven, 
  used for baking  bread and 
  for smelting remnant ore 
  retrieved from the pit.
  The minions built a winch 
  to lower a chain into the pit, 
  but the pull proved too great 
  for them to pull it up.
  A rack holds four pairs of 
  iron hooks, used for climbing 
  the chain, as well as three 
  iron picks.
  Cots 
  for 
  ten 
  stand against the 
  walls.
  The eaST ToWer
  The ground floor is a 
  crowded workshop packed 
  with 
  tables 
  and 
  tools 
  for 
  metal-working, 
  book 
  restoration, and innumerable 
  mundane tasks (mending, 
  candlemaking).
  d6 
  acolytes 
  and 
  d6 
  thralls toil, eat, and sleep 
  here.
  Nacharta lives on the 
  first storey, served by her 
  three most loyal acolytes. 
  Her apartment is crowded 
  with shelves: the salvaged 
  Seree library.
  The storey above is open to 
  the elements and is unused.
  GreaT hall
  This two-storey building 
  exists only as a shell around 
  an enormous gouge.
  The hall once housed the 
  masters of the fortress, and 
  it was the first point attacked 
  during the razing.
  The mixture of rainwater 
  and rubble pooled at the 
  bottom of the gouge conceals 
  two artifacts that have lain 
  here for centuries.
  The ice lordS’ anvil
  An anvil of indestructible 
  star-glass, stolen from the 
  Vinteralf. Anything forged 
  on the anvil is brought to the 
  full attention of the powers of 
  the luminous void.
  The WhiTe lance of deel
  A javelin of white metal 
  two 
  paces 
  in 
  length 
  is 
  embedded in the rock. This 
  is the weapon that destroyed 
  the Great Hall. If thrown 
  forcefully, 
  it 
  will 
  inflict 
  similar damage again.
  Collateral damage (e.g., 
  to the thrower) is certain, 
  and the discharge will be 
  felt by powers and magical 
  sensitives for hundreds of 
  leagues. 
  The BridGe
  The 
  Seree 
  used 
  the 
  essence of chained deities to 
  project an artificial ley line 
  southeast, allowing them to 
  walk directly to their next 
  mountain-peak 
  fortress, 
  barely visible six leagues to 
  the southeast.
  The lower bridge is one of 
  two entry points to the inner 
  halls.
  an Adventure Location by Michael Prescott
  THE CHAINS OF HEAVEN
  
  Copyright © 2016 Michael Prescott - cbna  - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/ - Find more adventure locations at http://blog.trilemma.com
  v1.01 pg. 2/2
  reachinG The forTreSS
  Built on the peak of a mountain, the 
  approach is difficult and slow. Nights grant 
  an incredible view of the stars, but are 
  exceedingly cold.
  Sigordine has set a trio of Nuss 
  mongrels to watch all the approaches, to 
  learn the capabilities and disposition of 
  anyone approaching.
  The PiT reMnanT
  The pit is 70’ deep, though the bottom 40’ 
  is a great pile of rubble pulled in when the 
  towers were destroyed during the razing.
  The haphazard angles of the blocks makes 
  it possible to clamber around and beneath 
  them, deeper into the pile.
  The deeper one goes, the stronger the 
  pull, and the smaller the gaps. Every move 
  is an effort, and any tumble can break 
  bones. Eventually, breathing itself becomes 
  difficult, and rest provides no benefit.
  A half-dozen thralls have perished here. 
  With them is a husk in flattened plate armor.
  GodMarkS
  30’ from the bottom, the walls of the pit 
  are marred by silvery streaks—gouges and 
  cuts filled in with a white, glossy metal.
  These are godmarks, congealed celestial 
  power left by the imprisoned deities as they 
  thrashed and writhed. A potent record of 
  suffering, looking at them causes fear.
  Near the top of the remnant, the marks 
  are few, and have been picked clean of metal 
  by Nacharta’s minions. There are larger 
  and more numerous marks lower down, but 
  the work is dangerous. The order has found 
  that even the rubble can be smelted for small 
  quantities of the precious metal.
  The bottom 10’ of the pit is filled with  
  silvery, metal-infused rainwater, though 
  none have seen it and returned.
  reMnanT BauBleS
  The order has been working the metal 
  into jewellery in an attempt to make its 
  power usable.
  Each 
  acolyte 
  carries 
  d2 
  baubles, 
  fashioned into rings, thin bracelets, or 
  medallions.
  d6
  Remnant Bauble Powers
  1
  The bearer can see from the eyes of a 
  visible target of their choice.
  2
  Disintegrates the bearer and their 
  belongings into dust. They remain 
  as a disembodied observer, and can 
  reassemble at will.
  3
  Projects a repulsive sphere centered 
  on the bauble, like the pit but in 
  reverse. Impedes attacks against the 
  bearer; scatters small objects.
  4
  Teleports the bearer 10’ in the 
  direction of their gaze.
  5
  Shoots a lash of electricity 15’; harms 
  as crossbow; starts fires.
  6
  Target inanimate object (or portion 
  of one, up to human size) gains 
  life for d4 hours and (d6) 1-2: 
  becomes violent, 3-4: flees in panic, 
  5-6: demands to know why it was 
  disturbed.
  nacharTa GreenManTle
  Nacharta is a fierce, hard-working woman 
  in her late fifties, driven to restore the 
  majesty of Seree power.
  Her education as a Panurian missionary 
  introduced her to tales of the Seree, and 
  though she has left that path, she retains a 
  missionary’s certainty in her cause.
  roBeS and GloBuS
  She wears heavy, emerald green robes 
  proudly, as they are original Seree relics. 
  Though magnificent from afar, they are 
  threadbare and moth-eaten.
  In her pocket she carries a globus, a fist-
  sized remnant bauble with all six powers.
  acolyTeS and ThrallS
  In all, ten acolytes and fourteen thralls 
  serve Nacharta. Originally porters hired 
  for the mountain expedition, Nacharta 
  ensorcelled them to remain on without pay.
  Marone, acolyte-librarian, is responsible 
  for tending the scavenged scrolls and tablets, 
  which are preserved in the East Tower.
  The Seree liBrary
  Marone treasures four documents:
  A tome describing the chant that 
  brings the pit to full strength, 
  snaring any celestial power in 
  position.
  A Seree handbook on 
  how to exploit the beliefs 
  of a dozen cultures in 
  order to project mythical 
  significance. Marone has 
  begun to update this in 
  the margins.
  Speculations by ‘Forge-
  Seer Zecoxy’ that the pit 
  actually creates god-like 
  beings by concentrating 
  power, 
  rather 
  than 
  trapping existing ones. 
  He frets that the first three, all escaped, will 
  one day return.
  A hasty account of the razing that names 
  Deel, Cicollus, and Panur as the attackers. It 
  describes them freeing the horrid ‘Angnes’, 
  ‘Cwealm’, and ‘Egesa’ from the pit, and 
  claims that Zecoxy  slew Deel with her own 
  ‘white lance’ before being devoured by Egesa.
  The inner hallS
  The mountain is mostly solid, but the 
  Seree carved a several chambers below the 
  fortress.
  1. South tower room (d6 Nuss mongrels)
  2. Rubble-filled hall, smashed barrels
  3. Bridge room (open to the air, bird nests)
  4. Perimeter tunnel for scrying into the pit
  5. Pit (inaccesible from the inner halls)
  6. Collection circle (white metal extracted 
  from trapped gods would pool here)
  Wary of Sigordine, Nacharta and her 
  minions avoid these dark halls. The Nuss 
  mongrels skulk here, avoiding confrontation 
  unless Sigordine directs otherwise.
  nuSS MonGrelS
  Nine mongrels serve Sigordine, gifts 
  from the Nuss. They are short, stocky, and 
  wrapped from head to toe in rust-red cloaks.
  A close look betrays their alien nature: 
  their skin writhes and pulses, a mass 
  of fine tendrils and naked muscle. Only 
  Sigordine’s command binds them to their 
  humanoid shape, which they lose if 
  badly harmed.
  Unarmed, 
  they 
  prefer 
  to 
  grapple, as they can sprout 
  horns, jaws, claws, serrated 
  tusks, or venomous spines 
  anywhere on their bodies.
  SiGordine
  The gods left a guardian 
  to ensure the Seree never 
  again worked their cursed 
  pit.
  Formed from the remains 
  of Deel, Sigordine appears as 
  a nude figure of dark glass. 
  She bides her time within the 
  quartz circle in room 6.
  Bored 
  by 
  the 
  centuries, 
  Sigordine pretends to be bound by the circle, 
  which Nacharta believes. Dismissive of fools, 
  Sigordine considers Nacharta a dabbler, and 
  sees her explorations here as a fitting final 
  insult to the memory of the Seree.
  Sigordine resists most magic, can teleport 
  anywhere within a league of the fortress, 
  and punches with the force of a mattock.
  inSide The norTh ToWer
  At the center of the solid block is a 10’ 
  room, once the inner vault of the Seree.
  Sigordine piled it with their skulls, 
  smashed wands, and burned vestments. The 
  shades of these dead are thick with anxiety.
  She stores three white lances here, also.
  
SOURCE: textdata/thevault/Trilemma Adventures/Trilemma 22 Chains of Heaven.pdf