S3 - Eleven Baneful Gates Session 3

Note that the PCs are starting at the door to Nerim's home.

## Random Encounter Monster's for Al-Anwahr

1. Giant Ant
2. Manticore
3. Giant Mason Wasp
4. Harpy
5. Giant Centipedes
6. Giant Spider (maybe elemental effect)
7. Guardian Naga
8. Fire Beetle
9. Chimera
10. Giant Scorpion
11. Sphinx
12. Giant Lizard
13. Cockatrice
14. Giant Snake
15. Genie
16. Silat Matriarch
17. Lamia
18. Undead

## A. Dwarf Camp.

A small tribe of 27 Dwarves dwell in Al-Anwahr, lead by the female headman Dimna and her husband, Belnir. Five Dwarves are always scouting for danger, either by walking around with livestock or other work to do, or watching from trap doors dug into the area. The Dwarves are on a constant state of alert; any signs of aggression on the part of the PCs is sure to bring swift retribution from the entire tribe.

The Dwarves have managed to rebuild most of Al-Anwahr’s citadel, since it has the most commanding view of the ruins and the best water supply. From the outside, the stronghold shows signs of decay and disrepair, but that is only to discourage unwarranted attention. The walls and towers of the stronghold are sturdy, and enclose a beautiful garden overgrown with date and olive trees. The interior spaces are simply decorated, with colorful carpets and tapestries hung over white stucco walls.

Dimna is tall for a dwarf. She has sky blue eyes, braided dark hair, and a stern, angular face. The headman wears an embroidered purple aba, and is never without her glaive.

Dimna can tell the party much about the layout of the ruined city and the fate of Haroushin’s first expedition. She met the first expedition several months ago. They set up camp in the ruined mosque along the grand boulevard and near the buried palace. Soon after they started excavating the palace, they discovered an ancient statue. Almost overnight, the camp was rife with bloodshed and slaughter. The survivors soon moved inside the palace, to pay homage and sacrifice themselves, one by one, to the dark stone idol they had uncovered. She noticed, oddly, a young man who arrived shortly after they (the dwarves) did, a man who entered the palace after all this took place, and has been seen entering and exiting periodically. The man's name is Hakim, and while he is not an enemy, the dwarves do not like or trust him.

Finally, Dimna tells the party about a strange hermit named Nerim, who has lived in the ruins since the Dwarves arrived 3 years ago, though they think he has been here far longer. The DM should play up the mystery of the hermit as much as possible. The headman can direct the characters to Nerim's location.

## B. Grand Boulevard.

A wide boulevard runs the length of the city, flanked by crumbled buildings and countless broken pillars that reach upward into a pitiless sky. The paving stones are uneven with age, and  separated by tufts of sun-withered grass.

## 1. Statue.

The boulevard starts near the base of what must have once been an immense statue. Now only the feet and pedestal of the statue remain, an ironic testament to the passage of time. A large inscription has been carved into its base, written in Chun: “I AM AZALTIN! SEE MY WORKS, O MIGHTY, AND DESPAIR!”

## 2. Mosque.

In the middle of the boulevard, at the center of the city, stands the remains of a huge, once proud mosque. With most of its domed ceiling collapsed after centuries of neglect, only a quarter of the structure is still standing and served as a camp for Haroushin’s first expedition during the excavation of the buried palace. Although all of the livestock has been claimed by the Dwarves, PCs searching the area can still find useful tools, like rope, spades, winches, pulleys, and iron spikes neatly stacked where the first expedition left them.

## C. Nerims Home.

The strange hermit known to the Dwarves as Nerim is actually Azaltin. After the destruction of his city, the immortal king wandered the Burning World, but eventually ended up in the place that pains him the most. He now feels a duty for his kingdom that he never felt while alive.

As an archmage, Azaltin could easily wander into his palace, disarming the traps and guardians placed by his treacherous vizier centuries ago. However, Azaltin wants the secrets of his lost kingdom to be rediscovered by the current generation of men. The lessons of the past are difficult ones, he feels, and can only be appreciated if they are learned through self-sacrifice and hardship. That is not to say that he is unwilling to help the PCs discover the truth about the past in their own way; he is merely unwilling to hand them the past on a silver platter.

If the PCs, intrigued by Dimna’s description of the hermit, seek him out for more advice about the palace, Azaltin allows himself to be found in the abandoned ruins of a warehouse (his usual meeting place for the headman), or in any other location of the ruins that the DM considers appropriate. During the encounter, Azaltin remains in a shadowy corner, wrapped in a black aba (the players cannot see, but he is an undead corpse underneath, with a mask of oracalcum on his head), and speaks in a barely-audible whisper. The following information should come up in his dialogue:

* May Kawkaba smile on your path, all the days of your life! I welcome you to my home and wish every strength for the tests that await you.
* Eleven obstacles stand between you and the truth.
* Truth is not obvious, but can be found in the simplest of things, such as the simplicity found in one's home, or in a man’s love for his wife.”

Azaltin then vanishes, leaving behind a small ivory chest; a stout, ebony baton carved with lions and fitted with a smooth oracalcum head; and a hollow, brass tube, perforated by two small holes at one end. The first item contains a charm of protection from possession, the second is a rod of smiting (30 chg.), and the last is a chime of opening (20 chg.). The rod deals 1d6 extra damage against automatons.

If the PCs are disrespectful or attack Azaltin, he teleports away without offering them either advice or useful magical items.

## D. Azaltins Palace.

The palace is broken into 3 floors. Most of the rooms in the palace are simply offices, private quarters, or storerooms, whose furniture and contents were ransacked centuries ago when Amakim captured the palace in his revolt against Azaltin. Although many of the rooms are empty, there should be a minor treasure here and there to reward exploring PCs, an ancient skeleton wearing magical armor, perhaps, or a long-forgotten potion in a comer of a private study. The DM should invent some dungeon dressings and minor encounters for these unmarked chambers.

**Treasures to be Found**

* Ancient Chun coinage.
* Shield Bracelet.
* Rope of Grabbing.
* Onyx and gold Lion bust.
* Lion Mask.
* Stone and Oracalcum Slate.
* One of the skeleton's armor grants the wearer 1 use of Legendary Resistance per day against being forcibly moved or made prone.

There are no light sources in the palace unless stated otherwise. While the second and third floors have windows, they have been filled by sand piles. Some monsters have made their homes in such piles, and there is no light due to the window blockage.

The encounters below represent precautions put in place by Azaltin’s vizier Zeenab, to seal *The Eleven Baneful Gates* within the palace. Zeenab departed Al- Anwahr centuries ago, but his legacy of magical traps lives on.

## (G) 1. Death's Gate.

Only the front of the structure has been excavated by the previous expedition, exposing a pair of massive, bronze portals 20 feet high, flanked on each side by a tall shedu, carved in bas-relief on the stone. Although the doors are unlocked, they require a successful open doors check to budge. Inside, the PCs find a large, vaulted foyer, its walls and floors smeared with dried blood and piled high with the rotting bodies of Haroushin’s first expedition, who are all piled up at the door. At the center of the grisly scene stands a 12-foot-high black granite statue of a great ghul, poised as if to spring at the entrance. Two rubies (worth 1,000 gp each) glint malevolently in its eye sockets. The living idol is a relic of a forgotten age and stands in the arch leading to the rest of the palace. Those touching or touched by the idol must succeed a Wisdom save or be charmed into worshipping the evil statue. Charmed PCs will try to convince others to touch the statue, bodily forcing them if necessary; once the whole party is charmed, the statue will demand that one person should be sacrificed to it per day until no one is left. The idol attacks only to defend itself (use stats for flesh golem, but remove *Berserk, Aversion to Fire, Lightning Absorption, Magic Weapons.* Add Vulnerability to Thunder damage). More than 50 corpses of men from the first expedition are piled grotesquely against the walls of the room. Unless the PCs make provisions for their burial, they will be haunted each night by their restless spirits. A search of the bodies is a disgusting task, since the bodies have been decomposing in the desert heat for months. For each body searched, a PC must save vs. poison or contract a debilitating disease.

On the bodies, the following items can be found:

* Purse containing 1d10 gp, 1d10 sp, 1d20 cp. One per body.
* Bracelet containing uses of the following spells: *cure wounds* (4 uses), *protection from poison* (2 uses). Each is marked by a band of wrapped paper, which burns harmlessly upon use.
* 3 potions of healing.
* 1 potion of buoyancy .
* 1 potion of gaseous form.

The heavy doors can only be opened by determined use of a ram, tricking the statue into smashing through it, or anything that can raise the bar on the other side. Once past the door, the air in **the Ground Floor** is foul and rank with decay, as there are no windows on this floor. Unless the PCs open the doors and wait 2-24 hours for fresh air to circulate throughout the complex, explorers will have to save vs. poison each turn or contract a fatal disease.

## (G) 2. Gate of Lions.

Beyond the outer gallery (a), its walls carved with impressive reliefs depicting the lush, tropical jungles of a once verdant kingdom, the PCs find a pair of locked, bronze portals flanked by bas reliefs of shedu. Here, visitors would rest on stone benches along the walls and admire the basrelief sculptures of lions adorning the walls. After capturing the palace, Zeenab animated the king’s slain honor guard.

The skeletons wait in the hallway here, but some will shamble to and from the former guard room on occasion, an are otherwise rigidly at attention in their faded golden uniforms. They attack any intruders tampering with the second pair of locked, bronze portals at the top of the stairs to 1F. Although Zeenab considered these skeletons to be under his control, they still remember loyalty to their true king. The entire guard will salute and obey whoever bears Azaltin’s lion-carved rod of smiting (note, the rod must be visible to the skeletal guards).

## (1F) 3. Gate of Forgetfulness.

The garden chamber here is strewn with skeletons and the plastered walls are marred with ancient, dried blood. Here is an enchanted rose garden, illuminated by continual light, with no discernible source. In the center, an ornate fountain splashes contentedly.  A successful Nature or Herbalism check can identify the plants as legendary roses of forgetfulness.

If the flowers are smelled directly, and the smeller fails a DC 13 Wisdom Save, the smeller loses a significant memory. A critical fail of the save, or a second inhalation, will cause total amnesia.

Simply being in the same room as the roses causes mild forgetfulness, and the PCs should forget why they came here to begin with, as well as other minor details, such as items in their inventory, or the route they took to get here. This can be evaded through holding your breath or otherwise cutting yourself off from the smell of the plant.

The fountain at the center of the garden is adorned with small, leering centaurs and contains cool, clean water, though there are roses somehow growing under the water. Those drinking from its waters must succeed a Wisdom save (DC 13) or suffer the effects of smelling the plant.

## (1F) 4. Gate of Piety.

During the battle for the palace, most of the defenders, along with Azaltin’s chief priest, were driven into the mosque and brutally slain. Most of the skeletons are scattered randomly around the house of prayer, but the skeleton of the high priest lies in a comer, cut down from behind while he prayed. Three small sealed jars, containing holy water, are still clutched in his bony hands. The skeleton will only release his grip to another priest, or one who utters the prayer written on the alter before him, translated to "may Kawkaba smile upon your evening", before crumbling into dust with an audible sigh.

## (1F) 5. Vanitys Gate.

The servant's quarters here contain rows of 12 ft tall mirrors, ornately framed with gold. Those gazing at their reflection must succeed a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw or stand transfixed by their own beauty until they are either forcibly removed from the hall or they die of starvation. Vain PCs have disadvantage on this save.

If any player triggers this trap, the corpses in the beds will rise and slowly move to devour the entrapped character.

## (1F) 6. Gate of Gluttony.

Inside this long hall, a marvelous feast has been spread out upon a huge 10 feet by 60 feet carpet. The food is incredibly succulent, and appears more delicious than anything the PCs ever tasted before, from the sweet aroma of the wine to the savory smell of the meats. The food and wine is all poisoned, and anyone who eats it must succeed a Wisdom Save (DC 17), or be paralyzed for 10 minutes. Eating or destroying the food will also open a trap door underneath the one who ate it, taking the victim down a slide ending above the pool on the Ground Floor. The food as also been magically preserved for centuries. If eaten, disturbed, or destroyed, it is not replenished.

Although the food is tainted, the long, beautiful carpet and silver serving pieces are not. The carpet has been maintained in excellent shape over the centuries by minor preservative magics placed on it by Zeenab. When rolled up, it weighs 100 lbs and is worth 5,000 gp for its superb artistry and ancient origin if transported back to Muluk (its value is halved in any other city, where its historical significance is not appreciated). The poisoned food is served on 20 silver platters, worth 100 gp each.

## (1F) 7. Gate of Violence.

The stairs at the end of the hall are flanked by a pair of blue-green statues with roughly-molded features and hands open at the sides. These are actually tarnished copper automatons, enchanted by Azaltin to guard the inner court of the palace. They will ignore any PCs with empty hands, but will attack anyone carrying a weapon. They will stop attacking if weapons are dropped. There is also a pot before them, containing old weapons, clearly intended for visitors to deposit weapons into.

The automatons should be treated like animated armor.

## (2F) 8. Gate of Avarice.

This long hallway is well lit, with no apparent source of light. It appears to be piled high with every rogue’s wildest dream: piles and piles of gold, jewels and other riches reaching from floor to ceiling. If a single piece of the treasure horde is touched, another from elsewhere in the room will shoot towards the treasure that was touched (i.e the one who touched it) at damaging speed (roll +5 to attack, 1d6+2 damage). The treasure is real, and can be taken, but any treasure grabbed triggers the trap again.

The door at the end of the room has a small statue carrying a bowl of jewels. The plaque above it says in Chun: "Please take One", and below that "Return upon Conclusion of Business". Anyone who takes a single jewel, and has it on their person, can open the door, which is otherwise locked. Anyone who takes more than one jewel, or attempts to take any close to the stairs, will trigger a poison dart to be loosed at them at either the door or the stairs respectively.

## (2F) 9. Gate of Knowledge.

The walls of this vast, vaulted hall are covered with mostly-empty book shelves and scroll-racks, plundered long ago by Zeenab of all useful texts when he captured the palace. Although many of the remaining tomes have immense archeological value (tax and property records of ancient Al-Anwahr, mostly) a single scroll radiates magic. The scroll enables the user to cast Resilient Sphere, but the spell lasts 1 week, and cannot be dispelled, save for the use of *dispel magic*, *disintegrate*, or similar spells. The scroll is labeled in Chun "whoever uses this magic shall be protected from harm for the rest of their life".

## (2F) 10. Gate of Profane Love.

The harem doors are sealed by an invisible and ancient symbol (the same symbol is on the *rod of smiting*). The door will only open through presenting the rod of smiting to its seal. When the portals to the harem are unlocked, the symbol flashes, and the door opens.

On the other side, the room, softly lit by the candles on the carpet, contains a number of beautiful women of exotic appearance, clear skin and sheer veils. They wake up as soon as the doors open, and, shocked, ask the players to help them, promising them, rather suggestively, anything they may wish in return. They will slowly begin to surround the male characters (with 2 standing back ready to hold down Nyx), as they thank them for coming to save them from the evil vizier's spell.

From Nyx's perspective, however, the women are covered from head to toe, their features obscured to her. She will smell an overly strong smell of perfume, and with a successful Perception check (DC 14), she will detect the slightest trace of some kind of pungent odor. The women's voices are very neutral sounding to her ears.

The women are in fact undead, and using a glamour to appear as their young and beautiful selves (though the glamour only works on men). Once the opportunity arises, they will attempt to kill the players.

## (2F) 11. Gate of Sacred Love.

The now-empty upper suites of the harem tower belonged to Azaltin’s great love and confidant, Kalastira. On the walls of the room, the PCs see an ancient adage, repeated in gold letters around the perimeter of the room in the ancient language of Chun: “There is no love more sacred than that shared between a husband and wife.” There is a secret compartment on the wall, that, because of cloaking enchantments, is only apparent to characters of good alignment. Behind it rests a vault, impervious to divination spells, containing the following:

* A perfectly preserved book.
* A scroll.
* An oracalcum sword (has a +1 effect) named Zephyr of the Winter Moon.
* A suit of bronze lamelar with a lion mask.
* A Golden Scarab of Deception .
* A pair of purple silk slippers of Soft Movement.

Though anonymous, both the book and scroll are penned by the same hand in Chun. The book, entitled The Kingdom of Lions, is an accurate and concise history of Al-Anwahr up until Amakim’s revolt (see beginning of S1 - Eleven Baneful Gates Session 1). The book tells of the false history of Amakim's revolt against the evil Azaltin, and how the true story is of the traitorous vizier Zenaab, who manipulated Amakim into overthrowing Azaltin.

Once it has been deciphered, the scroll reads as follows: "Too late have I realized the Awakener's warnings. Immortality is a curse, not a treasure. It's only gift is to live on, watching all that you loved turn to dust and be blown away in the wind. Only centuries after it was taken from me, have I come to learn what is precious in life. No man or woman should bear this burden, which I only shouldered through youthful pride. Rest assured that *The Eleven Baneful Gates* has been destroyed. It can tempt mortals no further".

## Concluding the Adventure

If an additional encounter is needed, it will be shown that the bodies from the Gate of Death are missing, and Hakim will appear to steal *the Eleven Baneful Gates* from the players. Otherwise, he can have appeared earlier.

Once the PCs emerge from the palace they will be unable to contact Nerim/Azaltin, as the lich will be leaving Al-Anwahr on his own business. Now that his history is safe, he can turn his attention to other affairs. He can be encountered again in a future adventure. Before the party departs, the DM should make it clear that they have not been staying at the citadel of the Dwarves for free. Dimna is very eager to learn about what gifts the PCs discovered for her in the palace and she will be very, very disappointed if the party is not forthcoming. Should the party be extravagantly generous, she might show her appreciation by appointing five of the Dwarves to guide the party back to Sokkar. The PCs should be able to answer all their questions about the adventure by reading “The Kingdom of Lions.”

As the party are leaving Al-Anwahr, they will see Nerim/Azaltin standing on a hill. Azaltin will wave at them, before turning and walking into the desert.

The return to Muluk will take time, and in the interim, I will run the adventure, "Flick of the Tail".

After returning to Muluk, though Haroushin will be crestfallen to learn about the destruction of *The Eleven Baneful Gates*, he will brighten considerably at the discovery of The Kingdom of Lions and offer the party 10,000 gp for the book and the scroll testifying to the Baneful Gates’ destruction. He may offer a bonus of up to 5,000 gp (DM’s discretion) for all the texts recovered from the main library in the palace.

This should open the door to further adventures in Al-Anwahr, should the PCs decide to return and investigate the ruined city in more detail. Also, The Kingdom of Lions can be used as a springboard to find more treasure-laden ruins. Finally, this adventure introduces the PCs to the Dwarves of the Haunted Lands. With the friendship of Dimna, the Dwarves might come looking for the PCs to solve a problem of their own...