Redwood Laboratory

## Introduction

A ways into the southern part of the Redwood forest, a traveler might find themselves surrounded by shards of glass that seem to grow out of trees and the ground that surrounds them. They are suffused with a soft, ominous glow and approaching them generates a small vacuum. If they go deeper, following the crystals where they further congregate they will stumble on a short, dome-like building made out of stone. It has no windows, just one giant ornate door that will kindly greet you and warn you of the dangers inside.

## Backstory

The lair was built by one Griamet Semenor at an unknown date, but probably after his dismissal from the Spellweaver's Sanctum. He created a tantalizing target, a place hidden in plain sight, simply daring an army or contingent of soldiers to quest the Redwood forest in order to find it. Unfortunately the density of Vorthids in the area make any such venture a pipedream at best. From there, he has mounted targeted raids over the Corded Filter in order to acquire specimens for his obsessive research. Since his arrival the populations of villages and towns that support the Filter have lived in fear as the wizard's experiments, and often the man himself, could simply pass through the seemingly impenetrable wall that protects southern Skyhope from the Vorthid threat.

## Layers:

### Entrance:

What initially seems like a sealed, massive iron double door, quickly reveals its magical nature. In the shape of a giant humanoid face, characteristics start to appear. Bushy eyebrows, a large nose and a wide smile are the first things one notices about Door, who introduces himself as such. He appears to be a sentient door, created by the wizard, that follows the commands of whomever controls the lab. His innocent appearance betrays his sinister purpose, as his previous master had ordered him to open for any who would want to visit, but to remain open, in order to introduce visitors to the first deadly trap of this place.

### Kill-zone:

Going down a corridor of the same, unnecessary width as Door, an unwelcome visitor will notice red particles floating down towards them. An expert in medicine or nature can realize that it is actually residue from the release of Ochre Pheromones, a compound that enrages and attracts all Vorthids in a wide area. Rushing down to the end of the corridor leads to a wide arena like structure. It is also made of stones and provides no cover and no high ground. This place is clearly made for Vorthids to get the advantage on their humanoid victims. The only exit, besides that wide open entrance, is the entrance to the Labyrinth that can only be reached by employing the magic of the Teleporter

### Labyrinth:

This place was made to kill any with lacking magical abilities, whilst weakening and revealing the capabilities of those with a magical inclination. Most traps in it are meant as obstacles to reaching the different parts of an extremely complicated puzzle and are populated by the experiments and magical rituals of the wizard that built it.

#### Rooms that could be of interest:

##### - Room 1:

Riddle room. Staging ground to venture to the rest of the dungeon and the place to which you will have to return in order to activate a device that will allow access to a deeper floor. The way is barred by a magical test that warns it will be fatal to those that fail it. In order to more easily solve it one will have to quest the depths of the labyrinth in order to gather clues that are spread around it.

##### - Room 5:

a fully furnished guest room with a kitchen filled with fresh ingredients, a bare bones bathroom and bunk beds. Invisible servants seem present in it at times, putting everything back in order. Created to give the owner of the lab a chance to observe their guests in a more relaxed state.

##### - Room 16:

A one way teleportation device that can lead one to the bowels of a Vorthid nest. Those trapped would need to navigate it without arousing the hive around them in order to find the counterpart device that would teleport them back to the original room.

##### - Room 12:

A way to the In-between. A massive gate that uses the power of the glass-like crystals to open a door to the barrier between the 3rd and 2nd Rings. It seemingly opens up to a place with massive, hungry creatures.

##### - Room 30:

Experiment Dormitories. A large circular staircase. Its surroundings are filled with sconces that house the experiments that defend the labyrinth from intruders.

### The Main Lab:

#### 1. Treasure Room:

An Impressive room filled with various types of loot. It seems that most amounts of gold that used to reside in giant chests and bags on shelves been converted into magical reagents, invested in unknown ventures and used up for lab maintenance.

#### 2. Main Lab.

This place features the body of work of the Teleporter. Giant prototype gates meant for fulfilling his dream of saving Skyhope from what he considered an inevitable Second Ring invasion. Other apparatuses include a magical screen meant to spy on different locations of the lab. It seems able of transmitting both sound and image. Diagrams with maddened yet oddly orderly scrawlings have been half worked on or destroyed entirely on desks that remain clean yet chaotic.

#### 3. Test Lab 2:

Mostly used for analyzing the remains of creatures in order to create more efficient life forces he can combine with his crystals. Parts of beasts, Vorthids and Humanoids seem preserved in glass jars with an odd green tint to them. Tables filled with restraints and rows of tools that might as well be torture instruments make up the rest of this place. Finally what looks like a mortuary lines one of the walls.

#### 4. Storage Room:

Filled with oddly fresh produce, linens, cleaning tools. This room would look like a storage closet if not for the giant teleportation circle at the center of it. The products seem oddly fresh and the room well lived in as the unseen servants of the Lab constantly flit around in it.

#### 5. Main Chambers:

The Bedroom of a man who no longer needs to sleep. Seems to have been used to sort the Wizard's favorite books and most treasured items, this place seems to have been created to provide peace of mind to its owner. The shelves seem cluttered and messily organized. Seemingly the previous owner did not expect that people would enter this place.

#### 6. Guest Facilities:

They include a play room, a large dining room and multiple guest quarters. From here guests can easily access the kitchen and large, onsen-like baths. The walls are filled with paintings and the bookcases with famous books. A music crystal can reproduce some of Skyhope's best orchestral arrangements.

#### 7. Magical Maze:

A last layer of defense that would give the wizard a chance to recuperate or even teleport to a safer location. Magical mirrors line this place and are meant to disorientate and confuse those who cannot navigate it. Probably no harm will come to those stuck in it, unless they are pressured for time.

#### 8. Main Projects:

This room is filled with different circles and notes on them. Many Planes, including the 9 Hells, the Elemental Planes, Faerun, as well as some unnamed demiplanes can be accessed from here. This room seems to have powered down since the death of its previous owner.

#### 9. Test Lab 2:

Here the research and growth of the crystals is observed and performed. It also houses a small terrarium in which some early attempts to integrate the crystals can be noticed at a deeper level as the plants are less covered and more integrated into the crystals.

#### 10. Specimen/ Prison Room:

8 force cages can house different specimens, prisoners, leaving them at the mercy of whomever controls them. The teleportation circle that leads you to the labyrinth as well as multiple corridors that connect to the rest of the Labs start from here. A hub-like area.

#### 11. Kitchens:

Kitchens that are constantly ready to create different foods for whomever requests them thanks due to the multiple unseen servants manning them. Oddly fresh ingredients can be found in shelves, as well as cupboards that keep the ingredients inside them chilled. Odd as the one that used to own this place did not need to eat.