Torrent's Bait

* Artwork
* Map

Torrent's Bait was an ancient ruin at the depths of Petal Bay.

Its presence in the depths seems to have caused a huge underwater implosion that resulted in the destruction of Skerry Sands directly above, as well as the creation of a vast column in the stone cliffside leading towards it.

## Description

The entranceway to Torrent's Bait was located atop a vast stack of sedimentary rock near the base of a newly-created blue hole leading down from the surface. Over two-thousand feet from the surface, the surroundings are stark, devoid of sunlight and deathly still - save for the billowing of thermal vents spewing noxious pink-grey particulate matter in the surrounding water. While the vast deficiency in the cliff-face leading towards the temple entrance was devoid of growth or sedimentations, the doorway, itself somewhere between stone and calcification by means of more organic processes is shaped like a vast maw of a shark, complete with an inscription that demands the spilling of blood to prompt the process of opening.

In doing so, all the sahuagin and sharks residing within were heightened to the presence of visitors, and thus capable of attacking them with increasingly vigour and frenzied violence.

## Notable Features

### Overall Structure

In place of true stone, the entirety of Torrent's Bait instead appeared more to be made of an uneven calcified mineral, akin to that of bleached coral, though surely a colony of such scope and strength would be impossible at such depths. Within, a number of chambers had been carved and shaped, having been prepared for a number of purposes.

### Aquatic Garden

One of the largest chambers in the structure, the aquatic garden was located near the entranceway, representing a sprawling, and seemingly well-cultivated, collection of foliage ranging from algal blooms and leafy sprues to carnivorous kelps and Sea Tangler hatchlings. In addition, cultivars of various corals, anemones and pearl-producing oysters were also located, as well as storage area outwardly similar in appearance to that of a terrestrial herbalism hut, complete with cauldrons bubbling over hydrothermal vents.

More off-putting however were a number of subtle enchantments intended to dissuade would-be thieves - including those that make the clams and oyster shells appear to be sets of snapping maws, twisted cords of kelp that seemed to grasp at passersby and pearls that warbled as if they were close to hatching.

### Holding Cells

On the western edge of the temple, a large number of holding cells stretching up and down throughout the structure were provisioned, capable of holding several hundred individuals when fully packed. Bindings of kelp rope and chain were located throughout, as well as grey-pink scales and glimmering slippery slime, but no inhabitants, living or otherwise. Discarded nets, pincer staffs and spears were also found piled into one corner by the explorers.

### Hydrothermal Vents

Various areas of the temple seemed to display a heightened level of thermal activity, resulting in the seeming spontaneous generation of steam mephits, as well as jets of scalding water for any individual lingering for too long. In spite of this, a number of mineral deposits prove an attractive quarry, with zircon, quartz, topaz and rubies aplenty to be discovered.

### Chapel

At the centre of the structure, a long chapel with a tapered ceiling features, decorated ornately with coloured mosaic tiles and primordial glyphs and runes. Like much of the temple, it was populated throughout by floral and coral growths, proliferating across exposed surfaces freely and without inhibition. From here, lectures and sermons were given by a sahuagin high priestess to the resident sahuagin, koalinths and hunter sharks, and would prove to be the location of a major skirmish between the residents and an adventuring party in 132WD.

At the far end of the chapel, a ritual altar had been prepared for sacrificial purposes, and upon closer examination a slot in the centre - seemingly activated by the plunging of the tip of a blade into the stone through the body of a victim - seems to open a further route deeper into the temple, although the space beyond remained unexplored by an otherwise exhausted adventuring party. Nearby, a trapped chamber served as a storage alcove for treasures recovered from raids upon merfolk and sailors, featuring a number of magic items, precious gemstones and other valuables, albeit protected by a explosive *Glyph of Warding*.

### Kuo-Toan Statues

Dotted throughout the structure, leading towards the altar (and assumedly the chamber beyond) were a number of statues carved to depict Kuo-Toa individuals in a state of reverence. When moving close to these statues, and particularly so upon direct contact with the somewhat oily stone, a connection was briefly established between the individual and a collective shared goal of numerous individuals. With a frantic sense of energy, the visions seemed to depict the individual yearning to land a catch, though with an increasing sense of extravagance and scale - starting first with a simple fishing rod, then quickly escalating to the hauling vast chains affixed to a mass lurking in the endless depths below.

## History

Torrent's Bait was visited by an adventuring party in 132WD following investigations of raids on merfolk kelp farms closer to the surface. Although managing to defeat the majority of the residents, they departed instead of exploring further, having suffered a number of grievous wounds in the process. Through use of her *Eerie Token*, Arnica managed to spy on a group of five individuals departing the location some half an hour later, each covered in viscera and gore. With their egress, the temple started to collapse, as if blown apart from within by a huge rushing geyser of water.