Abyss

**The Abyss** - is a location in Maadoran. It can be found in the southwest corner of the city, bordering the The Slums, where the entrance to it is patrolled by the Mehrab's Blades gang. During the war the Qantari Magi had cast a spell that it took a bite out of the city, vaporizing an entire district. If you get close enough to ruins, the magic will turn your guts inside out. Enarion had told Master Feng that his name is a key if he want to go into the Abyss.

## Intro

You have arrived at the giant crater known as the Abyss. At least two miles across, it is flanked by the ruins of the ancient city, the walls standing like crumbling sentinels over the pit. A restless grey fog cloaks the bottom of the define, effectively concealing the horrors which undoubtedly lie within.

You aren't alone. As you approach, you see the usual crowd gathered. Places of destruction and mystery always attract tourists, and with them the soothsayers and hawkers who make a living selling whatever they desire, from old world trinkets got up like artefacts, to curses purporting to channel the dark energies of the Abyss, to the ever popular standby, kebabs. The raucous cries you associate with bartering are however unusually subdued and flat, like those of a group of children playing at the edge of a graveyard, each attempting to convince his neighbour - and more so, himself - of his bravery.

## History

Prior to the Great War between the Empire and the Qantari, the area that comprises the Abyss was known as the District of Wisdom.

## Expiry

* When you go to Gannezar (Act III), the Abyss closes.

## Checks at a glance

* Perception = 8 (7 if you have Feng instructions and enough Intelligence)
* Intelligence = 7 to reach the bottom
* Respirator, or enough Strength+Constitution (min 6 each for total score of 14)
* Lore = 8 to achieve Godslayer trait
* Constitution = 6 to obtain Mind Shield and Mind Shield trait

## Skill and Stat Checks

Venture into the abyss. You find a pile of skulls and one of them will be shattered by something that looks like an invisible hand. You examine the area Perception:[7] or Perception:[6], if Feng told you that Einar’s name was the key], to find a broken stone with the letter ‘M’ scratched on its surface – if you don’t see anything, you will turn back.

You need Lore:[5] to understand what this clue means: Einar Scanian letter ‘E’ is written on its side, like an Imperial ‘M’. The next letter you need to look for is a proper ‘I’. ‘N’ looks like a cross, ‘A’ like ‘F’ with diagonal bars, and ‘R’ like ‘R’. You will go in that direction until you stumble on a broken column and see a lightning strike, followed by a deafening clap of thunder, a fireball and an explosion of light. To examine your surrounds after the explosion you need Perception:[7] + Intelligence:[7] or Perception:[6] + Intelligence:[7], with Feng’s tip].

If you pass the checks, you will continue and find a man in a cross, is the letter ‘N’. He will beg you to kill him. You can kill him or free him, it doesn’t make a difference because this is just a message: death means release and release means death. Go in the direction the cross is pointing.

You will find a traveler saying the he envies the cairn of skulls because they found peace. He will ask about what you want. You can answer different things (power, riches, etc.) none of it will matter.

The monument will collapse and the men will disappear. You need to examine the area Perception:[8] or Perception:[7], with Feng’s tip] to find the next mark, is a drawing of a tree with two branches, go that direction. You will then find the next symbol, carved into the surface of a stone block, the letter ‘A’. Go in that direction. Now you will start to suffocate.

You can:

* gather your resolve and push on Constitution + Strength= [14], with at least 6 points in each stat, but you will lose 5 HP permanently;
* Use the breathing apparatus - Respirator or Prospector's Amulet, if you don’t identified it before, you need to understand it now Lore:[5] and charge the mask with a power tube. You found the last mark, go in the direction the column is pointing. A dark hole in the bottom of the crater. Go in.

### The chamber

You will find yourself in a chamber. There is a tank at the center connected to four machines, one of them is working. Inside the tank there is a being submerged in liquid. When you approach the thank you will have visions about the past of the creature. You can also peruse the cracks on the walls to find some scroll fragments. If you decipher them Lore:[6], you will understand more about the research on the creature . Examine the consoles of the tank Lore:[8].

You can (a) deactivate the last working machine, thus killing the creature\*, or (b) Power up the three dormant machines, thus awaking the creature and destroying Maadoran. You will also need to pass a check Constitution:[6] or you will die. If you survive the attack, you receive the Mind Shield ability.

### Deaths:

* If you only pass on the intelligence check, you will believe that the ‘I’ you’re looking for is the half-buried column and go in the direction the column is pointing. The lightning strikes again conjuring several glowing balls of energy, one that will lurches toward you and explodes, you are dead.

* If you fail the test, you will keep walking until you are destroyed by unseen forces.

### Curiosity

* If you killed the creature, when you come back later, the old man will start charging people (five imperials) to see his body.