Sariel's Lair

## Overview

Deep within the Birsack Mires, a group from the Ilbidor Archaeology Guild discovered a large gateway on the Carrion Cliff, where a recent landslide had revealed a fresh section of bedrock. This gateway led to a series of corridors and rooms that were eventually identified as being the ancient lair of a Wood Elf named Sariel, a Champion of Jazirian, and an ancient gold dragon named, Torgusdom, a Champion of Bahamut.

The following sections outline the main objects, artefacts and information gathered from this lair, with the numbers corresponding to the locations on the map.

## 1. Murals of the World Serpent Archetype.

In the main entrance to the lair, were a series of beautifully painted murals.

*The first depicts two large serpents. Each biting the tail of the other to form a continuous ring. You’ve seen similar to imagery to this before. The Ouroboros shape of the perpetuum ring. The left serpent is a red-yellow colour, the right serpent a green-blue-gold colour. The serpent on the right also has sizable pair of wnigs. Emanating out from the two serpents is some sort of cosmic explosion of colours and lights which seem to be in the process of forming rings, planes and spheres.*

*The second mural again depicts the two large serpents, but this time differently. Whereas before the two serpents were seemingly peacefully intertwined in a floating Ouroboros circle, now, the two serpents are ripped apart, the blue-green-gold one slightly above the red-yellow one, facing each other with expressions of fury and hatred. The red-snake appears to be falling, whilst the blue green once has its wings outstretched as if in flight. Both of their tails are dripping with blood, and the blood droplets falling from the red-snake appear to be transforming into fiend-like creatures as they descend. Similarly, the blood droplets from the blue-green snake appear to be transforming into celestial-looking creatures as they fall.*

*The Third Mural shows two gigantic armies on some cosmic battlefield. The army on the left is headed by the red-serpent, and is composed of several avatars plus a vast number of fiendish creatures. The army on the right is headed by the blue-green serpent and is also composed of several avatars plus, 7 flying angelic-beings, and then hordes of other celestial beings below.*

*The final mural shows the red snake falling into a deep fiery chasm. Its body is absolutely ravaged with wounds, blood is literally gushing out of it. Above the falling serpent stand Bahamut, Tyr and Jazirian, all of whom have arms raised as if casting some sort of spell.*

## 2. Skulls.

In the centre of a vast circular chamber was a ginormous dragon skull, easily 2-3 times the size of the white dragon found on Khaldaria. Below the skull, written in draconic were the words…

*“Here lies the skull of Torgusdom, Great Champion of the Platinum, Defender of the Righteous, and a true and loyal friend. As the Life-Scale Tree stands as a testament to his actions in the great battle, so too does his skull, lain here amongst the remains of those he vanquished.”*

The other skulls in the room were identified as horned devils, a titan, an ankheg, an auroch, a large humanoid and a pit-fiend.

## 3. Dragon pit

A vast earth-floor cavern in the centre of which was a huge pit. Within this was found a single golden scale. Several smaller, much more recent, tunnels led off from this cavern.

## 4. Dodgy-stairs-lava-room

In the corridor heading here, was an inscription saying: “*Barachiel the Messenger, Lion of Lunia*”

At the bottom of this cavern was a desk, on which was found a piece of parchment, written in Sylvan, saying:

*“To my growing frustration the Rod proves to be indestructible. My strongest spells bounce off it like water. Lava and great temperatures fail to cause even the slightest burn. It remains unbending under the highest of forces and is indissoluble in the face of the most powerful acids known to me. Even my contacts among the Archwizards of Netheril are at a loss to explain how it can be destroyed! I can only assume that the Rods existence is linked by some dark and terrible force to its creator. If this is the case, then further efforts aimed at destroying it will be futile. Perhaps I should switch to a strategy of containment and defence…”*

The desk also contained various potions as well as some magical gloves of alchemy.

## 5. Living quarters

In the corridor leading here, was an inscription saying: *“Sealtiel the Defender, Dog of Jovar”*

In the various rooms within this area, the following were found:

i) A letter from Primus to Sariel, written in Celestial, saying:

*Dear Sariel,*

*I must say I was surprised to receive your correspondence. Your request is unusual to be sure. My Inevitables are usually reserved for enforcing contracts forged here in Mechanus. However, I have spoken with Jazirian and she has convinced me that the purpose for which you require one of my creations is both just and enforceable via contract.*

*As such, as soon as you the teleportation circle is complete, a Quinton shall deliver an Inevitable to you directly. Beware, once you sign the contract the Inevitable will be bound until either the contract is fulfilled, or it is destroyed. But rest assured, this new vault of yours will be well guarded – Jazirian refused to tell me exactly what was to be stored there, but it must be quite terrifying to require such defences!*

*If you have any queries or questions about the contract don’t hesitate to bring them up with the Quinton, who is authorised to make any amendments as required.*

*Best wishes,*

*Primus*

ii) A letter from King Crudak of Keris to Sariel, written in “old common”, saying:

*Dear Sariel,*

*I hope this letter finds you well.*

*Congratulations again on your victory against those damned cultists! We here in Keris shall sleep sounder in the knowledge that those vile cretins will no longer harass us. My sincerest apologies for not sending more troops to your aid – as you know, we are currently embroiled in struggles of our own!*

*Indeed, it is for this reason that I write to you. The Eladrin and their succulent “pets” continue to harass and destroy our outposts. I hear that King Walben of Savasia is having similar issues. Please understand, we do not seek to conquer the Eladrin, far from it. We simply need space to grow, expand, and sustain our existence. The land here in Katashka is so damned desolate. My people will starve if the Eladrin do not allow us access to their forests. I have tried to explain this to them, but my pleas fall on deaf ears.*

*Anyway, perhaps you can petition them on my behalf. Being close of kin, perhaps they will listen to you. It seems they, like us, owe you a debt of gratitude for your actions in the great battle, so they will hopefully heed your words.*

*I eagerly await your response.*

*Kind regards,*

*King Crudak of Keris*

iii) A collection of parchments titled, “The Serpents of Law”, written in Celestial saying:

*As revealed by my patron: the following scrolls outline the ancient history of the Serpents of Law, otherwise known as the World Serpent archetype. In the beginning, the multiverse was nothing but swirling chaos. Into this entropy, formed the Primal Spirits, the pre-cursors to the divine beings who now rule the planes. Among these Primal Spirits was the greatest of Law's champions, the Twin Serpents: Jazirian and Ahriman. Originally intertwined with one another, Jazirian’s tail in Ahriman’s mouth and vice versa, the Twin Serpents established the fundamental principles of the planes: the ring-shape of the cosmos, and the plane of neutrality called the Concordant Opposition or the Outland.*

*However, once their creations were complete, Ahriman and Jazirian, who originally worked together in all things, warred over which plane would be the centre of everything. Ahriman favoured Baator, whilst Jazirian chose Celestia. They struggled so greatly that, with their tails still in one another's mouths, they forcibly tore apart. The blood from Jazirian's damaged tail formed the first couatls, whilst the blood of Ahriman, whose terrible fall created a vast pit called the Serpent's Trench, formed the first pit fiends.*

*A terrible cosmic war then ensued, with the fiends of Ahriman and the might of Baator pitted against the angles of Jazirian and the strength of Celestia. Many deities joined the conflict, some simply looking for an excuse to continue pre-existing grievances, whilst others joined to further their own secretive agendas. The war lasted for a millennia. However, the might of Celestia and the Tome Archons that ruled it were not to be overcome, and eventually the forces of Ahriman and his allies were defeated.*

*Ahriman, grievously wounded, was imprisoned deep in Baator by the Triad, bound there by the laws he himself created. Stuck in the Serpents Trench, deep in the heart of Nessus, he took the guise of an archfiend, and quickly used his supernatural cunning to claim dominion over all Baator. Following the war, Jazirian retired to Celestia, deeply ashamed of her part in the conflict. To atone for the violence she helped initiate, she became the deity of peace and learning, as well as claiming patronage over the couatls and other scaled beings. Unlike Ahriman, Jazirian did not seek to increase her power and influence, instead choosing to fade quietly into the background, secretly using her couatls to monitor and gather intelligence on Ahriman's movements.*

iv) Fifteen green, leather-bound tomes, all more or less identical. Each a diary of the wood elf Sariel, written in Sylvan.

v) A bag of beholding – allows the user to cast scrying once per 1d4 + 1 days. Allows others in the vicinity to see the scry.

vi) Gold, silver, and iron tuning forks, plus four teleportation circles.

vii) An Ancient Pre-Breaking Map.

viii) A series of paintings (similar in style to the murals found on the way in), showing the following:

a) *A wood elf and a young golden dragon, both seemingly bowing beneath two much larger hovering figures, a platinum-coloured dragon and a golden-blue winged serpent-like creature.*

*b) A huge prismatic dragon being ridden by some sort of red devil-type creature. The dragon is firing a blast of fire at a forest-settlement below, whilst the devil is casting some sort of energy blast from a ruby-coloured rod. The settlement below is largely on fire, you can see many elves fleeing, with many others lying dead.*

c) *A the devil creature, this time standing above a large stone tablet, its arms raised high as if casting a spell, the ruby-coloured in one hand, a glowing serpentine ring on the other hand. To the side of the devil, as if having just burst through a door, stands the wood elf. The wood elf is absolutely kitted out. She’s wearing golden plate armour and a black white-horned helm, below which is a silver coloured circlet type thing. She has a furious expression on her face, a wand in one hand, a white hammer in the other, both raised ready to strike.*

*d) A colossal battlefield. The battle appears to be taking place on a huge rocky plateau. On this plateau are thousands of humanoid figures engaged in what appears to be a very brutal combat, one side wearing blue/gold colours, others wearing red/black colours. In the centre of the plateau is a raised block of rock, on which stand the wood elf and the devil from the previous paintings, both of whom are clearly hurling magic at the other. Above the plateau are hundreds if not thousands of dragons. Many breathing fire of various colours, chromatic and metallic dragons at each other’s throats. In the centre of the sky are a gold and a prismatic dragon, easily twice the size of any other dragons, both appear very injured, though the gold one looks worse. To the west of the plateau is a large sea, on which are hundreds of ships with a range of different sails, flags and sigils.  These ships are hurling firebombs and other projectiles indiscriminately into the melee.*

*e) The aftermath of the battle. The plateau is littered with corpses, humanoids, and dragons of all colours. A few survivors are wandering about healing, or checking the dead – all of these survivors appear to be wearing blue/gold colours. On the raised rock lie the corpse of both the golden dragon and the red devil. A golden sapling appears to be slowly growing out of the corpse of the golden dragon. Next to them is stood the wood elf, her face twisted in fury, tears streaming down her face, her wand and hammer raised towards the seemingly paralysed and floating body of the prismatic dragon. Tendrils of black smoke seem to be being pulled out of the prismatic dragon’s body. In the sea, you can see that most of the ships are destroyed, but a handful appear to be fleeing into the distant mists...*

## 6. Armoury

On the way to the armoury, were the following inscriptions: *“Erathaol the Seer, Dragon of Venya” and “Raziel the Crusader, Bear of Mertion”*

In the armoury, was found an arcane canon, three rubies worth approx. 1000 GP each, much old currency in PP, GP, SP and CP, many old weapons, and several keys.

## 7. The tomb of Sariel

After destroying a stone-planetar, the following items were obtained from the tomb of Sariel:

i) Another green diary, this one with a single entry saying:

*This is to be my last entry. As recorded in my previous writings, the final battle against Feestus and Niendra has left me weakened; physically, magically, mentally and emotionally. Since our victory, I have barely stopped working, so vast have been the tasks that required my attention. The artefacts of Feestus had to be contained, the tablet split across the continents, this place had to be sealed beneath enough rock to survive a millennium, and I had to be assured that, given the experimental nature of her imprisonment, Niendra was in no danger of returning.*

*But now these tasks are complete, and I have found time to rest, it has occurred to me just how old I am. Despite weeks spent in prayer and petition to Jazirian, my abilities have remained stunted, and the true fragility of my age grips at my bones. I can only assume that since our victory Jazirian considers my task complete. If Torgusdom had remained with me I would be overjoyed at the thought of peacefully living out my days with him. But, without him by my side, I prefer to claim my long-awaited inheritance on Solania. Indeed, for the past few weeks, I have desired nothing more than to surrender to the cold that has gripped my heart. It also seems like another war is around the corner, with the Kingdoms of Kerin and Savasia so determined to provoke the Eladrin! Yes, I think it is time I left this world far behind. I shall join my patron in paradise, safe in the knowledge that Ahriman's malevolent desires shall, for now at least, remain unfinished.*

*May the peace of Jazirian reside with all those who read this.*

*Sariel Heartsbane, Holy Champion of Jazirian*

ii) Several keys, and a steel tuning fork.

iii) An opal necklace in the shape of a couatl

iv) Seven powerful magical items.

## 8. Statues and candles

A series of puzzles and traps, amongst which was an inscription saying: *“Domiel the Mercy-Bringer, Ox of Mercuria”*

## 9. The dome of doom

In the corridor leading to the dome was an inscription saying: *“Zaphkiel the Watcher, Donkey of Chronias”*

Through a door protected by intense abjuration magic, was a domed room in which was found the “soul stone of Niendra”. The group gather that this was a prison, in which a being called Niendra (also referred to by herself as Servant of the Chaos Queen, The Metallics Bane and the Prismatic Pyromancer). Unfortunately, after temporarily disintegrating Kunai, Niendra forced several members of the group to release her…

Also found in the dome was a weird puzzle cube type thing.

## 10. Corridor doors

This was a series of traps, monsters, doors and corridors. In one corridor was an inscription saying: *“Pistis Sophia the Ascetic, Eagle of Solania”*

## 11. Hall of the Inevitable and Main Vault

The first chamber housed a Marut, which is a powerful construct designed by Primus, and presumably given to Sariel to guard the vault beyond.

In the main vault, the following were obtained:

i) A large tome, in draconic, titled: *“Treatise on the internment of the draconic soul, by Sariel Heartsbane, Champion of Jazirian and Elorian Palenor Archwizard of Netheril.”*

ii) A minor Ruby Rod of Asmodeus (did terrible things to Breena, Leo and Bayul when they touched it, particularly Bayul, who seemingly managed to hold the Rod long enough to be influenced by it somehow).

iii) Two chests full of notes/spell scrolls written in infernal. All highly damaged / very fragile, in a similar state to those found on Khaldaria.

iv) The skull of a large devil.

v) ½ of a large stone tablet – inscribed on it were the head/tail of an Ouroboros + lines of infernal referencing layers 1 – 5 of the Baator.

vi) A large Ancient Canvas, depicting the what is assumed to be the 9 layers of Baator, each with a portal connecting to another portal.

## 12. Unexplored.

Who knows what wonders or horrors are located here…