Griz-Maw’s milky eyes widen slightly at the mention of his "value to his people." He leans in close, his breath smelling of fermented lichen and damp earth. He spreads the dried skin map out on a stone tablet, tracing the lines with a clawed finger.
"The 'Tall-Magistrate' has a mind like a river—clear and deep," Griz-Maw croaks. "Listen well, Zorael, for the pipes do not forgive."
The Dangers of the Pipe-Tunnels
The Beast-Grease: "The Ruin-Walkers smear the pipes with the fat of their kills. It is slicker than ice. If you run, you fall. If you fall, you slide into the Drain-Grates where the Pipe-Crawlers wait with many legs and many hungers."
The Sound-Snarers: "The Beastmen hang bundles of dry bone and scrap-metal from the ceiling. One bump, and the 'clatter-clatter' tells the Horn-Blower you are coming. He will blow the Big-Horn, and the pipes will fill with fur and rage before you see the Cistern."
The Pressure-Vents: "These pipes once breathed for the Old City. Some still have the 'Hot-Breath.' If you see steam whistling from a seam, do not touch. It will peel the skin from your 'Thrangir' friend even through his black shell."
Griz-Maw looks around to ensure King Weskenim is distracted by the malachite stone, then pulls a small, stoppered vial from his belt. It contains a thick, pungent blue paste.
"The Big-Horn is not just wood and brass," he whispers. "It is bound in Beast-Magic. If the Horn-Blower dies but the horn is intact, another will pick it up. Take this Numbing-Silt. Smear it on the mouthpiece if you can reach it—it will silence the horn's magic for a dozen heartbeats, giving you time to break the wood."
Aele carefully pinches the fine, shimmering Void-Dust and applies it to the party. As the dust settles, a sudden, heavy pressure hits your ears—the absolute silence of the void. The sound of the dripping water, the scraping of Dorn's obsidian plate, and even the heroes' breathing vanish within their individual 5-foot auras.
With the Void-Dust active, the party moves into the Pipe-Tunnels. The effect is surreal. Dorn leads the way, his massive boots coming down on the grease-slicked stone with zero acoustic impact.
As the heroes reach the cluster of ribcages and copper bells, Dorn’s shoulder brushes against a hanging bone. It swings violently, striking a copper bell—but there is no sound. The "clatter-clatter" that would have alerted the entire sector is swallowed by the aura.
At one point, Cabe loses his footing on a particularly thick patch of "Beast-Grease." He slides ten feet down the pipe, his bow clattering against the stone walls. In any other circumstance, this would have been a dinner bell for the Ruin-Walkers. Now, it is a silent movie.
The 10-minute window of the dust is ticking. You navigate two more junctions, following the vibration of the Big-Horn rather than its sound.
The air grows warmer and carries the stench of wet fur and old blood. The pipe opens up ahead into a much larger space. Peering out from the lip of the pipe, our heroes see the Cistern of Skulls, a massive, circular Thothian reservoir. In the center, a raised stone dais holds the Big-Horn—a massive instrument made from the tusk of an ancient behemoth, reinforced with brass bands.
A massive, scarred Beastman with a mane of matted white fur stands at the mouthpiece. He is currently drawing a deep breath to let out another rhythmic blast. Four Ruin-Walkers (Beastmen armed with jagged polearms) circle the dais.
Two Goblins, bound in chains, are kneeling at the edge of the cistern, likely intended as the "payment" for the ritual.
Cabe hands Dorn the magical quiver that is capable of producing flaming arrows when those arrows are fired from a bow. From the cover of darkness, Dorn will be ready with the bow to attempt to light the dais' grease on fire, hopefully while also striking the horn-blower. However, the heores' primary strategy is for Cabe to approach secretively and use a pinch of void-dust on the horn. If he is able to do that, Cabe and his two fellow heroes will then engage the beastmen in deadly combat.
Should Cabe be discovered before he can apply void-dust to the mouthpiece of the Great Horn, then Dorn will fire a flaming arrow at the massive, scarred Beastman in hopes of panicking him so that he won't attempt to blow the horn. If Dorn fires a flaming arrow, he will sacrifice a Fortune Point in order to make the attack roll with Advantage, and Aele will seek to 'aid another' by sacrificing one of his Fortune Points to further raise Dorn's attack rolls by +2.
This is a high-stakes tactical gamble. The heroes have coordinated their roles perfectly: Dorn as the heavy-artillery backup, Aele as the guiding hand, and Cabe as the silent saboteur.
Because Cabe is under the effect of the Void-Dust, his movement makes no sound. However, the Cistern is illuminated by flickering ritual torches. To reach the dais without being seen by the four Ruin-Walker guards, he must use the shadows and the massive Thothian pillars for cover.
Stealth Check (Cabe): Rolling with a bonus for the silence aura.
Result: 19.
Cabe moves like a ghost. He slides through the "Beast-Grease" with predatory grace, reaching the base of the dais just as the scarred Horn-Blower finishes a long exhale, preparing to suck in air for the next thunderous blast.
Cabe reaches up and smears the thick, blue Numbing-Silt (which he received from Griz-Maw) onto the mouthpiece of the Great Horn. Cabe successfully applies the Silt. The Horn-Blower presses his lips to the tusk and blows with all his might. His cheeks puff out, his veins bulge—but nothing happens. Not even a puff of air escapes. The Beastman pulls back, looking at the horn in confused rage.
The Horn-Blower’s confusion is the signal. Seeing that Cabe has not been "discovered" (but has successfully neutralized the horn), Dorn does not need to fire his arrow as a panic-response—he can fire it now as a Deadly Opening Salvo.
Dorn draws an arrow from the Sun-Scribed Quiver. It ignites instantly, a streak of white-hot Thothian flame.
- Fortune Point Spent (Dorn): Rolling with Advantage.
- Fortune Point Spent (Aele): +2 Bonus to hit from "Aid Another" (Zorael's tactical shout/guidance).
- Total To-Hit Roll: [18, 14] + 8 (Base) + 2 (Aele) = 28 to hit.
- Damage: 1d8 (Longbow) + 1d6 (Fire) + 4 (Str/Great Strike) = 15 Damage.
The arrow buries itself in the Horn-Blower’s shoulder. Simultaneously, the fire spreads to the Beast-Grease coating the dais. Whoosh! The central platform is suddenly a ring of fire!
Combat Initiative: Round 1
The silence auras are still active, but the visual of the burning dais has alerted everyone.
The battle for the Cistern begins in a surreal, flickering silence. The smell of burning "Beast-Grease" and singed fur fills the air as the party capitalizes on their total tactical advantage.
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Dorn drops the longbow, the wood clattering silently into the grease. He draws Swift and raises the Aegis of the Firmament. His obsidian plate reflects the orange flames as he barrels toward the closest Ruin-Walker.
Attack Roll: 16 + 10 (vs. Beastmen) = 26 to hit.
Damage: 1d8 + 10 = 17 Damage.
Result: Dorn’s blade cleaves through the guard's rusted mail. The Beastman falls into the burning grease without a sound, his death cry swallowed by Dorn's silence aura.
Seeing the Horn-Blower distracted by the flaming arrow in his shoulder, Cabe lunges from the base of the dais to gut the nearest guard.Attack Roll: 14 + 6 = 20 to hit.Damage: 1d6 + 4 = 9 Damage. Cabe decides to forego use of the Red Frenzy, at least for the current combat round.Regeneration: Cabe recovers 1 HP at the start of the round (Blood-Bond passive).
Aele stands at the tunnel mouth, his Staff of the Silver Tongue glowing. He triggers his prepared ritual, Thoth's Comfort.
Effect: Dorn, Cabe, and Aele each gain +1 HP, +1 AAC, and +1 to Saving Throws for the remainder of the combat.
Dorn's Current AAC: 27 (Standard 25 + Swift 1 + Thoth's Comfort 1).
Dorn steps onto the burning dais, his obsidian boots crunching through the flaming grease. He swings Swift at the scarred leader.
Attack Roll: 12 + 10 = 22 to hit.
Damage: $1d8 + 10 = 18 Damage.
Result: The Horn-Blower has now taken 33 total damage.
He is reeling, his matted white fur charred and his shoulder ruined.
He drops the greataxe and tries to scramble
away toward the back of the Cistern.
Cabe maintains his pressure on the guards while activating his primal link.
Constrict Their Heart (Free Action):
1d4 damage on the guard he injured last round.
Roll: 3 damage.
Twin Daggers: He lunges at the same guard.
Roll: 18 + 6 = 24 to hit.
Damage: 1d6 + 4 = 9 Damage.
Result: The second guard collapses, clutching his chest
as his heart rhythm fails under Cabe's influence.
Seeing the Beastmen clustering around Dorn, Aele raises his Staff of the Silver Tongue.
Spend 1 Surge: (1d6 + 4). Roll: 8 Radiant Damage.
Effect: A burst of Thothian light erupts within the silence
aura. The two remaining guards must save vs. Spells or
take full damage.
Result: Both fail. They are seared by the white light,
their skin blistering.
Hero Current HP AAC Notes
Dorn 44/46 27 Wielding Swift (+10/+10 vs. Beastmen).
Aele 41/41 19 3 Surges remaining.
Cabe 41/42 19 Regenerated 1 HP; 2 guards down.
The Horn-Blower is broken and fleeing toward a dark tunnel at the rear of the reservoir. Two guards are dead, and the remaining two are heavily wounded and blinded by Aele's light. The Big-Horn sits abandoned on the burning dais, silenced by the Numbing-Silt.
Aele will hit the fleeing Beastman with a radiant surge. Dorn and Cabe chase the beastman, just in case Aele's attack doesn't kill it.
Aele spends his second Surge of the day. A bolt of pure, white radiance streaks silently through the air, chasing the white-furred Beastman toward the tunnel mouth.
Calculation: 1d6 + 4 (Aele re-rolls 1s and 2s via Adept/Savant)
Roll: [2 -> 5] + 4 = 9 Radiant Damage.
Result: The blast catches the Horn-Blower square in the back.
Already weakened by Dorn's arrow and blade, the radiant
energy is too much. His body stiffens, smoke rising from
his matted fur, and he collapses face-first into the grease
just inches from the tunnel's exit. The Horn-Blower is dead.
With the leader down, Dorn and Cabe do not break their stride. They turn their attention to the two remaining Ruin-Walkers who were blinded by Aele's previous burst.
Dorn’s Opportunity: He uses his Fleet initiative to intercept the first guard.
Attack: 19 + 10 = 29 to hit.
Damage: $1d8 + 10 = 15 Damage.
(The guard is annihilated).
Cabe’s Opportunity: He pivots toward the last guard, daggers flashing.
Attack: 15 + 6 = 21 to hit.
Damage: $1d6 + 4 = 10 Damage.
Result: The final guard falls.
The silence auras of the Void-Dust are still active for a few more minutes, making the aftermath of the slaughter eerily quiet. The only movement is the flickering of the flames on the central dais and the frantic squirming of the two bound Goblin prisoners.
Post-Combat Status:
The Great Horn stands on the dais, its mouth covered in the blue alchemical silt. Nearby, the bodies of the five Beastmen contain various trinkets, but the most pressing matters are the Goblins.
The two Goblins are staring the heroes with wide, terrified eyes. They haven't heard a single sound—no clashing of steel, no screams, no spells. To them, these tall, pale-skins appear like vengeful ghosts who simply moved through the room and left a trail of bodies.
Dorn will destroy the Horn after examining it to ensure it doesn't contain any valuables, engravings, etc. Cabe will stand watch over the bound goblins until the silence effects expires. He doesn't want to free them prematurely, given their state of fear: they might panic. Aele searches the Beastmen corpses for valuables.
The silence persists as the heroes set to work, the only movement being the flickering orange light from the burning grease.
Dorn approaches the massive tusk-instrument. Before bringing down his heavy blade, he wipes away a section of the blue silt to inspect the craftsmanship.
Dorn stays his hand just as he was about to deliver the final, crushing blow. He carefully pries the three unpolished Bloodstones from the brass bands, tucking them into his pouch before stepping back to let Aele perform his investigation.
After the silence effect expires, Aele closes his eyes, chanting the rhythmic Thothian syllables for Detect Magic. His vision shifts, allowing him to see the "veins" of energy flowing through the room.
The horn itself is not inherently magical. It is a masterwork of natural acoustics, though it has been "conditioned" by the Numbing-Silt. However, the brass bands that held the bloodstones pulse with a faint, lingering Evocation aura. It appears the horn was designed to amplify sound to a level that could cause physical deafness or structural tremors if blown with enough force—but the magic required the bloodstones to act as "batteries."
Aele’s fingers trace the Thothian geometry of the scroll tube as he begins a low, resonant hum. The pitch shifts, mimicking the harmonic vibrations of the Archive’s tuning forks.
The Scroll Tube: As Aele hits the final "Thothian Harmonic," the pulsing blue light of the Abjuration seal flickers and fades. The wax turns to fine grey ash. The tube can now be open safely, and Aele does so.
Inside is a sheet of Vellum of the Eternal Eye. It contains a detailed schematic of the Cistern’s pressure valves and a handwritten note in a refined, archaic script: "To the Keeper of the Horn—should the Great Valve fail, the fallback is the Dry-Well. The Copper Trunk remains in the False-Bottom of the Sluice."
Aele’s Detect Magic reveals this is a "Soul-Shriven Locket." It is designed to capture the final breath of a dying creature. If worn during a kill, it stores a charge that can be used to stabilize the wearer if they fall to 0 HP (acting as an automatic Second Breath). However, it currently feels cold and "empty."
Dorn realizes that lugging a four-foot prehistoric tusk through narrow, grease-slicked pipes is a recipe for a broken neck (or at least a very loud, very accidental clatter). He unbuckles the silk rope, letting the massive horn slide from his back with a grunt of relief.
After a quick survey of the Cistern, Dorn spots a dry drainage alcove situated behind one of the massive Thothian pillars. It’s elevated enough to stay above the "Beast-Grease" flow and obscured by the shadow of the pillar and the lingering smoke from the dais. Dorn slides the horn into the alcove and covers it with the discarded, foul-smelling red cape of a fallen Ruin-Walker. "Maybe we can retrieve the horn later. I think it would fetch quite a price."
Aele uses his Golden Stylus to etch a small, barely visible Thothian "Seal of Secrecy" on the stone floor near the base of the pillar. To a casual observer, it’s just a scratch; to the party, it’s the "X" on the map.
With the horn hidden, Dorn’s Initiative and Stealth penalties are removed. He re-packs his silk rope and iron spikes, his movements returning to their usual martial efficiency.
While Dorn secures the trophy, Aele spreads the Vellum of the Eternal Eye across his knee. The archaic Thothian script is dense, but the diagram is clear.
The Dry-Well: The schematic confirms one of the goblins — Pips’ — story. The Dry-Well isn't actually a well for water; it was an Acoustic Pressure Valve.
Checking the Oracle: The diagram shows a "False Bottom" in the Sluice leading to the well. It indicates that the Copper Trunk (the key) is hidden behind a stone plate that only moves if a specific pressure is applied to the rim of the well.
To reach the Dry-Well, you must pass through the "Slippery-Stairs," a series of stepped stone weirs that are likely coated in years of congealed grime.
Pips and his fellow goblin, sensing that the heroes aren't going to execute them, have become chatty. "The Ruin-Walkers don't go into the Dry-Well," Pips whispers. "They say it screams. But it's just the wind in the pipes, yes? Just the wind?"
Aele takes a moment of quiet focus amidst the lingering smell of ozone and burnt grease. He holds the Soul-Shriven Locket in his palm, humming a low Thothian dirge that resonates with the necromantic silver.
As Aele channels his focus, the cold silver of the soul-shriven locket begins to pulse with a faint, rhythmic heartbeat of violet light.
Aele feels a tether form between his own life force and the silver screaming face.
Current State: The locket is uncharged.
Function: To activate its protective power, the locket must be "fed" the final breath of a formidable foe (a creature of at least 2 Hit Dice) slain by the party. Once charged, it will hang dormant until the wearer is reduced to below 1 HP, at which point it shatters, instantly restoring 2d8 HP to the wearer.
The Choice: Aele clips the silver chain around his neck, the cold metal resting against his Thothian robes.
"Dorn gathers everyone together. "All right. Let's rest for fifteen minutes, then we'll press onward."