The Sequence of Deel: e I C An Adventure Location by Michael Prescott

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THE SEQUENCE OF DEEL Elevator

Years ago, the counterweight rope


Isolated Chamber
Twenty miners were trapped here by a
an Adventure Location by Michael Prescott broke, sending it down into the water. cave-in, long ago. They are now dead,
Wraith by Justine Jones The remaining rope down to the ele- and although their companions from
the Situation vator is not properly secured, merely the dry and wet chambers have dug a
High in the hills is a village, plagued snagged in a rusted pulley. small crawl hole to free them, the res-
by nighttime poisonings. Though cue came after they were limed over.
they have only seen her in dreams, Now they sit like stalagmites, close-
the villagers blame the creeping ly spaced and immobile. Some have
crone, a shadowy woman who an arm or leg free to grab someone
comes in through their windows squeezing through them, if the dead
at night. In a nearby mine, the have taken a dislike to them.
dead patrol restlessly. They The deep, narrow pool at the
are guardians of their own, im- end contains the crone snail’s silver
promptu crypt, and act as gaol- knife, thrown here by the dead from
ers to the wraiths within the the wet chamber.
strange sanctum below them.
Wet Chamber
Catwalk Eleven dead here are rotted by the moisture, and
The mine catwalks were built are dappled black and white by cave lichen and
to allow access to tin deposits in black mold. Unless they are disturbed, they wait
its upper reaches. The wood has silently, sworn to prevent the crone snail from
succumbed to dry rot, and creaks leaving the cavern pool.
alarmingly with every step, sending Between, around, and sometimes through
plumes of dust into the darkness below. them creeps the proboscis of the crone snail—a
long, mottled tendril as thick as a plum. The slick
Dry Chamber tentacle is hard to notice among the watery drips
The walls of this much-worked cham- of this end of the cavern. It moves slowly, tasting
ber are pitted with bore holes for the air. If it contacts living skin, a powerful spurt
scaffolds, long removed. A dozen dead of paralytic venom propels an arrow-sized bone
stand here, silently receiving the dust harpoon into the crone’s prey. Victims are then
of the ages, easily passing for stalag- gently pulled down off the ledge for digestion.
mites from above. The floor collapse
reveals the antechamber below. Cavern Pool
Despite its wet, slimy appearance, the
Antechamber limestone cascade is rough and gritty
This sideways chamber with its whorled the Arc of Restoration to the touch. Myriad rivulets of water
white stones clearly does not belong to Nine stone doors open into nich- trickle from above into the rank pool.
the mine. Engravings praise the healing es where the vampiric bodies of the The crone snail waits at the water-
powers of “Deel.” The sideways columns are wraiths were meant to form. At the line, a conical, stony shell the size of a
rare, resonant wood: if cleared of rubble, they foot of each door is an ossuary, a box cow. If she has a paralyzed victim with
ring in deep, pure tones when struck. If all six of stone built into the wall, engraved her, they bob in the water at her side.
are struck within the same minute, the magical- with the history and accomplishments If confronted, two more harpoon pro-
ly barred double doors to the arc open. of one of the sooths of Deel. Inside are boscises emerge from within her shell.
The wraith Ximandes waits here, prevented their bones and a silver knife. Ossuar- The water is only waist deep, and
from ascending by the influence of the dead in ies must be smashed open, but if rubble beneath the scum rests dozens of small
the dry chamber. Like all the wraiths, Ximandes falls in when the double doors open, it mining chisels, mallets, lamps, buckles,
walks on the wall, respecting the arc’s orientation. will break open the one in the center. and hundreds of silver coins.

Copyright © 2019 Michael Prescott — CC-BY-NC 4.0 — c b n a — More at http://blog.trilemma.com — Supported by http://patreon.com/adventures v1.0.1 pg. 1/2
Nine Sooths Ejected pulling them into the depths, and Used to the sanctum from life, they d6 Wraith Attacks
Long ago, a simple people raised a stone draining them of blood, all in hiding. walk on the “wall” that was once the 1-2 Awaken another wraith from
sanctum to celebrate and explore the sanctum’s floor. Unless their ossuaries the arc; if there are none, attack.
mysteries of Deel the Protectress. The the Dead are disturbed, the wraiths will remain
sooths who prayed there were bless- The stones of the dislocated sanctum sleeping and inert, although Ximandes 3 Emit a shriek so terrifying that
none can look away
ed by her gaze, and their ritual words still throb with the words of Deel. will move to awaken them if anyone liv-
brought comfort to the sick or injured. Where normally it takes centuries and ing enters the antechamber. 4 Skulk in shadow form, moving
Those beyond saving died, but in a thriving village for a host to accumu- Each is a potent sorcerer, having to attack a victim from behind
death they joined the ancestral host. late and grow strong, the magic in the mastered many rituals of Deel, and oth- 5 Stab a victim and drink their
For all eternity they would sing their stones filled Wifmurta’s victims er magics brought to them by the dis- blood, performing vampirism.
whispering songs of love and guidance with purpose immediately. tant whispers of demons during their
to their descendants: Deel’s gift to the When miners broke long imprisonment in the sanctum. 6 Psychically enthrall d6 dead
living. through to the antecham- When they are alerted to intruders, from the dry chamber. Thralls
In time, however, the sooths became ber, the host acted to defend consult the wraith attack table. walk on the wall-floor, like the
wraiths do. This requires four
arrogant and ambitious, sensing a path them from the wraiths.
wraiths to be active.
that Deel had not meant for them to They animated the pile of Silver Knives
see: the possibility of a return from dead bodies from the pool, Each wraith has a knife made of rather than staying to aid their com-
death, to live and walk the earth again. and took up positions in the silver (handle and blade), which panions. The pull of the living world is
Nine were needed for the ritual, but dry and wet caverns. Their exists on both sides of the veil, strong, and they will protect their new
finding them took generations, for only whispering songs are all allowing them to wield it to body at all costs.
the fiercest, most magically talented that keeps the eight oth- harm the living (or in
sooths could avoid merging with the er wraiths from turn, be harmed by it). the Creeping Crone
ancestral host and remain independent rising out of Any touch or cut by In the long years, Wifmurta did man-
wraiths. the arc and a wraith’s silver knife age to learn a magical trick, despite
When at last they had their ninth, finding vic- causes that person to her mollusk brain: by inserting her pro-
Deel saw the plan in their hearts and tims on the abide by the orienta- boscises into the ground, she can cause
descended upon them in fury. She surface. tion of the original them to emerge anywhere up to six
broke the sanctum and hurled it from Unless both- shrine, falling to the leagues away. When the mine became
her sight in a terrible dislocation. ered, the dead “wall.” This lasts empty of the living, this is how she had
don’t move, but until they leave the to hunt.
the Crone Snail they are watchful mine, when they At first, she targeted livestock, but
Of all the wraiths, only “Wifmurta” and in silent, joyful tumble out along she has grown fond of the taste of hu-
was strong enough to escape the prison communion with one the mine track a short way. man flesh. Her proboscis slithers out of
tomb. With her silver knife in hand, another. Anyone who the soil and probes windows and eaves
she seeped upward through the earth, falls unconscious in the Vampirism for any gap to reach a sleeping victim.
hoping to find a living body to claim mine (through sleep, accident, A wraith that drinks Unable to pull her victims through
through vampirism. or venom) hears their songs and the blood of a person im- the soil to drain them completely, she
Instead, she found only a humble learns their purpose. mediately forms a physi- drinks what she can where they lie.
snail. Desperate, she drank its ichor They are individually weak and brit- cal body, which appears in Most eventually recover, and speak
and took its form, infusing it with her tle, but in the close confines of the mine one of the niches of the arc. If the living of nightmares of a crone, creeping in
sorcerous vitality. caverns, their biting and clawing as a body is slain, the vampire returns to through a window or chimney before
Confined to a primitive, mollusk mob is very dangerous. wraith form once more. Vampires are binding them, smothering them, and
brain, all of her ambitions were chan- careful to keep a silver weapon hidden burning them with a hot brand.
neled into a single direction: finding the Wraiths somewhere safe, so they can use it to
prey. When village miners eventually Including Ximandes, there are eight drink blood again if their body dies.
dug deep enough to break into her cav- wraiths in the arc. They are ghostly, If the wraiths are under threat, any
erns, she was waiting for them. She ate and can only be hurt by silver or magi- wraith that achieves vampirism will
many over the years, poisoning them, cal weapons. flee the mine on a roll of 1-2 on a d6

Copyright © 2019 Michael Prescott — CC-BY-NC 4.0 — c b n a — More at http://blog.trilemma.com — Supported by http://patreon.com/adventures v1.0.1 pg. 2/2

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