While the stories of both the Temple of the Snake Cult and the Royal Barrows have been told, this is not the whole of it, and the fateful raid on the Temple was no simple matter.
King Cyneric lost many allies in his crusade against the Snake Cult. The jovial old Korsario, Aleksandro, who inadvertently saved the Northman from the fate of a galley slave, taught him the bloody ways of the Southern Seas, and eventually made him his first mate (later his successor.) His prodigious belly was cut from groin to stern by Xor, one of the Cult’s Champions, but the once-feared Korsario nevertheless died with a bloody smile on his lips: “Retirement was not that fun, my friend. I had enough cheap wine and cheaper women to last me ten lifetimes! This way is much better…” The ferocious dwarf Stygg, who had once been a foe of Cyneric’s until stalemate after stalemate caused them to develop a grudging respect for each other, had his stubborn and stone-like head caved in by the Champion Thomgrir’s war-hammer. The enigmatic and fey sword-sorceress Vileniiya, who joined the company more out of arcane self-interest than any genuine affection for the Northman, uttered her final spell when the lucky spear throw of an oor-man guard pierced straight through her soulstone and into her tender throat. And the noble Templar Valios: blinded by snake’s burning venom before falling to an ignoble end down the inky fathoms of a pit – how Cyneric would miss their heated discussions on the nature of the gods by the firelight.
This left the Barbarian King and the Amazon Beltis to track down the High Priest in the cavernous depths under the Temple alone, while the remainder of their band of ex-sellswords, cutthroats, and other misfits secured the Temple above. Beltis was already wounded on her side, while Cyneric bled from many cuts. The High Priest had thus far eluded the band through many foul tricks and traps, and he had yet one more under his silk-and-snakeskin sleeve.
They finally cornered the High Priest deep in the caverns, where ruins older than even the Temple existed. However, the Priest just smiled at the pair as he pulled a bronze lever, which opened a massive, stone doorway. From this lightless deep emerged throngs of snake-men to assail the two. Cyneric and Beltis were forced to fight beyond human exhaustion into the manic state of the berserk. Time ceased to have meaning as foul, ophidian parts fell all around them like some sickly harvest.
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| The Temple concealed many horrors below. |
At last, when no more of the misbegotten snake-things would come from those howling depths, the Barbarian King stalked toward the cowering High Priest – all his cunning means and serpent-trickery spent. Without a word, Cyneric severed the Priest’s depraved head with the Sword of Lantika in one flashing, blue stroke, cutting cleanly through helm and neck. Thus the Snake Cult was no more. But as the High Priest’s head rolled away, it somehow managed to utter a final curse at the Northman, which echoed through the cavernous halls:
“I curse thee thrice, defiler!
May your dreams in the dark hours be ever haunted!
May your bloodline drown in stagnant ichor!
May your soul become lost, forever a Fear in the night!”
At the time, Cyneric thought this was merely the impotent babble of a defeated foe. But soon enough, his dreams began to take on a sinister character, which became more and more frequent. The snake-haunted nightmares took a heavy toll on his body and mind, though he refused to admit it. His otherwise joyous union to now Queen Beltis produced no issue, and the vultures in his court began to circle. Beltis suggested turning to the priestesses of Althea for aid, and with their intervention, and perhaps the distance away from the Cult’s shattered Temple and its foul energies, the Queen was able to conceive. The happiness of having Prince Connel was marred only by the King’s worsening condition.
Though he did not particularly like it, the Barbarian King consulted over a hundred sages, soothsayers, and priests seeking a solution to his problem, receiving over a hundred answers to his predicament in turn; none alleviated the nightmares. It was then that Cyneric, grimly resigned to his fate as stoically any Northman, came up with a plan: to be buried in a Barrow blessed by his gods, and for his successors to also be buried with the blessings of any other gods of the land, thus hedging his bets against whatever dark powers were behind the Cult and the High Priest’s curse. He decided these Barrows should be both away and between the Temple and his City, so that they would form a shield against the curse.
It was almost as if Cyneric knew that his time in this world was finished, for the very next night after his Barrow had been completed, his once mighty and indomitable heart gave out.
For a time, the King’s plan worked, and Alkastra prospered under the aegis of Queen Beltis and later King Connel; even sometime after they too had passed. But it seems as if this only delayed the inevitable. Within a few generations, Cyneric’s descendants fell to decadence, squabbling, and disregard for what their predecessors had built. Thus the Barbarian King’s line was broken and the Royal Barrows succumbed to the Snake Cult’s curse.
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| The curse of the Snake Cult endures. |
Barrow of the King Encounters (2d6)
2. A gelatinous cube
3. 1d8 stray Amazon shadows
4. 3d4 humanoid zombies
5. 2d6 patches of green slime on the ceiling
6. 4d6 skeletons
7. 4d8 gobb-men (goblin) sentries
8. 1d6+1 hobb-men (hobgoblin) sergeants
9. 2d4 baern-men (bugbear) guards
10. 1d6 giant (tiger) beetles; pets of the baern-men
11. 1d3 paralyzing mucus crawlers, attracted by the smell of carrion
12. 1d3 giant (tarantula) spiders
Barrow of the King Key
Room 11: Gobb-men Watch Post
The architecture of King Cyneric’s Barrow is a little cruder than the later Barrows. The stone walls feature imposing reliefs with Northern runes that relay an accounting of his life and deeds for the Giant Lords to judge.
Inside the chamber are three (3) gobb-men lazily standing watch. If alerted, one will attempt to flee and warn the rest of the garrison in Room 13. And additional 2d4 gobb-men and one hobb-man sergeant will arrive from the next area. The forces in the barrow will then be on a state of alert. Encounters have a 2-in-6 chance of occurring for the next 1d4 hours.
Gobb-men (x3): HP 2, 1, 4
There are a number of electrum pieces scattered about, which were pocketed by the gobb-men earlier, but have fallen out of the holes in their threadbare rags; 49 in total.
The gobb-men were also guarding a break in the walls that leads into cavernous tunnels. One end winds down to the Barrow of the Queen, where troglodytes collapsed it during their escape (see the Barrow of the Queen, Room 6,) The other leads to a wooded cave outside, about three miles (1 hour) from the Barrows in the direction of the Mantle Hills.
Room 12: Hobb-men Garrison
This central chamber splits off into separate galleries, forming a sort of antechamber supported by columns. A central stone is surrounded by filthy sleeping skins scattered about a cookfire with a foul-smelling, perpetual stew in a pot. The room is occupied by eight (8) gobb-men, two (2) hobb-men sergeants, and a baern-man heavy. Part of the force may come to investigate Room 11, if they have been warned.
Gobb-men (goblins): HP 4, 2, 5, 7, 6, 3, 3, 1.
Hobb-men (hobgoblin) sergeants: HP 6, 9.
Baern-man (bugbear) heavy: HP 15.
The central stone has the following carved in both Northern runes and the Common tongue:
"Here lies King Cyneric, First of His Name
The LION of Alkastra
Mighty he feasts in MOLNHEIM with LIONESS dexter and CUB sinister
Watching over his Jeweled SPEAR
To trample the SNAKES under the Earth.
May his Lords above find his saga worthy of their Hall"
In the back of the stone is a secret alcove with a small, hand-sized plaque inside. The plaque is made of bronze and is embossed with the image of a Northern style hall in the clouds ("Cloud Hall".) This plaque is required to solve the puzzle in Room 14.
Room 13: Haunted Memories
These six, concentric galleries depict King Cyneric’s adventures and valorous (often foolhardy) deeds along its walls. Each of the crude reliefs and writings in runes and Common script tell a story of a pivotal moment in the King’s life with a featured artifact related to that time, resting in an alcove opposite of the central chamber (Room 12.) Touching or holding the artifact in that room causes the character and those in a 15-ft. radius to fall unconscious, as their minds are transported to a dream-like, phantasmal memory where a portion of Cyneric’s spirit is trapped in a cycle of failure, in stark contrast to the actual tale told on the walls.
The PCs can help the Barbarian King’s lost spirit by setting each memory right, thereby freeing him from the control of the hobb-man priest in Room 14 (see below).
The memories are illusory in nature, and any lost hit points, spells, or items are restored at the end of it. Characters that are “killed” are removed from the memory, but continue to be unconscious from their realistic impact (treat as a sleep spell.) Failing a memory (typically with Cyneric’s death) causes it to end, but the PCs may try again as often as they’d like. However, a turn of game time passes each time the PCs attempt a memory, which could result in a random encounter.
After a memory is completed successfully, there is a tangible sense of peace and serenity in that gallery from that moment onward. Any encountered undead may not enter that particular gallery.
The galleries and their corresponding memories are as follows:
13a. Cyneric the Northman: This gallery tells the story of a young and beardless Cyneric participating in clan raids with his fellow Hillmen, culminating in his now legendary victory over the hill giant Arngrir. Artifact: a notched, iron hand-axe.
In the haunted memory, the PCs find themselves in a snow-covered, Northern pine forest in the middle of a battle between Hillmen and vicious Picts under the leadership of the fearsome giant. The impetuous Cyneric charges the giant, but is swatted away like an insect, his notched, iron hand axe falling just out of reach. Arngrir then crushes the young Hillman into paste with his gnarled, bone-studded tree club.
To aid Cyneric, the PCs must get the iron axe close enough for him to reach it, but there is a group of war-maddened Picts between them and the axe. The PCs could try killing the hill giant, but that could be beyond their abilities, plus it would rob Cyneric of his glory and rightful story (failing the memory, but the GM should feel free to grant the PCs some experience for besting a giant!)
Picts (berserkers x8): HP 5, 9, 5, 4, 5, 9, 4, 7
With axe in hand, Cyneric is able to cleave one of the giant’s leg tendons, bringing the massive creature to the ground. The young Hillman then clambers up the giant’s back, grapples his neck, and with a straining effort, snaps it like that of a sacrificial aurochs slain to honor Corum and the other Giant Lords at harvest time.
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| HNNNNNNG! |
The hallway to the next area tells of Cyneric leaving the North for the Marklands after being on the losing side of a clan dispute. He arrives in the city-state of Alkastra, where his youthful bravado and massive frame make him an asset in the dockside gang wars of that decadent city. His success and ill-gotten loot pays for weeks of carousing, until he wakes up hung-over and penniless on a boat sailing down the Dragon’s Tongue to kingdoms south and beyond.
13b. Cyneric the Sellsword: The walls here depict Cyneric’s days as a sellsword for the various companies of kondottieri that make war for the highest bidder to this very day in the shattered principalities of the southern continent. Cyneric adapts well to “civilized” warfare and eventually becomes a kondottiero captain himself. Artifact: a battered, crested helm embossed with baroque designs.
The haunted memory places the PCs in the middle of the Siege of Malatestia. The siege tower they are in is burning down and Captain Cyneric shouts orders to leave it for the castle battlements before it falls, even though the bridge is only half deployed (Dexterity check to jump onto the battlements, or suffer 3d6 falling damage; a merciful GM may allow a save against breath to hold on to the wall.)
However, Cyneric is caught inside as it begins to shatter. He leaps from the burning structure, barely grasping on to the castle wall, and his crested helm falls to the ground below. Crossbowmen on the battlements aim for the climbing Northman, and unless the PCs intervene, one gets a lucky shot and drives a bolt through Cyneric’s thick skull, sending him plummeting to a nameless end. If they PCs can stop the crossbowmen, Cyneric is able to surprise the castle defenders from behind and cut them down like sheaves of grain – a key moment in that historical victory.
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| The Siege of Malatestia is where Cyneric earned his reputation as a formidable mercenary captain. |
If the PCs attack the crossbowmen, half (1d2+1) will engage them while the others continue to fire at Cyneric, who has an Armor Class of 6 [13]. The Northman can suffer 30 points of damage before a shot knocks him out of the wall. However, if a crossbowman rolls a natural “20” on his attack roll, Cyneric must save against death (10 or better) or fall to his doom regardless of hit points.
Crossbowmen (x5): AL N; AC 5 [14]; HD 1-3 (HP 8, 1, 11, 12, 16); MV60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d6 (crossbow) or 1d8 (long sword); SV F1-3; ML 12.
The Hallway to the next gallery depicts Cyneric’s band of rogue kondottieri raiding the poplar and olive-lined countryside until the Northman is betrayed by one of his own captains, the dwarf Stygg. Cyneric is captured, tortured, and sentenced to row in a galley.
13c. Cyneric the Reaver: This gallery features Cyneric’s time as a korsario of the Southern Seas. His ship, the Nemea, was caught in the trap of a treacherous alliance between rival korsario lords (which included the now Captain Stygg the Vicious,) and the fat, bejeweled, merchant princes which Cyneric’s raids had impoverished. The merchants armed their vessels with expensive, imported bombards, easily disabling the Nemea.
However, the Northman-turned-pirate captain boards and captures Stygg’s ship (the Cormorant) instead and rams it (along with its cargo of blasting powder) into the merchant princes’ ship, sending all into the bloody, shark-infested waters. Artifact: a torn, red pirate flag with the design of a black skull cleaved in twain by an axe.
This haunted memory has two segments. In the first, Cyneric orders for the shattered and flaming Nemea to head straight for one of the korsario ships, in order to avoid any further bombard fire from the merchant’s vessel. When the ships ram into each other, Cyneric brazenly orders his crew to board the Cormorant. He takes down his red and black pirate’s flag from the Nemea’s mast to fool the merchant princes into thinking his ship has fallen. It is then an all-out battle to take the Cormorant. The GM should feel free to throw as many pirates at the PCs as they are able to handle, while Cyneric seeks out Captain Stygg for control of the ship. The segment ends when the PCs are either dead, or victorious.
In the second segment, the PCs are at the helm of the recently-captured Cormorant, with the defeated Captain Stygg and the rest of his surviving crew bound and gagged. They are slowly sailing towards the unsuspecting merchant princes’ vessel when Cyneric orders his pirate’s flag hoisted aloft to show the smug and plump coin-counters that their doom has come. In the false memory however, the merchant princes quickly open fire on the Cormorant and sink it before it can become a threat.
The PCs have nine (9) rounds to reach the merchant’s vessel and ram it before their ship (with its remaining stores of powder) is destroyed in an explosion. The merchant’s vessel fires their bombards every three rounds, starting with the first. The volley causes 4d6 damage to the Cormorant (half on a successful save against breath; saves as the character steering the ship.) The players have a few options in steering the Cormorant, and the GM should entertain any other ideas the players may have:
- Increase speed: reduces the time required to reach the merchant’s vessel by one round. The ship then has a -1 penalty to save against the bombards.
- Maintain speed: no change in time or modifier to save against the bombards.
- Avoid volley: by steering hard to port or starboard. This grants +2 to save, but adds one round to the total time required before contact.
The Cormorant can take 50 points of hull damage before it is destroyed and the memory ends in failure. If the PCs succeed in reaching the merchant vessel, Cyneric orders his crew to abandon ship (including a released Stygg and his men, which are unceremoniously thrown overboard) right before it rams into the shocked merchant princes in their ship, exploding into a conflagration of fiery chum. Cyneric is knocked unconscious by the explosion's debris and plunges into the sea.
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| For one brief second, the merchant princes regretted their decisions. |
The hallway to the next gallery depicts Cyneric’s dreamlike journey into the deep, where he somehow survives (he believed it was mermaids) to discover the Sword of Lantika within the strange ruins of that ancient and sunken kingdom. It is evident the sculptors had a difficult time capturing the King’s descriptions of that strange quest.
13d. Cyneric the Slave-Warrior: Washing up on Far Western shores, Cyneric is captured, branded, and made to serve as a Mameluke in the unholy army of Sultan Mahzmed the Profane, whose slave-soldiers serve even after death. Cyneric manages to rise through the ranks to attempt an ill-fated rebellion, which ends with the Northman languishing in the Sultan’s dungeons. He escapes thanks to the help of the young wise-woman, Ziyamina; herself a slave to the profane Sultan. She frees the Northman and leads him to the Sultan’s lotus-fumed sanctum.
As Cyneric battles the Sultan’s undead eunuchs and fearsome, bound ifrit, Ziyamina uses the distraction to steal a scroll of holy scripture from Mahzmed’s sanctum. With it, she is able to free the ifrit from service, who then gleefully slays Mahzmed before departing into the ethereal winds, ending the Sultan’s dark rule. Artifact: a piece of parchment with faded scripture of the Elemental Dukes.
The haunted memory here is not so much about Cyneric, but Ziyamina attempting to sneak through the dungeons. The PCs are not there physically, but seem to be in control of the wise-woman. They must help her sneak to Cyneric’s cell while avoiding the guards. Otherwise, she is captured and the haunted memory ends in failure. There are three (3) guards patrolling the dungeon halls between her and Cyneric’s cell. The writer recommends using miniatures or tokens to show Ziyamina’s and the guards’ positions for this encounter.
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| Dungeon encounter map |
The guards have torches and a detection distance of 40 feet in the direction that they are facing and are considered to be in a “passive” state. If a guard detects Ziyamina’s presence, they become “suspicious,” and will approach Ziyamina’s location at half speed. If she is within their direct sight distance at 20 feet or less the following round, they become “hostile” and attempt to apprehend her (combat ensues.)
A “hostile” guard returns to a “suspicious” status in 1d6 rounds if they cannot find Ziyamina (she is either away or blocked from detection distance,) and revert back to a “passive” status 1d3 rounds after if they still cannot find her.
Roll 1d6 to determine what a guard does each round they are “passive.” If Ziyamina is standing still (such as flat against a wall or corner) that round, add +1 to the roll. If Ziyamina moves at half speed (30 feet), there is no modifier. If Ziyamina is moving at full speed (60 feet,) subtract -1. If the result is illogical (such as the guard walking into a wall or obstruction,) then have the guard follow the most logical path around the wall or obstruction.
0. Guard state changes to “hostile” and actively moves in the direction of Ziyamina to apprehend her. If he passes other guards within 40 feet, they become “hostile” as well.
1. Guard state changes to “suspicious” and moves 60 feet in the direction of Ziyamina. If he passes any other guards within 40 feet, they become “suspicious” as well.
2. The guard believes they heard or saw something, and moves 60 feet in the direction he is facing. He is still considered to be in a ”passive” state, however
3. The guard faces left or right (roll 1d6: odd=left, even=right,) moves for 60 feet, then changes direction left or right again (roll 1d6 as before.)
4. The guard turns around, and then moves in that direction for 60 feet.
5. The guard faces left or right (roll 1d6: odd=left, even=right,) then moves for 30 feet in that direction.
6. The guard turns left or right (roll 1d6: odd=left, even=right.)
7+. The guard is distracted (scratches himself, yawns, etc.) and does not notice Ziyamina, even if she is within detection distance. +1 to the next roll.
If a guard successfully attacks Ziyamina (fights as a 2nd-level fighter,) he is able to grab on to her. A successful attack roll from Ziyamina in turn (fights as a 4th-level magic-user) breaks the guard’s hold and she is then able to then move to escape. If two or more guards have successfully grabbed her, she is captured and the memory fails.
Once Ziyamina reaches Cyneric’s cell, the memory ends with the Northman subduing the guards and the two making their way towards the Sultan’s sanctum, setting the memory right.
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| Ziyamina (reading aloud): "In the most Holy and Unspeakable Name of the Great One and all the Dukes of the Elements: AKSUUN, ZARTUUS, KAYI'RI, QUAATIA, I release thee from service! Go now in peace!" Iftit: "Oh I will, kindest one, but first a debt must be repaid..." Sultan Mahzmed: *screams cut off by gurgles* |
The next hall shows Cyneric departing that strange land of white-washed walls, perfumed intrigue, and poisoned daggers back to the northeast with both his Sword and Ziyamina as companion.
13e. Cyneric the Conqueror: Cyneric returns to Alkastra to find the city-state under the grip of Chaos-corrupted elves that swarmed from the western and northern woods to take the city in the name of restoring their lost, Fey kingdoms. Their leader Xengar rules from a Throne of Skulls – a horrid thing fashioned from the unfortunate heads of the scions of the city-state’s nobility. Cyneric forms a ragtag army of river pirates, smugglers, and gang members to retake the city from the elves. Artifact: Xengar’s own slender skull.
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| Since we cannot have our Kingdoms back, we will rebuild them on the bones of Men! So say the prophecies of the Four Crones and the Old Ones whom they serve. |
Cyneric uses his ragtag army to create multiple skirmishes around the city as a distraction while he leads a small force through the city’s cloaca to reach the Citadel from underneath. This however, is a trap, and they find themselves surrounded by a contingent of Xengar’s forces beneath the stinking, maze-like tunnels. Most of Cyneric’s force is slain in a hail of elf-arrows (save for Cyneric and the PCs themselves.) It is then a cat-and-mouse game to help Cyneric escape the trap and reach the Citadel.
The GM should have the players use the grossly-overpowered, yet possibly satisfying Cyneric along with their own characters to hack through the opposition, but if the Northman falls, the memory fails.
Corrupted elves (x24): AL C; AC 5 [14]; HD 1+1 (HP 4,7,6,5,7,7,7,6,9,3,6,9,5,2,9,9,7,5,2,8,8,3,5,5,7,6,8,3,4,4); MV120 ft. (40 ft.); ATK 1d6 (long bow) or 1d8 (long sword); SP spells; SV E1; ML 8 (10 while leader is alive.)
Corrupted elf leader: AL C; AC 5 [14]; HD 5 (HP 16); MV120 ft. (40 ft.); ATK 1d6 (long bow) or 1d8 (long sword); SP spells; SV E5; ML 10.
Cyneric the Northman: AL L; AC 2 [17]; HD 8+3 (HP 60); MV 60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d10+4 (Sword of Lantika); SP +4 to hit (Str 18, Sword of Lantika); SV F8; ML 12.
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| Sewer battle map |
If they succeed, the PCs see a vision of Cyneric reaching Xengar’s throne room, where the Fey lord sits smugly behind a field of magical Chaos around him. Cyneric throws the Sword of Lantika like a spear, and the glowing weapon cuts through the shield and straight into Xengar’s sternum, impaling him to the throne.
The exit hallway shows Cyneric taking the crown of Alkastra for himself, becoming King along with Ziyamina as his first Queen. This brazen act would later cause problems with the city-state’s nobility.
13f. Cyneric the King: The last gallery depicts King Cyneric’s rocky rule and triumph over a coup attempt by a cabal of disgruntled nobles. His success is dampened by terrible grief when Queen Ziyamina passes away giving birth to their second child. A long period of peace comes later, only to an end when Cyneric’s spoiled children are seduced by the Snake Cult, and plot to assassinate their own father. The story ends with King Cyneric’s battle against the Snake Cult, the raid on their Temple, and beheading of the High Priest. The alcove where an artifact from this time should be lies empty. There is no haunted memory here.
If the High Priest’s helm (see the Temple of the Snake Cult Level 3, Room 28,) is placed on this alcove, and all the other haunted memories of the King have been set right, the PCs witness a vision of the raid on the Temple and Cyneric’s triumphs over the snake-men and High Priest. When the vision ends, the helm begins to heat up to a melting point, and reforms as a hand-sized, bronze plaque embossed with an image of intertwined or conjoined snakes (“Snakes”) this item is required to solve the puzzle in Room 14.
In addition, Cyneric’s restless spirit will no longer be under the control of the hobb-man priest (see Room 14 below.)
Room 14: King Cyneric’s Pyre
The center of this chamber is dominated by a stone slab carved with runes. Within is an ancient pile of charred wood, ashes and bones from King Cyneric’s funeral pyre. A baleful circle with six, glowing Chaos runes has been drawn around the slab by the room’s occupant: a hobb-man priest of the Snake God and his baern-men bodyguards. King Cyneric’s suffering spirit, now a special, sword-wielding spectre, is under the control of the priest, who will unleash him against any intruders. King Cyneric’s spectre rises like a cyclone from the pyre's remains.
Hobb-man Priest: AL C; AC 2 [17]; HD 5 (HP 21); MV 60 ft. (20 ft.); ATK 1d6 (mace); SP spells; SV C5; ML 10.
Spells: cause (light) wounds, curse (reversed bless), protection from evil, silence (15 ft. radius)
Baern-men (bugbear) bodyguards (x2): HP 16, 14
King Cyneric’s spectre: HP 32; ATK 1d10 + energy drain (2 levels)
Restoring any one of the six haunted memories (see Room 13) causes one of the Chaos runes around King Cyneric’s pyre to fade away. If the PCs have restored all of the King’s memories, his spectre will be free to turn on the hobb-man priest and his bodyguards when the priest tries to command him.
The freed spectre will not attack the PCs unless they attack him first (as he has some strange recollections of them as allies in his past.) However, the Snake Cult’s curse persists, and King Cyneric’s spectre will attack them later if they attempt to force open the doorway to Room 15, or incorrectly place the bronze plaques (see below.) The spectre will also return after a full turning of the moon (one month) even if the PCs manage to slay it.
Within the King's remains is a hand-sized, bronze plaque embossed with an image of a maned lion (“Lion”) this item is required to solve the puzzle door to the Treasure Vault (see below.)
Room 15: Treasure Vault
The stone door to this room is locked by a complex mechanism of six, hand-sized slots in a cross-like pattern, where the bronze plaques found elsewhere in the Barrows seem to fit. The solution to the puzzle is contained in each of the inscriptions for the Prince, Queen, and King. The correct placement is as follows:
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| Puzzle solution |
Once the plaques are placed correctly, the stone door opens to reveal a vault filled with King Cyneric’s tomb treasures:
- 6,000 sp
- A kingly portrait of Cyneric (he hated the damn thing, but it is worth 1,400 gp to the right buyer due to the now famous and long-departed artist.)
- A woven, horsehair tapestry of steppe nomads with semiprecious gems sewn in for colors; worth 1100 gp
- Two brass statues of mermaids on rocks with splashing waters worth 550 gp each.
- A crystal figurine of an elf with gold and gem-encrusted spear and shield, worth 1400 gp
- A gold, drinking flagon with the shape of a woman astride a dragon worth 1200 gp
- A marble bowl carved with images of ancient warriors around it worth 800 gp
- A ceremonial suit of plate with intricate, etched designs. It is nonmagical, but worth 700 gp
- A simple gold crown with moonstone, garnets, and runestones worth 1500 gp
- A curious bronze rod, which is the lever that opens the gate to Level 4 in the Temple of the Snake Cult (see Room 28 of the Temple.)
King Cyneric’s greatest treasure hovers on an adjacent plinth: his mighty Sword of Lantika. Talking the sword immediately causes King Cyneric’s spectre to appear and rush the character holding it. However, the sword glows with an otherworldly blue light and strange, geometric patterns as it absorbs the spectre into it, seemingly exorcising or banishing the cursed spirit. Regardless, the King's spirit is now a part of the sword.
Sword of Lantika
The Sword of Lantika is said to have been the symbol of the rulers of the lost Kingdom of Lantika, which once held sway from their moving island in the Southern Seas due to their possession of arcane crafts and other sorceries said to originate from the City of Humankind itself. According to the priests of the Lords of Law, the Lantikan’s sinful use of the Dragon Father's crafts for self-aggrandizement instead of His glory, led to their island sinking under the waves, along with all their treasures. Their surviving descendants were scattered to the four winds on their shimmering, blue-and-gold-hued ships.
The Sword of Lantika is a magical, Lawfully-aligned, two-handed sword with a +1 bonus, and a +2 against nonhuman creatures aligned with Chaos. The sword has a minor spirit, or Ey-ai, within that has fused with a portion of King Cyneric’s spirit. It has Intelligence of 12, Ego of 12, and can speak Common with a heavy, Northern hillman’s accent.
The sword can see invisible objects, detect sloping passages and shifting architecture, and can cast clairaudience three times per day. Its special and all-consuming purpose is to slay snake-men and any who worship the Snake God.
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| The Sword of Lantika holds a vestige of King Cyneric's spirit (which talks!) |
This work includes material taken from the System Reference Document 5.1 (“SRD 5.1”) by Wizards of the Coast LLC and available at https://dnd.wizards.com/resources/systems-reference-document. The SRD 5.1 is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.
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