Following the found map to the dagger
Chapter III
The hunting lodge
Shadows
Grumbar
Nisitus
The Hunting lodge
The map found on Thogaz’s desk leads us to an old, rustic hunting lodge in Absalom's Precipice quarter. The place is abandoned, overgrown with plants, and falling apart. At the entrance, blood stains near the stable suggest a recent fight or someone treated for wounds. No distinct sounds emanate from the lodge, yet a peculiar sense of emptiness and tranquility wafts from its entrance. In the expansive hall, an area of darkness conceals an unpleasant surprise for those daring enough to enter. Grumbar, the ogre fighter now turned zombie, guards this place. Upon detecting any life, he immediately charges and begins to attack.
Otherwise, the entire house is deserted; as it has been frequented numerous times, it no longer holds any treasures.
According to the map, the notable feature of the lodge is the Southern wall in the cellar that masks a secret passage. Once the wall is broken down, a crevasse becomes visible, leading to the upper level of a long-forgotten Blakros vault.
Blakros's vault and THelgax
The vault is mostly vacant, with only the “Ambassador Entrances” rooms and teleport pentacles still operational on this side of the collapsed corridor. The main magical vault remains sealed, its anti-magic field concealing Thelgax, Shaezhar's intelligent dagger. However, the dagger is currently inactive as its master is imprisoned (see further in the adventure).
F1-F5: Goblin’s camp
Following the earthquake, this section of the vault was taken over by a goblin tribe that settled in the area. They established pathways leading both to the surface (Absalom) and to the darklands.
F6: Ambassador Entrances
In the center of this room, a five-foot-diameter space surrounded by arcane runes functions as a teleportation system, sending users to their half of area F7.
F7: Safe Meeting Chamber
This meeting chamber allowed two disputing parties to safely meet and discuss resolution without a risk of physical attacks. One person would go into each portal room to the east and west, then use the circle of runes to transport themselves into this chamber. The empty room space is separated by a wall of force (CL 20th). Any words spoken by an occupant of this room are repeated on the other side, whereupon they are also translated into the native tongue of anyone who happens to be listening. The wall of force was once permanent, but the thousands of years of magical decay throughout the complex has weakened the wall—it has only hardness 4 and 20 hit points as a result—any attack that penetrates its hardness causes the wall to shudder and flicker, obviously on the verge of destruction.
F8-F13
These rooms serve as the antechamber to the actual vault (F14). They have been abandoned for a long time. After the earthquake, even the Blakros family lost track of this vault, assuming that the Dagger, Thelgax, would be forgotten in the ages to come.
F14: Thelgax’s Vault
The Blakros family concealed Thelgax, Shaezhar's intelligent dagger, here. An earthquake has blocked access to the vault, leading them to believe it would remain untouched. The vault is secured with a magic nullification zone and a sealed door. Thogaz's desk map reveals the combination needed to unlock the vault and retrieve the ancient dagger.
Conclusions
Thelgax, the clever dagger belonging to Shaezhar, had been awaiting retrieval from the magic nullification zone for an extended period. Now that she has been freed, she begins her mission to restore her true master.
After being claimed, she will initiate telepathic communication with the owner, attempting to outwit him. Meanwhile, she will broadcast necrotic signals to indicate her return... The Dark Sun and Midnight Shadows cults will read these warnings, leading them to start following the prophecy.
Nisitus
Svart