Page 83 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

33A. SACRIFICE TO THE SUN
ogre- ,ke ~ g •e, .::::ed ,n flayed skins and adorned
When the characters can see the northern end of the
chamber, read: a gap ng mouth wide enough to swallow

I coals, more tr. a~ :en feet in diameter.
In an alcove framed by pillars stands a stone bench on
Around t e statue is a pile of splintered bones, skulls
which a shriveled corpse huddles. Scattered around its
with cracked pates, and broken weapons. In front of the
feet are various trinkets.
display crouches a panther, deathly still, facing away from
the statue.
This figure is the preserved body of an adolescent male,
To the east the walls are highly polished. They loosely
whose heart has been cut out. He was a guesa, a boy
enclose an intricately carved well that seems to be illumi-
chosen at birth to be sacrificed to the sun upon his com-
ing of age. nated from within. Beyond the well, mounted on the wall,
Treasure. The items at the corpse's feet include an is a blackened mirror with a richly ornamented frame. Di-
agate carved in the shape of a heart (worth 15 gp) that is rectly above the well, in the twenty-five-foot-high ceiling,
actually a stone of ill luck (see appendix A), a miniature a five-foot-wide opening can be discerned in the red light
gold llama (worth 50 gp), a ring of polished pink granite
of the room.
(worth 10 gp), and a silver plaque bearing the face of the
sun (15 gp).
The statue represents Xipe, "Our Lord of the Flayed
34. GUARDIANS BAR THE WAY
Skins." The chamber serves as the foyer to his lair,
which lies beyond the opening in the ceiling.
Statue Guardian. If the characters approach the
The passage leads toward a set of double bronze doors
statue, the panther will stand and pad menacingly in
bearing the engraved face of the jaguar god. Both walls of
their direction ... and then continue on past them. The
the corridor are carved to represent two lines of warriors panther has a mental block that prevents it from being
in profile, holding hatchet-headed polearms and facing able to see humans, which initially applies to other
the western doors. These figures are painted with vivid, humanoids as well. It likewise ignores familiars, but it
lifelike colors: red, black, white, green, and yellow. attacks any beast companion or other non-humanoid
present with the party.
If the panther is not attacked and is unable to find a
Pressure Plate. Near the midpoint of this corridor is target, it takes to pacing in front of the door. If the party
a 10-foot-square pressure plate (see "The Ruins: Gen- attacks the cat, its mental block regarding other human-
eral Features" at the beginning of the adventure) that oids fails, and the panther attacks any such creature it
triggers if more than 30 pounds is placed on it. can see. If it can see no target, the bewildered panther
Shocking Blades. If the pressure plate is depressed, resumes its pacing.
two of the carved warriors pivot out from the walls in Treasure. Almost all the weapons around the statue
front of the party, crossing their metal halberds before are useless, though the head of a +l mace attached to a
them to bar the way to the northern doors. The blades broken haft can be found.
spark and hum when they are brought together. A crea- Well of Light. The illumination inside the well comes
ture that touches either of the blades takes 5 (2d4) light- from liquid light, a fluid that clings like oil if touched to a
ning damage and must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution given surface and in the presence of other light eventu-
saving throw or become paralyzed while it is in contact. ally spreads to cover the entire surface.
A paralyzed creature takes the damage again at the If a creature falls into the well and is pulled out, the
start of each of its turns. liquid light clings to a small portion of its body, then
There is barely enough room for a Medium humanoid spreads to cover an additional 5 percent of the body
to crawl under the crossed polearms and between the every round. Eventually the liquid covers its eyes, nose
statues. Doing so without touching the blades requires a and mouth. If this happens, the character can't breathe
successful DC 10 Dexterity check. until the liquid is removed by immersion in water. In the
absence of a light source, the liquid light doesn't spread,
1
35. XIPE S AUDIENCE CHAMBER and a darkness spell renders it inert for 1 hour.
(Zee-PAY) If anything is tossed into the well, brilliant light
flashes upward and a bellowing voice fills the chamber.
The voice belongs to Xipe, and he asks (in Giant) who
When the door comes open, a rush of warm, fetid air has come and for what purpose. Nothing else happens,
greets you. The room is lit with a sanguine glow. On the for Xipe can't be bothered to leave his lair to investigate.
wall opposite the door are tacked several human skins. A Ceiling Tunnel. The hole in the ceiling leads to Xipe's
lair. If the characters try to climb the walls, they dis-
cat-o'-nine-tails hangs beside them.
cover the walls are too slick to be ascended in this way.
To the west the room widens to accommodate a statue
A surefire way of getting in is to tie a grappling hook to
that towers almost to the ceiling. The statue is an an arrow and shoot the arrow up through the hole. This

CHAPTER 3 I THE HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN
82