Page 84 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

method never fails to anchor the hook on orne =-·
•or Xipe grabs the rope once it is fired through · · _ · rom
door. If a creature then decides to climb the rope up into
·he lair, Xipe starts to reel in the climber when i has a ·
ended halfway.
A creature being hauled up into the tunnel can relea e
jie rope and drop into the well, taking no immediate
damage (other than being covered in the liquid light,.
::ir it can swing its body outward and drop onto the
oor, taking falling damage. Otherwise, Xipe pulls the
limber into his lair in 1 round.
Creature. Beyond the hole in the ceiling is a chamber
·hat measures 30 feet in each direction. It is the lair of
Xipe, an oni. Xipe can't cast cone of cold, but he can cast
-feet storm and fear once per day each. When he casts
•ear, he unleashes a great bellow that shakes the room.
Treasure. Xipe's treasure includes a wooden cylin-
er that holds a spell scroll of detect magic. Also in his
air are piles of rich cat furs, eight of the furs worth
- gp each. Two leather bags beneath the furs hold
1.000 sp each.
Lastly, an intricately carved ivory cube about 1 foot
:all stands on an ornamental table. The cube (worth 100
_,,p) is a trick box. To open it, two plugs on either side of
e cube must be pushed in, and then its center slides
out of a frame formed by the other four sides. This inner
box opens like a chest. Within it is a silver and aquama-
:-ine necklace (worth 125 gp) and a parchment packet
· at holds three pinches of dust of disappearance.

36. APARTMENT OF THE DUST OF AGES
37. BED OF XILONEN
The floor of this room is covered with a layer of fine gray
(Zeel-OAN-an)
dust and ash, three inches deep. Across the room, oppo-
site where you entered, is another set of double doors.
There are two empty alcoves to the north and south. On In the center of this room is a withered tree that looks
small ledges in each corner of the room are pieces of like a leafless willow, rooted in a terraced depression.
hat appear to be broken pottery. The bottom of this hollow is filled with oily water, a few
As you move into the room, your steps send motes of inches deep. Across the room, beyond the dead tree, is
dust and ash swirling into the air, and these clouds form another door. Around the sides of the room, a five-foot-
into shapes. wide ledge encircles the tree. The walls of the room are
First, from the ash, a dusty phantom assumes the beaded with condensation.
shape of a woman. Her face is forlorn and tear-streaked.
She throws up her hands in despair, rushes into one of The water in the bottom of the depression makes the
:he alcoves, and disappears. floor in that area difficult terrain.
Immediately afterward, two more dusty phantoms Creature. The "tree" is Xilonen, a semisentient (Int 2),
gigantic variety of polyp, similar to a sea anemone, once
emerge-mighty warriors armed with jagged-edged
revered as the hairy mother goddess of corn. The polyp,
swords and bearing fierce countenances. They move to
which functions similarly to a roper, is very hungry. Its
olock the doorway opposite where you entered.
mouth is concealed among a nest of flailing tentacles
and protected by sharp spines.
Treasure. Within the polyp's gut are twelve pieces of
: the characters approach the phantom guards, they
:-aise their swords threateningly. But they can cause blue jasper (worth 10 gp each) and a silvery rod, actually
a copper-nickel alloy, which is a wand of lightning bolts.
no harm, for they are just images of the long-dead past.
c::-or as long as the characters remain in the room, other
phantoms-in the shapes of priests, sages, and mourn-
ing young women- briefly form out of the dust and then
dissipate. Moving through any of these phantom forms
causes them to collapse.

CHAPTER 3 I THE HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN