Page 88 - Tales from the Yawning Portal

who mounts the stairs falls down and roll omo In addition, if the characters ask, the couatl might be
the floor, taking 3 (ld6) bludgeoning damage. willing to use its spells to help the party. It has been im-
The southern stairs change color constaml: .. .\nyone prisoned a long time and doesn't know anything about
who tries to ascend them makes no progre though the ruins. It returns to the celestial planes after giving
they can be descended normally). the characters their rewards.
Once the characters reach the crystal cylinder, the
43. THE SMOKING MIRRORS
·ouatl again speaks to them, still hidden from sight:
An amber haze drifts in this room, which is unoccu-
"So you have passed the first test. Perhaps you are not
pied. Strangely shaped and colored mirrors hang on
:he fools you first seemed. But it will take the best tool
the walls, and a large, oblong stone basin stands in the
of your most clever person to breach these crystal walls.
middle of the floor. The basin is about ten feet long, five
Your time is running out."
feet wide, and three feet tall. It is filled with a steaming
•
golden liquid .
.,.he surface of the crystal cylinder is cold to the touch The red mirror on the eastern wall seems to be com-
and impervious to all blows. The enclosure has no
posed of fiery glass and framed in bronze. Light beams
;sible gaps.
are broken by the mirror into myriad flames, and ghostly
A gap appears in the wall if someone who has profi.
iency with thieves' tools touches the tools to the surface shapes seem to flicker in its depths.
,;ch the intention of finding a portal or a lock. The play- On the northern wall are two mirrors: a striking black
ers might come up with other valid solutions, such as a one of obsidian framed in lacquered wood, and a stark
·izard (clever person) touching the crystal with a wand white mirror with a wrought iron frame. The black mirror
ool). It's up to you which alternative attempts work.
has a distinctive earthy odor and the blackness of subter-
Cure in Sight. By the time the characters reach the
ranean caverns, but it seems of crude construction and
;iillar inside the cylinder, they feel very weak. On the top
f the pillar in front of them is a potion bottle, but an in- reflects objects only when they are close to it. The white
ible barrier prevents anyone from touching it. A glyph mirror has a pungent odor of nutmeg and spice, and its
etched into the side of the pillar just below the bottle. depths are gelid and smoky.
One more time the couatl speaks, its voice now seeming
The mirror that hangs on the western wall is in a stone
:o come from the stone:
frame and is blue in color. Reflections in this mirror rip-
ple as if the viewer were looking into a pool of water.
"So you have reached my altar, but your time is nearly
exhausted and the cure is just beyond your reach. Trust
Red Mirror. A creature that looks into the red mirror
,our souls to the gods, foolish mortals."
sees a ghostly white form next to its own reflection. This
• mirror falsely predicts the viewer's death. The ghostly
The top of the pillar is shielded by a wall of force that image takes on the appearance of a monster or a trap
must be breached to reach the potion bottle. The wall from this adventure. The image then assaults and kills
·an be destroyed by a disintegrate spell or by damaging the viewer's reflection. The mirror functions only once
the glyph inscribed below it. If someone pours holy wa- per character; after a character has this vision, the mir-
·er on the glyph, touches it with a holy symbol, or casts a ror becomes a normal mirror for that individual.
divine spell on it, the wall of force disappears. A creature that touches the red mirror for the first
Aftermath. When the characters claim the potion time on a turn takes 2 (ld4) fire damage.
bottle, the couatl becomes visible and flies out into Black Mirror. A creature that looks into the black mir-
he chamber. If the characters immediately attack it, ror sees its reflection blur and then reappear in ancient
me couatl calls them ingrates and fools, and then at- garb as if depicting a previous incarnation. The image
tacks back. says, in Olman, "Command me to answer, and I shall."
If the characters don't attack, the couatl smiles and The image of a long-dead Olman is superimposed on
tlianks them for freeing it from its long imprisonment. the character's reflection. A command spell can cause
Treasure. Inside the bottle is a potion of healing. The the spirit to answer three yes-or-no questions (the one-
mask, if it is claimed, weighs 30 pounds and is worth word command is "Answer"). The spirit answers only
25 gp. Miscellaneous items on the shelves have a total questions spoken in Olman, and nods or shakes its head
:alue of 450 gp. in response.
Special Treasure. If the couatl and the characters are Any creature that touches the black mirror must
'Jn good terms at the end of the encounter, the couatl succeed on a DC 13 Charisma saving throw, or all valu-
provides them with special treasures: a balance of har- able metals and gems in its possession turn into lead
mony (see appendix A) and the gems needed to operate and glass.
t. a mirror of the past (see appendix A), and a periapt of White Mirror. Reflections in the white mirror are
:1-ound closure. blurred by what looks like a fine mist. Any creature that
steps before this mirror and looks into it must make a

CHAPTER 3 I THE HIDDEN SHRINE OF TAMOACHAN