Page 108 - Tomb of Annihilation

caved in or blocked with heaps of furniture. As the char· 16B. MOSAIC FLOOR
acters make their way through the cellars, read:
Moss clings to the stonework throughout this hall. The
Guttering torches cast dim light under the arches of a
mosaic floor depicts a tall bird using its long, pointy
wine cellar roughly 20 feet square. The cracked ceiling
beak to pin a monstrous frog-like creature with tentacles
is 8 feet high. In an alcove on the far side of the room, a
sprouting from its shoulders. Set into the far wall is a set
pile of treasure twinkles in the torchlight. Ko bolds gather
of heavy stone doors.
around it.
The mosaic shows the trickster god Papazotl (an eblis)
Kakarol, a kobold scale sorcerer, rests on the pile of fighting his enemy, Kubazan (a froghemoth). Inscrip-
treasure. TWo kobold inventors and ten kobolds are tions in Old Omuan surround the mosaic. If the charac-
also present. Statistics for the kobold scale sorcerer and ters translate these. they learn the story of how Kubazan
kobold inventor appear in appendix D. disobeyed Papazotl and was cursed (see "Legend of the
The kobolds rally to defend Kakarol. While they fight Nine Gods," page 92).
off intruders, Kakarol and his inventors make ranged at· The doors are not locked but hang heavy on their
tacks from the rear. If things look dire, Kakarol throws hinges. Each door weighs 600 pounds, so one or more
himself at the characters' mercy. characters must have a combined Strength score of 20
or higher to force it open.
TREASURE
Kakarol wears a torn, 6-foot-long tapestry of a macaw 16C. CHAMBER OF COMMAND
decorated with garnet beads (75 gp) as a cloak. His
hoard contains 30 gp, 250 sp, 1,800 cp, a colored glass
statuette of a dragonfly (25 gp), four bloodstones (50 gp An empty pedestal stands in the middle of this chamber.
each), and a potion of greater healing. Six statues face it from alcoves on the walls. They depict
bare-chested humans with the heads of different ani·
DEVELOPMENT
mals. From left to right, the heads resemble those of a
Kakarol believes that Acererak is going to transform
him into a dragon. As such, the kobold is arrogant, lizard, a jaguar, a lobster, a toucan, a bat, and a frog.
greedy, and vain- traits that can be used against him.
He knows nothing of Acererak's true aims, nor has he
A character who examines the pedestal finds a riddle
been told about the Soul monger. Kakarol's kobolds spy
inscribed on its base. (Give players a copy of handout
on most other factions in the city. If gifted with enough
15 in appendiJC E.) Unlike other inscriptions in the trial
treasure, he could become a useful early warning sys-
chambers, this riddle is etched in Common:
tem for the adventurers.
16. PAPAZOTLS SHRINE Comes with sunshine
Leaves with night
Hides in darkness
Crocodiles wallow in this muddy lake bed, from which
Does not bite
rises a walled ruin. Two columns flank the entrance,
Always joined to its caster
carved with Images of a long-legged bird with a nee-
Never strays from its master
dle-like beak. At the building's front, slimy steps ascend
to an entry arch.
The answer to the riddle ("a shadow") is a clue to finding
the secret chamber (area 160). If a character holds a
The shrine to the trickster god Papazotl (represented
light source close to the statue with the head of a bat, a
by an eblis) contains one of nine puzzle cubes needed to crawlway appears in its shadow. The crawlway entrance
enter the Tomb of the Nine Gods. The water around the
is otherwise hidden behind an illusory wall that can be
shrine is 2 feet deep. dispelled with a dispel magic spell. The crawlway, which
is 2 feet wide and 3 feet high, leads to area 160.
16A. SHRINE ENTRANCE
Puzzle Cube. If a character searches the pedestal,
A plaque above the shrine entrance displays an inscrip-
they discover the outline of a stone hatch on its upper
tion in Old Omuan: "Papazotl teaches us to bow before
surface. No matter how hard the characters try, they
no one." Characters who remember the cult's motto gain
cannot pry the hatch open. Papazotl's puzzle cube
an edge when they explore Papazotl's tomb in chapter 5.
within only emerges when all six statues are blindfolded
Four hungry crocodiles lurk in the shrine's flooded
(see area 160). When this occurs, read:
courtyard. These creatures are the offspring of a giant
crocodile that nests to the rear of the shrine. If the char-
acters attack the crocodiles, their mother joins the fray
2 rounds later.
CllAPT£R 3 I OWl!I LERS OF THI! FORBIDDEN CITY
107