Page 190 - Tomb of Annihilation

81. EBON POOL R ELICS OF T H E PAST
Acererak placed four treasures in the tomb as lures: the
Black Opal Crown, the Eye of Zaltec, the Navel of the
A pool of jet-black ooze glistens inside this silent cham- Moon, and the Skull Chalice of Ch'gakare. These items
can be kept, sold to interested buyers, or returned to
ber, whose walls are decorated with relief carvings de-
their rightful owners.
picting black stars.
Black Opal Crown (Area 49). The yuan-ti of Ornu
are after this treasure. If they can't wrest it from the
The pool radiates an aura of conjuration magic to a de- characters, they attempt to buy or steal the crown from
tect magic spell or similar effect. Creatures that come the individual to whom the characters sell it. Whether
into contact with the ooze are unharmed. Any object the crown has the power to set loose Dendar the Night
that isn't being worn or carried by a creature disappears Serpent is up to you. Should the crown fall into the
if submerged in the black ooze. Such items are perma- wrong hands, characters might need to venture into the
nently lost, having been transported to a secret demi· caverns below the Peaks of Flame to retrieve it before
plane whose location cannot be divined. Any amount of the world ends.
ooze that is removed from the pool disappears instantly. Eye of Zaltec (Area 62). The Company of the Yellow
Banner was vanquished trying to obtain this lost jewel,
ACTIVATING THE POOL which is rumored to have the power to resurrect the
Peggy Deadbells (in area 71) and Mister Threadneedle ancient dead. If the Eye of Zaltec indeed has such power,
(in area 7 4) have black marbles in their possession that it requires a great many sacrifices to function. Tabaxi
can be used to activate the pool. If one of these black thieves might try to steal the jewel and bear it safely
marbles is tossed into the pool, read: back to Maztica, perhaps trading it for the release of
enslaved loved ones. Conversely, a villain might buy the
jewel and use it to resurrect a dead tyrant, an evil arch-
The black marble sinks into the ooze, which rises up
mage, or some even greater threat.
suddenly to form a four-foot-tall black obelisk- a minia- Navel of the Moon (Area 56). If the characters try to
ture version of the obelisk that stood outside the tomb sell this stone in Baldur's Gate, Port Nyanzaru, or some
entrance. other city, word of the sale quickly reaches the spies
of wealthy Calishite merchants. A bidding war might
ensue, or assassins might be sent to retrieve the stone
Any creature that touches the ooze obelisk is teleported, and quietly dispose of its new owner. Whether the stone
along with all objects it is wearing and carrying, to an has its purported power to reunite families separated by
unoccupied space within 10 feet of the obelisk outside time and fate is entirely up to you.
the tomb entrance (area 1). This effect is not subject to Skull Chalice ofCh'Sakare (Area 67). Princess
the magical wards that prevent teleportation spells from Mwaxanare can't afford to pay characters what this
functioning within the tomb. treasure is worth, and she will despise them for selling
The ooze obelisk sinks back into the pool and disap- it to someone else. Three of Port Nyanzaru's merchant
pears after 1 minute. Tossing another black marble into princes express interest in buying the chalice: Ifan Tal-
the pool causes the obelisk to reform. ro'a wants to add it to his private collection of Chultan
relics, Kwayothe wants to melt it down, and Zhanthi
CONCLUSION wants it for sentimental reasons. Denying any one of
them would be a grave mistake on the characters' part
Destroying the Soulmonger frees the souls trapped in-
and might result in them receiving an ominous Ytepka
side it and ends Acererak's death curse. Characters who
accomplish this goal will have saved many lives, and if Society token.
word spreads of their heroism, wealthy and influential
M AGIC ITEMS OF THE TRICK STER GODS
NPCs come forward bearing gifts of thanks. These
Certain magic items- specifically those in which the
gifts can take many forms, including parcels of land and
spirits of the nine trickster gods reside- turn to dust
special favors (see "Marks of Prestige" in chapter 7 of
and are destroyed as soon as they exit the tomb. These
the Dungeon Master's Guide). If the characters allow the
items include Obo'laka's ring of protection (area 10),
atropal to survive in the depths of the tomb, it eventually
Moa's staff of the python (area 14), Wongo's mace of
attracts nihilistic devotees of Acererak who feed it their
terror (area 16), Papazotl's amulet of health (area 22),
own dark souls as nourishment.
Nangnang's egg-shaped pearl of power (area 24), I'jin's
horn-shaped wand of wonder (area 35), Kubazan's brac-
LOST TREASURES
ers of archery (area 42), Shagambi's instrument of the
As they explore the tomb, characters are likely to find bards (area 48), and Unkh's robe of scintillating colors
one or more fabled treasures as well as magic items in- (area 55).
habited by the spirits of Omu's dead trickster gods. What If, in your estimation, a player did an extraordinary job
happens to these items when the characters leave the roleplaying a trickster god's flaw, the god's spirit might
tomb is discussed below. reward that player's character by allowing its magic item
to exist outside the tomb, provided that character is at-
tuned to the item when it leaves the tomb.
CHAPTER 5 J TOMB OF THE NINE GODS
189