Page 60 - Tomb of Annihilation

HEART

OFUBTAO

I square = 5 feet

MAP 2.8: HEllRT OF UBTllO

sion lasts until she ends it as a bonus action or until The lich has no interest in killing the characters as
she uses her Frightening Gaze legendary action. The long as there's any chance they could be useful. If a fight
effect also ends ifValindra drops to 30 hit points or breaks out (and there's little reason one should unless
fewer, or if dispel magic is cast on her. the characters start it), Valindra lets her undead ser-
• She can't take lair actions in the Heart of Ubtao. vants deal with the adventurers, then slips through her
teleportation circle back to Thay. The destination sigils
With her ability to appear as a living elf, Valindra can
aren't recorded anywhere in the heart, so following her
easily conceal her lichdom and her association to Thay.
is impossible. She'll return in a few days when things
She presents herself as a scholarly wizard who wants
have quieted down. How she proceeds from that point is
to "imprison" the Soulmonger; that way, its unique
left to your imagination.
magic can be studied while it's safely quarantined from
the world. She argues that destroying it should be a 1. PETRIFIED TREE
last resort. A swarm of bats inhabits this hollow, petrified tree. The
Valindra believes that the Soulmonger is hidden bats emerge each evening to feast and attack any other
somewhere in the ruins of Omu. She shares this infor- warm-blooded creature that enters their lair. At the bot-
mation with the characters even if she suspects they'll
tom of the tree is a gaping hole that opens in the ceiling
betray her down the road, because in the meantime, of area 4.
they might weaken some of Omu's defenses.
If the characters have no way to reach the earthmote 2. STAIRCASE
when they first encounter it-or at least, no way for ev- These stairs are smooth and don't show much sign of
eryone to reach it-eventually they spot an elf woman wear. Only a handful of creatures have walked on them:
looking down at them from the staircase. After a few Valindra, a few of her servants, and the priests of Ubtao
moments, she hails them in Elvish, asking their names, who made pilgrimages to the heart. There's no risk of
why they've come, and so on. If this conversation goes falling off unless a character does something foolish, but
well, she opens an arcane gate (cast from a scroll) and the height is dizzying.
invites the player characters to come up. If they have
many porters or NPC warriors, she asks that only 3. CAVE ENTRANCE
the "key figures" come up, explaining that her home The floor of this entrance slopes up slightly toward
doesn't have room for their entire expedition. Valindra the inside of the heart, so water streams out through it
assures characters that their companions will be safe on continually. The cave mouth appears natural, unlike the
the ground. steps outside it.

CHAPTER 2 I THE I.AND OF CHU LT
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