If players try to leave Starilaskur by lightning rail...
...they're gonna have to wait for a while before that could happen. House Orien is concerned for the customer's safety and has shut the trains down temporarily.[This adventure is designed for players who decide to leave prematurely.]
If they choose to leave via the roads by foot or carriage however...
"A few days passed after you first started your journey. A strange mysterious dust cloud appear out of seemingly nowhere. Needless to say, this dust cloud heavily obscured your vision to the point where you could not see where you're headed to.
You were able to make out some kind of shelter in the dust storm. There seems to be nowhere else to go. What do you do? "
Kalkia the Gynosphinx===BACKGROUND===
Kalkia the gynosphinx was once a mighty warrior that battled monsters for the thrill of it, and she bears many scars as signs of her years of combat, including a long gash that begins on her left temple, crosses her left eye and her leonine muzzle, and terminates at her right jaw. She was tasked by one of the gods with defending a legendary relic in this dungeon, and commanded to not let any intruders through unless she was bested.
Kalakia stayed true to this command for something approaching one thousand years, but time has made her bored and weary. She hasn’t had anyone but the boorish manticores that have made their nest in the unprotected parts of this dungeon for company for the past hundred years, and she’s desperate for entertainment. As soon as the adventures enter her domain, she traps them and forces them to answer her riddles—if only to inject some amusement into her life. The entertainment boosts her mood immensely, and she ultimately figures that any adventurers that successfully solve one of her riddles has technically “bested” her, thus fulfilling her obligation.
Kalkia's Domain
START!!
When everyone is ready to begin, read the following...
You enter a room at the base of a short staircase, with tall walls on either side of you. After ascending the stairs, you emerge into a sandy arena, dimly lit by torches burning with blue flame. The door slams shut behind you, and iron bars slide into place in front of it. Before you stands a majestic sphinx, her long and unruly mane decorated with splendid golden finery. A raucous wave of cheering and jeering erupts around you, and you see nearly a dozen manticores sitting in amphitheater-style seating all around the room.
“Welcome, esteemed guests,” the sphinx purrs. “I am Kalakia. Behind me is the treasure I have been tasked by the gods to not relinquish unless I am bested.” She yawns loudly and crosses her paws. “But I have stood vigil here for an eon, and I grow bored. Perhaps being bested in a game of riddles would be suitable to release me from my charge?”
Kalakia stamps a paw and the blue flames illuminating this room grow brighter, revealing innumerable bas relief carvings all along the walls of this chamber. The carvings depict gods, mythic locales, monsters, spells, and artifacts wielded by mighty heroes.
Kalakia’s Riddles
Kalakia has five riddles she wishes to ask of the adventurers. She only allows the party to answer each riddle once; if someone confidently blurts out an answer, she takes it as to attempt to answer the riddle. If a character answers incorrectly, some of the manticores in the stands attack (see “Incorrect Guesses,” below). If a character answers correctly, she gleefully assures them of their success and grants them a reward (see “Correct Guesses,” below).
If the characters don’t guess any of the riddles correctly, she asks the first riddle again and starts over, granting them another chance at solving her puzzle.
- The riddles are:A magic beyond mortal hands am I, a tool of divine knowledge that reveals myths and tales forgotten to time. What am I? (Answer: legend lore)
- The servant of the sun am I, for my wings draw his chariot across the sky. Friend of heroes, I flit through countless legends. (Answer: pegasi)
- An incantation of the silver huntress (“verdant huntress,” in Theros) am I, a light that pierces the form of deceit, and kills in silence. What am I? (Answer: moonbeam)
- The city at the end of all roads am I, yet I may only be reached by water. One guard stands watch at my gates, yet six eyes keep careful vigil. What am I? (Answer: the Underworld)
- A weapon that made by mortals in homage of the gods am I, a spear with the power to split the sky. My lowborn cousins are thrown by athletes and warriors alike, but I am crafted from more magical stock. What am I? (Answer: javelin of lightning)
Thinking Up Clues
A character can make an Intelligence check to think of a piece of information that might help them solve the riddle. The DC of this check is variable; succeeding on a check with a higher DC grants more esoteric information. If multiple characters make Intelligence checks with similar results, reveal hints with lower DCs, until they have received all the clues that are available to them with the results of that check.
If you want to force the players to rely more on their own riddle-solving skills rather than their characters’ in-world knowledge, consider removing the DC 25 results, since those results explicitly reveal the answer to the riddle. Alternatively, consider putting these results further out of reach by increasing the DC of those results by 5 (if the characters are 11th level or higher) or by 10 (if the characters are 17th level or higher).
The chamber’s walls are covered with innumerable bas relief carvings depicting gods, monsters, spells, magic items, and mythical locations that the characters can inspect to help them answer the riddle.
Riddle 1: “Legend Lore”
If a character answers a riddle incorrectly, Kalakia says, “Oh, that’s not quite it” (or something similar) and the manticores start to taunt and jeer the characters. One of them even swoops down and attacks the characters, roaring “Enough highbrow rubbish! Give us blood!” The manticores roar in approval and Kalakia makes a halfhearted attempt to restrain them. She swipes one paw lethargically and wearily mumbles, “Stop, wait, come back.”
The manticore has no desire to kill, only to entertain its brethren and prove that it is stronger than the characters. If it reduces a character to 0 hit points with a melee attack, it checks its blow and merely knocks the character out. The manticore retreats to the stands to lick its wounds after being reduced to half its hit point maximum.
After each incorrect guess, one additional manticore swoops down (so the second incorrect guess provokes two manticores to attack, and so forth). Manticores at full health attack first, but even wounded ones start attacking as the crowd gets more and more riled up.
- DC 10: It sounds like this riddle is describing a spell.
- DC 15: This spell is probably a divination spell, likely a very powerful one that reveals information that has passed out of mortal memory.
- DC 25: You recall that clerics who worship gods of knowledge are often granted a spell called legend lore, which cryptically reveals lore that has been lost to time.
Riddle 2: “Pegasi”
- DC 10: It sounds like this riddle is describing a magical creature—possibly one with real wings.
- DC 20: Judging by its description, the creature in this riddle has probably appeared in both tales of great heroes and myths about the gods.
- DC 25: You know that the chariot of the god Helios (Heliod, if playing in Theros) is drawn by winged horses. These pegasi draw the sun from east to west, and their kin have often served as steeds for mythic heroes.
Riddle 3: “Moonbeam”
- DC 10: The phenomenon described this riddle sounds like a spell with the power to kill.
- DC 15: The silver huntress mentioned here is probably the goddess Artemis, who is associated with the moon. (Alternatively, if you’re playing in Theros: The verdant huntress mentioned here is probably the goddess Nylea, who is often worshipped by druids of the Circle of the Moon.)
- DC 25: You know that the spell moonbeam calls down silvery light that kills silently and reveals the true forms of shapeshifters.
Riddle 4: “The Underworld”
- DC 10: Something about this riddle feels supernatural, like the place it’s describing isn’t in the world of mortals.
- DC 15: The phrase about one guard with six eyes could mean that the guardian has three heads, each with one pair of eyes.
- DC 25: You know that the final destination of all souls is the Underworld, whose gates are guarded by the three-headed dog Cerberus, and to reach it one must cross the River Styx.
Riddle 5: “Javelin of Lightning”
- DC 10: This is likely a magic item, perhaps a throwing weapon enchanted with the power of lightning.
- DC 15: Whatever this is, it was wielded by both warriors and athletes. Javelins are weapons used in both war and sport.
- DC 25: You have heard stories of javelins that transform into bolts of lightning, created to emulate the lightning bolts thrown by the great god Zeus (Keranos, if playing in Theros). These are called javelins of lightning.
Incorrect Guesses
If a character answers a riddle incorrectly, Kalakia says, “Oh, that’s not quite it” (or something similar) and the manticores start to taunt and jeer the characters. One of them even swoops down and attacks the characters, roaring “Enough highbrow rubbish! Give us blood!” The manticores roar in approval and Kalakia makes a halfhearted attempt to restrain them. She swipes one paw lethargically and wearily mumbles, “Stop, wait, come back.”
The manticore has no desire to kill, only to entertain its brethren and prove that it is stronger than the characters. If it reduces a character to 0 hit points with a melee attack, it checks its blow and merely knocks the character out. The manticore retreats to the stands to lick its wounds after being reduced to half its hit point maximum.
After each incorrect guess, one additional manticore swoops down (so the second incorrect guess provokes two manticores to attack, and so forth). Manticores at full health attack first, but even wounded ones start attacking as the crowd gets more and more riled up.
If the characters cannot provide anymore entertainment, Kalakia will resort to throwing them into cells. Players can play their backup characters to save them in future adventures.
MONSTERS:
Manticores: 1 Manticore will attack when they guess incorrectly and eventually they increase in numbers until all the adventurers are knocked out.
Gynosphynx: Kalakia will join in when she feels like it or when she absolutely needs to.
Chimera: These guys will join when... hmm I'll just place them here just in case.
Correct Guesses
Once the characters solve 3 riddles, the sphinx yawns and flicks her paw, causing the doors to unlock. She grumbles and says, “You’re free to go… but I am terribly bored. I’ve guarded this door for so long, and you’re the first entertainment I’ve seen in gods-forsaken eons. I have some trinkets collected here. Stay a while longer and riddle with me some more?”
If the characters want to stay, she has up to three magic items that award them with for more successful guesses. Once they’ve solved one riddle, however, they only have one chance to get each riddle right. Kalakia won’t return to the start of her list of five riddles anymore after this point. Then she yawns and flies away.
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