The Sunken Shrine ### “The Bargain of Green and Gold” **Recommended Level:** 14 **Tone:** Uneasy reverence — half temple, half tomb. **Purpose:** Reveal that Claugiyliamatar’s corruption began as a druidic or fey experiment gone wrong, uncover her lingering spiritual bindings, and expose the first real evidence of the **Verdant Ascension** ritual that transformed her. --- ### 🎯 **Scene Goals** 1. **Uncover the history** of the corruption and its ritual origins. 2. **Introduce the concept of “Verdant Ascension.”** 3. **Learn the involvement of fey or mortal druids** in her rise. 4. **Provide ritualistic weaknesses** that will help counter her later. 5. **Offer moral weight** — the forest wasn’t corrupted _by force_, but _by choice_. --- ### 🌫 **Arrival** **Read-Aloud** > The trees part to reveal a gash in the earth, where a stone arch once stood proud. > Water spills over the edge of the pit, falling into the shadows below. Moss and fungus cling to every inch of carved stone, the air thick with a golden-green mist that smells of honey and rot. > From somewhere deep beneath, you hear the faint echo of chanting — voices long dead, repeating the same verse over and over. --- ### 🕵️‍♀️ **Exploration & Clues** |Area|Description|Checks / Clues| |---|---|---| |**1. The Broken Archway**|Covered in draconic carvings of eyes and roots. Some faintly pulse with green light.|**History DC 16:** depicts a pact between druids and a dragon for “eternal growth.” **Arcana DC 18:** light pulses in rhythm with forest heartbeat.| |**2. Flooded Courtyard**|Waist-deep water filled with floating candles that never extinguish. Beneath, statues of elves kneeling before a dragon.|**Religion DC 17:** recognise this as a _ritual of devotion_ — sacrificial energy exchange. Touching water causes a psychic echo of the pact.| |**3. Overgrown Altar**|A platform half-swallowed by roots and fungus. Runes etched in spirals radiate a faint green glow.|**Arcana DC 19:** these runes match those found on the windmill gears in _The Blighted Hamlet_ — an early control node. **Investigation DC 20:** detect hollow cavity beneath altar (entrance to hidden chamber).| |**4. The Golden Pool**|Central pool glowing faintly, warm to the touch. Beneath it lies a petrified druid’s body entwined with a dragon’s claw.|**Medicine DC 18:** both bodies fused magically at death. **Arcana DC 21:** essence merged — her soul fused with his via “Verdant Ascension.”| |**5. The Echo Chamber (Hidden)**|Beneath the altar, reachable with Strength DC 17 or Spell-assisted movement. Inside: decayed scrolls, glowing fungi, and a druidic skeleton holding a cracked mirror.|**Arcana DC 17:** mirror was used for scrying during ritual; **Insight DC 19:** mirror shards hum with lingering consciousness — it’s her first “eye.”| --- ### 🧩 **Lore Unlocked: The Verdant Ascension** When the correct clues are pieced together: - The **druids of the Wealdmere** sought eternal life by merging their essence with nature. - They summoned _Claugiyliamatar_, believing her mastery of life and decay could anchor the ritual. - She accepted — but the spell merged her with the forest itself, creating the **Rotmother**. - The spell was incomplete; her power leaks endlessly, infecting the land. **Ritual Weakness Identified:** - Her physical form is anchored to the leyline crossing beneath the **River Hollow** (Node 6). - Severing that leyline weakens her regeneration. - _Reflective surfaces_ (like the cracked mirror) interrupt her psychic link to the fungal network. --- ### ⚔️ **Optional Encounter – The Verdant Guardians** When the altar is disturbed, the forest reacts. **Read-Aloud** > The water ripples outward. The glow beneath the surface brightens — then coalesces into forms. > Three figures of bark, moss, and bone rise from the golden pool, faces serene but eyes hollow. Their voices overlap in druidic hymn. “The bargain endures. None may unbind it.” **Enemies:** - 3 × **Verdant Guardians** (use _Treant_ stat blocks, add 30 ft. swim speed, and when destroyed, release poison clouds). **Combat Feature:** If players wield light, mirrors, or reflective magic, the guardians hesitate (Wisdom save DC 18 or skip one action). --- ### 💬 **Side Objective – The Mirror of the First Eye** The cracked mirror in the hidden chamber is one of the dragon’s original scrying tools. If restored (Mending + 25 gp diamond dust), it can be used 1/day to: - Cast _Clairvoyance_ (sight only). - Once ever, reflect a psychic attack from Claugiyliamatar (disadvantage on next mind-affecting effect she uses). Keeping it also carries risk — prolonged use draws her attention. --- ### 🧩 **Leads to Other Nodes** |Discovery|Leads To| |---|---| |Leyline mention in runes|**The River Hollow** (rooted intersection beneath the forest).| |Cracked mirror resonance|**The Mirror Pools** (later psychic nodes).| |Ritual chant repetition|**The Bone Orchard** (resting place of the druids who performed the rite).| --- ### 🎭 **Tone & Atmosphere Tips** - Mix reverence and dread — this place was once holy. - Describe constant dripping sounds, like tears falling from the ceiling. - Make the dragon’s whispers sound _grateful_ at first, almost gentle — “They gave me forever.” - Let the party feel the weight of hubris: _mortals trying to control life and death._ --- ### 🧠 **Player Objectives Recap** |Objective|Completion Marker|Reward| |---|---|---| |Learn the origin of the corruption|Decode runes and investigate pool|Advantage on all future Arcana/History checks about the dragon| |Identify ritual weakness|Find leyline references or mirror|Gain access to “Mirror of the First Eye” tool| |Survive Verdant Guardians|Destroy or appease them|+1 Reputation with druidic factions (if they perform burial rites)|