The Sirion Local Map
The party has landed on the western shore of the Sirion spit. About half a league further up the Deret lies the support camp for the secret mines of Iracu, housing anywhere from 60 to 120 mercenaries.
To the southeast, at the end of this spit lies the field where the Battle of Sirion took place. This is a very scary place, being the source of strange howling sounds and lights at night. The spit rises to a level of about 45 feet and then drops to the sea, forming a sharp cliff. The Khuzdul drove Lothrim's army away from the former settlement of Sirion and on to this plateau where they were encircled. The place where the party landed was the former harbour of Sirion. The once fortified hill lies a few hundred yards north. That is the place where the fishermen discovered the hatchet and the circular depression.
Flora
The Sirion region is a densely wooded area lying between the foothills of the Sorkin Mountains and the shore of Lake Benath. It is dominated by the mighty Deret River, which forms its southwestern border. Oaks are the most common trees in the region, there are only very few needle leaf trees, most of which grow on the site of the former battlefield.
The forest is very ancient and dark, with dense underbrush mostly consisting of large ferns. The oaks are grown with twines and mistletoes are common. The beach is rocky with sharp stones covering it.
Fauna
The Sirion region is home to a variety of animals, among them large numbers of deer, hares, wild boar, bears and wolves. Their howls sounds widely through the night – a frightening noise. This is an almost uninhabited wilderness region and the relative proximity to Mysin increases the chances to encounter some form of Ivashu immensely. Also, it has been uninhabited for centuries, a fact that further increases the chances to encounter Ivashu and rare animals.
Most of the rather common known Ivashu dwell to the northwest, either in the foothills or directly in the Rayesha Mountains. It may happen, though, that wandering Ivashu leave their home territory and come through the Sirion region.
Ethereals
There is a comparatively high chance of encountering ethereals, ghosts, spirits and shades. These will mostly be Khuzdul who fell at the Battle of Sirion or slain Sîrechil. It may, however, even happen that the lost soul of a Gargun is encountered, an event that should be both unlikely and frightening.
Psionic residue
All the killing and death have left a strong "psionic residue" that may befall anyone with the according psionic talent. It is so strong that people with an Aura of 12 or higher will suffer nightmares of the events at Sirion. The psionic residue appears in some sort of invisible "clouds", engaging mental conflict with people fulfilling the above mentioned prerequisites. These visions will be rather confuse at first, but they could keep the players busy and may eventually (when finally sorted properly) be quite helpful. The GM may either choose one of the following visions or simply roll 1d6 to determine which one "befalls" his players.
Suggested visions
The following are some samples of suitable visions one or more of the characters (PCs & NPCs) might have. They should be modified/enhanced at GM discretion.
1. You suddenly find yourself on the lower deck of a ship amidst dozens of Gargun. You smell a mixture of sweat and salt water, combined with rotten food and weapon oil. The orks around you are impatiently sharpening their mangs and crude jokes are made - they're pushing themselves up for the onstanding battle. With a sudden crash, your ship runs on the shore and the hatch is opened. Everyone around you presses forward, out into the open. You are driven with the masses and when you jump off deck, you realize that there are dozens of warships just landing on the beach, Gargun rushing out of each of them. You rush forward, almost stumbling over your comrades and as you take a look around you discover a settlement surrounded by a palisade. There is a hill in the centre and a small wooden fortification lies on top of it.
2. From one moment to the next, you find yourself in the middle of a great battle. All around, orks and humans are fighting - screaming, shouting and crying. The wooden structures are burning and the dead lie all around. The biting smell of burning wood and flesh enter your nose. You sense a movement from the corner of your eye and turn around. It is only now that you realize that the man standing in front of you is nearly twice as large as you are. He is wearing a chequered tunic and hoses. His hair is chalked and rises straight to the sky, the golden torc around his neck is gleaming in the sun. In the last instance you notice the broad axe he is clutching and you try to block it with your mang. He lashes out at you like a madman and you have troubles defending yourself. You turn around one another fighting and unfortunately you're looking directly to the sun now.
Then, something throws a shadow on your face. Glad about the end of the blinding, you're trying to fix your opponent, when you realize that the shadow comes from the other's axe...
3. A cold wind blows into your face as you charge towards a large group of Gargun, standing close and desperately looking for a way out. You loosen your battleaxe from your back and swing it widely while charging. You are not alone, there are dozens of your comrades around you, all pressing forward on the enemy. You clash and the foulspawn drops like flies. Their morale collapses and chaos breaks out among their ranks. Some stand and do battle while others are trying to flee and some even jump over the cliffs behind them, certain that they will rather survive that jump than a confrontation with you. As you slaughter the last ones, cheers of victory sound from the far end of the battlefield. You quickly finish the last enemies and rush to where the cheers come from. Many dwarves have already gathered and so you cannot see too much. As you ask around what happened, you are informed that the enemy has been defeated, that Lothrim was handed over by his own honour guard...
4. Now you suddenly are in the centre of the burning fortification, you and your fellow foulspawn form a circle around and elderly but still strong looking man, on his knees, his hands tied to his back. There's mumbling all around and dead men, women and children are scattered throughout the place. The man is looking to the floor, his long sweat-wet hair falling in front of his eyes.
Suddenly, the mumbling stops and the circle opens. A tall man in a wide robe enters the circle, accompanied by a dozen of Khanu. His hood makes it impossible to see his face, but even so you know who this is. His long thin fingers and his whispering, almost soft voice are distinctive. The man on the ground stubbornly looks up to the cloaked figure standing in front of him and they exchange a few words that you cannot understand.
The man in the robe laughs quietly and helps the other up. He lays his left arm around him and embraces him. Suddenly, the eyes of the prisoner open wide and he opens his mouth. Then he sinks to the ground, a bloodstain on his chest. When you look back to the cloaked one, you notice that he is holding a decorated dagger in his hand. The mass bawls!
5. It is already late at day and the sun is setting, as you move through the woods. A deep sadness fills your heart. You and a handful of comrades are carrying the body of Irazûd, your captain, back to the city of Sirion where you are going to bury him. The remains of the city approach and the cries of ravens can be heard along with the sounds of waves clashing against the shore.
You are moving to the top of a hill where the burned ruins of a wooden fortification lie. A scout returns reporting that the area is gargun-free and that you may commence the work on Irazûd's grave. While you are busy digging into the ground, you hear others closing the dam to dry up the bay. You heard the masons talk about some sort of trap, but you haven't quite understood how it is supposed to work. You have the duty of digging your commander's grave and you are bound to do that well. That is all you need to know.
6. After the last ones of your fellow Khuzans have returned from the bay, your journey home to Kiraz can begin. Your belongings have been packed and the others, still soaking wet and exhausted, take a short break before leaving.
Several hours later, the path narrows down so that you can hardly pass one after the other. When you finally make it through, you can see a small clearing with a brook flowing near it and decide to take a short rest. Just as you have put down your baggage and arrived at the brook, you hear a hissing sound and then another one. Ever more of these sounds are to be heard within seconds until the first one of you finally is perced by a Gargun arrow. In panic, you and the others try to make it back to the clearing but it is too late. One after the other of your comrades falls dead to the ground - pierced by those evil looking arrows you have seen in hundreds in Kiraz. You make it to the clearing , but just as you grab your axe, you feel a burning pain in your back and then you faint...
Local Map
The small bay is surrounded by a dam which once was the base for the harbour walls. Nowadays, it lies about four feet under water, being only visible when the seas are rough. The Khuzdul left the square stone here when they had removed it from the flooding channel.
Half way up the hill lie the remains of Sirion's ancient fortifications. An earthen rampart surrounded by a trench goes all around the upper part of the hill. It is totally overgrown and large parts have been washed away. Once there were wooden palisades and watchtowers, none of which have survived to the present day. The glade itself is rather small (only about 30 feet in diameter) and overgrown with ferns and other shrubbery.
This is the cave's natural egress, only about one and a half feet in diameter. Humans do not fit into it. It is home to a small group of Vlasta, which makes it dangerous to be in the vicinity at night. When it gets dark, the clacking sound of the creatures' claws are to be heard all over the beach.
The cliff is about 45 feet high with sharp edges. Climbing it is impossible, for its feather-edged rocks cut deep into the flesh (an experience several dozen Gargun had when jumping over the cliff trying to escape the furious Khuzdul). Only a few birds have their nests high in the cliff.
This is the site where the battle of Sirion took place. Here, the dwarves took bloody vengeance for the Carnage of Kiraz. It is a rocky plain lying somewhat elevated above the rest of the Sirion valley, rising up to a cliff about 45 feet above the waters of Lake Benath. It is only grown with patches of brown grass, a few shrubs and some mutilated conifers. The wind hissing from Lake Benath is caught between the rocks, causing a creepy howling.
Hundreds of Gargun met a brutal death here, being either slain by the advancing Khuzdul or being pressed over the cliffs. Rotten and rusty pieces of armour and weaponry can be found all over the plain and at the foot of the cliff. The pieces that can be found are about 600 years old; hence they will be absolutely unusable. Most of the pieces are little more than chunks of rust crumbling at touch.
The cave
The cave is of natural origin. It has a connection to the surface via a small opening which is located at the bay's nortwestern shore. The opening is way too small for anybody of human size to pass.
Behind the northwestern wall lies the actual burial chamber. The wall was erected by the Khuzdul and seems to be the natural cave wall from the outside. Behind it lies the sarcophagus of Irazûd of Khazir.
The southeastern wall, being located behind the pool of water, appears to be the natural cave wall, too. It seals the natural tunnel leading to the surface. In front of it is the pool, which will flood the cave when the shaft is opened without the masonry being put back in place.
1. The shaft This is the shaft described below. It leads down to the main section of the cave.
This is Irazûd's burial chamber. It is protected by a stone wall that appears to be the natural cave wall from the other side. It houses the dwarven captain's sarcophagus. A few burned out torches are affixed to the wall.
Appearing to be a simple water pool when viewed from the cave, this is actually the tricky part of the grave construction. If the shaft [1] is opened without the sealing stone [6] blocking the flooding channel, the whole cave will be flooded, thus making any attempt to enter the burial chamber impossible.
This wall also appears to be the natural cave wall. Should it be torn down, the cave will be flooded.
This is the natural surface connection of the cave, emerging on the northwestern shore of the former harbour (nowadays the bay). Its upper parts are home to a group of Vlasta
6. The dam and the square hewn stone
This dam originally was the base for the harbour walls. There is a small rectangular opening on the ground of the bay, where the masonry blocked the flooding channel. It was removed when the dwarves were finished with the grave's construction. Both the opening and the sealing stone are about 2 feet square and the stone is about 1 foot high, weighing about 500 pounds.
The shaft
This shaft had originally been built as a well. When the Khuzdul dug the well for the Sîrechil, they discovered a subterranean cave with natural tunnels leading to the shore, just above sea level. The shaft's walls are natural stone, which has been worked to form an even surface. The rusted remains of iron steps can be discovered, which are placed in rather short distances (for a human sized creature). The Sîrechil already had noticed the entry to the tunnel, but it was way too small for a human (or a dwarf) to pass. Since it was located above water level, the well only had water when the seas had been rough and the tunnel had been flooded. So the dwarves dug a flooding channel that lead diagonally from the natural one to the bottom of the bay to ensure water supply.
Soon the Sîrechil had forgotten the natural egress altogether. But the dwarves hadn't. When Irazûd died, one of his men remembered the tunnels and came up with a plan for a grave that no one would ever be able to open. They made an square stone to seal the flooding channel at the bottom of the bay and removed the water within the cave. Then they entered the cave through the shaft and erected a wall that would keep the water out. Next they dug a hole in the ground from which they dug diagonally upwards to the channel. When they were finished, they created a sarcophagus for Irazûd by using the stone of the cave walls. Then, Irazûd was placed into his crypt.
When everything had been prepared, the Khuzdul sealed the shaft with earth and wooden logs every ten feet. They left some of their leader's personal belongings in the shaft to distract eventual grave robbers. Once they had sealed the shaft, they started removing the dam and let the water flood into the newly dug artificial tunnels.
This technique is extremely clever. The dwarves calculated very well and so the air prevents the water from flooding into the cave. The water pressure of Lake Benath compresses the air in the cave and the flooding tunnel to 50% of its original volume. The dwarves chose the location of both walls so that the cave has exactly the same volume as the flooding channel. Hence, the air pressure keeps the water out. Should the seal in the shaft be removed, water will flood the cave and rise up to thirty feet below ground level.
This makes it impossible for anyone to actually dig the whole 130 feet to the burial chamber unless the masonry is put back in place.
The shaft and all it contains is displayed in the graphic.
Items in the shaft
The shaft is 3ft 8inches in diameter, bored vertically down by the Khuzan for the Sîrechil. When they sealed the base of the shaft and placed the chest on it, they buried the chest in 20ft of soil then left a 20 foot void above. There they set oaken logs into the walls and placed the stone slab on top.
They buried the slab in another 20 ft of soil and then left a second 20 foot void above. Again they set oaken logs into the walls and placed the engraved stones above before backfilling the shaft up to the surface. The well head was removed down to the level of the bedrock and the top of the shaft covered with dressed stone paving slabs.
The stones
These foundlings are engraved with runic symbols, bearing one sign each. They're all of different size, ranging from one inch to three inches. When sorted from smallest to largest, they'll read the following:
"Those who enter
Those who dare
Shall know terror
And despair"
Test against awareness when uncovering these stones to check whether there are any overlooked. Success Level: CS=None, MS=1d10, MF=2d10, CF=3d10.
In case there are any stones overlooked, the GM should determine which ones are missing. It is rather easy to determine this randomly – the dictum consists of exactly 50 letters. A result of 1-2 on a d100 means the first letter is missing, 3-4 indicates that the second letter is missing and so on. Just roll as many times as there are stones missing.
The slab
The slab is roughly three feet long, two feet wide and about ten inches high. It weighs about 280 pounds and is engraved with Khuzan patterns and runes. Of course, the language used for the inscription is Khuzan. When translated into Hârnic language, they read:
"Here lays Irazûd of Khazir. Doom shall come to those who disturb his peace!"
The metal chest
This metal chest is about three feet long and two feet wide and high. It contains some rather valuable items. Those were put here in order to distract from the grave itself. The box was sealed with beeswax to prevent humidity from destroying its contents. Within it, Irazûd's personal belongings are to be found, some of them wrapped in oil paper. They are as follows:
Dagger
A dagger, its blade adorned with Khuzan engravings and a knob in form of a fist. It is of superior quality (WQ 13) and is worth ca. 150d.
Purse
It contains 55 ancient Khuzan silver pennies as well as 5 Khuzan gold crowns. All these coins come from Kiraz, depicting King Bazanthar on one side.
Tome
A leather-bound ink and vellum book. It is a "Tome of Valor", increasing the reader's battleaxe skill. The box also contains miscellaneous , mostly rotten garments. They reveal, however, that the person they belonged to must have been rather small and heavy framed.
War hammer
This superior heavy war hammer is really exquisite in quality as well as design. It is elaborately decorated with delicate silver inlays and is a masterpiece of Khuzan weaponcraft. It has a WQ of 14 and is worth about a thousand pennies.
Characters
The Kabloqui
Three young Kabloqui are around, performing the "Dancing with skulls" ritual, which requires them to bring three heads back to their tribe in order to be adopted into manhood. These skulls must be of a Gargun, a bear and a human (for further information see HM Barbarians). These are young warriors not yet bearing the "Aka hajar" facial branding of their tribe. Nevertheless, they are skilled and ruthless warriors and accomplished woodsmen.
Although the Kabloqui have little oral tradition, there is one commonly known story that was created by the surviving women of Sirion who were adopted into the tribes. Over the centuries, this song evolved to what is given below:
The city of gold
In the happy days of old,
There existed, so is told,
A warming place in winter's cold,
The Sîrechil's city of gold.
There, life was good,
And deer was plenty
Strong the wood,
And people canny
Craftsmen skilled
And traders wealthy
Their stomachs filled,
By hunters stealthy
Until one dark and fateful day
Doom and terror came their way
When of all the bargain weary
Foulspawn came all wild and scary
From beyond the sacred lake
What he desired by force to take,
Oh Sirion, city of gold
Thyne story shall in forth be told.
In order to boost their fame, the tribesmen are also planning to seek out this mythical place called "the city of gold" and to bring prove that they have actually discovered it. They do not shy away from ambushing the fishermen, but a well armed party will not be attacked immediately. They are rather using their woodsmen skills to sneak around and try to find out any weaknesses of the group.
The mercenaries
A small group of mercenaries overheard the tale told by the messenger in Shiran. They listened very close to his description and recognized the location he was talking about.
They also know that this is the supposed origin of the Sirion Scrolls and have already met (and killed or abducted) several treasure hunters while patrolling the surroundings of their base in Sirion.
A party that is not extremely cautious and stealthy is likely to be discovered by the mercenaries If this happens, the mercenaries will first watch the party's actions from cover and then decide what to do. Should the party indeed discover something, they will try to let the party do the hard work of digging and then try to scare them away, leaving everything of value behind in panic escape. Only if this doesn't work, the mercenaries will try to assassinate the party, to kill or ambush them.
The party will have little chance of persuading the mercenaries to let them go. They are very well paid by the miner's guild and hence, money will be no argument when bargaining for the characters' lives. Besides, they could kill the party and take all they have anytime.
The mercenaries are rather imaginative when it comes to scaring others and the creepy surroundings aid them in doing so. A few examples of what they might come up with are given below:
Further methods of scaring the PCs away are up to GM discretion.
The fishermen
There are only three of the Venar's crew accompanying the party. The others of the crew are busy repairing another vessel that has been damaged by the storm, too. This means that the party will have to assist in sailing the vessel (which could eventually be worth some skill development rolls). The fishermen accompanying the players are:
Sharan of Eremrun
Sharan is the captain of the ship. He and his crew stranded here some time ago and discovered the hatchet and the strange depression in the ground. He is 50 years of age and of good health. He has black hair with first white sprinkles and a white three-day beard. His eyes are as blue as the waters of Lake Benath and his voice is deep and warm.
He knows the lake like the back of his hand – and he knows lots of stories about the terrible beasts that are supposed to inhabit it.
Ilan of Itrel
Ilan originally hails from Orbaal, or as he would say, Jara. He was the son of the local trehaen. Because of his rather rebellious character, his Ivinian lord sold him to a Thardic slave trader. After he had been sold over and over again (no one wanted to keep such a rebel) he finally came to Shiran where he was to be sold to the Pamesani Arena. He escaped, though, and fled to the fishermen's village.
He was kindly welcomed in Sharan's house and has been a great help for the aging fisherman for years now. All three men know each other very well and trust each other deeply.
Ilan is a really tough man, not believing in any of the legends about the monsters of the lake. His descent has given him some basic knowledge of runes and even Khuzan language, which might be of invaluable aid to the players.
Morn of Eremrun
Morn is Sharan's eldest son. He is a nice and hardworking guy and will inherit his father's ship and trade. He is very superstitious and easy to frighten. This trait is evolved from the fact that Morn has the "Medium" psionic talent. He is not aware that he is a medium, but from time to time he suffers visions and hears strange voices, which mostly come along with a terrible headache and cramps as well as exhaustion. When this happens, Morn is not able to talk for a while. His father believes he suffers epilepsy but so far, no physician was able to help him.
When he comes to Sirion he will suffer immensely from the battlefield's strong psionic residue.
Note: If none of the players has an Aura of 14 or higher, Morn can serve the purpose of guiding the players in the right direction. After some time, he has grown used to the strong psionic forces at Sirion and might even be able to perceive the ghosts of Irazûd's fellowship, still digging the tunnel or sealing the channel at the bottom of the bay. Some visions of this kind ought to do the trick. But don't let him have these visions too early. The players are meant to despair digging...