68 rooms · levels 45–52
Great cat tails populate the silvery mist of the Astral Plane, rooted in nothing at all. Large puddles float by on the ether, fed by the overflow of the stream to the west, and each one swims with minnows and frogs. Flocks of great blue herons stride lazily about on the air, scooping up the delicate amphibians with a graceful jab. The stone disk and its stream lie back to the west.
The silvery rift lets go here and closes behind, leaving nothing but the eastern rim of a vast asteroid field. Grey Astral mist flows all around. Thousands of asteroids, from pebbles to boulders the size of small hillocks, drift past in a great, slow orbit around something dark that lies to the west. Eastward the field thins to nothing but mist, and there is no way back the way you came. The only way on is west, into the rocks.
The asteroids have grown larger here, from the size of a newborn child to the size of a large horse. A thick grey mist obscures most vision, while a smell of sulphur mixed with fresh herbs drifts by. Occasionally a small stone inexplicably leaps out of its orbit and careens about until it smashes to dust against a larger companion. The field's eastern arc runs north and south, around the black sphere at the field's heart.
The field reaches its widest here. The stones have petered out to small pebbles, and beyond them, southward, there is only grey Astral mist. Northward the orbit of the asteroids seems to have reversed itself, the rocks flowing sluggishly toward a great black sphere, as if the very essence of the Astral fog were being drawn into it. The field's southern arc runs east and west.
The asteroid field reaches its edge here. The stones have petered out to pebbles, and there is only the ever-present grey Astral mist beyond. Floating in the midst of a circular asteroid is a shimmering purple mere: a pool of violet water resting on a flat disk of rock. Close examination reveals a three-toed foot, apparently branded into the very stone at the edge of the pool. The field lies back to the north.
This is the south-eastern bend of the field, where the stones have petered out to pebbles and only grey mist lies beyond. Now and then there is a small flash of purplish color somewhere off to the west. The field runs north up its eastern arc and west along its southern one.
This is the edge of a massive black sphere, seemingly extending in all directions. Its size is so massive that it is unlikely that once in, one could ever find an exit. The omnipresent mist seems to contain it, perhaps the sphere rests gently upon the sea of Astral mist, it is impossible to determine. Whichever the case, it seems to be sucking the asteroids and the very essence of the Astral plane into itself. Peering directly at the massive sphere raises the hackles, and staying at the edge of the sphere brings on a sense of impending doom. Even at this distance, the pull of the massive void can be felt.
Great blackness swirls all around, with no apparent exits. Bones, rubble, and other objects outside of human comprehension seem to float through the darkness, but it is hard to be certain. With the passage of time, it becomes more and more apparent that something seems to be thriving on the great void, but exactly what is hard to comprehend...
The rocks are smaller here and fewer, and the mist is cleaner, almost sweet. The sound of running water is loud now, just to the north, where a flat stone disk floats beside a horse-shaped asteroid. Back to the south the field curves around its dark heart.
A small stream of crystal-clear water runs from the mouth of a horse-shaped asteroid, down across an almost perfectly circular disk of stone, and into the mouth of a statue of a small boy. Clearly made by intelligent hands, the narrow stream seems to offer a perfect place to rest and drink. Some of the water slips over the rim of the disk to the east, where reeds and floating puddles crowd the mist. The field lies back to the south. It seems possible that with a little spatial reorientation one could step down over the edge and onto the underside of the smooth disk.
This is the north-western bend of the field. Grey Astral mist flows all around, and the asteroids swing south here on their long orbit. The sound of running water carries from the north-east, and the field's dark heart lies south-east of here. The field runs east along its northern arc and south down its western one.
Grey Astral mist flows all around. The asteroids continue their inscrutable orbit, each apparently without collision. Somewhere south-west of here there is the dim bulk of a large planetoid, but it is hard to be sure through the mist. The field's northern arc runs east and west, curving around the darkness at its heart.
This is the south-western bend of the field. The asteroids here range from the size of a newborn child to the size of a large horse. A thick charnel stench, overlaid with fresh herbs, wafts across the nostrils. Occasionally a small stone leaps out of its orbit and careens about until it smashes to dust against a larger companion. The field runs north up its western arc and east along its southern one.
Depressingly grey Astral mist flows all around, muffling sight and sound alike. Faint shouts, roars and whispers seem to come from everywhere at once, and no amount of listening pins them down. Through it all the asteroids sweep on, unaffected by the strange place they move in. Just west the rocks thin before the edge of a vast black sphere. The field curves away around it to the north and the south, and its open rim lies east.
This is the north-eastern bend of the field, where the orbit of the rocks swings west. The asteroids are big and slow here, scarred by their collisions, and a thick smell of sulphur hangs among them. Curiously, the sound of running water carries from the north-west. The field runs west along its northern arc and south down its eastern one.
This is the underside of the floating disk, and here it is the other way up. A small stream of crystal-clear water runs from the mouth of a stone gryphon, across the perfectly flat stone, and into the mouth of a statue of a small girl. Clearly made by intelligent hands, the broad stream seems a perfect place to rest. A little spatial reorientation, a step up over the rim, would bring you back to the top side of the disk.
Great rocks drift past on their orbit, some of them as large as a horse, trailing streamers of grey mist. The smell of sulphur is fainter here, and the sound of running water is close now, just north-west of here. Southward, beyond the drifting stones, the mist darkens around something enormous. The field's northern arc runs east and west.
Depressingly grey Astral mist flows all around, obscuring both vision and sound. There seem to be faint shouts, roars and whispers on every side. Close by in the west, a large planetoid hangs in the mist, much bigger than any rock around it, and the asteroids give it a wide berth. The field's western arc runs north and south.
Grey Astral mist flows all around. The asteroids continue their inscrutable orbit, each apparently without collision. North of the field's southern arc, the darkness of the great sphere fills half the sky; the rocks around here are scuffed with boot marks, a well-used patrol route. The field runs east and west.
Grey Astral mist flows all around. The asteroids whirl through some inscrutable orbit, each apparently without collision. Directly south the mist darkens into the curve of a huge black sphere, and the rocks nearest it are being pulled slowly backwards, against the flow of the field. A clear lane opens among the stones to the north, and the sound of running water comes from that way. The field's arc runs on east and west.
Grey Astral mist flows all around. Here the field's western arc passes between two great things: to the east the mist gives way to the edge of a vast black sphere, and to the west a large planetoid hangs close, a small glimmer of colors flashing somewhere on it. The field runs on north and south around the sphere.
Grey Astral mist flows all around. The orbiting asteroids have left a clear space here above a large planetoid, whose dusty surface lies just below. There is a small glimmer of a prism of colors down there, flashing now and then through the mist. The asteroid field lies back to the east.
There is only the ever-present greyness here. Some strange force acts upon the asteroids: pieces of rock periodically break off and fly east toward a great black sphere, so massive that it seems to be sucking out the very essence of the Astral fog. The ground of loose stones is churned up by many booted feet. The field's western arc runs north and south.
Grey Astral mist flows all around, as does the seemingly endless cycle of the asteroids. A unique flash of violet light comes from just to the south, where a round asteroid floats at the very edge of the field, and with it the faint sound of water. The field's southern arc runs east and west; north lies the black sphere.
The asteroids grow larger along the eastern arc of the field, from the size of a newborn child to the size of a large horse, and they pass close enough to stir the mist. A thick smell of sulphur mixed with fresh herbs wafts by. Now and then a small stone leaps out of its orbit and careens about until it smashes to dust against a larger companion. The field runs on north and south, bending around the darkness in the west.
This is the edge of a massive black sphere, seemingly extending in all directions. Its size is so massive that it is unlikely that once in, one could ever find an exit. The omnipresent mist seems to contain it; perhaps the sphere rests gently upon the sea of Astral mist, it is impossible to tell. Whichever the case, it seems to be sucking the asteroids and the very essence of the Astral plane into itself. Peering directly at the sphere, to the west, raises the hackles, and staying at its edge brings on a sense of impending doom. Even at this distance the pull of the void can be felt. The asteroid field lies back to the east.
This is a large planetoid, several times larger than the other asteroids in the field. It is covered with a thick layer of rock dust, the remains of smaller asteroids that smashed against this behemoth, and there are tracks of a huge clawed creature in the dust. A flashing prism lights the mist somewhere a little to the south. The surface stretches south toward the prism and west toward a quieter stretch of dust. The asteroid field drifts above.
The large tracks in the dust of the planetoid cluster around here. Set into the very rock is a coin-sized prism, periodically flashing; the light pierces the grey astral mist, momentarily lighting it with a rainbow of colors. Closer examination shows a minute crack in the shape of a gigantic door set in the rock beside the prism. The dusty surface runs back north.
Past the gigantic door in the ceiling is a wide, short corridor that narrows slightly after about 10 feet. The corridor has been finely crafted, carved out of the very rock of the planetoid. Strange veins of glistening crystals shoot through the walls, causing them to glisten with an otherworldly light. There is a small lantern suspended from the ceiling, its light steady and unblinking. Curiously, the grey Astral mist so prevalent everywhere else stops magically at the edge of the giant door, making vision clear for the first time.
The short corridor widens out into a large cavern, several dragon-lengths wide, with several exits. The majority of the cavern is taken up with cots and small war chests. The spartan environment makes it clear that this is a soldiers' barracks with few comforts. A large ramp descends in the back of the room, and a wide path cuts through the sleeping quarters. There seem to be smaller exits to the east and west.
This small cavern off the barracks is covered with weapon racks and suits of banded mail. In addition to the weaponry, there is a small anvil and forge in one corner, apparently for making field repairs. The ceiling seems less finished than other areas of the planetoid, being extremely rough hewn.
A ramp descends down into the depths of the planetoid. It is wide enough to handle several large creatures. The walls are blackened with some sort of soot, and a wave of heat rises from the bottom of the ramp. A heavy scent of sulphur is thick through the air, and heavy rasping can be heard. Examining the floor closely reveals heavy scratches in the very rock itself.
This gigantic cavern must be near the heart of the planetoid, for there is oppressive heat given off by the surrounding walls. The floor is covered with some sort of blackened sand that is subject to times of great heat and pressure, for there are small chunks of glass scattered throughout it. Unlike the other caverns of this asteroid, the walls are very roughly hewn, and the ceiling has several stalactites suspended from it.
This is the great red dragon's hoard. It is a small cavern with an uneven floor and rough walls, as if carved out by some great swipes of claws. Mounds of coins are scattered throughout the room, as well as pieces of armor and weapons. Also intermixed with the coins are bones, skulls, and other less-identifiable body pieces, apparently the grisly trophies of the hoard's owner.
This is a rather spartan room set with several cots and small war chests. The walls provide some small amount of light from the crystal veins running across them. There is also a small lantern suspended from the ceiling that glows with an unblinking light.
This is the east end of the mess hall. Long tables made of stone are paired with matching stone benches, each carved out of the cavern floor. The tables sparkle with the strange veins of multicolored crystal that run throughout this planetoid. Resting on each of the tables is a heavy urn and a pile of earthen ware plates and utensils. There is a small pit in the southern corner of the room, and a short corridor to the north.
This small room is comfortably furnished with a desk, a chair and an overstuffed couch. A small desk lamp glows with the same unblinking light as the other lanterns throughout the caverns, and there is a faint smell of incense and oiled leather in the air. A few piles of papers lie on the desk, written in a script that makes them unreadable. There is a small opening in both the ceiling and the floor in one corner of the room, and two wooden doors lead north and south.
This well-appointed room has been extremely well-carved from the bedrock, the work showing an almost dwarven quality in its attention to detail. There is a teak writing desk in one corner with a small desk lamp on it. A small wooden chair completes the desk area. Attached to one wall is a highly stylized map of the asteroid field, its most striking feature being a large black circle in its center, with a superimposed brain atop it. There is also an extremely comfortable looking couch made of red dragon hide with a small end table constructed entirely of human skulls. In addition to the pit leading up in one corner of the ceiling, there is a trap door leading down.
This is obviously the supreme commander's bedroom. The main feature is of course the bed. It is truly enormous, and is covered completely with several human skins sewn together to make a complete blanket. There is a side table with a small glowing lamp, and a teak wardrobe. Carved into the front of the wardrobe is the royal crest of Merilon, it was clearly taken as the spoils of war. Other than the trap door in the ceiling, there are no apparent exits.
This is a small room hidden behind the wardrobe in the supreme commander's bedroom. Within this small room are two identical chests, one made of gold, and one made of lead. Other than that, the room is empty.
The planetoid's dusty surface puffs up with every step. This part sees little activity; there are only a few footsteps in the dust. A small crack in the rock lets out the odor of greasy meat and smoky fire, and peering down into it, it seems one or two people might slip inside. The tracked surface lies back to the east.
The narrow crack opens into a slightly larger passage. The scent of smoke and cooked meat is heavier, and the grey astral mist is absent, as if there had been some slight shift in the very fabric of the plane. The chimney jogs west from here, or it is possible to climb back up to the surface of the planetoid.
The chimney takes a sharp jog here and narrows to an extremely skinny passage that slopes south. There is a strong scent of smoke, and from the south comes the bright light of a roaring fire. Small veins of crystal gleam through the soot on the walls, giving off a little light. The wider chimney runs back east.
This is a large walk-in fireplace off the kitchen. Iron rods criss-cross it, and from them hang a number of heavy pots. A corpse, obviously humanoid, is tied to a spit and turns slowly over the great fire in the middle. There is a small shelf near the top on which rests a heavy iron urn. The kitchen opens to the south; at the back, to the north, the flue narrows into a sooty chimney.
This large cavern hums with the busy hub-bub of a working kitchen. The room is filled with counters covered with cooking implements, knives, cleavers, and the grisly remains of the latest repast of the githyanki force barracked here. A thick charnel smell wafts out of a stone closet built into one corner of the kitchen, and it is clear that the githyanki keep most of their staples there. There is a large fireplace to the north, and a pair of swinging doors in the southeast corner. Three heavy lamps are suspended from the ceiling, each glowing with an unblinking light.
This large cavern is filled with many stone tables and matching stone benches. There is a heavy metal urn resting upon each table, as well as piles of ceramic plates and utensils. Hanging from the ceiling is a heavy lantern, glowing with an unblinking blue light. In the southwestern corner, a pit descends to another cavern, while a pair of swinging doors are against the northern wall.
This cavern has clearly been converted to a large library. The walls of the cavern are covered with stone shelves filled with books, the spines of which are covered with an untranslatable script. This seems to be only the upper level of the cavern. There is clearly a lower level. In addition to the books and shelves there are several comfortable chairs, each with a small table and lamp next to it. There is a wooden door to the south and an open passageway to the north.
This bedroom is tastefully decorated in light blues and greens. The bed is covered with a heavy leather lizard skin. There is a large open chest at the foot of the bed containing several tomes written in an unknown script. A half open wardrobe reveals that the occupant is fond of blues and greens in his clothing choices as well. Against one wall is a long tapestry depicting a githyanki raiding party bursting into a small hut, with a human farmer cowering in one corner, his hands covering his face in abject terror. There appears to be only one exit from this room.
This bedroom contains only a small straw pallet in one corner and a small shrine dominating the far wall. The shrine depicts a four-armed githyanki, each arm wielding a glowing silver sword about to decapitate a cowering illithid. Incense burns at the base of the statue, and there is a small crimson rug on the floor before it. A pile of dirty laundry and damaged pieces of banded mail complete the room. The door is to the south.
This room seems to serve as some sort of magical laboratory. The most predominant item in the room is a thick gold pentacle etched into the center of the floor. There doesn't seem to be a single light source. Instead, the very walls themselves seem to exude a bright bluish light. In addition to the summoning circle, there are several counters around the edge of the room covered with strange and wonderful magical devices and paraphernalia. There seems to be a small alcove to the south.
This small alcove is very spartan in appearance. There is a small cot stuffed with straw and covered with a thin burlap cloth. There is also a small bookshelf at the foot of the cot, containing only two books. There seem to be no exits besides the alcove entrance to the north.
The bottom half of the library is similar to the top, covered with stone shelves and brimming over the top with thick dusty tomes. There is a large work table in the center of the room carved out of the very stone of the cavern. The light here is very dim, coming from a glowing humanoid skull resting on the center of the table. Several small wooden chairs complete the work space. Cunningly carved into the shelves is a barely visible stone door leading west. Coming from behind that door is a faint scent of burning incense.
This seems to be some sort of bedroom, or perhaps a torture chamber. There is a large bed of thick iron spikes, each spike gleaming with a sharp point. Manacles are chained to the southern walls, and the grisly remains of something lie in one corner. There is an incense burner hanging from the ceiling, its noxious fumes giving a faint feeling of dizziness and nausea. There is also a small wardrobe against the north wall containing what appear to be thick woolen robes.
This small cavern contains only a small chest made of lead. Magical sigils glow with a faint blueish light. The heavy odor of incense from the room below wafts up to fill the room.
This long passageway heads north and south. It is lit about every 10 feet with a flaming human skull attached to the wall. At the northern end, the passage ends at a large pair of iron doors. The vessels are wrought with delicate filigree depicting images of githyanki casting off chains and destroying scores of illithids. Above the lintel of the door is a four-armed githyanki, each limb holding a silver sword. Her dark eyes seem to flash with furious evil. The faint sound of chanting seems to emanate from beyond the doors.
This is clearly the center of the outpost's worship of their ancient goddess. The cavern is a long narrow one, with caryatid columns depicting illithids in chains supporting the ceiling. In between each column is a flaming brazier of brass exuding a thick smoke that approximates the consistency of the grey astral mist. There is a low bass chant from what might be an altar to the north, but the smoke makes it difficult to be sure.
The thick smoke of the shrine clears here, revealing a horrific mockery of a human altar. Hanging from the northern wall is a bas-relief carving of the githyanki's four armed queen. Four silver swords, each glowing with a dark light, are poised to strike the altar, and watching the carving too long causes one's head to pound and vision to darken. The altar itself is a simple affair with a red silk cloth covering. A silver bowl rests on one side. There is a small puddle of liquid at the foot of the altar. Closer examination reveals it to be fresh blood. Just to the right, there seems to be a small wooden door.
This is a small bedroom. There is a short but comfortable looking bed in one corner and a wardrobe in the other. In between the two is a low table and chair. On the table are a number of small personal items such as a comb and even a small dagger. The only exit seems to be the door to the west.
This is an empty cavern, some twenty feet in circumference. The Astral mist seems unable to pass through the lintel on the floor, providing a clear atmosphere for the first time. The cavern is free of dust and dirt, suspiciously so. Upon closer examination, there is a small soot-covered stone on the eastern wall.
This large cavern stretches for several hundred feet. The floor is uneven, as if the cavern were naturally formed. A fire burns off to the east, the only apparent source of light, and there is a sense of movement in the corners that cannot be pinned down. The air has a slightly metallic taste and is more humid than the grey Astral mist. The cavern runs on north and south. Close examination of the west wall reveals a soot-covered rock.
This is the southern corner of the large cavern. The walls are smoother here, as if they might have been worked slightly, and the metallic tang in the air has softened. There is a small pit surrounded by rubble leading down. The cavern opens back to the north, where firelight flickers off to the north-east.
The ceiling to this room opens to a cavern about ten feet above. This small cavern has been converted into what appears to be a closet and armory. There are several shelves filled with grey robes shaded remarkably like the Astral mist outside. Small, poorly-made daggers, maces, and short swords are also loosely tossed around the cavern. There is a small passage to the east.
This small cavern seems to have been converted into a bedroom for the leader of this small spy post. There is a rough, sand-stuffed pallet lying in one corner and a wooden chest in another corner. A full-length scrying mirror is attached to the northern wall, its frame gilded in silver. There is barely enough room to fit more than two people here.
The cavern gently curves to the east in this corner. The floor is particularly uneven here, making it difficult to negotiate this area. There is a faint humming from somewhere close to here, but it is so distant that it is hard to pin down where it is coming from. Instead of the hard grey ceiling above, there is a round black hole. The metallic tang of the air has increased in intensity, and the fire-light to the east is a little brighter.
This floorless offshoot from the cavern below is clearly a religious shrine, though unlike any others. There is a small statuette floating in the air near the ceiling depicting a grey-skinned, three toed humanoid, his head unnaturally swollen and round. It is from this statue that the heavy metallic scent emanates, making breathing in this room extremely difficult. The statuette also seems to be humming loudly as if it were about to vibrate apart. The walls of this cavern have some faint markings upon them, but time has faded them to obscurity.
This corner of the cavern gently turns to the south, and toward the firelight. There is a faint hiss coming from the south, as if fat were hitting the fire. The floor and walls here seem to have changed color from a dull granite grey to an almost jet black, indicating perhaps some small vein of a semi-precious metal. There is some indication that the walls have been polished to bring out the black color, but it was a half-hearted effort at best. The faint whispering at the edge of hearing seems to have increased in intensity, although not in volume.
This end of the cavern has a small fire burning in a ring of stones. There is no wood anywhere, so the fire is probably magical. Carved into the walls are many small shelves holding cooking pots, pans and utensils, and four large rocks around the fire look uncomfortably like stools. The fire pops and hisses with a few sparks, but gives off no smoke. There is a small opening to the east; the cavern runs back west and curves away to the north.
This small cavern serves as the barracks for this small githzerai outpost. There are several small pallets filled with sand and piles of dirty grey robes scattered about. It doesn't look like all the pallets are currently used, but at full strength this small cavern could sleep about eight. There is almost no hint of the metallic tang that so flavored the air near the entrance. To the west is the flickering firelight of the cooking fire. There are no other apparent exits.