Citadel of the Unseen Sun: Episode 4
LAND OF DESPAIR
Credits
Episode 4: Land of Despair Written by: Ghostfire Gaming Team
Sarah Madsen
CEO: Jordon Gibson
Head of Fables: James J. Haeck General Manager, TTRPG: Phil Beckwith
Story Design: James J. Haeck Communications and Marketing: Hannah Peart,
Art Director: Zoë Robinson Kathryn Griggs
Digital Analyst: Tyler Kempthorne
Citadel of the Unseen Sun Writers: Leon Barillaro, Products and Logistics: Matthew Witbreuk, Simon
Anne Gregersen, James J. Haeck, Sarah Madsen,
Montgomery Martin, Kelly McLaughlin, Joshua Sherry, Rex Gibson
“HTTPaladin” Mendenhall
Game Designers: Shawn Merwin, James J. Haeck
Editor: Matt Click Art Direction: Suzanne Helmigh, Marius Bota,
Managing Editor: James J. Haeck
Ona Kristensen, Zoë Robinson
Graphic Design: Rich Lescouflair and Peter Lead Graphic Designer: Martin Hughes
Wocken Design
Ghostfire Gaming Discord Community Managers:
Layout: Rich Lescouflair Ian “Butters” Gratton, Lukas “Toasti” Scheerer,
Cover Design: Christine Foltzer Nelson “Deathven” Dicarlio, Tom “A Viking Walrus”
End Page Design: Abby Zweifel Garland, Caleb “Connendarf” Englehart, Cameron
“C4Burgers” Brechin
Episode 4 Interior Illustrators: Alex Drummond,
Alexander Gustafson, Allie Briggs, Anna Moshak, Special thanks to the creative wizards at Wizards
Ashley Hankins, Claudio Pozas, Cory Trego-Erdner, of the Coast for being the caring stewards of this
Janna Sophia, Kate Laird, Kristian Agerkvist, game we love.
Luke Beaber, Maggie Ivy, Ph. A. Urlich, Ridell
Mendez Apellanes, Sam Gushue, Sam White, Special thanks to our playtesters and every one of
Stanislav Dikolenko, Suzanne Helmigh, Tatii the passionate roleplayers of the Ghostfire Gaming
Lange, Tomasz Jędruszek community. Your feedback and your love of
storytelling and monster-slaying is what drives us to
Episode 4 Cartographers: Damien Mammoliti, create games.
Jenny Harder, Luke Beaber, Ross Taylor,
Yoann Boissonnet
Based on Locations and Characters from the
Grim Hollow Campaign Setting by: Jordon and
Rex Gibson
This product is compliant with the Open Game Licence and is suitable for use with the 5th Edition rules system.
Product Identity: The following items are hereby identified as Product Identity, as defined in the Open Game License version
1.0a, Section 1(e), and are not Open Content: All trademarks, registered trademarks, proper names (characters, deities, etc.),
dialogue, plots, storylines, locations, characters, illustrations, and trade dress. (Elements that have previously been designated as
Open Game Content or are in the public domain are not included in this declaration.)
Open Content: Except for material designated as Product Identity (see above), the game mechanics of this game product are
Open Game Content, as defined in the Open Game License version 1.0a Section 1(d). No portion of this work other than the mate-
rial designated as Open Game Content may be reproduced in any form without written permission.
© 2021, Ghostfire Gaming Pty Ltd. All rights reserved. Reference to copyright material in no way constitutes a challenge to the
respective copyright holder of that material. Ghostfire Gaming, the Ghostfire Gaming logo, Grim Hollow and the Grim Hollow
logo are trademarks of Ghostfire Gaming Pty Ltd.
2
Contents
Welcome to Fables! 5 Appendix A: New Monsters 82
You Are a Game Master 5 Aglæcwif 82
Running this Fable 84
This Fable’s Story 5 Blood Ooze 85
Prelude 86
6 Catacomb Haunt 88
Chapter 1: 90
Escape from the Labyrinth 9 Dream Whisperer 91
92
Light Hunter
Liliyana Telepsik
11 Mud Zombie
Verminous Abomination
Within the Labyrinth 12 Appendix B: New Magic Items 93
Labyrinth Region 1: The Crawling Corridors 12
Labyrinth Region 2: The Boneways 19 Aurielia's Tears 93
Labyrinth Region 3: The Sewers 21 Enchanted Map of Nov Ostoya 93
Labyrinth Region 4: The Distal Door 25 Fingerbone of Shattered Vows 94
Exploring Soma 27 Seeds of Hope 94
Chapter 2: Dose of Bliss 95
Lord's Lament 96
Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest 29 Sunstone 96
The Road to Lunsk 31 Appendix C: Handouts 97
The Upper Tithewater
Miner’s Respite Inn 31 97
Lunsk 31 Mayor Duchaine’s Letter 98
Glasswater Lake 33 Vedran’s Journal 100
The Stillborn Forest 37 Countess Khrystyana Petrovskaya’s Letter
39 101
Chapter 3:
Riven and the Black Mire Open Game License
43
Riven 45
The Black Mire 61
Chapter 4: 67
Voyd and the Light Hunter
The Road to Voyd 69
Voyd 69
Conclusion: At the Gates of Nov Ostoya 81
3
4
Welcome to Fables!
You hold in your hands an episode of Citadel of the Episodes and Chapters
Unseen Sun, the first of many Fables which span
worlds, genres, and the planes of existence. Each A Fable is a complete story, released in six monthly
episode of this Fable contains four sessions of thrilling episodes. Each episode is an arc of this overall story
fifth edition adventure—enough to entertain a group that presents a mini-sandbox environment. An
of weekly roleplaying game (RPG) players until the episode has a specific range of levels for which it’s
next episode arrives a month later. designed. As the Game Master, you are empowered
to run an episode for characters of a higher or lower
You Are a Game Master level than recommended for an episode—but be
prepared for a more challenging or easier session
As the Game Master (GM) of a Fable, you are given unless you do work yourself to alter the challenges
the power of a storyteller, telling tales of heroism and monsters the characters face.
and adventure to a rapt audience. Imagine yourself The characters can explore each episode’s region at
wrapped in the clothes of a traveling bard, your face their leisure. An episode is further divided into three
cast in glowing firelight, as you weave a tapestry of or four chapters. Each chapter describes a specific
words. Your words draw those who sit around the location within an episode’s sandbox environment—
fire with you into another world, where they are not or it could represent a linear series of encounters that
the mere audience of a tale, but actors, storytellers drive the plot forward. An episode typically has three
themselves. to four chapters, each of which contains enough game
The GM’s role is to establish the setting of each scene content to fill one or two game sessions.
in this Fable, introduce and roleplay its non-player
characters (NPCs), and play monsters and villains that Monsters, Magic, and More
long to bring a swift end the heroes’ adventures. The
players at your table are storytellers in their own right. When you see text in bold, that’s the Fable’s way of
Though they only embody a single character each telling you that a scene or location contains a monster
while you embody many, the players’ actions have the or NPC ready to fight. New monsters and NPCs
power to change the world of Etharis forever. The best in Fables are usually found in appendix A: New
GMs are willing to improvise, even ignoring the text Monsters of the episode in which they appear. If a
of a Fable when necessary, to ensure the characters’ monster’s name appears in bold but isn’t followed
actions have consequences—for both good and ill. by “(see appendix A)” or a similar pointer, then that
If you are not planning on running this Fable, monster’s game statistics are found in the fifth edition
stop reading now. What follows is for the Game core rules.
Master’s eyes only. When you see text in italics, that’s the Fable’s way
of telling you that you’re looking at the name of a
Running this Fable spell (like hideous laughter) or a magic item (like winged
boots). Most spells and magic items are found in the
Fables is an episodic adventure series using the fifth fifth edition core rules. New spells and magic items
edition of the world’s first roleplaying game. In are described in an episode’s appendices as well, as
order to play, you need the free fifth edition System indicated by a “(see appendix B)” pointer.
Reference Document, or the books that make up the
fifth edition core rules. When you see text in a box like this, the characters
This Fable takes place in the world of Etharis, have likely entered a new area, or have triggered
a realm of darkness described in Grim Hollow: The an event like an NPC entering the scene. This text is
Campaign Guide. Access to this book makes running meant for the GM to read or paraphrase aloud to the
this Fable much easier. Players who want to lean into players to set the scene.
the darkness of Grim Hollow’s dark fantasy setting
benefit from a copy of Grim Hollow: The Player’s
Guide, as well.
Additionally, the following information will help
you run this Fable as its GM:
5
Running a Dark Fantasy Game This Fable’s Story
Grim Hollow is a setting of darkness, despair, and This primer on Citadel of the Unseen Sun’s story
terrible evil. Heroes are rarely paragons of justice; and backstory will help you tell a compelling and
they are mortals with their own foibles and flaws. In cohesive story.
turn, villains are rarely avatars of pure evil hell-bent
on destruction. The heroes and villains of this Fable Overview
are operating at cross purposes—they stand in direct
opposition to one another’s goals. In this Fable, a group of mercenary adventurers
Because of this, dark fantasy stories rarely residing in the Ostoyan Empire are hired by a
culminate in purely happy endings. Innocent and mysterious benefactor to recover an artifact from a
heroic lives are lost just as frequently as evil ones, and long-lost civilization. Upon finding this artifact, they
people must sacrifice things which they hold dear to are slain by the lich Kasimir Sundrinker. A strange
achieve their ends. As a story involving death and power within each adventurer saves them from death,
the undead, there are also a great deal of gruesome but they awaken within a twisted, false afterlife.
scenarios in this story. The characters learn over the course of this Fable
Before you run this adventure, talk with your that this afterlife is the creation of Kasimir Sundrinker,
players about their comfort level with dark fantasy, and that they are actually deep in the bowels of an
with dark themes, and with gore and gruesome ancient Necropolis beneath the lands of the Ostoyan
events. This “session zero” check-in won’t water Empire. They must reach the surface—and once there,
down your game or spoil any surprises—it’s an gain the power to defeat Kasimir and end his plot to
opportunity to get everyone to buy-in to your game. use the sun stolen from the skies of Ostoya to ascend
If everyone’s excited for darkness, death, and despair, to godhood.
you can safely indulge in all the dark fantasy you
want. If people have some reservations, you can make
the informed choice to either avoid this Fable or tailor
it to your group. Each Fable will be different, so it’s
perfectly fine if one isn’t suited to your preferred
play style.
6
Backstory But this society dedicated to light became eclipsed
by shadow. Vampires, accidents of overambitious
The Ostoyan Empire is a grim and gothic land ruled necromancers, lurked places untouched by the sun’s
by vampires who prey upon their subjects. The sun grandeur. In time, their numbers grew so great that
itself vanished from the sky many years ago in an they swept through the Necropolis like a wave. The
event called the Darkfall. wave only grew, as the vampires turned unwitting
people into their spawn. Kasimir and his fellow
Darkfall and the Vampires necromancers tried to halt the vampiric advance with
their incorruptible reanimated warriors, but in time
A fearsome earthquake rocked the lands of Ostoya, they too were overwhelmed. Their king was lost, and
tearing massive fissures in the ground. Necrotic the realm fell into eternal darkness.
energy surged from the fissures, darkening the realm
and plucking the sun from the sky. These fissures Swallowed by the Earth
also unearthed ancient, long-buried ruins. Countless
Ostoyan explorers ventured into the chasms in search Kasimir survived the vampires’ coup and retreated into
of answers—few returned. That is, until a horde of his citadel. Using his magic, he sealed the citadel with
vampires and their undead minions emerged. These rays of sunlight that would annihilate any vampire
vampires conquered Ostoya and transformed it that sought entrance. Grieving the loss of his realm,
into their own dark empire, untouched by the light he invoked a terrible rite that caused the earth itself
of the sun. to open its great maw and devour the Necropolis
whole. By his design, the vampires would never again
Necropolis of the Holy Sun see the sky.
Kasimir toiled in his citadel to discover magic
Untold centuries before the Darkfall brought Ostoya which would allow him to destroy his foes and
to its knees, a civilization lost to history existed in resurrect his realm once and for all. At the same
the region. This mighty civilization venerated death time, he delved into profane secrets of necromancy
and the dead. Great art was made from the bones to grant himself eternal life—as a lich. Then, after
of the departed, and a common idiom was “All are countless centuries of study, he found it—the sun
equal in death.” The bones of a commoner are no itself, if he could harness its power in full, would give
different from the bones of a highborn. Both can be him magical might sufficient enough to annihilate
used as art—and both can be turned toward the art of his enemies, and perhaps even restore everything
reanimation, or necromantic science. he had lost.
None were more venerated in this civilization He enacted a second dread ritual. An earthquake
than necromancers, for they could reanimate the rocked the lands above, which had since become
bones of the dead and turn them to the betterment of populated by humanoid peoples calling themselves
the living. And of these necromancers, none held a Ostoyans. Necrotic power surged from below,
higher position than Kasimir, the Royal Necromancer. darkening the realm and plucking the very sun from
Kasimir was not king—the ruler of this land was a the sky. The sun appeared within Kasimir’s citadel as
diplomat, not a mage—but he was the power behind a blazing inferno: his Unseen Sun.
the throne. This most powerful of necromancers was
a stern man, but one beloved by the people for his Light Hunters and the Sparks
self-sacrificing generosity. He raised armies of undead
to protect the realm, made pilgrimages to small Kasimir’s scheme was not without its flaws. He
villages across the land, and even performed miracles unleashed the vampires he sealed away into the world
to return life to the dead if they were vital the fate of once more. Now unhindered by the light of the sun,
the realm. they quickly conquered the surface-lands of Ostoya
and became more powerful than ever before. Worse,
Emerging from the Shadows Kasimir’s ritual to claim the sun was imperfect. The
sun resisted command by a single will, containing
The lost civilization now known only as the Ostoyan still a fragment of the divine mind of the goddess
Necropolis revered the sun. They saw it as the source Aurelia, and this consciousness fractured portions of
of all life and power. Later civilizations on Etharis the sun’s power and delivered them into the souls of
would agree, connecting it to the dead goddess mortal beings.
Aurelia (see Grim Hollow: The Campaign Guide). Sigils
of the sun adorned every surface in this ancient
realm, often carved into stone or formed of magically
preserved bone.
7
These fragments were dubbed “sparks of sunlight” evil as it may be—will merely be replaced by another
by Kasimir. These sparks linger, usually dormant, society of law and order.
within the hearts of mortal people. Sometimes, they In the hopes of preventing this, Skade has
permit a person whose life is in mortal danger to assembled a group of adventurers who, by the
manifest magical powers—it is one of the vanishingly daemon’s design, possess within their souls a Spark of
rare sources of divine magic in mortal hands on the Sunlight. These adventurers are the player characters;
face of Etharis. unbeknownst to them, powers greater than them
Ever since realizing his error following the Darkfall, have conspired to plunge them into a world of death
Kasimir has sought these sparks and their wielders. He and despair.
has no idea how many there are, or how far across the
lands of Etharis they have spread. Once he gained his Citadel of the Unseen Sun
first, through divination and personal effort, he used
his magical power, amplified by the Unseen Sun, to This is a brief summary of the six episodes of
infuse a human skeleton with the blazing might of the this Fable.
sun. This warrior arose, and he dubbed it his first Light
Hunter—a tireless stalker who can sense other sparks of Episode 1: Death is Not the End
sunlight in the souls of others.
Kasimir now has six Light Hunters, and he has In this episode, the characters are hired by the
spread them across the world in search of sparks of Nightseer Sage to recover a relic of a long-lost
sunlight, so that he might unify the full power of the civilization. In doing so, they are found and killed by
Unseen Sun and fulfil his ambitions. Kasimir Sundrinker, but the Spark of Sunlight within
their souls allows them to remain in their mortal
Kasimir’s False Afterlife bodies, even as their spirits are whisked away into
Kasimir’s false afterlife.
While waiting for his hunters to recover the prodigal After waking in the deepest, darkest bowels of the
sparks, Kasimir needed to survive. His phylactery Necropolis, they must ally themselves with fellow
hungered for souls to prolong his undead life. survivors if they are to escape from this realm of
He devised another plan—and this one would be undeath and horror.
without flaw.
Aurelia’s divine power once drew souls to their Episode 2: Dreams of the World Beyond
afterlife. Kasimir used the Unseen Sun to divert
the souls of all who lived under the shadow of the In this episode, the characters discover a realm within
Darkfall into a false afterlife. He fashioned this the Necropolis where ghostly spirits are trapped in
metaphysical realm within the ruins of his old an eternal, placid existence of dreams. Here they are
homeland. It would be a place where he could prey preserved as food for Kasimir’s phylactery. When
upon the souls of the dead. Though he denies these they enter, the characters are stripped of their bodies
souls their eternal rest, Kasimir feels no guilt—they and must find a way to return to their physical forms,
serve a greater purpose now: the resurrection of his if they are to continue their ascent.
lost homeland. It is from this fertile ground that this
Fable begins. Episode 3: A Masque of Life
Skade, the Nightseer Sage In this episode, the characters enter a realm of Deep
Rivers, where souls flow from the world above into
This Fable begins in medias res. The characters have the Necropolis. A group of powerful, ostentatious
been given a task by an old man who calls himself undead who call themselves the Doges have formed
the Nightseer Sage. This sage is the guise of an Arch a society of endless revelry. The characters must find
Daemon of shadow, shapeshifting, and deception a way to navigate the politics of this endless fete in
named Skade—one which has long been content to order to reach the surface world once again.
watch the unfolding drama of the Necropolis and
Ostoya as an entertaining opera. Episode 4: Land of Despair
However, Kasimir’s recent success with the Light
Hunters has worried Skade. It longs for chaos and In this episode, the characters breathe the fresh air of
conflict in the world, and it has enjoyed seeing Ostoya once again. They must navigate the infamous
Kasimir sow the seeds of chaos across Ostoya. Labyrinth to reach the surface, and once there, they
However, it has begun to worry that if Kasimir is are faced with a decision: travel to Nov Ostoya to
successful, the lawful rule of the Ostoyan Empire— learn the secrets of defeating Kasimir once and for all
or abandon their quest and seek solace elsewhere in
the world.
8
Episode 5: City of Decadence This episode operates as a sandbox after the
characters leave the underground and can go
In this episode, the characters travel to Nov Ostoya in wherever their hearts desire, within reason. Three
search of the Nightseer Sage, who apparently holds cities of Soma—Lunsk, Riven, and Voyd—and the
the key to destroying Kasimir Sundrinker. They must surrounding wilderness offer opportunities to gather
work arm-in-arm with the gangs of Nov Ostoya information, items, and allies to help the characters
to reach the city’s bloody heights and find their sneak, fight, or talk their way into the capital city of
mysterious benefactor. Nov Ostoya in episode 5.Characters will be the most
successful if they take their time and explore these
Episode 6: Master of the Unseen Sun three locales.
In this episode, the characters are pursued by Character Advancement
Kasimir’s deadly minions: the Light Hunters. They
must cross the lands of Ostoya to reach their final In this episode, characters can travel to a variety
destination: the Citadel of the Unseen Sun. Once there, of different locations in the Ostoyan Empire in
their task is laid bare before them: Kasimir must fall. a nonlinear, sandbox adventure environment.
Characters gain a level whenever they complete two
Prelude of the following objectives. They can’t rise to higher
than 9th level before the start of the next episode in
In this episode, the characters must escape from this Fable.
the last section of the fallen Necropolis and flee to
the surface. • Lunsk: kill or ally with the aglæcwif
To reach the surface, however, they must wind • Lunsk: kill or ally with the dryad
their way through the Labyrinth—the twisting, buried • Riven: cure Vedran’s curse or kill him
streets of a once-great city. Here, they meet potential • Riven: kill Countess Khrystyana Petrovskaya
allies or enemies and must work together to find their • Voyd: defeat or escape from the light hunter
way through the winding necropolis, face off against • Voyd: bring Liliyana safely to Nov Ostoya
warped undead, and solve ancient puzzles to finally
open the door to the surface.
9
Chapter 1:
Escape from the Labyrinth
For characters of 7th or 8th level
The characters emerge from the Deep Rivers into the twisting hallways
of the Labyrinth. Constructed from stone and old bones, these tunnels
are filled with creatures, traps, and a multitude of hazards. As the name
implies, it is a twisting maze, full of dead ends and circular pathways
that can lead to eventual starvation for unprepared characters—if
something else doesn’t get them first.
Adventurers who die within these halls quickly become part of the
Labyrinth: Their spirits rise as catacomb haunts, their bones picked
clean and used to expand and repair the tunnels.
Within the Labyrinth proceed linearly through the sections of the Labyrinth
through a series of Wisdom (Survival) checks. The
Once part of the sprawling empire that was episode begins in “Labyrinth Region 1: The Crawling
drawn beneath the earth by Kasimir Sundrinker, Corridors.”
the Labyrinth is a disconcerting amalgamation
of intentional design and disastrous ruins. The Catacomb Haunts
civilization that inhabited these twisting tunnels
held a deep reverence for death and undeath: When After the characters pass through the Crawling
a citizen died, their spirit was ushered on to the Corridors, a new threat emerges: catacomb haunts
afterlife. Their body was raised as a servant of the city (see appendix A). Also called “labyrinth lurkers” by
or their bones were used to decorate and reinforce the Ostoyan adventurers, these oozing, semi-corporeal
walls. Necromancy imbued their way of life, neither undead are drawn to warmth and life and feel
feared nor reviled, but simply considered a tool compelled to destroy them both. If the characters
of society. stop to take a short or long rest within the Labyrinth
The beauty and splendor of these tunnels has been (outside of the Crawling Corridors), roll a d10. On a 5
reduced to faded ruins by time. The vibrantly painted or higher, they are attacked by 1d4 catacomb haunts.
bones have paled to a yellow-white, and the latent If the characters carry open flame or build a campfire
necromantic energy woven into the foundation of the for warmth, the catacomb haunts are inexorably drawn
structures has been twisted and warped by neglect to it. Within ten minutes of creating the flame, the
and the negative influence of the dark ritual that stole characters are attacked by 1d4 catacomb haunts.
the sun. At the city’s height, a soul would be ushered
into the afterlife upon death. Now, souls freed from Labyrinth Region 1:
their mortal coil within these tunnels are trapped The Crawling Corridors
and warped by the dizzying passageways, either
transforming into a catacomb haunt or other foul form The action of this episode begins here. When the
of undead or becoming part of the greater necropolis, characters emerge from the Deep Rivers at the end
woven into Kasimir Sundrinker’s elaborate schemes. of episode 3, they clamber upward into a muddy
A scant handful of the city’s original undead continue tunnel. The tunnel ends at a stone wall, providing no
to repair and expand the surviving structures, way to continue farther up the river. If the characters
mindlessly carrying out their purpose from before the investigate the wall, the water seems to spring from
fall of the city. the stone, with no tunnel or obvious source.
To start this episode, read the following:
Features of the Labyrinth
These tunnels are cramped and claustrophobic. Rough
The subterranean passages of the Labyrinth have the dirt walls and ceilings press in on you. Faintly, you hear
following features: the faint sounds of clicking, scraping, and scuttling
Darkness. Unless otherwise stated, the within the dirt around you. It seems the only way
passageways of the Labyrinth are completely dark. A is forward.
few noted locations feature ambient magical lights left
over from the former civilization. The tunnels here consist of rough earth and broken
Construction. With the exception of the Crawling stone, barely 8 feet high and wide, and are filled with
Corridors, the ancient yet well-made floors and walls worms, bugs, rats, and other carrion-eaters. Beetles
are crafted of stone and bone. Within the Crawling crunch underfoot, and the scavenging denizens have
Corridors, the construction is rough dirt, as if created little fear of any adventurers within the halls—after
by a giant worm tunneling through the earth. all, they’re simply a meal that hasn’t been killed
Ceilings. Unless otherwise stated, ceilings are 20 yet. These creatures were kept to clean bones in
feet high. preparation for use, but since the destruction of the
city, they have become something altogether different
Navigating the Labyrinth and more terrifying. Although only one tunnel leads
away from the river, it soon branches off into two
Mapping the twisting corridors of the Labyrinth is pathways, and then three, and then more.
nigh impossible. Instead of presenting the GM with
a comprehensive map for the Labyrinth, characters
12
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
No matter which path the characters take, describe Corpse Bloat
them following long, snakelike passages that branch,
fork, and occasionally hit dead ends. After an hour’s At the end of each of its turns while a creature is
travel, they reach the Brooding Pits. A character that swarmed by insects while within the Brooding Pits, it
makes a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Survival) check must succeed on a DC 12 Constitution saving throw
can memorize the exact route, making this journey or be infected with corpse bloat.
take only 10 minutes. Stage One. 1d4 hours after infection, the infected
creature gains one level of exhaustion that cannot be
The Brooding Pits removed until the disease is cured. After every long
rest, an infected creature must succeed on a DC 12
The characters walk through the winding tunnels of Constitution saving throw or progress the next level
the Crawling Corridors and eventually find their way of the disease.
to the Brooding Pits. A breeding ground for carrion Stage Two. The infected creature’s joints stiffen
beetles that strip clean corpses, the Brooding Pits have and its limbs swell. The creature is at disadvantage on
become an incubator for disease. Dexterity saving throws and ability checks.
When the characters enter the room, read the Stage Three. The infected creature becomes so
following: bloated with bile and fluids that it cannot eat or drink
without immediately vomiting or get comfortable
More of a widening of the tunnel rather than a distinct enough to properly sleep. The creature cannot benefit
room, the passageway opens up roughly ten feet from a long rest.
to the left and about fifteen feet long. Within this
wider portion of the tunnel are two rough-cut circular Traveling Onward
stones, about three feet in diameter, set into the floor.
Between them on the wall is a square stone panel. Three open arches lead out of the Brooding Pits. After
an hour’s travel of looping, returning, and dead-
Each of the circular stones is a cap to a brood pit. ending, they reach the Towers of Silence, regardless
Within each pit, swarms of carrion beetles breed of which path they take. A character that makes
and grow. Each pit is 10 feet deep and seemingly a successful DC 16 Wisdom (Survival) check can
contains nothing but dirt and bugs. A successful DC memorize the exact route, so future journeys require
18 Wisdom (Perception) check from the top of the no check and take only 10 minutes.
pit, or a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) or Intelligence
(Investigation) check while within the pit reveals Towers of Silence
small, 4-inch-wide openings in the walls of the
tunnels that extend deeper into the dirt. These go all The cramped tunnel terminates in a tall cavern
the way to the Towers of Silence and feed into the dominated by the crumbling remains of five towers.
rooftops there. These are the Towers of Silence. They were once
The square stone panel is a pressure plate. A used as ritual sites, where the corpses of the ancient
creature can use an action to touch the pressure Necropolis’s citizens were taken, stripped of their
plate to open the caps on the brooding pits and can belongings, cleaned and anointed, then laid out on the
use an action to touch the pressure plate and close flat tower roof so their bones could be picked clean by
them again. carrion beetles. Several towers fill this space, but only
When the caps are opened, the beetles scuttle out one remains intact, rising to its full 40 feet. The others
and swarm the characters. Each swarm has the same are not much more than crumbling half-walls and
stats as a swarm of insects (beetles), in addition piles of rubble.
to the corpse bloat infection properties (see below). Each floor of the tower has two doors: one that
Each round that the caps are open, a swarm of insects leads down (or outside, in the case of the ground
emerges from each of the pits. Each swarm persists for floor), and one that opens onto a staircase up to the
three rounds, and then disperses as the beetles scatter. next floor.
Carried by the carrion beetles that feast on the When the characters enter this area, read the
undead in the halls of the Labyrinth, corpse bloat following:
causes a variety of undesirable symptoms as the
disease worsens.
13
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
The tunnel opens up to the closest approximation of
a room you’ve seen so far in this twisting labyrinth.
Several wide towers, twenty to thirty feet in diameter,
dot the space before you. Most have collapsed in on
themselves, the rough, sloping ceiling knocking them
into little more than piles of rubble with a vaguely
circular shape. One tower, however, stands to its full
height, rising over forty feet tall in the center of the
ruins. A musty and slightly sweet scent hangs in the
stagnant air.
If the characters approach the central tower from
the north, they discover a skeleton 5 feet from the
base of the tower, clothed in the remnants of white
silk robes.
After a few minutes of exploring, or when the
characters approach within 10 feet of the central tower
(possibly to inspect the skeleton), characters with a
passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or higher
hear the yelling and clanging of metal—the sounds of
combat—from within the central tower.
Tower of Silence: Floor 1
When the characters first enter this room, read the
following:
The ground floor of this tower is an open room, with
a staircase running along the wall up to the second
story. The room features a large, decaying rug in
whites and golds spread across the floor. A white
marble statue of a woman in plate armor, holding
a sword and shield featuring a sunburst smiles
benevolently down at the room from the far wall.
Three individuals—a human, a halfling, and a half-
elf—are panting. The remains of a horde of skeleton
warriors are scattered around them.
A DC 18 Intelligence (Religion or History) check
reveals this is a statue of Aurelia, one of the dead gods
of Etharis.
The three adventurers greet the characters warmly
as soon as they see the characters are not more
monsters to fight. They laugh as the kick the now-
lifeless skeletons sprawled on the ground, as the
undead apparently got the jump on them from the
floor above. These adventurers are from Raevo, a
country to the north of the Ostoyan Empire, hostile to
all Ostoyans.
14
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
The Raevans From Left to Right: Analise Narn, Krin
Everburrow, Dorra Malar
A member of the Crownbreakers and the
leader of this trio, Dorra Malar (CG, female 15
human veteran) is a wide-set human with
pale skin and a shaved head covered in
intricate tattoos—the sign of her faction.
Brusque and no-nonsense, Dorra is
nonetheless affable and friendly enough
when the job is done and everyone is
sitting around a campfire with a good
meal. She is originally from Raevo but has
spent the past few years in Nov Ostoya
working with the Crownbreakers to
unseat the vampires. More recently, she
ended up in Raevo after a job gone wrong.
There she met Krin and Analise, and the
two adventurers pledged to join Dorra on
her quest. Dorra is here to find an artifact
called Aurelia’s Tears (see appendix B) and
then she makes her way to Lunsk and then
Nov Ostoya with all haste. In addition to the
gear provided to her by her stat block, Dorra
carries a dungeoneer’s pack, a pouch with 1,200
gp worth of gold, platinum, and electrum, a map
of the Soman wilderness, and a key for the door
that leads out of the Towers of Silence chamber
and into the Boneways.
Flirtatious and quick with a jab or joke, Krin
Everburrow (NG, nonbinary halfling spy) is the
life of this proverbial party. Krin joined up with
Dorra and Analise for the chance at gold, glory,
and derring-do. One noble lord is much like
another to Krin, whether they’re draining your
lifeblood literally or metaphorically, and they
simply want a chance to shake things up and
leave their mark on the world. Krin was raised in
Raevo and considers most Somans to be vampire-
loving lapdogs, though she promised Dorra not
to say so out loud on this side of the border. In
addition to the gear afforded to them by their stat
block, Krin also carries ten days’ worth of rations,
a pouch with 50 gp, a set of thieves’ tools, and a
burglar’s pack.
Quiet yet confident, Analise Narn (NG, female
half-elf mage with 20 hit points and no spells
over 3rd level) takes herself and her job seriously,
though she’s not without a sense of humor. She
studied at the Ravencourt Sanctuary in Raevo and
prides herself on her arcane skills and knowledge.
She’s not an official member of the Crownbreakers
but is nearly as fanatical as Dorra in her desire to see
the vampires of Soma dethroned and destroyed.
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
Floor 1 Analise speaks with a bit of an accent, and a
character can make a DC 13 Intelligence (History)
Floor 2 check to identify it as Raevan. She carries ten days’
worth of rations, her spellbook, and a scholar’s pack.
16 All three claim to be Soman to escape scrutiny or
accusations of being enemy spies, but only Dorra
has spent any length of time on the Soman side
of the border, and there are gaps in their story if
the characters press too hard. After exchanging
pleasantries, if the characters were not aggressive
or antagonistic, the Raevans tell the characters they
are in the Labyrinth searching for an item called
Aurelia’s Tears that their intel said was somewhere in
this tower. Aurelia’s Tears is a pendant that had been
worn by a high priest in the city prior to its fall, and
they think it is likely in the vault room below, where
his belongings would have been placed before his
body was prepared for exposure to the elements. If
the characters are unfriendly, the Raevans tell them
as little as possible, and pay them no mind unless the
characters actively hinder them.
The Raevans don’t immediately tell the characters
that their ultimate goal is to reach Nov Ostoya, to help
overthrow the vampire lords there. Aurelia’s Tears
is an ancient artifact made to ward away undead.
Unknown to the Raevans, the item is actually on the
roof of the tower, where the priest and several of
his acolytes were laying a body to rest when the city
sunk beneath the earth. The carrion beetle holds were
triggered by the disaster, and the acolytes were eaten
alive. If pressed, the Raevans say they’re adventurers
from Nov Ostoya out hunting for gold and glory.
They are clearly happy to see another party, since
it’s rather lonely (and dangerous) underground
with only the undead for company. If the characters
help the Raevans find Aurelia’s Tears, the Raevans
remain friendly and lead them through the rest of the
Labyrinth, meaning the characters no longer need to
make Wisdom (Survival) checks to navigate through
the complex.
Tower of Silence: Floor 2
This level holds a hallway with an open doorway on
either side. The stairway continues upward.
When the characters enter the northern chamber, read
the following:
This chamber is dominated by an eight-foot-long
ceremonial altar, adorned with carvings and inlays in
a sun motif. Cabinets hang on the walls behind the
altar, carved with the same sun motif and accented by
carvings of beetles.
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
The southern chamber is identical to the northern Floor 3
chamber, with the addition of:
Roof
A long-desiccated body is laid on the altar here, still in
its clothes. 17
The body is that of a citizen of the ancient city,
forever awaiting its last rites. These rooms were
used to prepare the bodies before taking them to the
rooftop. The high priest and his acolytes removed
the clothing and belongings, then cleaned the body,
anointed it with oils, and intoned prayers, burning
incense to guide the spirit away from the body and
into the afterlife.
Treasure. The cabinets along the walls in each
room hold ten vials of various scented oils, five uses
of powdered incense and charcoal, two flasks of holy
water, a brass censer with an etched sun motif worth
15 gp, and a knife with a white ivory handle and a
gold blade worth 10 gp. A gold ewer and basin worth
25 gp total sits on a side table in each room.
Tower of Silence: Floor 3
This level is one large open room, with curved cabinets
along the far wall, a collapsed desk, and a rug that was
likely once fine but is now not much more than fraying
threads. The stairway continues upward.
This level holds the vaults. The Raevans expect to find
Aurelia’s Tears here. Tall cabinets with drawers, each
drawer with a lock, hold the clothing and valuables of
those who came through the tower until their loved
ones arrived to claim the belongings. Of the fifteen
drawers, eight are locked, and the rest are empty.
The corpse of the high priest on the roof has a key
that fits these locks. A successful DC 14 Dexterity
check is required to pick the locks, or the drawers
can be broken open with a successful DC 16 Strength
check. Any of the mundane clothing found within the
drawers is too decayed to be usable and falls apart if
any of the characters try to put it on.
Treasure. The eight drawers reveal the following:
• Drawer 1: Red silk robes that crumble to dust when
anyone touches them and a pouch with 10 sp. The
coins bear a rough stamp of a sun on one side and a
profile of a man on the other. None of the characters
recognize the man on the coins. He is ruler of this
ruined realm, long forgotten.
• Drawer 2: Leather boots stiffened from age, ancient
cotton pants and shirt, and a copper necklace.
• Drawer 3: A leather breastplate, ancient cotton
pants and shirt, and a cloak of protection.
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
• Drawer 4: White silk robes stained with a stiff This level of the tower was used to lay bodies out
brown substance, and silk slippers. for cleaning. Each body would be laid in a recess, and
then the last acolyte to leave the rooftop would press
• Drawer 5: Black satin shoes and a black satin gown, the sun-carved panel, sealing the roof and releasing
and a pearl necklace containing 20 pearls each the carrion beetles to strip the corpses of their flesh.
worth 25 gp. Unfortunately, when the city was drawn
underground, the high priest and his acolytes were
• Drawer 6: A white cotton dressing gown. in the process of placing a corpse on the roof. One
• Drawer 7: Leather shoes, cotton pants and stumbled into the pressure plate, releasing the
beetles when the group was still on the roof. They
shirt, and a leather arm band embossed with a were all eaten alive, save for one panicked acolyte
beetle motif. who flung himself from the top of the tower in a
• Drawer 8: Leather shoes, cotton pants and a shirt, desperate attempt to escape the beetles. The four
and a leather pouch containing humanoid bones skeletons sprawled near the stairs belong to the high
of various shapes and sizes: ten teeth (six molars, priest and the remaining three acolytes. A successful
two incisors, two canines), five finger bones, and DC 14 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals that these
a patella. people likely fell while fleeing from something and
trying to reach the stairs. If the check was made with
Tower of Silence: Roof an 18 or higher, or a successful DC 18 Intelligence
(Investigation) check, the characters discover several
When the characters reach this level, read the crushed and desiccated carrion beetles beneath and
following: within the skeletons.
Six of the eight recesses in the floor contain
Stone walls roughly three feet tall ring the entire roof. skeletons that had been laid to rest by the acolytes and
From where you stand, you can see eight ovoid recesses high priest. They were stripped of their belongings
in the floor, a few of which appear to have something before being brought to the rooftop and contain
within them. An empty leather and metal litter lies nothing of material interest.
beside one of the occupied recesses. Treasure. Searching the corpses of the high priest
The floor is a stunning mosaic in swirling tiles of and his acolytes yields four gold necklaces with
yellow, white, and burnt umber, all dulled by a thick symbols of Aurelia, three gold rings etched with a
layer of dust and dirt. Several skeletons sprawl on the sun motif, and a thumb-sized gold vial filled with
floor near the stairs, their limbs splayed and their open holy water strung on a gold chain: Aurelia’s Tears (see
mouths frozen in a silent scream. A one-foot-square appendix B). A DC 18 Intelligence (Investigation)
stone panel is inlaid in the wall near the stairs, with a check also reveals a small key beneath the body of the
carved depiction of the sun. high priest. The key fits the vault drawers on floor 3.
If the characters have been friendly to the Raevans
The sun-carved stone panel is a pressure plate. When and expressed anti-vampire sentiment, the Raevans
a character presses the plate, the trapdoor to the explain what they know about Aurelia’s Tears:
stairs slides shut immediately. Two rounds later, According to Raevan legend, this divine item can
10 swarms of carrion beetles pour from openings shed a radiant halo of sunlight, and one drop of
arrayed around the rooftop. These are the same liquid from the item placed on the forehead of an
carrion beetles the characters potentially encountered undead creature can cleanse it of its curse, rendering
in the brooding pits. Each swarm has the same stats it a lifeless corpse. They’re unsure of the effect it
as a swarm of insects (beetles), in addition to the would have on an undead as powerful as a vampire
corpse bloat infection properties. If left alone, the lord, but they’re confident it will make a difference
beetles swarm and devour everything on the rooftop in their land. If the characters refuse to hand Aurelia’s
over the course of the next twelve hours, then return Tears over to the Raevans, the Raevans become
to their tunnels. The sliding door at the top of the hostile and fight until the characters are dead or have
stairs remains shut for 24 hours, before automatically surrendered the item.
sliding open again. A character proficient with
thieves’ tools can attempt to trip the mechanism Traveling Onward
behind the pressure plate to reopen the door to the
stairs with a successful DC 17 Dexterity check. While Once the Raevans have Aurelia’s Tears, they have no
this action reopens the door, it does not return the reason to linger here and descend the tower and leave
beetles to their tunnels. this area completely. There is a passage at the far end
of the vast cavern which holds the Towers of Silence.
18
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
The passage is barred by a heavy, locked stone door Along the lintels, pelvic bones form flowing,
inscribed with a sun sigil—not unlike doors that the undulating designs that carry the eye further down the
characters saw in the Penumbral Vestibule in episode passage. The floors are cobblestone and studded with
1. The Raevan Dorra Malar has the key and opens the swirling patterns created by teeth and carpal bones.
door for the characters if she is with them. Otherwise, Partway down the hallway, you see what appears to be
it requires a successful DC 13 Dexterity check with a window or opening sealed over with stones.
thieves’ tools to pick the lock or a successful DC 18
Strength check to force it open. Once the city streets, the Boneways are now a maze
of dereliction and ruin. The seismic tremors which
Labyrinth Region 2: revealed the Labyrinth to the surface world also
The Boneways reduced much of it to rubble. Fallen buildings block
passageways, and the streets occasionally intersect
When the characters step through the door from the with the sewers, shoved up from below by the calamity
Towers of Silence, read the following: that swallowed the city.
Instead of a cramped and rough-hewn tunnel, a broad Navigating the Boneways
passageway spanning twenty-five feet wide and fifteen
feet tall to your left and right. The walls here are made One of the characters must make a successful DC 15
of stone and bones, but not in a haphazard fashion. Wisdom (Survival) check at the start of each hour
These walls were carefully and lovingly constructed, of travel to find a way through the twisting streets
with the skulls and other bones forming intricate of the Boneways. They must succeed four times in
patterns and mosaics along the walls. Skulls are order to find the exit to the Boneways (see “Labyrinth
surrounded by sunbursts created by fibulas, radiuses, Region 4: The Distal Door,” later in this chapter).
and ulnas, interconnected by delicate, lacelike designs However, after succeeding twice, they find the
composed of fingerbones and ribs. entrance to Labyrinth Region 3: The Sewers (see later
in this chapter).
19
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
On a failed Wisdom (Survival) check, the characters creatures walk the Boneways and can be found alone
reach a dead end street with a single collapsed house. or in small groups, meticulously inserting bones into
They can turn around and make another check to gaps in the masonry or filing down broken bits of
keep exploring. However—if they break into a dead- stone. In a few cases, their directives have degraded
end house (see “Collapsed Houses,” later in this over the centuries, leading them to “fix” things that
section), they find that it has collapsed in the back, aren’t broken. Many of the windows and doors of the
and continues to another road. Exploring a house in homes here have been filled in with layers of stone
this way turns a failure into a success. and bone, all but cemented shut. Some of the skeletons
With Raevan Aid. If the characters are are so worn down by time they lack feet or even legs,
accompanied by the Raevans, they do not need pulling themselves along by their hands to fix what
to make ability checks to navigate the Boneways. issues they can still reach.
Instead, Dorra and the others lead them through the
twisting and broken thoroughfares, past destroyed Helping Hand
homes and broken buildings made of stone and bone.
It takes them four hours to navigate to the Ossuesque One remnant undead is little more than a skeletal
Ballroom (below) with the help of the Raevans. hand. When the characters come across this tiny
undead, it is holding a tooth between its pointer
Remnant Undead finger and thumb, pressing itself futilely upward
with its other fingers in an attempt to reach a small
Periodically throughout the Boneways, the characters hole halfway up the wall. If the characters help it and
come across skeletons wandering the halls. These insert the tooth in the appropriate hole in the wall,
undead are remnants of the city’s once-thriving the skeletal hand jumps up and down in excitement
necromancy-centric society. The skeletons pay no then skitters off down the hallway. If the characters
attention to the characters, acknowledging their do not immediately follow it, it stops, skitters back
presence only if the characters physically interact toward them, then skitters away again a bit slower,
with them. Even then, the skeletons merely attempt to prompting them to follow. If the characters still do
move around whatever impedes their progress. not follow, it repeats this behavior three times before
The skeletons continue the tasks they were given finally giving up and skittering away to its next task.
before the city fell: repair and reconstruction of any If the characters follow the hand, it leads them
damaged structures. Little more than automata, these down a winding corridor to another house. This
house has been almost entirely sealed up, but an
iron rod protrudes from a portion of the stone-sealed
doorway, about halfway up. The hand gestures madly
to the rod. The end of the rod resembles a bull and has
a button on the side. The rod is an immovable rod, and
the hand needs the characters to remove it so it can
finish its job “fixing” this door.
Gustav and the Hand. If the characters brought
along the companion skull Gustav from the Ditches
in episode 1, she takes a shine to this little hand and
incorporates it into her body. Gustav gains a walking
speed of 15 feet, and the ability to cast the mage hand
spell at will.
Collapsed Houses
Most of the homes along what are now the Boneways
have collapsed or been sealed shut by the overzealous
undead. Each wall and stone-sealed door is a foot
thick. If the characters attempt to break into any of
these structures, the walls and stone-sealed doors
have an AC of 15, 100 hit points, and are immune to
poison and psychic damage. Whether the characters
are successful at penetrating the structure or not, roll
on the following table or choose one result.
20
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
Breaking into Collapsed Houses One character must make a DC 18 Wisdom (Survival)
check to navigate the sewers. On a success, they reach
d12 Result the Ossuesque Ballroom after only 2 hours. On a
failure, they reach it after 4 hours. And on a failure
1–4 1d4 skeletons arrive to stop the characters. by 5 or more, their utterly lost wanderings take them
5–9 When characters reduce the wall or door to 0 hit 8 hours—and return them to the sewer entrance, not
the ballroom.
points, the structure collapses. The character(s)
breaking them must succeed on a DC 14 Dexterity The Cistern
saving throw or take 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage.
10–12 1d4 catacomb haunts (see appendix A) are drawn The characters wander down here for half the time
by the noise and attack the party. indicated by their Wisdom (Survival) check before the
tunnels open up to a cistern room.
If the characters persist and enter the house, they find
the following: The ceiling in this room arches overhead to nearly fifty
feet tall. In the center of the ceiling a funnel-shaped
Within the Collapsed Houses metal tube descends to a thirty-foot-tall stone cistern
d20 Result in the center of this room. Four shadowy, wraithlike
figures emerge from within the cistern wall and rush
1-15 Ruin and broken furniture. toward you.
16-19 A few skeletons (the dead-dead kind, not the The four wraithlike figures are catacomb haunts
undead kind) of the home’s former occupants, plus (see appendix A) and they immediately attack the
ruin and broken furniture. characters.
Empty Cistern. If the characters investigate the
20 Ruin and broken furniture. With a successful DC cistern, they find it empty of water but filled with
18 Intelligence (Investigation) check, they find an hundreds of skeletal remains. When vampires took
ancient jewelry box with a matching gold necklace, over the Necropolis in ancient times, the bodies of
ring, and earring set featuring an etched sun motif, citizens who perished in the fall were washed to the
worth 100 gp total. cistern to collect in a mass grave.
An arched doorway leads out of this room and
Labyrinth Region 3: back into sewer tunnels. The characters travel for
The Sewers another hour before the tunnel ends at a closed and
rusted grate. The grate can be forced open with a
Partway down one of the bone-lined avenues, a rusted successful DC 13 Strength check. To the right is an
grate thrusts up at an odd angle through the floor entrance back into the Boneways, to the left is a
and wall. The bone and stone around it is broken collapsed thoroughfare, and directly across from them
and splintered; it’s obvious this was not purposefully is a passage that puts them back on the route to the
constructed in this fashion. If the Raevans are with the Ossuesque Ballroom.
characters, they truthfully claim they know nothing
about the passageway and suggest sticking to the The Ossuesque Ballroom
known route. The tunnel is 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall.
The characters can continue down the Boneways A once-opulent mansion collapsed from the
or investigate the sewers. The sewers cut beneath the Boneways and into the Sewers during the Darkfall’s
streets of the Boneways, leading to their own broken, seismic disturbance.
mazelike corridors. It eventually leads them out near To proceed, the characters must cut through this
the Ossuesque Ballroom. building and out the front door. This hall of decaying
If the characters explore the sewers, read the finery takes the characters through a grand ballroom,
following: decorated in an ossuary style befitting this city.
When the characters enter this area, read the
The walls of this tunnel are solid, mortared stone, with following:
barely a bone to be seen—except, every twenty feet or
so, set into the wall at head height, opened-mouthed
skulls vomit streams of black, foul-smelling water into
runnels on the floor. The ground is slick with mold and
muck. The putrid stench gets stronger the deeper you
go, and the sound of skittering echoes from everywhere
and nowhere.
21
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
Through the dust and the destruction, you can see the
remains of a grand room. Ceilings inlaid with delicate
fillagree rise twenty feet, though their angle is now a
bit off-kilter. A huge, elaborate chandelier hangs above
you, made entirely of bones adorned with faceted
crystals that still glow softly in the gloom, throwing
strange shadows across the floor and walls. Dirty,
fraying tapestries hang at odd angles, and the floor is
dust-covered marble.
At the far end of the room, a smaller chandelier
has fallen. A gaunt figure in flowing purple robes stands
beside the fallen chandelier, inspecting it.
The figure is the Bonemonger—another guise of
the shapeshifting Nightseer Sage. Nearly skeletal in
appearance, he’s tall for a human and abnormally
thin. When he smiles, his lips pull back from his
yellowing teeth in a skull-like rictus. The Bonemonger
is here to make sure the characters know their
ultimate destination: Nov Ostoya to seek out the
Nightseer Sage.
Roleplaying the Bonemonger
In this guise, the Nightseer Sage talks in circles and
meandering tales that take longer than necessary
to get to the point. The Bonemonger desires a bone
from one or more of the characters and is willing
to exchange information and insight for each bone.
The fresher and “better” the bone, the better the
information. “Better” meaning bigger and more
vital, though he declines to take a bone whose loss
will incapacitate the character (a vertebrae or pelvis,
for example). If the characters offer him one of the
old bones they found lying around the labyrinth, he
initially refuses them, insisting he needs something
“fresher”—a bone from one of the characters.
The Raevans flat-out refuse to offer up a bone
to this strange being, though the Bonemason will
accept a bone offered unwillingly, if the characters
incapacitate or kill the Raevans.. If the characters
consider giving him one of their bones, he insists he
can painlessly remove whatever bone they so choose
to part with. If given his choice of bone, he claims a
rib and reaches his hand directly into the character’s
body to remove it.
The sensation is strange, though the character
takes no damage and suffers no ill effects. If the
characters refuse to give him a bone from their bodies,
he despondently takes one of the hundreds of bones
lying about the chamber and sighs, "Then these will
have to do."
22
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
Based off the quality of the bone given by the Traveling Onward
characters, the Bonemonger imparts the following
information: The door at the far side of the Ossuesque Ballroom
opens into the hallway of the manor, then to the foyer.
• Any bone, even an old bone from the Labyrinth: The front doors stand closed, and, instead of leading
This is the primary advice the Nightseer Sage back out into the city streets, they open into a spiral
wishes to convey to the characters: “Don’t fret, my stairway constructed completely of bones.
grand heroes, you’re almost there. Almost free of Skulls grin out at the characters from the walls at
this dank, dark Necropolis. But while the surface every quarter turn, each with tiny glowing orbs in
promises freedom, you’ll never be safe from those their eyes to light the way.
who hunt you until you destroy their master. The only available path in this crumbling manor
Within Nov Ostoya waits the one who can guide leads to a staircase to an upper floor: the Blood
you on your path. But do not rush your way to your Fountains.
grave, again. The settlements on the surface offer
items, allies, and information that will help you on The Blood Fountains
your way, else you may find yourself under the
finger—or the fangs, ha ha!—of a vampire lord… At the top of the stairs, a massive room opens
or far, far worse. Ambulate yourself to the great before them, even more vast and imposing than the
City of Gargoyles only once you are prepared to Ossuesque Ballroom. When the characters look into
meet with he who you seek…that one called the this room, read the following:
Nightseer Sage.”
A massive room opens before you. Gothic-style
• Small bone from a character (finger, tooth, toe): archways and pillars carved to resemble stone skeletons
The above information, as well as “The door to the supporting the ceiling, and a few are statues of cloaked
surface is not so easily breached. Those who hide figures with bowed heads holding globes of light in their
their hearts, hold the key.” He also reveals, “The cupped hands. In the center of the room, a four-tiered
blood must flow to the heart. The veins are clogged fountain stands dry. A ten-foot-wide stairway descends
and must be reopened, or the key will not open the to the floor of the room, which is completely covered
door you seek.” These clues refer to the Distal Door by deep crimson blood. The resulting visual is one of
and the Blood Fountains, respectively. a creating a red mirror reflecting the archways of the
ceilings back at itself. A narrow walkway five feet wide
• Significant bone from a character (rib, femur, borders the room, and another set of stairs rises from
etc.): The above information, as well as “Seek the floor and ends at a closed door opposite you.
the Lily of the Void before your enemies do. Such
a rare and fragile flower may be the difference The door at the far end of the room opens to the final
between victory and success.” The Nightseer Sage room in the Labyrinth (see “Labyrinth Region 4: The
is cheekily referring to Liliyana “Lily” Telepsik, Distal Door,” below).
who can be found in Voyd (see “The Blossom and
Brach Apothecary” in chapter 4: Voyd and the Ruined Infrastructure
Light Hunter).
Previously, the fountain in this room fed into runnels
If the characters inquire to the Bonemonger’s in the floor to power other portions of the city,
identity, or his connection the Nightseer Sage, he including into the next room to power the locks on
laughs and says, “Ask not such prying questions. the Distal Door. At some point after the city’s fall,
An old sack of bones must have his privacy.” If they however, a blood ooze (see appendix A) manifested
threaten him, he frowns sadly and says, “Oh, and in the fountain. As it killed and consumed whatever
here I’d thought you might have learned something. creatures entered this room, the runnels became
No matter. Dust to dust, I suppose…” and crumbles clogged with bits of bone and flesh and no longer
away into dust. function properly, leading to the blood overflowing
If characters offer additional bones, feel free to add and pooling on the floor. The blood on the floor is
hints or information about their personal backstories, 2 feet deep, and beneath it lie the bones of all the
if relevant, or any information from this adventure's creatures killed by the blood ooze, and the belongings
backstory that the characters haven't grasped yet. If they left behind.
none of the characters offer a bone, the Bonemonger
looks genuinely distraught and disappointed. As the
characters exit, he yells after them “Find your way to
Nov Ostoya, lest you end up in an early grave! You’re
no use to anyone if you get yourself killed again!”
23
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
The characters must unclog the fountain in this must make a DC 16 Dexterity saving throw as the
room to progress to the surface. Characters who take masonry crumbles from beneath them. On a failure,
the time to investigate the room, or on a successful DC they fall 5 feet into the blood below and land prone.
14 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) If the character succeeded in noticing the cracked
check, notice the tops of four small archways built masonry, they can make a DC 10 Dexterity check to
into the corners of the room, mostly submerged in the attempt to leap over the fragile spot. On a failure,
blood. This is where the blood would exit this room they misjudge the distance and the masonry crumbles
through runnels in the floor spanning out from the from beneath them, and they fall 5 feet into the
fountain, though characters cannot currently see the blood below.
runnels due to the blood covering the floor (though
they can feel them if they check). The character also The Blood Ooze
notices four fonts at the top edge of the bottom tier
of the fountain, as if water or some other liquid was If the characters step into the blood or disturb the
meant to pour from them and onto the floor. surface in any way (for instance, if the above masonry
crumbles), read the following:
The Perimeter Walkway
The blood on the floor ripples out in rings like the
The characters can walk along the walkway around surface of a disturbed pond. You watch as the ripples
the perimeter of the room in an attempt to avoid travel the length of the room, rebounding off the far
stepping into the blood. If they do this, when they wall and the pillars. The ripples continue for longer
reach the halfway point of the room on the western than they should, and as you realize this, the blood
walkway, the character in the front of the marching around the fountain coagulates and pulls itself upward
order must make a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check. in the form of a viscous crimson ooze.
On a success, they notice the stone in front of them is
cracked and looks less than stable. On a failure, they
24
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
A blood ooze (see appendix A) rises up from the Once the runnels are cleared and the blood level
floor. Before it attacks the party, it uses an action to drops to 0, all that is left on the floor is puddles
draw more blood into itself from the floor, pulling of blood, scattered and broken bones, hundreds
long-forgotten bones from beneath the surface and of coins, and the stained belongings of the blood
creating a makeshift armored exoskeleton. While ooze’s victims.
the ooze is armored in this fashion, its Armor Class Treasure. Coins of all types litter the floor amid
becomes 15. If it uses its Amorphous trait to move the discarded bones and decaying clothing, armor,
through a space 1-foot wide or smaller, it sheds the and weapons left behind by former occupants of the
bone armor, and must use an action to reform the city and wayward adventurers. A character can collect
armor once it is no longer in the space. 25 gp worth of coins in a minute. With a successful
Once the blood ooze has taken 50 points of damage, DC 16 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom
the bone armor is broken to the point of being no (Perception) check, the characters also discover four
longer functional, and the ooze’s AC returns to 13. diamonds worth 100 gp each, two sapphires worth
50 gp each, and a golden necklace studded with
Unclogging the Blood Runnels rubies worth 250 gp. A successful DC 20 Intelligence
(Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check reveals
For the Distal Door in the next room to function, the a circlet of blasting beneath a rotting gown.
runnels in this room must be unclogged to allow the
blood to flow. The characters unclog each runnel Labyrinth Region 4: The
pulling out chunks of bone and half-rotted flesh from Distal Door
the 1-foot-diameter channels. Unaided, it takes a
character 10 minutes to unclog one runnel. Once each The door from the blood fountains opens into this
runnel is cleared, the blood begins to flow out of the room. If the characters didn’t meet the Bonemonger
room and the fountain sputters to life. After all four in the Ossuesque Ballroom (earlier in this chapter), he
runnels are cleared, the fountain flows freely again, is present here instead. When the characters enter this
and the blood level lowers by six inches per round room, read the following:
until the floor is cleared in 4 rounds.
A narrow corridor, roughly twenty feet wide and forty
feet long, stands before you. The walls on either side
are adorned with carvings of skeletons, like everything
else in this place, each wrapped in a robe with one
hand over their heart and the other raised as if
in greeting.
Overshadowing these carvings is an elaborate door
at the end of the room: Fifteen feet tall, this stone
double door is carved with lifelike writhing skeletons
and gaunt corpses, with a blazing sun at the top
bisected by the millimeter-thin gap between the doors.
The figures on the door look to be either worshiping the
sun or cowering from it, but with their rictus faces, it is
unclear. There is no doorknob, but at roughly five feet
up the doors you see four skeletal hands inlaid in the
stone, their palms facing outward toward you.
There are two hands on each door, and each of them
has their fingers arranged in a different sign. Skeletal
figures flank the door, two on either side, one hand over
their heart and the other raised.
25
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
If the characters cleared the runnels in the previous pinky and ring finger raised, and the bottom right
room and restarted the fountain, two runnels run hand has only the thumb raised.
along the left- and right-hand walls, beneath the Hidden in Plain Sight. The skeletons along the
robed skeletons and enter the far wall on either side walls provide the answer to the puzzle. On the left-
of the door. hand side of the door, the skeleton on the far left has
Activating the Fountains. If the characters have all five fingers raised, and the skeleton on the near left
not activated the fountain in the previous room, has its pinky and forefinger raised. On the right-hand
the runnels are dry, and the door will not open wall, the skeleton to the near right has its pinky, ring
regardless the combination they try. A character finger, and forefinger raised, and the skeleton on the
that makes a successful DC 13 Intelligence check far right has its forefinger and middle finger raised.
realizes that the mechanism is dry, in need some The hands on the door must be arranged in
sort of lubrication, and that there must be a method this order:
nearby. If the Raevans are with the characters,
Dorra becomes angry, since she was not told about • Top left: all five fingers raised
needing a combination to exit through the door here. • Bottom left: pinky and forefinger raised
The door opened easily from the outside, but the • Bottom right: pinky, ring finger, and
Necropolis is not so willing to give up its souls, dead
or otherwise. forefinger raised
Hands of Fate. The four skeletal hands on the • Top right: forefinger and middle finger raised
door can be manipulated, and the characters can
lower and raise the individual fingers in order to When the proper combination is entered and the
input the proper combination. blood runnels are flowing, the door clunks loudly
Currently, the skeletal hands are arranged thusly: once, then twice, and then swings ponderously
The top left hand has the thumb and forefinger raised, outward away from the characters. A dark stone
the bottom left hand has forefinger, middle finger, staircase covered in dead leaves and twisting vines
and ring finger raised, the top right hand has the leads upward. The characters feel a breeze as fresh air
blows in through the open door.
Once the characters walk up the stairs, read the
following:
26
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
A breeze blows through your hair and the trees rustle In Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest (chapter 2), two
in the wind as if pleased at your arrival. The air smells main quests await them. The mayor of the city wants
damp and fresh, filled with the scent of pine and dead the aglæcwif, the monster beneath the lake, killed.
leaves, and it’s the best thing you’ve smelled in days. Within the Stillborn Forest, a dryad has become
Finally, after all your traveling, you’ve reached the corrupted by the eternally dark sky and fallen to
surface. But what comes next? The voice you heard in despair. Both quests offer multiple ways to resolve the
your mind after waking from you fateful confrontation issues and provide magic items or other aid for the
with the lich, and the strange prophesies you’ve characters depending on which path they choose.
encountered since then echo in your mind. Riven (chapter 3) is a thriving town of muck and
mud. Here, a poor soul has been transformed by a
Exploring Soma curse levied by the hags in the Black Mire on behalf of
a spurned lover. The characters can kill the creature or
The rest of this adventure in a nonlinear, sandbox- cure him—the latter requires a visit to the hags in the
style exploration. The three settlements in this mire, as well as a potentially deadly quest to acquire
chapter can be visited in any order, and each one a rare item: three hairs from the head of the vampire
holds potential allies, items, or information to aid the who rules the town. As in Lunsk, the characters can
characters once they arrive in Nov Ostoya. As the attempt to talk their way through the conflict or resort
Bonemonger said, rushing straight to Nov Ostoya is to violence, allying themselves with the hags, the
a path to ruin. If the characters are dead set on this vampire, both, or neither.
foolhardy course of action, you can allow them to face Voyd (chapter 4) is the most cosmopolitan city of
the consequences of their action by entering episode 5 the three, and the home of the “Lily of the Void” the
of this Fable underprepared—or you can use weather, Nightseer Sage referenced—Liliyana “Lily” Telepsik,
monsters, or vampire guard patrols to push the a healer with a spark of sunlight in her soul. The
characters towards a nearby settlement. characters can ally with her and can face down a light
hunter if they choose, potentially diminishing Kasimir
Sundrinker’s retinue by one.
27
4.1: Escape from the Labyrinth
Chapter 2:
Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
For characters of 7th or 8th level
Lunsk provides lumber, meat, and fur to the rest of Soma (shipped across the lake
or downriver to the sea and around to Nov Ostoya), as well as being a waypoint for
shipments from the Burrowfell Mines. The miners of Lunsk spend a week or two
working in the mining camp before heading home between shifts. The Stillborn
Forest that surrounds Glasswater Lake and the city is the source of Lunsk’s fortune
and its sorrows, as the untamed wilderness presents constant threats.
30
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
The Road to Lunsk From Voyd: If the characters are traveling to Lunsk
from Voyd, they travel via road up through the
Depending on how your party approaches Lunsk, southeastern portion of the Stillborn Forest (later in
their experience may vary slightly. this chapter), arriving on the south side of the city.
From the Distal Door The Upper Tithewater
If the Raevans still accompany the characters when The northern portion of the Tithewater River feeds
they reach the surface, the three spend a moment into Glasswater Lake. The river runs quick and deep
conferring over a map of the Ostoyan wilderness. and spans nearly 150 feet across. A stone and timber
According to their map, the Distal Door opens north bridge crosses the Upper Tithewater at the Miner’s
of Glasswater Lake, and they have business in Lunsk. Respite Inn, offering easy crossing for pedestrians and
If the characters wish to accompany them a little wagons alike.
bit longer, the Raevans can guide the group to the Read or paraphrase the following to introduce the
Miner’s Respite Inn for much-needed rest and a hot characters to Lunsk as they approach:
meal. If the characters want to travel to another town,
the Raevans can point them in the proper direction, The night-black waters of the river run fast, swirling
and then the two groups part ways. and burbling around the bridge’s stone piles. To
If the Raevans are not with the characters, the forest the north, it winds its way into the darkness of the
seems dark and impenetrable until characters with forest. To the south, it empties into a vast lake. In the
a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 12 or higher distance, on the far shore of the lake, you spy the faint
hears the sounds of hoofbeats and wagon wheels. red and gold lights of a town.
If the characters investigate the sound, they find a
wagon being drawn by two horses, with a driver in Miner’s Respite Inn
the front and two passengers sitting on the back. It
appears to be heavily laden with a covered payload North of Glasswater Lake is the Miner’s Respite
and is lit with red-glass lamps. If the characters have Inn, tucked between the western side of the Upper
a visible light, the miner driving the wagon bellows Tithewater and Old Burrowfell Mine Road. Here, a
at the characters for being fools and commands ferry transports goods and miners across the lake to
them to douse their light lest they draw unwanted Lunsk, and carts filled with ore stop to rest before
attention. The wagon is headed to the Miner’s Respite heading east to the rest of Soma. The inn is a simple
Inn, another thirty minutes or so travel east along affair: a two-story square building of stone and
the road. If the characters join the miners, they are timber, with a common room downstairs and small
friendly enough and engage in small talk unless the rooms for rent above. A stable behind the inn locks up
characters make it obvious they do not wish to engage tightly to keep the horses safe from prowling denizens
in conversation. of the Stillborn Forest. The exterior lighting is filtered
The characters can follow the road—called Old through tinted red glass, casting a strange, eerie pallor
Burrowfell Mine Road west of the Tithewater and over this refuge.
known as the Great Road to the east—west to the
Miner’s Respite Inn, or east to the rolling fields Miner’s Respite Inn Menu
of Soma and eventually northeast to Riven or Food and Drink
southeast to Voyd.
Ale 2 cp (mug)
From Elsewhere in Soma
Rabbit Stew with a Heel of Bread 3 cp
If your characters traveled elsewhere in Soma before
journeying to Lunsk, they likely have a better idea of Three Eggs, Three Rashers of Bacon, and Bread 2 cp
where they are and where they’re going. If they need
help, introduce a cart of miners or merchants traveling Lodging 5 cp/night
from one of the other cities who can guide them. 8 cp/night
From Riven: If the characters ventured to Riven Room (1 single bed)
before heading to Lunsk, they travel via road Room (2 single beds)
across the plains of Soma and eventually arrive
at the Miner’s Respite Inn (below), north of
Glasswater Lake.
31
4.2: Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
The red-hued light draws less attention from at the back of the boat, powered by a small but stout
animals or predators from the forest and is less likely donkey, propels the ferry across the still, black waters
to spoil the night vision of those traveling the roads. of the lake.
Inside, the light is kept low; the brightest source of If the characters arrive for the noon ferry, there
light in the common room is the fire in the hearth on is room enough room for the characters and the
the far side, though even that has a red-glass screen Raevans, but otherwise it is full, with two carts
before it to filter the light, making it less harsh on and miners already on board. On the trip across
the eyes. Glasswater, Dorra keeps her hood up over her head
The result is a heavily shadowed common room, and glowers at any miners who look her way, Krin
where patrons talk in low voices and cast suspicious chats up everyone she can, and Analise finds the
eyes at newcomers. mechanism that power the ferry fascinating, asking
The Miner’s Respite Inn is owned and operated by Korren incessant questions about its operation
Korren Ferryman (LG, male human commoner) and and upkeep.
his husband, Lennox (NG, male human commoner), Halfway across the lake, the Korren slows the
who also own and operate the ferry between here and ferry and shouts to the miners to “pay the tithe.”
Lunsk. The inn and ferry have been in Korren’s family Two miners haul a large, wrapped bundle from one
for generations, and he has a fierce pride and loyalty of the ore carts. When they unwrap it, the characters
to his family’s business. Korren operates the ferry see a carcass of a deer with sacks of ore tied to its
during the day, while Lennox runs the inn. legs. The miners push the whole thing overboard,
If the Raevans are with the group, they inquire and the carcass quickly sinks below the dark water.
about the next ferry to Lunsk. The next ferry isn’t A character who succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom
leaving until noon the next day, so the Raevans settle (Perception) check sees the dark form of a large
down for a meal and then retire early to one room humanoid with flowing black hair and oversized,
shared by the three of them. If the characters have glinting eyes swim up from the darkness, wrap long
been friendly, the Raevans have no qualms about fingers around the carcass, and then disappear with
sharing a table and conversation. Otherwise they find its prize into the deep.
a corner booth and talk among themselves. If asked, Korren or the miners explain that a
From here, the characters have two choices in creature known as “the aglæcwif” lives within the
heading to Lunsk. They can pay for passage on Glasswater and allows the ferry safe passage only if
Korren’s ferry, or travel by foot around the lake they offer a tithe to sate it. Meat is its favorite, but it
through the Stillborn Forest. The ferry is more accepts all sorts of valuable items. Those who skirt
expensive, but the quicker and far safer option. the tithe or offer something paltry in an attempt to
Traveling by foot would take at least two days, and cheat the aglæcwif quickly find themselves drowned
the forest is dangerous to those who are not familiar and eaten.
with the creatures and hazards within it. The lights of Lunsk can be seen from across the
lake, both red-tinted lamps and windows and the
Korren’s Ferry brighter flickering orange yellow of torchlight,
reflecting off the mirrorlike surface of the Glasswater.
If the characters take Korren’s ferry to Lunsk, he
charges them 5 gold each for the privilege. He charges The aglæcwif
the miners and other locals 2 copper each, plus a
silver per cart (horses included), but he requires A fabled troll-like creature, aglæcwivs have skin that ranges
outsiders pay extra to offset the cost of the tithe to in hue from deep brown to green to sickly white. Their hair
the aglæcwif. The ferry makes one trip to Lunsk is similarly varied, appearing in any color found in humans
and back per day, at noon. Bribing, intimidating, or and occasionally shades of green. Some say aglæcwivs are
otherwise coercing Korren into traveling at any other the result of humans procreating with trolls, while others
time requires the characters to provide a tithe to the think they’re simply an intelligent form of troll-kin, and
aglæcwif (see below), and to roleplay a persuasive still others claim they’re the twisted offspring of hags. For
verbal argument (or to make a successful DC 20 more information on the aglæcwif within the Glasswater, see
Charisma check). The tithe must equal a deer’s worth “Glasswater Lake” later in this chapter, and appendix A for its
of meat or an item worth at least 100 gp. The ferry is a stat block.
wide, flat boat, roughly 15 feet wide and 25 feet long,
that can fit two full ore carts and their horses, as well
as up to ten passengers plus Korren. A water wheel
32
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
Around the Lake shadows toward the town. The creature rarely makes
it past the guard and often flees back into the woods
If the characters decide to walk to Lunsk, they must when it realizes it won’t find an easy meal here.
travel through the Stillborn Forest, which takes three Lunsk is not free from the rule of the vampires,
days and two nights. A small wagon track follows though none make their home in the city. It’s far
the east side of the lake, never far out of sight of the too backwater for the vampire lords to deign to set
water. If the characters spent time at the Miner’s foot here. Instead, they send thralls or vampires of
Respite Inn prior to taking this route, Korren or lower rank to the town monthly to collect taxes and
Lennox warn them not to disturb the water unless maintain the vampire lords’ interests. The citizens
they are prepared to pay the tithe. meet the arrival of these officials from Nov Ostoya
Each day the characters are in the Stillborn Forest, with a smile in public, but everyone—including the
roll a d20. On a 17 or higher, they are attacked by mayor—grumbles about the tithe behind tightly
a pack of five dire wolves. The characters notice closed doors.
the wolves have an unusually feral look: their eyes
don’t quite focus on what they’re attacking, and their Arriving in Lunsk
actions are erratic, as if spurred on by desperation.
If the characters kill the wolves and investigate the In Lunsk, the characters have the opportunity
corpses, they discover strange black veins in the to secure a map of Nov Ostoya and a letter of
wolves’ eyes, gums, and inside their ears. They’re introduction to a vampire lord. A trader in town can
unable to determine the cause, but it resembles a get them to the gates of Nov Ostoya by boat, provided
disease or infection. If they bring the corpses to Lunsk they return in three weeks’ (or six weeks’) time.
with them, they are directed to Lilah Rosgren and If the characters ask about a “Lily of the Void,” the
Silva Bowen at the Tithewater Tavern. After one citizens of Lunsk say they don’t have an herbalist, and
attack by the wolves, do not roll again. to try one of the other townships in Soma.
If characters are not attacked by the wolves, they
pass long, stressful nights in the forest, with the sound The Docks
of howling and snarling echoing through the trees
around them. The docks of Lunsk span the edge of the Glasswater
The characters arrive in Lunsk from the east. The as well as the eastern banks of the Lower Tithewater
first sign of civilization they encounter is a watchfire river that travels south to empty into the bay and then
with three guards stationed 100 yards or so away the Great Eastern Sea. If the characters arrived by
from the edge of town. The guards stand facing ferry, dockhands are waiting as the boat moors and
the forest with the watchfire at their back, and they are quick to help unload and send Korren on his way,
immediately tense up when they spot the characters. with only one passenger making the trip back across
Once it is apparent the characters aren’t threats— the Glasswater.
mostly because they’re not feral beasts—the guards The Raevans take their leave of the characters
warn them about straying in the Stillborn Forest and here, claiming business elsewhere in the city. They
direct them to the Tithewater Tavern for a bed and are meeting with a contact of Dorra’s: Ceris Rhaz, a
a hot meal. Crownbreaker sympathizer who has plans smuggle
the Raevans into the city. Ceris lives in one of the
Lunsk rowhouses on the west side of the town.
Along with providing a stop for Korren’s ferry, the
The town of Lunsk is built from the timber harvested docks house boats and slips for those traveling down
from the Stillborn Forest around it. Tightly packed the Lower Tithewater and around the coast of Soma
rowhouses line muddy streets, lit by red glass lamps. to Nov Ostoya. One such boat is currently docked,
Those who can afford it replace the clear glass of their taking on the shipments of ore and preparing to leave
windows with a red-tinted glass, but others simply within the day. Characters can purchase travel aboard
keep their heavy curtains shut tight to hold in the one of these boats, but without proper paperwork,
light. Guards and hunters constantly stroll the streets they will be unable to enter the city. The boat captain,
and walk the outskirts of the town, making sure none Delphinia Bruge (NG female human veteran)
of the creatures of the Stillborn Forest get too bold. suggests they speak to Mayor Roche Duchaine to
Watchfires burn in the clearing between the town and gain a letter of introduction to the vampires of Nov
the forest, with the guards keeping the fires at their Ostoya. If the characters ask about alternate ways into
backs. Despite these precautions, it’s not unusual for Nov Ostoya, a dock worker quietly directs them to
a wolf—or something monstrous—to slink out of the Ceris Rhaz, suggesting she might help the characters
“acquire” the proper paperwork.
33
4.2: Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
An Impression of the
PORT CITY of
LUNSK
Parting Ways with the Raevans Tithewater Tavern
If the characters have been friendly and helpful to the Tithewater Tavern occupies the easternmost end of
Raevans during their time together and show obvious the timber and clapboard rowhouses along the water
anti-vampire sympathies, the Raevans pass along beside the bridge. It’s a small tavern, with six tables
two code phrases to the characters to identify them and a kitchen downstairs and four rooms for rent
as friends of the Crownbreakers. These consist of a upstairs. When the characters arrive, there are four
question and an answer. people in the tavern.
The first is: "How do you satisfy the masters of Two hunters, Lilah Rosgren (CG, female human
death?” Answer: “You bleed, you kneel, you breathe veteran) and Silva Bowen (NG, nonbinary human
no longer." veteran), share a table, talking quietly. Silva glowers
The second is: "How do you defeat the masters of at anyone who approaches them, giving one-word
death?” Answer: “You bleed, you rise, you topple answers to questions and not keen on making
their thrones." conversation. Lilah is friendlier, though a shadow of
These questions are also hints for the pass-coded worry and mistrust lurks behind her eyes. When the
doors in the sewers of Nov Ostoya (in episode 5 of characters enter the tavern, the two are discussing
this Fable). their concern over the recent disappearance of two
other hunters in the Stillborn Forest. If the characters
The Lower Tithewater show interest, Lilah asks the characters to search for
the missing hunters Udelle (NG, female human scout)
The southern branch of the Tithewater River and Möl (NG, male human scout). Lilah and Silva
pours from Glasswater Lake and winds its way can pay and direct the characters to the location of the
south. An arching timber bridge spans the river traps the missing hunters were supposed to check.
south of the lakeside docks, separating them from
the riverside docks. Low boats can navigate beneath
the bridge.
34
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
The Tithewater Tavern Menu
Food and Drink
Brown Barley Ale 5 cp (flagon)
Wine 2 sp (pitcher)
Sausage, Eggs, Bread, and Beans (morning only) 2 sp
Fish Soup of the Day with Bread 5 cp
Venison Stew with Bread 2 sp
Roast Rabbit with Brown Gravy 3 sp
Lodging 5 sp/night
6 sp/night
Room only 4 sp/night
Room plus Breakfast
Room for 5+ nights (pay upfront)
(plus free breakfast)
Jaer Ahler (NG, male human commoner), owner Roche Duchaine
and proprietor of the tavern, stands beside the back
booth chatting with Roche Duchaine (NE, male human If Roche Duchaine is with them, he spits on the
noble), the mayor of Lunsk. Jaer is a boisterous man, ground next to the woman and grumbles, “Pay
skilled at hiding displeasure and unhappiness behind the beggar woman no heed and move on.” If the
a joke and a grin, though he has no hesitation in characters hear her out, she explains that they look
throwing disruptive drunks out of his bar—physically, like traveling adventurers, and she hopes that they
if necessary. will help her. She has not heard from her beloved,
Roche Duchaine observes the characters for a Vedran Nekić (see chapter 3 of this episode), in too
time, then saunters over to introduce himself. After long, and she is terrified something bad has happened
exchanging pleasantries, he says he would like to to him. He lives in Riven, which is no easy trip for a
offer the characters a job and asks that they join him at young woman like her, and perhaps the characters
his home to discuss the matter, as it is quite sensitive. would be willing to travel to Riven to search for him
He’ll escort the characters if they’re willing to go now and make sure he’s okay? Or maybe they are heading
or gives them a time to meet him later. that way anyway, and it won’t be too much trouble
for them to ask about him while they are there? She
Roleplaying Roche Duchaine cannot pay them, as she does not have much, but
she is sure that Vedran would offer them lodging
Roche Duchaine assumed the mayorship when his for aiding her. Her name is Liběna Dostálová (NG,
father, Desmond, passed away twenty years ago. female human commoner), “Liby” to Vedran and
Roche is charismatic, but those with a passive Wisdom her friends. If the characters agree, she thanks them
(Insight) score of 13 or higher see through his veneer and wipes away tears of hope and fear. If they deny
of cheer and civility to a slimy core. He has no desire her, she breaks into sobs and runs home to one of the
to risk his wellbeing—physical, social, monetary, rowhouses near the docks.
or otherwise—and is of the mindset that, while the If the character travel to Lunsk after they visit
commoners are technically under his care as steward Riven and they have Vedran in their company, they
of Lunsk, they ultimately serve to provide for him. He find Liběna at her home. When she answers the door,
harbors long-held resentment against his father for she and Vedran reunite with kisses and tears, and
being too soft on the people of Lunsk and too forgiving he thanks the characters and excuses himself to join
of the aglæcwif’s presence. Roche is motivated by an Liby inside.
overinflated sense of self-worth, greed, and a desire to
not be held accountable to anyone.
A Desperate Plea
After the characters leave the Tithewater Tavern, a
young woman in a clean but tattered dress stops them
in the street and nervously asks for their help.
35
4.2: Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
If the characters travel to Lunsk after they visit Taleth Del’s Clothier
Riven and Vedran did not survive, Liběna stops them and General Store
in the street and asks them for help, as above. If the
characters tell her of Vedran’s fate, she stands shocked Several rows down from the Tithewater Tavern,
and mute for a moment before fleeing home, wracked Taleth Del’s Clothier and General Store occupies a
with sobs. corner shopfront on the riverfront rowhouses. The
red glass windows display long coats, boots, hats,
Duchaine Family Home and dresses. Inside, the well-lit shop sports a variety
of clothing as well as a back corner stocked with dry
The Duchaine family home is a two-story wooden goods, general staples, and miner’s gear. The clothes
house near the center of town, with a red light over range from thick, durable pants and shirts to fine
the front door. Though it is similar in size to the dresses, supple leather boots, and heavy coats and
houses around it, the interior is richly appointed stoles of fur and hide.
with furs and intricately carved wooden furniture. Taleth Del (NG, female half-elf commoner) creates
A large fire burns in a fireplace in the large central the clothing in her workshop in the back room.
sitting room, warming the space and pushing back Her cobbler assistant Matthias (NG, male human
the darkness. Heavy curtains cover the windows and commoner) is responsible for the shoes and helps
prevent light from being seen from the street. with the day-to-day operation. They share a set of
rooms above the shop.
Meeting with Roche Duchaine The prices of the goods vary as wildly as their use.
The worker’s clothes are intended for the miners,
If the characters come here traveling with Roche fishers, and other working-class citizens of Lunsk,
Duchaine (see “Tithewater Tavern,” above), Roche and Taleth cannot bring herself to charge more than
welcomes the characters to his home and offers them necessary for these. The finer clothes, however, she
warm mulled wine or other refreshments. sells to the upper-class nobles at a premium. She and
His wife, Marina Duchaine (NE, female human Matthias can create custom pieces but charge extra for
noble), briefly makes an appearance to introduce a rush job.
herself, acting as the epitome of manners and Lately, Taleth has been having difficulty acquiring
hospitality. Roche then explains the situation with the the furs and hides needed for her more expensive
aglæcwif and tells the characters he tires of the town pieces (and for Mattias’s boots), since hunters have
being under the thumb of an oppressive monster. grown increasingly reluctant to venture into the
He expounds upon the viciousness of the aglæcwif, Stillborn Forest. She is willing to pay well for each
playing up the horrific deaths at her hands but wolf hide, deer skin, or rabbit pelt the characters bring
failing to mention most of those deaths were before to her for tanning.
the aglæcwif and the town came to an agreement—
or were levied upon those who tried to cheat the Ceris Rhaz’s Home
aglæcwif out of her tithe. He mentions a story from
generations ago, of how she became so enraged at The home of Ceris Rhaz (NE, female human spy)
the townsfolk for existing that she cursed then-mayor occupies the center of a line of five clapboard
Eliza Duchaine, turning her into a twisted monster. rowhouses on the west side of town. Ceris previously
After he’s done portraying himself and the worked as a bookkeeper for the Burrowfell Mining
townsfolk as helpless victims, Roche asks the Company but has retired and now trades in
characters to kill the aglæcwif. In return, he can pay counterfeit documents, money laundering, and
them in gold, favors, or letters of introduction. He secrets. Dorra believes Ceris to be a Crownbreaker
sweetens the deal with good roleplay or a successful sympathizer, but in truth, Ceris works for the
DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. He’ll pen a letter Volitant, a rival group out of Nov Ostoya. The
of introduction to Baron Mihael the Wolf (see “Mayor information she sells to Dorra is legitimate and she
Duchaine’s Letter” in appendix B) and suggests if the makes no effort to stop the Raevans, but she passes
characters visit that city and need aid, they should intel about the Crownbreakers’ movements to her
present themselves at Baron Mihael’s home with contacts in Nov Ostoya.
the letter. Ceris plans to smuggle the Raevans aboard a boat
If the characters ask Roche about Ceris Rhaz, he taking a shipment of ore down the Lower Tithewater
laughs and suggests they avoid keeping unscrupulous and around the coast to Nov Ostoya. She only
company if they wish to make a name for themselves. has room for the three this trip and cannot fit any
additional characters.
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Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
If the characters approach Ceris for help getting clear someone could almost see to the bottom...if the
into Nov Ostoya, she tells them the next shipment will bottom weren’t so far down and if there was sunlight
be headed downriver in three weeks, and three weeks to illuminate it. Plunging 750 feet at its deepest and
after that, and so on. They can return to her then. She covering nearly 20 square miles, the lake is as much
charges 500 gp per character for smuggling people a source of folklore as fish. In reality, it is remarkably
into Nov Ostoya in this fashion. free of threats, due to the aglæcwif who lairs within it.
If the characters pay Ceris’s price for transport, they
spend several days working aboard a ship disguised The Aglæcwif’s Lair
as crew and are dropped off at the Nov Ostoya city
harbor in the Low Street District (see chapter 2 of Far beneath the water on the northwestern side of the
Episode 5: City of Decadence). Glasswater is an entrance to a cave. On the lakebed
below the entrance, piles upon piles of bones—both
Rowhouses humanoid and animal—lie scattered amid the silt and
soil. The entrance is a 30-foot-long tunnel of twists and
Most of the homes and businesses of Lunsk are blind corners that eventually rises up into the cave. The
built in rowhouses, with buildings either sharing cave is dry and filled with air and surprisingly well
a wall or pressing so close to each other they may appointed, though the furnishings are rotting from
as well be. Houses are occupied by 1d4 adult years in the moist cavern. Elaborate rugs, mismatched
human commoners and 1d4 human children furniture, carefully organized piles of coin, shelves
(noncombatants). If the characters explore any of full of strange objects, and a broken bed with a moldy
these homes, roll a d20. On a 17–20, the house is mattress fill the space. All these items were given
unoccupied; otherwise, the residents are within. as offerings by the miners and townsfolk (or from
boats she sank). The aglæcwif enjoys the trappings of
Glasswater Lake civilized society.
The aglæcwif arrived at Glasswater Lake six
Icy-cold and impossibly deep, Glasswater Lake is a generations ago, though where she came from and
vital part of Lunsk’s economy as a source of food, why she chose the Glasswater as her new home is a
fresh water, and transport. Fed from the north by mystery to the citizens of Lunsk.
the Tithewater, the waters are crisp and cold, and so
37
4.2: Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
After establishing her lair, she spent weeks Treasure
hunting the creatures that drank from her waters
and attacking anyone who dared approach her lake. The aglæcwif’s lair is filled with items in various
Rather than sending a group to kill the creature, states of decay. These items include a carved
the mayor of Lunsk at the time, Duncan Duchaine, mahogany bed with a large mattress and threadbare
arrived at the lake with an offering of meat and a blankets, an elaborately woven rug (4 feet by 6 feet),
bargain: Allow his people use of the lake, and in three tall bookshelves, coins of various types totaling
exchange, they would offer regular tithes of meat 300 gp, three potions of healing, two pearls worth 50
and goods to the aglæcwif. Seeing an opportunity gp each, two oars that have been carved with fanciful
for receiving more than she could reap on her own, and macabre designs, fishing line twisted into a
the aglæcwif agreed and has been living in relative circular macramé wall hanging that resembles a sun,
peace ever since—though if any boat dares attempt a rusty dagger with a ruby in the hilt. These various
a crossing without a suitable offering, she’s quick to items belong to the people of Lunsk, and while they
take her share and more from those aboard. are worth a smattering of gold if pawned, could
When a new mayor takes their position, one of their encourage the town to scrape together a total of 50 gp
first actions is to present themselves at the edge of the to ransom back their belongings.
Glasswater to renew the agreement with the aglæcwif. Map Tubes. Finally, there are three capped leather
tubes each containing a map: an long out-of-date,
pre-Raevan Secession map of the Ostoyan Empire,
a logging survey of the forests surrounding Lunsk,
and an enchanted map of Nov Ostoya (see appendix B).
With the proper command word, the map of Nov
Ostoya displays a second map laid beneath the first:
the sewer system of the city, including where the
system empties into the sea—a potential way in. The
aglæcwif knows the map’s command word.
Roleplaying the Aglæcwif
The aglæcwif sees as the rightful resident of the
Glasswater, and anything or anyone else who utilizes
it does so on her sufferance. She considers the tithes
the villagers pay as gifts of sufferance, as she could
simply take whatever (and whomever) she wanted
otherwise.
When the characters enter the lake, the aglæcwif
knows immediately. If they enter her lair while she is
in it, she does not immediately attack, but admonishes
them for their rudeness. She willing to talk rather
fight, though she is mistrustful of the characters’
motives. To win the aglæcwif’s trust, the characters
must succeed on a DC 18 Charisma (Deception or
Persuasion) check. On a failure, the aglæcwif hears
them out, then seems disappointed and attacks them.
If the characters succeed on their Charisma check
and tell her about the mayor’s request, she thanks
them for declining his wish. However, she remains
unwilling to leave her established home and is more
than happy to return to taking what she wants by
force rather than coercion. If the characters accept her
answer, she offers them a reward from her collection.
The characters are given a few minutes to peruse
her shelves but are not allowed to cast identify on the
magic items. If they choose the map of Nov Ostoya,
she tells them the command word to activate it.
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Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
If the characters engage in combat within the Curses in Etharis
aglæcwif’s lair, she uses the terrain to her advantage,
attacking physically and assailing the characters with Curses in the world of Etharis are serious business rather
her innate control over water. Seeing herself as a than mere annoyances to be removed with a spell. Curses
civilized creature, she initially fights with her dual- are potent spells levied by powerful spellcasters as revenge
wielded shortswords, but when her hit points fall against a perceived wrong. Once a curse takes root in a
below half, she resorts to her bestial nature and uses victim, they are nearly impossible to reverse. For more
her claws and bite attack. When she drops below one- information on curses in Etharis, see chapter 3 of Grim
quarter of her maximum hit points, she uses one of Hollow: The Campaign Guide.
the healing potions on her shelves.
If the characters kill the aglæcwif and she knows (see appendix A). In his new form, the mayor digs a
of the mayor’s plans, she uses her last breath to curse winding series of tunnels under the town from the
the mayor, and he becomes victim of the Curse of basement of his home, creeping to the surface to pilfer
Insatiable Greed (described in chapter 3 of the Grim items and valuables from the townsfolk.
Hollow: The Campaign Guide).
If the characters negotiate with the aglæcwif for The Stillborn Forest
items within her lair but then attempt to kill her
anyway (or otherwise betray her), she uses her The Stillborn Forest is filled with dense, old-growth
last breath to curse one of the characters instead of trees and a variety of creatures, both harmless and
the mayor. deadly. The citizens of Lunsk have done their best
to tame the forests directly around their town, but
The Aglæcwif Lives the wilds press ever inward. Recently, the wolves
and other predators of the forest have been far more
If the characters leave the aglæcwif alive or did not aggressive than usual, leading to heightened patrols
pursue the quest, life continues in Lunsk as it has for and extra guards stationed at the watchfires.
generations. Mayor Duchaine bides his time until A dryad deep within the forest has succumbed to
another suitable adventuring party arrives in town, so the sorrow and despair of the ever-dark sky, and her
he can make his case to them. corruption is spreading to the forest and the creatures
If the characters inform the aglæcwif of the mayor’s within. She has the missing hunters imprisoned
plans, she uses her power to cut off the southerly within her grove.
river, restricting travel to the sea and eventually
flooding Lunsk unless the mayor prostrates himself The Hunters’ Traps
before the water—and doubles the tithes owed to her.
When the mayor presents himself, the water rises up, The hunters in the Stillborn Forest hunt by bow
plucks him from the shore, and swallows him whole. and arrow and by trap. They’ve established favored
The citizens of Lunsk struggle to pay the tithes, and locations for settings snares for rabbits and other
the ferry runs less often. small game. The hunters all know of the dryad who
If the dryad of the Stillborn Forest was killed lives deep within the Stillborn Forest and are careful
or the hunters stop venturing into the forest, to avoid encroaching too close to her territory.
the tithes become harder to provide. There is no The traps the hunters came to check are west across
meat to gift, and the citizens begin giving their the river and half a day’s travel into the woods. To
personal belongings to the Glasswater to keep the find the traps, the characters must make a DC 17
aglæcwif happy. Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, they locate
the traps within half a day; on a failure, they locate
Death of the Aglæcwif the traps, but it takes them all day to do so.
When the characters locate the traps, the snares
If the characters kill the aglæcwif as requested by the are sprung and empty. Characters with a passive
mayor, Lunsk flourishes for a time. The ferry runs Wisdom (Perception) score of 12 or higher spot a
more often, and miners visit home on a regular basis. brace of rabbits about 10 feet from the snares, lashed
Travel picks up and the fishing business booms, together by their back feet, and a heavy crossbow bolt
but it is only a matter of time before something else embedded in a tree stump.
discovers the Glasswater ripe for the picking without
the aglæcwif to defend it.
If the aglæcwif cursed the mayor, he eventually
succumbs to the Curse of Insatiable Greed after a
month and transforms into a verminous abomination
39
4.2: Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
Tracking the Hunters dark sky in vain. The grove and heart tree belong to
Annaë, a dryad with the following additions: She can
Characters who take the time to search discover tracks cast plant growth and spike growth once per day each.
heading deeper into the forest. A successful DC 14 After so long without the light of the sun, Annaë
Wisdom (Survival) check reveals the prints of both has given into despair. Though she knows nothing
wolves and dire wolves, and that they were dragging of Kasimir Sundrinker or the ritual that stole the
something through the underbrush. A successful sun, she can feel the evil within the earth beneath
DC 17 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals boot prints her feet. The foul, vile taint infected her, and her
among the wolf prints near the traps, leading the corruption spread through her to the forest she
characters to surmise there was a fight between the claims as her own. She carefully coaxed several
hunters and the wolves. trees and plants to awakened life, and they guard
If the characters follow the tracks, they are guided her and her heart tree, never straying far from
toward the Corrupted Heart of the Forest. As they the center of the grove. Even the mundane plants
travel, if they were not previous attacked by the dire around the grove have begun to bend and twist
wolves while exploring around Glasswater Lake, they with the dryad’s corruption, taking on a life of their
are attacked now. own. Annaë looks like a typical dryad, but her eyes
The farther into the forest the characters venture, are solid black, and her foliage is limned with rot
the darker and wilder it gets. After several hours and decay.
of travel, characters who make a successful DC 15 When the characters arrive in Annaë’s grove,
Wisdom (Perception) check notice the trees swaying they find the hunters Udelle and Möl imprisoned in
and rustling as if in the wind—but there is no wind. cages of living plants. The characters have only a few
Wolves howl from outside their perception, and eyes minutes before Annaë returns, and the hunters beg the
glint in the darkness. characters to hurry and free them.
Annaë’s arrival is preceded by a shambling
The Corrupted mound trundling through the underbrush
Heart of the Forest surrounding the grove. Once the mound appears,
Annaë arrives two rounds later in the company of
At the center of the Stillborn Forest lies a dryad’s three awakened shrubs and two awakened trees.
grove, with a heart tree whose branches reach for the
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Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
Annaë in her corrupted form is feral and unable to The Dryad Dies
be reasoned with. A persuasive plea for her to stop or
a successful DC 17 Charisma (Persuasion) check may If the characters kill the dryad, the animals of the
halt her advance as the character’s entreaties penetrate Stillborn Forest flee elsewhere. The hunters are unable
the despair, but only for a moment. Annaë is more to continue their business. The fur and meat trade
likely to listen to a druid or others with a connection of Lunsk dries up, and the townsfolk grow to rely
to nature, and that character gains advantage on heavily on Glasswater Lake as their source of food.
Charisma checks against the dryad. If the character is If the dryad dies while the aglæcwif yet lives, the
successful in breaking through to Annaë, the dryad tithes become harder to provide, as there is no meat to
is stunned until the end of her next turn as her true gift. The citizens must give their personal belongings
nature battles against the despair. to the Glasswater to keep the aglæcwif happy.
If the characters cast lesser restoration on Annaë, it
temporarily brings the dryad back to herself. Her eyes
clear, and the blackened foliage drops away from her
form. She immediately stops fighting, and the plants or
creatures engaged in combat with the characters also
stop. She falls to her knees, keening, and digs her hands
into the soft earth of the forest floor. After a moment
she collects herself, stands, and thanks the characters.
She explains her plight—that the sunless sky is no way
for a world to live—and begs them to do what they
can to return the sun so that the land may heal and she
may thrive. If the characters agree or otherwise seem
sympathetic, she gives them three seeds of hope (see
appendix B) to aid them on their quest. She releases the
hunters and apologizes for their rough treatment, but
urges them to leave the forest as soon as possible.
If the characters remain aggressive or attack her or
her allies again, combat resumes.
If the entire party falls in battle to Annaë, they
awaken the next day, each in their own living cage.
Several hours later, Lilah and Silva, the hunters from
the Tithewater Tavern, arrive to rescue the characters
and Udelle and Möl. They cut them out of their
cages and flee unless the characters stop them. If the
characters do not immediately flee, Annaë arrives
again with the same allies, minus whatever the
characters killed in the prior combat.
The Dryad Lives
If the characters cast lesser restoration on the dryad, she
remains whole of mind only for a few weeks before
she slips back into despair. The city of Lunsk gains
a few weeks of reprieve before the animals again
become aggressive and bold.
If the characters did not pursue the missing
hunters, Udelle and Möl are eventually killed by
the dryad, and the hunters stop venturing into the
woods. The fur and meat trade of Lunsk begins to dry
up, and the townsfolk have to rely more heavily on
Glasswater Lake as their source of food.
If the aglæcwif lives, the tithes become harder to
provide, as there is no meat to gift. The citizens must
give their personal belongings to the Glasswater to
keep the aglæcwif happy.
41
4.2: Lunsk and the Stillborn Forest
Chapter 3:
Riven and the Black Mire
For characters of 7th or 8th level
Riven lies south of the Black Mire and west of the Great Eastern Sea. The Black Mire
is an extensive salt marsh that stretches all the way from the Great Eastern Sea.
Filled with undead, hags, and other creatures both supernatural and mundane, the
mire is the source of the peat moss that warms most of Riven’s homes.
The air around Riven smells like salt, rotting vegetation, and peat smoke. Daily
life consists of mud, mud, and more mud, and serving Countess Khrystyana
Petrovskaya, the vampire who rules the town. A city council handles the day-to-
day governance, as the countess can’t be bothered with such mundane and boring
aspects of everyday life. Given command of Riven as a punishment disguised
as a gift, she prefers to spend her days and nights within the walls of her estate,
wrapped in furs and watching the witchlights dance in the distant swamp.
44
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
The characters can approach Riven from Lunsk to the Arriving in Riven
southeast, or Voyd to the south. Whichever city they
depart from, they will likely arrive at Riven from the The characters might have arrived in Riven having
south. The closer they get to the town, the muddier heard the request of Liběna “Liby” Dostálová’s to look
the ground becomes, until they cross the Black River. for her missing beloved Vedran Nekić (see chapter 2
On the Riven side of the river, the mud becomes of this episode), or they may have come on behest of
omnipresent. As they approach the town, read the Mirka and Nevenka Kostacovic to find their daughter
following: Irenya (see “Within Mireblossom Manor,” later in this
chapter). Or perhaps they arrived here through their
The mud sucks at your feet, even on the relatively self-directed travels.
packed earth of the road. In the distance ahead of you, In Riven, the characters have the opportunity
dark silhouettes and red-lighted shapes of the houses to acquire magic items from the hags in the Black
of Riven rise against the pale-black sky. Some of the Mire and gain helpful information from Countess
homes look like hunched figures in the muck, while Khrystyana Petrovskaya, the vampire who
others, built on stilts, have a weird, gangly appearance, rules the town.
like an awkward hulking beast on too-thin legs. Off the If the characters ask around about a “Lily of the
road, to your right and left, the mud is even softer, and Void,” they are directed to Stella Sudar at the Council
you see the tops of roofs poking out of the muck, the Meeting Hall, since she dabbles in herbalism, or a
only remaining evidence of the homes consumed by the citizen quietly suggests they speak to the hags in the
mire. In the distance, the top of a large stone manor Black Mire.
home is visible over the tops of the stilt houses.
An Encounter with the Cursed
Riven
After they arrive in Riven, each time the characters
The city of Riven sits on the edge of the Black Mire move from one location to another within the city,
in eastern Soma, tucked within a curve of the Black roll a d20. On an 18–20, they hear a scream. If the
River that empties directly into the Great Eastern Sea. characters investigate, they discover a dream
Built atop the muck and mud, the city’s foundation is whisperer (see appendix A) attacking a citizen of the
highly unstable. The buildings slowly but inexorably town. If the characters do not intervene, the dream
sink into the ground, are abandoned, and once the whisperer flees when it sees them. If they attack the
building has completely submerged in the sludge, dream whisperer, it fights back until it is at half its
new construction is built atop it. hit points, and then it flees. If they chase or track the
The wiser townsfolk have taken to building creature, with a successful DC 17 Wisdom (Survival)
their homes on stilts to keep their homes from check they find it holed up in a half-sunken house on
being swallowed by the mire, but some continue the edge of Riven.
to construct their homes as quickly and cheaply as Vedran’s Curse. This dream whisperer was once a
possible, making them easier to abandon. Centuries man named Vedran Nekić, transformed by a Curse of
worth of homes and other structures lie beneath Lost Sentiment; see “The Monster of the Mire,” later
the current city, and chimneys and rooftops emerge in this chapter.
from the soil in places, especially on the outskirts
of the town. The Smoking Mare Tavern and Inn
The town center has moved farther south along
the river over the course of centuries, and remnants of The Smoking Mare Tavern and Inn is a stilt house
the city lie beneath the muck as far north as the Brine at the entrance to the town, denoted by a carved
River. Most of the inhabitants of Riven are either wooden sign of a horse coalescing out of wisps of
mussel farmers or peat farmers, providing shellfish fog or smoke. Run by Maja Perica (LG female human
and fuel to Nov Ostoya and rest of Soma. Riven Gold, commoner), the tavern is a one-room bar with a large
a peated whiskey, is distilled in small batches by Maja pot of mussel stew boiling in one corner and two
Perica at the Smoking Mare and sold at a premium to muddy rooms for rent in the back. Along with the
Nov Ostoya. standard ale and mead, Maja also serves Riven Gold,
though at a premium price. Maja makes Riven Gold
in the stills behind The Smoking Mare and is fiercely
proud of the liquor.
45
4.3: Riven and the Black Mire
An Impression of the
MIRED CITY of
RIVEN
Instead of booths or private tables, the room is male human commoner), all friends of Vedran.
dominated by three long tables with bench seating. They’re talking in hushed tones about the creature
Three sets of waxed canvas hip waders hang dripping haunting the town, debating the merits of getting a
beside the front door. hunting party together or if they should leave the
Natalija Ferić (NE, female human noble is seated organizing to the Riven Council. Jan is arguing in
at one end of a long table by herself, staring miserably favor of the latter, while Josef and Anđela favor taking
into a flagon of ale. At the other end of the table, a matters into their own hands.
trio of mussel farmers are hunched over their bowls, If the characters speak to the NPCs, they receive the
talking quietly. The mussel farmers are Anđela following responses.
Jurakić (NG, female human commoner), Josef Milas Natalija seems uninterested in conversation. If
(NG, male human commoner), and Jan Hrvojić (LG, directly engaged by the characters, she gives curt,
one-word answers. If the mussel farmers discuss the
The Smoking Mare 6 cp (flagon) monster with the characters, she storms out, leaving
Tavern and Inn Menu 8 cp (flagon) her unfinished drink behind. A successful DC 15
5 sp (finger) Wisdom (Insight) check reveals her attitude stemmed
Food and Drink from guilt, or possibly fear. If this check succeeds by
2 sp 5 or more, a character also noticed that she was barely
Brown Barley Ale 6 sp holding back tears as she stormed out.
Honeyblossom Mead 4 sp The mussel farmers freely share their information
Riven Gold about what they dub the “monster of the mire”—which
Mussel and Clam Chowder with Bread 1 sp/night isn’t much. They know a handful of people have been
Roast Grouse with Mireling Parsnips attacked by a multiarmed creature. Some of those who
Riven Pudding with White Gator Sausage survived suffer from mental trauma as well as physical.
They’re surprised the Riven Council hasn’t put a
Lodging bounty on the creature’s head, but Jan claims he heard
the council was meeting today to discuss exactly that.
Room (two single beds)
46
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
Council Meeting Hall If the characters visit the meeting hall while the
council is in session, the attendant at the door lets
The Riven Council meets in this stilt house near them in only if they mention they’re looking for
Mireblossom Manor to discuss town events. It consists information about this “monster of the mire.” The
of a vestibule within the front door, and an audience council members are irritated at being interrupted,
chamber with a U-shaped table facing an array of but they quickly change their attitude when they
chairs. The Riven Council answers to Countess realize they can send outsiders after this creature
Khrystyana Petrovskaya, running the city in her and not endanger their people. They can pay the
stead. The five members of the Riven Council include characters 300 gp to handle the creature and suggest
the following: that allies like the council and the duchess could help
Igor Lagovic (NG, male human noble) is gruff and the characters go far. If pressed, the council agrees to
pen a letter of introduction to admit the characters
grumpy but has a good heart. into Voyd if they handle the creature.
Stella Sudar (NG, female human noble) stylizes If the characters ask Stella Sudar about a “Lily of the
Void,” she is apologetic and says she’s never heard of
herself as the mom of the town, mediating such a thing. If the characters do not ask about “the
disagreements and giving unnecessary advice. monster of the mire,” Stella sees a potential answer to
Jasmin Alonic (NE, female human noble) thinks their problem and loudly asks the rest of the council if
this is a huge waste of her time, but it’s the only these newcomers could help with their situation.
power to be gained in this backwater town, and so
here she is. The Monster of the Mire
Lucijan Ferić (NE, male human noble) is Natalija’s
father. Proud and easy to anger, he covers Rumors at the Smoking Mare Tavern and the council’s
any doubts and uncertainties with bluster and urging put the characters on the trail of the new
accusations. monster in town.
Anja Barovic (CG, female human noble) legitimately
wishes to see the city improve. She is unhappy Vedran Nekić’s Home
under the thumb of the countess but is pleased
the vampire leaves them to their own devices Until recently, Vedran Nekić lived in a modest stilt
for the most part. She would not complain if the house near the center of Riven with his mother,
countess were to disappear mysteriously one day, Branka (NG, female human commoner).
though she doesn’t have the strength or skill to do
it herself.
47
4.3: Riven and the Black Mire
While Vedran was carrying on an affair with If the characters succeed in getting Branka to talk,
Liběna “Liby” Dostálová, he also had the eye of she sobbingly confesses that the creature who has
Natalija Ferić, a young woman in Riven. Although been plaguing the city is her son, and she begs the
Vedran was never anything more than friendly with characters not to kill him. Instead, she asks them
Natalija, she harbored deep feelings for Vedran. One to find a way to cure him, even if they have to ask
night, Natalija heard him telling his friends that he the hags in the Black Mire for help. She begs the
was considering proposing to Liby, and she was characters to keep her secret, lest the council or the
overwhelmed with rage, sorrow, and jealousy. A countess decides to punish her or her son.
hag appeared to her disguised as an old woman and If the characters find and read Vedran’s journal
offered to curse Vedran as punishment for breaking and ask about the locket, Branka explains that Liběna
Natalija’s heart. Though the hag was in disguise, gifted him with a locket that held a lock of her hair. It
Natalija had heard enough stories to know what she was Vedran’s most prized possession.
was speaking to. She agreed, and Vedran became the
victim of a Curse of Lost Sentiment, and eventually Natalija Ferić’s House
transformed into a dream whisperer (see appendix A
for more information about this cursed creature). Natalija Ferić lives with her father, Lucijan (male
Vedran’s mother, hopelessly watching her son human noble), and mother, Sara (female human
suffer, locked him in the pantry and barred the door, noble), in a grand stilt house near the meeting hall.
trapping him inside. She spent a week alone, terrified Her father is one of the five members of the Riven
to leave her house, not knowing who to turn to for Council. He is proud of his position and loyal to
help. When Vedran’s monstrous form broke free of Countess Khrystyana Petrovskaya, seeing his family
the pantry and the house, she prayed he would flee as one of higher breeding and pedigree than the
to the Black Mire. Instead, he lurks on the streets of commoners of Riven. He is aware of his daughter’s
Riven, tormenting the populace and devouring their infatuation with Vedran but is secretly pleased that
memories. Branka has been too terrified to tell anyone the man rejected her. He cannot say “no” to his
the truth. daughter but does not wish her to wed a commoner,
even one as well-mannered as Vedran.
Searching for Vedran
Getting the Truth
If the characters arrive at the Nekić’s home, either
on request of Liby or while attempting to track the If the characters arrive to speak with Natalija
creature on behest of the Riven Council, Branka opens about Vedran, she remains curt and haughty, but a
the door a crack and demands to know what the character with a passive Insight of 15 or higher can
characters want. If they ask after Vedran, she hastily easily tell that she is nervous and guilty, especially if
answers that she hasn’t seen him and slams the door the conversation happens in front of her parents. If
shut. If they ask about the creature plaguing the town, accused of any wrongdoing, she denies everything,
she says she doesn’t know anything and slams the but good roleplay and/or a successful DC 18
door shut. A character must make a successful DC Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) causes her
16 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check to to break down into tears. She confesses to stealing
convince her to open the door and let the characters Vedran’s locket with Liby’s lock of hair so the hags
in. If they break in her door, she screams for help and would curse Vedran. She insists that the hags said it
then breaks down into tears. It takes good roleplay would simply make him forget Liby.
or a successful DC 20 Charisma (Intimidation or If this comes to light in front of her father, he
Persuasion) check to calm her down enough to talk. becomes enraged and ejects the characters from his
Finding Vedran’s Journal. Inside the unkempt house. Lucijan immediately begins spreading the
home, it’s obvious no one has done much in the way rumor that the characters arrived at his house and
of cleaning or upkeep in at least a week. A DC 12 attempted to blackmail him with a false story about
Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) his daughter, suggesting that they are the ones who
check within the home reveals the pantry door unleashed the monster in the first place to extort the
has been broken, with large gouges on the inside town for money.
of the door.
A thorough investigation of Vedran’s room reveals If Vedran Dies
he has not been there in at least a week. A DC 14
Intelligence (Investigation) check discovers a journal If the characters kill Vedran in his cursed form, the
(see the handout of “Vedran’s Journal” in appendix C) council thanks them, pays the bounty, and suggests
tucked beneath the mattress of his bed. the characters move on as soon as possible.
48
Fables: Citadel of the Unseen Sun
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