Part 1: Monster: Sonia the Worm-Thing
Sonia, constantly coughing into blood-soaked handkerchiefs, made the long trip to her father's mausoleum in the old town in the forest. She lifted the lid of the stone sarcophagus and allowed the worms inside to consume her in exchange for eternal life. She was nineteen years old at the time.
Sonia's elytra are made from the stone of the mausoleum and her wings are spider silk. Her body is a mass of wriggling worm flesh. The remains of her face glow with a frighteningly beautiful rot.
If you ask her (something I wouldn't recommend) what she wants is quite plain--the total destruction of the Veyos Trading Company that she and her father built together, that her brother, Lucio, stole by theft and lies.
Skill: 11
Stamina: 7
Initiative: 3
Armour: 1
Damage as Modest Beast
Spells: Poison, Posthumous Vitality
Special: Sonia can fly short distances. If reduced to 0 Stamina, Sonia's worms will attempt to pull themselves together, restoring 1 Stamina every night.
Part 2: Map
1. The City of Veyos Behind Veyos's thin, prim houses rimmed with elegantly sparse rows of tulips, in bathtubs, ponds, or illegal pool-houses, you might find one or more Wainoe addicts rapturously floating like languid flowers in the water. The highly addictive Wainoe allows its users to extend their consciousness through water and was originally marketed by the Veyos Trading Company as an herbal therapy.
The waters of one of the older pool-houses in Veyos are so infused with consciousness of Wainoe users that they say there is another city down under the water, a city made of dreams and memories.
Lucio, the majority shareholder of the Veyos Trading company, lives in a large gold palace adorned with minarets on the top of the hill. His immense wealth gives him no pleasure. Those who know him would call him "shrewd" politely, but "heartless" honestly.
2. Wainoe Swamp Wainoe is a product of the flower of a particular lily-like plant that grows in this swamp. The plantation is run by Sonia and Lucio's uncle, Henri, who hasn't been seen in weeks. Increasingly, the workers have grown more restless. Some now openly worship Old Joe, the ancient god of the swamp whose religion had previously been strictly banned by Henri.
Old Joe is a naturally mummified bog body, sacrificed long ago to himself.
3. The Old Town Not much is left of the old town, a broken old inn run by a sweet older couple (who will try to cheat anyone who stays there), broken old buildings reclaimed by the forest, a handful of woodspeople, and of course the family mausoleum that hides Sonia.
With Sonia slowing eating him from inside that labyrinthine tomb, who can say how long Henri will live?
4. The Temple of the Sphynx Lizzette the Sphynx lives here. Her temple is carved out of the side of the mountain. It's not uncommon for thieves to try to break in to the temple to steal the treasures within, but less common for them to return.
She is Lucio's former lover, but she is not vindictive. In fact, she is the one who taught Lucio how to extract Wainoe from the swamp-lilies. She could tell you why he is so heartless—she keeps his heart in a jar in her bedchambers. Lucio's competitors would of course pay anything to own and control Lucio's heart.
Part 3: Lizzette's Temple
Random Encounters:
1. Lizzette
2. Fire-breathing Salamanders
3. 2d6 vicious housecats
4. Skeletal Trumpeter
5. Lost wisp
6. The smoking man—he wears a fez, a pipe, and a smoking jacket. He is instantly offended by anything said to him.
Room Key:
1. Entrance. Soft Pillows, Ornamental rugs, and a case of very nice wine.
2. Smoking Room. Large glass hookah. A wooden chest filled with nice tobacco.
3. Bird Room. A golden bird sits on a jeweled egg. Attacks any who disturb her or the piles of birdseed amassed in this room.
4. Pool. Lizzette grows her experimental water flowers here. Water pours into the pool from an ornamental statue head. The fountain head always lies, but is kind. The koi fish in the pool always tells the truch, but is cruel. The water in the pool is extremely poisonous.
5. Lizzette's Chambers. Silk mat on which Lizzette usually rests. Lucio's heart is usually on the night stand.
6. Chessboard. This room has a chessboard pattern on it. In the room is a single large knight made of stone. The knight only attacks those who do not jump across the room in a knight's-move pattern. Stepping on the golden square at H8 opens the secret door.
7. Dining Room. Large table. Rusted swords decorate the wall. A fancy sword at the head of a table has an exquisitely decorated hilt bearing a screaming face.
8. Empty room containing an oddly aggressive peacock.
9. Old dressing room. Full of tattered clothing. Secret door behind box of clothes.
10. Empty Room. Interesting tile mosaic on the floor.
11. Table with a model of Veyos. Tip the minaret of Lucio's palace to open the secret door.
12. Treasure Room. Gold, statues, you name it. Lizzette's most treasured price is an rare orchid. Eat the flower to teleport to any location in any sphere. The flower does not rot.
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