The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

Further to the southwest, there is a region that seems
to be a town or small city. It is festooned with little
red lights, as if sparks had settled on it. A dark bar
sweeps across these lights, rotating like the hand of a
clock from the centre of the city.
Much further to the south, barely visible through the
blurring mist, is a sheer vertical wall. It cannot possibly
have formed naturally. You think you see the image of a
vast seated figure above it, but it is hard to see anything
in this light.
Using Divination to Find the Tenebrium: The
Player Characters may, with some justification, want
to cut straight to the chase. At their current level of
experience, they can cast Divination spells to locate the
tenebrium and fly or teleport straight there, making for
a very short adventure.
Naturally things are not quite so easy as that. The
plane impedes Divination spells, making it hard to use
locate magic to find anything. If the Player Characters
do manage to locate ‘the nearest source of tenebrium’,
they detect some in the heart of the City of Memories
(Area 6, page 214). This is not quite enough for their
purposes, but it seems to be the only deposit.
The throne room of Noctulos himself is veiled in a
constant private sanctum, making it impossible to scry
into it and get a lock for a teleport spell. The sky is
hazardous to fly through, as the massive nightwings
hunt there. All in all, the Player Characters can expect
to do better in their search for tenebrium by keeping to
the ground and asking questions of the locals.
Non-Player Character Group: The Human
Denizens
At the points marked as settlements on the map, small
groups of houses can be found, occupied by human
peasants. These people have never known any other
life than that of Noctulos and are grimly resigned to
it. Many of them are every bit as evil as the hags and
undead that stalk the region. They consider Noctulos to
be their rightful lord and master. They live off the pale
cabbages that grow in their yards and on fat beetles that
they boil up into soup.
When they wish to petition Noctulos for anything, one
of their number takes a travelling staff and cloak and
makes the trek to the Colossus, where he progresses up
through the stone chambers to the throne of darkness.
Successful petitioners are sometimes rewarded; those
who approach without adequate respect or humility are
never seen again.
The human denizens are all 1 st level commoners. They
are not at all keen to speak to outsiders and will be
shocked at any suggestion of slaying or even defying
Noctulos. If the Player Characters persuade them to
talk, they can learn the following:
• The lord of the plane is Noctulos himself, the dark
majesty, the generous giver of gifts. He dwells in
the Colossus.
• The City of Memories is forbidden, as is the
Hagwood. The people are not to go there.
• None has yet looked upon the face of Noctulos. He
is forever shrouded by a great veil.
• The souls of mortal children sometimes pass
through here. The hags bring them. They do not
abide long, as they are brought up to the Colossus
and do not return.
Non-Player Character Group: The Sky
Hunters
The sky of Noctulos is the hunting ground for nightwings,
which are huge bat-like undead monsters. They prey
upon any living creature foolish or unfortunate enough
to find its way here. The nightwings hunt in flocks of
3–6 creatures. They take advantage of the abundant
darkness to sneak up on victims, using their Hide skill
to stay out of sight until they swoop down and attack.
Any Player Character who attempts to fly in Noctulos is
repeatedly attacked by nightwings until he either dies or
returns to the ground. The nightwings consider the sky
their territory and do not take kindly to intruders.
Nightwings: CR 14; Huge undead (extraplanar); HD
17d12+34; hp 144; Init +8; Spd 20 ft., fly 60 ft. (good);
AC 30, touch 12, flat-footed 26; Base Atk +8; Grp
+28; Atk +18 melee (2d6+17/19–20 plus magic drain,
bite); Full Atk +18 melee (2d6+17/19–20 plus magic
drain, bite); Space/Reach 15 ft./10 ft.; SA desecrating
aura, magic drain, spell-like abilities, summon undead;
SQ aversion to daylight, damage reduction 15/silver
and magic, darkvision 60 ft., immunity to cold, spell
resistance 27, telepathy 100 ft., undead traits; AL CE;
SV Fort +9, Ref +11, Will +17; Str 31, Dex 18, Con —,
Int 18, Wis 20, Cha 18.
Skills & Feats: Concentration +24, Diplomacy +6,
Hide +16*, Listen +25, Move Silently +24, Search +24,
Sense Motive +25, Spellcraft +24, Spot +25, Survival
+5 (+7 following tracks); Combat Reflexes, Dodge,
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8
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