🕯️ The Mortisworks: Stronghold of Necromancer Emir Vargan Delacroix

“Let the living pray. We work.”

📛 Necromancer Profile

Name: Emir Vargan Delacroix
Race: Human (Mark of Death lineage, rarely spoken of)
Class/Level: Necromancer 12th level
Alignment: Neutral
Title: Ossuary Curator of the Lower Circle
Symbol: A skeletal hand holding a bone key, encircled in black cord
Affiliations:

• Ashkarin Council (Sanctioned Necromantic Research Division)

• The Wheelmarked (Body brokers, corpse-runners, grave-salvagers)

• The Gravebinders (Silent guardians of the Duke of Bones)

• The Kobold Burrow-Kin of Emberworm (Trade partners and tunnel keepers)

🛤️ Access from Ashkarin – Through the Graveyard

Entry to the Ossuary Below begins at the Crypt Shrine of the Duke of Bones, hidden among the tangled tombs and vine-wrapped mausoleums of Old Gravefield.

Entry Ritual:

Light a black candle at the shrine’s altar at midnight.

Whisper the names of three of the dead (either known or ritually claimed).

A stone sarcophagus shifts aside, revealing a hidden stairwell—dustless, though ancient.

A bone key sigil appears above the archway. Only those bearing the Duke’s mark may pass unharmed.

🧭 Map Layout

🔲 1. Entry Antechamber: The Ossuary Gate

(Leftmost small hexagonal room)

• Accessed by hidden stairs from the Crypt Shrine above, triggered by black candle and name-chant.

• Walls lined with bones inscribed with symbols of passage.

• Visitors must recite a memorized oath to the Duke of Bones or be turned away by a silent spectral guardian (use Wraith stats, sworn to nonviolence except on command).

📜 2. The Ledger Hall

(Rectangular chamber just past the entry)

• The administrative heart of the sanctum.

• Bone-scroll shelves hold records of all bodies received, used, and retired.

• Overseen by Apprentice Serra Vansk (Human, Level 2) and Tibble the Kobold (Level 1).

• A black-ash ledger serves as the registry of “souls in service.”

⛓️ 3. Hall of Repose

(Curved hallway with six alcoves)

• Each alcove contains motionless undead in ritual slumber: skeletons, zombies, or ossified constructs.

• Controlled by bone seals carved into the floor. Breaking a seal awakens the servant.

• Bones glow faintly when a cleric or necromancer approaches.

📖 4. The Mortuary Vault

(Large octagonal chamber at the top center)

• Main ritual and summoning hall, featuring a raised bonefire altar at the center.

• Candles in skull sconces provide silent, flickering light.

• Surrounding niches house offerings, relics, and effigies to the Duke of Bones.

• The central altar is used for:

  • Binding ceremonies

  • Funerary burnings

  • High necromantic rites

• Holy relic present: the Vertebrae Crown, said to belong to one of the Overlord's ancient mortal champions. Provides +2 to all necromancy spell DCs while worn in the chamber.

🧪 5. The Bone Lab

(Small square room to the left of the Vault)

• Contains alchemical tools, embalming vats, and surgical stations.

• Used to prepare bodies for animation or preservation.

• Overseen by Kulum Bakir, Level 3 apprentice and embalming expert.

• Bone-filtered ventilation carries smoke up into false chimneys above the cemetery.

🔒 6. The Seal Room

(Rectangular room just before the Hall of Repose)

• Contains six chained reliquary boxes bearing:

  • Phylactery fragments

  • Bone-scrolls

  • Soulstones

  • Ritual ashes

• Each is warded with a Glyph of Warding inscribed in ash.

• This is also where treasures and forbidden items are locked.

• Requires dual approval: Vargan and any two senior apprentices.

🛏️ 7. Quarters of Emir Vargan Delacroix

(Small lower right room, tucked beyond the sealed vault)

• Spartan but ceremonial.

• Black-shrouded sleeping niche (used only for trance meditation)

• Writing desk, soul-ink vials, and personal grimoire (The Anatomy of Obedience)

• A bone harp carved from a saint's ribs (resonates when undead are near)

🌕 8. Shrine of Still Flame

(Small circular room farthest right)

• Dedicated to the Duke of Bones; only clergy may enter.

• At the center burns the Still Flame, a magical bonefire that gives off no heat and never flickers.

• Used to:

  • Dispose of undead remains

  • Sanctify new servants

  • Perform the Kindling of Bone ritual on equinoxes

• Attended daily by Brother Hael (Tiefling, Level 2, loyal to Vargan and the Duke)

🦴 Daily Operations & Ritual Practices:

• Morning: Bone tally and ash reading by Apprentice Ilza Harn (Level 1)

• Midday: Corpse processing from Wheelmarked deliveries; trading with kobolds

• Twilight: Offerings made to the Duke at the Shrine of Still Flame

• Midnight: Forbidden rites, summoning attempts, or lectures from Vargan

⚰️ Sanctum Defenses:

• 6 Resting Undead (Skeletons/Zombies, CR 1/4) stationed in the Hall of Repose

• Bone Golem (custom stat block available if desired), dormant unless the shrine is desecrated

• Glyphs of Warding at all locked chambers

• Vargan's contingency spell (Trigger: unauthorized access to the Vault → casts Wall of Force + alerts him telepathically)

🛡️ Political Role in Ashkarin:

• Sanctioned by the Council, Vargan is seen as both valuable and dangerous.

• His work helps stabilize Ashkarin’s death rates, manage plague burials, and quietly neutralize curses.

• He is also the only one trusted to “dispose” of cursed items too volatile to destroy traditionally.

• The Wheelmarked serve as unofficial “corpse contractors,” bound by silence, and paid well.

🧙‍♂️ Necromancer’s Circle: Apprentices of Vargan

1. Nivael Dusttongue (Elf, Level 3) – Librarian and translator of ancient scripts

2. Kulum Bakir (Human/Kobold-blooded, Level 3) – Alchemical prodigy

3. Serra Vansk (Human, Level 2) – Overseer of corpse inventory and tagging

4. Brother Hael (Tiefling, Level 2) – Religious convert from the Sovereign Flame

5. Ilza Harn (Dwarf, Level 1) – Bonecrafter and scribe

6. Tibble (Kobold, Level 1) – Tunnel warden and pestmaster

🧪 Facilities at a Glance