In the sun-blasted steppes of Syrkarn, a gray basalt monolith rises from a plain of shattered stone. Beneath it lies a network of burial chambers used over the ages by dragons and sorcerer-kings. The complex is now occupied by a group of exiles from the surface world (yuan-ti, Riedran dissidents, Akiak, or any other group of the DM’s choosing). In addition, the site conceals a magical location that has endured since the Age of Demons—the Heart of Io.
APPROACH
The area around the monolith is a 60-mile-wide desert wasteland, a kind of inverse oasis within the fertile steppes. No water flows here, and heat dangers (DMG 303) are a risk to any attempting to locate the site.
FEATURES
From a half-mile away across the empty steppes, a black spire can be seen rising against the cloudless sky. Close up, the shape resolves itself into a monolith rising from the center of field of black shards. The sun is hot above, the whispering wind the only sound.
Basalt rubble surrounds the monolith to a distance of approximately 300 feet. The shattered rock makes it difficult to approach with any degree of stealth: Move Silently checks take a –10 penalty. Additionally, creatures must succeed on DC 10 Balance checks to run or make double moves.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
No detailed map is provided for this location. The placement of the following features is at the DM’s discretion, as is the composition of guardian forces.
Guard Posts: Staggered around the perimeter of the basalt plain are four underground bunkers. Each consists of a single room with an adjoining latrine. Narrow window slits at the junction of ceiling and wall open up just above the ground line, allowing a clear view in three directions. From above, each guard post appears as a low rise of sand and stone.
Four psicrystals serve as a first line of defense, each one the servant of a guard in one of the bunkers. A DC 30 Spot check or Search check is needed to note a psicrystal among the rubble, or DC 25 Spot check to discern the closest guard post.
Monolith: The basalt monolith rises some 80 feet into the air. Despite its age, it shows no signs of weathering. The entrance to the caverns beneath can be found with a successful DC 30 Search check, but it features a psionic lock that can be opened only by imbuing it with 1 power point. A DC 25 Disable Device check can reveal this mechanism; a DC 35 Disable Device check can bypass it. The entrance is part of the monolith’s base and can’t be destroyed without burying the entrance under a massive pile of rubble, possibly toppling the entire monolith.
Caverns: A maze of caverns makes up the complex—a mix of well-traveled passageways and areas that have not been entered in millennia. Whether the current inhabitants fear those locations or simply have no reason to explore them is up to the DM.
Inhabited areas within the complex include a barracks, a combined kitchen and dining hall, and private quarters for the leaders of the exiles who hide out here.
Temple of Io: One wing of the underground complex has been rebuilt as a temple to Io, dragon deity of magic and knowledge. The exiles who shelter in the complex worship a brass dragon (juvenile, young adult, or adult) who has managed to convince them that she is an avatar of Io. The cunning creature plays on the history of this place and the legends of Syrkarn to expand her influence through the local tribes of the steppes, claiming that the Heart of Io is but a small sampling of her power.
Access to the hidden Chamber of the Heart is by way of a stone door. In addition to guards, it is protected by magic or psionic traps at a level appropriate for the PCs.
Chamber of the Heart: The tombs of Khunan’s sorcerer-kings line the corridor leading to a draconic ossuary and were looted centuries ago. From ahead, a faint silvery light can be seen. When the PCs enter the chamber, the illumination flares as a jet of silverblack flame rising within a circle of rough obsidian stones. The bones of ancient dragons fill the area, making the chamber floor difficult terrain and providing cover.
This flame is the heart of Io, and it is guarded by the evil creatures—mostly yuan-ti—that have recently partaken of its power. Recharging this magical location requires the PCs to slay its defenders first.
The Heart of Io
A thousand years before the Inspired rose to power, Sarlona was a land of ancient empires. The greatest of the sorcerer-kings are said to have been entombed in a place of draconic power dating back to the Age of Demons. Its original name is long lost, but those who search today for this legendary site call it the Heart of Io.
Lore: Characters can gain the following pieces of information about the heart of Io by making Knowledge (arcana) checks or bardic knowledge checks at the appropriate DCs.
DC 15: The Heart of Io is the legendary tomb of the Sarlonan sorcerer-kings.
DC 20: Though the power of the Khunan sorcererkings was formidable, the Heart of Io holds magic of an older age. Dragons built this place when the world was new, and the bones of their greatest warriors are interred here.
DC 25: The Heart of Io is more than just a draconic tomb. The magic that permeates its stone walls dates back to the Age of Demons, though its original purpose is long lost.
DC 30: Though no dragonmarks appear in Sarlona, the magic of the Heart of Io augments the power of existing dragonmarks or bestows a temporary scarlike mark with mystical power on any living creature.
Description: See the Chamber of the Heart description for details.
Prerequisite: Only living creatures not of the outsider type with at least 5 Hit Dice can access the power of the Heart of Io.
Location Activation: The silver-black fire burns in a 10-foot radius. It provides bright illumination throughout the chamber, and it is hot enough that creatures within the chamber are subject to heat dangers (DMG 303). A creature must willingly step into the flame and remain there for 4 rounds to partake of the location’s power. It takes no hit point damage from the flames but must succeed on a DC 20 Fortitude save each round or take 1d6 points of Charisma damage. A creature reduced to 0 Charisma collapses within the flames, taking 1d6 points of damage each round. Other creatures can easily pull it to safety, but rescuers each take 1d4 points of damage from the magical flames.
Recharge: Once the Heart of Io has granted its power to five creatures, it cannot do so again for 1 year or until all five creatures are slain. Slain creatures who are raised or resurrected lose the power granted to them by the Heart.
Special Ability (Sp): Creatures that already possess a true or aberrant dragonmark can use their least or aberrant dragonmark spell-like abilities an additional three times per day.
A creature that does not possess a dragonmark gains the use of one of the spell-like abilities granted by the Aberrant Dragonmark feat (ECS 47) three times per day. A scarlike symbol resembling a dragonmark in the shape of a heart appears on the creature’s forearm (or equivalent) when it uses the spell-like ability, slowly fading over the following 10 rounds. This symbol is not a dragonmark, nor does it affect the ability of a member of a dragonmarked race to obtain a dragonmark in the future. If such a character obtains a dragonmark while the power of the Heart of Io is still active, the power ends for that creature. Even creatures not of a dragonmarked race can benefit from this power.
Duration: The power of the Heart of Io lasts for 1 year.
Aura: Strong transmutation.
Ability Value: 12,000 gp (2,400 gp per affected creature).