Tirana's Lair, Part 1 (Gozran (IV) 29th, 4709 AR)

The heroes had a change of heart regarding Gadka's offer and decided to follow the other lead they got while gathering information. Located between Cavalcade and the Bottoms near the outer wall that overlooks the cliff, the entrance of the old Council of Truth chambers was marked by the ruins of an old water mill in a nearby stream. Its wide double doors, cast from bronze, bear the engraved image of a large-eyed owl.

The Splitstreet gang is a crew of swaggering young human thieves. Each tall and lanky thief wore a bandanna tied around his neck, which he used to cover the lower half of his face when the situation called for violence. The thieves were stationed around the decrepit mill, waiting to ambush any trespassers. They were competent brawlers and quickly recovered and worked together once the heroes struck.

The thugs were moving in to flank the heroes and then bouncing away. The thugs fought only until half their number was slain, at which point the remainder tried to flee back inside the double doors. The heroes killed them before they managed to flee.

With few exceptions, all man-made rooms in Tirana’s complex are of white or gray stone masonry. In places, this gives way to the natural brown or gray rock of the plateau. Ceilings are 10 feet high, and all doors are made of steel or bronze and embossed with a stylized owl. Magic flames, equivalent in brightness to torches, emanate from ceiling tiles and walls. These illuminate rooms through the complex, while natural caverns were left dark.

Entrance. A short flight of stone stairs leads down into an elegant room tiled with white marble on the floor, walls, and ceiling. A long raised trough running through the center of the floor contains a few feet of crystal-clear water and lazily swimming orange fish. A random assortment of small rugs and reed mats covers the floor near the southern wall.

Guards took up positions in the hall next to the entrance and ambushed the party. The thieves did their best to hide and sneak attack the party. Once combat was joined, they darted in and attacked, flanking when forced to make a stand. Halfway through the battle, an elf with silver-white hair stopped the battle, wanting to negotiate with the heroes.

The elf's name was Tulann, and he pretended to know the heroes in front of the thieves. The heroes played along and briefly exited the chambers in order to speak freely. Tulann is also a newcomer in Kaer Maga, looking for his elf friend Aeriel. Aeriel came to Kaer Maga to 'liberate' Tirana of some artifacts, but thankfully not the swords the heroes are looking for. Tulann befriended the thieves and was in the process of trying to convince them to allow him further into the chambers. The thieves had never been beyond the western half of the dungeon, and they were under strict orders not to. Their leader broke these orders several days ago, and has not returned since. Since their goals aligned, the heroes partnered with Tulann and convinced the thieves to allow them further into the dungeon.

Chaos Circuit. The stale scent of ozone and a continuous drone of pops and hums permeated this natural cavern. At its center, four clusters of white crystals jutted from the stone, ribbons of blue-white electricity crackling over the surface of each, filling the room with an unsteady white glow. Wild arcs of electricity leapt and danced between the floor crystals and a fifth crystalline point halfway up the north wall, forming a wavering electric pentagon. Within this fence of lightning a pile of armor, weapons, and objets d’art lay heaped, many noticeably studded with fine gemstones and all made of metal.

The crackling pentagon in the center of this room was known as a chaos circuit and allowed anyone bearing its shock sphere talisman to tap directly into the electrical energy generated. Crossing any of the lines of electricity flowing between each crystal dealt electricity damage. The electricity field only extended up 5 feet, meaning that a flying or high-jumping person could avoid the damage.

The shock sphere was a fist-sized sphere of silver metal, polished mirror-bright and crackling with tiny blue bolts of static electricity. Anyone standing within the chaos circuit and holding the sphere while concentrating could release powerful strokes of electrical energy from one of the crystals. In addition, the shock sphere served to regulate the energy flowing through the crystals. When the shock sphere left the marked area, the circuit became dangerously unbalanced and filled the room with a wild blast of electricity before the crystals crumbled. This disabled the chaos circuit.

This chamber is also home to a self-important air mephit named Avaneidardax. The mephit originally wandered into this room months ago, after being summoned by Uzbin in the vivisection room, and became quickly infatuated with the power of the chaos circuit. Since then, he had slowly mastered the use of the shock sphere and used it to protect his blatantly stolen pile of metallic items. When he heard the heroes coming, he immediately begun casting preparatory spells. When they entered, he crawled forth from the tiny fort he’d built out of shields and breastplates and crowed, “Halt, mortals! You’ve entered the realm of Avaneidardax, undisputed lord of the boiling sky, baron of blistering winds, master of sapping storms. Render unto me that which is metal, or prepare to be shocked!”

When the party did not immediately remove their metallic items and lay them on the cavern floor, Avaneidardax blasted the heroes with powerful strokes of electrical energy from the shock sphere.

Avaneidardax's outline appeared blurred, shifting, and wavering even before combat started. Eventually the heroes subdued him and, unaware of the consequences, removed him and the chaos sphere he was carrying from the chaos circuit. They then drilled him for information on the dungeon before letting him go.

Avaneidardax’s hoard was substantial, containing a +2 light steel shield, a +1 icy burst kama, a masterwork spiked chain, a +2 mithral breastplate, a mithral heavy shield, as well as a number of mismatched pieces of mundane steel armor and 27 gp. The shock sphere, when removed from the circuit, became little more than a steel ball.

Generator Station. The walls of this enormous chamber stretch twenty feet upward before arching five more feet to a peak, buttressed at ten-foot intervals by narrow pillars of the same white stone. In the center, the smooth floor has been cut away to make room for a massive pool of cloudy water that eddies and glows with bursts of faint green phosphorescence. On a stone bridge bisecting the pool at the waterline squats a massive conglomeration of gauges, tubes, and drive belts, all whirring together with a mechanical hum that fills the room. Static around it causes tiny blue sparks to leap from its frame, particularly around the pipes that lead into the pool. On the north side of the chamber, a platform raised five feet off the ground contains a metallic console overlooking the pool. The console contains a number of switches and dials, none of them labeled.

The 30-foot-deep pool of water in this room cools the reactor, and as such is contaminated with strange magical pollution. Creatures immersed completely had their bodies fighting to maintain cohesion before becoming immune to the water’s effects. Due to turbulence from the reactor, the water made it easier for creatures within to avoid detection and made it difficult to swim.

A giant squid is placed in this pool. It adapted to the pool’s taint and is extremely hungry. It can swim beneath the bridge and access both halves of the pool.

The squid hid in the pool, waiting until several heroes had come within range of its tentacles before attacking. The squid attacked with its tentacles, grappling and constricting foes and attempting to drown them in the water. When severely injured, the squid used its ink ability and hid at the bottom of the pool.