THE VALLEY OF RŴNOS

Hook: Rŵnos... a powerful, good, wizard whose last known whereabouts were somewhere in the steppes of the far North, is rumoured to have died. Just rumours, mind you. Whispers on the lips of old tavern-goers and would-be thieves of all stripes eager to get their hands on his treasures... Everyone has heard of Rŵnos. Even you...

Well, now, you find yourselves approached by an old beggar claiming to possess a map to the ziggurat, and parts of one of its mazes... He says the last apprentice of the old mage, driven mad by his experiences inside the tomb, died clutching a ragged scroll with a map he scrawled in ink and charcoal. Runes and passages and a regional map scrawled at once legibly and frantically... The man was barely intelligible when he appeared before the beggar... gibbering and crying for his absent mind and spouting fragments of disjointed thoughts and memories of the tomb from dry, cracked lips, before he died. The old beggar doesn't want the scroll. Fearing for his safety even holding such a thing, true, or not... he wishes to part with it, quickly. He says he held on to it for 5 years, before the pressure became too great... He won't bear the burden of such madness, any longer, and won't even charge you for it. He thought you looked as good as any to give it to. He says his days of youthful adventure are over, and even in his most courageous hours he would not have tried the tomb of such a powerful person. His is a coward's life. He at first thought having such a thing might inspire him to change his life, but, he never could muster the courage, and he thinks the thing is cursed... Before disappearing as quickly as he arrived, he shoves the crumpled parchment into your confused hands, as if trying push away some unwanted assailant.

Details: Rŵnos well-liked by many who visited him and crossed his path. But, thieves and fortune hunters everywhere have dreamt of the man's treasures as his reputation turned to renown for his accomplishments. Wizards have treasure, and Rŵnos was one of the greatest... The wizard, himself, as powerful as he was, refused to violate the laws of life and death, refused to extend his life, or parley with forces too powerful, and so died. Wizards who wish to live use their power responsibly, and learn their lessons, quickly. Magic is dangerous, but, its rewards great, if the patience and discipline to master its secrets can be harnessed.

The old wizard was no fool. He knew the magical treasury he had amassed would be a source of envy for others seeking power, wealth, or knowledge... probably all three. So, he hired a slew of labourers, built a massive ziggurat under which to bury himself and his treasures. He has safe-guarded them using many tricks, traps, and puzzles mundane and magical, and, in a kind of ironic mood, decided that if anyone could best these, they could suffer the trouble his treasures would bring them... or blessings, depending on one's perspective and sense of things... Magic has a way of protecting itself. But, he ascribed to the idea that power requires great responsibility. He was, some say, the best of his trade... And they say he was wiser than most, foolish, or somewhat mad. Maybe all four... Either way, the old wizard would have agreed with all of the associations attributed to him. He was no aggrandiser.

Rŵnos's apprentice was a fool. He was a thief who thought he could spy upon the ziggurat's construction, map it, and come back to collect the old wizard's belongings without falling prey to his master's traps, and side-stepping years of training and mistakes, in the process... but, Rŵnos knew his protegé's plan, and warned him to leave before his magic was used to summon the minotaur to guard his mazes… ‘I am using the last of my power to prepare this spell, apprentice. Begone before I am finished, or you will be trapped here and subject to my many safeguards…' Agreeing, but, not heeding his master’s advice, the apprentice indeed became trapped in one of the mazes, and made it out alive with only enough sanity to make it to physical safety, without any treasure for his trouble other than the map - a map of both careful measuring and haphazard scraps of information recorded during bouts of various degrees of insanity. Rŵnos’s body was finally placed in its sarcophagus by the minotaur, laid to rest therein, after a life of learning and adventure, tragedy and success, wisdom and folly.

The high mountain valley Rŵnos’s tomb occupies is inhabited by its own wardens. The steps are narrow and treacherous, not easily defensible - no place for a fight. Bird bats harry those who find themselves upon them, and the caves and crevices are home to hungry manticora… among other things. Seemingly idyllic, strewn with fragrant wild flowers and evergreen woodland filled with playful things and birdsong, a set of thundering waterfalls, and high, sparkling granite cliffs, the valley is not at first glance dangerous-looking, but, serene and even sublime. The flowers here are lethal, and can intoxicate those who smell or ingest them. Thin rope bridges spanning the cataracts tumbling out of the valley twist and turn easily in the wind and under excited motion… Rŵnos was no fool. He welcomes visitors, but, his final gift is also the curse he bequeaths unto those who might try for his treasure. Nothing comes without a cost… And the best power is that seldom used, and only when necessary, when it is.

Inside Rŵnos's tomb chamber, players' characters will find several things. A ring of minotaur caryatid columns surrounding Rŵnos's sarcophagus, which is perched atop a tiered dais. Upon the foot of each of the four caryatids located at each of the cardinal directions is a depression. They are for the four elemental rune stones that can be found at the end of each of the mazes. They can only be reached by crossing a treacherous bridge. Each is resting neatly upon a pedestal. Upon Rŵnos's sarcophagus is a riddle carved upon each side pertaining to the four mazes, the runes, and how they unlock the spirit maze, which, if bested, will grant access to Rŵnos's treasury, where anyone present may receive a gift. However, the riddle poem warns against powerful minotaur warriors who haunt each maze, all activated once anyone steps foot inside the maze cavern. Each maze reaches high, and one-four keys must be found in puzzle chambers in each maze, dealing with specific challenges related to the element in question, and its associated metaphorical associations. Once the key(s) are had, characters may approach the doors that unlock the path to the bridge chamber, where a final challenge must be faced before taking the rune stone. If the players can best each maze before the minotaur, a trap, or some other challenge can kill or defeat them, they succeed. They may kill the minotaur, but, it is reborn, as per the powerful spell cast by Rŵnos, at the beginning of each day. Any maze may be faced at any time, but, each door must be opened using the element associated with the rune hidden therein... Any items from the maze chambers, except the rune stones, disappear, once a character passes the threshold to the stair leading back up to the tomb chamber. Any minotaur is bound to its maze. It cannot follow any character up the stairs to the tomb.