Sisters of Chyon and the Tenth Labyrinth

In the southern hemisphere, in the continent of Ueris, lay the ruins of one of the true wonders of Benu--the Tenth Labyrinth.

Legend says that a great technomancer called Chyon of Dhrom had taken residence among the canyonlands to while away the millennia, developing incredible technologies the likes of which Benu had not seen. His powers of intellect and ambition did not go unnoticed and before long nearby kingdoms sent spies, hoping to procure his secrets by any means necessary.

Maze of Madness

To ward off, confuse, and confound his enemies, Chyon used his techno magicks to carve a great maze into the canyons that looked natural to the untrained eye. He added many deadly pitfalls, traps, and puzzles as well as various "guardians" to deter robbers from stealing the magnificent secrets kept safe within his vaults.

Countless intrepid adventurers paid the ultimate price for their curiosity or their bounties. But some did escape with partial maps of his labyrinth. Eventually Chyon came to realize that the sheer number of attempts would catch up with him. So he finally created a final maze--the tenth.

 

Instead of a completely separate labyrinth though, he connected all the mazes into a giant, moving, multi-level mega puzzle. Each of the previous nine were now interconnected. No single map could ever be produced with enough accuracy to be useful in future expeditions.

The Ultimate Guardians

Having achieved such great accomplishments on Benu, Chyon understood that living in this dimension became like a straight jacket to his now otherworldly abilities. Knowing he soon must depart for a higher plane, he left behind two master guardians to watch over his labyrinth.

Chyon knew he could not himself stay on Benu to personally judge the intentions of those who entered the maze, so he forged two great female sphinx to test would-be invaders and robbers.

He imbued the sphinxes with consciousness. Sephia would be assess would-be assailants through pointed interrogation using logic and reason. Qureo, possessed the ability to empathically evaluate the sincerity and intentions of the entrant. Both are quite cruel and pityless.

They remain the most formidable guardians of the labyrinth--stationed just before the great vault--at the heart of the puzzle. Anyone lucky enough to make it that far, would be tested. Only honorable individuals of noble purpose would be permitted entrance. And they would be re-tested upon exit, for it was under the weight of bearing witness to the astounding artifacts inside the vault, that avarice-riddled entrants would buckle.

Sphinx Powers and Abilities  

The sisters are just under 100 feet tall, and have the ability to stare into the very soul of their targets. Through a massive psionic attack they can render victims powerless, petrified with fear, or vaporized. They are made of an unknown material which is nye indestructible.

Psionic Roar

Victims must roll Save vs. Stunned or Paralysis. Characters with Dexterity or Agility scores lower than 8-9 suffer a -1 penalty, 6-7 suffer -2, and 5 or lower -3. Paralyzing effect lasts for 1d6 rounds. The sisters will then conduct the Test of Courage on their targets. Should their prey fail, the Sisters will employ optic blasts to dispose of targets.

Test of Courage

The sisters will forge an illusion in the mind of their targets in which they must face their deepest fears. Victims must roll Save vs. Fear using the same modifiers found in the Psionic Roar above. Failure indicates they are now also paralyzed (roll 1d6 to determine duration). Those who lose their save also lose commensurate Charisma/Presence attribute scores (-1, -2, -3, per above). Victims who's Charisma/Presense falls below 4 will be driven mad for the remainder of the session.

Disintegrating Optic Blasts

These deadly beams render the final judgement on those poor, unfortunate souls at their feet. They gain a +1, +2, or +3 to hit (the exact oppisite of the ranges found in Psionic Roar). Damage is extreme: 2d8+1 for each eye (fire as two, simultaneous shots per sphinx).

Rumors:

• Chyon is thought to be the first of the Ancient Kings to disappear from Benu.
• The souls of Chyon's own sisters are thought to reside (or be trapped) within the giant statues.
• Anyone pure of heart who can pass both into and out from the inmost vault, shall be free to leave without harm, provided they leave without taking any artifacts.
• A hologram of Chyon (which appears real) will apparate before the great sphinx sisters to intimidate his victims before the test begins.
• Chyon may be the inventor of some of Benu's more well-known artifacts.

Ancient Secrets: Planetary Alignment

Eons ago, the Temple of Ru sat atop the end of a long rocky pier that was cut from the landscape by philospher stonecutters. The roofless, pentagonal temple sat peering into the night sky, with five sets of staircases (three steps each) that faced each other and met in mid-air.

Inlaid in the first step of each stair, rests brick with an ancient inscription of glyphs for each season. Four of the five stairs still have their glyph bricks. Today, the temple is long fallen, but the three steps for each season remain.

There are five solstices in the Benuvian calendar that take place at the crossroads of the seasons:

• Veral - growth season (although little grows easily on Benu)
• Aesat - high season
• Aumut - falling away
• Borea - season of death
• Indeko- twillight before rebirth

Reckoning of Ru: Astral Alignment

A solstice on Benu is anything but ordinary. On these holy days, the constant stars in the sky that make up the Circlet of Nioro (Warrior Huntress)--align along one of five different paths. Beginning at noon, a priestess of Ru (Five-headed Celestine Godess) would speak an incantation--saying aloud the season inscribed on the aligned stair--and a doorway to another world would open.

Five different stairs. Five different solstices. Five different conjunctions. Five different seasons. Five different portals to outer realms.

Intrepid scholars excavating the site have identified three destinations, based on centuries of research and self endangerment during solstice times.

• Veral - Kurust (although little grows easily on Benu)
• Aesat - Raathnor
• Aumut - Trigor ("third" in Benuvian tongue)
• Borea - Quadrat ("fourth" in Benuvian tongue
• Indeko- Lagol

Three stairs still seem to function, while the other two lie dormant. They've been named numerically for now. It's unknown why they no longer activate. It's possible the destinations were destroyed or migrated to another plane by some cosmic force.

Different Days, Different Worlds

There's a rumor, that more worlds appear on other holidays too, when different constellations are in alignment. But since those occurances happen with even greater rarity, it's unknown where those portals may lead.

In recent times, few are brave enough to ascend the Stair of Ru, and those who do are never again seen. A low, briny lake now covers the area surrounding the stair, and it's been said that an ancient codex of all the possible portals may lie hidden below the surface. Just one of many lost secrets of the Temple of Ru.

Monster: The Khoulak

Background

The khoulak are a race of winged, carnivorous humanoids who live in rocky aeries. They are near-silent in flight and prey on all living things (not the undead). All creatures that walk Benu fear them.

Livelihood/Society

Little is known of khoulaki society except that they are nocturnal and seem to be of a hive mind, often acting in unison. They live in caves in the highlands or atop cliff sides, keeping them as cavernesque aeries.

They attack in feasting parties, preferring to eat what they can on the site of the attack. They will, however, take prisoners to hold captive and eat later. They have at least primitive tools for fashioning prey cages and setting up basic campsites.

They employ no familiars or other beasts, surely they eat anything in their domain.

Appearance/Physicality

No one has ever seen a khoulak's (obscured) mouth and lived. They envelop their prey in batlike wings attached to their arms and--presumably by the sound--vomit corrosive acid to digest their prey. The only facial features apparent are a pair of large, pupil-less, lidless eyes. They have no discernible ears or noses, though they seem to still possess those senses.

Senses
Khoulak have large eyes which give them infravision, allowing them to see in darkness, but are exceptionally nearsighted. This ability makes them less effective in broad daylight. They also possess a keen sonar sense which allows them to zero in on their prey with extreme accuracy in total darkness.

Smothering Grapple
They are powerful adversaries--for most victims they are nearly impossible to escape from, once enveloped in their terrible, suffocating wings. Anyone caught in their grasp will find it nigh impossible to escape. Their wings are attached along their arms down to their wrists.

Methods of Attack

Their idea of combat is to eat their enemies.

Rumors

Khoulak are thought to be demons from the Plane of Death. They sound a "devouring scream" as they feast on their prey, which causes a paralyzing fear in any future victims in the vicinity.

Their presence is felt before they are seen--usually a feeling of terrible dread or foreboding.

It's said that the khoulak were summoned by accident through the incompetence of a boastful wizard, who was immediately punished for waking them from their astral slumber.

Gullible travelers believe the khoulak to be worshipers of the moon goddess Zeth. These fools wear her sigil (three cobalt-colored eyes in various states of opening) on a pendant or charm as a desperate hope for safety.

If encountered as a monster:

STATS
FREQUENCY: Rare
NO. APPEARING: Packs of 8 or more
ARMOR CLASS: 11
MOVE: 5 on ground, 20 in flight
HIT DICE: 2d8+2
NO. OF ATTACKS: 1
DAMAGE/ATTACK: Acid vomit 2d12; Bite 1d8+2; Paralyzing scream - stunned for 1d4 rounds
SPECIAL ABILITIES/SKILLS: Sonar - Emit a clicking noise that helps them detect moment and objects up to 100 meters (in air); Coordinated attack - can intimidate prey through practiced attack patterns. Infravision, but limited by nearsightedness (range of 5 meters).
SPECIAL DEFENSES: ?
MAGIC RESISTANCE: They cannot be harmed by diseases or acid
INTELLIGENCE: Excellent
ALIGNMENT: Neutral evil
SIZE: M
PSIONIC ABILITY: It's believed that the khoulak possess some form of telepathy to communicate with one another, since they are a mostly silent species. It's not know if this ability extends to other races.

If played as a PC:

Prime Requisite Requirements: PHY 13, AGL 15
Hit Dice: Add +2 for being a scary-ass bastard
Max Level: 10
Alignment: Play as True Neutral

Dungeon: "The Unquenchable" Maw

In the highlands that border the wastes lies a massive cave maw, blasted and scorched and choked with carbon stench, called "The Unquenchable". It is the gateway to an ancient dungeon, made up of natural caves, abandoned beetlemen catacombs, and tunnels from a razed super fortress.

Many millennia ago, the area was home to an ancient evil that launched wave after wave of slaughter on the shining fortress of ancient wonders (the name of which has long since been forgotten). Legend has it that one of the Ancient Kings sent his armies into the maw to route the devil, but none returned. More soldiers were conscripted as the centuries passed, but they all perished--it's thirst for blood never seeming to be quaffed--hence the name.

The Ancient King finally passed to the afterlife and without their beloved leader they could not repel the demon's might. The fortress fell in a fortnight, those that didn't fight, fled and a great diaspora began. Many technologies and magics (massive heat rays, psionic generators, astral keys, and more) went missing in the confusion and panic, but a few eventually made their way to the Cryptotherium. The remaining treasures, it's rumored, were claimed by the beast.

Centuries passed, and the maw called once again to adventurers looking to reclaim ancient treasures lost and buried. The maw was rediscoverd, mapped as the entrance--the only one--into the deep chaos below. No adventure party has ever returned.