Temple of Whispers (Morequindi Shrine) Map ---
[Overgrown Temple Entrance (1) - Entrance] --- [Desecrated Vestibule (2)] --- [Acolyte's Cells (3)] | | [Chamber of False Offerings (4)] --- [Ritual Antechamber (5)] | | [Sanctum of Spiders (6)] --- [Archive of Lies (7) - Objective]
--- Area 1 (Overgrown Temple Entrance - Entrance) --- Description: The once-grand entrance to this temple now lies partially collapsed and choked with thick, dark, unnatural vines. The air is heavy with the scent of damp earth and something acrid, like burnt offerings. Faint, unsettling whispers seem to eman drift from within the shadowed interior. This is the primary point of entry. Exits/Connections: To Desecrated Vestibule (2) (North).
--- Area 2 (Desecrated Vestibule) --- Description: This entry chamber is a ruin of broken altars and smashed statuary, depicting a forgotten deity defaced with crude, spider-like symbols. Thick, glistening webs hang from the high, vaulted ceiling, some pulsating faintly with dark energy. The air is cold and still, carrying a faint, cloying sweetness. Exits/Connections: To Overgrown Temple Entrance (1) (South), To Acolyte's Cells (3) (East), To Chamber of False Offerings (4) (West). Creatures: It has creatures (type: Morequindi).
--- Area 3 (Acolyte's Cells) --- Description: A series of small, cramped cells line this corridor, each with a rusted, broken iron gate. Stained sleeping mats and crude, personal effects are strewn about, suggesting recent, hurried abandonment. A few discarded parchments bear strange, dark glyphs that twist the words of prayer into blasphemy. Exits/Connections: To Desecrated Vestibule (2) (West). Trap: It contains a trap (type: tripwire connected to a cascading pile of enchanted, sharp bones). Perception DC 13 to spot. Potential Damage: 1d8/T1, 2d8/T2, 3d8/T3, 4d8/T4 Piercing Damage.
--- Area 4 (Chamber of False Offerings) --- Description: This circular chamber once housed offerings, but now broken idols and dark, solidified pools of what appears to be dried blood mar its sacred space. The walls are covered in unsettling murals depicting monstrous spiders consuming light, lit by the eerie glow of bioluminescent fungi. Exits/Connections: To Desecrated Vestibule (2) (East), To Ritual Antechamber (5) (North). Creatures: It has creatures (type: Morequindi). Encounter Type: Battle Area
--- Area 5 (Ritual Antechamber) --- Description: This chamber serves as a preparation area for dark rituals. Crude surgical implements lie on a stone slab, alongside empty vials containing a viscous, black residue. The air is thick with the metallic tang of blood and the sharp scent of ozone. More intricate web-like structures stretch into the shadows. Exits/Connections: To Chamber of False Offerings (4) (South), To Sanctum of Spiders (6) (East). Secret Passages/Areas: A false section of the altar (Perception DC 17 to find) opens into a small, hidden compartment containing a collection of gruesome ritual components or a small, cursed dagger.
--- Area 6 (Sanctum of Spiders) --- Description: This inner sanctum is the very heart of the temple's defilement. Giant, pulsating webs fill the entire space, almost suffocatingly dense, shimmering with dark magic. Discarded husks of victims hang limply within the strands. The constant, chitinous skittering of unseen creatures echoes from the depths of the webs. Exits/Connections: To Ritual Antechamber (5) (West), To Archive of Lies (7) (North). Creatures: It has creatures (type: Morequindi). Encounter Type: Battle Area
--- Area 7 (Archive of Lies - Objective) --- Description: Hidden behind the main sanctum, this chamber is surprisingly free of webs, but the air is filled with a palpable sense of deceit. Shelves are lined with meticulously organized scrolls, parchments, and coded ledgers. At the center, on a pedestal of dark stone, rests the "undeniable proof" – a forged document, a corrupted ledger, or a magical recording crystal revealing the Nyxaran priestess's fabrication against House Vhaeril. A faint, arcane ward protects the proof. Exits/Connections: To Sanctum of Spiders (6) (South). Encounter Type: BOSS FIGHT! Objective: This area is designed for the final confrontation with the fanatical Nyxaran priestess (the 'boss') and her most devoted followers. The objective is to find the "undeniable proof of this fabrication" (the forged document, corrupted ledger, or recording crystal) which will provide Lady Lythira the leverage to "utterly destroy the priestess and her followers." The challenge is not just defeating the priestess, but securing the sensitive, fabricated evidence she has created.
