L1-16. The Ruby Stacks 'Library & Cell'
The east door from the Audience of Measures throws a dim shadow outward, as if the threshold swallows light. Inside, a wrecked study sprawls: a battered desk, sagging wall shelves, and a floor littered with bones and garbage. Tattered pallets show this was a bunk for adolescent orcs. Yet beyond the filth, your lantern catches the truth—Suel brasswork along the shelf fronts and red-ink catalog runes on the endcaps. This was the temple library… and someone hid parts of it well.
The Cell & Panax Green-Song
Mechanism. A concealed button on the basalt throne in Room 14 causes a floor portcullis here to rise up and lock, sealing a 10×10 cell niche in the east alcove. The grate is held by a 500-lb counterweight (hidden in the wall).
- Find the slot: DC 13 Investigation at the east alcove notes oil-stained grooves in the floor and wall.
- Lower the grate:
- Brute force: Group Athletics DC 18 (at least 2 creatures, rope/lever helps) to pull down the grate; success lowers it enough to slip someone under; failure by 5+ strains muscles (each lifter takes 1d6 bludgeoning).
- Counterweight release: In the judge’s crawl behind the throne (Room 14 secret), a stone cap hides a release pin. Thieves’ Tools DC 14 or Religion DC 14 (reciting the six-count) drops the weight safely, lowering the gate.
- Deadlift won’t work: lifting up from inside the cell fails—the weight holds it.
- Panax Green-Song (captive). A horned scout (use Spy/Scout stat block with HP 6; speed 25 ft from injuries). An iron ring on one horn serves as a Dimensional Anchor; he cannot teleport/plane shift.
- Removing the anchor: Dispel Magic (DC 15), Remove Curse, or “touch of a maiden” (rule-of-cool blessing: a creature self-identifying as a maiden lays a hand on the ring; the anchor breaks with a soft chime).
- Knows: the throne button triggers the gate; orcs sleep here; manuscripts exist “above the filth”; cultist met Krak in Room 14.
Jail Cell Read-aloud
This dank niche is a hellish trap. Nail-scratches rake the stone in tally lines. Spiked chains drip rust and old gore above a fly-thick splatter on the far wall. A horned prisoner slumps behind the bars, eyes sunken. The prisoner lifts a bruised face and you catch the glint of an iron ring tight around one curved horn. “Travelers,” he croaks, voice dry as leaves, “if you’ve a drop of water and a scrap of mercy, I’ll trade you a path the orcs don’t know.”
Library Treasure (what’s truly here)
Most shelves are smashed or empty. But high, behind a broken cornice (easy to reach with a 10-ft pole or a boost), sits a sealed case: the Ruby Stacks Set—a surviving Suel Pantheon reference set (16 slim tomes) and a scroll-tube of ritual manuscripts.
The Ruby Stacks — Tomes by Deity (each 25–75 gp to a collector; 400 gp as a set)
Short, red-leather handbooks with brass corner-tabs, each stamped with the patron’s glyph. Reading a tome for 10 minutes grants advantage on the next Religion/History check about that deity today.
Suel Temple Library Desk by 3orcs
- Lendor, Lord of Measure. Hourglass-star; procession timings, six-count cadences, oaths of passage.
- Wee Jas, Ruby Auditor. Funerary forms, oath ledgers, consecration and disbarment formulae.
- Jascar, Guardian of the Heights. Mountain-anvil ethics; watch schedules; an “oath-anvil” sidebar.
- Fortubo, Maker in Stone. Tool blessings; forge-safe litanies; fault-line omens.
- Lydia, Bright Teacher. Index of hymn-ribs; primer symbols; public reading rites.
- Dalt, Keeper of Doorways. Threshold wards; key-sigils; safe room seals.
- Bralm, Industry’s Hive. Work-chants; hex-comb plans; labor rotations.
- Pyremius, Quiet Flame. Controlled burn rites; assassin’s prayers; cautions in tiny type.
- Syrul, Veiled Tongue. Masks and misdirection; “white lies of rule”; dangerous marginalia.
- Beltar, Lady of Spite. Pits and humiliations; forbidden curses; scar-rites.
- Kord, Red Storm. Trial-stakes; feats of strength; celebration laws.
- Llerg, Wild Father. Omen-stones; beast trials; simple vows.
- Phaulkon, Sky Arrow. Arrow-lot divination; wind-borne message forms.
- Osprem, Lady of Harbor. Tide-oaths; safe-conduct scrolls for ships.
- Xerbo, Lord of Trade. Contract glyphs; tariff tables; caravan writs.
- Phyton, Green Steward. Tended-wood precepts; stag-chair etiquette.
Manuscripts — Rituals for the Audience Ring (Room 14)
A scroll-tube holds neat copies of rites you can run at the summoning circle:
- Rite of the Ruby Measure (Wee Jas): legal binding + magic circle rubric; gas-assist notation (+2 binding).
- Lendor’s Last Measure Addendum: cadence checks; safe-pass wording that locks the pit for 1 round.
- Pyremian Conjunction: safe ignition and controlled flare (don’t do this indoors… they did).
- Syrul’s Three Masks: lie-oblation to bargain with CE/NE entities (mishap margin noted).
- Beltar’s Spite Vow: coercive pact vs. dwarven works (dangerous edges).
- Jascar’s Oath-Anvil Adjunct: minor guardian boon when a vow is sworn before stone.
(Using these manuscripts grants advantage on the ritual skill check in Room 14.)
The doorway itself throws a shadow into the hall. Inside, a study wreck: battered desk, collapsed shelves, bones and trash. To the east a floor slot frames a barred cell niche; the iron gate sits up, held by unseen weight. A horned prisoner slumps within. Amid the filth, a high shelf hides a sealed case—red leather and brass glint in your lantern light.
The Desk (secret & trap)
A battered, single-drawer desk stands under the north shelves.
- Secret compartment: Investigation DC 13 to find the false back; opening triggers a Poison Needle Trap unless bypassed.
- Bypass: A pin-button is hidden under the drawer lip (Perception DC 12 press to safe the needle.
Poison Needle Trap (as given; plus 5e)
- CL system: Find traps CL 3; Disable CL 3. On trigger, the needle deals 1 damage and injects Type III poison.
- Type III poison:
- Success Save: 1d4 dmg, –1 all secondary attributes; 1–2 days.
- Fail Save: 1d8 dmg, –2 all primary attributes; 2d6 days.
- 5e equivalent: DC 13 Perception to spot the glint; DC 13 Thieves’ Tools to disarm; on trigger, +5 to hit vs. a hand within 5 ft; on hit 1 piercing + DC 13 Con save → Poisoned for 8 hours and 7 (2d6) poison damage (half on success; still not Poisoned).
- Box text—Perceived: The lock seems trivial—until a cold glint inside the keyhole catches your eye: a spring-loaded needle slick with orange ichor.
- Box text—Triggered: A sting across your hand—shallow but searing. In two breaths your vision blurs as the venom bites.
Contents (desk):
- Wizard scroll: Knock.
- Vandalized spellbook (humanoid skin cover, bat-eared demon crest on back). Most pages ruined; salvageable cantrips/1st-level spells:
- Arcane Mark, Detect Poison, Endure Elements, Ghost Sound, Message, Open/Close, Alter Size, Identify, Spider Climb.
- Value: 75 gp to a novice; Prestidigitator +3; 20 pages (scribal boast).
- Summoning notes: “DemonScroll–spirit_animal_firebeetle” (a ritual seed for a minor fire-beetle spirit).
Macabre Components (south shelf & box)
- Skull bowl with worn leg-bone pestle (alchemical use).
- Seven skulls, each etched with a rune (research fodder or ritual props).
- Box of twelve long black candles; when lit, they stink like burning flesh (grant advantage to Intimidation once in this room; also count as a component for Pyremius/Syrul rites).
- Pouches of powdered silver & bone (25 gp total; components for magic circle or funerary rites).
- Six small onyx gems, each carved with a death sigil (50 gp each; components for necromancy).
- Ceremonial dagger (bone hilt; wrought-iron blade) and a small blood-coated iron knife (ritual only; improvised dagger stats).
Suel Histories (high cubby; 30–60 gp each)
- Tome of Ancient Suel History: Sakatha, the Great Lizard King. Two copies survive; one is water-warped. Notes on vampire-tyrant rumors and Suel border wars.
- Qalnossk: Treatises of the Serpent Marsh. Accounts of marsh campaigns and heresies; marginalia in Suloise and Orcish.
Suel Temple Library by 3orcs
Area tags
library (hidden valuables), jail cell, portcullis puzzle, poison trap, Suel lore (Wee Jas • Lydia • Lendor • Dalt), ritual manuscripts
Light • sound • smell
- No built-in light; the threshold shadow dims nonmagical light within 5 ft of the door (pure flavor; see note below).
- The room smells of damp paper, rancid fat, and old ink.
Threshold Shadow (flavor effect): The doorframe bears a hairline Wee Jas funerary ward; it casts shadow outward regardless of light angle. Creatures making Perception checks to look out of the room from the doorway have disadvantage unless using bright light.
Layout at a glance
- West wall (by door): collapsed shelves, scattered bones/trash.
- North wall: the battered desk (secret compartment; needle trap).
- East alcove: a floor slot where a portcullis rises from below to seal a cell niche (10×10).
- South wall: more ruined shelves; a few intact cubbies high up.
Occupation & responses
- Usually quiet unless an adolescent orc naps here (1–2 orcs, 25% chance).
- Sound of a portcullis or trap trigger brings Room 14 aid in 1 round, chief + bodyguards by 3–4, barracks by 6.
Type
Room, Common, Study
Parent Location
Owning Organization
Contested By
Characters in Location
Panax, Horned Prisoner by 3orcs
Panax Green-Song — herbalist and night-watch fiddler
Horned Prisoner of the Gnarley
Identity (at a glance)
- Creature: Satyr (fey) — use the Monster Manual satyr stat block.
- Alignment: Neutral Good (mischief-with-a-heart)
- Look: Sun-browned skin; tangled black curls; curved ram-horns (left horn bears an iron ring etched with Suloise glyphs bruised wrists/ankles from spiked chains; pipe-scars on callused fingers.
- Voice/RP hooks: Breathless wit despite exhaustion; calls everyone “traveler”; winces at iron; eyes track any mention of the Gnarley or the druid circle.
Running tips
- Make the throne button matter. If the party found the 14-button, they instantly grok why Swath is stuck—nice connection moment.
- Reward careful thieves. The needle trap is fair: glint + pin-button bypass + CL/5e numbers.
- Lean into Suel literacy. Tomes give small, satisfying advantages and reinforce the pantheon vibe.
- Let the manuscripts shorten the ritual learning curve in Room 14 (advantage on the check).
- If you want tension: have a young orc roll over in a pallet mid-search, or knock a skull—clack—and start your corridor encounter timer.
New Library Item
(Level 1, Room 16: Ruby Stacks)
Canticles of the Ruby Measure
(Suel priest’s manual)
- Format: Narrow folio bound in cracked crimson leather with a bronze clasp. Pages are vellum, rubricated margins, and geometric drop caps.
- Language: Old Suloise throughout; many gloss notes in Common by a Suel acolyte scribe (awkward but readable).
- Condition/Value: Fair; worth 50–100 gp to a temple or collector.
- Contents (what players can learn just by reading):
- The “watch-prayer” in liturgical verse—the exact line appears once as the refrain of a teaching hymn (see excerpt below).
- Cadence coaching: “Hold the measure in six beats, let the law rest between breaths.”
- Icon keys: mini-illuminations pairing Lendor with instruments of measure (rings/ticks), Wee Jas with ruby and funerary writ, Jascar with an anvil and oath tablet, Pyremius with a dagger over a flame.
- Processional order: “Measure goes before Law; Stone follows; Flame judges last.” (Maps to the phrase order.)
- Margin mnemonic (in Common): “Say the line when the six are set.”
Handout-ready excerpt (players can find/translate)
Count the measure, keep the law,
Stone our oath, and flame our awe;
On six sure beats, our feet shall pass:
Lendor’s Measure, Ruby’s Law; Jascar’s Stone, Pyremius’ Flame—Suloise pass.
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