L1-9. Kitchen-Forge of the Ruby Order

Suel function & motif (ancient use)

A raised hearth smolders beneath a blackened arch. Heavy racks hold hammers, tongs, and long ladles. A stone block beside the fire is polished where something massive once sat. Two swollen barrels lean in the corners, leaking a sour oil smell. Ledger runes and hex bands faintly score the stone. Chiseled along the lintel is a snow-capped peak bearing a gray anvil—the mark of Jascar, Lord of the Dells.

• Original role: dual-purpose forge & defense kitchen—tools and weapons mended here; in a siege, crews heated oil and poured it through the wall system into basins in the Gauntlet Walk (your Room 7) before igniting it. It married craft and guardianship—Jascar’s domain—under orderly temple procedure.
• Motifs to surface:
• Bralm (industry): a faint hex-band carved along the lower rack rails, tally notches burned into tool handles.
• Lore check: DC 12 Religion/History identifies Jascar’s patronage (mountains/guard success grants advantage on one handling check here.
• Wee Jas (order): every sixth floor tile bears a hairline ledger rune; inventory numbers scratched into the plinth edge.
• Lore check: DC 12 Religion/History reads the mixed motifs; on success grant advantage on one check in this room (Investigation, Survival, or Tools) for “working by Suel cadence.”

Features & checks

• Raised Hearth & Firebox.
• DC 11 Survival: the bed was banked within the hour.
• Action: Stoke to cooking heat (1 round) or forge heat (3 rounds). At forge heat, creatures within 5 ft that take fire damage have disadvantage on their next attack this round (heat shimmer).
• Stone Plinth (cauldron base).
• Grooved top shows long-term weight; DC 12 Investigation spots drain scarring leading toward the wall (now capped).
• Searching the plinth cracks yields 1d2 flasks of congealed oil (usable if warmed for 10 minutes).
• Racks & Hooks.
• Typical contents: tongs, hammers, cleavers, long-handled ladles, skewers. Two battered cross-peen hammers still serviceable (treat as light hammers).
• Rotting Barrels.
• DC 12 Investigation: old oil casks; one weeps rancid residue.
• Mishap: If toppled or struck while hearth is at forge heat, make a DC 13 Dex check to avoid a flash puddle: 5-ft square becomes ignite-on-contact terrain for 1 minute (enter/turn end = 1d6 fire, DC 10 Dex halves).
• Suel Spark-Rod (mantel socket).
• Action: Insert metal rod or dagger and twist—throws a shower of sparks (lights a torch or tinder instantly; counts as tinderbox with advantage).

Jascar Rite: Oath-Anvil

Occupation (Howling Moon overlay)

• Usually unoccupied outside mealtimes. On noise, 2 orc cooks arrive from Room 8 in 1–2 rounds; if an alarm is already up, add 2 more orcs in 2–4 rounds with a bugbear overseer if the chieftain is near.
• Tactics: Hurl hot embers (improvised 1d4 fire, 20/60), try to stoke to forge heat, then fight around the plinth for cover.

Environmental play (quick rulings)

• Bank/Quench: One action to throw a bucket of water (if present) to reduce from forge to cooking heat (or smother with a wet cloth after 2 rounds).
• Smoke: If the hearth is over-stoked and the flue blocked (PCs, debris, or deliberate), after 3 rounds the room lightly fills with smoke; Perception checks have disadvantage and creatures save DC 11 Con each round or gain disadvantage on attacks until they leave/clear it.

Loot

• Tools: 2 cross-peen hammers, 1 long-handled ladle (counts as 10-ft pole for probing liquids), set of tongs (advantage to interact with hot items).
• Consumables: 1d2 flasks of salvageable oil (from plinth seams), slow-match cord (20 ft).
• Oddment: A slim ledger-slip wedged in a rack joint—names and tallies in Suel (worth 5 gp to a temple/scholar).

Map notes

• Place the hearth centered on a short wall; the plinth adjacent to it, not blocking movement.
• Racks run along the long walls; barrels in opposite corners.
• Mark a thin capped drain trace from the plinth toward the wall (legacy of the old oil flow to Room 7’s basins).