L2-16b. Mirror Anteroom — Measure & Passage
A compact chamber of black ashlar and bronze trim opens off the hall. In the center, a 5-foot round sigil of the Ruby Skull-Star is set into the floor. A square stone coffer stands along the north wall; to the south, neat racks of stacked bones wait for rites. The east wall holds a low altar-table with twin bronze candle-holders and a lidded incense vessel, all square and true. In the north-west corner, an elaborate Suel mirror—full-length, framed in geometric bronze with tiny ruby chips—leans in dignified silence. At the center of the north wall, a finely carved mural of Lendor—bars of the Six-Measure and a calm patriarch’s profile—looks merely decorative… until breath fogs the stone and faint ruby seams glow.
The Ruby Anterite
(quick boon; player-skill, no checks)
Perform as in 16a (identical rite):
- Place/Light candles left → right while counting to six.
- On six, waft the incense over the floor sigil; set the vessel between the candles.
- Ring the bell once.
Success: Up to two creatures gain Ruby Composure for 1 hour (advantage on the next Wis save vs. fear/charm or undead aura). The first Attention earned here or in the adjoining hall is ignored.
Fumble: Candle sputters; +1 Attention. Retry after 1 minute.
Secret door — Mural of Lendor
(“Measure & Passage”)
Clue path (no rolls required):
- Fog the mirror with breath or incense: its ghost-script reads “Set your face; keep the count.”
- Stand upon the floor sigil facing the mirror (set your face), then perform a simple six-count touching sequence at the mural.
Opening steps (simple, thematic):
- One creature stands centered on the floor sigil facing the mirror.
- A second creature places a palm on the mural’s Six-Measure bars, tapping each bar once, top → bottom, in a steady six-count (one, two… six).
- On the sixth beat, touch the tiny ruby pip at the mural’s lower right corner.
Result: The mural panel clicks and swings inward, revealing a 5-ft-wide, 10-ft passage.
Fail-forward (soft): Wrong order or off-count: the bars give a thin buzz, the door locks for 1 minute, and a hair-thin Stone Bite nicks the tapper (DEX 13, 1d4 slashing, +1 Attention). Try again after the minute.
From the far side: The short passage ends at the backside of a second secret door with a simple six-stud push plate (opens outward; destination keyed in a later room).
Hazards & pressure
- Noise in here (bone scatter, forcing panels) adds +1 Attention.
- Attention ≥ 2: A Ruby Ghoul with 1 Ruby Zombie investigates from the Great Hall within 1d4 rounds.
Treasure (light, thematic)
- Incense sticks (6); ruby chalk (1 use); brace-nails (6); prayer bell (5 gp as art).
- Optional: a Lendor count-cord (braided red/white cord with six knots; once/day, grant +1 to an ally’s next ability/tool check after you speak a six-count).
Boxed outcomes
- Boon rite succeeds: Candlelight steadies; incense curls over the ruby disc. The bell’s single tone hangs like held breath, and the room settles around you.
- Mural opens: Tap… tap… tap… tap… tap… tap—on the last touch the ruby flickers and stone unlatches. The mural eases inward, revealing a narrow, dust-sweet passage.
- Off-count fumble: The bars hum with disapproval; a hairline seam snaps at your fingertip, sharp as a paper cut, and the panel goes still.
Mirror Anteroom — “Measure & Passage” by 3orcs
At-a-glance (DM quick)
- Where: East wall of L2-16. Great Crypt Hall of the Six, the second door (≈ two-thirds up the hall).
- Size/shape: 15′ × 15′; intact (no collapse).
- Function: Second processional prep cell. Adds a Suel full-length mirror (NW corner) and a hidden mural-door centered on the north wall that leads to a short service slip (10′, 5′-wide) and the backside of another secret door (keyed elsewhere).
- Tone: Composed, ritual, museum-quiet; ruby chips thrum on a six-count.
Features
- Center floor sigil (5′ disc). Ruby Skull-Star of Wee Jas with ring text in Old Suloise: “Measure holds; Law witnesses.”
- North coffer (unlocked). Two sets of funerary vestments, a prayer bell, wax tablets (blank), ruby chalk (1 use), brace-nails (6).
- South bone stacks. Cleaned femurs/tibiae in cradle racks for symbolic handling; loud scattering is +1 Attention.
- East altar-table. Basalt slab, two candle-holders, incense canister (sticks within), and six tiny ruby pips along the rim.
- NW full-length mirror. Suel geometric frame (bronze & ruby chips). Breath or incense smoke reveals ghost-script around the edge: “Set your face; keep the count.”
- North mural (secret door). Lendor’s profile and six horizontal bars (the Measure). Hairline ruby seams encircle the panel.
Exits
- West: back to L2-16. Great Crypt Hall of the Six.
- North secret mural: opens to the 10′ service slip leading to the backside of another secret door (destination TBD).
Type
Room, Common, Antechamber
Parent Location
Owning Organization
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