There is an obelisk here, with runes on the sides:
Here sits the lair of Khoth
the mighty, Khoth the wise.
There is an obelisk here, with runes on the sides:
Khoth frowns upon trivial and
treacherous visits.
9
35
The spirit ignores you.
8
stnd
0
A long, sinuous dragons sits coiled here, in contemplation of a huge scroll. When she sees you, she looks up and grimaces.
"Sss. I am Khoth. I am no friend to humans."
She snorts. Smoke and flame billow forth. "I increase my wisdom, most of the time. The rest, I deal with intruders."
8
intrud
0
"I am not one to welcome humans. Not anymore."
8
humans
0
She blasts flame into the air, in anger. "You are Exiles. You are not of the Empire above. Were that not the case, your puny band would be dead now, in vengeance."
8
vengean
0
"Oh, your deaths would be slow and agonizing." Her claws rake the ground in anger and agitation. "I would entrap you in barriers, and starve and burn you for days and years! This is the reward for cheating a dragon!"
8
cheat
0
Her eyes blaze. A long, forked tongue licks her lips. She struggles to contain herself. "Humans from above came to me once, offering a deal. I would make wards for a tower of theirs. In return, they would give me many books from the surface."
"I made the wards, but they only gave me a few books, and stole something as well."
8
wards
0
"You are interested? Well, there is a hidden tower near here, across the river. It blocks a passage. To go through, you need to pass several wards of my making. If you don't know the correct ritual, you die."
8
ritual
117
8
stole
0
"They wanted to keep the secret of the wards safe, so they took a hostage! They took a scroll, precious beyond words, filled with the heritage and history of my mighty people. Irreplaceable!" She writhes in fury. "Curse the day I made those puny wards!"
She roars. "I will never be fooled by humansss again!"
8
scroll
0
"They stole one of my set of unique scrolls on the history of dragonkind, and spirited it away. I found one of their lairs nearby and destroyed it, but the scroll was nowhere inside. I don't know where they put it, but maybe there are clues in the ruin."
8
ruin
0
"The ruin of the human lair I devastated lies several caverns to the southwest, in a swamp. It is no longer well hidden. Search it well, and you may find a way to the scroll. Find it, and I can reward you."
8
reward
0
"I will tell you the secret of the wards I created."
8
tower
0
"The tower was in a long, secret tunnel across the river. I never found out what they were trying to guard, and never cared."
8
wisdom
0
"Of the dragons in these caves, only brother Motrax and I truly appreciate the wonders of learning, the joys of intellect. The difference is that I prefer solitude, and he doesn't. But then, he hasn't been cheated yet. Like I have! By humans!"
"At any rate, he is much wiser than my other siblings."
8
siblings
0
"Athron wishes only to be alone in his hole. Fool Pyrog plays foolish power games with the mortals of the tunnels. Sulfras is good for contemplating his own might, and little more." She sighs. "We dragons are a strong, but sorry lot."
"Fortunately, they are my brothers in race. They aren't my broodlings."
26
stnd
0
8
gnrc
0
"I know nothing of interest about that."
26
stnd
0
12
stnd
0
An insubstantial shade wields a very real broom, and sweeps the giant halls.
"I have none."
"I sweep."
12
sweep
0
"Such is the bidding of my master."
13
stnd
0
A shade wanders the halls, carrying a side of some sort of meat.
"I have none."
"I hunt, and return."
13
hunt
0
"My master has given me the skill to bring down meat."
13
meat
0
"I bring food to him."
14
stnd
0
A ghostly figure carries a pile of books.
"I have no name."
"I look after the books."
14
books
0
"I fetch and sort."
15
stnd
0
A ghostly figure wanders around, dusting and cleaning.
