| CaptainGreyBack |
Hi everyone! First time posting, so I’m sorry for any formatting errors that may occur. My group is running Abomination Vaults right now, and are just finishing up the first level. In one of the rooms, the dining hall with the kolbold haunt , there are a number of tapestries that the book describes as so rotten and moldy that nothing can be made out on them. One of my players took interest in these, and decided to take one back to the local wizard, Morlibint. I thought that this could be an excellent way to reveal some of the lore of the Keep, and decided to have the tapestries tell the story of Belcorra’s life up to the completion of Gauntlight . There are 7 tapestries, as the number 7 is closely tied to the Elder God, Nhimbaloth .
Morlibint can restore one tapesry per day. I did this so that there wouldn't be an info dump all at once, and to motivate the party to return to the city of Otari often.
I also decided that the other Harruvex, Callido, in the story doesn’t get enough of a spotlight, and have changed his encounter to be severe rather than low, and to include him much more in the story. He also is no longer a distant relative, but a first cousin to Belcorra. He is the undead in the descriptions below.
Trigger Warning: Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism, Animal Cruelty. These are part of the Harruvex’s story, and includes practices of Cultists of Nhimbaloth. I don’t go into much detail, but it is still disturbing, as the author of the adventure intended. I did not add anything here (besides examples of sacrifice), it's all pulled from descriptions in the adventure.
I have another trigger warning wherever it shows up below, in case you wish to read everything but the trigger.
Birth
This tapestry depicts Belcorra as a babe in the arms of her mother. She does not weep, and instead looks into the stars through the ceiling. There is a prominent constellation of seven stars.
Trigger Warning: Human Sacrifice
The midwife and doctor lay dead on the ground, each with seven perfectly spaced incisions in the shape of a circle on their chests. Blood pools around the bed from other bodies in the periphery.
Human Sacrifice
Trigger Warning: Human Sacrifice and Cannibalism
Begin by saying that this tapestry depicts human sacrifice and cannibalism. Ask if they want more details below.
The tapestry depicts Belcorra as a toddler in a damp, moss-covered cavern. Coils of light (flicker wisps) light the interior. She stands watching several unfortunate souls who are being sacrificed/devoured while still alive. The Haruvex's each are tormenting an individual:
forcing an individual to read from The Whispering Reeds. This individual's face is becoming stretched beyond comprehension, with their spirit splitting from the body.
An individual having just been impaled in the chest by a rod with seven points.
An individual being consumed by wild-eyed men and women
Exile
The tapestry depicts a family sailing away from land. Their faces range from sorrow to anger and disdain. A young girl is the center of the tapestry— she is the only one making eye contact with the viewer. There appears to be a dark ring about her head. A DC 12 Religion check indicates that the dark ring is a halo and represents a strong connection to divine entities. A critical success reveals that this halo represents a connection to a dark and evil deity.
This tapestry shows the Haruvex's exile from their home in Absalom.
Death and Poverty
The tapestry depicts Belcorra as a 17 year old. She is dressed in rags, but has a regal and defiant face. Surrounding Belcorra, her relatives lie in squalor and emaciated. She has her eyes on the horizon while everyone else has eyes only for the dirt beneath them. One other relative, wearing plate armor, looks to Belcorra with a look of loyalty. He appears as undead.
Visions from Nhimbaloth
Trigger Warning: Animal Sacrifice and Cruelty
The tapestry depicts Belcorra at 17 in winter apparel standing above a wild-eyed grizzly bear in the snow. A salmon tail is seen protruding from his mouth. The bear's entrails have splilled out from a massive wound in his belly. Fog escapes from the beast nostrils, indicating that he still lives. Belcorra is consuming a bit of the bear's flesh and looking at the blood of the beast pooling on the snowy ground. Within the pool of blood, Belcorra sees a vision of serpentfolk in a deep cavern constructing a shrine. Carved at the front of the shrine is a massive skull with moss jutting from the jaw. Beside this is another pool of blood with a vision of Belcorra building Gauntlight.
Return to Kortos
This tapestry depicts Belcorra at 17, sailing towards an island. The coastline is that of Otari before it had been settled. Cliffs and trees cover the island. Aboard the ship is an undead man clad in heavy armor.
Gauntlight Built
This tapestry shows the completion of Gauntlight being built. It glows with baleful light. Belcorra stands beside a drow man with his back facing the viewer, he has long silver hair. Beside him is a whirling ball of light and energy with floating eyes and tendrils each ending in 7 fingers. Standing near Belcorra is an undead clad in heavy armor. An enormous worm-like creature on dozens of legs stands next to the undead. It has an alchemical toolbelt around its body. Last is a red bodied man with large horns.
Volluk, the Voidglutton, Caliddo Harruvex, Jafaki, and Urevian are the figures standing around Belcorra.
