Gwyfned Places of Interest

Civis Noir

the City of the Night, also called the Benighted City, Nec, the Poisoned Place and the Blasted City is a ruined city found in Gwyfned on the border between Gwyfned and Urgholt. Civis Noir was the mythological home of the Noirites six thousand years ago, and the origin place of Ghol, the first vampire. Far beneath Civis Noir, there is a Telfarri, named K’larr Lek. Some say he sleeps, and others claim he is trapped there in some pre-historic, pre-human war. This was the same telfarri that Magron sought, forever twisting his mind and setting on his path of necromancy. K’larr Lek’s presence has forever tainted this place.
This is a ley line sewage dump of sorts, where all the negative energy in Aorlis backs up and spiritually befouls the locality. When the Noirites built the earliest version of Civis Noir, they worshipped Gorsk Blood Bane, the greater noble demon and lord of vampirism, exsanguination and the night. He demanded copious blood sacrifices. Civis Noir proper ended about six thousand years ago when its prince, Ghol, became the first vampire, and he destroyed his city.
Next came Creosis of Allevil, a parasitic arch-necromancer. When Torenth defeated Creosis, the ruin’s location was forgotten, and it stayed lost until very recent times. The uppermost strata is the ruined city. It is still relatively intact but rundown, dilapidated, and prone to random collapses.
At the center stands Creosis’ temple to death, an insanely inspired piece of architecture that contains no parallel lines. Symbolically, as well as in actuality, no flames may burn within this temple. Death priests are still active within, this order having survived in seclusion for almost a millennium, and they command an army of undead. Elsewhere, throughout the city, there are other palaces and temples still standing, many inhabited by berukk, feral cynocephalus, and mondigs.

The lower levels of Creosis’ city, made up of its cellars, sewers, dungeons, and hidden places, is an unstable, ratlike warren. Scattered throughout are low-level demons. The next strata down is Civis Noir proper. Those who trespass are often turned to stone, and their severed but still sentient heads are used as bricks to scream for all eternity. It is a level of demiplanes, dimensionally warped space, improbable junctures, transportation traps and dead spaces. It is extremely dangerous. Its architecture is incomprehensible, something like a mix of Aarchonian temple and a rambling gothic mansion, with rooms off rooms off room off rooms, etc. Also, on this strata, there is at least one dragon brood who live in a blinding crystal cavern, and three powerful named demons trapped here for millennia.
The third strata down is a Neolithic realm of distortion, and it has bizarre effects on any magic cast here. Weird mutational forces often twist anything natural that comes here into strange parodies of themselves. The architecture here is indecipherable, like a roofed collection of interconnected megaliths, henges and dolmens, etc. Weird ley energy matrixes and mazes possess strange teleportation energies and multi-locational properties. Demons stalk freely, passing without hindrance to and from the Nhether Realms from here. There are also many warped ones and chaos beasts.
Below this, on strata four, lies the realm of the telfarri. This is a natural geological structure, a warren of massive caves and nauseating, steaming underground lakes. It is a place of poisonous fumes, burning mists, and a hellish wrongness that can drive strong men insane. Here, air pressure is high, the humidity stifling, and the heat smothering. Explosive buildups of combustible gasses are common, and breathable oxygen can be rare. Negative energy swirls in plasma clouds, attacking with semi-sentient malice. Remnants of unnamed elder races from the stars slither among these rocky, monolithic halls, things so bizarre and ancient as to defy any categorization. This includes eyeless things, and timeless horrors not far removed from the primordial sludges of nascent worlds.

Lorinaei's Labyrinth

This spot is secluded in the Hollywell Houses' Formal Garden.

Museum of Abragore

Named for the sorcerer who built it almost 300 years ago, this private museum lies on the mountain slopes above Gwyfned City's eastern flank. Abrigore was a friend and advisor of Gregor I in the 10th century, and he adored the great leader. This site is accessed via a cave on the mountain slope and above the tree line.
Within is an antechamber with writing above the door in Telith-Eri, “Welcome be all ye who so require.” The main hall lights up with will-o’-the-wisp like lights once entered. The guide throughout the museum is an animated, speaking glamour of Abrigore. He warns visitors to look but touch nothing. The museum is maintained by three caretakers: Vex, a Talax demon; Borgun, a hell knight; and Lexla, a female pernicon demon. They will not attack unless provoked or the exhibits are harmed or tampered with.
In the main chamber, there is a rota fortunae with warnings to not touch it (see Magic Items). In the Karmithian room, there is the avatar mask of Karron from Old Karmithia; the left over orichalc from when Kamith forged the Sword Phoenix; and the Remnants of the Breaking. In the Khemd room, there is the sarcophagus and mummy of an ancient pharaoh, Hemen-Tep and a statue of the goddess Etishu.

In the pre-history room, there is a stand of Kui-kor stones; a Ley Line Mirror; the Lost Keyhole; a carving of a Telfarri; an Ealden Maquette; a representational painting of Allud from the Alusian Islands; the Left Hand of Fate; and a maze on the floor that still is functional.
In the Osrick room, there is Torenth’s Sword Brightwand, the marriage ring Osrick’s wife cast into the river, a painting of Melena, and a bust of Tyrell the Pale. If these items are disturbed, Abragore’s glamour will appear and curse the interloper with eternal banishment from home, love and others’ compassion. There is also a painting of Tillilia: if someone looks at it for too long, they will become erotically obsessed with her. This passion is profound and is persistent even if the magic is canceled, and the victim will straightaway head off to Thallium to find her.

Pyrell Forest