Labyrinth of Volendac

The Labyrinth of Volendac is a cryptic dungeon embedded deep into a cliffside plateau on one of the Hekros Isles. Although it is unknown when the dungeon was first constructed, its first references dating its discovery to sometime in the year 150 ME by the famous halfling explorer Theodard Underhill.

Purpose / Function

The original intent of the dungeon is unknown, and its otherwise innocuous position on the isolated island has prompted little in the way of government inspection. The few historians that have studied it suggest it may have been dedicated to a magical beast or dark angel out of worship, or to appease it. By the time it was discovered, the walls, floors, and ceilings were all grown over with mold, mushrooms, and fungus: making further study even more difficult.

Alterations

In the year 442 ME, the nefarious wizard Emerick Hardenloss settled the ruined labyrinth, adding an exit and living quarters at its rear from which to stage his plots, as well as several traps at it's coastal and cliffside entrance.
One such feature was a red crystal pillar on a rotating slab in the labyrinth's staging room at the center of the maze, which focused the sunlight from the foyer into a red beam of light. Several ten centimeter wide holes were dug into a number of walls, and tiny mirrors were affixed to many corners. Anyone trying to enter the dungeon was presented with a puzzle of not only solving the maze, but angling the light and mirrors such that the red beam of light would traverse its own path throughout the dungeon, and strike the the alchemical lock of the exit door: leading the way to his lair.
In addition to a prisoner's brig, a torture chamber, an alchemical lab, a throne room, and a small library, Hardenloss was in the process of building a portal to an unknown destination in one of his new rooms.

Architecture

The entrance to the dungeon hosts a large vaulted door, featuring a pointed archway. A foyer hosts a number of gargoyles, followed by another vaulted door, then a square staging room. The hallways of the maze are intentionally narrow and disorienting, with 2 meter wide and 3 meter high passageways.

RUINED STRUCTURE
66 ME

Type

Dungeon

Parent Location

Hekros Isles

Characters in Location

• Emerick Hardenloss

© Dylan Eugene Wheeler 2018
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