5. Shrine of
the Fallen Angels
The forest climbs a steep slope here but levels off in a small clearing where a shrine has been erected. The locals call this hill Heaven’s Height and this structure the Shrine of the Fallen Angels, having long forgotten the origins of this place.
The Shrine is actually the large tomb for the earthly remains of Saint Daralth, the Patron Saint of Stoneworkers, Quarrymen and Masons.
Facing the shrine are two long marble slabs (perhaps 2’x6’, about 12” high), spaced about six feet apart. The limestone structure of the Shrine of Fallen Angels is carved in bas relief, scenes of a man (those with religious training will recognize that he is depicted as a holy man or a saint) engaged in a variety of deeds:
• Facing the slabs, he is battling giants and a dragon on a hillside.
• On the West side, the saint descending the Mountain to a deep valley and battling some kind of skeletal figure,
• On the East side the saint descending from the valley into the underworld and defeating a mighty demon.
The shrine is topped with two score sculptures of kings or heroes or saints or some other great ones. Rising above those, on stylized poles are more than a half dozen other angelic beings carved in exquisite detail. The tradition is to pray before the shrine between the two offering slabs and to lay one’s offering on the slabs, a blood offering on the petitioner’s left and a drink offering on the petitioner’s right.
The Upper Level
1. Stone Slabs
If the proper sacrifices are made and the proper rituals are performed, the eight Stone Angels can be animated to perform deeds of wonder and might for 24 hours. However, the cost of summoning the Stone Angels is that the petitioner is transformed into a Stone Angel and added to the top of the Shrine (thus making 9 angelic beings topping the Shrine of the Fallen Angels).
No one alive knows the proper ritual or sacrifices necessary to summon the Stone Angels, however the information is hidden in some obscure texts in St. Albaran’s library(one is called To Honor St. Daralth another is called The Deeds of the Ancients: Traditions of the Saints) or, of course, Contact other Plane or similar magic could supply the answers.
2. Arched Corridors
The corners of the shrine are cleverly fitted archways, built in such a way that the seams of the stones cannot be detected (1-20 chance for dwarves or those proficient in stonework). These arches radiate magic (transmutative, if type is detected), though faintly so. Those who pass through all the archways in a clockwise fashion three times will gain (for 24 hours) insight as a master stone craftsman (detect sloping passages, worked stone, +1 on INT checks in regard to items fabricated from stone, for example, or +1 on Secret Door checks in stone walls, etc).
The secret door (2 North) to the tomb proper is extremely difficult to detect (half normal chance - that is, if 1 on a d6 is the chance for detection, roll 2d6, needing a 1 on both, for example, though a bonus may be gained by passing through the arches, above). In addition to the difficulty in detecting the door, the mechanism is equally difficult to locate and manipulate (same chances). The door can be bashed open by inflicting 80 hp of damage. Blunt weapons do normal damage - edged weapons will do a single hp each (plus magical plusses - a two-handed sword +3 would do 4 points of damage per round a mace +1 would do 1d6+1 damage). Of course, ancient priests knew that the way to open the secret door was to simply say, “We come to honor Saint Daralth.” If these words are spoken (in any language), the stone secret door silently swings inwardly.
The Shrine is actually the large tomb for the earthly remains of Saint Daralth, the Patron Saint of Stoneworkers, Quarrymen and Masons.
Facing the shrine are two long marble slabs (perhaps 2’x6’, about 12” high), spaced about six feet apart. The limestone structure of the Shrine of Fallen Angels is carved in bas relief, scenes of a man (those with religious training will recognize that he is depicted as a holy man or a saint) engaged in a variety of deeds:
• Facing the slabs, he is battling giants and a dragon on a hillside.
• On the West side, the saint descending the Mountain to a deep valley and battling some kind of skeletal figure,
• On the East side the saint descending from the valley into the underworld and defeating a mighty demon.
The shrine is topped with two score sculptures of kings or heroes or saints or some other great ones. Rising above those, on stylized poles are more than a half dozen other angelic beings carved in exquisite detail. The tradition is to pray before the shrine between the two offering slabs and to lay one’s offering on the slabs, a blood offering on the petitioner’s left and a drink offering on the petitioner’s right.
The Upper Level
1. Stone Slabs
If the proper sacrifices are made and the proper rituals are performed, the eight Stone Angels can be animated to perform deeds of wonder and might for 24 hours. However, the cost of summoning the Stone Angels is that the petitioner is transformed into a Stone Angel and added to the top of the Shrine (thus making 9 angelic beings topping the Shrine of the Fallen Angels).
No one alive knows the proper ritual or sacrifices necessary to summon the Stone Angels, however the information is hidden in some obscure texts in St. Albaran’s library(one is called To Honor St. Daralth another is called The Deeds of the Ancients: Traditions of the Saints) or, of course, Contact other Plane or similar magic could supply the answers.
2. Arched Corridors
The corners of the shrine are cleverly fitted archways, built in such a way that the seams of the stones cannot be detected (1-20 chance for dwarves or those proficient in stonework). These arches radiate magic (transmutative, if type is detected), though faintly so. Those who pass through all the archways in a clockwise fashion three times will gain (for 24 hours) insight as a master stone craftsman (detect sloping passages, worked stone, +1 on INT checks in regard to items fabricated from stone, for example, or +1 on Secret Door checks in stone walls, etc).
The secret door (2 North) to the tomb proper is extremely difficult to detect (half normal chance - that is, if 1 on a d6 is the chance for detection, roll 2d6, needing a 1 on both, for example, though a bonus may be gained by passing through the arches, above). In addition to the difficulty in detecting the door, the mechanism is equally difficult to locate and manipulate (same chances). The door can be bashed open by inflicting 80 hp of damage. Blunt weapons do normal damage - edged weapons will do a single hp each (plus magical plusses - a two-handed sword +3 would do 4 points of damage per round a mace +1 would do 1d6+1 damage). Of course, ancient priests knew that the way to open the secret door was to simply say, “We come to honor Saint Daralth.” If these words are spoken (in any language), the stone secret door silently swings inwardly.
NOTE: The shirne of the Fallen Angels is fully detailed as a "Highlands Location"
TO FINISH: link to St. Albaran's Monastery
TO FINISH: link to St. Albaran's Monastery
