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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Wicht" data-source="post: 5208039" data-attributes="member: 221">Intro...Stumbling back, the alien eyes of the illithid blink in shock as his life blood drains away.  The stone petals, falling from his hand as his strength leaves him, strike the rotting floor of the old griffin stables and scatter in a dozen directions. "Now it comes...," he manages to whisper before falling to the ground. Almost at once, the strange skin of his face begins to smolder and smoke pours forth from his open mouth. The child of flame and darkness is being born.The Birth of Fire BackgroundChuth Ruhli had little to distinguish him from other mind flayers until the day he ate the brains of a cultist, whom his servants had caught wandering in the deep places of the earth, calling for Yyng'sjg-Gothkni. Though the man, prior to his death, was in an obvious state of stark terror, Chuth thought nothing of it at first, for though he feared little himself, he assumed all those who dwelt above the earth feared to be lost beneath it. Alas for the Illithid, the man had been cursed in an arcane ritual, seeded with the offspring of his dread god.  By eating the brain, Chuth Ruhli took the curse upon himself. Now, growing within his very skull is a being of fire and darkness, an all consuming avatar of Yyng'sjg-Gothkni who, when born, will utterly destroy his host. Yyng'sjg-Gothkni, a god of fire and darkness, dwells in the heart of the world, imprisoned until the end when he shall consume creation. Called by his followers, “The Solitary Flame at the Center of It All,” he burns, biding his time. Nevertheless, many of his worshipers are not content to wait and upon occasion some take steps to hasten the end. The spell that fell, inadvertently, upon Chuth Ruhli, is an example of one such effort.The mind-flayer did not realize what had happened at first, but soon the pain became intense and he could find no healing, magical or otherwise, for he was not diseased; rather a new life was growing within him and pregnancy is not something that can be cured with simple spells. Moreover, it was growing in his brain and that was not something easily removed. Chuth sought for other answers, and in his desperation, he alighted upon the story of the Thousand Lotus Blossoms. Pearl white petals of stone, the Thousand Lotus Blossoms was originally an incredibly long string of magical prayer beads. Stolen from the Temple of Everlasting Dreams more than two century earlier, the Blossoms had been broken apart as a collection and dispersed over time. Despite the dissolution of the original prayer string, the individual Blossoms still retain some of their magic and impart healing to those who pray over them. It is said that when the whole set was together, the man who prayed, utilizing each bead, would be healed of any ailment, regardless of the source or type. Chuth decided to collect these relics, hoping that they might, joined together, ease his pain and save him from a dark, fiery death.His quest, though not close to done, brings him into conflict with the PCs, who are on a similar trail.Adventure SummaryThe PCs are sent to find a set of healing stones, believed to be part of the famous Thousand Lotus Blossoms. They are told to search along a stretch of coast, where local tales of "healing stones” abound. In a village they meet Jak Bron, a kindly fishmonger who is looking for his daughter.  As they travel with him, they discover that he possesses one of the Lotus Blossoms and though he uses it for his own health  and that of his daughter, he is willing to give it up in exchange for his daughter's life. Leaving Jak Bron, who returns home, the PCs follow the trail of the girl, Kilm Bron, to a cave where they witness Chuth Ruhli in the process of torturing the girl for information on the Lotus Blossom, using his tentacles to probe her mind. As the mind-flayer teleports away the PCs overhear him muttering insanely to himself about the Griffin Keeper and the Fish-seller. Unfortunately, the interrogation techniques of the mind-flayer have left the girl with a segment of Yyngsjg-Gothkni embedded in her brain and that night as the PCs tend to her, she dies, bursting into flame.  The fire elemental that erupts from her is dangerous and attacks the PCs. After defeating the elemental, the PCs, alerted by the Mind-flayer's words, race back to the village of Jak Bron, which they discover is under attack by a horde of morlock's, the servants of Chuth Ruhli. Driving away the horde, the PCs have opportunity to  learn of the location of two other Blossoms in the area. The first is kept by a tribe of Hobgoblins, who killed the village priest and stole it away. The second was owned by old Mallias, a  Griffin Keeper who passed away about five years earlier. No one knows what happened to his blossom, but it is suspected he hid it somewhere in his tower. Though the PCs might decide to approach the hobgoblins first, it is more likely they head straight for the tower of the Griffin Keeper. There they discover the minions of Chuth Ruhli tearing apart both tower and adjoining stables, looking for the lost blossom. The buildings are in a very unstable condition, and quite flammeable. The PCs confront the illithid in the stables after dispatching his minions in the tower. Ravaged by pain and unable to use his spells, the powerful mind-flayer is easily dispatched but unfortunately, his death means the premature birth of the Avatar of Yyng'sjg-Gothkni. Though not as powerful as it might have been, it is still a powerful force, surrounded by both heat and perpetual darkness. The PCs must find a way to defeat this avatar of destruction as the stables catch on fire around them and the wooden floor falls away, reveaing a hidden chamber beneath the stables. Only then can they claim the Blossoms Chuth Ruhli had already found as well as the Blossom hidden in the secret chamber. Summary of IngredientsFertile Illithid – Chuth Ruhli, impregnated with the seed of a dark godThe Solitary Flame at the Center of It All – Yyng'sjg-Gothkni, a god of fire and darkness, waiting to consume everythingA Thousand Lotus Blossoms – A magical string of prayer beads, shaped like flower petals, totaling a thousand in number, now spread across the world.Dilapidated Stableyard – The abandoned stables of the deceased griffin keeper serve as the scene of the final confrontation with Chuth Ruhli and the stage for the birth of the Avatar of Yyng'sjg-Gothkni.Kindly Fishmonger – Jak Bron, owner of one of the Thousand Lotus Blossoms, he found it in the belly of a fish he was cleaning. His daughter has been kidnapped by the mind-flayer who knows there are three Blossoms in the area.Interrogation Techniques - What the mindflayer uses to get information from poor Kilm Bron.</blockquote>

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