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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dyson Logos" data-source="post: 9765055" data-attributes="member: 83678">[ATTACH=full]418326[/ATTACH]The Lantern CryptA burial site turned into a hiding place for forbidden knowledge, the lantern vault was consecrated to a god of death, and later defiled by priests turned from orthodoxy to twist their god’s teachings. The magical lantern at the heart of the vault was their greatest tool, a relic that revealed truths invisible to mortal eyes.Crumbling MausoleumThe entrance to the crypt is a half-collapsed mausoleum under the ancient graveyard above. The ceiling sags and the walls are cracked. Rubble litters the floor, and the air is heavy with dust. Ghostly lights flicker among the broken crypts, pale flames that drift without heat. The collapse has left the chamber unstable, and loud noises risk bringing more stone down.Memorial HallNorth of the mausoleum lies the Memorial Hall lined with ten tombs. Each has been defaced by looters, their inscriptions gouged out and their offerings stolen. Twelve statues stand between the tombs, carved in the likeness of long-forgotten nobles. One statue has been smashed, its fragments scattered across the floor. Another seems intact, but its eyes follow visitors as they move through the hall. The statue opposite this one conceals a secret door, leading to the hidden dwelling of the heretical priests. The hall is silent and uneasy, palpable with the weight of desecration.Guardian’s AlcovesBetween the Memorial Hall and the Vault Chamber are these two alcoves, each containing a sarcophagus. These are guarded by a spectral knight, a figure of armor and shadow bound to protect the crypt. The knight does not speak, but it raises its weapon against any who approach the vault without reverence. The ceiling here is low, and there is little space between the sarcophagi and the guardian. The knight is not mindless, however, and those who show respect for the dead will find that it steps aside for them to progress through the area.Vault ChamberThe heart of the crypt. Scroll racks line the walls, their contents brittle and crumbling with age. A raised stone platform with a lantern atop it sits in the centre of the room. When fueled and lit and left upon the platform, the lantern reveals invisible writings on the scrolls and walls, as well as any other items brought within the vault. These writings contain fragments of forbidden doctrine, the work of the heretical priests who once dwelled here. The lantern itself is a relic of great power, but it is bound to the chamber. Removing it extinguishes its light until it is returned. Behind one of the scroll racks lies a secret door, leading once more to the hidden dwelling.Secret DwellingHere the three heretical priests lived and worked, their study filled with books, notes, and strange relics. The air is stale, and the furnishings are decayed, but the sense of presence lingers. The priests sought to rewrite the teachings of their god, to turn death into a tool rather than an end. Their work remains scattered across the chamber, waiting for discovery. The dwelling is both a sanctuary and a trap, for the secrets it holds are dangerous to those who seek them, and the priests managed to turn the powers of their deity towards an unending unlife.The 1200 dpi versions of the map were drawn at a scale of 300 pixels per square and are 7,200 x 10,200 pixels (24 x 34 squares). To use this with a VTT you would need to resize the squares to either 70 pixels (for 5′ squares) or 140 pixels (for 10′ squares) – so resizing it to either 1,680 x 2,380 or 3,360 x 4,760, respectively.[URL unfurl="true"]https://dysonlogos.blog/2025/09/29/the-lantern-crypt/[/URL]</blockquote>

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