Crypt of Agarash

The Crypt of Agarash is a crypt in the High Tkukoma Vale that stores the Heart of Agarash. Stored here under heavy magical protection by the Elder Magi after the fall of Agarash, it was later broken into by the Naarvakim who wished to use its power, but this plot was foiled by Grand Master and Blazer.

Appearance

The Crypt of Agarash is located on a mountain plateau in the High Tkukoma Vale. It is concealed by magic, although it is revealed at close proximity. The entrance is a grotesque caricature of Agarash, a mockery of Agarash to frighten lowly intruders, and its stone fangs were ready to attack any that came closer.

Inside the Crypt, power glyphs adorned the walls, although they were disabled and destroyed by the Naarvakim in MS 5103 when they entered. Deadly acid coats the surface of the walls, and the darkness is so deep, not even the Magnakai senses of a Kai Lord can permeate it. A control room sits near the chambers closest to the entrance, dimly-lit by red crystals.

In the autumn of MS 5102, the Naarvakim succeeded in breaking into the Crypt of Agarash, and began to work on destroying its protection. This resulted in the essence of the Heart of Agarash leaking from the Crypt, slowly poisoning the land. This corrupted the Crypt of Agarash. Its surfaces are now covered in a thick, viscous, scarlet liquid, delivered by veins that have been tapped into but have caused the liquid to leak all over the walls and floors. Touching the liquid is lethal for any normal creature, and even for a Kai Grand Master, they risk death. Deeper within the Crypt, the corruption has given the walls an increasingly-fleshy feel, covered in stinking mucus, almost as if the Crypt itself has come to life. Additional defenses, created by the power of the Heart, have been constructed, such as a door of moving spikes. Two known chambers exist midway through the Crypt: a gland of gastic acid and a pulmonary alveolus, both chambers submerged in acid and protected by powerful defenses to seal intruders in. Macrophaarg live in some of the walls of the Crypt.

The deepest part of the Crypt is dense in Korlinium, one of the few substances able to contain the power of Darkness. It is a massive chamber, whose walls are made of Korlinium, that houses a geode of pure Korlinium, called the Containment Crystal, suspended in the air by Bronin chains. A suspension bridge leads to the entrance to the geode. The Naarvakim, however, had managed to break into this chamber and geode, with one chain broken and lying in a pool of corrupted blood, which leaks from the geode. Inside the geode, crystals power and control the geode's functions, and the Heart of Agarash is stored inside a Nuoman Balance.

History

Background

Agarash was one of the greatest threats to the forces of Light on Magnamund. Immensely powerful, it took all the power of the Elder Magi and its allies to defeat him, and even then, he was not destroyed, merely sealed away in the Pit of Eternal Pain. His physical body was destroyed, and as a precaution, the Elder Magi shattered his body, and scattered the parts all over Magnamund under magical protection, to prevent him from being reconstituted. However, not all of Agarash's body parts were recovered by the Elder Magi, such as the Skull of Agarash, which eventually found its way to the hands of Captain Khadro. Additionally, such was Agarash's power, these body parts individually became powerful magical relics, highly-coveted by the forces of Darkness.

The Heart of Agarash is one of the most powerful of these relics, alongside the Skull of Agarash, destroyed by Lone Wolf. Such was its power, the Heart was indestructible by any means known to the Elder Magi, such as the Sun-crystals, which were effective against the Children of Agarash. After Agarash's fall in 3572 MS, the Heart was stored in a crypt within the High Tkukoma Vale in Chai, near the border with Siyen and Lissan, and extensively-protected by Old Kingdom magic, including illusions, elemental traps, magical shields and power glyphs. Its location was also concealed magically, and difficult to reach, located in the mountains.

Naarvakim infiltration

In MS 5102, the Naarvakim located the Crypt of Agarash, and began the slow process of breaking through its defenses. Earthquakes struck the land around the Crypt, and may have been stronger in the Crypt itself, summoned by Naar himself. The act of breaking through its defenses caused the essence of the Heart of Agarash to leak from the Crypt, initially corrupting the Crypt, giving it an increasingly-fleshy appearance as if it were alive, but also leaking into the High Tkukoma Vale. This caused the land to become poisoned, killing people around the Vale, and mutating the aquatic fauna.

In MS 5103, Grey Star discovered the Naarvakim plot to bring Agarash back to Magnamund, although he was unable to find the exact details. After the Battle of the Ruanon Homelands, he, Grand Master and Blazer set off on the Starstrider to investigate the Crypt of Agarash, to make sure the Naarvakim could not secure the Heart. However, they were late. The Naarvakim finally broke through the final defenses, and found the Heart of Agarash, stored in the Nuoman Balance, which required an act of Good — thought to be impossible by the strongest forces of Darkness — to exchange places with the Heart. The Naarvakim leaders in charge of this plot were Khazullo and Sesketera, the latter of whom intended to sacrifice his estranged wife (and Khazullo's daughter), Oriah, for the Heart, thinking his unrequited love for her would prove sufficient. However, the plot was foiled by Grand Master and Blazer, who arrived in time to kill Sesketera and rescue Oriah. However, before Grand Master could interrogate Khazullo for more information, Khazullo was killed by a Naarvakim crossbowman to silence him. Nevertheless, Grand Master and Blazer discovered that the Heart of Agarash was not a critical relic for the Naarvakim's plans.

Before leaving, Blazer was able to use his immense psychic powers to reactivate the Korlinium to induce the Containment Crystal to regenerate. While this would not heal the damage caused, it would at least stop it from spreading.

In the gamebooks

The Crypt of Agarash is the focus of the second arc of The Dusk of Eternal Night. This arc reunites Grand Master with Oriah, last seen in The Buccaneers of Shadaki. It also introduces the reader to Scaldar, albeit a corruption of him; the real spirit of Scaldar may be visited in the next arc, if the player chooses to explore the Kelderwood Forest.

The Crypt is dangerous, especially for new characters. Kai-alchemy is extremely useful here, preventing against poisoned weapons against the Naarvakim, and reducing Endurance points losses. Zhaaxa and Vrenza also help reduce Endurance points losses, although the mutually-independent Cynxa is more useful in the first arc. Deliverance is also useful to reduce Endurance points losses.

The Crypt has a section that inflicts a debilitating injury on Grand Master: Destroying their weapon arm, although this can be recovered at the end of the adventure. This occurs when Grand Master attempts to enter a trapped doorway lined with spikes corrupted with the blood of the Heart of Agarash. With a very low roll, this rips off Grand Master's weapon arm, causing instant death, unless the player has Deliverance and is Sun Prince. This instead inflicts -18 Endurance points of damage, and -5 Combat Skill, and -5 maximum Endurance for the rest of the adventure. The loss of the weapon arm means the player cannot wield a Broadsword, Quarterstaff or Spear without Grand Weaponmastery at Sun Knight or higher, and cannot wield a Bow or Shield at all.

The Crypt is also full of acid, and multiple sections result in the destruction of multiple Backpack items. It is also possible to become trapped in a dead-end, where all items vulnerable to acid (such as wooden items and non-enchanted clothing) become destroyed.