Chains of Asmodeus

Chapter 5: Minauros, the Endless Swamp

[image: The Black Dragon Ilfrich circles above his lair.]

Perhaps the most disgusting of the layers, Minauros, the third layer of the Nine Hells, is an unending bog filled with ruins and plagued by insects and disease. Countless structures, creatures, and vegetation have sunk under the pull of the bog, just to be replaced shortly after.

Running This Chapter

Before running this chapter read the "Minauros Overview" section. It provides you with the information you need to set the scene for your players during their adventures in Minauros and guide them towards the Ineffable Trove.

Encounters

The journey into Minauros is treacherous and navigating the Styx is difficult. Remember to roll on the River Styx Encounters table in chapter 2, for each day they travel those waters. Even once the characters have solid ground under their feet, the Nine Hells offers them no respite. After they leave the ship and make their way inland, roll at least once on the Random Encounters in Minauros table.

Random Encounters in Minauros

d6	Encounter
1	An envoy of four chain devils from Jangling Hiter passes the characters on its way to negotiate with devils from Minauros. They carry 8,000 gp to be used in those negotiations.
2	A convoy of a dozen lemures are under attack by a flock of four shredwings (see appendix B) looking for food.
3	An elite group of ten bearded devils is returning from a scavenging trip within a nearby ruin, possibly with spoils to bring to Mammon. If they defeat the devils, the characters can claim 5,000 gp in gems and other valuables.
4	1d4 ayperobo swarms (see appendix B) wander through the swamp, looking for victims. They descend on anything with blood.
5	A group of five barbed devils, have been tasked with cutting down a section of the swamp in preparation for new construction.
6	A deadly hailstorm appears, centered on one of the characters. The storm is 300 feet in radius and any creature who starts their turn in the storm, must make a DC 18 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the creature takes 33 (6d10) slashing damage. On a successful save, the creature takes half as much damage. The storm moves 10 feet in a random direction on initiative count 15 of each round and lasts for 10 rounds.

Locations

When the characters leave the barge to venture into Minauros have Koh Tam provide information about the different locations found here. Descriptions can be found in the "Key Locations in Minauros" section. If the players decide to venture into any of these areas, you can use the information provided in this section to guide them on a short excursion.

Tiax

Where Tiax was quick to offer his services as a guide at the Agora in Dis, here he seems more reluctant. When the characters ask him to accompany them, he becomes irritable. He tells them, "Tiax is busy with his important work. Now go away!" If pressed, he draws the characters a crude map that is of no use. He thrusts it into the hands of the character standing closest to him before stomping off to the lower decks in a huff. He refuses to come out again until the ship is on its way to another layer of the Nine Hells. Tiax has had dealings in the past with a strange and powerful being living in the Ineffable Trove known as Grinken Eyre. He believes he still owes Grinken Eyre a favor and wants to avoid payment, but Tiax is mistaken. It is Grinken Eyre who owes Tiax the favor.

Objectives

Make sure you keep track of your player's objectives and lead them to the corresponding areas to ensure they can complete their goals.

The following objectives can be attained in Minauros:

Objectives in Minauros

Objective	Location
Belt of Giant Strength (storm)	The Ineffable Trove: Thelekarna's Roost
Accounting and Valuation of All Things	The Ineffable Trove: Klassk's Lair
Phylactery of the infinite treasure	The Ineffable Trove: The Grinken Eyre
Phylactery of the father	The Ineffable Trove: The Grinken Eyre

Temptations

Have the characters encounter at least one temptation during their time in Minauros. If the characters give in to temptation, use the information in appendix E to keep track of their corruption level.

Minauros Overview

Named for its capital city of the same name, Minauros is kept standing through constant shoring efforts. The swamp provides a good source of raw materials, including vegetation, lumber, stone, and water, which Mammon occasionally exports to other layers in exchange for wealth. Jangling Hiter, the home of the chain devils, also lies in this realm, suspended on chains attached to the bottom of Dis.

Entering the realm on a series of artificial channels the Styx's stretch into Minauros is one of the most dangerous sections of the river. Closing the massive distance between the ceiling of the cave and the bog below, the river turns into cascading waterfalls and severe rapids, eventually falling almost 200 feet into a small pool in the swamp. From here, it winds through the bog to a hot corner of the layer and into an extinct volcano. Inside the caldera is a whirlpool, which dumps into Phlegethos below. For the inexperienced, knowing where the swamp ends and the Styx begins is extremely difficult, and more than a few inhabitants end up walking right into the deadly river, drowning as their memories depart.

Although the swamp itself could prove dangerous, native inhabitants to the layer feel their realm is perhaps the most magnificent. Indeed, it contains vegetation, animal life, and differing pockets of temperature, all features largely unique to Minauros. The entire layer is lit by a bioluminescent fog excreted from the trees, which some devils even describe as beautiful. However, the weather helps temper expectations. Minauros experiences gale-force winds almost constantly, which carry with them the stench of death. Precipitation of some form is constant, with rain and sleet leaving behind an oily slime that covers everything. The occasional hailstorms are extremely dangerous, with pieces of hail falling like thrown daggers.

Despite being known as the layer of bogs, Minauros is more than just swamp. Outcroppings of volcanic stone, flooded volcanos, and crystalline obsidian are all scattered throughout the layer. Ancient cities, half-sunk underneath the bog, contain hidden treasures or small communities. Perhaps due to Mammon's obsession with wealth over duty, Minauros is the plane containing the most wayward and lost souls.

The most important places within the layer are the namesake city of Minauros and the kyton city of Jangling Hiter. A few deities have realms within the layer, but they largely keep to themselves and avoid trade with the devils.

Mammon rules over the inhabitants of the layer with greed and fleeting interest. Those native to the layer have learned to work around Mammon's avarice, including the many conscripts tasked with keeping Minauros above the bog.

[image: Minauros is dangerous, but treasure lies within its swampy waters.]

Leaving Minauros

Travel from Minauros to the lower layers is relatively easy, assuming one can appeal to the native creatures. Navigating the Styx only requires an understanding of the swamp, and even new captains can sometimes find their way. If one can gain entry into Jangling Hiter, the kytons maintain a passageway between layers, and aren't stingy about its use. Last and perhaps most dangerous are the mud geysers found in the hotter parts of the bog. They create a wreathing passage directly into Phlegethos, though the path is often blocked by strange creatures, molten mud, tight passages, and heat vents.

Features

Toxicity flows from the swamps of Minauros into the air, and spreads throughout the entire layer. Whenever a creature finishes a long rest while on this plane, they have the poisoned condition. The condition lasts for 24 hours or until cured.

In addition to the pervasive toxicity, Minauros also smothers visitors with an aura of sickness. Any healing a creature receives, either natural or magical, is halved (rounded down) while in this layer. Creatures immune to disease are immune to this effect. A Protection from Evil and Good spell or similar effect restores healing functionality for its duration.

Key Locations in Minauros

Some of the major locations found in Minauros are described below.

The City of Minauros

Minauros is known as the sinking city, and while not as large as some of the other capitals, is still a massive complex. A small layer of water covers the lowest parts of the city, sometimes rising as high as five feet. The entire city is covered in a thin layer of oily slime. Though the city's economy is driven primarily by the soul trade, there are some opportunities for other sorts of transactions.

Jangling Hiter

Jangling Hiter is quite the sight, as the city is suspended above the swamp by thick chains. It provides little protection against the weather, leaving a thick layer of rust hidden underneath the slime. Unlike other layers' hierarchies, Jangling Hiter is completely independent from the current ruler of Minauros, instead being ruled by chain devils (the kytons). These devils are known for being skilled torturers, and their services are made use of by the Lords of the Nine themselves.

Characters are wise to keep silent about any out rage they feel regarding the torments they may observe within Jangling Hiter. After two hours of exploring the city, any non-evil character must make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw. If they fail, their discomfort and horror is noticed by 2d4 barbed devils, who approach the character to mock them. Characters have to bluff to avoid a fight with this group of devils by succeeding on a DC 14 Charisma (Deception) check.

The Ineffable Trove

The Ineffable Trove is a massive swamp that is used as a garbage pit. The garbage consists of emotions, memories, and fragments of personality that mortals have bargained with devils to be rid of. Off-putting as that may sound, the characters must venture deep within the trove if they want to complete their quest.

Adventure: The Ineffable Trove

Arguably least lovely of all the Nine Hells—a coveted title—Minauros' bleak, stinking swamps are blasted by a constant gale that fails to dispel the curtains of noxious, phosphorescent fog. Ground, water, and air are treacherous and toxic. That the place is riotous with a hideous twisted life is no great recommendation. Around the Trove, however, the usual tribulations of the place are combined with an unsettling babble, in the ears and in the mind. Feral emotions creep into unwary minds like parasites, slowly growing within them until an alien feeling without cause or logic consumes the victim to the point of obsession. The bark of the bog's trees is knotted into half-formed faces as the concentration of pillaged mortal sensation strives to express itself.

Unsurprisingly, Mammon and his underlings never much considered the effects of dumping so much raw qualia into one place. The curdled sensations and qualities have leached out into the surrounding regions, imbuing the waters, plants, and denizens of the Trove with unpredictable qualities. Orphaned emotions, vices, and virtues throng the place like invisible swarms of insects, infesting everything and everyone.

Despite this, scavengers and treasure hunters still go there. What Mammon has discarded yet has value to certain markets. It seems surprising that the Lord of Greed tolerates such pilfering, but the archdevil knows that the result of dealing in such commodities will only be a net increase in misery and wickedness.

What could possibly lure the greedy and incautious to the Trove? Across the many worlds there are certainly connoisseurs of sensation, those of wealth and power whose lives are devoid of thrill and the heights of emotion. Appropriate equipment can isolate the most select cuts of anguish and love and fear in the Trove, to be distilled and sold to the jaded for a healthy profit.

The raw emotional mélange of the Trove is a delicacy to some illithids—not nourishing in any real way but the mental equivalent of a sugary pastry, valuable in trade to those bold and amoral enough to deal with the creatures.

If the characters express the desire to visit the Ineffable Trove, Koh Tam describes it to them:

"Mammon takes the most glee when mortals believe, at the outset, that they trade something worthless for a great treasure, only to discover they have given away a thing they can never replace. Often, the prices of these deals are nothing physical. Perhaps you would rather be without that crushing sense of guilt that attended any unworthy act? The duty that restricts you; that humility which prevents you seizing your destiny? Mammon's favorite bargains are those where the truly valuable thing is what the mortal will pay to have cut away." He pauses. "While one might think these nebulous qualities would just blow away in the howling gales of Minauros, that's not how the Nine Hells work. Everything received under infernal contract must have a presence within the Nine Planes. Once Mammon and his underlings take these qualities, they assume a tenuous reality."

"Those mortals who go on with their lives shorn of guilt, shame, or restraint may think they're purchasing freedom—but Mammon knows that they will do far more evil, and imperil far more souls, than if they were still inhibited by those inner gatekeepers judging their actions." He stares hard at you. "The fragments of personality Mammon clips are of no particular interest to him after he has them, but concentrations of such stuff can have unfortunate effects even on the denizens of the Nine Hells. It can be tiresome to have the severed guilt of a thousand humans bleeding into your treasury and making the imps weepy. Instead, it gets dumped out into the limitless swamps of Minauros. One tangle of glades in particular has been a receptacle of these intangible qualities since time immemorial. This is the Ineffable Trove, and it has become a troubled and uncanny place even for the Nine Hells. And of course, troubled and uncanny places are what we seek, are they not?"

He explains that devils are renowned for their crooked deals, none more so than Mammon. The Patron of Greed knows the hearts of mortals better than any devil save Asmodeus, and over his long reign he has rooked endless mortals out of what they most value, in exchange for mere trash.

Advice from Koh Tam

Koh Tam's advice to the characters is as follows:

They're likely to find what they're looking for in the lair of one of the swamp's apex predators.
They should be careful about resting in the swamp. The memories and emotions can twist the mind of a mortal.

Koh Tam gives them an infernal map. Show the players the map of the Ineffable Trove in appendix F. They can use this map to decide which points of interest they want to explore. Refer to the "Using an Infernal Map" section of chapter 2. A failed or successful Wisdom (Survival) check to use this map has a 50 chance of triggering an encounter on the Random Encounters in the Ineffable Trove table.

Dreaming Dangerously

A visit to the Trove is perilous. A host of wild, predatory emotions infest the place like mosquitos. An unprepared visitor can come away with a mind full of unwanted urges and contradictory drives fit to whip them to distraction. These dangerous infestations are concentrated in several dreaming pools, located throughout the Trove.

Each time the characters encounter a dreaming pool (marked with an 'X' on the map) that has not yet been harvested, they begin to feel drowsy and dreamy. Read the following:

At this point a character can willingly choose to enter the dream realm of the Ineffable Trove, or they can succeed on a DC 10 Wisdom saving throw to pull out of the waking dream. While in the dream realm they see memories, emotions and personality traits that might be of interest to them. Roll 1d4 + 2—this is the number of these available in this dreaming pool. For each, roll on the Dreaming Pool Traits table to determine its type, rerolling duplicates. Describe these to the characters without hinting whether they're negative or positive experiences. Characters may then use an action to graft one of these experiences to their own mind. However, the other memories, emotions, and traits desire attachment to the characters whether they want them to or not. Have each character who grafted a memory onto themselves make a DC 16 Charisma saving throw. If they fail, one of these leftover experiences grafts itself onto them, one per failing character (starting with the character that rolled lowest for their saving throw). Once all experiences have been taken the pool is considered harvested (no new experiences can be acquired here).

Dreaming Pool Traits

d12	Psychological Trait	Effect	Corteso's Value
1	Benevolence (Emotion)	If the dreamer touches a creature that has less than its maximum hit points, that creature regains 30 hit points. The dreamer must finish a long rest before using this ability again.	500 gp
2	Charitable (Trait)	The dreamer must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or renounce wealth for a month. They give away any coins, gems, or jewelry that they possess.	500 gp
3	Greed (Trait)	For the next month the dreamer must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw whenever they discover coins, gems, or jewelry. On a failed save they try to take all of it for themselves.	1,000 gp
4	Guilt (Emotion)	For the next month, the character must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw each time they reduce another creature to 0 hit points. On a failed save, the character has disadvantage on attack rolls for 1 hour.	2,500 gp
5	Humility (Trait)	Whenever another creature makes an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw within 30 feet of the dreamer, the dreamer may use a reaction to make that creature reroll that attack, check, or saving throw. The dreamer can do this a number of times per day equal to their proficiency bonus. This feature disappears after one month.	500 gp
6	Love (Emotion)	The dreamer is granted the power to teleport directly to the location of the phylactery of their loved one. They can take up to 8 others with them, but must teleport before they take a long rest or they lose this feature.	500 gp
7	Memory of a Bloody Battle	The dreamer deals an additional 2 (1d4) necrotic damage when they hit a creature with any melee or ranged attack. This lasts for 1 week.	1,000 gp
8	Memory of a Celebration	The dreamer remembers a great achievement for which they were praised. The dreamer comes under the effect of a Bless spell for 1 week.	2,500 gp
9	Memory of a Tragic Family Event	At the end of each long rest, the dreamer must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw. On a failed save they feel morose for 8 hours and have disadvantage on Charisma and Wisdom saving throws. After 1 week, the dreamer no longer needs to make this saving throw.	2,500 gp
10	Memory of Dying	At the end of each successful long rest, the Death Ward spell is cast on the dreamer.	5,000 gp
11	Narcissism (Trait)	For the next month, each time the dreamer attempts to cast a beneficial spell on an ally, or attempts to heal an ally, they must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw first. If they fail, they take the Dodge action instead.	2,500 gp
12	Psychopathy (Trait)	If the dreamer has a non-evil alignment then for 1 month, after every long rest is finished, the dreamer has a troubling vision, offering them a choice. To avoid punishment they must agree to their alignment changing to lawful evil, at which point their alignment changes. If they accept their punishment instead they must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma saving throw or have disadvantage on all ability checks for the next 8 hours.	2,500 gp

[image: Navigating the swamp challenges even the most experienced explorers.]

A character can have only one beneficial and one detrimental memory, emotion, or personality trait grafted to their mind at a time. If a character possesses a dream bottle, then they may use a short or long rest to transfer a single memory, emotion, or personality trait from their mind into a bottle. The elder brain, Corteso, is willing to pay for these bottled experiences (see the Dreaming Pool Traits table for the values of different trait types).

Predators and Scavengers

[image: The raw emotions and memories that are found in the trove are not only coveted by Corteso.]

Some hunters have less reprehensible goals in raiding the Trove. Wizards seeking to build artificial minds for their creations may send agents seeking some particular quality they wish their creation to have, that they can't generate themselves. Brilliant mortals who yet believe you can get something untainted out of the Nine Hells never cease to amuse Mammon. Finally, most tragically, there are those who have already lost some part of themselves—either because of exactly the sort of deal Mammon loves to make, or because they've been the victim of some attack or mind-draining beast. Mortals who have a hole in their natures where loyalty or love or joy once was, they come to the Trove seeking something to fill that gap. Just as a callous artificer might sew a goblin arm onto a dwarf lacking a limb, so they take up some other unfortunate's lost emotions to graft onto their own mind. Such marriages are seldom happy, but the planes are full of desperation.

The sucking mire of Minauros is no stranger to oozing, protean life, but such mindless and transient entities become something quite different in the Trove. Black puddings are a danger to careless travelers. The creatures abound around the Trove, sucking up and vomiting out a constantly changing diet of thoughts and feelings. Other Oozes are simply possessed by countless babbling voices, akin to gibbering mouthers. The two classes of gelatinous creature aren't mutually exclusive, and monsters with the characteristics of both at once aren't uncommon.

Other common sights are dream eaters or oneirovores (see appendix B). The normally passive sloth-like monsters are drawn to the Trove from across Minauros, but the rich diet of mortal thoughts and sensation angers them—simultaneously too intense and too transitory. A further danger is a particular strain of infernal froghemoth (see Monsters of the Multiverse) that can metabolize the Trove's seething emotions, borrowing temporary intellect to lure prey with stolen mortal cries and pleading.

Every time the characters take a short or long rest in the Ineffable Trove, roll on the following table. Then roll a d6. On a 1–3 the random encounter interrupts the rest. On a 4–6 the encounter happens a few minutes after the rest is finished.

Random Encounters in the Ineffable Trove

d8	Encounter
1	An archmage searches for different emotions to sell to the elder brain, Corteso. He has multiple dream bottles that he sells for 50 gp each.
2	A knight sobs with hopelessness, unable to find the guilt that he sacrificed.
3	A half dozen gibbering mouthers appear in the very waters that the characters traverse and a round later a dozen black puddings erupt all around in a carefully planned ambush.
4	A herd of three oneirovores (see appendix B) lazily eating from deformed trees go berserk with rage when they see the characters.
5	A duo of mutated froghemoth (see Monsters of the Multiverse) begin to hunt the characters.
6	The adult black dragon, Ilfrich, is on the hunt for a meal. If hurt, he tries to escape to his lair and bring back Klassk to exact vengeance.
7	The erinyes, Thelekarna, flies overhead.
8	Grinken Eyre (see area I4) introduces himself.

In Search of the Discarded and Forgotten

Beyond this mostly mindless fauna, there are three particular powers that stalk the Trove and complicate life for visitors. Firstly, there is the combined partnership of Klassk and Ilfrich, the dragons. The erinyes Thelekarna also patrols acting as an infernal steward of these lands. And finally, there's Grinken Eyre, whom the others make sure to avoid.

When the characters arrive here, and for each hour they spend in the Trove, roll two d4s. If both dice roll the same number and that number is even, the dragons, Klassk and Ilfrich are at Klassk's lair. If they're the same number but odd, the dragons are at Ilfrich's lair. Otherwise, each dragon is in its own lair. Cautious characters might be able to watch for a dragon to leave on its way to visit the other and sneak into an empty lair.

I1: Klassk's Lair

Below Avernus and the lair of Tiamat, dragons are an uncommon sight in the Nine Hells. Klassk, however, is a native, a Styx dragon (see appendix B) whose kind are normally found making things unpleasant for river travelers. Perhaps driven from her original home by rivals, Klassk discovered the Trove an age ago and, by ancient draconic instinct, decided that it was wealth, and that it was hers. Now she broods restlessly in her lair deep in the swamps, tormented by the understanding that her 'treasure' is something she can't hold or physically possess. Indeed, the same resilience that prevented the waters of the Styx from washing away her memories also insulates her from the effects of the Trove, meaning she can never directly enjoy what she has.

Characters searching in this area and succeeding on a DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check eventually find a series of burrows, half under water, where she makes her lair. If the characters swim into one cave system in particular, they emerge in a domed cavern, with a section of land just large enough for a dragon to rest.

Deathstalkers—Obtaining a Copy of the Accounting and Valuation of All Things

In any discussion with either Klassk or Ilfrich, that dragon's pride insists they mention Klassk's copy of this infamous book. It is perhaps one of the few tangible things she has in this so very intangible realm. Whether this is a true copy of Mammon's essential book for valuation of souls, or a dream-copy manifested by the qualities of the Ineffable Trove, is perhaps irrelevant. This copy at least appears to be the latest version, which is a triumph in and of itself, given the ever-shifting regulations involved with soul trading.

Recovering the copy requires either slaying the dragon or somehow convincing her to be absent from her lair for at least one hour. Alternatively, a successful DC 18 Charisma (Persuasion) check and a tangible gift of a magic item, might convince her to part with it. After all, another copy is sure to eventually manifest and so she has lost nothing.

I2: Ilfrich's Lair

A thrust of black rock juts from the murky and ever-changing bog. If the characters climb it, they discover a cave mouth, leading into a spacious system of caverns, at least a half dozen large caves, beside, above, and below one another. Ilfrich makes his home in these caves for they conveniently lead back into the swamps, allowing an easy retreat, if needed. And they make it easy for the Styx dragon to swim into this lair to visit.

Klassk is ancient and powerful and—until recently—endlessly miserable, doubtless a state of affairs Mammon knew of and greatly enjoyed. This changed with the advent of Ilfrich, an adult black dragon who strayed from Avernus and ended up in Minauros, injured, outclassed, and hunted. Ilfrich is more than capable of taking in the delights of the Trove in a controlled manner and has a knack for regaling Klassk in a way she can appreciate and enjoy. In return, Klassk keeps Ilfrich safe from the dangers of Minauros, and the two have become strong allies. Whilst Klassk normally reacts with a dragon's rage when she finds intruders stealing from her 'hoard', Ilfrich has been known to spare bards who teach him good, emotive songs and tales that he might entertain his protector with.

The Phylactery of the Infinite Treasure

If one of the characters is searching for this phylactery, they discover the following in Ilfrich's lair. If no character searches for this phylactery, Ilfrich doesn't have any of the special properties described below.

The character seeking their soul recognizes the coin-counter as themself... and is also immediately drawn to the immense wealth in the room. If Ilfrich is in his lair, he attacks, fearing that the character has come to steal his treasure. If the dragon is absent and the characters begin to take any treasure, the dragon leaps from the lake and attacks. The moment Ilfrich is reduced to zero hit points, he vanishes.

The greedy character, however, has one last obstacle to overcome. As they depart, they must make a DC 20 Charisma saving throw. If they fail the saving throw, they grab a handful of coins. If any of the characters try to leave the cave with wealth stolen from the lair, the soul moans loudly and begins walking back to the coin pile with any of the stolen wealth appearing in their arms. Ilfrich then emerges from the lake, fully restored, and angrier than ever. After the second battle with the dragon, the character no longer needs to make the saving throw to depart without stealing any coins.

Treasure

If the heroes were not searching for the phylactery of the infinite treasure, then this dragon has a small treasure hoard that they may pilfer. They find 12 gems, each worth 100 gp, and 1,800 gp.

I3: Thelekarna's Roost

Thelekarna, an erinyes, is another power of the Trove. Once a powerful captain under Mammon's command, she was given the region around the Trove to patrol in ages past. Exposure to the contamination of mortal qualities seeped into some flaw in her infernal nature, and she fell prey to a peculiar madness. Mammon has often boasted that Minauros is the grandest of Hells because of its thronging life, and Thelekarna doubles down on this dubious philosophy, claiming that she is the protector of the region's horrible, crawling ecology. Infested with mortal ideas, she claims to be an infernal druid and supplements her regular fiendish powers by mustering and commanding the life of the swamps around her. She is always accompanied by four giant vultures that look like they're rotting from the inside out. Lip service to the 'beauty' of her realm might persuade her to spare visitors, at least for a while.

Conclave (Barbarian, Fighter)—Belt of Giant Strength (Storm)

If the characters slay Thelekarna, they may take the belt from her corpse. It is unlikely that she will part with it in any other way.

I4: The Grinken Eyre

Nobody is quite sure what Grinken Eyre originally was, not even Mammon. It crept into the Trove long ago, and the constant rub of mortal feelings wore it smooth like a stone on a beach. All that is left is a vacant malevolence papered over with a face constructed of all the pieces of mind and life around it—much as the larvae of some insects build shells of plants and stones to disguise themselves. What Grinken Eyre is now is a kind of infernal doppelganger, a thing that can show its visitors any face, feign any positive quality and be absolutely convincing in the moment because there is nothing beneath at all. A guide, a fellow treasure hunter, a questing paladin, a lovable rogue with a charming grin, that kindly old mage or your own best friend, all these things can be Grinken Eyre. And, being a thing of the Nine Hells, any meeting with the creature ends badly sooner or later, a blade in the back, hands at the throat or a treacherous path to a monster's lair. Countless travelers claim to have rid the Nine Hells of Eyre, and yet the thing always seems to haunt the Trove. More recently stories suggest a shift in the monstrous deceiver, though. Those who have encountered it and survived tell of longer and longer grace periods before their new companion revealed its evil nature, as though the stitched-together identities Eyre constructs are becoming more and more real, to the point of suppressing the creature's own evil nature. The Trove is full of all manner of mortal experience, after all. Perhaps sufficient scraps of amputated goodwill can redeem even such a monster as Grinken Eyre.

Grinken Eyre may be discovered as a random encounter, or the characters may reach the valley he has claimed. In either case, there is no sign of home or hearth, just Grinken Eyre waiting for them.

Grinken Eyre is generally in the form of a halfling, but may look like one of the character's father, if they're seeking their father's soul (see below). Otherwise, he assesses the characters and makes no attempt to attack them, though he defends himself if required.

The Phylactery of the Father

If a character has ventured into the Nine Hells to find the soul of their father, Grinken Eyre has taken on their father's appearance. He greets the character and acknowledges them as his child and feigns pleasure at their arrival here. If asked, he insists he is enjoying his time in the Nine Hells and has no interest in leaving. But he's willing to offer a wager: if the character beats him in a game of dice, he says he'll accompany them. Once the character is victorious in a game of chance, or another contest of your choosing, read the following:

The character has taken possession of the phylactery of the father and gains the Phylactery Benefit associated with it.