WH9.4 – The Shattered Shrine

At first light, a crowd gathers at the riverside shrine of Beory. Stones are scattered, reeds burned, and the sacred pool reeks of blood and ash. Elda Morrain kneels amid the wreckage, hands trembling.

“These aren’t dwarven runes, nor Flan,” she says grimly. “They’re older… they reek of chains and hunger. This is no accident — it is a warning.”

Tracks lead north toward the collapsed water channel, where kobold signs mingle with heavier bootprints. A hidden fissure opens into a crypt carved into the bedrock — an abandoned shaft. Though it is quiet, there is a growing sense of unease as you linger and the entrance feels like it looks more like a fanged mouth ready to devour you.

Quest Giver

• Elda Morrain (priestess of Beory): seeks to restore the shrine and uncover the truth.

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Objectives & Obstacles

• Investigate the shrine and prevent Flan/dwarf violence.
• Enter the fissure near the collapsed water channel.
• Explore 3–4 rooms of a small EEG missionary crypt.
• Defeat or disrupt the cult’s operations; uncover their link to the Caverns of Chaos.

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Mini-Crypt Keyed Areas

1. Collapsed Antechamber
   • Rubble and shattered beams from old mining. Kobold corpses half-buried. DC 12 Perception reveals drag marks → bodies taken deeper.
2. Hall of Chains
   • Fetid chamber lined with crude murals of tentacles and eyes. 2 Zombie Kobolds stand guard, slack-jawed and twitching. Each wears a peculiar amulet of an inverted triangle with a Y with a blood red garnet at the center that seems to flicker dimly even in the dark.
3. Ritual Pool
   • A shallow cistern of fouled water glows faintly violet. 1–2 Acolytes (Cultists upgraded) chant here. If disrupted, shadows writhe in the water.
4. Sanctum of the Missionary
   • The EEG cleric (a true missionary) leads rites to corrupt kobolds. A captive kobold shaman is lashed to an altar as an “example.”

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Scaling Encounters (APL 2–4)

• Level 2: 2 Zombie Kobolds + 1 Acolyte.
• Level 3: 2 Zombie Kobolds + 2 Acolytes + 1 Cult Fanatic.
• Level 4: 3 Zombie Kobolds + 2 Acolytes + 1 Cult Cleric (missionary).

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Condensed Stat Blocks

• Zombie Kobold (CR 1/8): AC 9, HP 9, Bite/Claw +2 (1d4+1), Undead Fortitude.
• Acolyte (CR 1/4): AC 10, HP 9, Mace +2 (1d6+1), Spellcasting (Bless, Cure Wounds, Sacred Flame).
• Cult Fanatic (CR 2): AC 13, HP 33, Dagger +4 (1d4+2), Spellcasting (Command, Hold Person, Spiritual Weapon).
• Cult Cleric (EEG Missionary, CR 3 reskin): AC 15, HP 45, Mace +4 (1d6+2), Spellcasting (Inflict Wounds, Spiritual Weapon, Silence, Hold Person, Animate Dead).

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Rewards & Breadcrumbs

• Blessing of Beory: If shrine restored, PCs gain advantage on one Nature/Survival check per day for 1 week.
• Missionary’s Notes: Letters describe “veins of chaos” and orders from the Caverns of Chaos.
• Optional Loot: EEG ritual dagger (unholy, faint necrotic aura), worth 50 gp or usable as arcane focus.
• Arc Impact:
  • If PCs purge the crypt: villagers see proof of an outside hand — suspicion between Flan and miners eases slightly.
  • If PCs fail or withdraw: shrine remains corrupted, and villagers double down on blaming each other.
  • Either way, the trail points firmly toward Caverns of Chaos.