Three Coven Lake

Deep in the Steplands lies a large lake, eight miles long by three. The waters are murky, often choppy, shallow in some places, in others 100 feet deep.

Rocky islands poke from the water. Bluffs line much of the shore. But look closer.

Those islands are the feet of ancient towers, and those bluffs are riddled with rockcut rooms. For long ago, in the days of the Stone Lords, this was a mighty city. Teirstered, they called it. The City of Three Stars, rivalled only by great Dulenn.

Picture it! See it in your mind! The stone and crystal spires, rising from the lake.

Their glowing tips of makerglass, shining in the night. The walkways, stretched between the towers, so that one might walk the valley's length without ever setting foot on shore.

Those walkways were more than just convenience. They formed a mighty rune, a seal that helped to bind the power of the Things Below. The ceaseless march of countless feet powered the rune, like how water turns a wheel.

When the Stone Lords' servants rebelled, they sank the city of Dulenn in one night.

But here, in Teirstered, things took longer.

Mobs rose up against their masters and besieged them in their towers. They broke the walkways, called up horrors from the deep. Towers swayed, then crumbled, then fell beneath the waves.

Soon, the city lay in ruins. But it was not abandoned. The Barrow Builders fought over its bones. They sought the treasures of their fallen masters, and to seat themselves upon their thrones.

Their armies spilled each others' blood. The waters drank it up.

In time, there was little left to fight over.

In time, the Things Below withdrew. The tyrants of the Barrow Builders were cast down, or imprisoned, or left alone to rot.

Teirstered, the City of Three Stars, was no more.

But the blood-drunk waters of Three

Coven Lake remained.

Impressions

• So… much… water… (gulp)
• Calm water: reflections of the bluffs
• Choppy water: cold and dark, the angry churn and spray
• Broken buildings, glimpsed beneath the water
• Echoes off the bluffs: waves, voices, birdcalls, mournful screeches
• At night: motes of light in the deep
• When chilly: fog—thick, wet, gloomy
• In winter: a white expanse, frozen solid, windy, slick, snow-covered

The Three Covens

Three lights can be seen every night, like ghostly flames: one among the northern bluffs, one on the south shore, the third upon (below?) the waters. Hillfolk call them "the Covens" or the "the Witch Lights." They hesitate to say more.

Who or what are the Covens? That's for you to decide. But perhaps they…

• burn in memory of the three conspiracies, or covins, that rose up against the Stone Lords, and the witches who led each one;
• were once the "Three Stars" of Tierstered, makerglass gems burning with eternal flame;
• are banefires, each one imprisoning an undead sorcerer;
• are spirit-catchers, enthralling ghosts and keeping them bound;
• are ghostly hordes standing vigil over mass graves; or
• are some combination of the above; or
• something else entirely.

Hooks

• A foe of the PCs makes their lair near the lake
• An ally went to explore the lake but never returned
• Hillfolk are gathering near the lake, in large numbers
• The PCs acquire the key to the Vault of Skol Paasco (see next page)
• Someone aims to destroy the dam (draining the lake, flooding the Sruth, dooming Marshedge)

Getting there

To get there directly from Stonetop…

• First you must travel to the Steplands, which will take at least 4 days.
• From there, it will take at least 3 days and a corresponding amount of supplies.
• You need a knowledgeable guide; but
• Even then, you risk getting lost.

To get there from Marshedge, follow the River Sruth upstream to the lake, and…

• It will take at least 4 days, and a corresponding amount of supplies; and
• You need a knowledgeable guide or you risk getting lost.

Either way…

• The terrain itself is treacherous, you risk injury on the way;
• The way is grueling, you risk exhausting yourselves/your resources; or
• The way is perilous, plagued with danger.

Areas

• The Gwazhi: A sizeable river that feeds the lake, flowing from the Huffel Peaks.
• Surrounding hills and valleys: Once full of farms, mines, villages, manors. Site of many Barrow Builder battles.
• Western shores: Where the Gwazhi enters the lake. Marshy, silty, gross. Frogs, birds, bugs.
• Northern shore: Piles of boulders and a great looming bluff. Treacherous shorelines.
• Southern shore: Gentler (but still rugged) shorelines, with smaller bluffs a ways back from the water.
• Eastern shore: Deep water. Sheer bluffs joined by a Stone Lord dam.
• The Lake itself: Shallow near shores but plenty of deep, open water. Hides many dangers and many treasures. Freezes over in winter.

Sites

• The dam: A mighty wall between two bluffs on the eastern shore. Granite blocks, mortared in place with makerglass. A huge pipe drains water into the river Sruth. Beware the whirlpool.
• Glassworks: The westernmost bluff on the south shore, hollowed out. Partly collapsed, wholly looted, still full of cold, echoing furnaces and huge globs of makerglass.
• The Academy: Part of the north bluff. Maker-sized dormitories, workshops, and lecture halls. Gutted and vandalized. Used by Barrow Builders as a fortress.
• Amphitheater: Carved into a bluff, overlooking a large cove on the southern bank. Impossibly good acoustics. The site of countless bloody sacrifices.
• The Vault of Skol Paasco: A large, rocky isle in the middle of the lake, a tower's foundation clearly visible. A heavily-warded makerglass door guards the untouched cellars.

Terrain

Pick 1 or combine 2, or have someone roll the Die of Fate (d12). If you like, roll 1d6 for size/scope/intensity.

• inaccessible (buried, locked, flooded, well-hidden, etc.);
• corrupted by the power of the Things Below;
• dangerously haunted;
• protected by constructs, perilous stone, bound spirits, and/or other magic;
• currently inhabited; or
• some combination of the above.

Discoveries

For any of these, pick 1 or have someone roll the Die of Fate.

The portal of Teirstered

Hidden away in some vault—guarded by constructs, traps, and spells of misdirection—there stands a slab of white stone, 40' by 40', inscribed with a circle of deep-cut runes.

The circle is a portal, connected to those in the Ruined Tower, the Labyrinth, Vor Svetelik, and so forth. It requires a power source. If one is provided, it can be used via Opening the Way.

Dangers

Other entities

• Stone Lord constructs in various states of repair
• Spirits of the wild, quite possibly corrupt
• Watery terrors: luglfsk, jellied horrors, llamudwr, or servants of Daagon