Ash Queen's Reliquary
Ash Queen's Reliquary
Content Warning: Blood and Suffocation
The force of blood and essence of mist manipulate the blood and breath of their enemies. If you or any of your players find descriptions of blood or suffocation upsetting, you may want to avoid using these elementals or reflavor their abilities.
Among the first elementals to inhabit the Mundane World, the Ash Queen Atæshia (ah-TAY-shee-ah) struck back against the mortals who attempted to tame the wild world. Her army clashed with humanoids for decades, but her enemies' numbers were too great and her allies too few. As the tides of war turned against the elementals, Atæshia knew it would be better for the elementals to live, rebuild their forces, and wait for another day to take back what was once theirs.
Atæshia hasn't forgotten their great war, and she views mortals and the gods who created them as the greatest threat to the timescape.
Once every year, Atæshia travels to her reliquary, a tower built in the ruins of her failed war. Here, she takes time to remember and honor the departed, holding a month-long vigil surrounded by elemental guardians.
Reliquary Story Hooks
You can use one of the following story hooks to integrate this lair into an adventure:
- Echoes of the First War
An earthquake unearths an ancient mural depicting the first war between elementals and mortals. The mural warns of the potential return of Atæshia and her army. Terrified countryfolk beg the characters to find the Ash Queen and deal with her.
- Guardian's Legacy
Zerphis, a goblin scholar who specializes in elemental phenomena, wishes to learn more about the first elemental war and its heroes. Hearing legends of the Ash Queen's Reliquary, Zerphis entreats the characters to go there and collect information—and relics. He offers the characters a ring of air elemental command if they return with the information he seeks.
- Portent of Ashes
The skies over the Mundane World darken, and soon after, ash begins to fall. Elementals across the timescape whisper that this is a portent of the Ash Queen's imminent march on the gods. A council of world leaders urge the characters to find Atæshia and stop her from rising again, offering the party 500,000 gp to do the job.
Reliquary Features
Unless otherwise noted, each area of the Ash Queen's Reliquary has the following features:
- Adamant Walls
The reliquary's structure is cast from primordial adamantine. As a magical metal, it can't be changed or transmuted by supernatural means, such as the fabricate or passwall spells. The walls also prevent teleportation or planar travel into the lair from the outside, except via the teleportation circle in the queen's chamber (area A5). Climbing the tower's walls without climbing equipment requires a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check.
- Ceilings
The tiled ceilings are 40 feet high and 5 feet thick. They block sound traveling between floors to avoid disturbing the queen's vigil.
- Illumination Orbs
Magical orbs float 3 feet below the ceiling, filling each area with bright light. A creature who speaks Primordial can use an action or bonus action to command the orbs in an area to shed dim light, bright light, or no light.
- Lift
An arcane lift connects the third, fourth, and fifth floors of the tower (via areas A5, A6, and A7). If Atæshia is in the tower, the lift works only for her. If she isn't in the tower, any creature on the lift can verbally command it to move up or down in Common or Primordial. When the lift isn't in use, a stone trapdoor that can retract into the floor covers the lift shaft. Opening one of these doors while the lift isn't in use requires a successful DC 20 Strength check made as an action.
- Transportation Orbs
These violet sunburst orbs have a 1-foot diameter, hover 4 feet off the ground, and provide magical transportation between the first three floors of the reliquary (via areas A2, A3, and A4). The transportation orbs are immune to all damage. A creature can touch an orb (no action required) to teleport one floor in a direction determined by the orb's appearance: a rising sun for up, or a three-quarters eclipse for down. When a creature moves up a floor, they arrive within 5 feet of the new floor's down orb, and vice versa. Transporting from the second to the third floor (from area A3 to A4) also requires a command word—Kitseth, the name of an ancient fire elemental (see area A5). The command word can be learned by casting an identify spell on an orb or by spending 1 hour touching an orb during a short or long rest.
Elementals
When the gods formed the Mundane World, they took sparks of creation from the roiling plane of Quintessence and gave sentience to some of the universe's most basic elements—air, fire, earth, and water. Some elementals contain just one of these components, but the greatest embody multiple as creatures of ash, blood, ice, and similar reagents.
Elementals are mercurial creatures of transformation, creation, and destruction. Though the deities first created the Mundane World, elementals cultivated and shaped it. When a tree, stone, or other aspect of the world doesn't suit an elemental, they break it down with fire, wind, or another element, then build it anew.
Elementals themselves also change like the winds and the tides, and from age to age, they remake themselves to reflect what the world has become. They are knights wrought of iron, lizards ablaze with fire, and angels of pure sunlight.
Each elemental can bolster themselves or another elemental with the primordial power they embody. To maximize this power and to protect each other, elementals live and work in groups called ishkrars. This Primordial word translates literally to "family," but more accurately refers to a family that is not one's first.
When the divine host created humanoids, many of these mortals tore down what the elementals had built to make way for roads, buildings, mines, and war. When the elementals sought a peaceful resolution to this conflict, their diplomats were assassinated by evil mortals, igniting a war which the unprepared and disorganized elementals lost.
Guardians
Unless otherwise noted, the elemental guardians demand intruders leave the premises and treat mortals with open suspicion. This isn't Atæshia's court. She expects no envoys, and there is no reason for a mortal's casual presence. If a warning is ignored, the guardians fight to the death to defend their queen, secure in the knowledge that Atæshia can resurrect them. They also prioritize alerting Meskrit (see area A4) or Atæshia (see the "Atæshia's Vigil" sidebar) to intruders.
Individual descriptions note how the elementals act toward characters they don't know. If the characters are known enemies of Atæshia, the elementals attack as soon as they notice them.
Defeated Characters
If the guardians defeat the characters, the elementals don't kill them. Instead, Meskrit alerts Atæshia, who locks them in the empty preserver fields in the preservation vaults (area A7).
Atæshia's Vigil
Atæshia performs a month-long vigil in areas A5 through A7 of the reliquary each year, accompanied by a band of guards. This lair assumes the characters arrive during a vigil.
To avoid disturbing their queen, guardians instead alert the vanguard, Meskrit (see area A4), who performs a 1-minute ritual to communicate telepathically with Atæshia. The queen has deemed this method the most respectful way to contact her during her vigil, though it's only to be used in dire circumstances.
If the characters arrive while Atæshia is away, the guardians try to alert her to the attack via the communion orb in the study (area A4). She arrives via the teleportation circle in the queen's chamber (area A5) 1d10 minutes later with her retinue and goes to confront the characters.
Resting in the Reliquary
The first time the characters try to rest within the reliquary while Meskrit, a force of blood, is alive (see area A4), he detects them using his Visceral Sight trait. Meskrit alerts all the reliquary's guardians to watch out for the intruders, then he goes to face the characters accompanied by Nayrin, a sunlight nexus (see area A4).
If Meskrit doesn't know the characters or their motivations, he respectfully asks why the characters are in the reliquary. Meskrit is earnest, but if the characters seek a relic or if they have killed any elementals in the tower, he ultimately has no option but to oppose their further ascent. He asks them to leave but offers for them to rest where they are for 1 hour first. If the characters then try to take a second rest while Meskrit is alive, he alerts Atæshia to their presence. She relocates the lair's hoard elsewhere via the teleportation circle in the queen's chamber (area A5), then she prepares to meet the characters in battle.
If the characters seek an audience with Atæshia, they must provide Meskrit with an urgent reason and make a DC 25 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check. On a success, he contacts Atæshia, who arrives 1d10 minutes later.
If the characters try to rest in the lair and Meskrit isn't there, any elementals alerted to their presence come and find them. If no living elementals in the tower have been alerted to the characters' presence, they can rest without interruption in any area clear of enemies.
Entering the Reliquary
The main way inside is the guarded door on the Ashen Approach (area A1). The characters could also discover the sigil sequence to the teleportation circle in the queen's chamber (area A5).
Ash Queen's Reliquary Areas
The following areas are keyed to the Ash Queen's Reliquary Map.
A1. Ashen Approach
As the characters descend into the valley, they notice the following features:
"The land is ash for miles in every direction. There are no plants, no signs of life—save for a windowless metal tower rising over 100 feet into the air."
"The only clear point of entry is a 20-foot-tall set of green enamel double doors at the tower's base."
"The door is flanked by a pair of 9-foot-tall iron elementals with the silhouettes of armored centaurs. Flowing red crests adorn their bodies."
(Secret) A force of earth hides beneath the ash in front of the door.
Guardians
Irk and Vairna, two forces of iron, guard the reliquary's main entrance. Their crests denote loyalty to Atæshia. Irk is both the grumpier and chattier of the pair, though Vairna can be coaxed into eclectic conversations, particularly regarding history. The pair are content to idly chat with travelers, but they eventually ask what the characters want.
Dorik, a force of earth, uses their Earth Glide trait to hide in the ground. They can't stand the grumpy Irk and only emerge if combat occurs.
Given Vairna's interest in history, a character can persuade her to let the characters enter the tower if they seem genuinely curious about the Elementals' lore and succeed on a DC 20 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check. If the characters talk their way in, the duo unlocks the doors (see "Doors" below) and escorts the characters into the tiled rotunda (area A2), but they won't permit the party further into the tower.
If a character requests an audience with Atæshia and succeeds on a DC 20 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check, Vairna fetches Meskrit and Nayrin from the study (area A4), while Irk stays with the characters and requests they stay where they are. When Meskrit arrives, he speaks with the characters in the same way as if they'd attempted to rest there (see "Resting in the Reliquary").
Doors
The doors are protected by an arcane lock spell and require a successful DC 24 Strength check to force open. Every guardian knows the password—Kitseth, the name of an ancient fire elemental (see area A5). If a guardian unlocks the doors, they take care to whisper so they're not overheard, but a character who succeeds on a DC 27 Wisdom (Perception) check overhears the password.
The doors have AC 20, 100 hit points, and immunity to acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, psychic, radiant, and thunder damage. If the characters attack the door, the water sparks in area A2 alert Miklan in area A3 about the intruders.
You see it as destruction, but I see it—all of us see it—as a necessary part of change. You must destroy the old to clear the way for the new. Creation and evolution demand destruction.
A2. Tiled Rotunda
The reliquary's first floor has the following features:
"Every surface of this chamber is covered in an intricate mosaic that ripples with magic. The walls and ceiling show scenes of elementals shaping the world, battling mortals, and mourning their lost."
"The floor depicts a swirling ocean, and the room's four pillars depict islands, each themed to one of the prime elements."
"A violet orb hovers 4 feet off the ground on the north side of the rotunda, shimmering like a tiny rising sun."
(Secret) Water sparks blend into the floor's oceanic tilework.
Mosaic
The mosaic across the walls and ceiling displays the mythical history of elementals. The pillars show a tornado rising from the land, earth elementals scaling rocky mountains, a grand volcano dripping lava into the sea, and a lush island with misty clouds above. On the ceiling between the pillars, the mosaic depicts the roiling plane of Quintessence. A detect magic spell reveals that the mosaic is enhanced with illusion magic.
Transportation Orb (Up)
The transportation orb is connected to the down transportation orb in the memorial chamber (area A3) on the second floor.
Water Sparks
Twenty water sparks blend into the floor's rippling tilework. A creature who succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check notices the sparks moving among the tiles. If combat breaks out, the sparks join other guardians fighting in this room and defend themselves. Otherwise, they wait for an opportunity to sneak to the transportation orb and alert Miklan in the memorial chamber (area A3) to the presence of intruders.
A3. Memorial Chamber
The reliquary's second floor honors elemental heroes who died in ancient wars. It has the following features:
"A dozen statues of ancient elemental warriors stand on pedestals in this chamber, each surrounded by a semicircle of candles—partially melted, currently unlit."
"Four pedestals are much larger than the rest. Three of these hold great statues, depicting warriors of air, earth, and water. The fourth great pedestal stands empty, adorned only by a plaque."
"Two violet orbs hover 4 feet off the ground, one near the north wall and one near the south."
"A 17-foot-tall elemental in the form of a giant hunches over a smaller statue to the south. He is wrapped in a roiling cloak, and under his cowl, his eyes spark lightning blue."
(If Miklan was warned of intruders in the tower) "Three elementals—one of air, another of earth, and a third of water—stand ready near the orb on the north wall."
(If water sparks from area A2 are here) "Floating motes of water that look like octopuses hover in the air."
(Secret) The three largest statues can summon elemental guardians.
Stormy Guardian
Miklan, an oracle of storms, is trying to learn the deeper secrets of the tales of fallen elemental heroes honored in this hall. If Miklan was warned about intruders, he called forth the guardians in the hero statues (see below) before the party arrived, and he attacks as soon as he notices the characters.
If Miklan isn't expecting trouble, he is halfway through casting the legend lore spell when the characters arrive, trying to learn about an earthen champion, Grevsk, and their role in creating the first badger. If the characters succeed on a DC 19 group Dexterity (Stealth) check while Miklan is casting the spell, they can sneak through this area without him noticing; otherwise, Miklan notices the characters and asks them to leave the area via the orb on the north wall. If they refuse, he uses the hero statues to summon aid and attacks. Any water sparks that came to this chamber from the tiled rotunda (area A2) also join the fray.
Hero Statues
These statues honor elementals who died fighting wicked mortals. The missing statue's plaque reads "Kitseth the Oldest Flame." Centuries ago, Atæshia relocated his statue to the queen's chamber (area A5) to feel closer to his memory.
The other prominent statues are the air champion Thorvion of Lightning's Stride, the earth champion Yateril the Mountain that Walks, and the water champion Merranon the Tidal Triumphant. A detect magic spell reveals each statue's aura of conjuration magic. An Elemental in this chamber can use an action or bonus action to activate all three statues. When activated, the candles around each statue burst alight and an essence of tides, an essence of storms, and a force of earth appear. They attack intruders, fighting to the death. Once the statues have been used to summon these elementals, they can't be used again for 24 hours. The statues each have AC 17, 27 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. If a statue is destroyed, the elemental it summoned disappears.
Transportation Orb (Down)
The transportation orb near the north wall is connected to the up transportation orb in the tilted rotunda (area A2) on the first floor.
Transportation Orb (Up)
The transportation orb on the south wall is connected to the down transportation orb in the study (area A4) on the third floor. Using this orb requires the command word (see "Reliquary Features").
A4. Study
On the third floor, this area has the following features:
"Two stone desks and a third wooden desk face the north wall."
"An apple-sized green orb encircled by a tilted ring of energy hovers 4 feet off the ground at the center of the chamber."
"A violet orb hovers 4 feet off the ground near the east wall."
(If Meskrit and Nayrin are here) "An armored elemental formed of blood talks with a winged being formed of glowing stained glass."
Communication Orb
The green communication orb enables any creature touching it to cast the sending spell without expending a spell slot or requiring material components. A creature who examines the orb and succeeds on a DC 23 Intelligence (Arcana) check knows messages sent through the stone are monitored by someone. That someone is Atæshia. If the characters use the stone to send a message, she gathers her forces and hunts them down in the tower.
Elementals
The elementals are the reliquary's vanguard, Meskrit (a force of blood) and Nayrin (a sunlight nexus). If the characters stopped to rest in the lair, they may have interacted with both elementals as detailed in "Resting in the Reliquary." Use that section to guide their actions in this chamber.
Transportation Orb (Down)
The transportation orb near the east wall is connected to the up transportation orb in the memorial chamber (area A3) on the second floor.
Treasure
The stone desks belong to Nayrin and Meskrit, and the wooden one to Miklan (see area A3). Miklan has three handwritten tomes on his desk that contain the rare histories of long-dead elementals (worth 500 gp each). Nayrin's desk is empty except for a single drawer containing six ruby-inlaid handaxes (worth 250 gp each). Meskrit's desk holds a spare key to the door in this room that leads to the queen's chamber (area A5).
A5. Queen's Chamber
The double doors from the study (area A4) are locked. Picking the lock requires a successful DC 19 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, and forcing the door open requires a successful DC 14 Strength check. The doors have AC 20, 100 hit points, and immunity to acid, cold, fire, lightning, poison, psychic, radiant, and thunder damage.
This area has the following features:
"A 15-foot-diameter teleportation circle glows with violet sigils at the east end of the room."
"At the room's south apex stand two statues, one of a blazing fire elemental and one of the Queen of Ash. They clearly aren't designed to be displayed together, but have been placed as close as their bases allow. The fire elemental carries a wide-bladed scimitar, while the queen, smiling broadly, wears a simple crown."
"The north wall bends around a circle carved into the floor. The ceiling directly above shows a round trapdoor roughly the same size as the circle."
"A wardrobe and simple rug also adorn this room."
Furnishings
Nothing of value is kept in the wardrobe, since it is only used during vigils, a time for austerity.
Lift
The lift can access the panoramic vigil (area A6) on the fourth floor and the preservation vaults (area A7) on the fifth floor. See "Reliquary Features" for more information about the lift.
Nostalgic Statues
Atæshia's statue depicts her eons younger and much happier. A character who succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (History) check recognizes that the fire elemental statue depicts Kitseth the Oldest Flame. The statue's plaque is in the memorial chamber (area A3). Kitseth was Atæshia's first and only love. He died fighting for his queen, but she still carries a torch for him—his name is the password for the reliquary's arcane defenses, a security vulnerability Atæshia can't bring herself to amend.
Teleportation Circle
Atæshia uses this circle to teleport to and from the reliquary.
A6. Panoramic Vigil
On the fourth floor, this site of Atæshia's vigil has the following features:
"Magic makes the walls on this level seem as if they provide a panoramic view outside. Instead of an ashen wasteland, the view shows the surroundings as they were before the gods created mortals. Rolling fields of wildflowers in oranges, purples, reds, and pinks stretch as far as the eye can see."
(If Atæshia and her attendants are here) "Atæshia, Queen of Ash, gazes away toward the horizon. More than twenty elemental attendants accompany her."
"The center of this chamber's floor and ceiling sport circular trapdoors that allow a magic lift to pass through."
(Secret) An invisible essence of mist is among the elementals.
Elementals
Atæshia is visibly accompanied by a force of blood, a force of iron, and twenty air sparks. An essence of mist watches invisibly over the vigil, thanks to her Breathstealer's Shimmer.
Atæshia addresses the characters without looking at them. Unless an elemental guardian vouches for the characters, Atæshia won't let them go unpunished. They have interrupted her sacred rite, and she assumes they have killed numerous guardians on the way—but her anger is patient, tempered. She questions their motives and morals then asserts they put their needs above her people's pain. Following that, she attacks with her band.
Pain justifies pain to Atæshia, but she notes any characters who show remorse before battle. She tries to avoid killing those characters, attacking other targets first and potentially offering surrender. Regardless, she fights to the death, confident of being reborn from war once more.
Lift
The lift can access the queen's chamber (area A5) on the third floor and the preservation vaults (area A7) on the fifth floor. See "Reliquary Features" for more information about the lift.
A7. Preservation Vaults
On the fifth floor, this area has the following features:
"The room branches into four alcoves, each containing a yellow-runed ritual circle that hums with protective energy. Two are empty, the other two are filled with treasures."
"The center of this chamber's floor sports a circular trapdoor that allows a magic lift to pass through."
Lift
The lift can access the queen's chamber (area A5) on the third floor and the panoramic vigil (area A6) on the fourth floor. See "Reliquary Features" for more information about the lift.
Preserver Fields
Objects in the four magical ritual circles don't age and can't be targeted by divination magic. Nothing can physically pass through the fields and creatures on the outside can't teleport into the fields. The fields have immunity to all damage, but each can be destroyed by a disintegrate spell or a successful dispel magic spell (treat each field as an 8th-level spell).
Saying the password, Kitseth, within 10 feet of a preserver field suppresses it for 1 minute. If the characters are imprisoned here and already know the password, Meskrit changes it to Merranon (the name of an elemental champion whose statue stands in area A3).
Treasure
The two filled preserver fields contain Atæshia's treasure hoard. See "Atæshia's Hoard" for more information.
Atæshia's Hoard
Atæshia's hoard is held in the preserver fields in area A7 of her lair. She has gathered these relics over the millennia to assist her god-killing plots.
The hoard contains the following items:
Horn of Valhalla (bronze), etched with whirlwind motifs
Oathbow that speaks Primordial instead of Elvish
Well-worn leather hip satchel containing 2 beads of force, a chime of opening, 2 feather tokens (bird and tree), a potion of giant strength (storm), and a spell scroll of wish
10-pound cube of ice that never melts (worth 2,000 gp)
Coffer containing 20 primordial sapphires (worth 5,000 gp each)
The oldest mortal-made axe in the timescape (worth 40,000 gp)
6 ancient gold holy symbols (worth 72,000 gp total)
29,465 gp and 5,123 pp