Publisher's blurb:
This ruined desert temple is carved into the sides of a ravine, with fast clear water flowing below. Tall palms line the sides of the cliffs, while other leafy plants creep along the ground, growing on the rubble amidst wildflowers.
The largest room has been turned into a mess hall, with tables laden with drinks, weapons, maps, paperwork, books and food waiting before a raised platform with a chest, overgrown with flowers.
Some rooms have stone benches covered with urns of the dead, while others contain desks or beds. Two more are small cells, and out the front one of the caves has been turned into storage for food and wine, as well as an outpost. Two of the rooms are filled with pools of blue water.
Rickety wooden bridges connect the walkways in places where the original stone has fallen away. Some lead to large rooms, while others are only small and filled with stone benches of urns. Birds cry loudly as they fly between nests in the cliffs.
Adventure Seed
You are hired by a recruiter in a tavern to unlock an ancient chest at a recently-discovered ruined temple. It is sealed with magic and physical locks, so their excavation team needs someone who’s good with the arcane arts and lock picking to open it. If you succeed, you’ll be paid well.
They guide you through mountains to the rest of the excavation team in the temple. Only, once you arrive, you’re greeted by three dirty men at the entrance—who the guide doesn’t recognize.
WHAT’S HAPPENING? After the guide left to recruit the help the excavation needed, bandits took over the site. The group of historians hadn’t expected to be attacked in such a remote location, and only had two guards with them.
The bandits have locked them up in two tiny cells, which are very uncomfortable for a team of 10 people. In the meantime, the outlaws have been feasting on the excavation’s food stores while trying to unlock the chest.
The historians told the bandits that they hired some people to open the chest, and upon seeing your party they will guess you’re the team. The bandits tell you that they have a new deal for you, and that if you help them open the chest they’ll give you a share of whatever’s inside. Will you help the bandits, leaving the excavators as prisoners, or will you risk your life to save them?
The chest itself is made of brass, with gold bindings, and has melted into the stone beneath it. It radiates warmth and is hot to the touch. There is spiteful fire djinn trapped within, and if released, he will emerge with a flaming sword and thank you for freeing him. However, he will not return to his realm empty-handed after such a long time; when he returns, his castle will need sprucing up, and to do that, he needs slaves.
As you were kind enough to release him, he will spare you. But, depending on which group has survived, he will demand either the bandits or the excavation team be handed over to him as slaves… If you refuse to give either of them, he’ll attack.