Gardens 1404 — Brine-Eaten Cathedral


The island that sits above in the surface world dominates the landscape here, a mountain buffeted by something between wind and the tide, making it deadly to ascend. In accordance with the Gardens, swimming or climbing to the surface is only possible if done upside-down, or some other mode of “descent.”

Against the base of the southern side of the island is the lair of the sea-dragon Chorda (he/him), a chunk of domed building with a caved-in roof sitting at an angle as though it was dropped carelessly onto the ocean rocks. It consists of a large central cathedral hall, now open to the ocean, a hallway that leads most of the way around the hall, and three ancillary rooms — a once richly furnished bedroom, an old gallery crushed against the rocks of the island, and an audience chamber turned treasury.

1. The Cathedral
A massive domed room, still imposing in its architectural splendor despite its disrepair. Doors to the south would open to the seafloor-gardens, but are stuck. The primary mode of entry is the hole in the ceiling. All the walls and statuary here have been washed clean of the paints that once illuminated the room, leaving an austerity broken by patches of seaweed and colorful crustaceans. There is a 50% chance that Chorda is present, curled catlike in the center of the room, gazing up at the surface above.
Has open-doored exits to the Corridors on the north and west sides, two per side.

Chorda (stats for dragons taken from the TNU bestiary available through Johnstone Metzger’s patreon)
Level 8 evil faerie
Armor 15, Hit Die 1d10, Morale +1, Huge, Speed 8, Surprise -2
Cha 18, Dex 12, Fer 18, Hth 10, Int 8, Wil 18.
2 bite or claw attacks per round, or 1 breath weapon.
Can fly, swim, and breathe underwater.
Double damage from poison, half damage from piercing, slashing, cold, and fire.
Radiance breath: Beam of light inflicts damage once, but everyone who sees it must save against their Dexterity or be blinded for 1d6 rounds. Chorda is immune to radience.
After Chorda has used his breath weapon once during an encounter, he only has a 1 in 6 chance of being able to do so again, each round.
Spells known: Mass Delusion, Radient Touch, Mind Shield, Charismatic Aura, Imprison Spirit, My Shadow and Me, Bloodhound, Touch of Debasement (spells from TNU and The Nameless Grimoire).
Chorda is sinuous and serpentine. Translucent strands like anemone tentacles wreath his face, tail, and limbs, glowing with bioluminescence.

2. The Corridors
In the absence of the Cathedral’s former inhabitants, many of the corridors that allowed passage around the cathedral are impassable. The longest section that remains passable are those on the west and south sides of the cathedral room proper, forming a right angle. The eastern equivalent of this is completely caved in. Picture frames sit in the walls, the canvasses that used to sit in them long since rotted away.
Exits to the Bedroom and Audience Chamber in the west side, and the Gallery on the north. Both halls have two entrances into the Cathedral room.

3. Bedroom
In the southwest of the building, this used to serve as the living quarters of a major figure in the cathedral. Now it is choked with detritus, a rotting bedframe serving as home for a multitude of crabs. They lay their eggs here. Digging through the slime and debris on the floor will reveal a matching jeweled comb and hand mirror.
There is a doorway into the western Corridor, and an unbroken window that lets in some light from the outside.

4. Audience Chamber
This room is the only that remains painted as it was before it was dropped into the ocean, through the efforts of Knauga (they/them), an undead scholar who is imprisoned here by Chorda. They use their magic to counteract the erosion of the ocean that would destroy pigmment and stonework alike, and are allowed to live in exchange for extending the same to Chorda’s hoard of treasure. They know that Chorda’s claim to have dropped the cathedral into the ocean is a lie — they were already here studying the building when the dragon moved in.
There is a doorway into the western Corridor.

Hoard of Chorda (monstrous V, using &treasure):
7000 coins
2000 coins in trade goods (predator pelts, iron ingots, gold ingots)
1 artifact — Sun amulet
5 magic items — mosquito cloak, nautilus helm, hero mead, serpent draught, blood of plant command, stolen shroud.

5. The Art Gallery
The statues that once filled this room are shattered into thousands of chunks and piled into something resembling a nest. Old pieces of waterlogged wood and broken boat furnishings are scattered about. This was once the lair of Pandroso, Chorda’s child. Picture frames of all sizes hang from the walls, their contents reduced to sodden scraps. Some show signs of being bashed or slashed in anger.
Hidden in the nest-pile: the poison that Pandroso never worked up the courage to kill Chorda with, contained in an old perfume jar that sank long ago.