#✧ ⁎ 。˚ LAVA FLOW ─── ❛ like molten lava. filled with fire. boiling & burning.

[offtopicoverload]

“I want to be your home” for the soft asks ... for any LITG character you feel like writing about 🥺❤️

Thanks so much for the prompt! <3

I’ve been kinda curious to write Hannah lately, so I thought I’d give it shot since this prompt felt like Hannah-level of cheesy romance lol

Wildfire 

Hannah x MC (Clover)

~1.7k 

Hannah taps her foot nervously, standing beside the snack table at the finale party and watching its attendants dance and drink, laugh and chat. She sips fancy, expensive champagne as her cool, blue eyes scan for one person in particular. She knows she shouldn’t be searching, shouldn’t be bothered, shouldn’t be invested, but she just can’t help it, she can’t help longing to spend the party dancing and drinking, laughing and chatting with this one particular person.

She frowns, turning to her glass and swirling the bubbles inside, watching them twist and spiral, attempting to distract herself from the face that’s been imprinted in her mind since last night, the face that’s begun to haunt her. Maybe it’s haunted her since the first time she ever even saw it, maybe it’s been following her for weeks, sitting in the back of her mind and slowly driving her insane. That’s worse, isn’t it? If there was never even a catalyst to spark these ridiculous feelings, they just appeared along with that face, no explanation, no justification.

Is that more or less romantic? For one small spark to light a fire after weeks of peace, of ignorance, of nothing worth noting, or for an explosion to ravage the forest right from the start, unapologetic and unforgiving? She downs the last of her glass, turning to steal a refill and downing it too, before grabbing one more.

Bright blue eyes turn back to the party, searching for the match that’s burnt her insides to a crisp. Spark or explosive, slow build or instant heat, it still burns the same, it still chars her heart, fills her lungs with smoke, and clouds her mind with a thick, heavy haze. It still wreaks havoc on her entire world, still turns her reality to ash, and still disintegrates the future she had imagined for herself.

Now, all she can imagine is her. All she can picture is a world in which she’s there, lighting match after match and discarding them on the forest floor. A perfect reality in which she’s burning dry leaves to a crisp and the dry brush beneath her feet into cinders, embers that flicker and fly until they reach bark, until they grow and grow, engulfing wood and sending smoke to join and mix with the clouds softly shifting above the party.

And then she finds her, sees her standing with that lighter of a smile, carelessly letting it’s flames lick at everything within sight, carelessly letting it burn the branches surrounding Hannah, even from across the party, even from metres away. Yet, that’s not the end, far from it as she carelessly lights dynamite, her green eyes landing on Hannah’s and the flames from her lighter somehow growing a fraction of a millimetre alongside her smile, just the smallest, most miniscule, barely noticeable increase sending Hannah’s heart racing, fanning the flames raging inside of her.

Those green eyes break from blue, turning back to the man beside her, her red-stained lips murmuring something that Hannah longs to hear, just to listen to the smooth molten metal she knows is falling from them. She huffs, dragging a hand through her red locks, locks that once seemed like the brightest fire she would ever encounter, but are now a flickering spark, a dying ember on pavement as opposed to everything inside of her, everything in front of her. She turns, scanning the table before her for something to occupy her time, to suffocate the flames lapping at her ribcage.

She heaves a deep breath, but it does nothing to quiet the wildfire burning and scarring her, potentially even fueling the flames, potentially letting them grow and grow, their smoke nearly choking her now. Every cell in her body shrivels under the heat, every centimetre of her skin is bright red, flushed from the excessive temperature. She takes a biscuit, biting into and staring at the tablecloth, praying for release from the forest fire that’s destroying her without care.

“Hey,” molten, dripping, red-hot magma sounds from behind Hannah, spilling into her ears and down her neck, a trail of ash in its wake. She turns, meeting those gorgeous green eyes that promise life, that promise refuge in rolling hills, that promise something other than fire and ash, smoke and burning red.

“Hey, Clover,” she chokes through the fumes clouding her throat, feeling the way it coats her airways and tasting the way it settles on her tongue as the words escape from her lips.

The lighter’s flames explode before her eyes, metres and metres tall, tall enough to burn the clouds swirling in the sky above them, dark in the night. “How’ve you been?” she beams. “I mean, I know it’s only been a day, but, uh… y’know,” she averts those promises of life, those promises of more, turning them to the lawn beneath their heels, her cheeks turning neon, fiery as heat flows from them.

Hannah’s own face is burning, no doubt hot to the touch as she nervously chuckles, “Yeah. Um, I’ve been good. Congrats on the win,” she smiles, as steady as she can, even though her desire to run from the flames before her is slowly growing along with them.

Clover beams, her smile scorching and boiling as it collides with Hannah’s skin, “Thanks! I didn’t really expect it but, y’know, it’s pretty amazing.” Her eyes are hypnotic, drawing Hannah in with the promise of plentiful existence and boundless nature, just for her smile to roast her.

“What are you going to do with the money? And what about Carl and his share?” Hannah inquires gently, the thought of them spending it together collapsing and melting her heart, lava flowing over her ribs as she forces a smile to hide the caving of her chest.

Clover’s head tilts, her lips twisting as she considers carefully, “I don’t know about Carl, but I was going to donate most of it. Maybe start fostering dogs with my free time,” she grins, teeth alight with sparks.

And Hannah beams right back, because of course that’s how she’d spend it. Of course she’d spend it helping others and providing safety, just like the shining gems that are her eyes. Only her smile falls away an instant later, “We, um, we should probably talk about last night, right?” she turns to the drink in her hand, swirling the liquid within and crossing her free arm over her chest.

Hannah’s throat bobs as she swallows thickly, working to steady herself and ignore the smoke in her throat as she awaits Clover’s answer, “Yeah, I, uh, probably.”

“So, I don’t -” she sighs, forcing her eyes to meet those green pastures, those beautiful safe havens, “I just - I know how you look at him. And how much you care about him. I really do get that and I know this won’t change anything, but just - I don’t know,” she groans weakly, turning back to her drink and mumbling, “This was stupid. I shouldn’t have said anything. I’m really sorry.”

“No.” Flowing lava drips from red lips as her fingers wrap around Hannah’s wrist, blistering and searing the skin beneath her palm, “Tell me, Han,” she urges softly. “I need to know. Please,” the heat in the lava’s disappeared, turning to rock, strong and steady as it beats against Hannah’s protective walls, crumbling them with ease.

“I - Do you know how you look at him?” she glances up, feeling fire surrounding her, smoke filling her lungs as a layer of ash settles on her skin.

Those promises of life dim, confusion and concern mingling as her thumb unconsciously brushes along Hannah’s wrist, every pore she touches lighting with embers. She shakes her head softly, looking to Hannah for an answer, an answer she doesn’t want to give, an answer that may finally quell the flames, but in the worst way possible.

She swallows the pile of ash that’s settled on her tongue, “You - You look at him like he’s your entire world, like he’s your favourite place, like - like he’s your home, all cozy and familiar and comfortable,” she begins, drawing herself to her full height, urging the flames circling her to wait just a minute more before engulfing her entirely.

“Han, what -?” Clover starts, cocking her head as her brows furrow in confusion.

Hannah shakes her head to cut her off, to speed up the process of killing the life held within her perfect green eyes “I need to just - Please,” she begs softly.

Clover nods, letting her continue, those green eyes refusing to die, sparkling with life inside her head. They shine in the minimal light surrounding them in the night, neon lights reflecting and glittering within them. They draw Hannah in to the point that she doesn’t even remember the dozens of people around them, the music that’s pounding from speakers, the drink in her hand, the entire Villa disappearing as she falls into the world held within those green eyes.

The ash that filled her throat is gone along with everything else, the words flowing easier than ever before, soft and quiet, “He’s your home and your happy place and - and I want to be that for you… I want to be your home, Clo, I want to be that happy place…” she nearly whispers the confession, relishing the momentary freedom from fire, the fresh air that fills her lungs, the sight of the world not obscured in an orange haze.

Until it sparks again, Hannah’s heart providing the catalyst this time as flames break from the organ, beating fast and hard, licking at her already wounded body, “But I know I can’t be and this was a stupid idea and I’m really sorry, I’m just gonna -” she pulls back, breaking the hold that green now has on her, and turns to run, to retreat into the crowd and drink until she forgets what she’s done, or until she succumbs to her burns, neither of which should take too long or too much at this point.

Clover’s cool hand slips into hers, lacing their fingers together gently as Clover looks at her softly, delicately, pulling her back before she can get too far, before she can forget that captivating green. Her touch is cool and calming, precious and soothing as her perfect eyes alleviate the burns covering every centimetre of Hannah’s body, “Let’s talk, okay?”

#litg fanfic #litg hannah #hannah x mc #wildfire #prompt #should this be continued? #idk i think i like the cliffhanger

[vexkader]

Solis Part 2

  Wet grasses stained my paws I stepped off the ship. Looking at my surroundings I was in a small field. Grass reaching a few inches. In the distance was a jungle teeming with hoots and hollers, as storm rolled in the distance. Leaving a trail of puffy grey clouds against a sky with a lazy yellow hue.

  I made sure my revolver was holstered, my armor tight, and my comms working with BB. Then I was off, marching into the jungle aiming at the mountain. 

  The air made things uncomfortable as I trudged through the muddy earth. Making my fur stick to everything, sweat pouring down my face. Tall vine-covered trees providing some shelter from the sun, palms with glowing purple accents dotting the forest, as poisonous yellow and red flowers dotted the ground. Warning anything that may try to eat them. 

  The scene was beautiful, if not dangerous. I had to be on my guard here. The plants, as many thorn and spines they had. Were nothing to the carnivorous beasts you found on this planet. 

  Howls and roars of these reptiles could be heard in the distance, even the odd chirping of the animals flying above. My ears twisting and turning to each sound, listening to anything that might be considering me for lunch.

  Treading ever on ward, the soft and mushy ground slowly became more rocky. The jagged black rocks mixing with the dirt. Slowly pacing itself into an incline. The trees changing slowly as well. The once bright green and purple palms, making way for dark broadleaf trees. Their roots and vines creating a claustrophobic ground. 

  The trees were so densely packed together, it was getting harder to see. Echos of the jungle creeping ever so much in my mind. My nerves keeping me on edge if I was jumped at. 

  My march continued as rocks and trees continued to change. The sharp volcanic rocks becoming bigger and bigger, wanting to choke out life. But it found its way, as the trees got bigger and bigger. The base of the mountain was near, this I was sure of now. In addition to the hiking I was now climbing over the rocks. Gingerly taking hold of them, to not slice my paws wide open. 

  Breath started to escape my lungs, feeling the burning from climbing rock after rock. gripping vine after vine. The towering mountain taking up most of my view, but I finally came to my destination. A small cave opening, once was a lava flow. Revealed itself from small bits of bushes covering it. 

  I smiled to myself. "Finally", said out loud. "About time I reached ya!" 

  Stepping forward, I treaded down into the cave. Arms slightly swaying from the sudden down ward walk. Rocks tumbled and cracked against each other. Blackened sand swished its way down. With the sudden absence of light, my suits flash light turned on. Illuminating the dark tube. 

  Its rough circular and jagged nature was still surprisingly easy to navigate. Taking time to catch my breath from the climb. Pawing at the sides with wonder. Hundreds of years ago, lava forced its way through this mountain. Helping forge the Venus we know and live on today. 

  Further and further into the tube, it started to open up into a full cave system. The warm and humid air from the outside replaced with just pure hot air, and the smell of burning. The sound of flowing lava nearby, telling me I was close. Last time I was in this cavern, I followed the lava down. Which it lead me to the ruin. Intending to do that again, I stepped to the sound. 

  Closer and closer I got, the cavern started to illuminate with a blue hue. Soon pulsing and slowly flowing lava was in sight. A deep, dark blue color. Its light bouncing off the black rock of the cave, almost reflecting off. Letting out a cough from the heavy air, filling with molten rock and smoke. I cursed myself for not bringing my respirator. No matter it was a short hike now. 

  I went deeper in, after the bubbling lava. Careful not to burn or singe myself. Staying on the cooler ends of the rocks. The small flow soon turning into a river, flowing a bit faster. My sights lefts the lava river for only a moment, turning to what was now a huge cavern before me. 

  Gazing upon the awe-inspiring sight, it was just as I remembered. This cavern was huge! Hosting all sorts of weird and wonderful things! Hopping into it, I took a bit more time to look around. Turning off my flashlight as a hole in the roof of the cave let in enough natural sunlight. Vines and ferns nearly tumbling down. 

  Off to my right side was a vast lava lake, twisting and turning. Flowing to the rock beneath me and into the crust below. A few small trees and bushes grew, shallow root systems sucking up whatever they could. careful not to reach the magma below. Sleek and shiny black rocks were everywhere, making up the structure of this place. Leveling out every so often, making me clamber up about three to four feet each time. 

  But all of this beauty was nothing compared to the mythical fashion of what laid before me. Towering above it all, nearly reaching the top of the cavern. Was a structure, not like anything made by man. Its design screamed a sophistication not known to us. 

  Flowing designs, as it looked to made of white marble. Angles never used, as everything curved into each other. Forming a tower. In the center of this tower, was a window like pane, a generous amount of gemstones filling it in. All a familiar shade of purple. Everything covered in accents of silver. 

  Everything of this contrasted with the ruggedness of this cave. The soothing white marble, compared to the harsh and slicing black of the lava rock. Stepping up to the structure was a series of stairs and bridges, all ornate with the same patterns. The white marble, purple gems smoothed and buffered into the building itself. Silver railing for the bridges, over hypnotic lava. 

  The contrast was glaring at first, but it all blended together for a beautiful serene picture. Gracefully guiding my paws against it. Feeling smooth and cool, granting them some solace. 

  Slowly I reached the top, a massive archway and door in my way. Made out of the very gems that led me here, but this time with deep moving designs. A faint blue color, they begged me to touch. Circled and planetary like designs all crossing forming with each other. Eagerly waiting for my return. 

  Then came the part I never understood, but what felt natural. I pressed my paw against the deep purple, moving against the blue. Forming them to my will, my wants. So they listened. The door began to phase away, not even leaving a cool wind in good-bye. No matter I was after its secrets beyond. 

  And beyond they were shown! In the seat of the tower was a beautiful hollow tree. Made of silver and etched in a flowing design. Leaves of amethyst. Breathing in deeply, I took in its lack of scent. Feeling calmed by the tree's presence. Moving forward, I went to the trees embrace. Enticed by its gift in the center. A glowing purple crystal. A perfect sphere in shape, with a silver ring around it. Flowing gently as the ice around Saturn does. 

  Stepping up to it, I gazed in its beauty. Filling my vision once again with promises of the future. Gently I took it up in my paw, maw gaping as I viewed it. It was majestic, nothing could recreate this beauty. 

  "Show me.. show me what you showed last time. Make me understand." The words I spoke didn't feel like my own, even though they came from my mouth. 

  My wish granted however, my vision blurring. Everything feeling fast as wind whipped across my face! Blowing my fur around all over, freezing my mouth inside!

  My eyes opened to a blurry scene. It felt like a dream, but as if this was real. A cold wind whirled and twirled. Snow falling from the sky against red sand. Mars... I was on Mars. 

  But the sand was not the only red thing, looking around I could see flames everywhere. Burning the massive skyscrapers of steel and concrete. Neon lights flickered in and out. Some still showing the stores they advertised for, others warning you to seek shelter or evacuate. 

  I wasnt there to evacuate, as a seething hatred boiled inside me. Standing up from my knees, I wiped the blood from my nose. Staining my grey fur red. Blood? I don't remember bleeding. It felt warmer than the fires around me, as my body felt colder than the snow falling. 

  Looking back up, I could see a hazy figure on an overpass above me. An unnatural being, as if it was of twisted metal. Letting out a demented and robotic yell, it surveyed my pass below. Looking over each building and spotting me. Raising a rod like arm as a purple beam shot from it! Burning deep into my chest, blistering and boiling. 

  Soon I found myself falling with the snow, coughing and gurgling. My chest turning inside out as the grey Martian sky disappeared from my view. 

  

#fiction #furry fandom #furry #story #scifi #space #SolisPart2

[cosmicdvst]

❝ L eave me at the road side and hang me up and out to dry ❞

He’s not sure where he is anymore; he’d driven relentlessly. Driven for hours with a frenzied feeling pumping at his gas, chasing him down concrete roads that had long since dissolved at the mouth of a gaping desert—red, dusty and hollow red.

It’d been three months since he’d received the news; Kerberos mission lost, pilot error, dead. It’d been three months since he’d assaulted the Galaxy Garrison’s central office in response, demanding answers—he couldn’t accept it, wouldn’t accept it. He’d known Shiro, had been witness to his ability and promise, had therein known that the possibility of a pilot error was every piece absurd… and even if he’d dared to entertain the thought, why the hell weren’t they out looking for him? When they’d commissioned him to begin with?

It’d been three months since the appointed head of the institution had ordered him out, quite literally dragging him from the premises in a kicking and cursing mess, volatile like fizzling acids bubbling from their beacons in consequence to a mounting heat. It’d been three months since they’d reminded him that he was absolutely nothing special. A prodigy sure, but in time replaceable. Replaceable with something tuned to taking orders, someone conditioned to respect and maintaining model behavior, someone overall better, appealing, whole, and pristine. Stark opposites too what he was, what the world had dictated him as; lacking, disinteresting, broken, and ruined. An orphan with little promise when coupled with his temperance and bite. An orphan far too wise to the truths of existence to fall prey to the false enchantments offered by life’s fleeting moments and bribes.

Truths of existence. That’s what he felt that he was half the time—truths that no one wanted to acknowledge.

The truth that he was now was found sprawled on his back against a sandy tomb in the midst of nowhere, gazing up bitterly at a nighttime sky he’d once loved so dearly. A sky that had personified his dreams in its cosmic folds, an infinite realm adorned with bursting stars that breathed in vivid colors and exhaled opportunity just as infinite as space itself. A sky that now glowed back treacherously and empty, that last feeling striking past the boundary separating earth and a seeming heaven. An emptiness that rushed forward with the weight and shape of an asteroid as it seared the atmosphere and crashed against his chest. It ravaged skin and split it open, it’d broken ribs, splintered bones, and exploded in a suffocating sensation at his core. It nestled inside, erupting in waves of a corrosive heat that manifested along the plains of his aching body; shaking limbs, conjuring fists, and gritting teeth before slowly subsiding to a numbing silence, subduing his natural fires altogether.

He was so empty now. He’d done his run with anger and he’d courted it in a way that only he’d known how for years—it’s what he was, after all. What he best understood: molten anger. A language spoken in striking fists, cutting looks, set jaws, mapped bruises, and bloody ends. It’d helped him survive, saw him through so much, and above all, it cushioned the more painful blows of feelings he’d attempted to gut from his chest with the sharp edges of knives and blunt carvings of fingertips. It was his defense against a world that sought to wear him down, his only motive and fuel… and now, it was gone.

Gone like everyone else.

The Kerberos mission falls heavier, feels larger, because it’s not just Shiro’s he’s lost—it’s everyone. His mother, his father, his family, and his friends back at the group home. Everyone… gone.

His breath shudders and his fingers dig into the ground beneath his leathered palms. Nails bleed under the pressure of biting sand and bits of dry dirt. The surrounding night envelopes him in a cold that makes him shiver with its clawing breeze, turns paling skin to deathly ice. He doesn’t care. Why the hell should he care?

You’re nothing special.  

You’re lucky to even have a last name.

Cursed words swim through his mind as he closes his eyes, attempting to steady his breathing in the wake of this mess—he can feel hideous and liquid things boil at his throat and sear at the corners of his eyes: tears. He wants to incinerate them because he doesn’t want them. He doesn’t want to submit to them because they’re so useless, they’ve never once done a thing for him, they never will—tears, tears, just go away. Nevertheless, despite his naive hoping and pushing, they resonate inevitable. How long could he hold back the storm that had had years to brew and gather momentum? A storm that now wiped and raged with this last impossible weight of a loss, feeding into clouds that hung ashy and thick? A storm that demanded its fall and presence, a storm that clutched at the edges of this emptiness and forced itself up to reach through into reality, to stain and to bleed a stubbornly violet gaze.

All too suddenly it’s apparent that he’s never once been a simple fire. He’s not some forest rage lashing at whatever came into his way, destroying without cause and simply sparking in mindless flickers. He’s volcanic. There’s magma like blood running through the roads of his veins, burrowed in deep like the heat at the heart of this planet, intrinsic and natural to his physiology. Magma that simmers up at the faults, the fallouts, and triggers. Magma that gathers and builds and morphs into something grand and threatening, like now. Magma that conceives that storm and it’s obvious that those clouds don’t weigh in rain, it’s all fire. It’s liquid fire. It’s lava that finally bursts through to the surface at the intolerable pressure, and it’s done. It snaps and roars and explodes and he erupts.

The tears stream down his cheeks as he chokes on a gasp. His hearts pounding to the strain. He’s powerless… and so he cries.

He cries. He cries. He cries.

He cries because he’s empty, he’s alone, he’s nothing. He’s an orphaned boy stranded in the middle of a desert at eighteen, and oh god, he’s already eighteen but he’s also only eighteen and no one cares. He’s got no discernable future and no discernable past. He’s as lifeless as this desert, he’s as vacant, he’s as hollow, and he’s as red.

The sky watches in a cold apathy as his breath tangles, as the tears burn, as they scar at his cheeks and cut down the edge of his jaw. Divinity ignores as he lifts a single and dirtied palm up and out to its nebulous depths, pleading now. He’s pleading for resolution, for absolution, for hope. He’s begging the stars but they refuse to bleed.

They refuse him like everything else.

His lungs burn as his sobs tear faster, louder past the tunnel of his throat. His eyes sting and blur with the bitter reality that further serves to steal his breath, that mounts on shaking shoulders and smothers him into the dirt, and for the first time since he was seven he lets it. He lets it because this was all by his design to begin with, he’d landed himself here, he’d given his demons this opening by loving something that could die. A fatal lesson that he’d thought he’d learned by now… let this moment teach and seal, then, let it be the last.

He turns onto all fours, grime and dirt clinging onto his jacket and clumping into wild and dark hair. He’s gritting his teeth against the pains running rampart through his chest, shredding up to his eyes and ringing them for all their worth, spilling onto dusty earth and scaring it with the tangibility of his hurt. A hand pressed against the flat of the ground curls into a tight fist as he struggles through desperate breaths, and just because he’s in the middle of this spiel, just because he’s already cracked and scattered pieces on this floor, strewing his gore along desert dust, he leans forward as if to kiss salted earth. He leans forward and opens his mouth around a scream.  

It’s raw and it’s loud and it resounds in a withheld agony. It’s piercing, it’s like razors spilling from his throat, and he can taste the acrid dirt on wet lips, but that doesn’t stop him—he’s screaming his anthem to the sky, to the ground, to this empty space that’s his throne and kingdom.

And as his damning voice fills the desert, serenades the moon and stars, there’s an accompanying roar.  A roar like a lions, synergizing his own. There’s a sudden pulse to the ground that forces him to still in a gasp, eyes widening in their puffy and red rimmed mess. The blade secured to his back burns, heat sinking past the sheath and his clothes, thrumming with the same beat of life that so suddenly fills the once listless land.

He’s pushing himself up now in quick motions, standing on shaking limbs and staggering as he looks around with heavy breaths—what is that?

And as nature dictates, lava that flows out from an eruption eventually cools, turns to glinting and sharp obsidian.

#( wo w ok so this is a snippet of how i personally had my keith deal with the kerberos mission.... ) #( snippet i say as this shit is a little over 1.5k ) #( this is honestly more of me going into his overall issues a bit.... and being totally extra af lmao ) #( ★ :: ► drabbles; ❝a traveler of all time & space.❞ ◄ :: ★ )

[lorca-writes]

This is a playable D&D module I designed for an ongoing campaign that I am the Dungeon Master for.

This is an example of game design using pre-existing game mechanics. Included in this module are detailed environment and action descriptions, opportunities for cooperative play, environmental hazards/puzzles, a cipher puzzle, and battle encounters.

-----

Character Level: 4-6. Adjust number of enemies in each encounter to adjust for higher/lower levels and number of players.

Context: The party must venture to the peak of a volcano in order to obtain a magical stone of fire.

Approaching the Volcano

Description: “As you approach the foot of the volcano, the cool mountain air turns sulfuric, and the rocks become jagged and rough. The air is thick with smoke and fumes. Before you stands a grand staircase leading up to a magnificently carved entryway.”

A history check (DC 14) will reveal that the stonework looks to be of ancient dwarven make.

Cave

Description: “You pass into the open entryway and enter the mouth of a cave. Immediately the heat hits you. Lava flows in streams down the walls of the cavern, forming pools at the base of the walls. The air is thick and choking.”

All players make a Constitution save (DC 12). Fail: 1d4 fire damage.

Rock boulder trap – Triggers if a player walks over a pressure plate. “Up above you hear a scraping, like a stone doorway opening, and a rumble shakes the room. You look behind and see a massive round boulder rolling towards you.” (Everyone in the path of the boulder: Dexterity save (DC 15) Fail: 1d6 bludgeoning damage)

The boulder rolls along a path and gets lodged in the only exit the players can see. Investigation (DC 15): There is a small space at the top that someone might be able to squeeze. Squeeze through gap: Acrobatics (DC 12-17 depending on character size). Move boulder: Combined Athletics (DC 30). Hidden tunnel: Investigation (DC 18) reveals a hidden tunnel past a rock formation.

Near the end of the cave there are 3 imps, lying in wait. They will attack on sight.

Continue through the exit to the caldera...

Caldera

Description: “You exit the tunnel and find yourself in the caldera of the volcano. The sky above is thick with smoke. The center of the caldera is filled by a lake of lava. Rivers of lava flow all around you, and in the distance you see a structure – a grand stone spire seemingly carved out of the volcanic rock.”

The lake is 50ft in diameter. The area surrounding the lake is rough terrain.

Entrance

Description: “It takes you about a half hour to navigate around the lava lake, volcanic rock, and the twisting rivers of lava. You arrive at the stone spire. It towers above you, and at its base is a grand double stone door, firmly shut. Between the two doors is a large keyhole.”

No matter what the players try, this door will not open.

Perception (DC 12): “A ways down the lake of lava, you see a small building and structure.” – The Forge.

The Forge.

Description: “You approach the structure. Molten metal bubbles up from a central well that sits before a great anvil, and flows in channels to four triangular shaped pools. There is a hut nearby with a closed door. In the middle of the pools there is a massive anvil with five places to pour metal, which feed into a basin where you expect something should rest.”

History check (DC 15): This is a forge and appears dwarven in make.

Hut: Investigation (DC 12): “The door of this hut has beautifully intricate carvings upon it. There are figures of dwarves leaning over smelting tools. There appears to be a map of the forge, highlighting the four triangular pools. Next to the four pools there are four different runes carved.”

Forge map carving:

Search in the hut: Investigation (DC 13): find supplies for smithing (gloves, leather aprons, smelting cups, tongs, etc.) There also are molds for various objects, each with a different phrase written in ancient dwarvish carved into them. Players may also find a Scroll of Protection from Energy if Investigation (DC 15). There is also an old and crumbling paper with a cipher on it. These runes are the same as the ones on the hut’s door.

Cipher:

The ancient dwarven phrases on the molds correspond with the runes on the cipher. The players must decipher each phrase, pour metal from the appropriate pools into the anvil in the appropriate order, and fill the mold.

If the metal is input into the forge wrong, the mechanism malfunctions and the molten metal bursts out of the mold. Player closest to anvil: Dexterity save (DC 13) to dodge it. Fail: 1d6 fire damage.

Molds: (Adjust weapon types for players)

1: Ancient key – Zaram’azan Sigin Baruk Sigin Kibilun

2: +1 Ancient Longbow – Kibilul Kibil Baruk’inbar Sigin Baruk

3: +1 Ancient Greatsword – Zaram’uzn Sigin Zaram Kibil Kibilo

4: +1 Ancient Greataxe – Baruk’azan Zaram Sigin Sigin’inbar Zaram

5: Enhanced arcane focus Zaram’uzn Kibil Narg Kibil Baruk Sigin

History (DC 15) or ability to speak Dwarvish reveals “Narg” means “Focus.” Players must an insert arcane focus into the mold, as part of the recipe. This arcane focus becomes enhanced and gets +1.

Return to the Entrance & Magma Chamber

Description: “You turn the ancient key and you hear a deep rumble and the clanking pull of a chain. Slowly, the door swings inwards, and another wave of heat hits you. Within the magma chamber is a massive pool of molten earth, which glows a deep red orange, the light undulating with an ebb and flow. There are several islands within this magma, connected by low stone bridges. In the center of this lake is a taller island. The stone bridge leading to the first island is broken before you, and there is a five foot gap to the other side.”

As the players cross the bridges, there are sections that have fallen into the magma. They are easily jumped across, but the magma bubbles up. Each player must make a Dexterity save (DC 13) to dodge the spray. Fail: 1d4 fire damage.

Central Island

Description: “The central island stands before you, a dais on the top. You can see a bright red light emanating from the dais, but it is enveloped in flame. Two wargs stand sentinel at the base of the dais.”

When the party approaches, the wargs attack. A manticore joins the fight on the second round of combat. When the manticore is at half health, it roars and calls 3 magma mephits, who immediately take initiative after the manticore and join the fight. The monsters are fighting to protect the dais and will prioritize attacking the players closest to it.

Once the monsters are taken care of, the players may approach the dais.

The Dais

Description: “The dais is a platform of carved stone with three stairs leading up to it. It is enveloped in a circle of magic fire, and you cannot see what is within the fire.”

The fire can only be put out by magical means. If walked through, player takes 3d6 fire damage.

The stone of fire rests on an ornately carved pedestal of obsidian. When the players take it, a swarm of magical energy is released, though does not harm the players. Insight or arcane (DC 15) reveals a strange sense of emptiness.

Beyond the dais the players see another bridge leading out of the magma chamber and to a small room.

Treasure room

Description: “There is a small hole in the ceiling lights this room. Sunlight glints off of gold and gems scattered on the floor. A dragon skull rests in one corner beside an open chest. In the adjacent room there is a closed treasure chest on a platform below a carving of a dragon head.”

Collect gold from floor: 50 gold.

Collect gems: 10 precious gems.

Collect gold from chest: 150 gold.

There is a trap on the closed treasure chest, triggered if it is opened. Can be unlocked (DC 16). Triggered: a 15 foot cone of fire blazes out of the carved dragon head. All players in range make a dexterity save (DC 14) to dodge the fire. Fail: 2d6 fire damage. Save: half damage.

In chest: Set of jewelers tools, an obsidian dragonchess set, and a lyre.

Exit the Volcano

Description: “As you walk out of the grand stone doorway, a deep rumble comes from all around you. Rocks clatter from the sheer rock wall above you. The lava in the lake before you begins to bubble and boil. From the center of the lake of lava, you see something rise, and bursting out from it you see a massive form. Horns and wings, a whip made of fire and a longsword made of lightning.”

Ability to speak Abyssal/History (DC 14)/Other knowledge of demons: “You recognize this is a Balor, a demon from the deepest Layers of the Abyss, a grand and ancient general of the demon armies. You know this is a creature that can turn even the strongest warrior into ash with a sneeze.”

Continued Description: “It rises, lava dripping, and flicks its wings. A cascade of drops of lava rain down on you.”

All players take an automatic 1d6 fire damage from the lava.

The Valor lets out a roar in Abyssal: “The power that had contained me is broken! I claim this mountain as my own, and all who set foot or claw in it shall burn!”

Players must escape or meet certain doom.

In initiative, the Balor remains in the middle of the lava lake (50ft diameter) and uses its whip (reach 30ft, hit +5, 1d8 + 5 slashing damage*) to lash out at the closest player.

* Damage scaled down so players do not immediately die. Adjust if needed.

If there is no player within reach, the Balor uses its lightning longsword and emits a wave of lightning that hits the wall of the caldera and rocks rain down in a 20ft AOE centered on the targeted player. All players within range must make a Dexterity save (DC 13) to dodge the rocks. Fail: 2d4 bludgeoning damage.

Exit the Volcano

Description: "You exit the scorching volcano and you hear the Balor's wild roars behind you. You have retrieved the stone, but what new horror have you unleashed upon the world?"

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Rune assets: 2 Minute Tabletop

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