Overview
Ominous storm clouds are always present in the sky here above this ninety-foot-tall hill with trees spreading across its slopes. Atop the hill is a large ring of standing stones. Anyone who circles the hill before climbing it spot three caves near the hilltop.
The reclusive priests of the Circle of Thunder gather on this hill to make sacrifices to
Talos the storm god. In stormy weather, the priests also perform rituals to summon
Gorthok the Thunder Boar, a destructive force they can unleash against their enemies. A circle of standing stones atop the hill helps to focus the priests’ magic to make the summoning of Gorthok possible.
Three priests - Flenz (CE male
half-orc priest), Narux (CE male
half-orc priest), and Yargath (CE male
half-orc priest) - defend the hill, with two of them always performing rituals and the third foraging for food or sleeping.
Cave Descriptions
Three caves are set beneath the hilltop, each serving as the lair of a priest of
Talos. The caves are dug out of the earth, with each cave mouth braced by two rectangular stone slabs topped with a heavy lintel stone. All the caves have 7-foot-high ceilings and crude wooden gates for doors. Each cave features a different layout but has similar contents.
A. Entryway
Situated in the middle of this intersection, facing the cave mouth, the skull of a
boar rests atop a pile of humanoid and animal bones. Anyone who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Religion) check can ascertain that the bones are a warning to stay away.
B. Boar Pen
The gate to this room is lashed shut with rope. It holds a
boar that is the priest's companion and garbage disposal. The boar can’t harm anyone while trapped in this room. If the gate is opened by anyone other than a priest of
Talos, the boar tries to flee the cave, attacking anyone in its path.
C. Cell
The gate to this cell is lashed shut with rope. The cell is used to hold animals doomed to be sacrificed in rituals to
Talos. There’s a 25% chance that a harmless
deer is trapped inside. Otherwise, the cell is empty.
D. Priest's Retreat
This unfurnished room serves as the priest's quarters. Niches in the walls hold clay dishware, wooden utensils, gathered berries, bundled herbs, and creepy totems. In areas C2 and C3, the priests have hidden treasure buried under the earthen floor in a random 5-foot square.
E. Secret Exit
This tunnel slopes up to a secret trapdoor that is plainly visible from the underside.
Circle of Thunder Locations
C1. Henge
Atop the hill is a ring of eight upright stone structures, each one consisting of two 10-foot-high vertical stone slabs spaced 5 feet apart and topped with a 3-foot-thick flat lintel stone. These uprights can be toppled by creatures with a combined Strength score of 80 or higher.
In the middle of the circle, two of the three priests of Talos always dance around a
deer carcass, each wearing the rotting head of a
boar as a mask. They are joined by six frolicking
twig blights. The priests permanently perform this ritual to keep the storm conjured above the hill. If both of these priests are killed, however,
Gorthok the Thunder Boar appears out of nowhere in the middle of the circle with a thunderclap. Gorthok fights to the death.
Anyone who searches the hilltop and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check finds one of three flimsy wooden trapdoors hidden under the grass and dirt. Below these trapdoors are tunnels leading to areas C2, C3, and C4.
C2. Northwest Cave
Carved into the stone above the cave mouth is a picture of a
boar chasing after a stick-figure humanoid.
Flenz hides a
potion of invulnerability in his quarters, buried beneath the floor.
C3. Northeast Cave
The stone above the mouth of this cave is bare.
Narux hides a
+1 shield in his quarters, buried beneath the floor.
C4. Southeast Cave
Carved into the stone above the mouth of this cave is a pictograph depicting three stick-figure humanoids being struck by lightning. Yargath keeps no treasure here.
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