[Gameplay] 8. Vault of Hidden Wisdom

Your research in the Dark Depository points toward the Vault of Hidden Wisdom, the most secret archive of the Great Library. Once again, you will need to gain permission to get inside, but even with your patrons permission, Deka An-Keret refuses to tell you where the entrance to the vault is located, claiming that knowledge of the entrance’s location has been lost. Likewise, the curators in the Outer Sanctum have heard of the Vault of Hidden Wisdom, but they have no idea where it is. Even with permission, you will need to find your own way into the vault.

How do you go about finding the Vault of Hidden Wisdom?

"We should learn what we can of it, of anyone that knew of it's location in the past. Perhaps memory of it's location can be found with the dead, or passed down to an ancestor?"

You search for stories or rumours of the Vault of Hidden Wisdom, and find the following: "The long shadow of the Tower of Ra's Glory in the dawn of midsummer is said to point toward the door."

Unfortunately, the Tower of Ra's Glory collapsed decades ago, and it is not midsummer.

How do you use this information to find the entrance to the vault?

"Seems the first thing we should determine is where, exactly, this Tower of Ra's Glory stood. Then, while we may not have the luxury of waiting for Midsummer, perhaps someone learned enough may be able to tell us where the sun would be in the sky during that time."

"Do we have a means of generating artificial light? Perhaps we could fool it into thinking it is Midsummer."

'If my Dad was here, he would be able to help. He may even have heard of it. He's a builder...' She thinks. 'I can probably ask Khepri for light but I do not know if it will be bright enough.

The Tower of Ra’s Glory collapsed years ago. It lay as a ruin for decades, but after you ask your contacts you find that in recent months the tower’s location has become a building site, as the tower’s fallen stone and marble blocks are being removed or incorporated into the foundations of a new building under construction.

You could make a DC 25 Knowledge (Nature) check to work out the sun position at midsummer as compared to now, but you'd also need to know the tower's height to determine where the shadow would point.

Tabat scratches his head. "Perhaps if there is an builder's guild in the city, we might seek them for assistance? They may have archival information on the tower."

'Sounds like a good start.'

Finding the ruins of the Tower of Ra’s Glory is easy. Many locals remember the tower, but few can recall its height. None know anything about the Vault of Hidden Wisdom. You learn of a trio of old locals named Adull, Hamask, and Toothless Mhetek, who sip mint tea at a nearby hostelry. These old-timers played in the tower as children and know it very well, and tell you it was 125 feet high.

Tabat thanks the old-timers before turning to his companions. "Well, that's one mark down. Now we just need a way to approximate the direction that shadow would fall. A farmer, I think, may know the seasonal sunlight. Or a scholar of some sort."

Your inquiries find you a man, Ab-Holl, who knows a little something about such matters. A natural philosopher, he maintains a small diorama of the sun and stars.

He scratches at the dirt a little, and then tells you that he will need a day to do the research, and 50 gold pieces for his time and materials. He's confident that he can determine the shadow, and prove to you it's correct as well.

Do you pay?

Tabat listens and nods along to the man as he explains what he'll need, and the promises he makes. He considers while reaching for his coin purse.

Tabat is certain that he's a binafide sage, an expert that you're hiring with particular and valuable skills.

The next day, he shows you his results. It's mostly a series of circles and lines and gibberish, but Ab-Holl is confident in his calculations. The determination of where the shadow would point reveals the actual entrance to the Vault of Hidden Wisdom is located in an otherwise nondescript wall of a bathhouse in the Wadjet’s Walk district. Once you know where to look, you find the door with little difficulty, although searching blindly would have been a very difficult task.

You wait until you cannot be seen and pass through.

Two deep alcoves open on either side of this dusty chamber. A small, battered bronze chest sits on the floor at the far end of the room. Beyond the chest, a passage continues to the south.

Iseret detects a pressure plate in the floor that looks to open a pit.

Iseret attempts to disarm the trap.

Tabat begins to walk forward but halts when Iseret signals danger. He watches the halfling do her work, nodding in appreciation at the display of skill.

Iseret fails to disarm it, but does not set it off. You can try again (failure by 5+ will set it off), or mark it and go around.

Iseret contemplates for a moment. "Let me try again, I think I've just about got it!"