Figure 1.1 : The Cauldron
The following is a guide to the Ruins of Spyte, after the Blasting. Every part of the actual city has not been described in extreme detail, as the following is only supposed to be a guide. Enough detail has been provided to allow the characters to experience a small piece of what the ruins are like. Atmosphere is essential, to put off the characters exploring too much. Also less detail has been provided to allow the Games Master to personalise this den of evil. As the Hall of the Magi, is the centre of the whole adventure, a lot of detail on it has been provided.
Spyte is a ghastly place, full of evil creatures from another plane. It used to be the crux of Magi power in Krath, but is now an unreachable haven of death. The current Magi of Krath have decided that it is too dangerous for any of them to try and enter this terrifying place, and will try and kill anyone attempting to enter.
Figure 1.1 : The Cauldron
Figure 1.1 shows the general layout of the area surrounding Spyte. The surrounding lands are inhospitable, mainly barren rock with a few scrubby bushes. The Cauldron it self is a huge hole more than thirty miles deep, though a more precise measure has never been taken. The bottom of this cauldron is filled with lava, which has seeped up from the core of the planet itself. Spyte rests on a pillar of rock which sits in the middle of this 'cauldron', and is constantly threatened by the magma flow, which will one day eat through the pillar, collapsing the city.
The closest point of crossing to get to the 'island' is marked with an X and labelled Crossing on figure 1.1. The gap between the mainland and the isle is approximately half a mile, an impossible feat even for the most adventurous of groups.
Figure 1.2 shows a general schematic of the city itself. The city is surrounded by thirty feet walls which are a hundred feet tall. There are five walls forming a pentagon, and each wall has a gate situated in the centre of the wall. All five gates are fifty feet tall, and are impossible for the characters to get through unaided.
Figure 1.2 : The City of Spyte
The four hazy dots inside indicate what are called the power conduits. Each power conduit is a single tower which traps magical energy, and channels it to form a magical barrier from the outer city to the inner city. The outer city no longer exists, as it was decimated by the Blasting, but the inner city was protected by the Blasting. Normally only a Mage could get through the magical barrier, but the characters can just walk through the towers, as there is a door on either side of the tower.
Each of the small speaks indicates one of the buildings in the inner city, which housed the Magi's apprentices, as well as their laboratories. The large specks indicate one of their houses, one each for each of the Magi. None of these are going to be of any interest of the characters, as most have been decimated by monsters or worn by age. If the characters try and enter one of these buildings, they will probably come across some weird beast.
This is the actual Hall of the Magi. A long corridor stretching down most of the building, is lined with the busts of Magi, past, present and (even stranger) future. The stairwell at the end leads up to the Dome of Magic, the meeting hall of the most powerful Magi in the land (see The Ruins of Spyte). All the doors leading off from the corridor are ornately carved in oak.
Each of these rooms are mini-libraries, filled with books on arcane magic. They also double as meeting rooms, where the Magi can have their own personal meetings to scheme and plot. Amazingly these rooms have remained almost completely intact, and seem to be untouched by time. There is a coffee style table in the centre of each of the rooms, and there are also a couple of chair on either side of the tables.
The dinning hall is a huge room, which was supposed to accommodate any important occasions. When all of the Magi came to the City of Spyte, they would all dine together, more of enjoyment than any real need (as all of their homes in Spyte had their own kitchens and dining halls). What they enjoyed doing was trying to work out all the plot and counter plots for the day, manoeuvring themselves into the best position both for themselves and sometimes (very rarely) the whole of Krath.
As has been mentioned before, the Magi dinning together was a choice no a necessity. The kitchen is fully furnished, and still is, with all the items in here fully in tact. As there was no single Magi cook, each of the Magi would loan their cook for a single day to cook all the meals in the building for that day.
The storeroom, as the name suggests, was where all the food stores are kept.
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