37
BEFUDDLING FRESCOES. The walls of the room have been decorated with
frescoes.
Against
the northwest wall is a scene of a ruined temple in a swamp with
bizarre spider like creatures scurrying over the architecture. It a
night-time scene, but the stars are depicted as putrescent orbs.
To
the southwest is a painting of a ugly muscular man with gray flesh
wearing only a loincloth. The word “SJAROS” is branded across
his forehead. He is strapped to a table and being tortured by goat
headed pygmies.
The
northeast wall has a painting of a beautiful fountain with snakes
swimming in its waters.
Against
the southeast wall is the scene of a skeletal army assaulting a
fortified town. Peasants and soldiers hurl oil and missiles at the
invaders.
The
funny thing about the frescoes is that they seem to move and
fluctuate if they are observed. In this way they intrigue the
viewer. This is a mimetic rather than a magical effect, so it will
not detect as magic. Any person giving more than a passing glance at
a fresco must save versus spells or be entranced. They will refuse
to leave the room for an hour while they make their observations,
sure there is a deeper meaning in the fresco than what is really
there. Only one fresco will entrance any one viewer. Indeed, even
if a person is entranced by one fresco they will be unable to
understand what another person finds so special about another.
At
the end of the hour, they will allow themselves to leave but they
have been hooked. If they ever re-enter this room, they must
immediately make another saving throw vs spells, but this time at -2.
If they fail, they must spend two hours in the room observing their
favorite fresco. Subsequent visits will see an escalation in their
mania. Saving throws will continue to be harder to save against (-4,
-6, etc.) and the time spent will increase as well by an hour each
time.
The
stairs to the south ascend twenty feet to Room 47 on Level 1.
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