Upon arriving in the Stormwood region of Kotime, Vossaprus fought and slew a bronze dragon named Merithax. Vossaprus took over Merithax's lair on the north side of Lake Rautavesi. Vossaprus' lair is situated directly on top of a major ley line nexus. According to geomancy records, that particular nexus point is the intersection of five ley lines and has a strong affinity for elemental earth.
The Lair[]
The dragon's lair is part of a huge cave system that various occupants have modified over the course of several thousand years.
Perimeter[]
Fey visits to the dragon’s lair have been thwarted by a powerful mana barrier that seems to be porous only to the dragon. Other spirits and dual-natured beings are kept out.
Captured Knights[]
There are four elven knights from Jumala hung up on the walls of the antechamber of dragon’s lair, just before the cave’s roof goes under water. 3 male, one female, they wear enchanted elven plate armor, but their weapons and other gear have been taken from them. Each knight is pinned in place by a pair of bronze spikes through their forearms.
Though most elves have forgotten about the tragically failed expedition that set out from Jumala 500 years ago, several older members of elven royalty still remember them. The knights are:
- Teemu Kultakilpi - Called the Goldenshield, Teemu was a cunning strategist and led the attack on the dragon's lair.
- Emma Mustakirves - Known for her starmetal axe, Emma was one of the most accomplished monster hunters in the court.
- Olli Menninsyndan - Olli the Gnome Heart was the royal knight most comfortable underground.
- Jari Kovakourainen - Most of his contemporaries thought of Jari as more of a berserker than a knight. He was fearless and terribly strong.
Each of the hanging elves wears a pair of bronze wrist cuffs etched that are not of elven design.
Underground River and Entry Chamber[]
Past the unfortunate elves, the cavern goes underwater and winds for about 75 meters before the height of the tunnel rises enough to allow swimmers a breath of air. At about this point, the tunnel splits. To the right is a spur that has a damp floor that rises a few inches above the water line. Passing straight through, the underground river winds several hundred meters more until the damp cavern floor rises above the water line again.
At this point, there is a large open cavern with a ceiling that rises up about 10 meters. The whole thing feels low and oppressive due the breadth of the cave. Parts of the ceiling have been reinforced with a kind of cement, and wild a spiderweb of cracks run across the whole ceiling of this area.
On the other side of the shallow part of the river, the surface of the cavern floor has been built up with almost a meter and a half of rock and cement that forms a kind of levy. This levy directs the underground river toward another pair of caverns, and then heads down sharply.
At the far end of the cave from the entrance, the cave system narrows and the ceiling drops to just five meters as it becomes a winding tunnel again. At this pinch point, a few green scales can be seen, sloughed off the dragon's body as he squeezes thorough what can only be an intentionally narrow entry.
Living Quarters[]
Once through this passage (a 4-6m diameter channel), the dragon’s cave begins in earnest. Water seeps through the walls throughout and gathers in pools through much of it. Over the centuries, Vossaprus and his predecessors have expanded the cave system, shaped it and decorated it to draconic taste.
The second largest chamber is almost entirely flooded to a depth of at least 2 meters, descending to 5 meters in the deepest parts. Past this watery chamber is a natural chute that sharply descends over a hundred meters to a third tier of caverns where the power of the ley line nexus is most tightly focused.
Hoard[]
Unlike most greater dragons, Vossaprus does not appear to keep his hoard in a single pile to sleep on, and instead has decorated his living quarters with care and a clear artistic intent. The majority of the dragon's treasure seems to be metals and minerals, with a particular emphasis on green garnets, emeralds and other precious green stones.
The Nexus Level[]
At the lowest level of the dragon's lair, the cave system descends to a depth of more than 350 meters below the surface. The temperature at this level is noticeably warmer than the entrance level of the lair.
This lowest system of chambers are accessed through one winding corridor that descends sharply from the dragon's main living area. Thousands of years of water erosion have made the course slick and perilous for any being on foot.
Much of this level of the cave is submerged under 2-6 meters of water. Every surface is slick and damp, and trickling water can be heard everywhere as water seeps into through walls of the cave. The larger chambers of this level of the cave rise arch between fifteen and twenty meters high, while the narrow channels rand corridors rise only three to five meters high. In the map at right, each level of blue represents a 2 meter increment of water. Lightest blue is about 0.2-2m, a shade darker is 2-4m, then 4-6m, and finally a pair of pools about 6-8m deep.
Crystal Ring[]
Surrounding the exact focus point of the nexus is a sextet of very large crystals, each about three meters tall and half a meter wide. A geology specialist from the Academy of Magic at Jumala believes the crystals to be a form of Demantoid Garnet, based on their color and matrices.
The Unseelie Queen[]
In the center of this ring of crystals, at the exact point of the ley line nexus, Gwyar Amhrán Airgid, lost queen of the Unseelie Court, hovers in suspended animation. Blue, green and amber tendrils of magical energy arc between the comatose Sidhe monarch and the floating green columns.