The red glow of a magma wisp‘s body, and especially of the magma vents where they make their lairs, banishes the gates of the shadowy reflection of the Tomb, under normal circumstances. A beast that once made its lair in the skies above the Storm Moon has created very abnormal circumstances in what was once the clanhold of the Tomb’s complement of wisps.
The wisps themselves have withdrawn, reducing their stronghold to just the treasury and a few rooms around it, their backs to the Ashen Heart. A raider could take advantage of this, if the predator doesn’t interfere. The principal treasure remaining in the treasury is an enormous crucible containing several tons of molten copper, hanging from iron chains and casting a yellow glow on the ceiling of mirror-smooth obsidian; smaller crucibles can also be found, along with elaborate works made from metals harder than iron and studded with black sapphires. Many of the smaller, more movable treasures have been taken to other holds of the clan.
Like the ceiling, the floor and walls are polished obsidian, smooth like walking on glass, and slopes down toward a lava pool. Like the furnace above, the air is intolerably hot, and even for this level exceptionally sulfuric. Combined with the humidity, the acid-pitting effect is particularly strong.
The floor is meant to be a defense against intruders, and in particular the monster that stalks these caverns. The creature has nine arms, flexible like tentacles, six arrayed around its body, three reaching upwards, and a single long leg that splits into three scuttling tentacle-like feet. Three of its arms end in eyes, and the other six end in mouths, usually adapted to eat different things. It stands as high as a troll, with arms that reach as long as whips.
The creature’s rubbery hide reacts to light; in low light conditions, it is a deep dark purple, but the brighter light shines on it, the lighter it gets, up to an alabaster-white in full daylight. It has the power to quench light sources and steal heat with a touch of its mouth, which is its primary food energy source (physical food is mere material for its growth). It can flit between the light and dark counterparts of the world at will, as easily as scuttling sideways.
It does not lair in the shadowy counterpart of the magma wisp treasury; instead, it climbs up from the level below via a lava column which is empty in the shadowy counterpart. The descent is steep, and the rocks are jagged and sharp, but an experienced climber can manage it.
Ten Leagues Beneath the Earth 