Hexcrawl Series No. 16 – The Jade Palace

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This adventure is part of the Brukesian Duchy Hexcrawl. Find more about it here!

Nothing but a myth. The words pronounced by Duke Crane when his army’s commanding officer insisted that finding the Jade Palace was paramount for the Brukesian Duchy’s advances.

Regardless of what humans think, the palace exists. The Dewborn Princes inhabit the marvelous structure and rule over their people from its magically-hidden location. Loyal allies and important Dewborn live in the palace as well.

Lore

The Dewborn came to the Material Plane two thousand years ago. A war that threatened to destroy their society drove them to open a portal between worlds and leave their home in the Fey Realm.

The now-forgotten Dewborn zealots maintained the portal opened and allowed their kin to go through. The Dewborn came to the now-called Brukesian Duchy and settled in the woods. Originally from the Fey Realm, they quickly became acquainted with satyrs, pixies, dryads, and other creatures from the forest. They formed alliances; some of them work as spies for the Dewborn to this day.

The Jade Palace was built during the first decades after their arrival. The Material Plane has different arcane properties as the Fey Realm but they did their best to reproduce their might and grandioseness. They did not fail. The palace is an architectural marvel. Furthermore, the dreamlike landscape grounds around the palace are marvelous.

The Dewborn People

The Dewborn are a complex society almost unknown to men. The immortal elf-like humanoids have no gender, their skin has a deep green color, and their pupil-less eyes are all white and spectral.

The palace fosters the seven Dewborn Princes and their entourage of important court members. The rest of the Dewborn are scattered all over the region, divided into smaller settlements and military encampments. However, all Dewborn would heed an urgent call to protect the Jade Palace if the need arose.

Glamour Spell

Prince Aerennis, a master conjurer and mage, takes credit for the palace’s magic which makes it untraceable. Dewborn are the only ones who can see through this veil of illusion. Other creatures, even fey, might stare directly at the huge structure and miss it. They would only see the river, the mountain, and miles of woods.

The Lost Prince

A hundred years ago, humans built a gruesome prison meant to extract the life-force of Dewborn immortal bodies. They captured a member of the Dewborn court, Prince Viarimei. Brukesians stopped that horrible practice decades before Duke Albert came to power but the prison remained. The prince has been replaced at court. Alas, the prince and other Dewborn prisoners still hope for a savior to find the Prison of Petals.

D8 Random Encounters

1

1d4 elite Dewborn warriors patrols the crenelations of the wall

2

1d4 satyrs, the backs of their colorful silken cloaks have the Dewborn sigil embroidered in contrasting tones

3

1 Dewborn-tamed griffon lands on the palace’s courtyard

4

1 troll soldier wearing leather armor

5

2 Dewborn historians holding several thick tomes and books

6

1d10 Dewborn soldiers patrolling the area as a single marching unit

7

1 fairy dragon (5-in-6 chance it is invisible and reports any anomalies)

8

2d4 Dewborn rangers cross the drawbridge and report human activity in the edges of the Dewborn Glades

D8 Random Events

1

A feathered flying snake soars the sky. A couple of feathers fall on the ground

2

The Jade of Life emits a wave which disrupts all magic and magic items

3

A pixie flies above a creature, causing it to shine as if covered in glitter

4

The Jade of Life glows intensifies. All areas are bathed in a soft green hue

5

The song of a group of satyrs resonates throughout the entire palace

6

A sentient myconid sends an incomprehensible telepathic message

7

The sound of a group of Dewborn soldiers sparring in the courtyard

8

A sound of a bell toll. It announces the beginning of a court session

General Features

The Jade Palace is made of large green-hued stone blocks. Its walls protect one side, while a hundreds-of-feet-high cliff surrounds most of the rest. The main tower has five levels. Its top is crowned by thick crenelations and the court building keeps the ever-glowing Jade of Life.

Unless otherwise noted, the Jade Palace has the following features:

Natural protection (towering clifftops and river). Stained-glass windows (colorful patterns and shapes). Well-guarded (constant patrolling). Glamour spell (impossible to trace or locate). Dewborn Royalty (home to the seven princes).

The Jade Palace

All Dewborn and their allies are allowed in the palace. The elf-like people are the only ones who can find the palace, though; pixies, centaurs, satyrs, and other friendly races must be accompanied by a Dewborn to bypass its glamour spell. Furthermore, the drawbridge is the only way inside. The Dewborn always know who leaves or enters their palace.

The main tower of the palace is about 185 feet tall. It is decorated with beautiful stained-glass windows. Creatures within the tower can perfectly see the outside; the intricate and colorful floral patterns of the glass change with the seasons and are only visible from outside.

Spies and Allies

Dewborn spies are scattered all over the Brukesian Duchy. Fey creatures don’t hold the best of relationships with the people that invaded their land.

Satyrs and centaurs are the second-largest communities in the duchy besides humans and Dewborn. Some of their elite warriors are Dewborn spies. The highest-ranked among centaurs and satyrs are stationed at The Jade Palace.

Pixies, ogres, trolls, hags, and even the simpleminded pigmen are either allies or indifferent to the Dewborn. The only true enemies of the Dewborn are humans. The uncontrolled myconid expansion has become a new problem as of late too.

The Dewborn Court

The largest chamber in the palace corresponds to the Dewborn Court. The palace is an architectural wonder but the court itself would impress anyone. Two varnished wooden rows of seats lay facing each other can hold up to 32 spectators. All court proceedings are reserved for a reduced number of guests. Only the individuals that are directly involved with the matter shall be present.

The seven princes sit on their respective thrones and work as a unit to make all decisions. Even though the central throne has a visible hierarchical position over the rest, the Dewborn Princes are all equal. The only difference is that the seventh prince, who sits in the center, is the moderator and problem-solver. The seventh prince always has the final say when the rest of the court cannot settle on a matter. In their culture, it is never seen as a position of power over the rest. It is simply another task to meet. In addition, the position of the seventh prince changes every one hundred years in order to avoid a monopoly of decisions.

The Seven Dewborn Princes

The court hardly ever changes due to the Dewborn immortality. The death of one of them, while rare, means a Dewborn citizen must take their place in court.

The Dewborn Princes adopted the elvish numbers from one to seven as their code names in court. They occupy the thrones in the following order, from left to right.

Feldana, (Minë)

Aerennis, (Atta)

Jarvennio, (Neldë)

Mignonni, (Canta) seventh prince

Drevor, (Lempë)

Linnalen, (Enquë)

Genevif, (Otso)

Prince Drevor took the place of Prince Viarimei about 5 decades ago, when the latter was presumed dead. The court ignores the fact that Prince Viarimei is imprisoned, even after one hundred years.

The Five Levels of Trust

Only designated individuals can enter the main tower of The Jade Palace. The Dewborn Princes determine who is trustworthy enough to be part of the inner circles of their society. The chosen ones are marked with magical tattoos.

There are five jade green tattoos that the princes possess the power to draw. Each tattoo unlocks a level of the tower. Creatures that don’t have the tattoos are stopped by an invisible force field.

The upper and fifth level is reserved for the most selected group of individuals, the Dewborn Royal Guard, the Dewborn Floral Mages, etc. Centaur ambassadors, pixie negotiators, satyr scholars and historians, and Dewborn elite warriors make up the rest of the tattooed individuals that inhabit the tower. Forest fey creatures consider this a great honor.

The Jade of Life

The magic that hides the Jade Palace in plain sight requires an immense amount of power at all times. Prince Aerennis was clever enough to develop an everlasting source of energy, the Jade of Life.

This massive green glowing stone floats at the top of the palace. Aerennis performed a ritual that bound the jade to the life of the Misty Forest. The trees, the plants, the animals, and even the immortal Dewborn. All living things within hundreds of miles in the forest feed their life force to the stone. The stone absorbs energy from so many different creatures and sources that the toll on their wellbeing is meaningless.

To dispel the glamour spell that hides The Jade Palace, all life in the Misty Forest would have to perish, or the Jade of Life be destroyed.

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