Malazzarr's Temple in Lankhmar

While adventuring in Lankhmar, the party completed a job for the local Overlord and were granted possession of an abandoned temple dedicated to Tyaa, goddess of birds. Her worshipers had been driven from the city several years prior following a scandal and the building had stood vacant ever since. While most of the party was away tending to other matters, the group's primary wizard remained behind to prepare their new home for habitation.

Note #1: At this point, the party's spellcasters were suffering from debilitating pain every time they tried using their magic. This was related to the creature that would serve as this portion of the campaign's Big Bad.

Romulus rises early, knowing he has an important meeting to attend. He takes a carriage over to Marr’s office to review the paperwork transferring the abandoned temple of Tyaa from the City of Lankhmar to the party. With that completed, the halfling makes a trip back to the River District and then to the temple itself. Romulus surveys the building critically and decides to go inside. He walks over to one of the boarded-over entryways and waves his hands slowly back and forth while whispering a short prayer to Silvanus, asking his god to clear the way for his servant.

The boards flex and bend, popping the nails out that hold them in place and they fall away from the doorway’s wooden frame. The halfling conjures a floating ball of light and steps into the building’s shadowy interior. Rats squeak and squeal as they flee from the diminutive mage. Bats flutter uneasily in the rafters above as Romulus’ bare feet pad quietly upon the dusty tiled floor.

The archmage works his way downstairs to inspect the cellar once more and finds that it is damp with condensation from the river. He braces himself for the pain that is sure to accompany the spell and chants the words to an arcane incantation. Stone rises up from the floor, filling in the cracks in the wall and shoring up the foundation. The mage directs the growing rock with his hands, shifting the wall to anchor it in the bedrock and the stone of the abandoned temple. The mage drops heavily to the floor, gasping for breath. He lies on the floor and staring up at the ceiling for several minutes while waiting for the pain to subside.

Romulus finally rises and fishes a scrap of parchment from one of his pockets and begins pacing off the dimensions of the room, marking each down as he goes. The archmage begins planning a trip to the local stonemasons guild to hire laborers to expand the temple’s basement.

Note #2: The party returned from the quest they had been on, having determined a method to avoid the agony (referred to as “The Price” by local mages”) associated with using magic and had decided to share it with the populace at the ceremony to rededicate the temple to the god Malazzarr (who had traveled with the party as a mortal before ascending to reclaim his divinity in Hyboria).

… Cedron wipes his palms and takes a deep breath, momentarily unsure of his worthiness to spread the Tao of Mal. His silently prays for guidance from his Lord and a feeling of calm washes over him.

“Greetings my neighbors, my friends, my brothers and sisters
Let me welcome each and every one of you
Thank you all for sharing with me the wonderful opportunity
That the Lord Malazzarr has given all that have come here today
To celebrate this important occasion
The blessing of this Church dedicated to the Lord of Progress.

Let us begin.”

Cedron reaches into the pouch Malazzarr gave him on the Isle of Iron Statues and pulls out a green seed, about the size of an acorn. He notes that it feels warm in his hand and that, just perhaps, it trembles slightly, as if eager to finally taste the embrace of earth.

“Malazzarr, Divine Architect of Progress,
Creator of that which makes our lives better;
Risen Lord of Progress,
Cornerstone of our Faith,
Lover of us all;
Spirit of Wisdom,
Builder of Community,
Our Inspiration and Guide;
You call us to build up Our Kingdom.

Bless us with
generous hearts,
open minds,
greater unity,
renewed vision,
as we seek to build a house
for celebration and worship.

May it be a home where all are
welcomed, nourished, and empowered
to be Progress for others,
to be Progress for all.

May we all see the light, and Blessed Be the Path of Progress”

“OH MALAZZARR!
Heavenly Father of Progress, Author and Inspirer of all things,
hear our prayers for our new Church.
May this seed grow in the light of Progress
Send forth Your Spirit that we may humbly be guided by Your Divine Will.
Touch our hearts with true generosity to rise up
for the inspiration and renewal of all Your faithful.

Blessed Be the Path of PROGRESS!”

Cedron crouches and presses the tiny seed into the soft earth with his thumb and then covers the hole with a layer of dirt.

For several heartbeats, nothing happens. Cedron is about to move into a sermon concerning the symbolism of the planting when a light bursts through the ground and lances toward the sky. A slim stick pokes up from the earth, lengthening and thickening as it reaches up from the dirt. The ground trembles slightly as roots spread beneath the surface, lifting and displacing the earth as they stretch out from the planting. Leaves begin to bud and expand as the branches begin to expand into a tree. The trunk splits, growing into two rapidly thickening boughs. More limbs sprout from the trunks as the tree continues to reach skyward. In moments, the tree is taller than Cedron and stretching ever higher. The branches sway back and forth as the wood splits and grows. The branches reach for each other, intertwining like fingers threading through each other. The body of the tree twists, spiraling upward for a few feet before straightening out and climbing even more. As the top of the tree reaches the top of the courtyard wall, the tree stops growing and begins to glow softly, bathing those in the garden with a pale illumination.

Somewhere, far away, a bearded face turns to face east. Something has drawn His attention, something He has waiting almost four months for. A rippling wave reaches for His consciousness and He rides that wave back to its source to alight on a small tree-covered island. A ball of light appears in mid-air and slowly stretches to become a vertical line, hanging silently. Hair on the back of His arms begins to stand on edge as a breeze begins to move, blowing toward the light as the line expands outward at the center to form a glowing ring. He talks a step closer as the ring opens and steps inside.

A line appears in one of the whorled patterns of the wood and slowly begins to spread, revealing a cobblestone courtyard with grass poking up between the individual stones. The land falls away on the other side of the courtyard and those gathered can see trees swaying in a breeze and a slate gray sea stretching off into the horizon. Cedron feels a surge of connectedness as a presence fills him with a sense of peace and wonder and he knows that Malazzarr has come into the world. The light from the tree fades and the image of the sea disappears, leaving just the tree standing before the priest.

Note #3: I forget where I found the original version of this map. I added the ship and the Sixth Floor and rewrote the key in the bottom right corner.