History Of The Star Trap Dungeon

Smulhahoozin The Cowled, a primeval wizard of near godlike powers, was fighting a war against the great aberrant race in the dim depths of the past. During one of her forays into the underdark, she came across a wall of something that reeked of madness and the powers of the Far Realm. Her insatiable curiosity caused her to pause awhile to study the discovery. During this time she found the outsiders avoided the locale around the wall and because of this she built an underground fort at the site. Summoning her elemental servants to carve out much of the the rock around the wall she found it rose up further than she imagined, so she sent earth spirits out to detail the size of the barrier while she studied it further. Notorious for her impatience she never the less took her time and was careful to not let the radiant madness infect her. She summoned about her mind-mages, who were greatly disturbed by the object she now named The Obelisk Of Insanity. Some of these psionists died, went insane or were killed in mysterious circumstances while in study of the huge edifice. Eventually she gave custody of the Obelisk over to one of her thirteen daughters, Toolizith. Determined to win notoriety, Toolizith pressed ahead quickly and wantonly with further research, finally coming to the conclusion that the Obelisk could be used as some sort of cage and was built from the very stuff of the Far Realm. During this period her attendants fought battles with terrible beings that seem to slip into reality unnoticed near the Obelisk and the growing halls took on a more martial and defensive nature. Never the less Toolizith pondered what great entity she could catch and bargain with using the Obelisk. Eventually she decided to entice and capture a star being of immense power. It took a century for her preparations to unfold, during which she became more and more secretive and obsessive. It is even rumoured that she took to talking to the Obelisk alone for days at a time. Eventually her rituals were complete and as the stars aligned themselves as predicted, she rang a silver bell that called great Zhulbluhb'Tck'Nere, known as The One Who Gathers Whispers to astrologists. Surrounded by both arcane and psychic adepts, she fought a tremendous battle, both in the world and beyond but after much destruction on many planes, she willed Zhulbluhb into the Obelisk. Before she could recover her wounds and powers the soon to be god of secrets appeared with his then faithful servant and together they attacked and slew Toolizith, so that she might not learn the long forgotten whispers the star being could reveal. Events so mythically tremendous caused warps in reality and these two battles in such short periods of time created patches of magical and elemental oddity throughout the region.

Toolizith's followers were broken and fled, burying their leader in her own dungeon, setting traps and leaving immortal guards behind them as then left. Over the centuries that followed the dungeon has grown, both by those wishing to learn the secrets of it's deepest vaults and by others who use it as a home, a tomb or a hunting ground.

The Gatherer is still bound to the Obelisk Of Insanity, whispering promises to those that will listen, while the undead Toolizith rages in her tomb, waiting too to be freed.