Editing Ruins of Albez

The '''Ruins of Albez''' are ancient ruins of the past, that has became a breeding ground for [[Monsters]] and used, and may still have, treasures. It is located in the Northern part of [[Izril]].

== Overview ==
The Ruins of Albez sit at the heart of what had once been perhaps a magical kingdom, a community of mages, ancient citadel, or something else entirely - the exact details are lost knowledge. The entire area has several dungeons, and sits on a leyline, resulting in intense magic saturation that attracts both monsters and adventurers. Entrance to the area is regulated by the neighboring adventuring guilds, so that groups of adventurers may "book" the ruins for themselves.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2016/11/02/1-02-r/ Chapter 1.02 R]</ref>

== Assessment ==
Powerful enough or large enough groups of adventurers are still supposed to find good challenges in the "deeper parts" of Albez.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/01/11/1-11-r/ Chapter 1.11 R]</ref> The silver-ranked [[Horns of Hammerad]] were able to recover artifacts and wealth even though the ruins were rumored to be "tapped out".<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2016/11/20/1-04-r/ Chapter 1.04 R]</ref> Adventurers could go to the Ruins of Albez as a rite of passage: If you survived there, you could tackle greater challenges. Calruz and his Horns of Hammerad has adventured at the Ruins four times before their demise.<ref name="3.02H" />

All the same, Albez is an uninteresting spot for higher-level adventurers, as it is known as a dangerous spot that offers little in the way of reward. Long ago "picked clean" by treasure hunters, Albez was thought to be an unprofitable, dangerous place to venture until accomplishment of the reformed Horns under Ceria.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2018/10/19/glossary/ The Wandering Inn Glossary]</ref> It has been mentioned that gold-rank adventurers considered the ruins to be "tapped out"<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/11/28/3-33/ Chapter 3.33]</ref> and that "no one's pulled a haul out of there for years".<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2019/05/25/6-19-h/ Chapter 6.19 H]</ref>

:''These differing views of the Ruins of Albez can be seen as a minor [[Inconsistencies|inconsistency]]; however the Ruins of Albez are likely just a bronze-rank or low silver-rank dungeon. A gold-rank team probably sees them as not worth their time, which explains the opposing opinions on them.''

== Appearance ==
According to the map of Albez that the Antinium found somewhere, Albez had once been a sprawling city with many buildings and secret passages where lost treasure is likely to be found. When the first people found the Ruins of Albez, the records indicate that they noticed a dome of glass two hundred feet wide poking out of the ground. They dug down and found magical stone, entire wings of preserved libraries, and magical laboratories.

The landscape at Albez is currently dead soil and dried-up vegetation after the city disappeared into the earth. It is unknown what exactly happened hundreds or even thousands of years ago, but massive mudslides or earthquakes are likely culprits for the demise of Albez. The city had sunk below the earth, becoming covered by time and dirt until some expedition uncovered it. Since then, the ruins were excavated by adventurers and turned into a basin filled with half-buried walls and lovely pitfalls that connected a subterranean landscape with the rest of the world. Sadly, the ruins had shifted within the Earth and once connected passages are now disjoint; or the other way around.<ref name="3.02H">[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/08/08/3-02-h/ Chapter 3.02 H]</ref>

A formerly dome-like structure is one of the few orientation points still recognizable. Carn Wolves sometimes use that building as their base.<ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2017/06/07/2-27/ Chapter 2.33]</ref><ref name="3.02H" />

== Recent activity ==
When the Horns of Hammerad battled a Lich in the grounds, Ryoka delivered them potions to the battlefield. This earned her their gratitude, and later lead to Ryoka getting to know [[Ceria Springwalker|Ceria]] and [[Calruz]]. Later, the reformed Horns of Hammerad acquired a treasure map in [[Liscor]], and after many setbacks they could find an entrance to one of the unexplored mage quarters. The passage was warded by traps like an overpowered [Flame Snake], an acid trap, poisoned arrow traps, and a [[Magical Door|teleporting door]] into an [Insanity] trap.<ref name="3.02H" /> After more trials, the Horns of Hammerad faced the Flame Golem of the long dead Warmage [[Thresk]] and secured a large treasure and later also the magical door with the teleport enchantment.

Later on, Ceria hired [[Gemhammer]] to mine out the [Insanity] runes that they'd left behind while other teams used the Horns' map to help find more hidden parts of Albez. They worked together with [[Laken Godart|Laken]]'s senses to find a secret lab that belonged to [[Udatron]].<ref name=":0">[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/11/09/interlude-adventurers-pt-1/ Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 1)]</ref><ref>[https://wanderinginn.com/2022/11/13/interlude-adventurers-pt-2/ Interlude – Adventurers (Pt. 2)]</ref>

== Former Residents ==
* Warmage [[Thresk]]
*[[Udatron]]
*Formerly settled by Gnolls

== Monsters ==

=== Known Creatures: ===
* [[Carn Wolves]]
* [[Creler]]
* [[Mothbears]]
* Rotbore Pigs<ref name=":0" />
*[[Shield Spiders|Shield Spider]]
* [[Yellow Shamblers]]

=== Known [[Undead]]: ===

* [[Crypt Lords]]
* Ghouls
* [[Liches]]
* Skeletons
* Zombies

=== Known Guardians/Boss Monsters: ===

* Flame Elemental (Thresk's Guardian)
*27 active Elementals (Udatron's lab Guardians)
**Earth Elementals
**Fire Elementals
**Lightning Elementals (''Expired'')
**Water Elementals
**Wind Elementals

==References==
<references />
[[Category:Locations]]
[[Category:Dungeons]]
[[Category:Ruins]]
[[Category:Izril]]