Fain is a small fort located atop a hill north of New Sheoth Palace. There are only two short levels separated by an incredibly deep pit.
Overview[]
On entering, it appears to be one smallish square chamber with a pavilion-like structure in the center. To the right on entering the main chamber, there are bedrolls, alchemical equipment, and a half-finished letter to a friend. On the eastern side of the pavilion, there is a small pillar with a button and to its left, a glass display case with a scroll inside, which proves to be an account of the procedure for human sacrifice to a deity named "Gyub."
If the button is pressed, the floor of the pavilion retracts in four parts and the Hero is dropped into a pit and falls to the second level, damaging but quite survivable since the drop was into water.
Rather than making the long drop from the false floor in the first level, they will find the second level is best accessed through an entrance hidden east of the main entrance, at the bottom of the hill. On the second level, at the base of the pit is a large pool, three Scalons and a Dead 'Volunteer'. The tunnels leading off will also be inhabited by Scalons or Baliwog, and will contain deposits of Amber, as well as stumps full of loot.
A scroll in the pit describes an entity or deity named "Gyub," and this area was used to make sacrifices to it. A glass cage holds the instructions on how to perform the ceremony. Although this entity does not exist, human sacrifices have been made to it.
The deity named Gyub may be a reference to Cthulu Deity Nub, and Nyarlathotep. The Tentacles also back up this theory, as well as the tomes found inside.
Trivia[]
- The Hero will survive if they jump down the pit and land in water at the bottom. It is possible to survive, but it is advised to either save before attempting the jump, or head outside and find the exit and traverse the lower level backwards.
- If entering the dungeon from the exit, a short section cannot be explored, due to a sealed mass of twisted roots that can only be parted from inside the pit area.
- The exit to Fain can be found just south east of the entrance, under a giant tree-stump at the base of the mountain. On the overworld map, it is just to the right of the 'u' in The Jester's Spine Mountains.
- Praise of Gyub and the Fain Scroll can be found here.