Institute Undercrofts

An underground dungeon that spreads out into multiple ever changing rooms. Regular exploration and study groups have gone down, and returned with some relics and artifacts.

Description

The guarded stairs head down under the Institute Center building, the stone walls and large arches that support the building stretch seemly forever into the distance, heavy doors set into the walls, some locked, some open, some rusted out. Within some, noises of captured creatures occasionally fill the halls.

Within the halls, magics are corrupted from their original purpose, some by the influence of the dungeon, lewd and lustful, but others, originally intended to be useful, protective or simple wards corrupted to be potentially fatal, among the creatures down here, oozes, elementals, constructs, plants, and a few monstrosities and aberrations are known to be lurking based on prior reports.

Still there are likely treasures to be found, among the junk, storage, and risks. However, the Institute is not responsible for harms brought by exploration.

Functional Information

The Undercrofts always leads down into a hexagonal landing, with arches leading down halls on all six walls. However, each time a new group enters, the hallways may be randomly covered by arcane tape preventing entry to any number of the hallways, though, no one has yet to find a time all passages were locked down.

Each time a hallway is explored, it is different then the hallways before, though some common features are various doors with many different styles and ways of labelling. While yet to be realized by the staff of the Institute, or the characters exploring is every room is tied to study or advancement originally before finding their way tethered to hallway.

History

The ancient history of Institute of Lecherous Learning is shaded, the journals and maps that Lazuli have found indicate that the Institute comprised of multiple buildings. Having to use comprehend languages to understand the labels of the map, it was discovered the Library of Carnal Knowledge was marked 'building housing books for study and fun', the building that would take the name Institute of Lecherous Learning was labeled in what translated to 'center of student service and education', and the cluster of buildings currently known as Wizarding Towers was labeled upon the map as 'The Hand of the Universe', although the reasoning for this is unknown as it seems to break the patterns otherwise noticed.

Other buildings were marked, but are either unexcavated, were destroyed, or simply did not make it to Paradisium, upon the maps that Lazuli has they are labeled 'selling of material for study', which was at some point destroyed as it was found to be a foundation and rubble. Four other buildings are located as such that their fates are not as well known. The first unknown building is labeled 'Esoteric study of the reunition of the divine form and deriving the natural world.' The second building is labeled as 'Study of the threads of everything through raw material that is to be woven.' The third building is labeled as 'Mechanization of the woven material into the benefits of general populations.' The fourth building is labeled as 'Ur-example of educational studies of foundational text and study.'

Lazuli discovered and founded the Institute of Lecherous Learning, based off the maps, and with funds raised from the denizens of Paradisium to fund exploration and reconstruction. The Institute of Lecherous Learning was stripped of rotting and destroyed furniture and relics, those that seemed that they could be salvaged were documented and set aside for further study.

Meanwhile, despite plans to renovate the Institute Grounds, the artificial sun seemed to burn away the old, dead plants and new plants grew rapidly, and new furniture was setup, rooms were made into lecture halls and offices, and Lazuli opened the Institute officially. A few months later, Lazuli paid to have the foundation cleared off, and opened the Institute's Book Store.

Lazuli is not stopping in her plans for the Institute, between exploration and study of the Institute Undercrofts, learning more of the Wizarding Towers and unlocking the secrets of the other three, investigation into the artificial sun, and planning for additional excavations to uncover the remaining lost buildings, if they still exist.

An early expedition into the halls, Nyx and Lucilla entered to recover a relic stone, came across a room with a strange machine. Caught in a time barrier, during their exploration they came across a machine that took up almost an entire room, takes up the entire room, gears clicking, magic humming, artifice and magic in the air with an hour glass, half full, with the sands seem still, at least, for a moment, until a single grain drops, slowly, like the air itself is slowing the sand drop, as the magical contraption does... whatever it is doing. They had decided to destroy it, Nyx, using a an Echo, and Lucilla pouring her magic into an attack, causing the Echo to become form for temporal and arcane energy, becoming Chorno.

Another notable journey into the Undercroft consisted of Chrono leading a group consisting of Vincent, Saelin, Kane, and Firah Culnak. The group's travels wound up bringing them to the library to exit, however, they brought two findings out of the Undercroft with them. Saelin, now a Warlock to the machine spirit Lady_Indigo brought out a slate and glass tablet, giving her a greater foothold into Paradisium. The second finding they brought out with them, was found in a morgue, a person that was separated and stored locked up bones, flesh, spirit, and organs, but having been freed, they came to form Dio Blackmore, letting him into the Paradisium as well.