The secret passage from the Library leads down a long and dark path which sinks lower and lower as it continues. When at last someone steps out of the hallway of sorts and into the chamber itself, they will find their feet firmly planted directly on the shell of the turtle. Most noticeable is that the Ritual Chamber is the only room whose walls and ceiling are constructed solely of obsidian, a stark contrast from the Palace’s otherwise white marble walls.

Emerging at the top of a large and roughly triangular room, the walls stretch away symmetrically at widening angles. The far right side of the room houses an enormous pit, its contents hidden from a distance. At the far left end of the room, a portion of the triangle is taken up by a separate and enclosed room whose door is visible from the chamber’s entrance.

As characters approach the pit, the stench of blood, death, and rot will assault their senses until their eyes sting and they will begin to make out vague and grotesque shapes. Upon closer inspection, the shapes separate and the sheer size of the mass grave becomes apparent. Comprised almost entirely of the native population, though there are a few forms that are not from Keeliai, the slaughtered pile of corpses displays a clear preference for young kedan, particularly those of noble bloodlines. Some are missing limbs, eyes, or tongues; some are missing clothes. All seem gaunt, faces contorted with agony. All show signs of injuries and blood loss. There is nothing good or redeeming about this place.

Beside the pit are roughly a dozen cages stacked on top of each other along the wall, most caked with layers of dried blood and the bottom row housing sporadic puddles of urine. There’s no question as to where the prisoners were kept while alive, even though some of the cages are so small it’s a wonder that anyone could fit within them. The stench of rot and death extends here as well. Two cages still house kedan bodies; a middle-aged man and a young girl, respectively.

In the remaining “point” of the triangular room is the separate room. Through the door, which is easily opened, are rows upon rows of shelves in what was likely an alchemical storage. Most of the glass jars and vials have been shattered, their contents spilled and burned. The room reeks of oil and it seems unwise to test an open flame. In mocking, the only ingredients left intact are a small collection of local poisons: Fool’s Valor, from the local fauna; Drowning Embrace, another plant-based poison; venom milked from Lumps; and so on. All have the same effects of killing the person who ingests it and a couple will even cause burning or stinging upon skin contact.

In the main part of the triangle, separate from the pit and the storage room, characters will notice that there are grooves carved into the floor, allowing whatever blood is spilled in this room to travel down into the greater depths Asti’s shell. The shell also features an assortment of symbols written in blood, clustered in small groups. In the center of the room is painted a circle whose diameter is roughly the length of a man; the symbols specifically drawn around the circle will, for those educated on such matters, be familiar as resembling those of portals to the other Realms. The same circle, with an overlapping but different collection of symbols, is also painted on the ceiling directly above the floor circle.

Anyone versed in anything to do with blood or death magic will immediately become noticeably more powerful (within reason) upon entering this room, though that power will immediately diminish again upon leaving.