Malvosia’s Lair: The Pyre of Ascendance

Location: The largest active volcano in the eastern "Wilds." Type: An Archmage’s Tower built inside a furnace. Inhabitants: Malvosia, Iron Golems, Fire Elementals. (No living servants).

I. The Geography: The Living Volcano

Malvosia’s mountain is a constant, roaring threat. Smoke pours from the peak 24/7. The slopes are covered in fresh, cooling lava flows, making a stealth approach nearly impossible. The heat is intense enough to inflict fire damage just by standing near the entrance.

II. The Interior: The Empty Fortress

Inside, the lair is shockingly silent. There are no chattering Kobolds, no guards, no life. Any creature that enters is considered a snack.

• The Architecture: Malvosia has used Wall of Stone and Fabricate to reshape the volcanic vents into perfect, geometric geometric halls. It looks less like a cave and more like a brutalist palace of obsidian and iron.

• The Guardians: Because he eats living servants, his guards are constructs. Iron Golems (healed by the fire of the volcano) patrol the halls. Fire Elementals are bound into the walls to act as living torches and sentries.

III. The Sanctum: The Magma Library

The heart of the lair is a marvel of magic. It is a massive chamber dominated by a lake of white-hot lava.

• The Islands: Floating on the lava (via permanent Levitate spells) are islands of obsidian.

• The Hoard: Malvosia piles his gold and gems carelessly on the stone islands. He doesn't care much about them.

• The Athenaeum: This is the true treasure. Suspended in the air, well above the heat of the lava, are hundreds of shimmering, translucent Force Spheres (like Otiluke’s Resilient Sphere). Inside each sphere is a Spellbook or a Scroll, perfectly preserved in stasis, safe from the heat and ash.

  • Tactical Note: Malvosia can mentally command these spheres to move. If he is attacked, he will move his library up into the chimney of the volcano to protect it before he unleashes his breath weapon.

• The Cannibal's Table: On the largest island lies the picked-clean bones of other Red Dragons—trophies of his own kin that he has consumed to gain their power.