Skeleton Tree
The Skeleton Tree, now there’s a spot worth chatting about, but only for those with a taste for the macabre and the otherworldly. Imagine a skeletal hand, the bones of a giant reaching up into the sky, desperate to grab a hold of something, anything. That’s the Skeleton Tree for ya, a nightmarish fortress that speaks volumes about its owner’s taste in architecture, it does.
This fortress of Pazuzu’s, it’s a fortress stretching up from a floating earth more of Lord’s Rook. Its bone-white stone spires like skeletal fingers pierce the crimson sky, reaching out from the shattered landscape of Pazunia. Now, the tower fingers just for show, oh no, they’re practical, serving as lookouts for the myriad of flying demons that flit and float about, actin’ as the eyes and ears for the old demon lord. Think of it as a central hub of whispers and rumours, where every little secret gets funnelled back to Pazuzu, who nests amidst twisted branches and ancient vaults filled with treasures and secrets almost as old as the Abyss itself. They say the cries of the bird demons in its branches hold whispers of the multiverse, tales from distant realms and ancient worlds, a real treasure trove of knowledge, but only if you’ve got the guts to go lookin’. And your Abyssal language skills are up to scratch.
Now, speaking of Pazuzu, he’s not your average demon lord, no sir. For starters, he’s an obyrith, one of the older batch. Call me old fashioned, but I always thought of obyrith as a bit more cunning and selfish than tanar’ri, if you ask me. Pazuzu’s got a streak of cowardice in him though, a trait not oft seen in demon lords. He’s the type to avoid a scrap, especially the big one, say like the Blood War. Oh, he prefers the bargaining table, he does, dealing with baatezu and mercenaries rather than getting his own hands dirty. And that, my friend, ain’t earned him many allies amongst his fellow demon lords. But you know what, he couldn’t give a toss — because he reckons he’s himself an impregnable fortress in the sky, safe up there in the Lord’s Rook from any ground assault. It’s like a secret keeper’s haven, with all manner of hidden nooks and crannies holding valuables gathered over centuries.
So, if you’re ever looking ‘up from the Plain of Infinite Portals and you spot those bone-white spires reachin’ for the heavens, know that you’re lookin’ at Pazuzu’s fortress of secrets.
Source: Codex of Infinite Planes, Jon Winter-Holt
