Emeralds from the Braying Beast

A techno-ritual dungeon crawl for Cairn 2e

Long ago, the Beast brayed, and the sky cracked.

Buried beneath the blasted spine of the Sha’en Crown lies a forgotten war-simulation AI: the Braying Beast. 

Once called B.E.A.S.T. (Battle Engagement and Strategic Termination), it was built to model annihilation. It did not simulate. It executed.

Now, its terminals blink again. Emerald screens flicker with glyphs. The Lector-Ordinal of the Fifth Reverberat believes the Beast dreams and seeks those foolish or faithful enough to speak the forgotten litanies.

You are not ready. But you have been sent.

Inside the module:

• 5 keyed rooms within the Sha’en Crown, designed for nonlinear exploration
• A deadly puzzle loop of misremembered computer commands turned ritual litanies
• Emeralds (ancient CRTs) and Pane-Fragments (spell-tablets) reimagined as relics
• A riddle-speaking servitor, defense bots, and corrupted archives
• Treasure and relics are mistaken for holy objects
• A choice at the end—complete the sequence and awaken the Beast, or walk away

Designed for Cairn 2e, drawing tone from Gene Wolfe, Jack Vance, and early 80s Cold War dread.

Folded green-lit prophecy. Forgotten keyboards. The war never ended; it just waited.

The Mouth opens.

[THE GAME STILL WAITS. SHALL WE?]