A burning nest of flames...

Nest of the Phoenix (#15/30, #319/365)

"Atop a tall spire of rock you spy a nest of fire, burning continuously with little smoke. As you watch a giant red eagle-like bird soars over to the nest and adds several branches clutched in its claws, and they commence burning, fueling the nest of fire. A second bird emerges from the nest, untouched by fire, and the two birds beginning squawking at each other in harsh piercing calls and cries."

Contents: The birds are a pair of PHOENIXES, guarding a nest on this rockcrop that contains their brood of eggs. They will both attack anyone they spot attempting to climb this spire, but wait until the climbers are half-way up before commencing their attack runs, attempting to cause the climbers to fall with repeated immolations.

Phoenix Cultists from both Pellod (where they are sent by Avakha the Large) and New Vatos know about this site, and make holy pilgrimages here to worship the Phoenixes. Using climbing gear and asbestos suits, they ascend the pillar under cover of the nighttime darkness to collect an egg here or there (as not to disrupt the sacred birds too much) or a stray feather (which have magical purposes) that has not been burnt to a crisp. Climbing the twenty metre pillar requires four Special Skill checks; it is a vertical slope with plenty of handholds, but if the Phoenixes are alerted, then they will attack the climbers, whether they are Cultists or not.

In the nest are 2-12 Yokka Eggs (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 121), warm to touch, can be thrown by testing Skill, cause 1-6 STAMINA damage from fiery blast), and a lot of ashes and charred bone fragments, as well as one pair of blackened but still useable Asbestos Boots (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 47).

 Anyone successfully searching the rocks at the base of the pillar will find a secret cache of Cultist gear: twenty metres of rope, a grappling hook, a sack, a pair of spiked asbestos boots, as well as asbestos pants, tunic and hood (to prevent immolation damage), a Yokka Egg and a Phoenix Feather (see Encyclopedia Arcana: Volume 1, p. 69).

Stats:

2 PHOENIXES, SKILL 9 STAMINA 7, Swoop Attack (2 STAMINA), Immolation attack (causes 0-5 STAMINA every round until Phoenix is slain) both attacks can start fires by igniting anything flammable.