#8 Keyvault of Portunus, God of Locks

Age: Restricted

Hidden or Lost?: Can Only Be Found Via The Entrance Key

History: To every lock there is a key, but keys can be lost and locks can seize. For those whose curiosity is great enough, and whose need of opening is worth any risk, they may seek the stronghold of Portunus, God of Locks.

It is said that Portunus’ otherworldly vault stronghold contains the key to any lock, if you can survive long enough to find it among the dastardly traps and hidden passageways within. Located on its own ethereal demiplane, the Keyvault is only accessible via the Entrance Key, a simple key made of a strange metal, which reveals itself to petitioners to Portunus. Using the Entrance Key on any door will open a portal to the Well of Infinite Egress, a bottomless pit rimmed with countless doors, all leading to random places across the multiverse. Only one leads further into the vault.

If you can locate the correct door within the Well, you must then navigate the perils of the Keyvault itself. In addition to hidden traps lining every floor and wall, there are rooms such as the Temple of Tumbler and Pin, a colossal lock mechanism that must be opened to continue (if you manage to avoid being crushed by the giant pins or ground into the hungry gears). There are the Hands of Glory, a collection of severed hands with candles in their fingertips, blindly, violently grasping to open the flesh of unlucky victims. Or if you're truly unlucky, you may run afoul of The Dead Bolts, steely spirits of living lightning that bar the path of all but the strongest adventurers.

But if you can navigate the dangers to find Portunus himself, usually toiling away in the heart of the vault known as The Access Forge, it is said that he will create the key to any barrier you wish to cross. Be it a locked door, an impassable wall, or a closed heart, nothing keeps Portunus at bay. Of course he might just as easily lock you away in one of his Gateless Cages.

It all depends on how the key turns.

1. Well of Infinite Egress

2. The Keyhole

3. Grave of Lost Keys

4. The Dead Bolts

5. The Unsolvable Puzzle

6. Hands of Glory

7. The Mirror Traps

8. Temple of Tumbler + Pin

9. Locksmith’s Reward

10. Portunus’ All-Key

11. The Everlock

12. The Gateless Cages

13. Keyvault

14. The Access Forge