-
An Adventure for 15th-level Characters
-
Edited by Michele Carter
-
Developed by Michele Carter & Christopher Perkins
-
Written by Adam Lee
This adventure revolves around a thin book titled Alkazaar’s Appendix, brought to Candlekeep by a renowned explorer named Alkazaar in 1363 DR, the Year of the Wyvern. This slim volume accompanied a thicker tome titled Alkazaar’s Thrilling Tales, in which Alkazaar chronicled his numerous heroic exploits. He bequeathed these books to Candlekeep and also gifted the Avowed with a series of live storytelling sessions. The longer-lived Avowed remember these performances with fondness and have passed the stories on to the adjutants over the years. One story stands out from all the others, and the Avowed of Candlekeep wonder about it to this day: the tale of the lost golem, featuring the one adventure that Alkazaar could not complete. This story is told in Alkazaar’s Appendix.
Adventure Overview
This adventure begins when the characters read the story of the lost golem in Alkazaar’s Appendix and discover the magic picture in the book. The picture-portal can teleport the adventurers to the golem. The book was found by members of a tribe of nomadic people called the Bedine, who live in the desert of Anauroch. The Bedine are discussing what to do with the golem and how they can profit from it. The golem appears inactive, but the party can figure out how to activate the golem from the book. By talking with the Bedine, the adventurers learn about a ruined cave complex known as the Hall of Rainbows that could contain clues to the golem’s origin. But the Bedine also warn that the cave complex is in the territory of a deadly purple worm.
The adventurers travel to the Hall of Rainbows. After defeating the worm, they discover clues that lead to the ruined city of Azumar. They must navigate the ruins and find the vault where the golem’s master, Prince Hamukai, now rests.
In the final showdown, the party must defeat a dracolich named Zikzokrishka and then command the golem to open the vault and complete its mission—to deliver the prince’s body to Elysium.
Finding the Books
Alkazaar was an adventurer of great renown. Tales proliferate about his daring and incredible discoveries across Faerûn. Knowing that the definitive collection of Alkazaar’s adventures rests within the walls of Candlekeep is reason enough for an adventurer to seek out this legendary book and claim a cozy corner to read about the escapades of Alkazaar and his dungeon-delving companions. Alkazaar’s Thrilling Tales is a hefty tome, but its smaller companion—Alkazaar’s Appendix—contains the intriguing story of Alkazaar’s one unfinished quest.
The Avowed in Candlekeep{$i }could bring Alkazaar’s Appendix to the characters' attention and approach the characters (especially if the party has visited Candlekeep before) in hopes that they can complete Alkazaar’s unfinished quest and perhaps procure for the library the fabled
Alternatively, an ogre named Little One (see the “area Little One” sidebar in the “Candlekeep” section earlier in this book) might approach the characters while they’re relaxing in the Hearth and give them the books, thinking they might be intrigued by the tale of the lost golem.
Book Descriptions
Alkazaar’s Thrilling Tales is a weathered and cracked leather-bound tome eight inches by ten inches by two inches thick. Embossed gold letters proclaim the title on its lavishly decorated cover. Its beautifully rendered interior abounds with images of Alkazaar’s handsome, mustachioed face under his wide-brimmed hat. Alkazaar is often shown with the wind whipping at his flowing shirt but having no effect on his tight pantaloons and shiny boots. He’s depicted looking marvelous in fantastical realms alongside his rugged and ready adventuring companions.
Alkazaar’s Appendix is barely half an inch thick but otherwise has the dimensions of its companion. When it is opened, a few grains of sand fall from between its crisp, dry pages. It contains the story of the lost golem as well as detailed drawings of a stone golem with a brilliant blue sapphire for a heart. One of these illustrations doubles as a portal to Anauroch (see “area The Picture Portal” below).
The Lost Golem
Adventurers who read the story of the lost golem in Alkazaar’s Appendix learn the following facts about the one quest Alkazaar couldn’t complete:
- Alkazaar was searching for a
Nether Scroll of Azumar . This was to be his last adventure before retiring. - In the Anauroch desert, he came across a wandering stone golem. Alkazaar believed this golem was the legendary Sapphire Sentinel, rumored to have been created by Netherese wizards to protect one of the fabled Nether Scrolls under the control of Prince Hamukai.
- The golem recognized its master’s name, Hamukai, when Alkazaar mentioned it. From that point on the golem followed him, obeying his commands.
- The golem communicated through sign language. It seemed lost and sad.
- Alkazaar met Bedine nomads who said they knew of a place that held clues about the golem, but it was in purple worm territory. He followed the Bedine guides until a sandstorm obscured the route. The camels ran off, and, after losing his guides and his transportation, Alkazaar called an end to the expedition.
- Before he left the desert, Alkazaar inscribed a magical tracer on the golem in the hope that he could find it again.
- He begs the reader to go to Anauroch and find the lost golem, which might lead to the discovery of a Neth__er Scroll.
- On the final page of the story, cryptic symbols surround an illustration of the golem. If deciphered, this code reveals the magic words to activate the picture portal.
The Picture Portal
The symbols bordering the illustration of the golem unlock magic that turns the picture into a portal, teleporting any adventurer willing to touch the portal to where the golem waits, thanks to the tracer inscribed on it.
Deciphering the code requires 1 hour of study. After that, a character knows the magic words needed to activate the portal.
When an adventurer activates the portal, it stays active for 1 minute and then reverts back to an ordinary picture. Anyone who touches the activated portal appears instantly in an unoccupied space within 50 feet of the golem (see “area Arriving in Anauroch” later in the adventure).
Adventure Background
Long ago, the wizards of Netheril created a magnificent stone golem to guard one of the Nether Scrolls—a collection of dangerous scrolls that described the creation of magic and the nature of the Weave. The wizards gave the golem a sapphire heart and magically bound a sliver from the gem to the right palm of its master, Hamukai. They charged the young wizard-prince of the ancient nation of Anauria with guarding the priceless scroll. The sapphires allowed both Hamukai and the golem (whether together or separate) to unlock a magically sealed vault that held the
The blue dragon Zikzokrishka discovered the scroll’s location, and she arrived at the vault ready to destroy any and all in her path. In the ensuing battle, the golem gravely wounded Zikzokrishka, but she blasted the golem with eldritch magic that damaged its memory and hurled it to a far corner of Faerûn. Thinking his golem destroyed, Hamukai put a shield around the vault containing the scroll that could be opened only by the sapphire’s power. Too weak to continue the fight, Zikzokrishka limped away to heal her wounds. But as she left, she incanted a powerful Netherese curse: when the prince died, the shield would disappear and the scroll would be hers for the taking.
Knowing that Zikzokrishka’s curse had sealed his fate, Hamukai made a decision. Against the wishes of his subjects, who dearly loved him, the prince ordered his wizards to perform a ritual that would keep him on the brink of death for millennia. His magically sustained life force would maintain the shield that would seal him in the vault and protect the
Zikzokrishka returned with an army, intent on ripping the sapphire from the prince’s head. She scattered the populace and reduced the prince’s city of Azumar to ruin. To her dismay, she found the prince’s tomb to be impregnable. Howling with rage, Zikzokrishka knew that the spell that kept the prince alive would thwart her curse for thousands of years, far beyond her draconic life span. In her thirst for power, she sought and achieved transformation into a dracolich, willing to wait an eternity to outlast the spell that held Hamukai near death, knowing his life force would one day dissipate and the vault would become openable.
As she held her vigil, the desert wasteland of Anauroch consumed the city. Believing the golem and its sapphire to be destroyed, Zikzokrishka now lies coiled around the vault’s entrance, waiting with the patience of undeath for the death of the prince, surrounded by her undead minions and jealously guarding her promise of godhood.
Arriving in Anauroch
Created by fearsome magic, the ancient desert of Anauroch hides ruined cities under its sands. The most famous include the lost cities of Netheril, an empire of wizards doomed by their lust for magical power.
When the characters come through the portal, read the following:
The desert sun blinds your eyes, and you feel the heat trying to pull every bit of moisture from your body. The bone-dry air makes each breath burn hot and taste of the baked earth.
Below you, about fifty feet away, a camel watches two desert nomads unearth a hulking stone golem half-buried in the sand. Intent on their investigation of the golem, they don’t notice your arrival.
The two desert nomads (use the bandit stat block) and a camel they call Old Stink (for good reason) hail from a Bedine tribe. They are discussing what to do with the golem. Their curiosity about its potential value conflicts with their fear of disturbing items of Netherese origin. The golem sits motionless, its eyes glowing dimly.
The Bedine nomads are wary of the characters until they assess the party’s intentions. A successful DC 12 Charisma check quickly allays their fears.
The Bedine
The Bedine are a group of disparate nomadic tribes that interact with one another in the desert of Anauroch. Bedine tribes differ in how friendly or hostile they are to outsiders. But all Bedine obey a code of hospitality and honor, and they provide shelter, food (goat cheese and dates), and drink (strong tea or water) to anyone who visits the desert unless the visitors prove unworthy of such kindness.
Bedine guides know how to survive in the desert. Stories about the magical destruction wrought by the Netherese on Anauroch make them wary of wizards and abhor magic, believing that it brings destruction and ruin.
Bedine are dark-haired and olive-skinned, with brown eyes. They wear a loose-fitting, linen robe called an aba, covered by a dark cloak called a jellaba. They carry daggers and scimitars as weapons, and some use eagles and falcons to catch prey such as small antelope and hares.
The Bedine speak Common.
Pesh
16-year-old human nomad
Pesh has the naive charm of a young human adult but is also wise to the unforgiving ways of Anauroch. He warms up to kind adventurers quickly (especially if they offer gifts).
- Personality Trait. “I want to learn about everything.”
- Ideal. “Life is an adventure.”
- Bond. “My grandfather is my best friend.”
- Flaw. “Sometimes I put curiosity before caution.”
Shamir
64-year-old human nomad
Shamir is Pesh’s grandfather. He’s cautious and pragmatic, with a kind and honorable heart. As an elder of a Bedine tribe, he is wary of magic users and not above scolding them, citing the folly of the Netherese and how their arrogance destroyed a once lush and verdant land.
Shamir is cautious and superstitious, but he’s also intelligent and curious. The blue circle painted on the golem’s chest and the symbols on its body make him think it’s the same golem he heard about as a boy. His grandmother used to tell a strange story about a foreigner named Alkazaar and a lost golem with a sapphire heart that once guarded a powerful treasure. He believes this to be the same golem. His grandmother tried to guide Alkazaar to the caves of Haruun, but a sandstorm created by a wild djinni drove them back. A cavern inside Haruun called the Hall of Rainbows holds colorful paintings, some of which depict a golem.
Shamir knows the story of Hamukai and his stone golem and can help the characters remember the details as needed.
- Personality Trait. “I know much about the ancient history of Netheril.”
- Ideal. “I want to know what my ancestors knew.”
- Bond. “My grandson, Pesh, is my life.”
- Flaw. “I think magic is a road that leads to ruin.”
The Golem
The Bedine allow the characters to examine the 14-foot-tall stone golem known as the Sapphire Sentinel. It has the following features and behaviors:
- The golem understands Common but can’t speak.
- It can open the sealed vault where the prince rests (seearea area V3).
- The golem remains a noncombatant unless it is directly attacked.
The Sapphire
The sapphire is inside the golem’s chest, hidden behind an 8-inch-diameter stone disk. The outer surface of the disk is inscribed with a blue circle that has eight golden beams radiating from it like rays of the sun.
The disk can be removed to reveal the glowing sapphire only when the golem receives a command to use its power from someone whose commands it obeys (see “Getting the Golem’s Attention” below). Otherwise, the sapphire remains hidden. The gemstone is 6 inches in diameter and has the following properties:
- It is indestructible until the golem completes its mission.
- The sapphire has 3 charges. As an action, the golem can expend 1 charge to cast
dispel magic (as a 9th-level spell) from the sapphire using Constitution as its spellcasting ability. The sapphire ceases to glow if all its charges are expended, but it regains1d3 expended charges daily at dawn and glows again once it has 1 or more charges. - The golem attacks anyone who tries to remove the sapphire, which is worth 25,000 gp.
Getting the Golem’s Attention
The golem perks up considerably if the characters mention Hamukai’s name. Its stone face grinds and changes into a pleased expression as its eyes light up. It then bonds with and follows the party member who mentioned the name and obeys that person’s commands.
Attempting to pry out the sapphire in its chest activates the golem, and it does not take kindly to thieves. If provoked further, it fights to the death.
What Pesh and Shamir Think
Pesh and Shamir are both suspicious and impressed when the golem wakes. Pesh, in particular, thinks the golem is the coolest thing since sliced goat cheese and wants to learn all about it. Shamir thinks the golem is valuable and will lead to a big treasure. Both are keen to go on a treasure hunt and offer to guide the adventurers to Haruun. Shamir reminds the characters that the area is purple worm territory.
Roleplaying the Golem
The golem expresses itself through a variety of expressions and postures, much like Frankenstein’s monster. Characters can infer the golem’s intent through its gestures and body language. The golem rubs its head when it’s confused, becomes animated when it’s excited, and slumps its shoulders when it loses hope.
The golem also employs a unique sign language created by its master, Hamukai. Any character who spends 1 hour observing the golem as it uses this sign language can, with a successful DC 20 Wisdom (
The golem’s memories are damaged and it wants to return to its master, Prince Hamukai. It has vague impressions of its past. The golem can be as communicative or as noncommunicative as you like.
Keeping the Golem Alive
For story purposes, the golem or its sapphire must reach area area V3 for the vault to be opened. On seeing the golem restored, Zikzokrishka can’t contain her glee. She tries to destroy the golem so she can use the sapphire to open the vault and steal the
Over the course of the journey, the golem might face mortal peril. If it drops to 0 hit points, the golem stabilizes and topples over but isn’t destroyed. It doesn’t make death saving throws, and it can be revived and repaired using healing magic. If it has 0 hit points after being struck by a
Travel in Anauroch
Due to its magical history, Anauroch is more than a barren wasteland and a hostile desert climate to those who wander within its borders. Anauroch holds lost cities, savage monsters, and more than its share of otherworldly phenomena.
Traveling across the desert by day is not recommended. Use the extreme heat rules in the Dungeon Master’s Guide for daytime travel in Anauroch.
Traveling in the cool of the night is the best way to journey across the desert, but explorers should beware of nocturnal creatures hunting for prey.
The Bedine travel mostly by night, along the ancient roads and paths that crisscross Anauroch. Some of these paths are invisible on the ground, and the Bedine navigate by using the stars at night. Groups of Bedine might be traders carrying goods, scouts looking for food, or bandits hoping to raid merchant caravans that try to shortcut their way across the desert rather than circumnavigate it.
The Bedine nomads can act as guides for lost characters, offer clues for stuck players, and provide food and water for adventurers in desperate need.
Desert Encounters
If the players are restless or spoiling for a fight, use the following encounters. Pesh and Shamir avoid combat and try their best to stay out of harm’s way.
Wandering Monsters
- The characters encounter three Cyclops who are bickering at each other while looking for food. They have Bedine prisoners tied up in their lair—a cavernous crack inside a granite escarpment that juts out from the sands.
- Two Rakshasa masquerading as Bedine nomads named Imura and Sikkat offer to guide the party to a magic oasis. The rakshasas attack the characters as soon as they let down their guard.
Stone Androsphinx
The characters find a sandstone sphinx crouched atop a granite pedestal. Bleached humanoid bones lie half-buried in the sand around the pedestal.
Any character who touches the sphinx telepathically receives the following riddle:
Forked like a serpent’s tongue,
I spark the thunder’s peal;
With every stroke, the storm is wrung
Of darkness by my zeal.
What am I?
The riddle’s answer is lightning. The first character who answers the riddle correctly while touching the sphinx gains resistance to lightning damage for 10 days. If an incorrect answer is given, the statue transforms into an androsphinx and attacks the party. If it is victorious, the sphinx returns to its pedestal and reverts to its inanimate state. It turns to dust if reduced to 0 hit points.
Voices of Netheril
As the adventurers walk along the dunes, a cold wind howls across the desert. The shrieks of the wind soon turn to cries of anguish, as if coming from tortured souls. Bedine nomads believe that these are the voices of evil wizards who are enduring an eternity of punishment for defying the gods and dooming the land to ruin. To the Bedine, the wind is an ill omen.
Arrival at Haruun
Haruun was a series of natural caves set into a cliff face that comprised one wall in a twisting maze of canyons. Those who fled the destruction of Azumar thousands of years ago used this area as a refuge. Over time, they carved and painted the interiors with the story of their prince, the golem, the battle, and the vault containing the
Within the last five centuries, all the caverns except one have been reduced to rubble as the area fell under the sway of a purple worm. Only a small section of the old cavern complex now remains—the Hall of Rainbows.
When the characters arrive, read the following:
The landscape around you bears the scars of a purple worm’s habitation, a complex of caves that collapsed as the worm created its rubble-filled tunnels. You see a crack in the face of a cliff that looks like an entrance to an undamaged cave. Around it, a few fifteen-foot-diameter, rubble-filled holes provide clear evidence of a purple worm’s passage. Vultures circle overhead, as if anticipating scraps.
As the adventurers explore this place, every so often they feel rumbling—caused by the passage of a purple worm moving below the surface. Play up the tension if the characters make any disturbance during their exploration of the caves, since it’s well known that purple worms are alerted by vibrations in the ground.
The following locations are keyed to the map of Haruun. Unless otherwise noted, all tunnels are sandstone, unlit, and 12 feet high.
H1. Cave Entrance
As the characters approach the entrance, a horrid stench hits their nostrils. Any Bedine with the party grip their weapons and remark grimly, “Worm dung. Move carefully.”
As they enter the cave, the characters see that the walls are sculpted and chiseled, empty sconces dot the walls, and chunks of stucco—once brightly painted with scenes and writing—lie crumbled on the floor. Long, viscid, rubbery tubes of glistening purple worm dung lie strewn about, giving off their acrid odor.
Treasure
A creature that spends 5 minutes digging through the dung can roll on the Worm Dung Treasure table. Once a treasure is found, eliminate that entry from the table.
Worm Dung Treasure
| d4 | Treasure |
|---|---|
| 1 | Two fire opals (1,000 gp each) |
| 2 | An |
| 3 | A dung-encrusted suit of |
| 4 | A bright and shiny |
H2. Worm Rubble
Rubble from the passage of a purple worm blocks the tunnel, with chunks of stone reaching almost to the ceiling. A character who clambers to the top of the rubble sees that the tunnel continues on the other side, but one must make the climb with care or risk causing the rubble to shift and alert the worm (see below).
Removing enough debris to allow a Small or Medium humanoid to fit through the opening takes one person about an hour, but the noise caused by the work could summon a hungry purple worm. To avoid doing so, whoever is clearing the rubble must succeed on two DC 15 Dexterity or Strength checks. Failure on either check means a boulder falls from a height or the character slips and causes a cascade of rubble, alerting the worm’s
Once a gap is created, the rubble counts as difficult terrain.
Purple Worm Attack
Whenever the time is right (and it’s never not right), a purple worm erupts from the earth and attacks the party. This can happen anywhere in the caves at any time.
H3. Hall of Rainbows
The tunnel opens into a cave fifty feet long, thirty feet wide, and twenty feet tall. Bats chitter near the ceiling, and the floor reeks with mounds of their guano. Colorfully painted frescoes line the walls deeper in the cave.
The wizards who escaped Zikzokrishka’s wrath used this cave as a scriptorium and hall of records. They recorded what they knew and continued their work. What remains are benches, wooden desks, and scaffolding gnawed by beetle larva and ravaged by time. Evidence of a cooking fire and tools lie at the far end of the cave, partially covered by the rubble from a purple worm’s passage.
The brightly colored murals are intact, and
Any Bedine with the party display amazement on seeing the murals, since the works prove that their legends about a city that was destroyed by a dragon are true. Shamir says that he knows of a cursed place in the desert that looks like the ruined city depicted in area mural F. He is willing to guide the party there.
If the golem sees the murals, it looks confused or reacts with vague recognition as it tries to recall images from its fractured memory.
Each mural measures 10 feet by 10 feet and has a caption below it written in Draconic. The images are described below.
Mural A
This mural shows three wizards wearing strange hats and using magic to bring life to a stone golem. The stone golem has a bright blue sapphire in its chest. Ancient script labels each wizard, and a larger inscription is engraved below the scene.
The three wizards' names translate as Abzin, Kaalin, and Sharisa. The inscription reads: “Here the Consortium of Three creates the Sapphire Sentinel.”
Mural B
This mural illustrates three wizards with odd hats presenting a stone golem to a young man dressed in royal finery. One of the wizards embeds a sapphire shard in the right palm of the young man. Ancient script labels the young man, and a larger inscription is engraved below the scene.
The name translates as Prince Hamukai of Azumar. The inscription reads: “Here the Sapphire Sentinel is bound to the wizard prince Hamukai of Azumar.”
Mural C
This mural shows the golem and the prince placing a golden cylinder inside a vault filled with stars. A beam of blue light emerges from a gem in the golem’s chest. There’s a large inscription engraved below.
The inscription reads: “Here, by Hamukai’s command, the Sapphire Sentinel unlocks the Vault of Stars to hide and protect the Nether Scroll.”
Mural D
This mural portrays a battle between the young man with a blue stone embedded in his right palm and a blue dragon and its army of monsters and men. The dragon is wounded in one eye. Three wizards wearing peculiar hats accompany the young man. The dragon has blasted the golem with dark energy that is hurling it through a crack in the sky. The dragon has a label, and there’s an inscription below.
The dragon’s name translates as Zikzokrishka. The inscription reads: “Here the Sapphire Sentinel is destroyed in the terrible battle against the dragon Zikzokrishka, who curses Hamukai.”
Mural E
This mural shows the young man being entombed in a sarcophagus along with a golden cylinder inscribed with symbols. Three wizards with unique hats cast a spell on the young man, whose eyes are closed. Mourners crowd all around. Small labels identify the figures, and there’s a larger inscription below.
The labels translate as Prince Hamukai of Azumar and the three wizards Abzin, Kaalin, and Sharisa. The inscription reads: “Here Hamukai enters the eternal sleep to avert the dragon’s curse and is sealed in slumber with the Nether Scroll.”
Mural F
This mural shows the destruction and slaughter of a city by an assault from a one-eyed blue dragon and its horde of monsters. The blue dragon stands atop a mastaba under which lies a star-filled vault surrounded by a magical aura. The vault holds a young man inside a sarcophagus. On the left side of the mural, three wizards wearing curious hats flee toward a distant series of caves. An inscription below the painting is accompanied by a rough map.
The inscription reads: “Here the dragon returns to destroy the city of Azumar and open the tomb of Prince Hamukai as the survivors flee to Haruun.”
The crude map shows the location of the city of Azumar relative to Haruun. Following the map correctly requires a successful DC 14 Wisdom (
Travel to the Necropolis
After seeing the murals in the Hall of Rainbows, the characters know their next destination: the ruined city of Azumar that is now the necropolis ruled by Zikzokrishka. Any Bedine guide knows the tale of the city of Azumar, which was plunged into ruin by a terrible dragon. The Bedine also know of the eternally seething sandstorm there and believe that nothing but death and misfortune lie within the cursed city.
Optional Encounter
If the characters are struggling or you worry about their ability to defeat the dracolich at the end of the adventure, this encounter adds a “here comes the cavalry” possibility to bail them out if they face serious trouble. You can also use this encounter as a purely feel-good moment.
As the characters make the trek from Haruun to the necropolis, you can place this encounter in their path. The journey to Azumar takes a few days. A Bedine guide fills each night around the campfire with horrifying stories about the accursed city.
Ogruhl the Dragon Tortoise
If you use this encounter, read the following:
You crest a dune and see a rocky escarpment in the distance with small cave entrances all over its surface. Dozens of tiny humanoid creatures dash back into the caves, sensing your presence.
The tiny creatures are desert-dwelling Chwinga (see their stat block at area the end of the adventure) that live in tiny caves built up on the shell of a giant dragon tortoise. If the characters approach the escarpment, the earth rumbles as the dragon tortoise raises its massive head out of the sand, addresses them, and asks their intentions.
For the dragon tortoise, use the dragon turtle stat block with the following changes:
- It speaks Draconic and Terran.
- It lacks a swimming speed and the Amphibious trait.
- Its breath weapon is a 60-foot cone of abrasive sand instead of steam that deals slashing damage instead of fire damage.
Dragon Tortoise has been trapped here for millennia,
Helping Ogruhl. A successful DC 20 Intelligence (
If commanded to do so, the Sapphire Sentinel uses its sapphire heart to cast
If freed, Ogruhl expresses its immense gratitude and eagerly wants to reclaim its ancestral territory. The bravest chwingas come out to bestow a charm on each of the characters.
Necropolis of Azumar
A consortium of wizards secretly used Azumar, a small Netherese city, to house one of the Nether Scrolls under a mastaba that they built near the city center. The city fell into ruin thousands of years ago and is now surrounded by sand dunes that partially bury its outer walls and buildings. No structures on the surface aside from the mastaba remain completely intact.
This place feels like a graveyard, where battle and the sands of time destroyed a city and its population. It’s eerily silent except for the hissing of the sandstorm in the distance. Despite the silence, the characters can’t shake the feeling that they’re being watched (even though the city is clearly abandoned).
As the characters enter the necropolis, read the following boxed text:
You see before you a city that has long fallen to ruin. Scoured husks of once-magnificent stone buildings jut out of the desert like rotted teeth. Emerging from under the smothering sands, the remnants of ancient streets wind their way around crumbled walls and through the rubble of collapsed buildings. Ahead, you see and hear a sandstorm in the middle of the ruined city that swirls in place like the dome of an immense, seething cathedral.
The golem points to the sandstorm and seems puzzled about what to do next.
Exploring the Necropolis
As the characters explore the necropolis, describe the scene to keep them on edge—the desolation, the scent of scorched sand, and the hiss of the sandstorm that increases in volume as they draw near. With the exception of the mastaba (see area area V1), the necropolis consists of a series of ruined stone walls jutting out of the sand and patches of paved streets revealed by the howling winds. The swirling sandstorm at its center can be seen and heard from anywhere in the necropolis.
The necropolis also contains buried treasures. A character who searches for an hour and succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (
To keep the characters on their toes, you can use one of the following encounters.
Hands of the Dead
A 20-foot-square area underneath the characters erupts with hundreds of skeletal arms that try to drag them down into the sands.
Each character must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw or be caught in the iron grip of
Consortium of Three
The party encounters three Flameskull floating around the ruins, each wearing an odd, tattered hat. With a successful DC 15 Intelligence (
These are the remains of the Consortium of Three, the Netherese wizards who were loyal to Prince Hamukai. After establishing the refuge at Haruun, they honed their magic and vowed to return to Azumar to defeat Zikzokrishka. When they did, they discovered to their horror that Zikzokrishka had transformed into a dracolich, becoming even more powerful. They were defeated, transformed into flameskulls by the dracolich, and commanded to guard her necropolis for eternity. Though their minds are warped by their current state, if the characters try to befriend the flameskulls—invoking their names and appealing to their loyalty to the prince—the flameskulls offer to help. A character must succeed on a DC 20 Charisma (
If the characters antagonize the flameskulls or fail to communicate with them, the flameskulls either attack or flee to alert Helmdar, the storm giant skeleton in area area V1.
Magic Sandstorm
A dome of swirling, scouring sand covers the mastaba (Hamukai’s tomb) at the heart of the necropolis. Zikzokrishka created this disturbance to keep everyone else out until she gains the
When the adventurers arrive at the outer edge of the sandstorm, read:
You see a dome-shaped sandstorm, four hundred feet wide, before you. Flashes of purple lightning course through the roiling storm, and the sound of the sand is nearly deafening. Scoured bones litter the ground beneath it, and the stone of the nearby ruins has been gouged by its ceaseless winds.
The dome of swirling sand is 80 feet thick. The properties of the sandstorm are as follows:
- Any creature that enters the sandstorm for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in the storm takes 55 (
10d10 ) slashing damage. - Creatures in the sandstorm are
blinded .
The Sapphire Sentinel
Those who make it through the sandstorm emerge to see the ruined wall and the mastaba that houses the vault. The following locations are keyed to the map of the mastaba.
V1. Mastaba
This mastaba is a 20-foot-high mesa built from 50- to 80-ton megaliths in the form of a step pyramid with a mausoleum on top of it. A ruined stone wall surrounds the mastaba, which is the only structure still standing in the area.
Inside the wall, sand lies in deep drifts over the stone floor. Three Giant Scorpion and four Wight hide under the sand at each end of the mastaba, in the locations indicated on the map, ready to attack anyone who climbs the nearest steps. The wights chant a word in Netherese (“Meat!") in a rasping chorus as they advance. If fighting breaks out at either end of the mastaba, a storm giant skeleton (see the accompanying stat block) lying dormant on top of the mausoleum awakens and attacks.
The storm giant, Helmdar, was sent to destroy two frost giant criminals who stole a
Treasure
The
V2. Mausoleum
Locked stone double doors stand at opposite ends of this structure. Each double door requires a successful DC 15 Dexterity check to open using thieves' tools. A
If the storm giant skeleton (seearea area V1) was not alerted earlier, it awakens and attacks as soon as either double door opens. It can enter the mausoleum. When the characters open a door, read the following:
Before you is a sixty-foot-long, twenty-foot-wide, pillared hall brightly lit by torches in wall sconces. The carved floral motifs on the pillars have faded, and the walls are covered with cracked and crumbling paintings of farm life in a verdant landscape. A stone staircase leads down.
The torches that light this hall go out if removed from their sconces. The stone stairs descend 60 feet and end at an opening into area V3.
V3. Dracolich’s Antechamber
At the bottom of the stairs, you see a thirty-foot-wide by sixty-foot-long hall lit with blue crystals that are set into the walls and pillars in the room. At the far end, a dais stands before a limestone door inscribed with symbols and glyphs that glow dimly. Framing the door, the crystallized bones of a dragon are embedded in the wall, its wings outstretched.
Zikzokrishka, an adult blue dracolich, guards the doorway to the vault. She lies flush against the wall and ceiling over the far door so that she looks like a decoration. A character who looks closely, underneath the crystalline deposits on the skeleton, can see that one of the dragon’s eyes has been destroyed (hearkening back to the murals in the Hall of Rainbows).
Playing the Dragon
Seeing the Sapphire Sentinel that she thought was destroyed fills Zikzokrishka with glee, because its sapphire is the key to opening the vault. Her long vigil is at an end. She orders the characters to use the golem to open the door. She can also try to bargain with them, offering treasure from her hoard (see below) or power once she obtains the
Lair Actions
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties) whenever she is in area V3, Zikzokrishka can take a lair action to cause one of the following effects. She can’t use the same effect two rounds in a row:
- Part of the ceiling collapses above one creature that the dracolich can see. The creature must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 21 (
6d6 ) bludgeoning damage and be knockedprone and buried under rubble. A buried creature isrestrained and unable to stand up. A creature can use an action to try to pull itself or another creature out of the rubble, doing so with a successful DC 10 Strength (Athletics ) check. - A cloud of sand swirls in a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on a point the dracolich can see within 60 feet of it. The cloud spreads around corners. Each creature in the cloud must succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or be
blinded for 1 minute. A creature can repeat the saving throw at the end of each of its turns, ending the effect on itself on a success. - The dracolich chooses two points that it can see, each of which must be on a solid surface, and creates a 5-foot-wide line of lightning between them. The two points must be within 60 feet of the dracolich and 60 feet of each other. Each creature in the line must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 10 (
3d6 ) lightning damage.
If She’s Winning
All Zikzokrishka cares about is getting her claws on the
If the fight goes poorly for the characters and they helped Ogruhl earlier, the dragon tortoise might come to their aid, tearing through the mastaba with its claws to aid its saviors.
If She’s Losing
If Zikzokrishka is reduced to 50 hit points or fewer, she tries to escape. If she can’t escape, she begs and offers extravagant lies about fabled Netherese power—eternal life, wealth beyond imagining, mastery of magic—to postpone her demise or give her time to escape. If all else fails, she fights to the death, cursing the characters and telling them she will hunt them down. If the characters don’t find and destroy her phylactery, the dracolich makes good on her threat (see “area Zikzokrishka’s Phylactery” at the end of the adventure).
Treasure Hoards
Zikzokrishka has divided her treasure into two separate hoards (marked “a” and “b” on the map) and carefully buried them under the flagstones of the floor. A successful DC 17 Intelligence (
Treasure Hoard A
- 4,450 gp 370 pp
Spell scroll ofwish Wand of polymorph Treasure Hoard B
- 1,240 ep
Staff of withering +2 longbow Apetrified chwinga (see area the end of the adventure for its stat block) that reverts to flesh when touched and uses its Magical Gift action to reward its liberator
Sealed Door
Netherese magic seals the double door that blocks passage to area V4. The only way to get past the door is through the use of the golem’s sapphire. The
The character who bonded with the Sapphire Sentinel can command it to use its sapphire to break the seal and open the door.
If the golem is instructed to open the door, read the following boxed text aloud to describe this event:
The golem’s chest opens to reveal its sapphire heart. Blue light bursts from the gem and hits the double door. The symbols on the doors glow with blue fire, accompanied by a perceptible shudder and a crackle of magical energy. With a groan and the grinding of stone on stone, the doors open for the first time in ages.
V4. Hall of Records
The walls along this hallway of descending staircases contain a record of the deeds the prince accomplished in his life. The plaster and the paintings are perfectly intact. Scenes include images of him tending to the welfare of his people and the matters of the city, reading books, falling in love, and cultivating his garden.
About halfway down the staircase, the paintings turn to depicting the entombment of the prince, the spell cast by the wizards of Netheril, the sealing of the prince in the sarcophagus with the
Closer to area V5, the paintings depict more recent events: the characters' journey from Candlekeep, their first contact with the golem, their adventures across Anauroch, their exploration of Haruun, and their encounter with Zikzokrishka. The final painting is of the characters standing before the prince’s tomb. It shows them in exactly the positions they’re all holding, rendered in perfect detail.
V5. Vault
When the party reaches the vault, read the following boxed text aloud:
A spacious tomb holds a sarcophagus made of stone covered with glyphs. Magically glowing stars painted on the stone adorn the ceiling. The west wall bears a carving of a beautiful scene of a river and rolling hills inside a stone frame etched with symbols.
The carving of the river scene is a portal to Elysium that activates when the golem enters the room. If the golem does so, read the following boxed text aloud:
A glyph appears on the golem and illuminates, and at the same time the scene on the west wall of the room slowly comes to life. The carved river begins to flow, and the flowering plants by the river take on color and start to wave in a gentle breeze. The stone frame looks like a portal to this beautiful place.
The stone golem looks at the party member who is bonded with it as if awaiting its next command.
The sarcophagus is 5 feet tall and covered in Netherese incantations that have kept the prince in suspended animation inside it for millennia. If the sarcophagus is opened, the spell keeping the prince alive fails. Within a matter of seconds, his body turns to dust.
The portal is a one-way door to the plane of Elysium. The symbols etched around the frame form the following inscription in Draconic: “May Hamukai find his way to Elysium and eternal rest for his sacrifice.”
Treasure
Inside the sarcophagus are the following treasures:
- The
Nether Scroll of Azumar (see the item’s description below) inside a 24-inch-long, 5-inch diameter cylinder made of wood and encased in a sheet of gold (500 gp); the scroll is a thin sheet of hammered copper etched with Draconic writing - Gold funerary items wrapped into the prince’s shroud (2,500 gp)
- A platinum death mask (5,000 gp)
- The sapphire shard from the prince’s right palm (250 gp)
- The prince’s memoirs, which explain the story and the dangers of the Nether Scroll__of Azumar
What Happens Next?
The story can conclude in one of the following ways.
Open the Sarcophagus. Opening the sarcophagus ages the prince thousands of years in a few seconds, turning him to dust but leaving his treasures (including the
Let the Golem Do Its Thing. If the Sapphire Sentinel is allowed to do as it wishes, it pushes the prince’s sealed sarcophagus through the portal into Elysium. Three Solar meet the golem on the other side, open the sarcophagus, welcome the prince into the afterlife, and take the
Revive the Prince. The prince is a human archmage, but only a
Zikzokrishka Obtains the Nether Scroll
If Zikzokrishka makes a deal or defeats the party, she rips the sapphire from the Sapphire Sentinel chest, killing it. She then rushes to the sarcophagus and cracks the seal, turning the prince to dust. Then she grabs the
Paladins, members of holy orders, and Harpers across Faerûn respond to the disaster in a joint campaign to defeat the dracolich and destroy the
Zikzokrishka’s Phylactery
Zikzokrishka hid her phylactery deep within the Scimitar Spires, a mountain range to the east of the necropolis of Azumar. If the characters defeat her, Zikzokrishka uses her phylactery to rematerialize, having long ago prepared a dragon’s corpse to house her spirit upon its return to the phylactery. She relentlessly seeks them out, using all her evil ingenuity to recover the
Chwinga
Chwinga are tiny elemental spirits that exist all over Faerûn. These gentle creatures tend to nature as humble custodians. Chwingas live inside plants, rocks, and springs far from civilization. Painfully shy, they prefer to move about unseen.
Though no two chwingas look exactly alike, they all resemble 6-inch-tall animated dolls with strange masks, spindly limbs, and wild hair. Chwingas brighten a natural setting as they adorn their burrows with colorful rocks and plants.
Humanoid Fascination
Chwingas shun other creatures, but they find the trappings of civilization fascinating. They puzzle over creatures that wear armor, carry weapons, use tools, and cook food. When a chwinga encounters one or more humanoids, its curiosity compels it to shadow those creatures for a short time and observe them. If it takes a liking to a particular humanoid, a chwinga uses its cantrips to aid it, or bestows a magical gift before departing. The features that attract a chwinga to a particular humanoid vary. A chwinga might like the way a humanoid walks or the way it combs its hair, or be smitten by a humanoid’s ability to play music or to eat copious amounts of food.
Chwingas that live in the desert can bestow the following additional supernatural charms:
Charm of the Mirage
This charm allows you to cast the
Charm of the Water Bearer
This charm allows you to create up to 1 gallon of fresh water, which fills one or more empty containers in your possession. You can do this up to thrice per day for 10 days, after which this charm vanishes from you.