Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor

• An Adventure for 7th-level Characters

• Developed & Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray

• Written by Derek Ruiz

In this adventure, the characters are caught up in an unsolved mass killing in the city of Waterdeep—after the ghost of one of the victims seeks them out.

Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor came to Candlekeep five years ago, courtesy of a Waterdavian apprentice mage named Sirok, who bought the book at a street sale. It was part of a collection once owned by the renowned Yellowcrest family of Waterdeep. As he presented the book as payment for entry into Candlekeep, Sirok told the Avowed priests a grim story of how the patriarch of the family, Lord Yellowcrest, had returned to Waterdeep from a business trip to find his wife, their three children, and the house’s four servants all murdered. In the aftermath of this terrible loss, the grieving lord sold all his possessions, then moved away from the city to live out his life in solitude.

Sirok never got around to reading the book, and his story about the Yellowcrests was something he learned from gossiping acquaintances. The dark pedigree of Sirok’s donation was soon forgotten, and Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor was cataloged and placed into the library’s archives, where it has gone unnoticed ever since.

Beginning the Adventure

The adventure begins when the ghost of a young woman named Sarah appears before the characters as they peruse the stacks of Candlekeep. The reason that Sarah’s ghost is able to manifest for the first time to the characters, after five years of silence, is left to your judgment. The spirit of the murdered woman might be drawn to a character who is dedicated to law or good, one whose background features a similar tragedy, or one who struggled to rise from poverty as she did. Alternatively, if one of the characters has a penchant for reading books from Candlekeep’s shelves at random, you might have Sarah appear because her story is being read for the first time since her diary came to the library.

Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor is a nondescript general text, so it fits best in some forgotten corner of the library where tomes of no particular interest are stored. Read or paraphrase the following when you’re ready to begin the adventure:

The air around you grows suddenly chilly. A cloud of vapor begins to shimmer along the nearby shelves, growing thicker around a nondescript leather-bound book. The mist suddenly coalesces into the vague form of a young woman—a translucent spirit wearing a servant’s uniform and bearing the symbol of a tree outlined by a rising sun at her shoulder.

The figure weeps aloud, tears running down her cheeks. She opens her mouth as if to speak—which reveals that her tongue is gone. Moaning in anguish, she reaches toward you. Then the mist shreds away to nothing, and the spirit fades.

Book Description

Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor is a leather-bound book with brass corner fittings and an intricately carved brass clasp that holds the book shut. Embossing on the cover depicts the same symbol seen on Sarah’s uniform—a lemon tree with the rising sun behind it. A character who has the Noble, who has an extensive knowledge of Waterdeep, or who succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (History) check recognizes this as the seal of the Yellowcrest family.

The book’s title appears handwritten on the first page, and it is clear that all of its pages were once blank. Only a handful of pages at the end of the book remain so. The rest are filled with handwriting that starts out crude but slowly becomes more elegant, hinting that it was produced by a person learning to write, who then practiced their writing by keeping a diary.

A Humble Life

The pages of Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor are a mixture of exercises, drawings, and reminiscences. The earliest pages bear nothing but repetitions of the name “Sarah.” Lists of household chores, pending activities, shopping lists, and names take up a full third of the book.

Where the diary begins, the book becomes a firsthand account (written in Common) of the life of Sarah, who describes herself as a servant in the Waterdeep manor of Lord Viallis Yellowcrest and Lady Maria Yellowcrest. The diary entries are not on consecutive pages, and most are undated. In addition to writing about her daily obligations and life in the manor, Sarah also wrote about Lady Maria, who came from a poor family and empathized with Sarah’s own lack of education. Lady Maria’s genuine affection for Sarah led her to teach the young servant to write, and to give her the leather-bound book that became the diary.

A Glimpse of Darkness

The last entries of the diary, dated just over five years earlier, change in tone as Sarah worries about the strange conduct of Lord Yellowcrest, and his habit of spending too much time with ancient books in his study. The final diary entry reads:

I stole close to Lord Viallis today, and saw that he had chalked a circle marked with strange runes across the floor of his study. A puddle spread within the circle and appeared to me as bubbling blood. Lord Viallis stood next to it motionless, one of his vile books in hand, and muttered something I could not hear. I slipped away quickly, though I fear he might have heard me this time. I have never been so scared, but I must tell Lady Maria what I have seen. I must!

In her diary, Sarah tried to draw the image of the cover of an old tome Lord Viallis was reading. The sketch shows a monstrous creature with a bulbous head, long arms, tentacles for legs, and multifaceted eyes (see “area Lord Viallis’s Tome” later in the adventure for more information).

Sarah also attempted to sketch what she remembered of the rune-marked circle. Any character who has proficiency in the Arcana skill and succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recognizes the circle as part of a ritual casting of the contact other plane spell, and can intuit that the runes Sarah has hastily copied are tied to an entity from the Outer Planes. Characters who do not recognize the circle can seek assistance from one of the Avowed to determine this information.

Yellowcrest Lore

A thorough reading of the diary reveals the broad details of the lives of Sarah and the Yellowcrest family. Alternatively, if the characters call Sarah back (see below) and are able to communicate with her, you can allow the poor servant’s spirit to reveal some of this information:

• Yellowcrest Manor stands on Delzorin Street in Waterdeep’s North Ward.
• Lord Viallis and Lady Maria had two sons, Malik and Janus, and one daughter, Tianna.
• The family owned several tanneries and shoemaking shops in Waterdeep, but most of its wealth was inherited on Maria’s side.
• Lord Viallis’s closest business associate was an elf named Faerl, who visited Lord Viallis twice a tenday.
• Sarah had a romantic relationship with a young squire named Vecken, who lived close to the manor on Immar Street.

The details of the murders at Yellowcrest Manor can be learned from a few hours' research into recent Waterdeep history, or by consulting any scholar at the library who has an interest in that history or the noble families of Waterdeep. The public details of the dark event are well known:

• Lord Yellowcrest was away from Waterdeep on business, then returned to find his wife, his sons and daughter, and the manor’s four servants brutally murdered. Shocked into a deep depression by the tragedy, Lord Yellowcrest left Waterdeep to be alone with his grief.
• Rumors seemingly spread by members of the City Guard after investigating the murders hinted at some sort of cult activity, but details of the killings were never revealed. No suspects were ever identified or charged.
• The Yellowcrest family had a good reputation, with no hint of personal or public impropriety. No one ever accused the grieving Lord Yellowcrest of having any connection to the murders.

Grieving Ghost

Sarah was one of the servants killed alongside Lady Maria and the three Yellowcrest children—all murdered by Lord Viallis as part of his willing descent into evil. For five years, the young woman’s immortal spirit has been bound within Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor. Ever grieving, the spirit has had no way to communicate with the mortal realm—until the presence of the characters draws her forth.

Once she appears for the first time, Sarah (a ghost) reappears whenever the characters speak her name in the presence of the book. The anguished state of the young woman’s spirit is clear to anyone who sees her.

Sarah understands characters who speak Common and tries to respond to them, but she can’t speak because Lord Viallis cut out her tongue before killing her. The ghost tries to communicate through moaning whispers and by pointing the characters to the parts of her diary that hint at Lord Viallis’s evil.

Sarah’s ghost is bound to the diary and can’t move farther than 30 feet from the book. If the book is destroyed, the ghost is able to move freely and redoubles her efforts to seek justice for the dead.

What Sarah Knows

A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (Insight) check or who is able to calm the ghost with appropriate roleplaying can glean some information from Sarah’s mournful moaning:

• Lord Viallis Yellowcrest was responsible for the murders of his wife, his children, Sarah, and three other servants, all of whom were killed as part of a dark ritual. (The trauma Sarah suffered has occluded her memories of the details of the ritual and of her own death.)
• The book that Sarah observed Viallis reading was the source of the ritual, and a work of evil.
• The souls of Lady Maria, Malik, Janus, and Tianna have not moved on since their deaths. All four are trapped in the mortal realm until their physical remains can be buried in hallowed ground.
• The remains of those victims are missing. Sarah doesn’t know what happened to them, but she is certain that Lord Viallis has something to do with it.

Sarah’s anguished state of mind means that she can share no information other than what is noted above. Though she has all the abilities of a ghost, Sarah has no wish to harm anyone. You might allow her to use her Possession action to speak what she knows through one of the characters if needed.

What Really Happened

Five years ago, Lord Viallis murdered his family, Sarah, and three other servants as part of a ritual to contact an otherworldly entity. The ritual was successful, and with the magic circle he had scribed, Viallis established contact with a Great Old One called Gaernoo. This aberrant patron offered to grant Lord Viallis arcane powers in exchange for establishing a cult dedicated to Gaernoo.

Lord Viallis, empowered by Gaernoo’s otherworldly magic and wanting to get away from talk of his family’s death, moved to the village of Greenfast, a day’s travel southeast of Waterdeep and the home of his business partner, Faerl. Claiming that he wanted to have his family interred close to him, he took the remains of his wife and children along, with evil intent. For the last five years, Viallis has been building a cult to Gaernoo around himself, calling it the Burnt Tongue Cult for the sacrifice that new members must make before being accepted.

Lord Viallis’s Tome

The crude sketch composed by Sarah shows the monster on the leather-bound cover of the book Lord Viallis was reading. This creature is a representation of the statue in area area B7 of the temple of the Burnt Tongue Cult. Knowing that Candlekeep is the best possible place to learn about a mysterious book, the characters can spend a day or two in diligent research to turn up references in other works to a book whose cover matches Sarah’s sketch—a tome called Retribution of the Ancients.

That work is not a part of Candlekeep’s collection, but several of the Avowed know it by reputation. It is a dark work of ritual magic, its contents potentially deadly in the wrong hands.

Secrets in Waterdeep

Accepting Sarah’s mission to seek the truth of what happened at Yellowcrest Manor and to locate the remains of Lady Maria and her three children takes the characters to Waterdeep, which holds the first clues in the mystery. Like all other books in Candlekeep, Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor cannot be removed from the library, so make it clear to the characters that Sarah’s ghost has revealed all she knows. The characters can have the book copied at the usual rates to have a way of referencing Sarah’s notes and sketches, but you can also assume that they remember any necessary information from the book as the adventure continues.

To get the characters into the mystery as quickly as possible, their trip to Waterdeep unfolds with no problems or random encounters, unless you determine otherwise. The easiest way for characters without access to teleportation magic to travel from Candlekeep to the City of Splendors is to sail up the Sword Coast. Many merchant ship captains offer to carry adventurers as passengers for free, in exchange for their assistance if anything goes wrong along the way.

Yellowcrest Manor

The former Yellowcrest Manor is easily located, either by using Sarah’s directions from the diary or asking in Waterdeep. Though no members of the Yellowcrest family remain in the city, their name is still well known because many people remember the terrible tragedy.

The manor is on Delzorin Street in the North Ward, and it is now home to the Falgarst family. Characters who present themselves at the estate are met by a well-dressed butler at the front door. Arnulf (a lawful neutral human commoner) is a short, balding man with a warm smile and a fine mustache, who gives off a faint scent of wine. He is amicable and conversational, especially if he has already undertaken his daily “inspection” of the Falgarst family’s wine cellar.

Family Business

Arnulf knows the history of the house well, including the public details of the horrific murders. Though he expresses honest sadness for the fate of the Yellowcrest family and their servants, a successful DC 10 Wisdom (Insight) check made while speaking to the butler confirms that he finds the tale exciting for the dark reputation it gives the manor.

If the characters make it clear that they mean no trouble for the Falgarst family, effective roleplaying or a successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check inspires the butler to share what he knows. Offering Arnulf any alcoholic beverage grants advantage on the check, and magic such as a charm person spell guarantees an automatic success.

Arnulf can reveal any of the following details:

• The manor was previously owned by the Yellowcrest family, most of whom were killed one night.
• Though full details of the event were never made public, rumor holds that Lady Maria, her three children, and four servants were all stabbed to death, then had their tongues removed.
• The sole survivor of the family was Lord Viallis, who was allegedly away from the city that day.
• After the murders, Viallis sold the manor and all his family’s possessions, then moved to a small village in the countryside.
• A few tanneries, leatherworkers' shops, and cobblers' shops in the Trades Ward reportedly still belong to Lord Viallis, but if he has ever returned to Waterdeep, Arnulf doesn’t know about it.

Yellowcrest Businesses

A few hours of asking around the Trades Ward enables the characters to identify the three cobblers' shops, two leatherworkers' shops, and two tanneries still owned by Lord Viallis. The Yellowcrest businesses are all nondescript, and none of the workers or managers know Lord Viallis personally or know anything of his whereabouts, except that he lives “out in the country somewhere.”

The characters can get on the good side of one of the cobblers or tannery managers working for Viallis with a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check or 10 gp in bribes. Doing so earns them the knowledge that Lord Viallis has an overseer who comes once every second tenday to check the books of each enterprise, pay wages, and collect profits. The overseer, an elf named Faerl, lives in the village of Greenfast southeast of Waterdeep, and is expected in the city in two days.

The characters are free to head for the village in search of more clues, in which you can case skip to the “area Greenfast” section later in the adventure. They can also wait in Waterdeep to try to talk to Faerl. The overseer arrives two days later, and spends that day visiting each business in turn. Characters who stake out any of those locations can see Faerl as he arrives just after noon in a private coach, which barely fits along the narrow Trades Ward streets where the Yellowcrest businesses are located. His bodyguards include two Cult Fanatic, three Thug, and two Veteran—all on horseback. The driver of the coach is an unarmed commoner. The characters can easily perceive that this is an unusually large entourage, even for someone carrying money.

Faerl

Faerl, a neutral evil wood elf, is proud and cruel. He believes that he must be in control at all times. He dresses in pompous finery and an oversized red hat. He speaks precisely, but in a volume so low that it forces people to pay close attention to him.

Faerl uses the noble stat block with the following changes:

• He speaks Common and Elvish.
• He has advantage on saving throws against being charmed, and magic can’t put him to sleep.

Personality Trait

“Others are beneath me. My position in the cult ensures my future.”

Ideal

“My loyalty to the cult is critical to its success. I must lead by example.”

Bond

“With my loyal assistance, Lord Viallis will surely take over Waterdeep one day.”

Flaw

“My standing makes it important that nothing happen to me. If it’s necessary that others sacrifice themselves for my security, so be it.”

Speaking of the Past

As long as the characters approach in a nonthreatening way, Faerl is willing to talk to them, though his bodyguards stand close by. Faerl pretends to take an interest in any talk of the characters looking into the Yellowcrest murders, calling the fact that no one was ever charged with the crime “a terrible injustice.” If asked about Lord Viallis, Faerl describes him as “broken by the tragedy.” He denies that his employer could have had anything to do with those terrible events if any character suggests it.

Faerl’s loyalty to the Burnt Tongue Cult and Lord Viallis is absolute, making him impervious to bribery and intimidation attempts. If magic such as a charm person spell is used to influence his attitude toward one or more characters, Faerl refuses to mention the cult, even to characters to whom he is friendly, so as not to incriminate himself. He calls the City Watch if the party gives him trouble.

If the characters express their intention to question Lord Viallis, Faerl orders his bodyguards to attack while he climbs back in the coach and tries to leave. If he gets away, he returns to Greenfast, where the characters might encounter him again.

Street Fight

If Faerl orders his bodyguards to attack, or if any character attacks him or the bodyguards first, the bodyguards do their best to protect Faerl and ensure that he escapes in the coach. They then lay into the characters without mercy. The Cult Fanatic cast command or hold person on melee combatants, hoping that the Veteran and the Thug can dispatch them quickly. The thugs focus on the same target to make use of their Pack Tactics feature.

When more than half the bodyguards have fallen, the others surrender. All are Waterdeep mercenaries on long-term contract to guard Faerl when he visits the city. They don’t know Lord Viallis personally and know nothing of the cult, but they can provide the following information about Faerl and Lord Viallis:

• Faerl met Lord Viallis in Waterdeep years ago and became his business partner. Faerl lives in the village of Greenfast southeast of Waterdeep, where Lord Viallis also lives now.
• The profits from the Yellowcrest businesses generate a tidy sum that funds Viallis’s retirement.
• The bodyguards were to accompany Faerl back to Greenfast that evening with the latest profits from the Yellowcrest businesses, then make their way back to Waterdeep after being paid.

Treasure

If the characters overcome Faerl and the bodyguards and prevent Faerl from leaving, a search of the coach turns up a locked iron strongbox. Faerl carries the key. As an action, a character can try to pick the lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check, or pry the box open with a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check. Inside are the profits from the establishments Faerl has already visited that day—35 gp and 400 sp.

Faerl carries a Potion of Superior Healing in his belt and 20 gp in a leather pouch. He wears jewelry worth a total of 20 gp.

Sir Vecken of the Broken Horn

While in Waterdeep, the characters might also think to seek out Vecken, the former paramour mentioned by Sarah in her diary. Asking around the vicinity of Yellowcrest Manor (or asking Arnulf the butler) reveals that Vecken still lives on Immar Street, a few blocks away from the manor.

All the people in the area know Vecken and speak of him as an example of bravery and perseverance. After Sarah was killed five years ago, Vecken joined an adventuring company and made a name for himself. A well-known sortie against a bandit lord south of Neverwinter earned him the nickname “Sir Vecken of the Broken Horn,” after his horned helmet was nearly cloven in two during the fight. A year ago, he returned to Waterdeep to live with his father, Yacken, and has since retired from adventuring.

Sir Vecken

Vecken (a lawful good human knight) is a burly figure, heavily scarred but with a pleasant disposition. He turned to adventuring to help him move past the death of his beloved Sarah, and he becomes noticeably distraught when speaking of her.

Personality Trait

“We all have a moral obligation to protect the weak and the innocent, and I will do so at any cost.”

Ideal

“Good will prevail as long as the strong stand against evil.”

Bond

“My frail father needs my care. It is good that I gave up my adventuring life.”

Flaw

“When anger and grief take hold of me, there is little I can do to control myself.”

Dark Memories

Vecken is at home when the characters call, and he is initially pleased to see them. He assumes they are adventurers he must have met and forgotten about during his earlier days. When the characters make the reason for their visit known, he grows visibly grim but invites them into his home for tea. In the living room, Vecken’s old helmet with its shattered horn hangs above the fireplace hearth.

Vecken is sympathetic to the characters' objectives because he still feels the pain of Sarah’s death five years ago. Any talk of the characters having spoken to Sarah’s ghost reduces him to tears. Through the course of their conversation with him, Vecken can reveal the following information:

• After the murders, the remains of Sarah and the other three servants were interred in the public cemetery, Waterdeep’s City of the Dead. The remains of Lady Maria and her children were not.
• Vecken remembers talk of Lord Viallis wanting his wife and children to be interred near his new home, so that he need never return to Waterdeep to visit them.

Vecken doesn’t know that Lord Viallis has relocated to Greenfast. If the characters share this information with him, he grows thoughtful, then says that he has heard from former compatriots of recent trouble along the roads in that area. South of Waterdeep, travelers are being robbed of valuable relics and jewelry, and more than a few have disappeared, their bodies never found.

Vecken’s Retribution

If the characters ask Vecken to join their investigation, the warrior demurs, telling them he would rather let the past fade. In truth, he won’t join the characters because their unexpected news has inspired thoughts of vengeance that he wants to undertake on his own. As soon as the characters leave him, Vecken dons his armor and weapons and heads for Greenfast by horse. Assuming the characters don’t set out for Greenfast immediately by faster means, the warrior arrives at the village ahead of them, confronts cultists on the road, and is captured. See area area B11 of the temple of the Burnt Tongue Cult for more information.

Greenfast

The village of Greenfast is located a day’s travel southeast of Waterdeep. Characters can easily obtain directions to the small farming settlement, which lies a short distance off the Trade Way, along a broad creek flowing into the Dessarin River. Greenfast is a prosperous community whose farmers take advantage of their proximity to the Trade Way to sell to both Waterdeep and Daggerford.

Lord Viallis is well known in the village, though any people the characters talk to describe the retired noble as a quiet person who keeps to himself. All the villagers know about the tragedy of five years before. They also know that when Viallis moved to Greenfast, he announced his plans to rebuild an old tower an hour away as a private estate. Not much has happened at the site as far as the villagers are aware, though construction and renovations are slowly ongoing, and Viallis is known to have a number of workers living at the tower. (Viallis’s talk of rebuilding the abandoned tower is a cover for his sinister activities, as the characters will discover.)

Viallis lives in a comfortable house (see area area G3), but he is not home when the characters arrive. The village features other places the characters might go and a number of NPCs they might talk to as they search for clues about what the evil noble is up to.

Greenfast Locations

The following locations are keyed to the map of Greenfast.

G1. Mayor’s House

The largest building in the village is the home of Mayor Kara Firenni (a neutral good human commoner), who is busy working in her garden if the characters seek her out. Mayor Kara is middle-aged and wears her hair in a short ponytail. She is a good and compassionate leader, but shows clear signs of stress as the characters talk to her.

Kara’s Fears

If asked about Viallis, Kara says that the noble keeps to himself and that she barely knows him. Her manner is unusually brusque, and any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check can tell that she is hiding something. With appropriate roleplaying or a successful DC 14 Charisma (Persuasion) check, a character can convince her to speak openly.

Kara knows that Viallis is creating some sort of following, having attracted many admirers who now live in and around the village. She doesn’t know the full extent of his activities, nor does she have any idea that he and his secret cult are responsible for the increasing number of travelers disappearing along the Trade Way.

Two months ago, Kara’s sister, Yaeda, fell under Viallis’s sway and went to what Kara calls the noble’s “new estate” (the cult’s temple). She believes that Yaeda is working for or romantically involved with Viallis, not knowing that he holds her prisoner. Kara has never been to the estate and has no idea of the extent of Viallis’s activities there, but she can give the characters directions if they share what they suspect about Viallis and promise to bring Yaeda back.

G2. The Bulging Cauldron

This tavern has a warm, homey feel, filled with locals at mealtimes and the end of the workday. Travelers stop in more rarely, and the proprietor, Old Fargo (a chaotic good human commoner), is happy to serve them. Fargo is recognizable by his old flannel shirt and riding hat. The tavern has two spare rooms on the second floor that can be rented out by the day or tenday.

Old Fargo’s Suspicions

Old Fargo has long distrusted Lord Viallis, instinctively seeing him as a bad sort, but he keeps his thoughts to himself unless the characters engage him in conversation. With appropriate roleplaying or a successful DC 13 Charisma (Persuasion) check, he describes Viallis as a collector of sycophants who uses wealth to try to impress people. His son, Young Fargo, fell into Viallis’s circle of influence a month ago, and Old Fargo hasn’t seen him since. He knows that Viallis and his followers are said to be building an estate away from the village, and he can give the characters directions there.

If the characters share their suspicions about Viallis being involved in the Yellowcrest murders or other dark business (especially if they have learned of the cult after a fight at the barn at area area G5), Old Fargo becomes distraught and begs them to rescue his son from Viallis’s grasp.

G3. Lord Viallis’s House

Lord Viallis bought this comfortable home when he left Waterdeep, but he has spent little time here over the past year as the cult’s activities have ramped up. The front and back doors are locked, and the windows are shuttered and curtained. As an action, a character can try to open a door or window using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 14 Dexterity check, or force open a door or window with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Inside, the house appears almost abandoned. Only the kitchen and the main room show signs of recent use, and the place holds nothing of importance or value. (Lord Viallis has moved all his important belongings out of the village and into the cult’s temple.)

G4. Faerl’s House

The residence of Viallis’s overseer is a comfortable cottage whose main room doubles as an office. The place is filled with business records and correspondence, all of which concern Lord Viallis’s business and none of which appear suspicious or out of the ordinary.

If the characters came to Greenfast without meeting Faerl in Waterdeep, you can have them find the overseer at home if you see fit. Use the details in the “area Yellowcrest Businesses” section and the information on Faerl there to shape the conversation. If the characters threaten him or ask questions that indicate they know more about the cult than Faerl likes, the overseer makes a point of opening a window “to get some air.” This is a signal to the cultists at the barn (area G5) to come running.

G5. Barn

Two Cult Fanatic and two Veteran—neutral evil humans loyal to Viallis—work here by day. They keep an eye out for trouble and keep their ears open for word of nondescript travelers passing through the area. When Viallis needs new sacrifices, the cultists snatch victims along the Trade Way at night. (If at least one day passes between the characters meeting Vecken and arriving in Greenfast, the cultists' most recent expedition ended with the capture of the vengeful warrior. See area area B11.)

The cultists pay close attention to Faerl’s house (area G4) and to any strangers in the village. If the characters ask them any questions about Viallis, the cultists respond by attacking. If they see the previously agreed-upon signal of a window being opened in Faerl’s house, they go there immediately, ready for trouble.

Use the guidelines in the “area Street Fight” section earlier to run the encounter if the cultists and the characters face off. Unlike the mercenaries in Waterdeep, these villains know a great deal of information that they share if they are defeated and threatened:

• Lord Viallis is the leader of what he calls the Burnt Tongue Cult, and he has made Greenfast the center of the cult’s activities.
• Viallis worships a dark entity called Gaernoo, whose power he channels by sacrificing prisoners. This otherworldly patron provides Lord Viallis with aberrant creatures to command.
• Lord Viallis took over an old ruin outside the village, wanting to turn it into an estate. The work at the site is a ruse for opening up and rebuilding a series of subterranean chambers, which now constitute the cult’s temple. With the temple completed, Lord Viallis has ordered the cult’s activities to be stepped up.

The cultists know nothing of the whereabouts of the remains of Lady Maria and her children. Lord Viallis never speaks of his life before the cult.

Temple of the Burnt Tongue Cult

An hour out of Greenfast stands an old stone tower, long abandoned and crumbling. When Lord Viallis came to Greenfast after murdering his family, Faerl showed him the tower, thinking that Viallis might consider it a suitable site for a summer home. But Viallis, already well involved in his plans to make contact with the Great Old One called Gaernoo, saw even more potential for the site.

For five years, Viallis has led and nurtured a cult to Gaernoo, whose members have been working to reclaim the ruined tower site, creating a temple within the subterranean levels below. Though the cult remains small in numbers, it has grand ambitions.

Crumbling Tower

When the characters approach the tower site, read the following:

Amid a grove of gnarled scrub trees stands a half-fallen stone tower. Rough workers' tents, piles of timbers, and tools scattered about show that the site appears to be under reconstruction, though little headway seems to have been made in restoring the tower to its former glory.

As the characters draw closer, it becomes clear that the signs of construction are largely spurious. The timbers that might have been used to shore up and help rebuild the tower walls are years old and beginning to rot. The tools are rusted. The tents show signs of recent occupation (cultists who don’t live in the village bunk here, near the temple) but contain no personal effects.

Characters who search the site can see that inside the tower, a stone staircase leads down into darkness. The cultists, overconfident after years of having their operations ignored, have set no guards protecting access to what lies below.

Temple Features

The tower and its basement levels are of ancient construction, their original purpose long forgotten by the area’s residents.

Ceilings throughout the temple are 10 feet high and flat. All areas of the upper level of the temple are illuminated by braziers, lamps, or magical light. All areas of the lower level are dark except for the south cell in area area B11 and the training room (area area B12).

Temple Locations

The locations in the underground temple are keyed to the map of the Temple of the Burnt Tongue.

Upper Level B1-B9

B1. Antechamber

Characters who descend the stairs in the crumbling tower arrive at this chamber.

The stairs descend thirty feet before opening up into a chamber of worked stone. Two braziers flank the entrance, burning with an unnatural aquamarine light. Pillars stand in two rows, each carved with the visages of otherworldly creatures. A fountain flows quietly at the far end of the room in front of a double door. Another door stands along the west wall, and the wall opposite that appears to have collapsed, revealing a rough passageway beyond.

Two Grell and four Cultist stand guard in this chamber. If the characters made any obvious noise as they descended the stairs (including talking), these guardians try to hide along the walls adjacent to the stairs, behind the braziers—the cultists on the ground and the grells in the air. Combat here alerts the cult fanatic in area area B3, who flees to area area B7 to warn Lord Viallis of intruders.

Fountain

The fountain holds crystal-clear water and has a silver cup sitting on its edge. A detect magic spell reveals an aura of divination magic in the water, one sip of which bestows the effect of the guidance cantrip. A creature that gains this benefit can’t do so again until the next dawn. Water taken from the fountain loses its magic after 10 minutes.

West Door

The door into area area B2 is locked. Lord Viallis carries the key. As an action, a character can try to pick the lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 14 Dexterity check, or force open the door with a successful DC 17 Strength (Athletics) check.

South Doors

This double door is unlocked.

B2. Arcane Study

Bundles of papers, diagrams, scrolls, and books lie scattered on a desk and across the floor of this room, which is lit by two glowing crystal spheres on a shelf along the north wall.

Lord Viallis studies magic in this room, which is off limits to his cultists. The papers are covered with formulas and schematics, recognizable as related to arcane magic by anyone who has proficiency in the Arcana skill.

The book Retribution of the Ancients sits on the table. In addition to describing various dark rituals, this tome serves as Lord Viallis’s spellbook and contains the following spells: cone of cold, contact other plane, counterspell, darkness, detect magic, fear, fireball, greater invisibility, fly, ice storm, mage armor, magic missile, misty step, polymorph, ray of sickness, shield, and suggestion.

Pitfall Trap

The glowing spheres on the shelf are two Cracked Driftglobe that can no longer float or give off their daylight effect. Removing either orb from the shelf triggers a trap. A character who searches the area for traps and succeeds on a DC 16 Wisdom (Perception) check notes a slight depression in the floor in front of the shelf that warns of the trap. Triggering the trap causes any creature standing next to the shelf to fall 20 feet, landing prone in the north cell of area area B11 and taking 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage. Though the trap’s trigger is magical, the floor must be lifted and set into place again for the trap to be reset. Before the trap is reset, a character can climb back up into this area from area area B11 with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check.

Secret Door

A character who searches the south wall for secret doors finds one with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check. Once found, the door can be slid sideways to reveal a short passage with an identical secret door at the far end. No check is needed to find the second secret door, as both doors are obvious to anyone in the short hallway that separates areas B2 and area B5.

Treasure

Inside the desk drawer are two golden medallions worth 125 gp each. A wooden box on the table contains a chime of opening.

B3. Dungeon Access

The tunnel that opens up through the crumbling wall of the antechamber is illuminated by a single brazier. At the end of the passage, a set of curving stone stairs descends farther down into darkness.

If the characters reach this area without making any sound, they find a single cult fanatic stationed at the stairs. If alerted to the characters' intrusion (such as by combat in area area B1), the fanatic flees down the stairs, races along the tunnels of the lower level, up into area area B8, and through the secret door into area area B7 to alert Lord Viallis.

B4. Office

The lack of a door along the stairs to the chapel (area area B7) means that characters going into this area or area B5 might attract the attention of the cultists in the chapel—or might be already in view from the foot of the stairs if Viallis has been warned of the characters' approach (see area B3 above).

Books and trinkets are spread across a wooden desk set in this alcove chamber, which is lit by a burning brazier.

The trinkets are worthless, mysterious-looking objects. The books appear to be registries of purchases, as well as lists of items and people. These documents, created by Faerl, have nothing to do with the cult’s activities but look important at a glance. Lord Viallis leaves them here to test security; if any of them go missing, Viallis knows his temple has been infiltrated by a spy or a thief. A character who spends at least 10 minutes examining the books can ascertain their lack of importance with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Insight) check.

B5. Symbol Workshop

A bronze oil lamp burns on one of two tables in this area, both of which hold woodcarving tools and strange wooden objects.

Cultists work here to craft the wooden symbols that mark membership in the cult—a distended tongue with a torn root. Fifty newly carved symbols are spread across both tables, hinting at the scope of Viallis’s expansion plans.

Secret Door

The north wall contains a secret door similar to the one in area area B2.

B6. Study

This area is set within the larger space of area B7. Its door is unlocked.

A glowing crystal sphere illuminates this chamber, which has a wooden floor and contains a couch and a tall bookcase.

Treasure

The bookcase holds a collection of debased literature, dark mythology, studies of aberrant magic, and mad treatises on elder gods. Lord Viallis has been building this collection for years for the benefit of his followers. The collection can be sold to a discerning purchaser for 300 gp. Alternatively, if brought to Candlekeep and donated, it might earn the characters favors and benefits as you see fit.

B7. Dark Chapel

If Lord Viallis has been alerted to the characters' presence, three Cult Fanatic are at the bottom of the north stairs watching for anyone approaching from area area B4. These cultists hide along the walls as the characters descend the stairs, attacking as soon as they enter the chapel.

This huge space has the appearance of a chapel, its walls carved with unnatural imagery. A large alcove to the south contains a huge, purple stone statue of a monstrous, otherworldly creature with a large, bulbous head, long arms, tentacles for legs, and multifaceted eyes glowing with aquamarine light. Two bodies are draped over an altar in front of the statue, and standing over them is a tall, bald man clutching a bloody knife. He is flanked by two robed cultists, and floating nearby is a hideous creature that looks like a giant, tentacled brain.

Lord Viallis Yellowcrest (a chaotic evil human mage) is performing a lengthy ritual that requires his undivided attention. He is surrounded by servants (see below), a bloodstained knife in his hand. The bodies of two adult humans lie dead on the altar in front of the statue, having just been sacrificed. See the “Lord Viallis” sidebar for additional guidance on how to portray this mad villain.

A grell and two Cultist stand beside Lord Viallis but break off from the ritual to repel intruders, leaving him to finish it alone.

At the start of round 2, the characters see the bodies consumed by aquamarine fire and reduced to bone and ash, from which another grell emerges. Viallis and this second grell then join the fight in round 3.

If the characters reached this area without making an undue amount of noise (and if the guard in area area B3 did not come here to warn of the characters' intrusion), three Cult Fanatic lurk behind the statue—the same three who watch the north stairs if Lord Viallis is expecting trouble. They join the fray.

Faerl is also here if he was able to flee Waterdeep and you did not choose to have the characters meet him at his house. He is reclining on one of the pews. Without his coterie of bodyguards to protect him, he tries to flee the scene (and the temple) as soon as the battle starts.

Cult Tactics

Lord Viallis has already cast mage armor on himself, and he expended his 5th-level spell slot to fuel the ritual. He wears a robe of scintillating colors and uses his action to activate it if pressed in melee. In a pocket of the robe, he has a spell scroll of teleport that he uses to escape to a location of your choice if the battle appears lost.

Lord Viallis

Lord Viallis leads the Burnt Tongue Cult, conducting evil rituals and humanoid sacrifices in the name of his patron. Viallis is under the direct influence of an otherworldly entity called Gaernoo, and is gathering followers in the out-of-the-way village of Greenfast in the hope of one day returning to Waterdeep with a full-fledged cult. He fights fiercely when surrounded by his lackeys but tries to flee if things start to fall apart.

Personality Trait: “I am superior. Those lesser than I do not deserve my attention.”

Ideal: “Gaernoo gifts us with insight. The knowledge from beyond the veil will open our eyes.”

Bond: “My soul belongs to Gaernoo.”

Flaw: “I must think about things, then think again. Decisions cannot be made quickly.”

Pits

Four pits stand in alcoves along the sides of the chapel. After each sacrifice, the cultists throw the ashes and bones of the victims down these shafts to area area B13 below.

Treasure

In addition to his robe of scintillating colors and spell scroll of teleport, Lord Viallis carries the keys to area area B2 and the cells in area area B11. A number of objects are arranged around the altar as offerings, including five gold bracelets (worth 150 gp each) amid various worthless trinkets.

Secret Doors

Characters who search the room for secret doors and succeed on a DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check find sliding wall sections to either side of the altar. These secret doors open easily and reveal passages to area B8 and area B9.

B8. Secret Vault

A short hallway runs from the secret door in area B7 to stairs leading down.

Two wooden chests are the only objects to be seen in this dark room, which has a staircase leading down.

Treasure

Both chests are unlocked, and they hold valuables the prisoners in area area B11 had on them when they were taken: a longsword, two Dagger, a pair of jeweled earrings worth 150 gp, and 115 gp. If the characters are captured by the cultists and moved to either cell, their belongings end up here as well.

B9. Secret Library

This small, dark chamber holds a golden urn resting atop a small table and a bookcase stuffed with books and scrolls, many of them old and worn.

The books and scrolls contain arcane formulas, alchemical recipes, ritual instructions, and lore about the Outer Planes, half of which is written in Deep Speech. Interspersed among the older books are several newer journals written by Lord Viallis.

Characters who spend a few minutes reading through the lore here learn any information they might have missed about the murders at Yellowcrest Manor. Additionally, one journal reveals that Viallis placed the cremated remains of his wife and three children in a golden urn that he sometimes uses as a focus for his dark rituals. The golden urn mentioned in this journal is the same one that rests on the table. The urn is engraved with arcane sigils relating to the Outer Planes. It holds ashes—the remains of Lady Maria and her children—and radiates an aura of necromancy magic to a detect magic spell.

Lower Level B10-B13

B10. Ossuary

This dark, dead-end chamber holds a mound of charred bones, desiccated body parts, and skulls scattered across a linen sheet. Strange red-black runes mark the sheet’s edges, seemingly scribed in blood.

On Gaernoo’s instructions, Lord Viallis and the cultists have been gathering the remains of dozens of ritually slain victims in this area. A character who has proficiency in the Arcana skill or who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check can interpret the runes to realize that these remains are being collected to fuel a huge ritual at a later date—one that will ultimately require hundreds of victims.

B11. Cells

These two cells—one to the north and one to the south—are closed off by locked iron-bar doors. Lord Viallis carries the keys that unlock the doors. As an action, a character can try to pick a door’s lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.

North Cell

This cell, which lies beneath the trap in area area B2, is empty when the characters first arrive at the temple.

South Cell

This cell holds six prisoners, including Yaeda Firenni, Mayor Kara’s sister. Though she originally joined Lord Viallis willingly, Yaeda was imprisoned after the full scope of the cult was revealed to her and she tried to flee. She is in poor health; treat her as an unarmed commoner with 4 levels of exhaustion.

If Vecken got to Greenfast ahead of the characters, he is also one of the prisoners. The warrior tells the characters that their news inspired him to seek his own vengeance for Sarah, but he was captured when he took on a squad of cultists looking for victims along the Trade Way. Vecken has been reduced to 25 hit points. Though injured, he is healthy enough to escort the other prisoners to safety if the characters have more of the temple to explore.

The four remaining prisoners include three unarmed Commoner and a child noncombatant. Their names are Jalrax, Durz, Seffra, and Ashlan. They were part of a caravan attacked by the cultists a few days earlier. Two of their companions (the unfortunate victims in the chapel) were taken from the cell a few hours earlier.

B12. Acolytes' Training Room

Scrolls and notes are spread across the floor of this worked stone alcove. Four recent recruits of the Burnt Tongue Cult (three Cultist and one cult fanatic) normally work here to learn and practice spellcasting. You can make the encounter tougher by adding two Grick that act as watchdogs. If the cultist from area area B3 passed through here to warn Lord Viallis of intruders, the creatures in this area are waiting for the characters and ready to fight. If they have not been warned, the gricks remain alert but the cultists are distracted as they try to cast a spell under the cult fanatic’s watchful eye.

Familiar Face

One of the recruits bears a noticeable resemblance to Old Fargo and is his son, Young Fargo. He fights as furiously as the other cultists but loses his zeal if the characters subdue him. In the aftermath of the fight, appropriate roleplaying or a successful DC 12 Charisma (Persuasion) check can help the young man understand that Viallis has corrupted and used him.

Treasure

A search of the scrolls on the floor turns up a spell scroll of counterspell.

B13. Sacrificial Remains

Mounds of ash and bone dropped down from area area B7 after Lord Viallis’s rituals are piled up in these locations.

Conclusion

When the characters have ended the threat of the cultists, the threads of the mystery in Sarah of Yellowcrest Manor can be connected.

Aftermath in Greenfast

Learning about the actions of the Burnt Tongue Cult shocks the folk of Greenfast and neighboring communities. They undertake the process of clearing out the cult site, making what restitution they can to Viallis’s victims, and collapsing the tower to seal off the entrance to the temple. The attacks along the Trade Way drop off immediately. The farm folk are grateful to the characters for their actions, and vow to become more watchful for unseen threats.

Fate of Lord Viallis

If the zealous cult leader died in his showdown with the characters, the cult is no more. Because Viallis shared none of his magical knowledge with his followers, any cultists who might have escaped have no connection to Gaernoo or the entity’s power.

If the characters keep Lord Viallis alive, they can deliver him to Waterdeep for justice. The crazed cult leader freely admits his guilt before his execution, and the tragic tale of the Yellowcrest family comes to a close.

If Lord Viallis teleports out of the temple, his destination is for you to decide. Though he has lost the fruits of all his labor, his connection to Gaernoo remains strong, and he starts work immediately to regain what he has lost. Whether he returns to Waterdeep or emerges in some other location, his plots might spawn new adventures for the party.

Retribution of the Ancients

As a unique tome, Retribution of the Ancients can be used to gain entry to Candlekeep. Given its dangerous nature, donating the book might also earn the characters special favor from those among the Avowed who are pleased to know that its rituals can no longer be misused.

Young Fargo

If the characters spare Young Fargo’s life, they come to understand that as a new initiate, the young man had not yet been exposed to the worst of the cult’s depravities. In time, he is able to come to terms with what he has done and make amends. A grateful Old Fargo offers the characters the hospitality of the Bulging Cauldron, free of charge, whenever they pass through Greenfast.

Final Rest

The ashes of Lady Maria and her three children must be spread in hallowed ground to grant them eternal rest. Any of the mausoleums in the City of the Dead in Waterdeep would be a suitable location.

As the ashes are interred, the spectral forms of Lady Maria, Malik, Janus, and Tianna materialize before the characters. In silence, Lady Maria hugs her three children close to her as she meets each character’s gaze. Sarah’s ghost appears, her connection to the diary broken as her quest is fulfilled. The five spirits then vanish, their forms scattering like flower petals on the wind.

If Vecken is present, he weeps upon seeing Sarah again, then thanks the characters for what they’ve done after all the spirits have passed on. Vecken might remain a lifelong friend to the characters, and his own exploits could provide inspiration for future adventures.