Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme has been gathering dust on its shelf in Candlekeep for over six hundred years. The children’s book arrived at the library in unceremonious fashion, though the same could not be said of its courier. Yowen Pilt, a procurer of rare books who did business with Candlekeep, was utterly insane when he arrived with his latest bundle. The records of the episode are sparse, but they report that he was placed in isolation for weeks after a “singing madness” began to spread among the library’s Avowed. The records contain no further mention of the book dealer. The Avowed cataloged and shelved his final delivery, which included Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme.
Adventure Overview
The adventure takes place in the Firefly Cellar, a windowless basement beneath the House of Rest, so named because its only light comes from lamps lit by swarms of fireflies.
After spending the night here, all the characters wake up in the morning with the same tune in their heads, and each one hums it under their breath. They soon discover that the tune has “spread” to the Firefly Cellar’s other occupants, and the Avowed institute a quarantine to contain what is actually a curse. The adventure is built around a sequence of events that unfold when the characters are quarantined in Candlekeep’s Firefly Cellar with a handful of the library’s attendants, in an attempt to keep Shemshime’s curse from spreading throughout the entire library. The events describe Shemshime’s growing supernatural influence and how people deal with the mounting pressure of confinement under dangerous circumstances.
The characters must identify the curse’s source. Their search eventually leads them to Crinkle, the Firefly Cellar’s kenku caretaker, who has the book. Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme contains the malevolent spirit called Shemshime, and the book holds the secret of how to stop it.
Below is an outline of the events in the order that they occur:
area Event 1: Quarantined. The characters and NPCs are sealed in the Firefly Cellar to keep their contagious curse contained.
area Event 2: Ebder’s Outburst. One of the Avowed is overwhelmed by the curse, and his manic humming causes creepy things to happen.
area Event 3: Singing Skull. The cursed remains of the book dealer who brought Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme to Candlekeep are discovered when the skull begins to sing the rhyme about where it was hidden centuries ago.
area Event 4: Escape Attempt. A visiting scholar named K’Tulah succumbs to the mounting tension and tries to break out of the cellar, threatening to spread the curse throughout Candlekeep.
area Event 5: Puppets. Shemshime’s magic takes control of characters trapped in the library, causing them to violently turn on each other.
area Event 6: Shemshime. The characters find the book and must discover how to stop the curse while confronting Shemshime.
You dictate the pace at which the events unfold. If you want to draw out the tension of confinement, introduce a new event only after the characters think they have a handle on the current situation. Alternatively, you could bombard them with one event after the other so they can’t catch their breath.
Player Handout: Shemshime’s Rhyme
See a Mother Scything Wheat Forgotten Husband Sleeping near with One Swing She Took His Feet with Another Took His Ear
Does the shadow have a name? SHEMSHIME Causes grief, avoids the blame SHEMSHIME
See a dog that knows how to heel Never heeds plea nor command Mother gave it a tasty meal Dog chose instead to eat her hand
Does the shadow have a name? SHEMSHIME Causes grief, avoids the blame SHEMSHIME
See a son doing his chore Washing clothes for folk in town Fell into the river’s roar Sank to the bottom and drowned
Does the shadow have a name? SHEMSHIME Causes grief, avoids the blame SHEMSHIME
Finding the Book
Discovering the book’s whereabouts is part of the adventure’s mystery. A kenku named Crinkle, one of the Avowed and the caretaker of the Firefly Cellar, became enamored with the book and hid it in her quarters. Though the book is not present at the start of the adventure, the characters must deal with the foul magic emanating from it.
Book Description
This children’s book is a mechanical curiosity of gnomish design, with a cover made of wood and copper. The front cover bears a faded, hand-painted rendering of a round millstone. The book is square, eighteen inches along each edge of the cover. A silver music box set into the book’s spine is heavily dented at one end.
The book has no pages in the typical sense, but it opens to reveal a pop-up cutaway illustration of a quaint watermill made of painted panels of wood, tin, canvas, and leather. It’s a clockwork device designed to animate four separate scenes while a music box built into the book’s spine plays a metallic tune that implants a rhyme in the minds of those who hear it (see the accompanying handout). The mechanized scenes feature cutout figurines of members of a family dying in a series of grisly ways as a shadowy figure looks on. The images are as follows:
- A mother chops off the feet and ear of her husband with a scythe.
- The family dog bites off the mother’s hand.
- The son drowns in a river while washing clothes.
- The final scene—which doesn’t play out until the music box is repaired—shows the daughter defeating the shadow by crushing it under a millstone.
Background
Centuries ago, a family living in a remote water mill endured a string of unfortunate events. A malevolent spirit called Shemshime attached itself to the family and caused the “accidents.” The daughter finally destroyed Shemshime by crushing it under a millstone that had been blessed by a traveling halfling cleric of Chauntea (god of agriculture).
The story became a local legend, a cautionary tale meant to warn people to keep their attention on their chores. When a traveling gnome bard heard the tale, he was so intrigued that he set the story down in the book, Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme. By doing so, he inadvertently created a conduit through which Shemshime could return.
Yowen Pilt procured the book from an adventurer who discovered it among the debris of a shipwreck. He brought the mechanical book to Candlekeep, where it has been ever since.
A Kenku’s Curiosity
The kenku Avowed, Crinkle, loves to collect all kinds of curios and baubles. Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme, with its intricate mechanical workings and charming music box, was too tempting to resist. After years as the Firefly Cellar’s caretaker, she discovered the book when it was selected to have its spine repaired as part of a restoration project involving this part of Candlekeep.
Before the adventurers arrive at the Firefly Cellar at the beginning of the adventure, Crinkle brought the book to her room (area area F11) and opened it. The music box started to play, and she became the subject of Shemshime’s curse.
The rhyme is presented in the accompanying handout. Until the music box is repaired, it always skips back to the beginning of the song before playing the last stanza. That means the last stanza of Shemshime’s rhyme doesn’t get implanted in the minds of those who hear the song until the music box is fixed and the tune plays in its entirety. The missing stanza is as follows:
See a Daughter Grinding Grain
Wish the spirit’s time was through
Trap set for the shadow bane
Her millstone killed it true
Shemshime’s Curse
Those who hear the melody of the rhyme find it to be irresistibly catchy, and they hum it over and over again. Such individuals have become cursed.
The rhyme acts as a summoning ritual intended to restore Shemshime. When enough people join in the singing of the rhyme, or enough time passes while people are singing it, the ritual will be completed. As that occasion approaches, Shemshime’s power grows. Anyone who hears the cursed tune is in turn cursed to hum or sing it. They are then capable of transmitting it further.
Resisting the Rhyme
The characters can will themselves not to sing the rhyme, but doing this requires concentration as though casting a spell (see “Concentration” in the Player’s Handbook).
A
A
Cellar Inhabitants
A handful of people reside in the Firefly Cellar while the task of restoring its collection is under way.
Varnyr
Chaotic good sun elf scribe (age 685)
Varnyr is a senior scribe who has spent centuries at Candlekeep. She loves the books, which she cares for as though they were her grandchildren. She has little ambition to rise in the ranks of the Avowed, perfectly content as a senior scribe. She is hardworking and expects others to be as well.
Varnyr was an adjutant when Shemshime’s curse first came to Candlekeep, though she is unaware that the book was the cause of the madness.
Varnyr is a noble with the following changes:
- Varnyr speaks Common and Elvish, and she has
darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. She has advantage on saving throws against beingcharmed , and magic can’t put her to sleep. - Instead of a rapier, Varnyr wields a cane and can use an action to make two melee weapon attacks with it: +3 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (
1d4 ) bludgeoning damage.
Personality Trait
“I have a warm, calming demeanor, even when circumstances call for concern.”
Ideal
“Everything has its place, and everyone has their role.”
Bond
“Candlekeep is the beacon of civilization in an otherwise bleak and backward world.”
Flaw
“When something irritates me, I try to ignore it, but I usually end up snapping at someone.”
Ebder Smallstone
Lawful good human scribe (age 33)
Ebder is a pessimist who sees every setback as a disaster and every victory as dumb luck. He is a widower, and his daughter, Gailby, provides him respite from his anxious outlook.
Ebder looks older than his actual age, with few traces of black in his otherwise gray hair and a harried expression on his face. His clothes and his fingers are stained with ink.
Ebder is a commoner who speaks Common and has a set of
Personality Trait
“I’m an anxious person. I worry about what Senior Scribe Varnyr thinks about me and my work.”
Ideal
“The measure of a person is the quality of their work.”
Bond
“As much as I care about my duties as an Avowed, my daughter is my world.”
Flaw
“I’m highly suspicious of other people’s motives.”
Gailby Smallstone
Lawful good human child (age 8)
Gailby is an energetic kid who lives with her father, Ebder Smallstone, in the Firefly Cellar. She loves to draw and insists on sharing her drawings with her father before bedtime.
She wears a yellow hooded cape that hides her short curly black hair and is missing one of her front teeth.
Personality Trait
“I’m curious about everything.”
Ideal
“I’ll never be bored as long as I have my imagination.”
Bond
“I love discovering things on my own, especially things that are off limits.”
Flaw
“I’ll say anything to avoid getting in trouble.”
K’Tulah
Neutral good tabaxi scholar (age 30)
K’Tulah is a gregarious tabaxi, a catlike humanoid. She arrived at Candlekeep six days ago and received permission to use the library to conduct her research on regional forms of folk magic.
She is an animated talker whose exaggerated gesticulations while chatting annoy Varnyr, but the elf appreciates her academic expertise.
K’Tulah is a tabaxi druid with the following changes:
- K’Tulah speaks Common and Druidic, and she has
darkvision out to a range of 60 feet. - When K’Tulah moves on her turn in combat, she can double her speed until the end of the turn. Once she uses this ability, she can’t use it again until she moves 0 feet on one of her turns.
- As an action, K’Tulah can make a melee weapon attack with her claws: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (
1d4 ) slashing damage.
Personality Trait
“I talk fast and can carry on a conversation about almost anything.”
Ideal
“Decorum is overrated. Life’s too short for formalities.”
Bond
“The research I’ve collected painstakingly over the past decade is my pride and joy.”
Flaw
“I don’t like feeling trapped.”
Crinkle
Chaotic neutral kenku custodian (age 55)
The aged kenku has lived in the Firefly Cellar for the past twenty-two years as its custodian and caretaker of its fireflies. She has lost many of her feathers, and those that remain are frayed and disheveled. She carries a long staff with a hook on the end, which she uses to change the firefly lamps that hang from the ceiling.
Crinkle has little patience for others, and she regards Senior Scribe Varnyr’s restoration efforts as an invasion. Gailby Smallstone has softened the kenku’s dour disposition with her appreciation of interesting objects.
Crinkle is a kenku who has a
Personality Trait
“I’m a grump who prefers to be left alone.”
Ideal
“I’m drawn to beautiful and interesting works of art.”
Bond
“I cherish the stash of trinkets and treasures I’ve accumulated.”
Flaw
“I rub my hands together constantly, as though washing them.”
Starting the Adventure
The adventure takes place in the Firefly Cellar beneath the House of Rest. Characters might find themselves drawn to this location for one of two reasons. Perhaps the House of Rest has had an influx of guests, and the characters are forced to stay in the only available rooms, which happen to be in the Firefly Cellar. Alternatively, the idea of taking lodging in an actual part of the library, close to a collection of ancient books, might be a compelling enough reason for the characters to stay there.
The characters descend into the Firefly Cellar through the hatch in the ceiling of area area F1. As they do, read the description of area F1 to the players.
When they arrive, they find the elderly elf Varnyr precariously balanced on a ladder while arranging a few of the flowerpots on top of one of the bookcases. She’s engrossed in her work. Before the characters say anything, she starts speaking without looking at them.
“Ebder, are you back?”
“I never left!” grumbles a voice from below.
“Oh?” The elf looks down and seems surprised at your presence. Then she says, indicating the room around her, “Ah. Visitors. I’m Scribe Varnyr. Sorry for the state of things. As you see, the restoration project is a work in progress. I’ll be with you shortly.” She returns to her work. A moment later, she says, “Actually, would you mind bringing that stack of books downstairs to Ebder? I’ll meet you there.” She points to a small pile of books on a stool. “Thanks so much.”
Characters who head downstairs to area area F2 find Ebder sitting at the table, hunched over a book. Visibly annoyed, he acknowledges the characters as follows:
“Keep your voices down, please. I just put my daughter to bed.”
Ebder gives his name if asked. If the characters present him the pile of books, he pinches the bridge of his nose with a sigh and explains that the books are not for him but for the other guest, K’Tulah, who’s staying in one of the rooms below. He gives the characters directions to her room (area area F13) and asks them to deliver the books.
If they agree, K’Tulah is grateful for the delivery and starts a conversation about her scholarly work.
After an hour, Varnyr finds the characters and apologetically says that she’s exhausted from the day’s work and they will talk in the morning. She offers areas area F8 and area F12 as rooms for the characters to stay the night. Behind her is Crinkle with a tray of food for them. With that, Varnyr bids them good night and leaves the characters alone.
The characters can look around the library, talk with Ebder for a few more hours, or go to their rooms. Ebder isn’t much of a conversationalist, but he warms up if anyone asks about his daughter, Gailby.
Events
Below is a detailed look at the six events that play out over the course of the adventure.
Event 1: Quarantined
After your first night in the Firefly Cellar, you gather around a table in the center of the collection’s main floor. It’s quiet, until you notice that your companions are humming a melody under their breath—the same tune that’s been stuck in your head since you woke up. After a moment, you realize that you too are humming along.
The characters are humming Shemshime’s rhyme. They don’t know it by name, and though they all hum it perfectly, they’re not entirely certain they knew it before today. Unknown to the characters, the cursed tune spread to them when Gailby Smallstone sang it in the hall outside the characters' room after she heard it from Crinkle.
K’Tulah and Ebder share the table with the characters. Ebder is reading from the same book he had last night. The humming clearly bothers him, and after a short time, he sternly asks the characters to keep quiet in the library. If the characters try to stop humming, they notice they can’t do so without conscious effort (see “area Resisting the Rhyme").
After a few minutes, Ebder begins humming the melody as well, though he is unaware of it at first. Moments later, the hatch in the ceiling of the upper floor (area area F1) slams shut, followed by the sound of several mechanical locks engaging. Varnyr, the senior-ranking Avowed in the place, has locked the hatch, sealing herself, the characters, Ebder, Gailby, K’Tulah, and Crinkle inside the Firefly Cellar.
As she descends the spiral staircase to area area F2, she hums the cursed tune in a soft voice. With effort, Varnyr suppresses her humming and shares the following information:
“When I first arrived at Candlekeep, the Avowed were concerned about a ‘singing madness.' A book merchant had been afflicted with it and was put in isolation after several Avowed began singing the song as well.” She pauses and frowns. “I don’t know what happened to him or the others. That was six hundred years ago.”
She gathers her composure and adds, “I’ve alerted the Avowed and sealed the exit to stop whatever this is from spreading.”
K’Tulah is vocal about her discomfort with being confined down here. Ebder regards the quarantine as a minor annoyance and complains that all the commotion interferes with his work. Crinkle and Gailby are not present.
Varnyr refuses to speculate about the “madness,” since she’s not a spellcaster and doesn’t want to guess at the cause without evidence. “But perhaps you can find an answer in all this,” she says, waving at the disheveled room.
The characters can explore the Firefly Cellar and talk with the residents. As they do, emphasize the concentration needed to resist humming the melody.
When you think it’s appropriate, introduce area event 2.
Talking to the Residents
Each of the Firefly Cellar’s residents offers their own information and perspective.
Crinkle
The steward of the Firefly Cellar is in the kitchen (area area F7) preparing breakfast. She whistles the melody absentmindedly. If approached by the characters, she is dismissive and grows irritated if they pester her.
Ebder
He remains in the stacks, seated at the table. If questioned by the characters, he says he has been working in the scriptorium (area area F3). Nothing has been out of the ordinary, unless you count the kenku, who keeps shuffling through that room on the way to and from her supply closet.
Gailby
She’s in her room (area area F9). If the characters approach her, she’s more interested in showing off her toys than in fielding questions. If she’s asked about her drawings, she gets scared that she’s in trouble and becomes quiet.
K’Tulah
After an hour in the stacks, the tabaxi can be found in her room (area area F13). She’s having trouble concentrating on her work and is visibly anxious. If approached by the characters, she tells them she came here to study, not to get sealed away in a tomb.
Varnyr
The senior scribe remains in the stacks for an hour before retiring to her room (area area F14). She has already shared everything she knows about the curse affecting them. If asked about what she’s been doing lately, she explains that she has been dividing her time between fixing up the balcony level and working in the bindery repairing books. She is able to suppress the urge to hum the melody without any outward signs of duress.
Exit Hatch
The hatch has been targeted by an
Shemshime’s Influence
| d6 | Phenomenon |
|---|---|
| 1 | For the next 10 minutes, all the fireflies in the lamps flicker out at irregular intervals, leaving the library in darkness for several seconds at a time. |
| 2 | Random books fly off the shelves. Each creature in area areas F1, area F2, or area F14 must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or take 2 ( |
| 3 | The library becomes much colder. This drop in temperature lasts until the end of the adventure. |
| 4 | Three Shadow appear in the same area as the characters. The shadows attack the characters but disappear at the end of their third turn in combat if they have not been destroyed by then. |
| 5 | Shemshime’s foul magic manifests as a random character’s worst nightmare. That character must make a DC 12 Intelligence saving throw. On a failed save, the character takes 9 ( |
| 6 | Choose three creatures in the Firefly Cellar. Each one must succeed on a DC 14 Wisdom saving throw, or it takes 7 ( |
Event 2: Ebder’s Outburst
Ebder is seated at the table in area area F2 when this event occurs.
A shrill sound tears through the Firefly Cellar, overpowering all other noise. Though it rapidly rises to an uncanny pitch, you recognize Ebder’s voice.
Anyone in area area F2 sees that Ebder’s eyes are bulging in terror. As he hums the rhyme’s melody, the rest of his body is
Shemshime’s influence has begun to reach into the world. When Ebder stops singing, roll on the Shemshime’s Influence table to find out what happens next.
Haunting Occurrences
After Ebder’s outburst, Shemshime’s influence manifests in the Firefly Cellar in several unsettling ways. From this point forward, whenever at least half the characters are singing Shemshime’s rhyme, roll on the Shemshime’s Influence table to determine what happens. Add more of these rolls as you see fit, even during later events.
Event 3: Singing Skull
The remains of Yowen Pilt, the book seller who brought the book and its curse to Candlekeep, are hidden in a secret compartment in area area F4. This event begins when his skull starts singing the words to the rhyme.
The tune continues to tug at each of your minds, willing you to intone its sequence of notes. The notes take on the shapes of words you’re certain you’ve never heard before but are somehow familiar to you as lyrics.
Share the area handout of Shemshime’s rhyme with your players. The final stanza is absent from the handout. Going forward, whenever a character is compelled to hum Shemshime’s rhyme, they sing the words to the tune instead.
You become aware that the song is not only in your head. Somewhere nearby, a deep and melodic voice is singing the words.
The skull continues to sing unless it’s destroyed or Shemshime is trapped in Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme. The skull is a Tiny object with AC 15, 4 hit points, and immunity to poison damage.
Event 4: Escape Attempt
K’Tulah reaches the end of her patience with being confined, and she tries to break the quarantine. This event can begin in any area.
When you’re ready to begin this event, read the following boxed text aloud:
K’Tulah, biting her lip to keep from singing, slumps to the floor with her back against a wall and her head in her hands. After a moment her ears flatten, and she springs up and takes off at a full sprint.
K’Tulah runs for the hatch in the ceiling of area area F1. She tries to evade anyone who stands in her path but fights them if necessary. If she reaches the hatch, she attempts to force the door. When that doesn’t work, she demands that Varnyr open it, but Varnyr refuses. Unless K’Tulah is subdued, she attacks Varnyr to get the key.
A character can try to calm K’Tulah, doing so with a successful DC 15 Charisma (
Event 5: Puppets
This event can occur in any area except Crinkle’s room (area area F11).
The air around you feels thick. It presses in on you from all sides, prickling your nerves. Your muscles twitch, as though something is yanking on them with invisible strings.
Crinkle and Gailby flee to Crinkle’s room (area F11) when this event begins.
Choose half of the remaining characters, including NPCs (other than Gailby and Crinkle). Those who are not under the effect of a
Creatures whose actions and movements are being controlled by Shemshime remain aware of what’s going on around them, but they are powerless to stop themselves from causing harm in accordance with Shemshime’s wishes.
Shemshime’s control over a creature is broken by the break enchantment effect of a
Event 6: Shemshime
The final event revolves around interacting with the book and learning the last stanza of the rhyme, which tells how to foil Shemshime and end the curse. Meanwhile, Shemshime coalesces around the book, lashing out at the characters to stop them from thwarting its manifestation.
As event 5 concludes, read or paraphrase:
Gailby appears in the doorway, blood spattered on her face and down the front of her clothes. She’s shaking, with wide eyes, and holding a large, square book that has blood on the corner of its metal spine.
The book in Gailby’s possession is Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme. Though she’s reluctant to share the truth, Gailby admits that she knocked Crinkle
Repairing the Music Box
The key feature of Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme is its music box, which broke centuries ago. Rather than playing the tune all the way through, it skips near the end and starts over. The same is true for the pop-up scene that plays out when the book is opened.
The damage to the exterior of the box is immediately noticeable to characters who inspect it. A successful DC 15 Intelligence check reveals the problem. Anyone proficient with jeweler’s tools or tinker’s tools has advantage on the roll. Inside the music box is a brass cylinder dotted with tiny pegs. When the cylinder turns, narrow bits of metal pluck the pegs to produce the notes of the melody. The cylinder is sitting askew, which prevents it from working properly. Fixing the music box requires three successful DC 15 Dexterity checks, each check requiring an action. These checks can be made by one character or multiple characters working together.
Characters who try to fix the music box hear Shemshime’s maddening whispers in their heads. After making an ability check to fix the music box, regardless of whether the check succeeds or not, a character must make a DC 13 Intelligence saving throw, taking 14 (
Once fixed, the music box plays its tune to the end. As it does so, the words of the rhyme’s final stanza form in the characters' minds (see “area The Rhyme"). The scene played out in the book also continues to its conclusion, showing the tiny representation of Shemshime being crushed beneath a millstone.
Confrontation
Singing the final stanza draws Shemshime into the room.
The book trembles, and its mechanical inner workings squeal to a halt for a moment before whirring back to life. You hear clicks, and shadows burst forth from the book like steam from a kettle, collecting along the ceiling until wisps of darkness outline a vague humanoid figure. Meanwhile, the scenes inside the book transform, creating an entirely new picture that includes tiny cutout figures of yourselves.
Shemshime attacks the characters, focusing its attention on anyone near the book. It also tries to break the characters' concentration, since it gains power when the rhyme is sung.
The newly formed illustration in the book displays a facsimile of the Firefly Cellar, complete with tiny cutout figures of the characters and NPCs. Noteworthy in the scene is the replica of the enormous sculpture hanging from the ceiling above the stacks (see area area F1 for a description of the sculpture).
Destroying the Book
Destroying the book does nothing to defeat or otherwise impede Shemshime. Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme is a Tiny object with AC 14, 15 hit points, a damage threshold of 15 (see “object hit points” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide), and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Defeating Shemshime
To defeat Shemshime, it must be crushed by an object weighing at least 1,000 pounds. Objects in the Firefly Cellar that qualify include the book sculpture suspended from the ceiling in area area F1, the bookcases in areas F1 and F2, and the stone table in area area F2.
Luring Shemshime to where it can be crushed takes some effort. Because Shemshime is fixated on the book, the spirit pursues whoever has it. In other words, the characters can use the book itself to lure Shemshime into harm’s way.
Once Shemshime is in position, a character can use an action to drop or topple a heavy object on it. Shemshime must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to avoid being crushed under the object. On a failed save, Shemshime vanishes and one of the following outcomes occurs:
- If the book is intact, Shemshime is yanked back into the book. It slams shut, silencing the music box and ending the curse.
- If the book has been destroyed, Shemshime is pulled into the nearest closed book, ending the curse. That book transforms into a copy of Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme, destroying the book’s original content in the process.
Once Shemshime is trapped again, Varnyr or whoever has the key unlocks the hatch in area F1. Varnyr or Ebder immediately takes the book to lock it away in one of Candlekeep’s secure vaults.
Reward
The Avowed give the characters a
Troubleshooting
The adventure assumes that the quarantine remains intact. But there’s a reasonable chance the characters in your game will want to leave the confines of the Firefly Cellar or even help K’Tulah escape. It’s up to you whether to allow this and to consider how Candlekeep responds.
If the characters get bogged down in researching the books on the shelves, roll on the Shemshime’s Influence table to maintain a sense of peril.
The Firefly Cellar
The basement library known as the Firefly Cellar is located beneath the House of Rest. It’s entirely below ground, containing a collection of old manuscripts that focus primarily on travelogues and regional customs. Until Senior Scribe Varnyr initiated a restoration effort, its books had been largely neglected over the past few centuries.
Encounter Locations F1-F7
The Firefly Cellar has three floors. The upper two contain the book collection. Despite its age, the cellar appears well kept, with smooth stone walls and worn wooden floorboards covered here and there with new rugs. The only entrance is a metallic orange hatch set into the ceiling at the top of the stairs that lead down into area F1.
The bottom floor contains a kitchen and living quarters. For many years, Crinkle was the only occupant, but Varnyr, Ebder, and Gailby have moved in during the recent restoration effort.
The Firefly Cellar has no windows. Unless otherwise noted, orange-gold light emanates from bottles of fireflies either set into alcoves in the wall or hanging from fixtures.
The following locations are keyed to the map of the Firefly Cellar.
F1. The Stacks, Balcony
The circular room contains curved, dark wood bookcases packed with books of assorted shapes, sizes, and ages. Flowers in ceramic pots line the tops of the shelves, giving the area a sweet fragrance. Alcoves are spaced at regular intervals around the perimeter of the room. Four of them contain polished bronze statues of bespectacled scholars, and three hold overstuffed chairs. In the center of the room, a brass railing surrounds an overlook that gives a view of the lower level of the stacks.
Hanging from the ceiling, above the opening in the floor, is an enormous stone sculpture of an open book that looks as though the cover is flapping to keep it aloft. A spiral staircase to the east leads down, as well as up to the trapdoor exit set into the ceiling. The occasional errant firefly flits about.
Varnyr’s restoration project began in this room, and it’s tidier and more welcoming than the chamber below. She has brought in rugs and flowers and polished the statues. Three of the statues were in such a poor state that she replaced them with comfortable reading chairs.
The bookcases are 10 feet tall, and each one has a new rolling ladder attached to it.
Area F2 is visible from the balcony.
Book Lift
A rope-and-pulley mechanism with a fraying basket at one end is fixed to the railing. Centuries ago, the Avowed put it here to move books between floors. It’s essentially a large lidded wicker basket that can be lowered or raised. It’s not in the best condition, so it holds a maximum of 50 pounds without falling apart. The box is currently raised, and the rope is tied to the railing.
Characters who search the book lift find two small children’s dolls. One has a scythe with a handle made from a round paintbrush and a blade cut from paper. The other doll is missing its feet.
Flying Book Sculpture
This piece of stonework is 12 feet across and weighs 1,500 pounds. The cover is etched with the words “BE CURIOUS.” It’s suspended above area F2 by three chains, but the chains' fittings in the ceiling beam above are in bad shape. If 200 pounds or more are added to the weight of the sculpture, the chains come out of the ceiling and the sculpture falls. Alternatively, striking the chains with enough force to break them makes it fall. Each chain has AC 19, 5 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
F2. The Stacks
The musty smell of old books hangs in the air here. Concentric rings of bookcases dominate the space, with a heavy granite table occupying the room’s center. The table would be a circle, but for six semicircular gaps cut into it around its edge, creating spaces for six chairs. Small stacks of books rest on the table along with a candleholder that contains firefly-filled jars.
The Firefly Cellar’s general study area encourages quiet reading. The shape of the table creates six individual study spaces. The table weighs around 300 pounds, and four rolled-up indigo rugs rest underneath. Varnyr intends to use the 15-foot-long and 5-foot-wide carpeting as runners in the north, east, south, and west aisles on this floor.
The bookcases are 10 feet tall. Two of them have attached rolling ladders. An unattached ladder leans against a shelf in the southwest part of the room.
Looking up, characters can see into area F1 and the enormous stone book sculpture dangling overhead.
F3. Scriptorium
All around, fireflies float lazily about like embers caught in the air. Three writing desks sit against the north wall, with a sheepskin rug beneath each one. On one of the desks rests a book beside a stack of paper, along with a stoppered ink jar and a porcupine quill pen. Another desk has a leather case on it. A moldering tapestry hangs, off-center, on the west wall. To the southeast is a wood-paneled wall with a closed door set into it. A weak yellow glow emanates from under this door.
This room is dedicated to the copying of library texts. The three desks are of fine quality but could use maintenance. Ebder works here to create new copies of books deemed unrepairable. The book on the desk has a bookmark poking out from its pages. It’s an ancient tome, its title worn away over time. Its pages fall out if it’s opened. The leather case on the other desk contains a set of
The door in the wood-paneled wall is closed with a padlocked latch. Crinkle has the key but gives it up only grudgingly, explaining that the fireflies should not be disturbed. A character can pick the lock with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check, or it can be destroyed. The lock has AC 19, 5 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Writing on the Wall
Anyone who searches behind the tapestry finds words scratched into the stone wall—the lyrics of Shemshime’s rhyme except for the final stanza. They were carved by Yowen Pilt, who was sealed in this room because of his madness.
F4. Firefly Room
This small room is awash in the glow of thousands of fireflies. The luminescent insects flit around inside more than a dozen glass terrariums that fill shelves along the walls. A steady plinking noise results from their bouncing off the glass. Shallow wooden boxes are packed on the lowest shelves.
A former supply closet for the scriptorium, this room was outfitted by Crinkle for raising and caring for fireflies. The boxes on the lowest shelves contain vials of liquid nutrient for the insects.
Writing on the Floor
A successful DC 12 Wisdom (
Secret Compartment
A loose stone in the floor lies beneath the lowest shelf on the east wall. Finding it requires a successful DC 20 Intelligence (
F5. Bindery
Leather bits, wood shavings, and paper scraps litter the floor near a large workbench. Tools and contraptions are organized neatly around a handful of books in different states of disrepair. Stools surround the bench, one of which has a leather apron draped over it.
Books in need of repair are brought to the bindery. Varnyr loves this task, and it’s her work on display on the bench. The tools are used for bookbinding, leatherworking, woodcarving, and painting.
A ledger rests on one of the stools. It’s open to a list of four book titles, each one with a “repairs needed” entry beside it. The titles and their associated repairs are as follows:
Festivals and Festivities of Ancient Cormyr: replace cover
Living a Dream: Three Years Among Stone Giants: replace cover
Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme: repair spine
Halfling Superstitions: rebind
A character who succeeds on a DC 12 Wisdom (
F6. The Worm Tunnel
This passage is accessible by the west stairs in area area F2.
It’s cold here. A low, barrel-vaulted ceiling crowds the already narrow passage. Light from a firefly lamp that hangs on a hook in the wall is inadequate to illuminate the entire space.
This claustrophobic hallway runs beneath the stacks, leading to the living quarters. At the far end is a closed but unlocked door. Lamps hang from hooks every 10 feet on alternating sides of the passage but only one lamp, around halfway into the passage, gives off light. The others have dead fireflies piled at the bottom of them.
F7. Kitchen
A dirty skillet stands out among an otherwise immaculate kitchen, and the smell of bacon in the air hints at the skillet’s former contents. A door in the southeast corner hangs open a crack.
An oven occupies one corner; instead of being heated by open flames, it has a coil of iron enchanted with the
The southeast door leads to a hallway that connects to areas F8 through F14.
Encounter Locations F8-F14
F8. Avowed Quarters
Two beds, positioned on opposite walls, flank a washbasin in an otherwise bare room. Both beds are made, but the blanket on one of them is a bit rumpled.
In the past, this room would have housed two Avowed, but it’s scarcely used nowadays. If the characters stay in the cellar overnight, this is one of their rooms. Otherwise, the room is unoccupied.
F9. Gailby’s Room
The door to this room is open.
A child sleeps here. Toys are scattered on an unmade bed, and piles of clothes obscure all but a few bare patches of the floorboards. Above a writing desk in the corner dangles a dragon marionette made from brass and wood, with wings of canvas dyed red. A round firefly lamp hangs in the opposite corner.
Gailby has been drawing creepy pictures that depict scenes from Shemshime’s Bedtime Rhyme. They’re done in loud colored paint and in a style typical of a child, making them all the more unsettling. One of the images shows a man whose feet have been severed. Blood pours from his ankles and from the severed feet next to him. Another shows a boy underwater, grasping at his throat. The last one shows a dog with a severed hand in its mouth. A black cloud hovers over each scene.
F10. Ebder’s Room
This sparse bedroom is tidy, apart from a clay bowl containing the remnants of a particularly vinegary meal resting on a large trunk.
Other than the trunk, which holds a set of Avowed robes and a heavy wool coat, the room is furnished with a bed, a small round table with a rickety chair, and a mirror hanging above a washbasin. A round, woven green rug with gray fringe covers the floor.
Anyone who looks under the bed finds an ornate circular box decorated with silver filigree. Inside the box is a small glass figurine of a woman fixed to a wooden stand and a post meant to hold a ring, though the ring is missing. These items are Ebder’s keepsakes of his deceased wife, Valeshti.
F11. Crinkle’s Room
Crinkle has the key to this locked room. A character can use an action to try to pick the lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check, or force open the door with a successful DC 20 Strength (
This room is crawling with wingless, larval fireflies. Hundreds of these tiny glowworms cling to every surface, shedding light throughout. A canvas hammock hangs between two pillars near the center of the room. An engraving of a goat wearing a crown leans against the north wall.
When characters enter the room for the first time after area event 6, add the following:
Against the far wall is Crinkle’s slumped form. The silence in the room is interrupted periodically by her ragged breaths.
There is nothing remarkable about the crowned goat engraving that leans against the north wall. It’s about 3 feet tall and weighs 150 pounds.
Hidden Treasure
Anyone who has a passive Wisdom (
F12. Avowed Quarters
A beautiful painting of Candlekeep on the south wall looms over the five beds that crowd this room. A narrow shelf tucked into the northeast corner holds jars of fruit preserves and pickled vegetables.
If the characters stay in the cellar overnight, this becomes one of their assigned rooms. Otherwise, the room is unoccupied.
F13. K’Tulah’s Room
This room is furnished with a bed, a washbasin, and a writing desk. The desk has a tiny clockwork oyster resting on it.
Treasure
Lying next to the clockwork oyster is a metal key. If a character uses an action to wind the mechanical oyster with the key, the oyster produces soothing ocean sounds for 10 minutes. This nonmagical device is worth 50 gp.
F14. Varnyr’s Room
This bedroom could be another wing of the library for all the books packed into the shelves that line the walls. Two five-foot-tall candlesticks in the middle of the room have magical flames flickering atop them—a welcome reprieve from the relatively dim light of the firefly lamps.
Each candlestick is lit by a continual light spell that Varnyr can suppress by speaking a command word known only to her. The books in here represent Varnyr’s personal collection.
The room includes a large cushion (which Varnyr sits on whenever she enters a trance to rest), an armoire, and a green velvet reading chair. The armoire contains clothes as well as a pile of books that won’t fit on the shelves.