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An Adventure for 5th-level Characters
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Developed & Edited by Scott Fitzgerald Gray
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Written by Mark Hulmes
In this adventure, the characters learn the secret of the unique magic bound into a book of tips for channeling self-love and inner beauty, and they break up the sinister plots of a coven of hags.
Despite its ordinary contents, The Price of Beauty radiates auras of illusion and conjuration magic courtesy of a magic mirror set into its cover. Though the full function of the mirror has never been determined by the Avowed, the book is known to speak to some of those who read it—including an acolyte who has vanished from Candlekeep without a trace.
Beginning the Adventure
Start the adventure by having the characters seeking The Price of Beauty, or have them simply come across the book while undertaking other research in Candlekeep. Characters who come to the library looking for information involving Sune (god of love and beauty) will have the tome recommended to them. Or you could have a vain, wealthy noble hire the party to track down the book and have its advice copied by the scribes in the House of the Binder.
Depending on how you bring the book into the possession of the characters, they might spend enough time with it to discover the magic of the mirror on their own. In that case, see the “area Mirror Magic” section later in the adventure for details. Either way, read or paraphrase the following when you’re ready to begin:
A nervous muttering precedes the approach of one of the Avowed, who scans the tomes on the surrounding shelves as they draw near to you. “She must have been here… I don’t understand…” they murmur as they catch sight of you.
“Ah. Forgive this disturbance,” the acolyte says. “But I’m looking for…” They stop short as they catch sight of The Price of Beauty. “Yes, I’m looking for that.” Then, looking over your group, the acolyte appears saddened. “But you haven’t seen anyone else… well, you haven’t seen Falthrax, have you?”
The acolyte is Lorris Niss, a middle-aged, neutral good half-elf searching for a missing friend. Falthrax Loderr is a shield dwarf acolyte whom Lorris last saw two days before. Lorris is clearly upset but maintains her composure as she shares the following information:
- Falthrax is a dear friend who has been troubled of late by depression; he talked of feeling as though his life is passing him by.
- The dwarf’s mood had improved in the last tenday after he discovered a book in the Candlekeep stacks—The Price of Beauty. Already a worshiper of Sune, god of beauty, Falthrax talked of how the book spoke to him, and how its advice on meditation and self-worth was helping him.
- The last time Lorris saw Falthrax, the dwarf was in a sad mood and said that he was going to spend time with the book. Falthrax didn’t return to his quarters that night and hasn’t been seen since. He was noticed entering the stacks where The Price of Beauty is kept, but no one saw him leave.
Book Description
The Price of Beauty is bound in soft green leather, eight inches wide and fourteen inches tall, and set with golden clasps. The book gives off the unmistakable scent of lilies. Set into its cover is a polished oval mirror with a delicate gold frame styled like locks of hair, which appear to spill down around the face of anyone who looks into the mirror.
The book is filled with beautiful illustrations of woodland scenes, art, and jewelry. Delicate handwriting accompanies the illustrations, in the form of short prayers and meditations dedicated to seeking self-worth, techniques for massage and healing, and recipes for creating balms and cosmetics.
On the last page is an inscription by the author, Sylvarie Silversong, which reads: “A mirror is a gateway to happiness, truth, and to accepting ourselves.”
Mirror Magic
When any creature holds The Price of Beauty and gazes into the mirror, the image of Sune replaces their own reflection and speaks in a soft voice, saying, “Well met, dearest one. How do you feel today?” (If the characters have not experienced this already, Lorris looks into the mirror while recounting what happened to Falthrax, and then drops the book in fright when it speaks to her.)
The mirror’s unique illusion magic reacts and responds to the creature looking into it. Though it is not sentient and cannot answer complex questions, the mirror offers encouragement and advice on grooming and self-confidence. As it does so, the illusion shows the creature looking into the mirror, but changing and grooming its skin, hair, makeup, and clothing as desired. If the creature holding the book is happy with how it looks, or shows no interest in such matters, the illusion reverts to a normal mirror until used again.
If the creature holding the book mentions a desire to change something about itself, or that it feels unwell, tired, or unhappy, the illusion responds, “If rest, relaxation, or transformation is what you need, then follow the lilies, dearest one. I am sure Sylvarie will see to your needs.” The mirror then glows softly, and a 5-foot-wide, 7-foot-high portal appears in the nearest unoccupied space. The portal leads to an old woodland trail marked by posts that resemble sculpted stone lilies. As the characters will discover, the portal leads to a temple and bathhouse run by three elf sisters, where all is not as it seems.
The portal remains active for 5 minutes, then vanishes. The Price of Beauty cannot be used to create another portal until the next dawn.
If the portal manifests while Lorris is present, the acolyte guesses correctly that it was the cause of Falthrax’s disappearance. She fears the powerful magic involved and is apprehensive about what might have happened to her friend.
If the characters aren’t inclined to investigate the portal or go after the missing acolyte, Lorris goes to one of the library’s Great Readers to report Falthrax missing, and she mentions having met a group of adventurers in the library. The Great Reader then summons the characters and beseeches them to look into the matter.
Temple of the Restful Lily
This grand temple and bathhouse rests in a serene and ancient grove in the High Forest, southeast of Silverymoon. The temple was built over a century ago by the author of The Price of Beauty, Sylvarie Silversong, after visions bestowed by Sune led her to a hot spring infused with fey magic.
Ten years ago, a coven of green hags calling themselves the Fetid Gaze tricked Sylvarie into a bargain that allowed them to take over the bathhouse. These cruel and cunning fey now use the temple to lure wealthy, greedy, and vain nobles and adventurers, preying on their insecurities and tricking them into accepting dark bargains that ultimately lead to misery.
The temple consists of three buildings. What was once Sylvarie’s private tower has been taken over by the hags as a lair, and a former shrine to Sune has become a prison for the cursed elf. The main bathhouse looks exactly as Sylvarie built it, and it continues to provide services to visitors. Most of the staff of the bathhouse are the coven’s wicked minions in disguise, but also here are an undercover Harper agent, a water spirit, and a cursed kobold—all potential allies who can reveal the coven’s malicious machinations.
The Fetid Gaze
Three Green Hag named Dread Morgan, Vile Sazha, and Auntie Greenbones were once rivals who dwelled in an area of the Feywild coterminous with the High Forest. A decade ago, during a time when the boundaries between the planes thinned, the hags became aware of the magic spring controlled by Sylvarie—and decided to control and corrupt it for their own purposes. The covetous hags each knew part of a ritual for crafting magic paintings that could bind mortal creatures with a terrible curse. After agreeing to share their knowledge and work together, they formed a coven dedicated to claiming Sylvarie’s temple and making it a base for their nefarious plans.
The hags use their powers of illusion to pose as three elf sisters named Morganna, Azirssa, and Greensong. They are typically found in the bathhouse by day and in their tower lair at night. Each hag carries a master key that opens all the doors in the bathhouse and the tower.
Dread Morgan
In her true form, the neutral evil Hag of the Fetid Gaze appears as a thin, pale creature whose long, matted black hair is festooned with ornaments made from bones and teeth. Her mouth curves up unnaturally high at the corners, and her bloodred lips are covered in blisters and boils.
In her disguised form, the hag appears as Morganna, a slender moon elf with smooth black hair and sparkling sapphire eyes. She speaks in a husky, alluring voice and focuses on the business of running the bathhouse.
Dread Morgan knows the ritual needed to bind a creature’s desire to a cursed painting, which is recorded on a tiny scroll hidden in a bone ornament in her hair.
Personality Trait
“I have made subtle insults into an art form.”
Ideal
“Any brute can frighten someone. To truly make someone fearful is a high art.”
Bond
“I will do anything to gain the upper hand over the other members of my coven and make them serve me.”
Flaw
“I find powerful, intimidating figures irresistible.”
Vile Sazha
Without her disguise, the chaotic evil Hag of the Fetid Gaze appears as a hunched figure with one muscular and one withered arm. She has catlike eyes, and rust-red hair covers her head, back, and arms. Her sharp fangs cause her to slur when she speaks, and she hisses and screeches when threatened.
In her disguised form, she appears as Azirssa, an athletic sun elf with copper hair who wears an ornate breastplate with a red fur mantle. She has a confident and jovial voice, and she promotes physical strength and good health.
Vile Sazha knows how to create a suitable canvas for the hags' cursed paintings. This secret is tattooed on her withered arm in Infernal, and it describes a macabre process of stretching elven flesh over a frame made from blood-soaked wood.
Personality Trait
“I despise the weak, and I love to inflict physical pain and violence when I can get away with it.”
Ideal
“Strength is the only thing worth respecting.”
Bond
“Dwarves burned down my home and killed my daughter long ago, and I will hate all their kind forever.”
Flaw
“I am terrified of fire.”
Auntie Greenbones
The eldest member of the Fetid Gaze, the lawful evil Hag of the Fetid Gaze often defers to the other two hags on decision-making. In her true form, she is shriveled and worn, her dark green skin covered in bark and fungus. Insects crawl across her and hide in the thick braid of white hair that curls around her shoulders like a serpent. Anyone who stares into her milky-white, seemingly blind eyes sees a reflection of their own face made decrepit and withered by age.
The hag’s disguise is that of Greensong, a cheerful, rosy-cheeked wood elf who feigns blindness. She wears a delicate white veil across her eyes and speaks in a singsong voice, giggling often. She keeps her guard dog, Morty, with her at all times. This disguised hell hound{@b } appears as a mastiff with bloodshot eyes.
Auntie Greenbones knows how to infuse demon ichor into the paints needed to create the cursed paintings that drive the coven’s evil bargains. This recipe is inscribed on the inside of Morty’s collar.
Personality Trait
“Sometimes I sing to myself when I am distracted. It is an old song of the fey, about a daughter betrayed by her father and given to the unseelie in a bargain.”
Ideal
“Patience is the key to survival. She who laughs last laughs longest.”
Bond
“My beloved dog, Morty, is my world. Were anyone to harm him, I would hunt that person across all the planes if need be.”
Flaw
“Those who have pure hearts literally make me vomit. I mean, I can’t help but heave my bowels in their presence.”
Coven Spells
Each member of Hag of the Fetid Gaze has access to coven spells, as described in the “Hag Covens” sidebar in the Monster Manual. The green hags use the following list of spells for their Shared Spellcasting trait, replacing the suggested spells:
1st level (4 slots):
charm person ,witch bolt 2nd level (3 slots):
alter self ,suggestion 3rd level (3 slots):
dispel magic ,glyph of warding ,slow 4th level (3 slots):
blight ,polymorph 5th level (2 slots):
dominate person ,seeming 6th level (1 slot):
Otto’s irresistible dance
Coven Minions
The hags of the Fetid Gaze employ a number of minions to maintain the appearance that the bathhouse is running normally. Twice a day, the hags use their coven spells (see the “Coven Spells” sidebar) to cast
The following creatures serve the hags:
- Saeth, a cambion, was recruited by Dread Morgan in exchange for a gift of unusual components and secret rituals that he intends to put toward his own evil and ambitious plans one day. Saeth specifically wants to learn the secrets of the cursed paintings, and he is happy to betray his employers to obtain them. He carries a master key that opens all the locks in the bathhouse and the tower except the door to the tower studio (area area T15). He also carries the coven’s hag eye, which is disguised as a cat’s-eye pin on his jacket. For more information on the hag eye, see the “Hags” section in the Monster Manual.
- Morty, a hell hound, belongs to Auntie Greenbones and is her loyal pet. The fiend never leaves her side and fights to the death to defend her. Vile Sazha hates Morty almost as much as she hates dwarves, and would love to see him dead.
- Six Scarecrow were created by the hags to replace the acolytes of Sune who ran the bathhouse with Sylvarie, and whom the hags murdered when they took over. The scarecrows are disguised as attractive humanoids. They don’t speak in their roles as bathhouse staff, but they nod and smile if spoken to.
- Two Gargoyle act as the guardians for the coven’s lair in the tower beyond the bathhouse, disguised as statues of other kinds.
Roleplaying the Hags
The hags use Sylvarie’s tower as their personal lair, but they spend their days in the bathhouse, maintaining their disguises. There, they meet with visitors and seek out potential new clients to manipulate. At night, they retreat to the tower and torment their current victims before resting.
If any guests become suspicious of the hags or their minions, the hags try to use
Once the hags become aware that the adventurers aren’t at the temple for its services, they try to distract them by beseeching the characters for aid, in exchange for one of their special rituals. The hags first try to recruit the characters to destroy Cyrena, the naiad who is bound to the baths (area area T5), claiming that a “capricious elemental spirit” has been attacking guests and trying to claim the bathhouse as its home. If the characters appear particularly capable or dangerous, the hags might also try to trick them into destroying Sylvarie in the sacred pool below the abandoned shrine (area area T12), hoping that the cursed elf-turned-medusa petrifies one or more of them in the process.
The coven’s greatest weakness is the hags' contempt for one another. Each yearns to learn the others' secrets for creating the cursed paintings so that they can replace their rivals with their own daughters one day. Characters who learn these secrets can thus gain considerable leverage over the hags.
Dark Bargains and Cursed Paintings
The process of creating the cursed paintings that are the hallmark of the Fetid Gaze was first attributed to a night hag grandmother whose name other hags fear to speak. The method remains shrouded in secrecy, and each member of the Fetid Gaze knows only one part of the procedure. Each hag guards her knowledge zealously, fearing that giving up her secret would make her expendable to the other hags.
Disguised as elves, the hags tempt guests into undergoing magical transformations. Their rituals, which they call treatments, seem entirely beneficial on the surface (see “area Magic Treatments” below), and the hags are skilled at tricking guests into thinking the benefits outweigh the cost.
The price for these special rituals is described as “some small boon,” which the sisters promise to call for within a year. Any creature that accepts the bargain is taken to the studio in the temple tower (area area T15), where the sisters work together to paint a beautiful portrait of the creature over a period of 1 hour. At the end of that time, the magic of the portrait alters the creature in the desired manner.
The benefits granted by the bargain normally last for a year. After that, the beneficiary suddenly experiences the opposite of the intended effect of the ritual, which transforms the creature into the dark reflection of its initial desire. For example, those who sought physical power are weakened to the point of helplessness, while those who sought beauty become hideous to behold. If a creature renounces the hags' gift before the year is up, this curse takes effect immediately.
Over the last ten years, the hags have cursed hundreds of victims, most of whom have perished as a result of their dark bargains.
Magic Treatments
The magical benefits that the hags typically offer to NPCs can take whatever form makes sense for the story. If one or more of the characters enter into a bargain for the hags' services (even if only to learn more of the procedure), use the following guidelines to determine the benefit to the character.
- Ability Enhancement. If engaging in a bargain to enhance physical or mental acuity, the character chooses one ability. The score for that ability increases by 2, as does the character’s maximum for that score.
- Physical Transformation. A character bargaining with the hags can choose to change their race, sex, or appearance in any way they desire. The character retains their ability scores and class features, but changes their racial traits if applicable.
- Youth. A character who bargains for youth has their age reduced to one year older than the standard for adulthood (as noted in the traits for the character’s race).
All such benefits last no longer than a year, and they end immediately if the painting of the character created by the hags is destroyed. If a character keeps their painting for a year or renounces the bargain, you can decide what effect the curse brings about. A cursed character also gains the following flaw, which suppresses any conflicting personality trait the character already possesses: “My appearance and how others perceive me is of the utmost importance to me.”
Destroying the Paintings
The paintings' magic persists even if the hags are killed, and destroying a painting is the only way to end its curse. Any creature that studies all three parts of the procedure for creating a cursed painting knows that the painting is impervious to damage unless its magic can be momentarily disrupted. Without full knowledge of the procedure, it takes 1 hour of studying a painting and a successful DC 18 Intelligence (
A creature can use an action to try to destroy a painting, doing so with a successful DC 18 Strength (
A compulsion placed on each cursed creature prevents it from trying to destroy a cursed painting.
Coven Victims
In addition to the missing Falthrax, several other victims of the hags' curse are presently at the temple:
Sylvarie Silversong (a neutral good moon elf) founded the Temple of the Restful Lily after being drawn to the hot spring by the visions of Sune. Her deep-seated insecurity over serving the god of beauty was her downfall. Hoping to develop more confidence in her role as a priest of Sune, she was drawn into a bargain with the hags that saw her transformed into a medusa and trapped in the temple’s former shrine for ten years. See area area T12 for more information.
Gorba Daardenrian (a lawful neutral dragonborn of gold dragon ancestry) was a mighty warrior who sought even greater strength through her bargain with the hags. When she realized the true nature of the bargain shortly before the curse struck, the dragonborn returned to the temple to challenge the coven, but she became a withered husk of her former self as she arrived (use the commoner stat block for her current state). Now trapped here, she is especially fearful of Vile Sazha, who torments her relentlessly.
Glitter (a chaotic good male tiefling) is a member of the Waterdeep Jewelers Guild, as well as an informant for one of the Masked Lords of the city. He came to the temple wanting to be a few inches taller, thinking the extra height would prove advantageous when conducting business transactions, but he renounced the hags' bargain when his new, taller form didn’t suit him. The hags' curse transformed him into a kobold (though he uses the spy stat block). In his new form, Glitter now bitterly serves the hags, speaking eloquently and addressing guests kindly. If the characters agree to help him undo the hags' curse, Glitter assures them they will gain a powerful ally in Waterdeep, as well as receive 500 gp in gems as soon as he can return to the city.
Falthrax Loderr (a neutral good shield dwarf commoner) became fearful of growing old after a lifetime of dedication to Candlekeep. After coming through the portal and being drawn in by the splendor and magic of the bathhouse, he bargained with the hags to restore his youth. But when second thoughts caused him to renounce the bargain, the hags' curse aged him well into his venerable years, and he is now wracked with constant pain. Having no idea how to return to Candlekeep and his old life, he has accepted his fate with quiet resignation, and he weeps quietly to himself when anyone speaks to him.
Guests of the Temple
The Temple of the Restful Lily is known among the more elite folk of the Sword Coast, and any number of those folk might be visiting when the characters arrive. You can roll for or choose entries from the Temple Guests table, or use those guests as inspiration for your own NPCs.
Temple Guests
| d8 | Guest(s) |
|---|---|
| 1 | A drow poses as Jarlaxle Baenre, the leader of a famous mercenary band called Bregan D’aerthe, in the hope of obtaining discounted treatments. The impostor’s disguise is easily detected by anyone who has met the real Jarlaxle. |
| 2 | A veteran of the Flaming Fist, a ruthless mercenary company based in the city of Baldur’s Gate, has come to the temple to recover from a leg injury. The treatments and physical therapy are helping, but the mercenary is bored and looking for excitement. |
| 3 | A pair of halfling Scout from the coastal city of Neverwinter used the profits from a recent shady job to treat themselves to a luxurious stay at the temple, but they are paranoid about other guests recognizing them. |
| 4 | A merchant and her wife (both Commoner) have come to the bathhouse to celebrate their anniversary, but it is clear that the two are having relationship issues. One of them wants to go home, while the other does not. |
| 5 | A young knight who belongs to an order called the Purple Dragons has traveled all the way to the temple from Cormyr, seeking Sune’s advice on how best to impress their betrothed. |
| 6 | A dwarf noble from Citadel Adbar, a dwarven city-stronghold far to the north, recently suffered a magical malady causing them to lose all their hair. Wearing a wig and fake beard, they have come to the temple hoping to find a cure for the condition before the truth is found out. |
| 7 | A rock gnome inventor (use the noble stat block) from the city of Silverymoon has come to the bathhouse to sell the owners a collection of cleaning gadgets. |
| 8 | A lawful neutral assassin targeting evil nobles has come to the bathhouse to hide out from the authorities, after recently botching an assignment in Waterdeep or some other city of your choice. |
Arriving at the Temple
The Temple of the Restful Lily is built around a fey-enchanted hot spring in a large open grove in the High Forest. The woodland trail accessed through the portal created by The Price of Beauty leads to the temple from the east after a journey of a quarter mile. A longer trail leads west from the temple, winds northward, and ends at the edge of the forest south of Silverymoon. Both trails converge on the south side of the bathhouse building and the double doors leading into area area T1.
If the characters put off entering the bathhouse building to first wander the grounds, the cambion Saeth (see “area Coven Minions” earlier in the adventure) leaves area area T1 to intercept them. He encourages the characters to return with him to the bathhouse, describing the abandoned shrine as a dangerous place to be avoided, and saying that the tower is a private residence that cannot be entered. He does not force the issue, however.
Saeth calls for reinforcements if he is attacked or if anyone tries to forcibly enter the abandoned shrine or the tower. If the characters are intent on starting this part of the adventure with combat, you might lead off with a challenging fight against the hags and all their servants, then have the characters put the pieces of the mystery together in the aftermath.
Temple Features
The following features are common to all areas of the bathhouse, the tower, and the shrine unless otherwise noted.
Relaxing at the Restful Lily
The Temple of the Restful Lily offers many services and treatments that characters in search of rest and respite can make use of. This feature of the place can allow the characters to socialize with the NPCs in residence—or can provide opportunities for the coven’s minions to attack them while their guard is down. Health services at the temple include the following:
Entry to the bathhouse costs 5 gp per person and includes the use of the enchanted baths, a comfortable robe, and a private changing room with a lockable trunk to store weapons and equipment.
Lodging for visitors who want to stay overnight at the temple is available at a cost of 4 gp per person. Meals cost 5 sp, and the lounge offers a wide range of beverages.
Characters can enjoy a haircut, a shave, or a waxing for 2 gp, 1 gp, or 10 gp, respectively.
Massages can be booked for 20 gp and last for an hour.
A manicure and pedicure costs 2 sp. The pedicure might incur an additional fee depending on the cleanliness of the customer’s feet.
- Walls and Floors. The bathhouse and the tower are luxuriously appointed, with walls and floors of polished stone. The stonework in the abandoned shrine is crumbling and caked with grime.
- Doors. Inside the bathhouse and the tower, wooden doors are carved with images of water lilies. Doors in the bathhouse are normally unlocked, but they can be locked by anyone who has a master key. Doors in the tower are normally locked. Unless otherwise noted, a locked door can be opened with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, broken in with a successful DC 15 Strength (
Athletics ) check, or attacked. A door has AC 15, 18 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. - Windows. Within the bathhouse and the tower, finely made windows display abstract designs in stained glass. A window can be broken through with a successful DC 12 Strength (
Athletics ) check or attacked; each one has AC 13, 3 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. - Light. All areas of the bathhouse and the tower are filled with bright light during the day and evening, either from sunlight or lanterns. After midnight, these areas are dark unless characters are using a light source. The ground floor of the shrine (area area T11) is unlit, while its basement is lit by a magic pool (see area area T12 for details).
Temple Locations T1-T9
The following locations are keyed to the maps of the Temple of the Restful Lily.
T1. Lobby
The double doors open to the sound of a bell. Beyond the doors is a large lobby, the air heavy with the scent of fresh lilies. A desk stands at the center of the room, holding neatly piled papers and fresh-cut lilies in a vase. A dark-haired man in fine clothes stands up from behind the desk as he sees you.
“Welcome, friends, to the Restful Lily. Freshen yourselves in our luxurious bathhouse. Or perhaps you’d enjoy a massage? Haircut? A shave or pedicure? Oh! Road-tired feet simply cry out for comfort! Whatever your pleasure, I am here to serve.”
The lobby is staffed by the disguised cambion Saeth (see “area Coven Minions” earlier in the adventure). He greets the characters warmly and is happy to explain the treatments and services on offer (as noted in the “area Relaxing at the Restful Lily” sidebar). If the characters ask about the missing Falthrax, Saeth feigns ignorance. If the characters aren’t interested in the Restful Lily’s services at present, he encourages them to look around. In any event, as soon as he is able to do so, he leaves the characters to their own devices and slips away to inform one of the hags about the party’s arrival before returning to his desk. The characters are free to explore the temple on their own at this point.
T2. Changing Rooms
A corridor beyond the lobby runs between two rows of curtained cubicles, where guests can change out of traveling clothes and armor. Each cubicle contains a wooden stool, two white robes hanging on hooks, and a large wooden trunk with a lock.
If the characters pay to enter the baths or want to enjoy any of the other facilities, they are asked to change and store their weapons and equipment here. One robe of each pair is sized for Medium characters, while the other fits Small characters. Saeth gives a character a numbered key that corresponds to that character’s cubicle and trunk. He carries a master key that opens all the trunks. As an action, a character can try to pick the lock on a trunk using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check, or force open a trunk with a successful DC 12 Strength (
T3. Lounge
Large cushioned chairs are set around this open space. Calming music fills the air, which carries a floral scent. A bar takes up one corner of the room, alongside shelves of expensive wines and spirits and baskets of fresh fruit. Two tables stand along one wall, each set up as a manicure and pedicure station with nail files, clippers, and bottles of nail varnish.
The lounge is watched over by two members of the staff, who serve drinks to the guests and perform other mundane tasks asked of them. Both are disguised Scarecrow (see “area Coven Minions” earlier in the adventure). The music is a permanent auditory illusion.
During the day, the hag Dread Morgan is often here in the guise of the moon elf Morganna, talking to other guests and trying to convince likely prospects to indulge in the temple’s “special treatments.” She takes notice of the characters and welcomes them, playing the part of a gracious host while she tries to learn as much about them as possible.
T4. Garden
An iron fence overgrown with ivy surrounds this small garden. An earthen path weaves between a scattering of trees, flower bushes, and stone benches. Various iron weights, wooden poles, and heavy sacks are strewn about the place.
In the guise of Azirssa, one of the elf sisters, Vile Sazha uses the garden as a place to exercise and torment guests with physical training. One of the trees in the garden is an awakened tree under her control, which she uses in her workouts and which defends her if she is attacked.
When the characters arrive, a few other guests of the temple might be here, looking exhausted and clutching aching limbs while the disguised hag sarcastically congratulates them on doing their best.
Azirssa’s Workouts
Any character who wants to can join in one of the Green Hag workouts. If any characters look particularly unfit or scrawny, Vile Sazha singles them out and tries to goad them into joining in, offering them a magic potion if they can complete three activities. A character can give up, ending a workout activity at any time. The three activities are as follows:
- Squats. To complete this activity, a character must perform three sets of continuous squats and succeed on three incrementally harder Constitution checks—DC 10, DC 13, and DC 16, respectively. A character who fails a check has disadvantage on the next Constitution check they make as part of this activity. A character who fails three checks in a row must finish a short or long rest before attempting this activity again.
Tug-of-War
To complete this activity, a character must stay on their feet in a tug-of-war against the awakened tree. Have the character make DC 16 Strength (
- Chain Skipping. To complete this activity, a character must succeed on three DC 13 Dexterity (
Acrobatics ) checks, representing their attempt to stay on their feet while they try to jump over a heavy metal chain being spun by Vile Sazha and the awakened tree. If a check fails, the character is knocked off balance, and the DC for the next check becomes 15. If a check fails by 5 or more, the character is also struck by the chain and takes 7 (2d6 ) bludgeoning damage.
Treasure
If a character completes all three workout activities, Azirssa begrudgingly gives them a
T5. Bath and Hot Spring
A floor of polished white marble surrounds a large central pool of steaming turquoise water in this large, open-air bath. Stone pillars stand along the outside wall, sculpted with relief carvings of Sune. Between the pillars, frosted windows diffuse the light from outside through the mist that hangs in the air.
This bathhouse is built around a natural hot spring. The pool is 10 feet deep, and its magically infused waters grant several benefits. Water removed from the pool loses its magic in 10 minutes.
Hot Spring
A creature that spends at least 1 hour in the bath gains the benefit of a
A fey creature called a naiad (see the accompanying stat block) is bound to this spring in the same way that a dryad maintains a connection to a tree. The naiad, Cyrena, came to an understanding with Sylvarie when the elf founded the temple: the naiad was allowed access to the pool and its magic in exchange for swearing to protect the waters.
Cyrena can cause the water to harm creatures of her choice as though it were an equivalent volume of acid. Currently, she has made the water harmful to the hags and their minions, and she can make it harmful to characters who offend or threaten her. Any such creature that enters the pool or starts its turn immersed in it takes 11 (
Cyrena knows the hags and their minions for what they truly are. Because the water of the pool is harmful to them, they have been forced to leave the naiad alone, even as they plot to destroy her.
Cyrena doesn’t know what happened to Sylvarie, but even after ten years, she is sad about her friend’s disappearance. Her nervousness around other creatures has prevented the naiad from asking directly for aid. She perceives dangerous-looking creatures as servants of the hags. If she believes a character to be pure of heart or an ally of nature, she begs them to help her discover what happened to Sylvarie.
T6. Kitchen
This kitchen has long counters and numerous shelves full of pots, pans, and utensils. Metal racks stuffed with herbs, flowers, fruits, and vegetables hang from the ceiling.
By day, Auntie Greenbones is usually here, in disguise as the blind wood elf Greensong with her faithful hound Morty at her side. She prepares delicious-looking but tainted meals for guests of the temple, often slipping in putrid ingredients or traces of poison. Any guest who suffers the effect of a tainted meal is told that they are feeling toxins and impurities leaving their body as a result of the healthy living the temple promotes.
The hag keeps her awful ingredients hidden in a secret compartment in the kitchen cupboards, which can be found with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (
Treasure
Auntie Greenbones’s stash includes beholder tears, ground unicorn hoof, chimera vomit, and other foul reagents of your choice. These ingredients are worth a total of 100 gp to an alchemist or a poisoner. The stash also includes a stoppered and labeled glass vial containing three doses of
T7. Treatment Rooms
These adjoining chambers, dimly lit with shrouded lamps, are each furnished with a bed whose frame can be tilted and folded into different positions. Shelves and counters hold an array of perfumes, oils, and lotions, and scented candles that fill the room with a pleasantly invigorating scent.
Guests who request haircuts, shaving, waxing, or massages are tended to in these treatment rooms. Ilmar Mizzrym (a chaotic good drow) works here as the head aesthetician of the bathhouse. He wears a simple belted silk robe and flat shoes, and speaks in a soft, hushed voice. Without armor, his AC is 12.
Ilmar is secretly a Harper agent and worshiper of Eilistraee who goes by the code name Dusk. He was a close friend of Sylvarie’s years ago, but fell out of touch with her before the temple was built. If the characters get on Ilmar’s good side with roleplaying or a successful DC 17 Charisma (
Ilmar’s Search
Three months ago, Ilmar received a haunting vision of his old friend Sylvarie, who appeared to be in a suffering state, and appearing as though her face was being reflected in a broken mirror. Looking into his former friend’s activities since they parted ways led him to Silverymoon a month ago, then to the temple. Ilmar instinctively suspected that the goings-on at the bathhouse hid some dark secret and decided to investigate by posing as an aesthetician seeking employment.
Ilmar has seen through the illusions covering the hags and their minions, and he shares that knowledge if he trusts the characters. He suspects that information about Sylvarie’s fate can be found in the shrine or the tower, but has so far been unable to investigate those areas because the coven’s minions keep a close eye on him. (The two disguised Scarecrow from area T9 lurk around the guest rooms at night, and the gargoyle above the tower entrance of area area T13 watches the grounds north of the bathhouse for any sign of Ilmar skulking around.)
If the characters agree to help discover what happened to Sylvarie, Ilmar offers to join them, or to help by creating a distraction in the bathhouse that might give the characters a chance to slip into the tower or the shrine unnoticed.
Treasure
Ilmar keeps a silvered
T8. Storage
A silk-curtained doorway leads into a storage room piled high with crates and items on shelves. Stock and supplies for the bathhouse are kept here, including towels, robes, bed linens, bottles, and stores of grain, fruits, nuts, and salted meat.
When the characters first enter this area, one scarecrow disguised as a humanoid staff member (see “area Coven Minions” earlier in the adventure) is present, sorting supplies and arranging boxes.
T9. Guest Rooms
All the rooms in this area have the same basic features, plus additional contents related to their occupants. You can decide how many rooms are occupied based on how many NPCs are presently at the temple (see “area Guests of the Temple” earlier in the adventure).
This well-furnished guest room contains a comfortable bed, a sturdy chest for storage, a wall lantern, a full-length mirror, and a desk that holds small bottles of lotions and soaps.
Each guest of the temple is given a key that locks both the door and the chest, either of which can also be opened with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools or forced open with a successful DC 15 Strength (
During the day, two disguised Scarecrow (see “area Coven Minions” earlier in the adventure) clean any unoccupied rooms. If the characters are staying here, the hags might instruct the scarecrows to “misplace” (steal) any potions, weapons, or other valuable items left in the characters' rooms.
Working Late
If the characters take rooms and spend one or more nights at the temple, the character who has the highest passive Wisdom (
A kobold with white scales and purple eyes is fiddling with the lock on one of the guest room doors. He wears a patchwork dress and is quietly cursing and whispering.
Glitter, a tiefling spy transformed into a kobold by the hags (see “area Coven Victims” earlier in the adventure), is working late for his masters. He is trying to fix a broken lock, though the characters might assume he is trying to break into the room by picking the lock. He has
Glitter immediately surrenders if confronted and tries to explain himself. If any character treats him kindly or seems to be heroic, he might tell the characters the truth of his transformation and beg their help to undo the curse. Glitter knows what happened to Sylvarie, as well as the layout of the bathhouse and the tower. He also knows that the hags store a selection of their cursed paintings in the servants' quarters in the tower (area area T17).
Temple Locations T10-T18
T10. Ilmar’s Room
The cluttered state of this room suggests that its occupant has been staying at the temple for some time. Clothes and cosmetic products are scattered across the floor and the desk.
This room is the quarters of Ilmar Mizzrym (see area area T7). A character who searches the room discovers a sack hidden in the mattress.
Treasure
The sack holds three diamonds (50 gp each) and a silver
T11. Abandoned Shrine
This former shrine to Sune has fallen into disrepair over a decade of neglect. It is partially hidden behind the baths and obscured by overgrown trees and scrub. If the characters haven’t already scouted the grounds, any character in the baths (area area T5) who has a passive Wisdom (
This crumbling stone building must once have been a beautiful shrine. Engraved images of Sune are still visible on the moss-covered stones, her face gazing down on the path by which the faithful would have approached. Stone doors at the front of the shrine appear to be sealed shut by some sort of thick, clear resin. A faint inscription is still visible above them:
“Welcome, dearest ones. Come find the beauty within you.”
During the day, the shrine is quiet. At night, any character moving around the shrine who has a passive Wisdom (
The door is sealed firmly, as are the shrine’s four windows, and all are coated by an unnaturally resilient resin of the hags' creation. A character can open a door or window as an action, but only by forcing it with a successful DC 20 Strength (
A hole in the roof 30 feet above the statue of Sune (see below) offers another way in, and is just big enough for a Medium creature to squeeze through. One of the hags comes here at night every few days to throw down firewood and scraps of food for Sylvarie.
Inside the Shrine
When the characters get a good look inside the shrine, read the following:
The interior of the shrine has the appearance of having been abandoned after some sort of terrible confrontation years ago. Broken benches with shredded cushions are overgrown by thick fungi, and four large mirrors hanging on the walls have been shattered, leaving the stone floor covered in shards of broken glass.
A grime-encrusted statue of Sune stands against the far wall. The statue’s expression might once have suggested smiling laughter, but streaks of dirt now make it appear as though she is weeping. Behind the statue, a staircase descends into darkness.
The broken glass covering the floor imposes disadvantage on Dexterity (
T12. Sacred Pool
The stairs behind the statue in the shrine lead down to a dimly lit chamber.
A soft white glow rises from a square pool set into the floor of this chamber. Torn cushions, rugs, tapestries, and clothing have been piled in one corner as a makeshift bed, while twigs and scraps of deadfall form a simple campfire nearby.
Sylvarie has been transformed into a medusa and spends most of her time in this chamber. The glowing light is produced by an object at the bottom of the pool (see “Treasure” below). The pool is also home to a water weird that has been Sylvarie’s only companion for the ten years of her incarceration. The water weird fights alongside her if it perceives that she is threatened.
Sylvarie’s Curse
Sylvarie Silversong was a devoted priest of Sune who shared her knowledge and uplifted others to help them realize their own worth. Sadly, her devotion to others masked the moon elf’s own self-doubt, which made her feel that she wasn’t worthy enough to be a priest of the god of love and beauty.
The hags used her insecurity to manipulate and corrupt Sylvarie ten years ago. Concealing their true nature, they enticed the priest into a dark bargain—and a terrible curse. After a year, the painting created of Sylvarie that had boosted her esteem transformed her into a medusa. When she tried to strike back against the hags, they sealed her in the shrine, hoping that its great mirrors would turn her to stone. For fear of petrifying herself, Sylvarie destroyed the shrine’s mirrors.
Sylvarie attacks characters who descend into this area, believing they have been sent by the hags to torment her. A character can use an action to try to convince Sylvarie to stand down, first by making the party’s good intentions clear and next by succeeding on a DC 15 Charisma (
The curse that transformed Sylvarie doesn’t end until her portrait in area area T18 is destroyed. The painting’s destruction has the added benefit of restoring Sylvarie’s neutral good alignment, whereupon she offers to do everything she can to help the party rid the temple of the evil creatures infesting it. If the characters destroyed Sylvarie’s painting before coming here, they encounter Sylvarie in her true form: a neutral good moon elf priest who is not wearing armor (AC 10). In this case, she is weeping by the pool and grateful to be free of the hags' curse.
Treasure
Submerged in the pool is
T13–T18. Tower
A finely crafted stone tower rises among the trees not far from the bathhouse. A statue of a sharp-featured winged elf crouches above the front door, whose bright red surface is decorated with golden swirls.
The door is locked. The elf statue over the door is a gargoyle servant of the hags, wrapped in illusion magic (see “area Coven Minions” earlier in the adventure). It watches the door but makes no move unless the characters go inside, whereupon it flies off to report to one of the hags.
T13. Tower Foyer
This foyer has a central spiral staircase leading up. The staircase is flanked by two closed doors, each one set in the middle of a stone wall. A thin, weak-looking dragonborn is feebly trying to sweep the floor here with a well-worn broom.
The cursed dragonborn, Gorba Daardenrian (see “area Coven Victims” earlier in the adventure), is so weak that she can barely hold her broom. When she sees the characters, she desperately tries to make them leave so she doesn’t get into trouble. In the time she has spent at the temple, she has learned what happened to Sylvarie and knows the layout of the tower, but she will not share that information unless her fear of the characters can be overcome with roleplaying, a successful DC 20 Charisma (
Both the doors in this area are locked, and Gorba does not have the keys to them.
T14. Saeth’s Room
Saeth carries the key that opens the locked door to this room.
This luxurious room has a large bed covered with rich silk sheets. A wardrobe and a dresser with a mirror stand against the walls.
The dresser has clothes scattered across it but holds nothing of value.
Treasure
Characters who search the wardrobe find a suit of
T15. Tower Studio
The three hags carry the only keys to this room.
Magical light illuminates this room, which has an oversized chair, heavy curtains covering the windows, and a large, ornate wooden chest.
Any characters who requested special magical treatments from one of the three sisters are brought to this room. The other sisters arrive in a few minutes, and they explain that all three working together can guarantee a greater possibility that the magic sought by the character can be channeled successfully. Characters who allow the sisters to work their magic can watch them labor together to create a cursed painting.
Tools and Supplies
The wooden chest is locked. As an action, a character can try to pick the lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 18 Dexterity check, or break open the chest with a successful DC 20 Strength (
Inside the chest are the materials the hags use for creating cursed paintings, including three blank canvases and paints infused with demon ichor. A character who examines the canvas determines that it is made of humanoid skin with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (
Treasure
The canvases are worth 200 gp each and the paints are worth 100 gp in total, though finding a buyer for such vile materials might be a challenge.
T16. Tower Kitchen
A dank scent fills the air in this well-used kitchen. Three tables stand in the room, one of which is covered in various vegetables and strange-looking cuts of meat. A wood stove burns brightly against the far wall, and a statue of a winged elf stands in the corner, its face carved into an open-mouthed smile.
An elderly dwarf stands before the stove, his hands trembling as he tries to lift a heavy iron pot.
This kitchen is normally used by the coven’s scarecrow minions to prepare meals for the hags and Saeth, but it now has a new servant in Falthrax Loderr, the cursed Candlekeep acolyte. The central staircase leads to the upper floors, and an unlocked door leads to area T17.
Falthrax (see “area Coven Victims” earlier in the adventure) uses the commoner stat block and panics at the sight of intruders. He warns the characters that they should leave immediately while trying to appear loyal to the hags for the benefit of the gargoyle disguised as the elf statue, which has been placed here by the hags to watch over the coven’s latest victim.
If the characters try to go upstairs or ask too many questions of Falthrax, the gargoyle attacks. If it is reduced to half its hit points or fewer, it flees by smashing out a window and tries to alert the hags.
If the gargoyle’s threat is ended, Falthrax breaks down, revealing his identity if the characters haven’t already sussed it out. He is desperate to have the curse undone so he can return to Candlekeep. Having just arrived at the temple, Falthrax can describe only the studio where his portrait was painted (area area T15) and the room where he sleeps along with the other curse victims presently held at the temple (area T17).
T17. Victims' Quarters
Piles of straw and moth-eaten blankets have been set up in this area as rough beds, and broken furniture and garbage is scattered around. In contrast to the squalor, four fine paintings hang along the curved outer wall. Each one is hauntingly beautiful—but also strangely unnerving to look upon.
Three of the victims of the hags' curse sleep and eat in this miserable chamber, forced to stare at the paintings that have caused their downfall. The fourth painting is the one that was done for Sylvarie Silversong ten years before. Each painting depicts its victim as the person they sought to become through their bargain with the hags:
- A brawny, female, golden-scaled dragonborn warrior engaged in battle (Gorba Daardenrian)
- A tall male tiefling with sparkling violet eyes wearing many fine jewels (Glitter)
- A youthful male shield dwarf dancing at a feast (Falthrax Loderr)
- A radiant female moon elf gazing upon her own reflection (Sylvarie)
If the characters don’t yet know the significance of the paintings but have met Glitter in area area T9, Gorba in area area T13, or Falthrax in area T16, any character who studies the paintings recognizes that the paintings depict those individuals.
T18. Hags' Lair
The air grows cooler as you near the top of the tower, and it carries a putrid scent. What might once have been an elegant bedroom has long since been soiled and ruined. Murals of Sune that lined the walls have been defaced with dirt and filth.
Three beds are covered in moldy blankets and animal furs, including one topped by a canopy of giant bones and reeking, untanned hides. Empty crates are scattered throughout the room like furniture, holding broken weapons, moldering clothing, and other odd objects.
The top floor of the tower has been turned into the lair of the Fetid Gaze. Each of the three hags has its own disgusting bed, and the strange objects that fill the crates are shared by all.
Glyph of Warding
Scratched into the floor at the top of the stairs is a glyph created by a
Dark Mementos
The objects in the crates are souvenirs claimed from the hags' victims over ten years, including weapons, clothing, personal effects, tools, letters, trinkets, and more.
Treasure
Most of the hags' mementos are worthless, but a search of the room turns up a
Conclusion
Once the threat of the hags and their servants is dealt with, the characters have a chance to rectify the dark deeds done at the temple.
Destroying the four portraits in area area T17 frees Gorba Daardenrian, Glitter, Falthrax Loderr, and Sylvarie Silversong from the hags' curse. (See “area Destroying the Paintings” earlier in the adventure for more information.) Gorba and Glitter are eternally grateful to the characters and might become lifelong allies of the party, at your discretion.
Falthrax’s Resolve
With the curse lifted, Falthrax Loderr is ready to return to Candlekeep. The experience of having sought and then rejected a magical return to youth has taught him much about focusing on the positive aspects of his life and his service to knowledge. Though his struggles aren’t over, a new inner resolve promises to leave him in a better position to face those struggles.
Sylvarie’s Decision
Ten years under the effect of the hags' curse have left Sylvarie Silversong a changed person. As you see fit, she might be determined to restore the Temple of the Restful Lily to its former stature, refurbishing the shrine and making the site an even stronger place for the worship of Sune. Alternatively, she might decide that the temple holds too many dark memories for her, and that it should be up to others—perhaps the characters—to take charge of restoring the site. Either way, Sylvarie is grateful to the characters for what they’ve done and becomes a friend to the party for life.