Though Severin’s hold on the Cult of the Dragon is strong, there remain traditionalist elements within the cult that long for the old ways of reverence for the dracoliches. Many such elements center around scholars and academics, for whom the cult’s new focus has made their knowledge and research irrelevant. Others think that Severin is being taken in by devils and that Tiamat will play him for a fool—a notion fairly close to the truth.
Two of the leading dracolich traditionalists—a dragonsoul named Jorgen Pawl and his trusted lieutenant Iskander—have been most vocal in their objections. As the time of the summoning ritual approaches, Severin understands that he can’t risk losing loyal troops to infighting and insurrection. He has thus agreed to give Jorgen Pawl and his followers a dragon mask to examine, allowing them to determine whether Severin’s understanding of the masks' power is correct. If Severin is wrong, he will know before risking everything on a do-or-die gamble. If he is right, the traditionalists will give their support to Severin’s plans.
What Jorgen does not know is that Severin asked his Red Wizard allies to create a false mask, supplying the scholar with a duplicate of the
The Cult of the Dragon recently took control of Xonthal’s Tower—an ancient and mysterious wizard’s tower on the southern slope of Mount Hlim. Although not all the cult members at Xonthal’s Tower are dracolich traditionalists, Jorgen Pawl and Iskander are in command there, and they have drawn many likeminded individuals under their sway.
Iskander
The young second-in-command at Xonthal’s Tower stands an impressive 6-feet-5-inches tall. Iskander is not overly brave, but he is observant. One fact that hasn’t escaped his notice is the number of rising stars in the Cult of the Dragon who meet mysterious ends before reaching their full potential. The suspicion that some cultists practice “advancement through assassination” or eliminate ambitious underlings to safeguard their own positions preys heavily on Iskander’s mind.
Four tendays past, Iskander came down with a stomach affliction that left him critically weak. During the illness, his suspicions blossomed into full-blown paranoia. He is convinced that someone at Xonthal’s Tower poisoned him, and he now trusts no one. To save himself, Iskander has decided to betray the cult and seek safety elsewhere. Having heard the exploits of the adventurers, he has decided that the cult’s most effective enemies are his best bet as allies—and that a dragon mask should be more than enough to attract their attention.
An Unexpected Message
Iskander’s message to the party can arrive in any manner you see fit, including through contacts in the Zhentarim. Whether it comes directly to the characters or to an NPC on the Council of Waterdeep, the message could be a hastily scribbled note, an eloquent appeal delivered by bonded messenger, or a whispered plea in a dark corridor.
“You don’t know me, but we can help each other immeasurably. My name is Iskander, and I made a terrible mistake in joining the Cult of the Dragon. The cult’s horrifying plans are sure to bring doom to all, but I can stop those plans with your help. Rescue me from the cult’s clutches, and I will deliver to you the prize of prizes: the
Blue Dragon Mask . Without it, Severin faces an insurmountable setback in his effort to call Tiamat back to our world. The mask is here in Xonthal’s Tower, being studied and guarded by only a handful of wizards, including myself.“The danger of my treason becoming known grows with every passing day, and if I’m discovered, I’ll surely be killed. Please hurry, for the sake of everyone and everything you value.”
The adventurers are likely to be suspicious of Iskander, intuiting that his offer is motivated by concern for his own survival than by concern for the world. If divination spells are used to assess the situation, give the characters a strong sense that Iskander is on the level, and that the
If the characters ask the members of the Council of Waterdeep their opinions, the NPCs are unanimous: the risk is enormous, but the potential payoff is even greater. Losing one of the five dragon masks will be a huge setback for Severin’s plans.
Xonthal’s Tower
Xonthal’s Tower is legendary among the wizards and tale-spinners of Faerûn for its unusual magical defenses, including a magical hedge maze that surrounds it. The cultists avoid the hedge maze by accessing a portal inside the tower that they use to travel in and out.
The wizard Xonthal was an extraordinary figure. Beginning as a lowly adventurer, he traveled across Faerûn and beyond, reaching distant Zakhara, Kara-Tur, and even Maztica. His work focused on conjuration and elemental evocation, so he often kept elementals and genies for company.
Xonthal prized solitude, so he designed his tower and its surrounding hedge maze to deter intruders and unwanted visitors. Over a century ago, the wizard kicked his apprentices out and sealed the tower. No one knows what Xonthal has been up to in the intervening decades, or whether he’s even still alive. Some think he must have become a lich, while others believe he’s just dead. All that’s certain is that the hedge maze remains a frustrating barrier, and the spells and wards protecting the tower against entry remain as powerful as ever.
The Village
Spreading out along the edge of the hedge maze is a village, also called Xonthal’s Tower. The settlement began as a place where Xonthal’s many apprentices established homes of their own. As years passed, more settlers were drawn to the area as word spread that the wizard and his apprentices offered excellent protection against marauding orcs and monsters. The village is smaller now than in the tower’s heyday, but about three hundred people still live there.
The locals are friendly enough, but they’re wary of strangers who ask too many questions about the tower. Things were quiet there for a long time, but for almost a year now, the villagers have seen lights through the windows at night and heard unearthly sounds. A few claim to have seen a blue dragon lingering in the sky high above. Some villagers scoff at that idea, but everyone agrees that the tower has been reoccupied.
Once the villagers are satisfied that the adventurers haven’t come to lay waste to the tower (fearing that an all-out battle would likely destroy the village too), they’re interested in talking of little else besides who could be inside. The most popular theories are that Xonthal has returned or has awakened as a lich, or that one of the genies and elementals he once imprisoned finally broke free of its restraints but remains trapped inside the tower.
The villagers warn the characters sternly about the danger of entering the maze. Few who enter it ever come back out, and those who do come out are much worse for wear. Even animals and birds avoid the maze.
The tower and the maze are protected by brilliantly crafted
The Maze
The hedge maze surrounding the central tower is an astounding work of magical construction. In certain regards, it’s even more impressive than the tower because of the powerful ways it manipulates space.
A gently curving path leads into the maze from the edge of the village. The villagers built a low fence across the entrance to keep young children and animals from wandering in. Fear of the maze is hammered into all other residents of the village from the time they’re old enough to appreciate its dangers, and they shun it diligently.
Seen from above—either by a flying character or from nearby rooftops—the maze appears to be an overgrown, tangled mess with no discernible paths longer than a dozen yards. It looks exactly like what it is: a hedge maze left untended for more than a century, grown into a nearly solid mass of hedge and thorn.
Seen from ground level, however, the maze appears to be a pleasant, hedge-ringed garden with no resemblance to a maze at all. Villagers are quick to point out this anomaly, to prove to the characters that the maze is nothing to take lightly. The view from above reveals the maze as it exists in the real world. The view up the path from ground level looks into the extradimensional space that Xonthal crafted as a barrier around his home.
The tower’s entrance exists only within this extradimensional space. Entering the maze any other way than walking up the main path quickly leads characters into densely tangled brush that is all but impassable, and that doesn’t physically connect to any tower entrance. Characters who cut their way through to the tower, fly across to it, or tunnel beneath the maze to the outside wall find only smooth, unbroken stone that cannot be breached or bypassed by any means. A balcony juts out from the top level of the tower, but it is surrounded by an invisible, impenetrable barrier that deflects all objects and effects. The only way to reach the tower’s entrance is through Xonthal’s extradimensional maze.
General Features
Because the maze doesn’t exist in normal space, it cannot be traditionally mapped. Instead, it is shown here as a set of seven nodes where encounters occur. Moving between two nodes takes
The hedge walls are 8 feet tall, allowing the adventurers to see the tower above them from many locations. This view provides no clue to direction, however. Characters who see the tower to the left one moment might spot it to the right, or behind, or closer or farther away a moment later. When trying to focus on the tower’s new location, characters suddenly find that they can’t remember its old location clearly, or begin to wonder if it was in its current spot all along.
If a character who entered the extradimensional maze along the path tries to fly above it once inside, the tower immediately fades from view, and the view becomes endless hedge-lined paths stretching to the horizon in every direction. Alternatively, characters who fly above the maze are shunted back into the real world, emerging above the hedge tangle with their companions nowhere in sight. The only way for them to rejoin the party is to enter the maze again and retrace their steps, dealing with all encounters along the way. (Use this option carefully if you’re not a fan of splitting the party.)
If the characters enter the maze at night, starlight from a clear sky is bright enough for them to find their way through—and even bright enough for the sundial in area area 1 to cast a shadow. However, anyone with a passing familiarity of the sky notices that the constellations are completelyunfamiliar.
Area 1 is the heart of the maze, and characters will return there many times as they seek the entrance to the tower. If they do things correctly, they won’t need to face any of the maze’s dangers. That’s unlikely, though.
Although the maze is devilishly hard to get through, it’s easy to leave. All the characters need to do is express a desire to leave the maze while they’re in area 1, and whatever route they take next leads them back to the entrance and the path at the edge of the village. They can turn around and come back in again, and they’ll wind up in area 1, at the start of the maze.
Rescue Mission
Unless the characters took extreme measures to hide their approach to the maze, they are spotted by the cultists in the tower. (The cultists watch the village closely, and immediately recognize any stir caused by the adventurers' arrival.) The cultists don’t know the adventurers' plans, but with the
As the characters prepare to enter the maze for the first time, or if they are spending too long in the village, read or paraphrase the following.
As you prepare to step onto the garden path, you notice movement high up on the tower. A human male dressed in black robes stands on the balcony, waving something over his head. It’s hard to make out details from this distance, but it might be a blue mask.
“Heroes,” the figure screams, “they saw you in the village! I’ve taken the mask, but they’ll realize it’s missing within minutes! Look for me beneath the tower, for it’s the only place I have a chance to hide. This is the key that will let you teleport into the dungeon.” As he speaks, the figure holds aloft a second item—some sort of white, glimmering hourglass. “I will leave it behind after I use it, but others may find it before you do.”
The speaker looks over his shoulder as another figure suddenly dashes out onto the balcony. A flash of blades and spell-fire erupts. Then the figure who spoke pitches his attacker over the railing before dashing back inside.
1. The Sundial
After walking up the entrance path into the maze, this is the first area the characters arrive at, entering along pathway E.
You’ve entered an intersection where eight paths converge symmetrically. You can see Xonthal’s Tower dead ahead above the hedge wall, but the way the paths curve, there’s no telling which one might lead to it.
A sundial stands in the center of the intersection, the shadow from its gnomon pointing straight toward the tower—which is highly odd, because the sun isn’t behind you. Your shadows point in the proper direction. Only the sundial’s shadow points ahead.
The sundial is anchored to the ground and cannot be moved or shifted. The eight paths leading out of this area are identical. If the characters try to make any identifying marks on the ground or leave items in this area, the marks and items are gone the next time they arrive here. The adventurers shouldn’t know whether they’re coming back to the same spot each time or whether more than one identical sundial intersection exists in the maze.
The sundial’s shadow indicates the correct path. If the characters follow one of the paths not indicated by the sundial, it leads them to one of the other areas of the maze (your choice). There is no turning back from a wrong path. Once the last character has gone out of sight of the sundial (15 feet along the curving path), reversing direction delivers all characters to the same area they would have reached if they’d kept going forward.
If the characters take the correct path, they return to area 1 after
Sundial Shadows
| Sundial | Shadows Point At | Correct Path |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A | A |
| 2 | A, C | B |
| 3 | A, D, F | E |
| 4 | B, D, F, H | Sundial |
| 5 | A–H | Edge of hedge |
The first three sundials are straightforward, even if the solutions are not always obvious.
The fourth sundial casts four shadows in an “X” shape. As the characters examine them, the shadows start slowly rotating around the face of the sundial, spinning faster and becoming shorter until they shrink into the gnomon and the sundial shows no shadow at all. The correct path in this case is the sundial itself. A character who jumps or climbs onto the sundial is drawn into its stone surface, then is suddenly dropped out of the sky to land harmlessly around sundial 5.
The fifth sundial casts eight shadows that point at every possible pathway. No path is the right one. To correctly bisect the shadows, characters must move between the paths, straight into the end of any hedge. As soon as a character steps, runs, or dives headlong into a hedge, he or she emerges safely at the foot of the tower.
Each time the characters choose a wrong path, they emerge at one of the other maze areas described below, which you can use in any order you like. If the characters make the wrong choice more than six times, you can reuse areas, create new ones of your own, or let the characters wander down a path much longer than usual before encountering the sundial again.
Characters always return to the same sundial puzzle they most recently departed (sundial 1 through 5), so that they do not need to retrace their steps from the very beginning after each wrong turn. However, they have no way to tell whether they have returned to the same specific sundial, as noted above.
Splitting the Party
Some parties are going to try splitting up in the hope of outwitting the maze. No matter how the characters attempt to do so, however, they always wind up back together. If groups take separate paths, they meet at the same destination. If one character stays at the sundial while others take a path, that path leads back to the sundial where the character is waiting. Moreover, that character swears that the others have been gone for
1d6 hours—long enough to gain the benefit of a short rest (though taking a long rest is impossible in the maze). As usual, any identifying marks made in the area vanish during those hours without anyone noticing.
Completing the Maze
When the characters complete the maze by successfully entering the hedge at the fifth sundial, they emerge within sight of a teleportation circle at the foot of the tower. The body of a dead cultist lies sprawled on the ground (the one Iskander threw off the balcony earlier). Behind them, the characters see a straight path that leads directly to the sundial intersection. Another path extends thirty yards beyond the sundial, ending at the exit to the village.
A few seconds after the first character steps onto the circle, all creatures in the circle are teleported toarea area 8. Alternatively, the characters can walk out of the garden from the foot of the tower without any detours or difficulties. However, any gems they collected in the maze (see below) will mysteriously vanish from their possession.
2. Chuul Pool
Filling the center of this eighty-foot-square courtyard is a circular pool of water sixty feet across. The water is dark and murky, reducing visibility to about one foot. A garnet gemstone hovers one foot above the center of the pool. Another path leaves the area through the hedge wall on the far side of the pool, directly opposite where you entered.
Four Chuul dwell in this dark water. They stay hidden as long as the characters remain in the courtyard, but attack any creature that enters the pool or touches the gem. Attacking chuuls try to paralyze characters, then drag or throw them into the 50-foot-deep pool to drown them. They are fascinated by magic, though, and if any magic item is dropped into the pool, the chuuls are distracted for 5 rounds. They won’t attack during that time, and if they were already attacking, they stop and dive to the bottom of the pool to inspect their new treasure.
If the characters attempt to leave the area without retrieving the garnet, both paths curve away and bring them back here after a short walk. If the characters leave any marks, items, or companions behind in this area, all the same conditions apply here as in area 1.
If the garnet is carried out of this area, either path leads the characters back to the sundial.
Treasure
The bottom of the pool holds the treasure that’s been dropped in by various visitors: six
3. Cyclopes' Pasture
You emerge from the path into an area far larger than any open area you expected to encounter in the maze garden. This rectangular space must be ninety feet across, with its far side almost 150 feet away. It looks like a boulder-strewn pasture, with a large pond to one side and a fenced vegetable garden and oversized cottage on the other. Sheep graze in the pasture, tended by a pair of cyclopes, but none of them are moving. They all appear frozen in time.
As soon as any character advances into the area, the creatures here spring to life, with the sheep grazing and the cyclopes chatting idly with each other. When the cyclopes notice the characters, they exchange a few unheard words, then play some sort of game analogous to rock/paper/scissors. One loses, and both cyclopes approach the characters. They don’t appear to be carrying weapons.
When the cyclopes are within 20 feet of the characters, the one that lost the game scoops up a small boulder from the ground and gestures toward the party. He then looks downfield and heaves the boulder 100 feet, where it bounces and rolls another 20 feet. Both cyclopes then turn and look at the characters expectantly.
The boulders at this end of the field are all at least 2 feet in diameter and weigh 500 pounds or more.
The cyclopes speak only Giant. If any character addresses them in that language, they ignore any questions but explain the rules of their game: the characters' boulder must fly farther than the cyclops’s. How the characters accomplish this is unimportant to the cyclopes, but the boulder can’t be dragged or carried—it must fly at least part of the distance.
The characters can beat this challenge in several ways. The most straightforward solution is to reduce the boulder with an
Each cyclops defends itself if attacked, and killing them changes nothing. The characters still need to propel a stone farther than the cyclops did to get back to the sundial.
When the characters beat the challenge, the stone that the cyclops threw splits in half, revealing a topaz gemstone inside. If the topaz is carried out of this area, either path leads the characters back to the sundial.
If the characters attempt to leave the area without winning the contest, both paths curve away and bring them back here after a short walk. If the characters leave any marks, items, or companions behind in this area, all the same conditions apply here as in area area 1.
4. Carnivorous Garden
Ahead, you see a bubbling fountain filling the pathway. Large bright flowers grow in the hedges on both sides of the fountain, each blossom shimmering in the light. The air smells particularly fresh and sweet here.
A large flower grows on each northern and southern side of each square on the map except the square with the fountain. As the characters get closer, they can see that the shimmering of the flowers comes from a large pearl set into each one. However, if any of these carnivorous flowers is attacked, or if a character tries to remove a pearl from a flower, all twelve flowers attack any enemy they can reach. Use the statistics of an otyugh to represent each flower, except they have speed 0, and they have the plant type.
Once a flower is killed, its pearl can be removed. If a pearl is carried out of this area, either path leads the characters back to the sundial.
If the characters attempt to leave the area without a pearl, both paths curve away and bring them back here after a short walk. If the characters leave marks, items, or companions behind in this area, all the same conditions apply here as in area area 1.
5. Pagoda
A placid pond fills the center of this open space. A stout pagoda rises from a huge boulder that stands in the water like an island. An arched bridge crosses the water to the pagoda, whose red roof is held up by six sturdy pillars and capped with carved fish. A human male wearing yellow silk robes embroidered with red and gold fish stands in the pagoda. You hear exotic music being played on a stringed instrument.
When the characters arrive, the robed figure bows to them, and sits down on the boulder where it protrudes through the floor of the pagoda. He waits patiently for the party to join him. Around the boulder, the floor of the pagoda is not wood, but rather is a rock garden of decorative stones and brushed sand. A charcoal pit smolders beside the boulder where the man sits.
The master of the pagoda does not speak, and he waits as long as long as it takes for the adventurers to join him. When they enter the pagoda, he gives a brief smile and proffers silk cushions. He then waves his hand and an iron tea kettle rises up from beneath the embers. The kettle resembles a scowling face with thick features, and a character who studies it may recognize it as a dao with a successful DC 12 Wisdom (
The tea brewer is a dao magically disguised as a human, and the pot brews not tea but a deadly gaseous poison. The tea kettle is also the dao’s
With a successful DC 15 Intelligence (
If characters do nothing, the steeping drakeswort fills the pagoda with poisonous vapor, and the dao encloses the pagoda in a
Trapped characters have several options for escape:
- The stone walls are AC 5, 6 inches thick, and have 15 hit points per inch of thickness (90 hp total). Motivated characters can create air holes in the walls.
- Dumping the kettle into the fire reduces damage to 7 (
2d6 ) poison damage on a failed save, or half damage on a successful save. Smoke from burning drakeswort is less dangerous than steam. - Plugging the kettle’s spout or extinguishing the fire reduces the saving throw DC to 8.
- Damaging the tea kettle forces the dao to return to the pagoda. When the dao’s soul inhabits the kettle, the face is slightly animated. Anyone touching the kettle notices the eyes looking around the pagoda. The kettle has AC 5 and 20 hit points. If it takes more than 10 points of damage, the dao returns to his body, emerges from the stone, drops the
wall of stone (because he can’t breathe the poison either), and attacks.
If characters attack the dao before his trap is sprung, he fights back, making full use of
A jade gemstone sits inside the teapot. If it is carried out of this area, either path leads characters back to the sundial.
If characters leave the area without the jade gemstone, both paths curve away and bring them back here after a short walk. If the characters leave marks, items, or companions behind in this area, all the same conditions apply here as in area area 1.
6. Statue Gallery
Six suits of ornate plate mail stand in this area as if on guard. Battered and bashed pieces of armor and weapons are scattered across the carpeted floor before them. Moss and lichen cover the armor, though it remains free of rust. Another pathway opens up at the far side of this area.
When the characters begin exploring the area, two suits of animated armor swing into motion and attack. Each time a suit of armor is destroyed, two more activate.When there are no more suits of armor to activate, the suits reassemble themselves from the components littering the ground. Reassembling takes a suit’s entire action—it can do nothing else on that turn. After reforming, the animated armor resumes attacking. This continues as long as any character remains in this area
Each time a suit of armor is destroyed, roll a
If the characters leave the area without a bloodstone, both paths curve away and bring them back here after a short walk. If the characters leave marks, items, or companions behind in this area, all the same conditions apply here as in area area 1.
7. Gorgon Maze
As they follow the path, the characters are drawn into a maze within the larger maze of the magical garden.
The curving path you follow suddenly twists to reveal a proper maze cut out of the surrounding hedges. Moments later, the pounding of hooves rings out, and a gorgon charges out of the greenery toward you.
This area is ringed by unbroken hedge walls that make it impossible to escape. The characters won’t know this until they explore the area fully, and they won’t have time to do that with a gorgon on the loose.
The maze permits the gorgon to move freely through the hedges when it uses its Trampling Charge attack. As it races after the adventurers, it attacks with its Petrifying Breath as often as it can. Each time it does so, a diamond crystallizes from its breath and drops to the ground. A character can spot the gem with a successful DC 15 Wisdom (
When a character picks up the diamond, a pathway opens up in the middle of each of the four sides of this area, any of which lead the characters back to the sundial.
The gorgon won’t follow the characters out of the maze. If the gorgon is killed, another gorgon materializes somewhere in the **area area 1 ** minute later.
The Tower
After making their way through the dangers of the hedge maze, the adventurers can enter Xonthal’s Tower. Once inside, they learn that Iskander’s fellow cultists have discovered his treason and are trying to kill him. The characters must figure out the tower’s magical teleportation system, then defeat both the cultists and some of Xonthal’s original defenses to rescue Iskander and claim the dragon mask he promised them. Before the characters can leave, however, they must deal with the blue dragon summoned to protect the mask.
Though the tower appears square from the outside, its chambers and walls are circular when seen from inside. This strange incongruity is another manifestation of Xonthal’s ability to manipulate space.
General Features
Ceilings
Chambers in the tower have 10-foot-high ceilings.
Light
Areas 8 to 13 are brightly lit by narrow windows and magic lamps.
Sound
The structure of the tower muffles sound between levels. Only the loudest shouting or noise can be heard on an adjacent level, and nothing short of an explosion or a
Teleport Circles
The aboveground levels of Xonthal’s Tower contain no stairs. The only way to pass from one level to another is by using teleport circles built into the tower (marked “T” on the map). Because they aren’t climbing up or down, characters have no way to know which level they’re on after teleporting except by looking out the windows. The tall windows in the tower are too narrow for any creature more than a few inches wide to pass through.
On the wall behind each teleport circle is a metal panel inscribed with symbols. Touching a symbol causes it to glow softly. A few seconds later, all creatures standing in the circle teleport to the area selected by the symbol.
Teleport Symbols
| Symbol | Destination |
|---|---|
| Chair | Audience chamber (area 8) |
| Two Chairs* | Audience chamber balconies |
| Upside-down “L” | Closed chambers (area area 9) |
| Rectangle | Shrine (area area 10) |
| Flame | Lounge (area area 11) |
| Star | Observatory (area area 12) |
| Square | Bedroom (area area 13) |
| Hourglass | Dungeon teleporter (locked—area area 14) |
| Right Triangle | Sundial area of the hedge maze (area area 1; not accessible from the dungeon) |
Characters who touch the right triangle return to the sundial seen from the foot of the tower, allowing them to return to the tower along the straight path or to exit the maze to the village (see “area Completing the Maze,” above).
To teleport down to the dungeon level, the symbol must be touched by the hourglass-shaped key that Iskander waved from the balcony. Xonthal conducted many dangerous experiments in the dungeons, and he didn’t want anyone getting into that level—or getting out of it—without his approval.
The key is a representation of an hourglass made of ivory and crystal. Iskander used the key to escape into the dungeon from the observatory, but tossed the key back into the room after using it so the adventurers could follow him down. Jorgen Pawl found the key and has it now. The characters must take the key from him to reach the dungeon level.
8. Audience Chamber
The walls of this chamber bear exotic geometric designs representing feathers, eagles, and snakes, all rendered in a style you’ve never seen before. To one side of the room, a human female is sprawled face down in a pool of blood. She is dressed like a high-ranking member of the Cult of the Dragon.
The dead cultist was slain by Iskander. They argued, the dead cultist turned to step onto the teleport circle, and Iskander stabbed her before stepping through the teleporter himself.
A character who inspects the body and makes a successful DC 10 Wisdom (
The balconies are set 8 feet above the floor and can be easily reached by climbing. The floor of each balcony bears a teleport circle similar to those found throughout the tower. The controls are located beneath the railing of the balcony, and can be found with a DC 8 Intelligence (
The decorations in the room are reminiscent of a Maztican style of architecture. Xonthal studied the culture of Maztica extensively and incorporated many Maztican motifs into his home.
9. Closed Chambers
What use Xonthal put these rooms to is unknown. Empty when the cultists arrived, they were quickly repurposed as barracks. Bedrolls scattered about show that between four and six cultists use each room.
The teleporter on this level is located inside a circular chamber with a closed door. The door and the walls of the room are made of thin, unpolished steel. The door swings outward if a simple latch is turned.
When the characters arrive, one cult fanatic and four Cultist are searching the floor for Iskander. The cultists quickly realize they can’t defeat the adventurers, and they make a dash for the teleport room. They try to escape to the lounge (area area 11), where they expect to find reinforcements.
10. Shrine
When Xonthal lived in the tower, this shrine was dedicated to Oghma. The cult traditionalists turned this chamber into a laboratory for their studies.
Painted renditions of dracoliches line the walls of this chamber, and a stone altar in the center of the area features the skeletal limbs and claws of a dragon. A half-dozen cultists look up in surprise at your appearance.
The skeletal forelimbs of a black dragon have been mounted to the altar and enchanted with a permanent
The room is occupied by two Mage and five cult fanatic who attack at the first sign of intruders. As an action, one of the mages screams the command word to activate the skeletal dragon limbs. If the cultist who activated the limbs is killed, the limbs stop attacking, but both mages know the command word. The cultists all fight to the death.
This room contains many notes and scrolls about dracoliches but nothing of value.
11. Lounge
This chamber was Xonthal’s combination living room, office, and den, used for studying, relaxing, and writing. When they took over the tower, the cultists turned this chamber into another dracolich laboratory.
A large fireplace in the center of the room keeps this chamber warm and cozy, its smoke magically vented outside. About two-thirds of the skeleton of an adult dragon is laid out on the floor, curled around the fireplace. Before you have time for further assessment, however, a half-dozen black-cloaked figures move to attack you.
The six Cult Fanatic in this room move in as soon as anyone appears in the teleporter. If they can, the cultists try to reach the teleport circle and activate it while one or more characters are still on it. The teleport circle takes only a few seconds to activate, so characters standing in the circle won’t be able to move away unless they have the ability to move as a reaction. The cultists select the shrine level as the adventurers' destination.
When the characters have time to examine the skeleton (a black dragon), they can see that the bones are disconnected and placed roughly, and that the creature’s forelimbs are missing. They also see signs that the cultists do their cooking here, finding a collection of simple dishware stacked along the north wall, along with sacks containing potatoes, turnips, jerky, and flour.
Aside from the lovingly cleaned skeleton and notes that a scholar might find interesting, this level holds nothing of value.
12. Observatory
Jorgen Pawl (mage) and 3 Cult Fanatic are outside this chamber on the balcony when the characters teleport in. All four wait to ambush the first character who steps onto the balcony. If the characters explore the observatory before investigating the balcony, the cultists rush into the room, hoping to attack with surprise.
This chamber is clearly the workplace of a wizard. A pair of voluminous tomes on astronomy and astrology lie open on a table. A massive telescope of brass, crystal, and polished mahogany rests on an intricate stand in the middle of the chamber. A ladder rests against one wall, and an immense crystal lens is embedded in the ceiling.
Xonthal used this chamber for making observations of the starry sky. The ladder is for reaching the ceiling-mounted lens, which looks upward from the tower. Little can be seen through it during daytime, but at night, the lens gives the telescope a view of the entire sky from horizon to horizon.
Jorgen Pawl has the hourglass-shaped key that allows access to the dungeon level of the tower. Touching the key to the hourglass symbol on any teleport circle control panel activates the circle for a jump to the teleport circle in area area 14.
13. Bedroom
Jorgen Pawl and Iskander share this presently empty chamber, which might have been luxurious before being subjected to the ravages of time. A table assembled from planks laid across barrels is covered in notes and scrolls, all pertaining to dracoliches and having no bearing on the current crisis.
Dungeon
Though the cultists have claimed the upper levels of Xonthal’s Tower, they have no control over the dungeon beneath it. The secrets and ancient guardians of this area remain a mystery to them. Xonthal performed most of his experiments here, and the dungeons once included numerous extradimensional spaces accessible from the main corridor (area area 17).
When the first two groups of cultists sent down here to explore were killed by the elementals inarea area 15, Jorgen Pawl quickly declared the dungeon off limits. Iskander understood the risks of fleeing here, but he knew it was the one place where Jorgen’s fanatical followers would be reluctant to pursue him.
General Features
Ceilings
Chambers in the dungeon have 10-foot-high ceilings unless otherwise noted.
Light
Unless otherwise noted in the area description, areas 14 to 23 are unlit until a creature steps into the room. Magic lamps then activate and provide bright light.
Sound
Sound carries well through these rooms and corridors. The sound of fighting or other loud noises in one area can be heard through a closed door in an adjacent area.
14. Dungeon Teleporter
The bodies of three dead cultists lie on the floor here. A successful DC 13 Wisdom (
Iskander was waiting in this chamber for pursuers to appear. He killed two immediately but the third chased him into area 15, where the elementals attacked both of them.
The teleporter here can reach any teleport circle in the tower above, but its controls do not allow characters to return to the sundial.
15. Elemental Checkpoint
Blood streaks the floor here, including the smeared trail leading back to the teleport chamber and a second trail of bloody boot prints heading up the corridor to the north. Standing amid the gore are three humanoid figures—two that look like misshapen statues of clay and stone and one appearing as a humanoid made of flame.
The creatures are 2 Earth Elemental and a fire elemental Xonthal called forth to guard his workshops. In the absence of new orders, the elementals eternally follow Xonthal’s last command to slay intruders. When any character enters the room, the elementals attack. They fight until destroyed, or until the party flees back to area 14 or moves further into the dungeon. The elementals do not pursue outside this area unless attacked from a distance.
A large, round table with four chairs sits in one corner of the room, with shelves and workbenches arranged along the walls. Books and papers are scattered on the table, along with a locked wooden chest about the size of a shoebox. Opening the lock requires
The writing on the papers and books in the room has become illegible, and the paper is so brittle from the fire elementals' heat that it crumbles at a touch.
Treasure
The chest contains three scrolls: two
16. Laboratory
It’s obvious at a glance that this area was once a wizard’s workroom. Worktables are covered with notes, alchemical flasks, beakers, braziers, and other arcane apparatus. More startling is the whirlwind occupying the center of the room. Ten feet across and stretching from floor to ceiling, it swirls endlessly, revealing a number of sparkling gems within it.
The whirlwind is not a creature, but one of Xonthal’s experiments. The gemstones swirling inside it are
The equipment here is now useless, and any reagents or components have long since dried up, decayed, or lost their potency. A character who spends a day poring over the notes can attempt a DC 20 Intelligence (
17. Cosmic Hallway
Steps descend to a walkway that appears to stretch across infinite space. Thousands of stars twinkle in unfamiliar constellations, and meteors streak through the vastness above and below the path. Just past the base of the stairs, a door framed by nothingness rises from the path. Fifty feet beyond that, the path meets an intersection, with another door straight ahead.
This corridor is a relic of Xonthal’s experimentation with extradimensional space. The path is formed by the floor of the corridor, which is perfectly solid and secure despite appearing to extend into the void. Reaching beyond the edge of the walkway confirms the absence of walls or ceiling. The atmosphere is thin and cold, but not uncomfortably so.
At an opportune moment when one or more characters are moving along the path, a swarm of tiny meteors shoots past, threatening to knock them off the walkway. All creatures on the path must succeed on a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw to dodge the meteors. On a failed save, a creature is struck, takes 9 (
A creature knocked off the walkway appears to fall into infinite space. Unless the creature can fly or teleport back to the walkway, it quickly vanishes from sight. Roll
Though having a character fall off the walkway is dangerous (and potentially exciting), it makes it less likely that the adventurers can be tricked by the efreeti in area area 22.
18. Study
This circular room is obviously a library or study, its walls lined with bookshelves that extend from the floor to the gently domed ceiling twenty feet overhead. A wheeled ladder is connected to a rail that runs around the curved wall, allowing access to the upper shelves. A delicate, ornate desk stands at the center of the room, surrounded by piles of blank paper. A large map sits on the desk, its corners held down with stones.
The two secret doors in this area are concealed behind swinging bookshelves, and can each be found with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (
If anyone but Xonthal opens either secret door, the papers piled throughout the room begin to ruffle as though a breeze blows through the area. Thousands of sheets of heavy paper then fly into the air in a great whirlwind, slashing at any creature in the area. One distinct storm of paper forms around each character on the first round. Every round after that, two more cyclones form, to a maximum of three per character.
Treat these paper whirlwinds as Swarm of Ravens, but they are constructs instead of beasts, and they have vulnerability to fire. When the paper swarms form, they remain on guard in the study for 30 minutes, then collapse to piles of paper once more. They won’t pursue characters into the hallway, but will chase them into the two adjoining rooms.
Treasure
The contents of Xonthal’s library are as valuable as they are voluminous. The wizard’s collection includes nearly five thousand books, pamphlets, folios, quartos, scrolls, and tablets with a combined weight of more than a ton. The entire collection would be worth 50,000 gp if it could be moved. Alternatively, the characters can pick out a few especially valuable volumes.
A character trained in one of the following skills can make a check to search the library for a work on that subject:
The map shows the region of the Elemental Plane of Fire surrounding the fabled City of Brass. The map cannot be harmed by fire, and is worth 500 gp to a planar scholar or explorer.
19. Observation Room
The floor of this room is 10 feet higher than the floor of area 18.
A circular pane of crystal ten feet in diameter hangs vertically in this chamber, anchored to the ceiling, walls, and floor by chains. A scene of roiling fire can be glimpsed within the crystal. In front of the crystal, an ornate rod is set into the floor.
The scrying crystal allowed Xonthal to peer into other planes, and is currently set to view the Elemental Plane of Fire. The view is controlled by the rod set into the floor, and moving it shifts the scene. Doing so properly is challenging, however. A character can attempt a DC 20 Dexterity (
20. Spellbook Study
A large, simple desk with several ink pots, quill pens, and a single chair occupy the center of this otherwise empty room.
Xonthal used this room for writing his spellbooks, but those books went with him when he vanished. The ink pots are dried up, but any character trained in
21. Storage Closet
This area is lined with shelves holding hundreds of mundane and exotic reagents and components used by Xonthal in his experiments. Most of the supplies have evaporated, congealed, or decayed over long years, but any spellcasting characters can find enough useable materials here to replenish their material components if necessary.
22. Taraz the Fair
Where the hallway bends to the northeast, it once again takes on the appearance of a stone corridor.
Light shines out ahead as the corridor opens into a room set with comfortable-looking oversized furnishings. In the center of the room, a red-skinned creature wearing armor of flame, bronze, and volcanic stone sits cross-legged on the floor, studying a chessboard.
The creature is an efreeti named Taraz the Fair. The name has nothing to do with his sense of justice or fair play, however, but refers to the light hues of his fiery hair. Xonthal trapped Taraz and was trying to bend or trick the efreeti into service when he disappeared. The trapped creature has had over a century of solitude to rue its fate.
Taraz is held in this area by a thin line of magical salt. Imbued with potent wards by Xonthal, the salt rings the bases of all four walls and extends across the doorway in the joints between paving stones. A character with a passive
Taraz greets the adventurers with a fiery smile. He assumes correctly that the characters' arrival so soon after Iskander’s appearance is no coincidence, and he uses the missing mage as leverage for negotiating. Taraz’s only concern is escape, and he will do anything to win his freedom.
Taraz’s conversation with the adventurers covers the following points—many of which are utter lies designed to help him gain the characters' trust:
- Xonthal stripped Taraz’s power to grant wishes when he trapped the efreeti here, to prevent him from escaping. He will recover his power only when he is freed. (Both false.)
- Xonthal warded the chamber to prevent the efreeti from harming anyone, so that the wizard and the genie could play chess. Xonthal promised to set Taraz free if he ever won a match. (False on all counts. Xonthal never entered this area, because Taraz can and will harm creatures in his chamber.)
- The characters are perfectly safe in the corridor. (True, as long as Taraz is confined to area 22.)
- Taraz has no desire to harm the characters, and couldn’t even if he wanted to, thanks to Xonthal’s protective magic. (False. Xonthal’s wards confine the efreeti and its magic to area 22, but they don’t protect other creatures in that area.)
- Taraz saw a human (Iskander) come down the corridor ahead of the adventurers. He was carrying a mask that resembled a dragon’s face, and he looked badly wounded. (All true.)
- Iskander stumbled and fell off the walkway with the mask into the infinite space beyond, where he undoubtedly is still falling. To rescue him and recover the mask, the characters will need Taraz’s help, for the only way to get the mask back from the cosmic well around the walkway is with a wish. The efreeti will bestow this powerful magic on the party in exchange for his freedom. (False on all counts, including the efreeti’s ability to bestow a wish.)
- Freeing Taraz is as simple as breaking the line of salt across the entryway. (True.)
In the end, Taraz is desperate to escape the dungeon, and he will promise almost anything—short of continued servitude—to win his freedom. Unless the terms of the deal are ironclad, however, the efreeti will seek a way to weasel out of any bargain once he is free, and to attack the characters out of sheer malice. Because he can fly, Taraz has no fear of falling off the walkway, and he will push characters off it.
23. Time Chamber
Two massive hourglasses occupy this irregularly shaped chamber. Their glass globes are nearly fifteen feet across, with each hourglass rising almost to the ceiling thirty feet overhead. Each is suspended by chains, pulleys, and gears in such a way that it can be turned over to set its sand running.
Slumped against the wall at the far side of the chamber is the cultist who called to you from the balcony of the tower. His dark robes are charred and torn, and a blue dragon mask is clutched in his red-stained hands.
In addition to his mastery of spatial magic, Xonthal dabbled in the manipulation of time. These hourglasses were part of his attempt to control the flow of time, though he abandoned that research. The hourglasses can be rotated by pulling on their chains, but the only effect is a hideous, ear-grating groan. The sand runs, but the hourglasses' magic has long since dissipated.
Casting a
Iskander has been dead since shortly after he arrived here, slain by the wounds inflicted by the elementals. The (false)
Exiting Xonthal’s Tower
The teleport circle in **area area 14 ** can take the characters back to any level of the tower (areas area 8 to area 13). The teleport circles in those areas can take them back to the sundial, from which they can exit the maze. The characters are not yet in the clear, though.
However much Jorgen Pawl opposed Severin, he remained loyal to the Cult of the Dragon. As soon as he understood that the traitorous Iskander was somehow in league with the adventurers, he used
When the characters teleport to the sundial, they are greeted by the terrible sound of villagers screaming, a dragon roaring, and lightning bolts tearing houses to splinters. When they reach the edge of the garden, they see the dragon swooping over the village and terrified villagers fleeing in every direction. A character with passive
Like any smart foe, Lennithon tries to fight on its terms, not the enemy’s. It stays in the air and uses its breath weapon to maximum effect. If the characters refuse to face it, Lennithon is happy to wreck the village and murder innocents in an effort to bring the heroes into the open.
When the characters face the dragon, read or paraphrase the following.
“The mask, fools! The mask is what I’ve come for. Give it to me, and I’ll leave these crawling ants with their miserable lives. The Queen is returning! Who are you to hope to stop her? Give me the mask!”
This dragon is loyal to the cult, but it has no intention of getting killed before Tiamat’s glorious return. It fights until it is reduced to 75 hit points, then flies away to recuperate.
Conclusion
If any of the cultists in the tower are left alive for questioning, or if the characters use
The fact that the
The characters gain a level at the end of this chapter.