Contents
Part 1: Hidden Chambers
The adventure begins when the characters discover a secret door and the hidden chambers behind it. The exact location of this secret door can vary based on your campaign's needs. The hidden chambers are depicted in map 1.
These hidden chambers teem with dangerous traps meant to protect the book in area 6.
[image: Map 1]
General Features
These hidden chambers are made of sturdy, grey stones, dry and dusty with age.
Ceilings
The chambers have flat, 8-foot ceilings of stone.
Light
These chambers are unlit and feature no sconces or fixtures for torches or lamps.
Sound
At first, the chambers are silent. When the traps are activated, the place crackles with lightning and whirs with grinding metal joints and hinges even though the traps are mostly animated by magic.
The Secret Door
The secret door to Sylvene's hidden chambers has gone undetected and undisturbed for decades. The door itself is a collection of stones exactly matching the wall in which the door is set. It takes a successful DC 22 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check to locate it.
The door can be opened by pressing two stones simultaneously, one above the door and one in the floor at its base. It can be forced open with a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check.
The door also opens if the keepers of Sylvene's magical refuge call out for help at the pillars on their island demiplane. Therefore it's possible for adventurers to find the door already ajar, making it easy to begin the adventure.
1. Entry Hall
Magic Dart Trap
A dozen tiny mirrors are set into the walls in this area, seemingly at random. If any living creature casts a reflection in one of these mirrors, every intact mirror conjures a dart of magical force that flits wildly through the air at the end of that creature's turn, attacking up to 12 creatures in the corridor. Make a single attack roll per creature with a +8 bonus to hit, dealing 22 (4d10) force damage on a hit.
Mirrors can be removed with various tools and a successful skill check (DC 13) or attacked (AC 15, 2 hit points) to disable the trap. Each mirror disabled reduces the trap's attack bonus by 1.
2. Crackling Corridor
Much of this area is within the area overseen by the trapped stele at the end of the corridor (area 3). Any creature in this area when the stele is triggered is subject to the lightning bolt fired by the stele, as described in area 3.
3. Emitter Stone
Magic Stele Trap
The stele can detect trespassers out to a range of 60 feet in front of it, regardless of illumination. It has a passive Perception score of 18. To disarm or dispel this trap requires a successful DC 18 check. When triggered, the trap emits a bolt of lightning the whole length of area 2.
Any creature in the area that fails a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw takes 22 (4d10) lightning damage, or half as much damage with a successful save.
The lightning ignites flammable objects in the area that aren't being worn or carried. This stele can emit lightning a total of five times before becoming nothing more than inert stone.
4. Bladed Corridors
Scything Blades Trap
This trap activates when either the mirror-dart trap (area 1) or the magic stele (area 3) is triggered. Once activated, this trap continues to operate until disabled. Its scything blades whirl and slice through the air, guided not by machinery but by magic.
Any creature that ends its turn within 20 feet of the center of the corridor is attacked by scything blades.
On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), scything blades jut from the grooves and gaps in the corridor and attack any creatures within 20 feet of the center of the corridor.
The trap has a +8 attack bonus and deals 22 (4d10) slashing damage on a hit.
This trap can be disabled in the alcove off the center of area 5.
5. Listing Floor
Listing Floor Trap
The area of floor marked on the map in this area is like a teeter-totter, pivoting on a hinge under the floor in front of the doorway to area 6. If more than 120 pounds of weight are placed on either half of the floor, it tilts into a 20-foot-deep pit underneath.
Any creature on the floor when it tilts must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall into the pit below, taking 7 (2d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and from jutting stones on the pit's floor.
The pit floor is made up of pressure plates that activate the trap in area 6 when weight is removed from them. The mechanism of the rising blades trap in area 6 can be accessed from this pit only after the trap in area 6 has activated.
The listing floor is meant to swing immediately back to its starting position, trapping intruders below, but after all these years it doesn't always function. It returns back to its level position on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties).
The 5-foot-square space just off the center of this area contains a 2-foot-long lever that disables the trap in area 4 and holds the floor steady in area 5 if held or jammed in place.
6. Room of Rising Blades
The floor tiles here are all ceramic pressure plates that trigger when released (rather than when depressed). At least 5 pounds of weight are required to depress any of these tiles.
Rising Blades Trap
This trap activates when any of the pressure plates in this area, or in the pit under area 5, are triggered. Once activated, this trap continues to operate for 3 rounds or until disabled, whichever comes first.
Once activated, long spears lined with swordlike blades immediately break through the floor tiles from below, stabbing almost 6 inches into the air at odd angles. (The spears are affixed to a metal rack beneath floor; that rack rises higher and higher each round until the blades finally reach the ceiling, the trap's designed limit.)
The floor is 3 thereafter. Any creatures on the floor when the spears first appear must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) piercing damage on a failure, or half as much on a success.
Afterward, on initiative counts 20 and 10 (losing initiative ties), the blades stab 1 foot higher toward the ceiling. Any creature in the area on the trap's turns must attempt a new DC 15 Dexterity saving throw to avoid 11 (2d10) slashing damage as the blades slice by.
A successful DC 15 Dexterity check with Thieves' Tools (or similar) can disable this trap by interacting with the mechanism from inside the pit under area 5.
A path can be hacked through the area by attacking the spear hafts in any 5-foot space (AC 12, 12 hit points).
The Cage
The space under the podium is unaffected by the trap. The cage surrounding the podium can be accessed through a locked gate opposite the entrance. A character can pick the lock with a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Thieves' Tools) check.
Treasure
The book on the wooden podium inside the cage is a dyed-white leather tome with iron hinges and a sturdy clasp. It bears no title.
Inside, the book begins with 86 vellum pages followed by a compartment cut into dozens more glued and sealed pages. That compartment holds an ivory key etched with sigils about the length of a human hand. This is a planar key with one charge remaining, linked to Sylvene's demiplane, detailed in Part 2: "A Secret Isle."
The book's first 86 pages contain sketches and handwritten notes made by Sylvene for herself and others. Every page is about the island she made, as well as the following lore and spells:
- Sylvene's name and identity as a wizard "traveling across the planes."
- "My island shall be made from a magic stone I acquired not long ago—a demiplane of my own design."
- The spells magic circle, Mordenkainen's faithful hound, and teleportation circle.
- A recipe for potato-leek stew with shallots and garlic.
- The name (Coriander) and location of the statue of a faithful hound in area 2 of the refuge (in Part 3): "Coriander sleeps by the fireplace. Such a good boy."
- Notes explaining "how time will work on my island" (one hour each of dawn, day, dusk, and night).
- A list of the keepers who tend the demiplane: Ahma, Noa, Ohwo, and Seero.
The book also fully identifies and explains how to use the planar key, that it cannot regain charges, and that "to return to this world, seek the island's keepers, for they can send you home."
Part 2: A Secret Isle
When the adventurers arrive, Sylvene's demiplane is in disarray thanks to a visit from Tyreus. The adventurers appear in the southwest corner of the island, as that destination is written into their planar key.
The island is depicted in map 2.
[image: Map 2]
General Features
Sylvene's island is almost rectangular, roughly three miles long and two miles wide.
The temperature and atmosphere of the demiplane were chosen to feel like a thawing winter or early spring, with crisp winds and warm sunshine. The air smells of snowmelt, fresh greens, and seawater. The whole island is covered in low dunes of white sand, giving way to bare, soft beaches at the coastline.
The demiplane is a sphere, so anyone attempting to cross the "endless" sea eventually arrives back at the island. It is the only land in the demiplane.
Life in the Sanctum
No animals or beasts dwell in the demiplane normally. The saltwater of the endless sea is devoid of life but rich in plain, smooth stones.
Plants magically grow throughout the island and in Sylvene's old gardens. Sharp, tall dune grasses, wildflowers, shrubs, and a few gnarled trees grow throughout the island.
It rains occasionally—enough to feed the plants, but never a deluge.
Time in the Sanctum
Time cycles strangely here, as dictated by Sylvene when she created the place, to lend customized beauty to her experience. The stars at night are those of the Realms as viewed from the Sword Coast at the end of winter.
Choose what time of day it is when the adventurers arrive or roll on the following table.
Time of Day in the Demiplane
| d4 | Time of Day |
|---|---|
| 1 | Dawn |
| 2 | Day |
| 3 | Dusk |
| 4 | Night |
The Four Corners
Sylvene meant for these areas to be comfortable reception sites for visitors or relaxation spots for the usagt keepers. Wood-and-leather folding chairs sit in the sand near the 2-foot-high stone walls here.
Each corner is dominated by a stout pillar where the walls meet, and each pillar is marked by whorls and swirl patterns suggesting waves or winds. (These resemble motifs found at the Wizard's Barrow in the previous adventure, In Scarlet Flames).
Keepers of the Sanctum
Once, four creatures kept watch over the island. All four were peculiar shapeshifting creatures called usagt, brought from a distant plane by Sylvene to keep the grounds here while she was away. Though she never returned, the four keepers remained. Their names are Ahma, Noa, Ohwo, and Seero.
Sylvene made a pact with the keepers: If they remained, they would hold the demiplane together and, in exchange, live there in peace. Sylvene would bring them food and drink from Faerûn. They would keep watch, tend to visitors, and Noa would remain attuned to the keystone in the refuge's cellar.
Alas, Tyreus did not trust nor care to understand the sanctum's keepers. He slew Seero in a fit of rage.
The surviving three usagt keepers are invisible and in hiding, waiting to see what Morwena does and hoping they do not have to leave the sanctum to utter dissolution and flee to another plane. Once the adventurers arrive, the keepers watch them in hopes that they can work together to save this place.
Each keeper is hiding at one of the four corners of the island. Choose where or roll 1d4 for each keeper; more than one might be in the same place. There Noa uses their connection to the demiplane's keystone to call for help as best they can, their cries for help echoing through Sylvene's last terrestrial sanctum and planar key.
Keeper Locations
| d4 | Result |
|---|---|
| 1 | Northeast corner |
| 2 | Southeast corner |
| 3 | Southwest corner |
| 4 | Northwest corner |
Trespassers in the Refuge
A great deal of the challenges in the demiplane come from other trespassers—specifically, Tyreus's allies. How long they have been here depends on when (or how often) the adventurers arrive. It could be hours or days.
The first trespasser is Morwena Veilmist, once a Red Wizard of Thay and now Tyreus's abandoned accomplice. She is likely reading everything she can inside the refuge (in area 2). Her goal is to get the adventurers to remove the keystone in the cellar (area 10) and collapse the demiplane, freeing her and potentially hindering Tyreus.
Additionally, Tyreus brought a minion with him to the demiplane, in case he needed it to fight on his behalf. He left it here when he departed. It is a greater shadow horror from Ravnica. It treats the cellar of the refuge (area 10) as its den and stalks the refuge by night to protect the keystone.
Leaving the Demiplane
To leave this demiplane, Sylvene intended visitors to require the blessing of one of the usagt keepers. Once, this simply required a conversation with the usagt in which they took the form of someone from the conversationalist's past and estimated whether Sylvene would prefer a guest to depart or an intruder to be stranded in the demiplane for later confrontation.
In the current, fraught circumstances, the usagt want to keep adventurers around to deal with their situation, if possible. The usagt are not possessive creatures, so they don't necessarily object to adventurers leaving with treasure, either. The keepers sadly realize Sylvene isn't coming back.
Once their favor is earned, the usagt cast banishment on visitors, then maintain concentration on the spell for 1 minute to ensure visitors leave for good. (The usagt know a variation of banishment that optionally transports targets to the previous plane they were on, so extraplanar characters can be returned to the Realms rather than their plane of origin.)
Collapsing the Demiplane
If no one remains in the demiplane who is attuned to its keystone, the demiplane collapses over 10 (1d10 + 5) minutes. The sea overtakes the island and then gradually dissipates into nothingness. Creatures still in the demiplane in the last minute of the collapse are magically transported back to the plane from which they arrived. Objects like treasure, books, and furniture still in the demiplane are most likely lost or destroyed.
Removing the keystone from the demiplane also causes it to collapse. Once removed from the demiplane, the keystone's power dissipates and is lost forever.
Part 3: The Refuge
The wide, comfortable house at the heart of the island is easy to spot. Though it has been exposed to the island's weather for years with minimal maintenance, the elements have been kind and the house wears its age like a handsome patina. The house, the weather, and the island are all aspects of the same magic, after all; they were made for each other.
Sylvene etched her name for the refuge—The Hidden Page—into the wooden frames above the outer doors on the east and west sides of the building. She hoped to pass this place on to her son, Tyberio, one day. Even for mages, life seldom goes quite as planned.
In her absence, the keepers cleaned and maintained the place as best they could. Tyreus and Morwena have since searched through the place with little regard for its tidiness.
[image: Map 3]
General Features
The Hidden Page is made of thick wooden timbers and plastered stones, presented in a simple, bright style with a wide, flat roof. The layout of the place is depicted in map 3.
Floors and Ceilings
Each room features 10-foot ceilings with exposed wooden rafters and patterned plaster. The floors feature wide slate tiles and copious, lavish rugs.
Doors
Security not being a major concern, the doors of the refuge are simple, lightweight wood with ornate fixtures and no locks.
Light
High, wide windows sit just below the ceilings in most outer walls to allow ambient light. Lanterns and candles abound to supplement the fireplaces.
Sound
Normally, a serene quiet permeates the refuge, with the occasional sound of waves and wind.
1. West Foyer
Once, this room was intended to receive guests and be a place for people to doff sandy shoes. This is the main entrance used by the keepers, out of habit. A pair of sandals and a pair of boots, dried and almost rotten, stand near the outer doorway.
2. Grand Hall
This room housed Sylvene's mundane personal library, which only filled the shelves to about half capacity at the time of her last visit. Many volumes of history, natural history, poetry, religion, and other subjects have been stacked throughout this room by Tyreus and Morwena since they arrived. All of these books are from and about the Realms.
This is where Morwena has spent most of her time since being stranded here.
Speaking the proper command words within 30 feet of the deerhound statue activates the statue's magic and instantly casts Mordenkainen's faithful hound centered on the statue. The faithful hound cannot be conjured again until 8 hours have passed. The command words are "Come here, Coriander."
Morwena does not know the command words but has cast detect magic as a ritual in this area, so she knows the statue is magical.
3. Dining Room
This room is in good shape and largely undisturbed, as it has been of little interest to the recent trespassers. The sideboards contain a complete set of silverware worth 125 gp.
The painting is a wide, framed landscape called Wizard's Barrow, by a once-famed Waterdhavian artist called Saraque Skyhill, whose work Sylvene admired. It is worth 550 gp.
4. Kitchen
The fireplace boasts a large stew pot and roasting spit. The shelves and cupboards here are bare. A collection of common knives and spoons slowly rusts in a small chest here.
The stairs lead down to the cellar (area 10).
5. Study
Here is where Sylvene did her work and read about topics related to wizardry. The books here cover a variety of topics, from architecture to zoology, all from and about the Realms.
All the spellbooks and diaries that were kept here have been taken by Tyreus.
A first-edition, pristine copy of a book called simply Mythologies can be found here, worth 200 gp.
6. East Foyer
This area was once intended as a place to receive guests and leave sandy shoes behind. It stands empty now.
7. Bed Chamber
A large chest holds sheets and blankets for the bed and the cradle. A quilt still folded neatly in the cradle bears the name Tyberio in ornate, stitched letters.
8. Outer Garden
Lively herbs have overtaken much of the garden, but some carrots and turnips still grow here, too. The keepers don't eat (in case they need food for visitors), and Morwena has been surviving thus far on rations she brought.
9. Solarium
Sylvene never got around to accomplishing as much gardening as she intended. Nothing grows in this room anymore.
A golden disc, about the size of a platter and made to resemble a stylized sun, hangs on a wall in this room. It is worth 250 gp.
10. Cellar
The cellar is largely empty, and most of what remains is dried or rotten.
The greater shadow horror lurks here during the daylight hour. By night, it prefers to roam the island or the refuge, passing through doors and walls as it goes. During dawn and dusk hours, it stays close to the refuge. Its goal is to keep anyone, including Morwena, from interacting with the keystone, on Tyreus's orders. In its mind, Morwena is no threat unless she ventures into the cellar. (Thus, she doesn't.) The shadow horror is satisfied with keeping new trespassers, like the adventurers, away from the house—and just as happy to kill them.
The keystone is set in the center of the ceiling. It is a dark, jagged stone with veins of gold, all etched with arcane runes and sigils, very much out of place here. It's about the size of a loaf of bread and weighs about 10 pounds.
Three bottles of fortified wine from the Sword Coast, never opened, still sit amid straw in a crate in the southeast corner of the cellar. Each bottle is now worth 70 gp.