Keys from the Golden Vault

Vasil's Reward

Vasil is prepared to pay 250 gp to each character if The Celestial Codex is safely delivered to him.

Reward

Markos's family is prepared to pay 100 gp to each character for delivering The Celestial Codex safely to Vasil Talistrome, plus an extra 150 gp each if the characters bring Markos home. (The family strongly prefers him to be alive but pays to have him raised from the dead if necessary.)

Eldritch Surges

Since the day Markos contacted Krokulmar, its presence has slowly warped Delphi Mansion and its residents. Krokulmar's influence is strongest in certain rooms. When a room's description calls for it, or whenever a creature casts a spell in Delphi Mansion, roll on the Eldritch Surges table to see how Krokulmar's influence manifests in that location. The surge lasts for 1 hour. Rolling on the Eldritch Surges table while a surge is already in effect causes the current surge to end.

D1: Foyer

The stairs climb to a balcony (area D10). The ceiling here rises 30 feet from the floor. The owlbear rug weighs 50 pounds.

D2: Dining Hallway

A character who examines the armor in the paintings and succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (History) check recalls that the knights belong to an order of paladins that battles extraplanar threats.

D3: Dining Room

A mimic disguised as a stuffed deer head has attached itself to a blank wooden plaque mounted on a secret door in the south wall. Markos trained the mimic to guard the secret door, which leads to a hidden room (described below). The mimic attacks if a character comes within 5 feet of it.

D4: Kitchen

The kitchen is in shambles. The half-eaten food on the cookery and plates has begun to rot.

Chimney. A fireplace in the middle of the east wall contains a black iron pot hung on a hook. The chimney is too narrow for Medium or Small characters to climb, but a Tiny creature could fit.

D5: Pantry

The pantry is well stocked, and the foodstuffs here haven't spoiled yet. A sack of potatoes rests against the east wall next to stairs that lead to the wine cellar (area D23).

D6: Parlor

The two suits of animated armor on the west side of the room attack if a character comes within 5 feet of either of them. They fight until destroyed.

D7a: Empty Sitting Room

All furnishings and decorations have been removed from this room, leaving nothing but dust and cobwebs.

D7b: Room with a Secret

The rug is a rug of smothering, and the sword is a flying sword. They both attack if a character comes within 5 feet of either.

D8a: Tower Ground Floor

The stairs here climb 20 feet to area D8b.

D8b: Tower Stairs

The stairs here descend 20 feet to area D8a and climb 20 feet to area D8c.

D8c: Stargazer's Roost

[image: Zala Morphus]

The cloaked figure is Zala Morphus, a human mage who has been transformed into a nothic. Zala helped Markos contact Krokulmar and blames this Far Realm entity for her transformation. Now she anxiously turns to the stars, hoping to find a way to return to her human form. Zala has no interest in Markos's current activities and little knowledge about them.

Zala speaks Common, Deep Speech, and Elvish. If the characters attack her, Zala responds in kind. If they claim to be looking for The Celestial Codex, Zala advises them to search Markos's office (x) or his bedroom (area D15).

Zala wants a map of the Great Snake constellation from the star-map room (area D21). If the characters retrieve the map for her, Zala tells characters about the locked secret door in the wine cellar (area D23) along with the password ("farrl'v hrak").

D9: Guest Bedrooms

These two adjacent rooms are furnished identically:

The first character to enter the westernmost bedroom triggers a roll on the x.

The easternmost bedroom contains a gibbering mouther. It attacks any character who opens the door and fights to the death.

D10: Balcony

This balcony overlooks the foyer (area D1), the floor of which is 20 feet below.

D11a: Empty Office

All furnishings have been removed from this room, leaving nothing but dust and cobwebs.

D11b: Markos's Office

The first character to enter the office triggers a roll on the x.

D12: Gallery

Treasure. Two of the busts and five of the framed paintings are well made and in good condition, and each could fetch 50 gp from a collector. Each bust weighs 30 pounds, and each framed painting weighs 15 pounds. The ivory dragonchess set is worth 150 gp.

D13: Alchemy Lab

One of the cloaked figures is Markos's head researcher, Xander (lawful evil, human cult fanatic). The other figure is an apprentice named Kura (lawful evil, human cultist). Both have embraced the Far Realm entity and the power it offers. Xander and Kura are indifferent toward intruders and don't attack unless the intruders aim to harm them or hinder their research.

Xander and Kura don't keep track of Markos's movements, but they know he has been spending a lot of time in the caves below the basement (area D27). They assume The Celestial Codex is with Markos or in his bedroom (area D15).

D14: Meditation Room

There's no obvious source for the horrible smell that lingers here. The first character who enters the room triggers a roll on the x.

Markos used to sit on the rug and meditate while pondering the forces of the multiverse, but he hasn't used this room in a while.

D15: Markos's Bedroom

Behind the headboard of the bed is a secret door to a hidden walk-in closet. A character who examines the wall and succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check discovers not only the secret door but also a secret button on the headboard. Pushing the button causes the bed to slide eastward, allowing easy access to the hidden closet.

Hidden Closet. This closet contains clothing on hooks and shelves, plus an assortment of footwear. On a small table against the east wall sits an iron lockbox. A character using thieves' tools can try to pick the lock, which requires 1 minute and a successful DC 14 Dexterity check.

D16: Student Quarters

These rooms were set aside for Markos's pupils, who shared his drive for knowledge but didn't share in their master's reward for contacting Krokulmar. The pupils fled the mansion after Markos made his pact. Each room now contains two psychic gray oozes (see the "Variant: Psychic Gray Ooze" sidebar in the Monster Manual) that mill about. They attack intruders on sight.

D17: Bathroom

The tub and sinks have pipes that draw rainwater from cisterns on the roof. Further, each basin is equipped with a plugged drainpipe and two faucets: one that magically heats water and one that magically cools it.

D18: Third-Floor Hall

This hallway has become a lair for stirges—two per character. The stirges entered the mansion through the hole in the roof above x. They attack anyone who tries to cross the hall.

D19: Eldritch Observation Room

The first character who enters the room triggers a roll on the x.

D20: Component Storage

This walk-in closet contains four cabinets, each one filled with carefully organized material components.

Treasure. Characters who search the cabinets can find a material component for any 1st- or 2nd-level spell, provided the component has a value less than 1 gp. Characters also find a potion, its bubbling green liquid stained by a drop of some dark substance (octopus ink).

The alchemists in area D13 concocted the potion, which functions as a potion of poison but has an additional property. When the poison effect ends, the imbiber sprouts a tentacle made of inky shadow. This shadowy tentacle lasts for 1 hour. As a bonus action, the potion's imbiber can use the tentacle to make a melee weapon attack (+4 to hit) against a creature the imbiber can see within 5 feet of itself. On a hit, the target takes 4 (1d8) necrotic damage.

D21: Star-Map Room

The walls and floor of this room are covered with star maps. The ghost of an elf researcher named Farenhel wanders the room, looking through the maps and searching for an answer the ghost will never find. The ghost is harmless and attacks only in self-defense or if a character tries to steal a star map. The ghost stops attacking as soon as the stolen map is returned.

Characters who examine the maps closely find one that depicts a constellation called the Great Snake. This is the map sought by the nothic Zala Morphus (see x).

D22: Storage Rooms

Each of these unfurnished rooms contains two ghouls that were attracted to the mansion by Far Realm energies. The ghouls are hostile.

D23: Wine Cellar

Three of the wine casks contain varying amounts of wine. The fourth cask is empty and positioned in front of a secret door in the west wall. Characters who examine the empty cask see handprints on it, suggesting it has been moved multiple times. The characters also feel cold air coming from the wall, suggesting the presence of a secret door. The wine cask must be moved aside to access the secret door.

Secret Door. An arcane lock spell has been cast on the secret door. The password to bypass the spell is "farrl'v hrak," which is Deep Speech for "forever changing." Esquire's locket (see area D19) speaks the password when opened.

Alternatively, a character can use an action to try to force open the locked secret door, doing so with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check.

D24: Temple

The arcane energies in this room are particularly volatile. The first character who enters the room triggers a roll on the x. After the surge begins, on initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), roll again on the Eldritch Surges table.

D25: Storage

The severed heads and decapitated bodies belong to Elra Lionheart and her three human adventuring companions. The body of one of Elra's companions is missing (and can be found in area D27).

If Elra is with the characters (see "x" earlier in this adventure), she mourns her dead companions and hopes there might be a way to bring her and her friends back from the dead.

D26a: Vestry

This dusty chamber contains four unlocked wooden trunks, each of which contains four dark-purple silk robes.

D26b: Ceremony Room

The spiral staircase descends 20 feet to area D27. The voice rising up the stairs is chanting in Deep Speech, calling to an entity named Krokulmar.

D27: Ritual Room

This location consists of two roughly circular caves joined by an opening. The staircase from area D26b leads to the southern cave, which is empty. From the stairs, characters can see activity in the northern cave:

Markos Delphi is performing a ritual that will allow a fragment of Krokulmar (see their x at the end of the adventure) to attach to the headless body of one of Elra's adventuring companions, thus enabling a piece of Krokulmar to exist outside the Far Realm. The headless body is stunned and remains so until the ritual is complete. It is possible to attack the fragment without harming the headless body.

[image: The Celestial Codex]

On each of his turns in combat, Markos defends himself while taking a bonus action to continue the ritual. If he's able to take this bonus action three more times, the fragment of Krokulmar takes control of the headless body, at which point the body is no longer stunned.

The fragment of Krokulmar and the body to which it is attached are considered two creatures occupying the same space. Neither can be separated from the other until one or both of them drop to 0 hit points, at which point the fragment of Krokulmar returns to the Far Realm. While under the fragment's control, the body uses the knight stat block, has blindsight within a range of 30 feet, is blind beyond this radius, and acts immediately after the fragment in the initiative order. The fragment determines what the body does on the body's turn.

The fragment uses the body to protect itself from harm and to destroy the characters.