Keys from the Golden Vault

Bard's Quest

Frody didn't intend to frighten away the cabin's proper owners, but his appearance can't be helped, and he has nowhere else to go. Toadhop's inhabitants are too frightened to speak to him, so Frody has been waiting for braver souls to arrive so he can explain his plight to them. Given the chance, he imparts the following information:

• Grave Theft. Two halflings dug up his grave in the dead of night and stole his Canaith mandolin (an instrument of the bards). Frody wants it back. ("It was a gift," he says.) The mandolin has a name: Golden Axe.
• Halfling Robbers. The grave robbers' names were Mackerel and Trout. Frody's waking spirit could hear the halflings talking to each other as they broke into his coffin. However, Frody could do nothing to stop the theft of his mandolin, and the halflings were long gone by the time he figured out how to animate his own corpse.
• Halflings' Whereabouts. The two halflings had local accents. Someone in Toadhop might know where to find them.

Frody agrees to return peacefully to his grave if the characters find and retrieve his stolen mandolin. If the characters slay Frody instead, he reappears 24 hours later as a neutral good ghost and haunts Toadhop until his spirit finds rest—which happens only when Golden Axe is returned to Frody's grave.

A Typical Day

If the characters request information about how the conservatory's occupants spend a typical day, Mackerel and Trout share the information in the Conservatory Schedule table.

Chimneys

The conservatory's chimneys haven't been cleaned in a long time. A Small character can try to squeeze up or down one, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. A failed check indicates that the character makes no progress. To enter or exit a chimney from the top, one must first use an action to try to remove the chimney's stone cap, doing so with a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check. A character in gaseous form can navigate a chimney without having to make these checks or remove the chimney cap.

Doors

The conservatory's doors are made of thick, sturdy oak with iron fixtures. Locked doors are noted in their area's heading and require a master key to open. Sythian has one master key; Vordell, the housekeeper, has another. A character can take an action to try to pick a lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 18 Dexterity check.

Elevator

A 5-foot-wide cage elevator fitted with stained-glass windows connects the dining hall on level 1 (x) to the mezzanine on level 2 (x) and the hallway on level 3 (x). The elevator is powered by magic. A creature in the elevator need only say "level 1," "level 2," or "level 3" in Common, and the elevator will ascend or descend to that floor, clattering noisily and taking about 6 seconds to move from one floor to the next. The elevator doesn't respond to commands while it is moving.

Exterior Lighting

The conservatory's exterior walls are lit up at night by golden continual flame spells spaced evenly around the building's foundation. These spells are suppressed during daylight hours.

Interior Lighting

Natural light illuminates most of the conservatory's interior spaces. Students and servants who lack darkvision use candles, lamps, or lit fireplaces to see at night.

Windows

The conservatory's windows are 6 feet tall and 3 feet wide, their lead frames fitted with dozens of small, diamond-shaped panes of frosted glass. Each window has small hinges on one side of it, allowing it to be swung open like a door. All windows are latched shut from the inside except on hot days. As an action, a character can try to force open a latched window, doing so with a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, or use thieves' tools to unlatch a window from the outside, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.

Demons

Joster Mareet petitioned and received aid from Graz'zt in the form of one chasme and six quasits:

• Chasme. This Large demon crawls around the outside of the conservatory and is usually encountered on the rooftop (x). It attacks enemies it detects in the air, on the ground, or on the third-floor balcony (x).
• Quasits. These Tiny demons haunt the conservatory, where they remain invisible or take the forms of bats and giant centipedes.

Sythian and Joster are the only ones at the conservatory who are aware of the demons' presence, as the demons take care to hide themselves from students, servants, and most visitors. When a demon dies, it dissolves into a puddle of putrid ichor.

"Are You Accepting New Students?"

A character who is a bard (or pretends to be one) can petition Sythian to become a student at Skalderang Conservatory. The character must first prove they can afford Sythian's tutelage (by displaying treasure worth 250 gp or more), after which the character must impress Sythian by playing a musical instrument and succeeding on a DC 20 Charisma (Performance) check. On a failed check, Sythian delivers a scathing critique of the character's musical ability before sending the characters away empty-handed. Sythian changes his mind if the characters pay him a bribe of 500 gp or more. On a successful check or upon receiving such a bribe, Sythian allows the would-be student (and only that character) to stay overnight and orders Vordell to prepare a room for them (x).

"Surrender the Mandolin or Else!"

If the characters use their audience with Sythian to demand that Golden Axe be handed over to them, Sythian lets out a haughty laugh and orders the characters to leave at once. If the characters refuse, Sythian and Joster flee to x, where Sythian equips himself with Golden Axe and tries to escape out the window using the mandolin's fly spell while Joster makes his own escape.

"We're Debt Collectors."

Sythian owes money to various loan sharks and banks. Characters who claim to represent one of these individuals or institutions must succeed on a DC 15 Charisma (Deception) check to convince Sythian that they are who they say they are. If one or more characters fail this check, Sythian becomes suspicious (see "Sythian's Suspicion" below).

If the characters trick Sythian into believing they are debt collectors and demand a payment of no more than 200 gp, Sythian fetches the sum from his study (x) while Joster keeps a watchful eye on the characters. After making the payment, Sythian sends the characters on their way. If the characters demand more than 200 gp or anything other than coins, Sythian becomes suspicious (see below).

C1: Dining Hall

At night, the double door to the south is barred shut from the inside.

During the day, characters are most likely to encounter Vordell, the housekeeper (commoner), here, setting the table or returning clean dishes and cutlery to the sideboard. Depending on the time of day, the characters might find Sythian Skalderang (see the x), Joster the incubus in tiefling form, and students here as well (see the x).

C2: Kitchen and Pantry

Merle, the dwarf cook (commoner), works here from 6 a.m. to midnight. When confronted with danger, he grabs a rolling pin (treat it as a club) and defends himself.

The door that leads outside is used mainly for food deliveries and is barred shut from the inside at night.

C3: Servants' Quarters

Merle, the cook, claims the lower bunk as his. Vordell, the housekeeper, sleeps in the bunk above him.

C4: Gallery

Between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Sythian's students relax here. Three quasits lurk by the stuffed wolf and use their Invisibility action to remain unseen. They attack characters who try to break into x.

The missing paintings were sold at auctions to pay off some of Sythian's debts. The remaining decor includes three light crossbows and three heavy crossbows (all of which are functional but missing ammunition) mounted on the walls, as well as a stag's head mounted above a fireplace.

[image: Joster Mareet conspires with three quasits, including one in centipede form and one in bat form]

C5: Shrine (Locked)

Students and guests are not allowed in this room, which is why Sythian locks the door.

Sythian's father, Vexxis, worshiped gods of the hunt and the harvest. When he died, this room fell into disuse until Joster Mareet showed up and convinced Sythian to empty it and repurpose the shrine for the worship of Graz'zt. Vordell, the housekeeper, is the only person besides Sythian and Joster who's allowed to enter this area.

The stone hand merges seamlessly with the stone floor. Spilling a few drops of Humanoid blood into the brazier causes the brazier's coals to produce a hissing purple flame and oily, purplish smoke that reeks of offal. When Sythian summons the flame and speaks to it, the flame responds to him in Graz'zt's whispered voice, but only when the demon lord is in the mood to talk.

A character who examines the brazier and succeeds on a DC 17 Intelligence (Religion) check realizes that it's used by worshipers of Graz'zt to commune with the demon lord, who requires a blood sacrifice. As an action, a character can spill some of their own blood into the bowl and utter a prayer to Graz'zt; doing so has a 10 percent chance of annoying the demon lord, who causes four shadow demons to appear in the room and attack. These demons return to the Abyss after 10 minutes and disappear instantly when slain. (Graz'zt speaks only to those he considers worthy of his attention; the characters don't qualify in this regard.)

C6: Mezzanine

The mezzanine creaks loudly when stepped on. Dexterity (Stealth) checks made to cross the mezzanine quietly have disadvantage.

C7: Students' Quarters

Students sometimes practice music in their rooms from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. All students can be found in their rooms from midnight until shortly before 8 a.m. (see the x).

Each of these rooms contains a single bed, a dresser, a washbasin, a chamber pot, and an iron stove with clawed feet with a stovepipe that funnels smoke into the nearby chimney. A mirror is mounted on the inside of the door. Other features of each room are summarized below:

• C7a:. Wylie's Room. Resting on the dresser is a wooden case containing a beautifully crafted lyre (250 gp) that belongs to Wylie van Timmel.
• C7b:. Joster's Room. Joster has claimed this vacant room for himself and uses it primarily as a studio to paint portraits of new students. (These paintings end up on the walls in x.) A wooden easel stands near the window, and a collection of paints and brushes rests on the windowsill. Leaning against the base of the easel are three blank canvases stretched over wooden frames.
• C7c:. Mytchyl's Room. When present, Mytchyl Dwyer lies on his bed with his wheelchair close by. Mounted on the wall above the headboard are three songbirds carved from driftwood.
• C7d:. Spare Room. No one uses this room currently.
• C7e:. Mazia's Room. Mazia Foulard keeps a diary and a small leather case tucked under her pillow. The case contains an exquisitely crafted silver flute (250 gp) that was given to Mazia by her grandmother.
• C7f:. Embry's Room. Odors waft into this room from the kitchen. Embry Hale has a framed painting on one wall that depicts the silhouette of a satyr playing a trumpet (25 gp). Tucked under Embry's mattress is a wooden smoking pipe and packet of pipe tobacco.

C8: Bathroom

The servants shower here every night after finishing their chores, while students shower here before breakfast each morning.

Turning the iron knob causes hot water to spring from the shower head. The water, which is produced magically, disappears through drains in the floor.

C9: Sythian's Bathroom (Locked)

Sythian showers here every morning before breakfast. This room is otherwise identical to x.

C10: Laundry Room

Turning the spigot on the wall causes hot water, which is produced magically, to flow from a faucet and into the washtub, which has a drain plug in the bottom of it.

C11: Music Hall

Sythian Skalderang (see the x) is here with his students from 9 a.m. to noon. The students often return to this room between the hours of 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. to play music without supervision.

Three quasits lurk under chairs, using their Invisibility action to hide. They attack any intruder who picks up or plays one of the instruments.

C12: Outdoor Balcony

The chasme on the rooftop (x) creeps down the exterior wall to attack characters on this balcony. It's a 30-foot drop from the balcony to the ground.

C13: Hallway

The elevator climbs no higher than this hallway.

C14: Sythian's Study

Between the hours of 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., Sythian Skalderang (see the x) is here, reading and writing letters, as well as reviewing applications from the families of young hopefuls who seek to benefit from his tutelage. While Sythian is here, Joster the incubus reverts to his true form and looms over Sythian's shoulder.

C15: Sythian's Quarters (Locked)

[image: Canaith Mandolin]

Sythian Skalderang (see the x) is here from midnight until 8 a.m.

C16: Attic

Characters who spend at least 1 minute searching the attic find two life-sized wooden mannequins—one wearing a green wedding dress, the other a white funeral dress. Both dresses belonged to Sythian's mother. They also find a wooden chest that is padlocked; the key is lost, but a character can take an action to try to pick the lock using thieves' tools, doing so with a successful DC 17 Dexterity check.

C17: Library (Locked)

Sythian sold his family's collection of books to pay off debts. A locked door leads to the rooftop (area C18).

C18: Rooftop

It's a 45-foot drop from the rooftop to the ground.

Unless it has been fought and killed elsewhere, a chasme guards this area. At your discretion, the demon might be perched above a doorway, waiting to ambush intruders emerging from one of the towers.