Lost Mines of Phandelver

13. StarryCavern

Thestructuraldamageandtheskeletalremainsinthis
areaareevidenceofthedestructivespellbattlefought
herecenturiesagowhentheoresandtheirmercenary
wizardsstormedthemines.

Glitteringmineralsintheceilingofthislargecaverncatch

thelightandsenditbacktocreatetheimpressionofastarry

nightsky.Dozensofskeletons—manycrushedunderfallen

debris—arescatteredacrossthefloor.

Thecaveislargeenoughthatitcontainstwofreestanding

structures.Eachofthesestonebuildingsisproportioned

forhumanuse,asopposedtothedwarf-sizeddoorways

andfurnishingsyou’veseenelsewhereinthemines.Both

structureshavebatteredandblackenedmasonrywalls,their

doubledoorscrackedandscorched.

Thecavernisdividedbyanescarpment,intowhichaflight

ofstairshasbeencut.Passagesleadoutofthisareatothe

north,south,andwest.

Thedamagedbuildingsaredescribedinareas^14 and
15.Mineralsintheceilingarepretty,buttheyareneither
magicalnorvaluable.
AnycharacterproficientinArcanacansenseasubtle
auraofmagicinthiscavern.(Adetectmagicspellreveals
thesame.)Theaurabecomesstrongerasoneapproaches
thenorthernbuilding(area15).

14.Wizards’Quarters

Thedoorsleadingintothisareaarecracked,theiriron
hingespartiallymelted.Wrenchingorsmashingopenthe
doorsrequiresasuccessfulDC 15 Strengthcheck.

Dust,ash,wallsblackenedbyfire,andheapsofdebris

beneaththesaggingceilingshowthatthisroomwas

damagedbyadestructiveblast.Thefurnishings—tables,

chairs,bookshelves,beds—arecharredorsplintered,but

otherwisewellpreserved.Ascorchedironcheststandsnear

thefootofoneofthebeds.

Thisroomcontainstherestlessspiritofthelastwizard
todiehere:Mormeskthewraith.Heisnotimmediately
visiblebutrisesupoutofthefloorwhenalivingcreature
enterstheroom.
Mormeskwasapowerfulmageuntilhemethisendin
thespellbattleattheclimaxoftheoreattack.Centuries
ofangerhavepoisonedhissoul,transforminghimintoa
hate-filledapparition.
MormeskleadstheundeadthathauntWaveEchoCave.
Thewraithspendshistimeherebecausethetreasure
hehadamassedinlifeisinthescorchedchest(seethe
“Treasure”section).Nolongercorporeal,hecannottouch
orpossessthewealthheenjoyedinlife.
Thisbuildingservedasaguesthouseforvisiting
wizardsworkingintheForgeofSpells(area15),mostof
whomwerehumansfromnearbycities.Thefurnishings
areallhumanproportioned.

RoleplayingMormesk

Mormeskspeaksingravewhispers.Whenthewraithfirst

risesupfromthefloor,itsays,“Yourpresenceisoffensive

tome,yourlifeforfeit.Mytreasuresareminealone,not

yourstoplunder!”Ifthecharactersmakenoattemptto

reasonwiththewraith,itattacks.

Ifthecharacterstrytoreasonwiththewraith,it

listenstowhattheyhavetosay,providedtheyhavenot

harmeditinanywayorseizedanyofitsproperty.The

wraithisirrevocablyevil,sotheonlywaythecharacters

canstayitsspectralhandistoofferitsomethinga

formerwizardwouldconsidervaluableinexchangefor

theirlives.Mormeskvaluesmagicitems(particularly

scrolls),spellbooks,andarcaneknowledge.Whatever

thegift,acharactermustsucceedonaDC 10 Charisma

(Persuasion)checktoconvincethewraithofitsvalue.

Regardlessofwhatthecharactersofferit,thewraith

won’trelinquishthewoodenpipeinthescorchedchest.

Itwill,however,partwiththecoinsandgemsifthe

charactersagreetokillthespectatorintheForgeof

Spells.(Thewraithdoesn’texplainwhataspectatoris.It

merelypointstowardarea15.)Onceitreceivesitsgift,the

wraithallowscharacterstoperuseitsbooksandkeepthe

secretmapinoneofthem(seethe“Treasure”section).

Treasure

Thescorchedchestisunlockedandcontains1,100cp, 160

sp, 50 ep,threediamonds(100gpeach),andawooden

pipeadornedwithplatinumfiligree(150gp).

Ahandfulofmagicallypreservedtomesremainonthe

shelves.Mostarejusthistories,butonehasamapsewn

intoitscover.Themap’spresencecanbediscernedwith

asuccessfulDC 12 Intelligence(Investigation)check.The

showsthelocationofadungeonofyourowncreation.

Whenthecharactersfinishtheirexplorationshere,this

oldmapcanleadthemtotheirnextadventure.

PART4:WAVEECHOCAVE

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