Lords of the Cruth Lowlands - Vaults of Pandius

The Ruins of Achelos
themselves, setting up their camp
in the two wings and the large
room over the altar. The common
clerics live in the west wing and
Dahktor in the east wing, while
Mrakich occupies the main room.
Two Skeletons are set as guard to
each door leading to Mrakich’s
lodgings, and attack anyone trying
to enter. The cultists rest here
while not working at widening the
breach in the crypt. A commotion
on the ground floor will attract the
cultists in 1d4+2 rounds.
3. Top Floor: The Bell of Chardastes
was once kept in a secret
compartment in this level, near the
apartment of the Patriarch (the
southernmost room). The area is
not used anymore, but Mrakich has
set a poison gas trap (ST vs Poison
or suffer 2d6 HP) in the secret
compartment.
4. Basement: Most of the rooms and
cells here are not used, except the
large crypt at the southern end,
where the breach is located. There
are always 1d4+1 cultists here, and
the Shade roams the basement.
The Orcs only use the rooms near
the stairs, since they fear the
Shade.
Stoyanov Library
This stout building survived the siege with
less damage than most others. Still, the
ceiling has mostly collapsed, crushing the
writing desks that were once located in the
center of the main hall. The statue of the
philanthropist who financed the
construction of the library, Petros
Stoyanov, an important aristocrat at the
court of Achelos, was also destroyed. The
PCs may explore this building on their
own, or upon request by Malika Alharbia.
The Stoyanov Library
A Nagpa researcher, Serdalu (Nagpa NM,
C), has discovered, in the old diary of
General Alharbius’ magist at the Collegium
Arcanum in Thyatis City, a note pointing to
the Traladaran translation of the
Thanatopsis 16 , a text that could contain
great necromantic lore. According to the
text, the Thyatian wizard had learned of
the text from a Traladaran prisoner, but
could not confirm its presence in the
library of Achelos, as he was killed in a
skirmish near Riverfork, as stated in the
last pages of the diary, which were added
later by the magist’s apprentice before
turning the diary in to the Collegium
Arcanum -- a standard procedure among
the Thyatian battle mages. Serdalu
employed a Cloud Clipper to reach Achelos
while the Flying City of Serraine is
hovering over the Five Shires and Darokin.
The Cloud Clipper is hidden in the valley of
the river Piva, near the Nithian Obelisk -- a
landmark that immediately caught
Serdalu’s eye and which he plans to
investigate after securing the Thanatopsis.
Serdalu carries an assortment of potions
(invisibility, flying, invulnerability, poison
and healing) as security measure, as well
as a scroll of protection from lycanthropes.
Serdalu works for the Grey Front, which
has given him the means to carry on his
research, as well as to hire mercenaries.
46
16
Thantopsis by Jens Schnabel, “Tomes for
the Tome: Magical Books”, in Tome of
Mystara, vol 5,
http://pandius.com/tome/tomevol5/tomes.
html