D&D 5E - The Rise of Tiamat

the illness, his suspicions blossomed into full-blown
paranoia. He is convinced that someone at Xonthal’s
Tower poisoned him, and he now trusts no one. To
save himself, Iskander has decided to betray the cult
and seek safety elsewhere. Having heard the exploits
of the adventurers, he has decided that the cult's most
effective enemies are his best bet as allies—and that
a dragon mask should be more than enough to attract
their attention.
A n U n e x p e c t e d M e s s a g e
Iskander’s message to the party can arrive in any
manner you see fit, including through contacts in the
Zhentarim. Whether it comes directly to the characters
or to an N P C on the Council of Waterdeep, the message
could be a hastily scribbled note, an eloquent appeal
delivered by bonded messenger, or a whispered plea in a
dark corridor.
"You don’t know me, but we can help each other
immeasurably. My name is Iskander, and I made a
terrible mistake in joining the Cult o f the Dragon. The
cult's horrifying plans are sure to bring doom to all, but
I can stop those plans with your help. Rescue me from
the cult's clutches, and I will deliver to you the prize o f
prizes: the Blue Dragon Mask. W ithout it, Severin faces
an insurmountable setback in his effort to call Tiamat
back to our world. The mask is here in Xonthal’s Tower,
being studied and guarded by only a handful o f wizards,
including myself.
“The danger o f my treason becoming known grows
with every passing day, and if I’m discovered, I’ll surely
be killed. Please hurry, for the sake o f everyone and
everything you value.”
The adventurers are likely to be suspicious of Iskander,
intuiting that his offer is motivated more by concern
for his own survival than by concern for the world.
If divination spells are used to assess the situation,
give the characters a strong sense that Iskander is
on the level, and that the Blue Dragon Mask is in
his possession.
If the characters ask the members of the Council of
Waterdeep their opinions, the N P C s are unanimous: the
risk is enormous, but the potential payoff is even greater.
Losing one of the five dragon masks w ill be a huge
setback for Severin’s plans.
X o n t h a l ’s T o w e r
Xonthal’s Tower is legendary among the wizards
and tale-spinners of Faertin for its unusual magical
defenses, including a magical hedge maze that
surrounds it. The cultists avoid the hedge maze by
accessing a portal inside the tower that they use to
travel in and out.
The wizard Xonthal was an extraordinary figure.
Beginning as a lowly adventurer, he traveled across
Faerun and beyond, reaching distant Zakhara, Kara-Tur,
and even Maztica. H is work focused on conjuration and
elemental evocation, so he often kept elementals and
genies for company.
Xonthal prized solitude, so he designed his tower
and its surrounding hedge maze to deter intruders
and unwanted visitors. Over a century ago, the wizard
kicked his apprentices out and sealed the tower. No one
knows what Xonthal has been up to in the intervening
decades, or whether he’s even still alive. Some think he
must have become a lich, while others believe he’s just
dead. A ll that’s certain is that the hedge maze remains a
frustrating barrier, and the spells and wards protecting
the tower against entry remain as powerful as ever.
T h e V i l l a g e
Spreading out along the edge of the hedge maze is a
village, also called Xonthal’s Tower. The settlement
began as a place where Xonthal’s many apprentices
established homes of their own. As years passed, more
settlers were drawn to the area as word spread that the
wizard and his apprentices offered excellent protection
against marauding ores and monsters. The village is
smaller now than in the tower’s heyday, but about three
hundred people still live there.
The locals are friendly enough, but they’re wary of
strangers who ask too many questions about the tower.
Things were quiet there for a long time, but for almost
a year now, the villagers have seen lights through
the windows at night and heard unearthly sounds. A
few claim to have seen a blue dragon lingering in the
sky high above. Some villagers scoff at that idea, but
everyone agrees that the tower has been reoccupied.
Once the villagers are satisfied that the adventurers
haven’t come to lay waste to the tower (fearing that
an all-out battle would likely destroy the village too),
they’re interested in talking of little else besides who
could be inside. The most popular theories are that
Xonthal has returned or has awakened as a lich, or that
one of the genies and elementals he once imprisoned
finally broke free of its restraints but remains trapped
inside the tower.
The villagers warn the characters sternly about the
danger of entering the maze. Few who enter it ever
come back out, and those who do come out are much
worse for wear. Even animals and birds avoid the maze.
The tower and the maze are protected by brilliantly
crafted wishes cast by Xonthal. The tower is impervious
to all scrying and divination, and invulnerable against
all forms of attack and alteration. Approaching through
the maze and overcoming the puzzles designed by
Xonthal is the only way to get inside.
T h e M a z e
The hedge maze surrounding the central tower is an
astounding work of magical construction. In certain
regards, it’s even more impressive than the tower
because of the powerful ways it manipulates space.
A gently curving path leads into the maze from the
edge of the village. The villagers built a low fence across
the entrance to keep young children and animals from
wandering in. Fear of the maze is hammered into all