The Other Guys Post Christmas Special

The other guys set up shop in Vellen Falls, now employed by Helle's Adventuring Company.
"Hullo there! it is I Hellefick's Kristalinn. I am the CEO of an adventuring team known as Helle's Adventuring and Trading Company. I heard of your recent exploits and I thought I might offer you a job!" He offers the team their own headquarters in Vellen Falls which includes a monthly pay check, a Majordomo to oversee their operation in Vellen Falls and a small crew to cook and clean. Their job of course will be to delve dungeons and complete adventuring missions that can only be accomplished by the talent and skill of people like you. "Can I offer you a ride back to town?" He explains to them the benefits of working with company and a talented team of like minded individuals. They would have access to a research library and get paid for completed missions. Eventually they arrive back in Morden’s Bridge and get a warm welcome from the mayor and the townsfolk. Many farmers have found the rotted bodies of goblins not far from their livestock no longer shambling about. They receive 1000 gold and maybe another magic item or two. Show the map of Vellen Falls if any of the players hit a History check or intelligence check. They can see where their new HQ may be.

Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome was donated to Whitemark Crest Library by adventurers seeking refuge from a storm that seemed to follow them wherever they went. A junior member of the Avowed, although unable to open the book, cataloged it as a treatise on the Inner Planes, based solely on Zikran’s reputation as an expert on the subject. The book has been moving through the archives ever since, as Avowed who were also unable to open it take guesses at its contents. After a time, they stopped trying.
New Characters Level Nine. Let's start with them intercepting a carriage that is trying to enter Vellen Falls. The carriage is transporting an abyssal creature for some nefarious purpose. Helleficks Wants them to intercept the carriage before it enters the city and then trap the creature in a cube called a Shrinky D'Ink. It will shrink the creature and place it in the small cube safely. Then on to the rest of the story.
Nick - Hexblade eldritch knight, Goliath mike- ranger drakewarden, Gerald Gerard matt - monk jedi dave

Plot points/Scenes

Previously On The Other Guys

All of you come from different backgrounds and areas of Tanaheim.  A year ago you were all hired by House Durrilan as sellswords and tax collectors.  You all have mysteries to solve about yourselves and your place in this world but also a powerful need to eat.  This takes money and all of you found yourselves in the employ of House Durrilan of Penthos for the coin.  Some of you sailed the Wyvern sea on trading boats to protect cargo and sailors.  Some of you patrolled the forests looking out for bandits and monsters that threatened cart paths.  Some of you worked on sentry duty at the keeps and fortresses owned by the great house. 
About a week ago you all accepted a high paying job to protect a ranking diplomat from House Durrilan, known as Baron Crilton Durrilan, on the road from Copenhaus to Lamborginus. The road was difficult and dangerous. At first it was small bands of goblins looking to raid and loot the expensive looking carriage, no problem for seasoned warriors such as yourselves. The next day brought experienced mercenaries looking to assassinate the Baron.  The strange Jedi monk was the first to sense their presence and your loose team leapt into action once more easily dispatching the band of sell swords.  The third day ended with the great city of Lamborginus on the horizon. The wet winter air hangs all around you, a mist has risen amongst the trees as the deep snows begin to melt with an unseasonable rain.  The carriage driver and valet of the baron calls a halt and directs you all to make camp in the area.  "We will stop here for the night and get an early start.  We could be within the city walls by midday.  Get a move on you lot."  You are not sure if he is directing that last order to you or the few remaining porters around the carriage. 
As you all begin to unpack your tents and meager rations shadowy figures fall from the sky.  On dark leathery wings the dragon men glide into your camp.  Roll Initiative!
This time the tall eldritch knight called for all of you to rally and form a defensive perimeter.  Utilizing team tactics and all of your varied abilities including a summoned drake from Gerald you fought the draconians.  thirty minutes later, sweat pouring from your brows, and muscles sore from swinging weapons you looked down at the bodies of your foes.  They exploded into arcane fire and burned away.  Minutes later a carriage pulled by a team of white Kierkalon Stallions arrived on the scene.   A well dressed Elven man got out and introduced himself with a flourish.  Helleficks Kristallinn was his name he was a wealthy business man from the Forest Realms, or so he claimed.  He congratulated you on your skill and courage. "My good fellows you have defeated all of the threats I have presented you with, I offer my congratulations and admiration.  But my good adventurers let me point out that I did not aim my resources at you... I aimed them at the baron and his pet."  The baron steps out of the carriage his cheeks flush and his chin beard wagging.  He wrenches off his knit cap exposing his bald head which gleams in the moonlight. "You fools, I hired you to protect me and the carriage!  Do not talk to this charlatan!  He is a thief and a scoundrel!"  Let's roll intiative!  
[DM Note:The Baron is a Dragonborn of Sardior that is using an illusion to look like the baron.  He is secretly transporting an abyssal creature in the carriage.  An Abhorrent Overlord explodes forth from a small vase in the carriage.  The roof of the carriage is swept aside by a long black clawed hand and a creature with gold strewn about it's chest and head.  It screams in rage at you and your team. ]
As the creature lays before you smoking and decaying as you watch, the Elven man o  pens the doors of his carriage wide and says "May I offer you a lift?"  As the carriage rocks back and forth as the horses trot at a quick pace the man answers any questions.  

Barkling House

With your acceptance of the offer you all became the new franchise of Helle's Adventuring Company known as The Other Guys. The next two months were a whirlwind. Weeks of corporate training followed by weeks of physical training and a move to the posh city known as Vellen Falls. Three days ago you were brought to the university section of the city and given the keys to Barkling House. A modest dwelling three stories tall but in the shape of a thin town house set in between several similar buildings only a few blocks from Vellen University. As you enter the house you see a set of stairs on the left that leads to the second floor and a large sitting room that leads into a mint colored kitchen beyond. A tall thin Air Genasi man stands before you dressed in a black suit with a puffy white collar. He has an impeccably clean steam pressed napkin draped over one arm. He introduced himself as Ashby Wethers your new butler and major domo for Barkling House. To his left was a stocky halfling man who introduced himself as Lam Clapper the maintenance man and chef of the house.
After a tour of the home you all were given choice of bedroom on the second or third floor. On the second floor is a royal blue painted room with it's own privy. The second room is an avocado green room with a built in enchanted globe in the center of the room. It shows ancient battle scenes from a long lost age, there is no control over what time period or battle it is always random. The third room is painted with an orange and brown pattern. It has a series of bars and dummies for athletic and battle training as well as comfortable hammocks that hang near the ceiling.
The third floor has three more rooms. The first room is painted a lavender purple and has an enchanted ceiling to mimic the stars and the sky above complete with realistic weather patterns. This is all an illusion of course. The second room is a verdant green with walls enchanted to look like a jungle that moves. Tree trunks, leaves, ferns, and small animals flit and move about. It even has a lush misty smell that helps to enhance the illusion. The last room on the third floor is painted white and is fairly simple. The front wall has a large circular window that looks out upon the city. It has the best view of any of the rooms. This house was once owned by the university and students used to practice thaumaturgy and illusion here. Which is why the rooms are so unique.
Once you had selected your specific rooms and moved your meager belongings into them you were shown the magical safe which transports items set into it back and forth to Helle's adventuring company headquarters. Inside you were all gifted 100 gold pieces in soft white linen pouches, each embroidered with your names. A note said to enjoy your next couple days because a job was coming in on Corsunday. It read "Prepare yourselves for your first mission!". The rest of the day is up to you.
The Mission
As you all get up the next day you find Ashby Wethers with a cream colored envelope in hand. He hands it to you and says "This is from home office I believe it is your next mission." As you open the envelope you see a impeccably written note that details your next job.
"Welcome Other Guys to your new home! Your first mission is a simple one, Head to the Whitemark crest library and procure me a book. It is the tome of an ancient wizard named Zikran called the "Arcane Secrets of the Wind". It should hold all manner of secrets, when you obtain it study it and get me a report on what it does. I believe it holds the key to finding a device which may power a floating castle. The device is rumored to be called the Elemental Air Updraft Recombinating Repeating Device or EAURRD for short. It does me honor to have such sturdy and clever adventurers join my humble company. As always Long live the Helle's adventuring company and may the devils take and devour the Premier Adventuring Company of Tellenheim and their henchmen Adventure Team Grimm!" Your benevolent boss, but still friend and colleague, Helleficks Kristalinn

[DM Note:The book is a heavy tome with covers of white marble bound in pale blue leather. A large padlock prevents the book from being opened and resists all attempts to open it with magic, but it snaps open when the book is held by someone who intends to leave Candlekeep with it. The book contains one hundred eight mostly blank pages made of tissue-thin white paper and emits a soft breeze whenever a page is turned. Most important, when the book is first opened, it reveals the creature trapped inside it: a djinni named Gazre-Azam.
The first ten pages of the book contain various notes in Zikran’s hand that indicate he tried several times to trap a djinni in the book before finally succeeding. The next eight pages are observations of Gazre-Azam’s behavior during his time of servitude to Zikran. The last ninety pages of the book are blank, and a character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check can figure out that this volume used to serve as a wizard’s spellbook. At some point, the spells were removed in such a way as to leave the pages blank.]

Themes

Whitemark Crest Library of the University - 

If the PC's ask for the book itself one of the Library staff will happy to show them the book.  That said they will not let the book be taken from the library due to it's unknown possibly dangerous nature.  "I said you may see the book, but I cannot allow you to tamper with it.  You understand the dangerous nature of unknown magic."
Opening the book - 
Gazre-Azam has been trapped in the book for many years. When the book is opened, it releases small, wispy clouds that form into the shape of Gazre-Azam’s head. The djinni speaks to any character willing to listen and asks for their aid. Gazre-Azam was summoned by Zikran, a water genasi wizard, and bound to the book. Zikran wanted the djinni to teach him how to make elemental devices, with the ultimate goal of building a floating castle fortress. For some time, the djinni served the wizard. Hoping to earn his freedom, Gazre-Azam shared much of his knowledge, but the wizard would not release him. When Gazre-Azam changed tactics and became less helpful, Zikran cast a complicated and near-permanent spell to keep Gazre-Azam from escaping. The djinni reveals that the only way to free him is for Zikran to end the enchantment willingly or for Zikran to be killed. Repeatedly and desperately, yet still with a noble manner, Gazre-Azam asks for the characters’ aid. In exchange, he offers the characters one free casting of a wish spell.

If the characters agree to Gazre-Azam’s request, he asks that they take him along. While bound to the book, Gazre-Azam can’t use his magical abilities, but he can speak freely to the party and provide valuable information. The scribes and librarians of the Library can be reasoned with if the characters try diplomacy or persuasion.  The PC's could attempt to steal the book as well.  The Djinni asks them to check out Zikram's old mansion near the edge of the city.  Near the western gate their is an old abandoned mansion called the Armichron House.  It was once owned by Zikram and it is said that he had a laboratory in the basement. 
 
The Armichron House
The mansion itself sits behind 8 foot tall black metal fences.  It looks dark and spooky and the siding is peeled and pitted.  Several of the shutters hang at a tilt and the roof looks dark and moss ridden.  The grounds around the mansion are covered with what must have been beautifully manicured hedge animals.  Different Chimerae, noble stags, and big cats stand amongst mounds of previously landscaped flower beds.  
Inside the house their are several iron golems who come alive when an intruder is detected.

Structure

Exposition

The Dragon Within

Misticus Ver’ tragen the Second, a young bronze dragon, stands on the dais. Characters who enter through the secret tunnel startle the dragon, who is reluctant to leave his treasures unguarded.
Roleplaying Misticus. The characters can fight Misticus or attempt to negotiate with him. The dragon is lawful good, meticulous, and incredibly prideful. He recently claimed Zikran’s old laboratory as his lair and is wary of other creatures that might try to take it from him.
Misticus values beautiful, colorful things and hoards a collection of colorful books and coral sculptures, including the crown of coral that he wears. He will not let anyone rifle through his treasures freely. (These items are worthless, despite being of value to the dragon.) When bargaining with Misticus, the characters can get through to him in a few ways:

• They can appeal to his good nature by urging him to help save Gazre-Azam and bring Zikran to justice.
• They can offer a valuable or beautiful treasure in exchange for being allowed to carefully peruse Zikran’s old laboratory.
• A character familiar with bronze dragons can bring up their famous love of ships and the sea in an attempt to bond with Misticus.

If the players fight Misticus, treat the laboratory as his lair, granting the dragon lair actions as described in the Monster Manual. If he is reduced to 15 hit points or fewer, Ashgarlyth tries to bargain with the party again. If that doesn’t work, the young dragon fights to the death, unwilling to swallow his pride.
Searching the Laboratory. Use the following boxed text to describe Zikran’s lab in more detail:
Characters who succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check to search the area can find clues to Zikran’s whereabouts. If the characters have Zikran’s Tome and use it to consult with Gazre-Azam, the djinni helps up to two characters who attempt this check, giving them advantage. The clues are as follows:
An old diary tells the tale of a paranoid and lonely man. In this diary, Zikran writes about a rival named Enric Maglar Lenshear, who sought the location of this laboratory. Fear of discovery prompted Zikran to pack up and leave in a hurry. (Gazre-Azam reveals that Enric was a powerful mage and artificer. Enric is always on the lookout for powerful artifacts especially the idea of a floating citadel.)
A stray map describes a route to a mountain range farther south, labeled the Cloud Peaks. A particular mountain is circled in ink with the word “Here?” written beside it. (Gazre-Azam can tell the party that the Cloud Peaks were home to a clan of cloud giants centuries ago. The giants occupied a keep near the top of the mountain circled on the map. Perhaps its ruins are still there. The djinni knows Zikran was interested in this possibility.)
Diagrams show the structure and inner workings of a magical cannon powered by elemental air. Though its function as a cannon is obvious, only characters who succeed on a DC 25 Intelligence (Arcana) check can understand the images well enough to operate such a cannon if they find one. A character who gets a 20 or higher on this check knows that the device can be operated manually or by a command word, but there’s no command word written on the diagrams.

Conflict

The Cloud Peaks
The climb into the mountains of the Cloud Peaks is incredibly taxing and dangerous. To reach the location marked on the map in Zikran’s abandoned laboratory, the characters must climb for 3 days. Remind them that they need cold weather gear for this climb.  Any time spent in the extreme cold will result in constitution checks with exhaustion penalties.  This time frame assumes everything goes well. The journey is divided into three legs.
Day 1
The first leg of the journey is straightforward and takes the characters from the base of the mountain to the edge of the mountain’s snow line. Few creatures will confront a party that looks well prepared.

Day 2
The second day of travel is hampered by extreme cold and high elevation. Above the snow line, natural predators are eager to make the party their prey. A group of Sulaco Drakes harry the party at one point. These Drakes have resistance to cold damage. Whenever one of these Drakes would deal 5 or more damage to a character with a single attack, it can instead damage the character’s clothing, rendering it ineffective as cold weather gear until the clothing is mended. A character with weaver’s tools can mend the clothing while taking a short rest. A mending spell also repairs the damage.

Shortly after nightfall or whenever the party decides to take a long rest, the characters are attacked by an abominable yeti, after which they are left alone for the remainder of their rest.

Day 3
The final leg of the journey takes place under the effects of extreme cold, strong wind, and high altitude as the party nears the ruins of the cloud giant keep. The day includes another encounter with 1d4 + 3 winged kobolds, plus any that were left alive after yesterday’s encounter.

Toward evening, the characters come to a 40-foot-high, slanted cliff face that they must climb to reach their destination unless they use magic to complete the ascent. Each character must make a DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check to climb the cliff face. On a failed check, the character still makes it to the top but gains 1 level of exhaustion, or 2 levels of exhaustion if the check fails by 5 or more.

Rising Action

Cloud Giants Keep

The ruins of a cloud giant keep sit in a frozen, naturally formed cleft in the mountain near its peak. Sheltered by the high walls of the cleft, the ruins are not subject to strong wind. Rules for extreme cold apply, however. What was once a truly impressive structure, six or more floors in height, is now frozen rubble. Only the first floor of the castle, part of the second floor, and the basement are traversable. The surrounding rubble is scattered in a way that suggests a tornado might have been responsible.
Everything about the keep is sized for cloud giants, who average 24 feet tall. Doorways are 25 feet high, and the doors set into them are made of thick, bleached wood that has begun to rot. Ceilings, where they exist, are typically 30 feet high; much of the second floor is open to the sky. The bricks and tiles that make up the intact portions of the keep emit soft light from their interior sides. This effect causes all interior spaces to be brightly lit.

Cloud Giant Ghosts
The keep is haunted by the ghosts of cloud giants who perished long ago (see the end of the adventure for the cloud giant ghost stat block). These ghosts are indifferent toward the characters until some action on the characters’ part causes the ghosts to turn hostile. What actions cause the ghosts to turn hostile vary from one encounter to the next. Characters who are cautious can avoid combat with the ghosts by not doing anything to anger them.
Front Yard
The mountainside splits, leaving a natural cleft in the rock. Descending into this cleft, you come to an icy courtyard strewn with rubble. Hardy blue shrubs rise from the frozen ground. Lodged at the far end of the cleft is a keep sized for giants. Only the first floor and part of the second floor remain intact, the higher floors having collapsed long ago. The rubble left from this collapse surrounds what’s left of the keep. A twenty-five-foot-tall double door made of bleached wood with bronze fittings provides the only entrance at ground level.
In the courtyard, there are pieces of rubble large enough that characters can hide behind them. If they keep watch, the characters can take a short or long rest here without being disturbed. If the characters use Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome to consult with Gazre-Azam, the djinni encourages the party to press on, eager to be freed.
C2. Entrance Hall Part of this room is open to the sky, as shown on the map. The ghosts of two cloud giants wander this hall, the floor of which is made of frost-covered white and green tile. A worn carpet leads from the entrance to staircases going up and down. Two doors to the west lead to other rooms. Three giant-sized display cases along the east wall hold faded documents.The two cloud giant ghosts seem to have no regard for the party. They are indifferent toward intruders but turn hostile if attacked or if any of the display cases in this room are destroyed or looted. The three display cases are 15 feet tall, made of bleached wood, and enclosed by panes of frost-covered glass. In them are twelve artistically displayed scrolls that contain the clan’s history—four scrolls per case. The scrolls are in Dwarvish, the written language of giants. A character who can speak Dwarvish or Giant realizes that these writings tell the history of the cloud giants who once occupied this keep.
They were an isolated clan, content to live in peace away from the squabbles of other giants and mortals. Their propensity for using magic to alter the weather caught the attention of one of the Wind Dukes of Aaqa on the Elemental Plane of Air. This benevolent entity gave them access to powerful elemental magic in exchange for their fealty. After learning and harnessing this new magic, the giants became a force for good in the region for many years, until their patron was overthrown in a coup. Enemies of the deposed Wind Duke wiped out the giant clan, and their keep fell to ruin as the last remnants of the clan fought against their eradicators.

Stairs. The stairs leading up to the second floor and down to the basement are sized for cloud giants. Creatures smaller than Huge treat the stairs as difficult terrain.

Treasure. The twelve scrolls that chronicle the clan’s history are worth 250 gp each to a historian or to the Avowed of Candlekeep. Each scroll is a sheet of parchment measuring 3 feet wide and 6 feet long.

Climax

Armory
This room is missing its ceiling. Stone racks along the walls hold giant-sized morningstars, shields, warhammers, and helmets, all with icicles hanging from them. The room also contains a padlocked wooden chest in one corner and an enormous, wheel-shaped whetstone in another corner, frozen in position. Standing by the wheel is a cloud giant ghost staring blankly into the sky.
The cloud giant ghost is indifferent toward intruders but turns hostile if attacked or if the items in the chest are removed (see “Treasure” below).
Treasure. The chest is 5 feet long, 3 feet high, and 3 feet wide. It weighs 250 pounds, and the padlock holding it shut is frozen solid. Any character using thieves’ tools can spend 1 minute trying to remove the padlock, doing so with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. Attempting this check without first melting the ice in and around the padlock imposes disadvantage on the roll. The chest contains two potions of healing (greater) and a rusty iron sphere (iron bands of Cyttarak).
Mess Hall
This room’s ceiling is mostly intact, except for a portion to the south. This room has large fur carpets on the floor and sturdy tables that can seat a dozen cloud giants at mealtime. A center table accommodates three cloud giant ghosts, who are playing some kind of card game.

A door in the north wall stands ajar. That same wall has a lit fireplace that also heats the adjacent room.

Three cloud giant ghosts sit at one of the tables. A character who is proficient with any type of gaming set or who succeeds on a DC 12 Intelligence (History) check can determine that the ghosts are playing Three-Dragon Ante with spectral cards. The game distracts them, at least temporarily. Characters moving through the room must succeed on a DC 17 Dexterity (Stealth) check to keep from being noticed by the ghosts. If the ghosts notice one or more intruders, they turn hostile and attack.

Fireplace. A character who closely observes the fire can, with a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check, tell that it’s a fire elemental. Zikran summoned the elemental and trapped it inside the fireplace, forcing it to heat both this room and the kitchen (area C5). Dealing damage to the fire elemental frees it and causes it to go berserk.
Kitchen
This kitchen contains a large stove, cupboards and cabinets for storage, and a fireplace. Two ceramic jugs sit on a twelve-foot-high table in the middle of the room. One of the jugs is blue, the other orange. Standing next to this table is a cloud giant ghost going through the motions of preparing food, but without actual food or utensils—the act is just a mime. See area C4 for a description of the fireplace. The stove is unheated.

The cloud giant ghost is indifferent toward the characters unless they disturb either of the jugs on the table, in which case the ghost turns hostile.

Treasure. The two jugs function as alchemy jugs, except that neither produces acid or poison. The blue jug can produce 1 quart of boiling hot tea, while the orange jug can produce 1 gallon of soy sauce, in addition to their other properties.
Second Floor Bedroom
This room was once a giant’s bedchamber. A huge four-poster bed stands against one wall. Other furnishings include a desk, chair, and three wardrobes, all sized for cloud giants. At the desk sits a spectral cloud giant wearing a fancy housecoat. It appears to be in the act of writing something, but without paper or pen—the act is just a mime. Characters who observe the cloud giant ghost can tell that it’s weeping silently as it “writes.” This giant is doomed to spend eternity penning a farewell letter to its long-dead lover. The ghost defends itself if attacked but otherwise ignores the characters.
Treasure. The wardrobes contain clothes fit for a female cloud giant of noble status. In one of the wardrobes, the characters can find a pair of boots of the winterlands. They are giant-sized but shrink to fit whoever attunes to them.
Zikran’s Basement Workshop
The characters can access the basement from the entrance hall (area C2). If they try to do so, one of Zikran’s magical safeguards triggers, releasing two water elementals and six ice mephits. They appear in unoccupied spaces on the staircase and try to prevent intruders from reaching the basement. If Gazre-Azam is present, he can invoke his rank as a noble genie as soon as the elementals and mephits appear. When he does so, 1d6 of the mephits vanish as if affected by a banishment spell. Once the characters have defeated these creatures, they can enter the basement. 
This high-vaulted basement room is full of equipment similar to what you saw in Zikran’s abandoned laboratory. A bed, a chair, and a table sized for a person of human stature occupy one corner of the room. Stone tables arranged about the chamber are covered with half-finished machines, and a large dais built into the far side of the room holds a cannon mounted on a swivel. A dull blue glow emanates from the inside of the cannon’s barrel. In the middle of the room is a glimmering white crystal, eight feet tall and four feet wide. It pulses with arcane and elemental energy, filling the room with whipping winds and biting cold. Standing next to the crystal is a water genasi with turquoise skin and blue robes. He is guarded by a water elemental and an air elemental.

Falling Action

Zikran stands in front of the crystal when the party arrives. He is a chaotic evil water genasi archmage with these changes:
Zikran speaks Aquan, Common, Primordial, Sahuagin, and Undercommon. He has 144 hit points, resistance to acid damage, a swimming speed of 30 feet, and the ability to breathe air and water.
He has prepared the conjure elemental spell in addition to his other spells.
While in the basement, he gains a special action option (see “Elemental Cannon” below).
Genasi have strong ties to the Inner Planes and the blood of genies flowing through their veins. Like the marids of the Elemental Plane of Water, Zikran is turbulent and unpredictable.

Zikran was alerted to the characters’ presence when they fought the elementals and mephits on the stairs. Now ready for action, he has cast mage armor, stoneskin, and mind blank on himself. He carries a handheld magic device that controls the elemental cannon. This device, shown in the accompanying illustration, looks like a metal rod with a tip shaped like a bird’s head. The air elemental and the water elemental obey Zikran’s orders.

Given a chance, Zikran brags about his plans to restore the cloud giants’ keep to its original glory, turning it into a flying fortress that he can ride into battle. If a character is carrying Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome openly, Zikran offers the characters a chance to surrender and give up the book in exchange for their lives. If the party refuses this offer or if Zikran is unaware that the characters have the book, the genasi archmage and his elementals attack.

Elemental Cannon. On initiative count 20 (losing initiative ties), Zikran uses his handheld device to fire the cannon at one creature he can see, provided the creature is in the basement or on the staircase. Zikran’s target must make a DC 17 Dexterity saving throw, taking 24 (7d6) cold damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The basement furnishings provide half cover, should a creature wish to hide behind them.

The cannon is a Large object with AC 16, 80 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage. It is mounted atop a swivel and bolted to the dais. The cannon draws power from the crystal in the middle of the room. This crystal sparks with elemental power whenever the cannon is about to fire. If the crystal is destroyed, both Zikran’s handheld device and the cannon become powerless. The crystal is a Large object with AC 13, 40 hit points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.

Development. When Zikran is defeated, the lock on Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome shatters and Gazre-Azam is released from the book. The djinni materializes in an unoccupied space within 30 feet of the book and lets out a deep sigh of relief.
Treasure. The room contains assorted material components for the spells Zikran can cast and Zikran’s spellbook, which contains all the spells the archmage has prepared.

Resolution

Once freed, Gazre-Azam offers to cast a wish spell on the characters’ behalf. Unless he was treated terribly by the characters, he is unlikely to twist the wording of the party’s wish. If he wasn’t brought along, he teleports to the party now that he has free access to all his abilities.
If the party brought the djinni along and treated him well, he suggests an alternative to the wish spell: Gazre-Azam can imbue Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome with the properties of a censer of controlling air elementals, except it summons only Gazre-Azam. Altering the book in this way deprives Gazre-Azam of the ability to cast a wish spell for one year. The characters must weigh their decision against any promise they made to return Zikran’s Zephyrean Tome to Candlekeep.