Beneath Candlekeep

Beneath Candlekeep Secret staircases abound in Candlekeep, leading down to dusty vaults and catacombs that hold the oldest books. The flooded caves at sea level are haunted by all manner of strange creatures.   Miirym the Sentinel Wyrm Well over 500 years ago, the silver dragon Miirym broke into Candlekeep, intent on adding its riches to her hoard. She devoured scholars and destroyed a score of irreplaceable books before she was confronted by an archmage and bound into service to protect Candlekeep as penance for her misdeeds. The wizard passed away before Miirym’s sentence had been served, and other spellcasters were unable to break the enchantment that bound her.   Time passed and so did Miirym, whose corpse has long since crumbled into dust. Unfortunately for Miirym, the enchantment remains in effect on her spirit. The spectral dragon—what’s left of her—dwells in the catacombs and caves under the library. Those who have visited the depths describe Miirym as a set of immense spectral jaws whose essence roils with the promise of breath weapons and spells of destruction.   Adventurers who explore the passages beneath Candlekeep might encounter Miirym, who’s more interested in news of present-day Nehwon than in fighting. Indeed, Miirym is an engaging conversationalist if one has the inclination to chat with her.   Miirym doesn’t have a treasure hoard. Instead, she protects the books and scrolls kept in her subterranean domain. The Sentinel Wyrm can be summoned by the Keeper of Tomes and called upon to defend Candlekeep from invaders who would plunder or destroy it. In her role as Candlekeep’s defender, Miirym can move anywhere within the library fortress, passing through walls and other solid barriers. She can’t enter extradimensional spaces, since they are not on the same plane of existence as Candlekeep. Miirym’s stat block appears at the end of this section.     Echoes of Alaundo Shortly after Alaundo the Seer began speaking his prophecies, a wise novitiate devised a way to magically record his spoken words into prismatic gemstones now stored in a vault beneath Candlekeep. Only the First Reader and the Keeper of Tomes have the ability to coax audible recordings from these magic gemstones. Each one holds a prophecy spoken by Alaundo himself in an antiquated version of Common that is incomprehensible without the aid of magic. These gemstones came to be called the echoes of Alaundo.   Alaundo’s prophecies are easily misinterpreted, which is why First Readers and Keepers of Tomes rarely consult or take advantage of the echoes.   Chamber of Lost Lore Deep beneath Candlekeep, past Miirym and the echoes, is a rough-hewn chamber lit by continual flame spells. Here, one can gain the power to contact the spirits of long-dead sages that are willing to share their insights and knowledge. High-ranking members of the Avowed make use of this chamber, but few seekers know of it.   Any creature that has an Intelligence of 8 or higher that spends 1 hour meditating in the chamber gains the ability to cast the contact other plane spell once, allowing the creature to commune with a spirit. The spell doesn’t need to be cast right away, nor does it need to be cast in the chamber. If the spell is not cast within 24 hours, however, it is lost.