 Welcome to the Citadel of Candlekeep. This massive library is where the most brilliant scholars convene to share their collective knowledge. Have you come to hear the tales that you've encountered behind these walls? Very well. Listen closely as I recount your magnificent adventures through Candlekeep's mysteries. The Joy of Extradimensional Spaces This tale begins with a small settlement. Crop yields have been low, livestock are unmoving, and not a drop of rain has touched its soil in some time. The local mage had determined that the land is stricken with a curse. Perhaps seeking Metreus, a sage at Candlekeep, would alleviate the pain these lands have suffered. After a few days' journey, you find yourself here, outside the Citadel's massive walls. You gain entry to the Citadel and begin your search for the sage. The scholars that inhabit these walls lead you to the room where Metreus would be staying at. Entering the doors, you find the room empty, minus some books and trinkets. On the table is a book, open to a page with texts that are a bit difficult to understand. Closely studying these pages, you decipher the words, scepter, and utter it to yourself in a low tone. As the words escape your lip, a magical doorway appears before you. It begins to slowly fade with each sound. Letting curiosity get the better of you, you step through the veil of magic. Behind you, where the magical door once stood, is now just a plain, if not grand, double door. The ceiling arches to 15 feet overhead, and long hallways stretch out on either side of the foyer. Standing in the middle of this area is a middle-aged man, wearing gray robes. Startled by your sudden appearance, he recollects himself and extends a polite introduction. He is Metreus, and you've just stepped across the portal into a mansion of magic. The eccentric man thanks you for opening the portal. He has been attempting to find the command word that opens the portal for the better part of an hour. You tell him of the town in need of his aid, and he ponders to think. The sage tells you that he'd be willing to help you if you are willing to help him explore this mansion, for he has the skills to keep the portal open. It is full of wonder and magic, and as an example, he produces a statue of an imp. Almost too likely to be anything but startling. Understanding the gravity of your quest, he suggests that the two of you head back to the town. As he steps through the doors you entered from, you hear a shriek, followed by the doors locking itself behind him. Left to your own devices, you must find your way out of this creepy mansion. You step down the hall into the first room in sight to find a study of sorts. The entire far wall of this room is a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf. Even more books are resting on several large scarlet armchairs and small wooden tables, and there are several paintings on the wall. A fluffy black cat is curled up on one of the chairs. The curious cat approaches you, and you give it a soft stroke before going about your business. You investigate the room, and you find that the study is filled with books written by someone named Fistandia. Reading the books, you learn that Fistandia was a mage and priest of Mistra. She had traveled to Cantalquip to further her studies and expanded the Citadel's knowledge of magic. In return, the mage was granted a permanent extra-dimensional mansion to stay at when studying at Cantalquip. Worrying that one may be stuck in the mansion, she hid a secret command word hidden on the spines of seven books across her mansion. Within her studies, you find one of these books with the letter I on its spine. Quite a mystery to be had, and now you know the method in which to escape. You find on the bookshelf a secret lever in the form of a book, and you pull it to reveal a secret path. Heading down the path, it leads to some stairs into the basement of the mansion. In the basement, you find three rooms. The first room is an alchemical laboratory where you find various statuettes of winged-alike creatures. A bit of investigation reveals that the goal of the research here was to transmute various materials into gold in that the statues were used to create homunculi. Propped up against a beaker is a book with the letter B on its spine. The other two rooms are a summoning room and a menagerie. The summoning room contains a strange drawing on the floor along with a closet that attacks you when you enter. The menagerie room has containers of various specimens along with an empty container with the lid pried open. Satisfied with your exploration of the basement, you make your way back up to the hidden room to the ground floor. From here, you find five additional rooms along with some stairs. The first room is an exercise room with an animated broom sweeping its floor. The second is an arboretum with some mischievous fairy dragons that play some light pranks on you as you enter. The third room is a dining hall containing a mimic disguised as a chair that attacks you when you enter. The fourth room is a library. This library contains walls and stacks of books that line the room. When investigating the library, a swarm of book rise from the stack and attacks you. After defeating this swarm, you find shelves containing Vastania's favorite subjects, arcane, natural science, religion, astrology, planar travels, and the such. Along with that are some books on poetry, mythology, and folklore. These are certainly recreational topics. On closer inspection of the shelves, you notice a book with the letter R written on its spine. You exit the library and enter the fifth room where you find a kitchen occupied by two homunculi. They introduce themselves as Cumin and Coriander. They eagerly rush to aid you as guests. You question the homunculi who tell you that Cumin was created by Vastania and Coriander was created by a person named Freyja. Their masters have disappeared long ago. Vastania went to the planetarium and disappeared while the whereabouts of Freyja is unknown. They also inform you that an imp was summoned by Vastania but went missing shortly after. In the corner of the room is a pile of cats, all crowded together near bowls of food. It is clear that these homunculi have been serving the cats exclusively due to the lack of guests. Thanking them for their service, you exit the kitchen and make your way up the stairs. To the left of you, as you enter the upper floor, you find a room containing another laboratory. Most of this room is taken up by long wooden tables that are covered with thick glass vessels and books. Just below the ceiling, in the middle of the room, colorful globes circle one another in an intricate dance. The far wall is almost completely covered by a map of the night sky with a golden sunburst in the center above a closed door. The map is littered with dots and circles with the exception of five stars depicted as bright silver suns. In the center of the room is another book with the letter T inscribed on its spine. You enter the door underneath the map that leads into a dark room. The room contains a view of the starry firmament of the night sky. Five telescopes mounted on bronze plates point towards the constellation above. In the middle of the space, a one foot diameter sphere of crystal clear sits in a circular brass stand. It is difficult to see in the dark room minus the telescopes that occupy the area. Aligning the orientation of the telescopes to the stars of bright silver found in the previous room reveals a door to a chained library. When investigating the chained library, it comes to life and attacks you. These must be Fastandia's truly treasured tomes. After defeating it, you find another book labeled L on its spine. Traveling across the hall of the stairway, you find a trophy room in a bedroom both littered with cats at every step. Two books are found here that are labeled Y and E on their respective spines. With all the books gathered, you make your way to the ground floor back to the double doors and unscramble the seven letters. After a bit of time, you decipher the word to be liberty and utter the command word. The door swings open and you step through to find yourself back at Candlekeep in Matraeus studies. On the floor is the sage's body, murdered by whatever attacked him. You have little time to mourn for as soon as you enter the room, an imp in the corner attacks you. Slaying the creature, you gather that the imp statue must have been the culprit. What will you do now that Matraeus is dead? Additionally, who are Fastandia and Freya? These questions are for another story at another time.