Tower of Zephyros
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.
Design
The mountainside splits, leaving a natural cleft in the rock. Folded inside this cleft, you come to an icy peak strewn with rubble. Frozen blue shrubs are nestled around the peak inside the cleft, acting as razor wire for those trying to find footing. 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 decorates the mountain stretching below the keep.
Entries
A twenty-five-foot-tall double door made of bleached wood with bronze fittings provides the only intentional entrance at the ground floor. Part of this room is open to the sky, as shown on the map. The entrance hall floor of 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 2nd floor is exposed and can be accessed as well from above.
Denizens
The keep is haunted by the ghosts of cloud giants who perished long ago. These ghosts are indifferent toward trespassers unless provoked by some action, in which they may turn hostile. Triggers may vary, but caution can avoid combat with the ghosts (by not doing anything to anger them).
Valuables
Entrance Hall-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.
Armory 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.The chest contains two potions of healing (greater) and a rusty iron sphere (iron bands of Bilarro).
Armory Treasure: Chest 5Lx3Hx3W, weighing 250 lbs, padlock frozen solid. The chest contains two potions of healing (greater) and a rusty iron sphere (iron bands of Bilarro).
Mess Hall 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 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.
Basement: Censer of Gazre-Azam, Elemental Cannon, Zikran's journals & components. 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.
History
Zephyros was a lone wolf most of his life. He came from a well renowned family in Faerun. 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 Zephyros's family 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 this giant clan. Their keep (the Tower of Zephyros) fell to ruin as the last remnants of the clan fought against their eradicators.
Zephyros, after traveling for many years on Toril, returned to his tower in 1485 (after the War of the Silver Marches). He found his family Tower of Zephyros destroyed & crashed into a mountain. Inside, he found the last of his family slain.
On his journeys in Faerun amongst the diminutive, he had commissioned 10 scrolls to record the beauty and history of his people. With the Fall of Giants & attacks from elemental adversaries having destroyed his very household, he resolved to find a solution. He handcrafted 2 more scrolls and displayed them all as a set in his main hall, vowing to be part of the history that restored the Skyejotunen legacy.
In the late 1486DR, well after the shattering of the ordning, Zephyros started working to find a solution for his people's crisis using the contact other plane spell. Zephyros was instructed by a Planar Sphere creature that an adventuring party he would find in Nightstone village could reconstruct the ordning.
There aren't many entries in his journal after this. But he noted of great sorrow being away from his people so long. He feared his absence was the deciding factor that toppled his family home. He resigned to staying in his mother's room (the only bedroom left intact) but struggled to move anything.
RUINED STRUCTURE
1480's
1480's
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