However the PCs escape from Kakishon, whether with the aid of the proteans and their entropy pools or by means of the more dangerous Earth Seed, they emerge in the same place—area 1A in the treasury of Jhavhul’s palace of Bayt al-Bazan. As detailed under The Vizier’s Curse, the PCs soon find it impossible to leave Bayt al-Bazan using teleportation effects—but the longer they stay and explore the palace, the more clues they can find about how to successfully defeat Jhavhul in the final adventure.
Note that the PCs may be bringing allies with them from Kakishon, be they NPCs that traveled with them into the realm, such as Rayhan, from “The Jackal’s Price,” or Dilix, the shaitan from “The End of Eternity,” who might be seeking revenge against Jhavhul. If you feel that the PCs have enough help, you can use the malfunctioning Scroll of Kakishon to “thin the ranks” of NPCs who have outlived their usefulness by having them appear elsewhere in Bayt al-Bazan, but if the PCs have developed emotional attachments to any of the NPCs they’ve been traveling with, you should certainly keep them together.
Bayt al-Bazan is an ancient noble house of the City of Brass. Once one of the more influential houses in the service of the grand sultan of the efreet, its ruling prince one of the grand sultan’s powerful pashas, Bayt al-Bazan has fallen on hard times in recent centuries. Its line of mighty pashas ended when the reigning pasha was first imprisoned and then slain at the hands of a mortal wizard after overreaching in an attempt to gain control of a realm in the Material Plane. After that humiliating defeat, Bayt al-Bazan lost a great deal of its influence in the court of the grand sultan. The house’s remaining inhabitants managed to retain their noble titles among the efreet, but they no longer held the distinction of being among the elite pashas of the court. Forced into ignominy, the house and its fortunes continued to decline until the reign of its last prince, Jhavhul al-Marisah al-Agriva al-Barizob al-Bazan.
Jhavhul was raised on tales of al-Bazan’s past glories and both longed for a return to those heady days of power and grew embittered at the perceived slights and betrayals his house had received from their fellow efreet. Thus, Prince Jhavhul elected to bring al-Bazan back to its former height of glory and beyond—but not through kowtowing to the efreeti grand sultan, or by any other regular means within the City of Brass. Rather, he became obsessed with an elemental monarch—Ymeri, Queen of the Inferno—and his obsession led him, not to power, but to enslavement and imprisonment in Kakishon.
In Jhavhul’s long absence, Bayt al-Bazan has languished, first under the inadequate rule of his lesser brother, and after his death, under the grand vizier’s curse. The palace is shunned and avoided by the denizens of the City of Brass in much the same way an old house reputed to be haunted becomes anathema to residents of a mortal town, and those who have succumbed to curiosity and entered the palace never emerged.
Bayt al-Bazan is a massive efreeti citadel in the Noble District of the fabled City of Brass on the Elemental Plane of Fire. The palace is constructed entirely of living brass and abuts the great brass wall that encircles the city, overlooking the surrounding Sea of Fire. Its highest dome rises 250 feet above the surrounding streets, and it includes a sublevel that lies below its foundations.
Each level is 50 feet high with 40-foot ceilings and 10 feet of living brass separating one floor from the next, providing an extremely open and airy atmosphere for the Large-sized efreet who called it home. The living brass walls vary in thickness from a foot to many tens of feet, as indicated on the maps. Doors are of living brass 6 inches thick, and have a handle on each side. Unless otherwise noted, all doors have locks, though most of the keys have long since been lost. Opening a locked door or locking one without benefit of the key requires a Level 8 Open Lock check (Level 8 might check to open).
Almost every room has one or more wall-mounted lamps fed by pipes nested within the walls that channel fire from the surrounding plane. The lamps provide bright illumination in every room unless otherwise noted. If extinguished, the lamp automatically relights 1 round later. A destroyed lamp leaves a hole in the wall that gouts flame into the 10-foot square surrounding it—creatures that enter this square take 8 fire damage per round (Level 5 Speed Defense check halves the damage). These jets of fire persist until the living brass can seal the hole and rebuild the lamp (this takes 1 minute). Windows and arrow slits likewise allow in the outside illumination of the burning skies above the city, but these can be closed from within by locking iron shutters that are equal in strength to iron doors.
The City of Brass, as the home of the efreet, lies appropriately enough on the Plane of Fire. As such, it is a less-than-hospitable environment to creatures not native to the plane. However, the City of Brass is also a city of great interplanar trade, and the grand sultan has a vested interest in making the city habitable for the merchants and traders that visit. To this end, by his royal decree, the temperature within the bounds of the city (including within Jhavhul’s citadel) remains at a fairly constant 101º F, despite what conditions may exist at the time outside the city walls. Make sure to familiarize yourself with the rules for severe and extreme heat on page 303 of the DMG before running this adventure. As a result of these prevailing conditions, most visitors invest in magics such as endure elements, fire resistance, or items with minor curative powers to alleviate the nonlethal damage taken. Creatures with In addition, all spells and spell-like abilities with the fire descriptor are both maximized and enlarged when cast on the Plane of Fire, and those that use or create water are impeded, and require a Level 5 Spellcraft check to be successfully cast. Additional details on the Plane of Fire can be found on page 156 of the DMG.
Any living or sentient nonliving creature that physically enters the bounds of Bayt al-Bazan falls prey to the Vizier’s Curse. This magical effect is the unique result of the combination and interactions of the spell wardings of the grand vizier, the wish-bolstered magical defenses of Ezer Hazzebaim, and the mystical energies of the Impossible Eye.
The sage Ezer Hazzebaim was affected in a singular way by the curse, and has become trapped within the Impossible Eye, but all other victims of the curse share similar fates—they find that they are unable to leave the boundaries of the al-Bazan estate.
The boundaries of this effect extend along the very outer edge of the citadel itself and across its main gate to a point 50 feet above the citadel’s highest dome and into the ground 50 feet below its sublevel. Anyone crossing these boundaries finds that they can act normally for 1d4 rounds after leaving, but after that time period they suddenly find themselves teleported back inside the citadel at the exact point where they left—dimensional anchor and similar effects notwithstanding. Leaping from a turret or minaret is no salvation—except perhaps through death—because 1d4 rounds after hitting the ground they reappear back at the origin point of their jump, and the same goes for flying. Teleportation magic and effects like blink or phase door that rely upon the ethereal function normally as long as the traveler does not leave the palace grounds—you can teleport into Bayt al-Bazan, but not out. The means to break this curse and escape the palace are described in “Concluding the Adventure.”
In an ironic twist of fate, Ezer Hazzebaim became entrapped within the Impossible Eye during the very act of trying to steal it. He has languished in a strange null-space within the mirror for centuries now, only barely retaining his sanity by focusing on the ultimate completion of his goals. In his enforced solitude, he has gained some mastery over the scrying potential of the artifact that holds him, and as a result has learned a great deal of the goings-on within Bayt al-Bazan by peering out through reflective surfaces within the palace. He swiftly becomes aware of the PCs’ emergence from Kakishon into the citadel, and sees them as potential pawns in his bid to escape the mirror. Ezer can appear as an image in the Impossible Eye and other reflective surfaces throughout the palace for short periods of time.
These images can appear at any location with a reflective surface (usually, but not necessarily, a polished brass wall or ceiling). He keeps these manifestations as brief and archaic as possible to keep Sense Motive attempts from detecting any ulterior motive on his part, seeking to guide the PCs toward the palace heights to free him from his prison but leaving the actual deduction of how and why to do this up to them. When Ezer manifests in this way, the reflective surface wavers for a moment, and then the viewer’s own reflection changes to that of a wild-eyed Garundi man with long white hair, a manifestation visible to anyone else who peers into the mirrored surface. Ezer speaks only briefly and does not reply to questions. A Level 8 Knowledge (the planes) check is enough to note subtle indications in the shape of his form and in the tone of his voice that he is more than human, likely some sort of outsider with a human appearance. After each pronouncement, the reflection wavers and then fades away.
Several sample manifestions are listed below, each designed to give the PCs a clue concerning how to handle one of the many problems they’re destined to face during the adventure. Use them as you wish to aid the PCs when they get stumped by an area, or when you feel that they need guidance. Obviously, situations that the PCs resolve on their own do not need additional aid from Ezer.
A general overview of the situation: “This palace is accursed—an inescapable trap devised by the grand vizier of the sultan’s court. I have not the time to tell my tale, though a tale worth telling it is, but I too am a victim of this eternal prison and grow weary of its confines. We will speak again. If you would be free, then heed my words well, for we may each hold the key to the other’s escape.”
Introducing the Impossible Eye: “An eye of brass was forged of old to grace the grand sultan’s court. This eye could pierce the veils of secrecy, distance, and time with its impossible gaze to bring the grand vizier of the grand sultan tidings for his master’s ear. This Impossible Eye is that which binds us even now, but it was stolen and now lies within these very walls, the cause of our imprisonment and the means of our escape.”
Operating the barge in areas A2 and A4: “The secret of the brass ship is in the divine fire that guides its way. Light the prow or the waiting post with the flame that cannot be quenched.”
How to defeat Bagoas in area D18: “The chief eunuch of old sits upon a throne that is not his own, but his old master’s covetousness has taken hold of his soul. If his claim upon his master’s holdings can be disproved, he is without his immortal anchor and can be slain.”
What is needed to locate the Impossible Eye: “The Eye is sequestered behind souls of brass. The orb of fire can repeal their eternal sentence and free their ward.”
Recovering the crystal orb in area E7b: “A fiery orb from days of old lies suspended betwixt brass and sky, yet hidden from mortal eye. It is the key to your quest. In ancient adoration did this fiery heart lie, and only by heart’s blood of the true believer can the way be opened.”
The location of the Impossible Eye in area F2: “Seek the Impossible Eye between city and sea, where portals of brass guard respite prized. Look above the gilded cataracts.”
Where to find holy water in area C7: “As the Impossible Eye holds the secret of my escape, so do I hold the secret to yours. However, waters blessed of the gods themselves are necessary for success. Such a substance is illegal in the city but has been known to be kept as contraband in the troves of certain unscrupulous groups.”
How to release Ezer from the Impossible Eye in area F2: “At last the prize is found. Give the glass ablutions in a dozen and one sacred draughts. While it is still wet, one must place his palms against the pane and wish for the imprisoned to be released. Then shall I be freed to remove us from this accursed place. But hurry, the window of opportunity closes quickly; the eyes of the grand vizier search you out even now.”
Ezer’s manifestations serve two purposes—they inadvertently lead the PCs toward the means of escaping the palace, but they should also help to arouse their curiosity about the place they find themselves in. When the PCs first enter Bayt al-Bazan, they may soon grow frustrated that they’ve merely exchanged one prison for another. If your PCs are growing frustrated in this way, you can use visions sent by Ezer to not only spur them on toward escape, but to drop hints that they are in the lair of Jhavhul himself, and that if they are eager to face him when they finally do make it back to the Material Plane, they should take advantage of their environs to learn as much as they can about the efreeti warlord.
The next (and final) adventure in Legacy of Fire describes what Jhavhul has been up to on the Material Plane, and the previous adventure has a short sidebar describing what he was up to while the PCs were trapped in Kakishon. If the PCs use magic like commune or divination to try to learn more about what’s going on back home in their absence, you should use the results of the spell to encourage the PCs to be quick about finding a way home but at the same time to take advantage of their location to research Jhavhul and perhaps find allies, information, and tools they’ll need to face him in the last adventure.
Living brass is a composition unique to the City of Brass and used extensively in its construction. Living brass is harvested from the souls of mortals lost to the wiles of devious efreet, who twisted the wishes commanded from them to entrap the very eternal essence of their erstwhile masters. This practice has long vexed Pharasma, goddess of death, yet there is little she can do to stop the harvesting of such souls, since they have earned their fate through their own free will and poor choices. Captured souls are carried to the City of Brass, where they are forged into great brass plates that are used in construction of buildings and the vast galleys that ply the Sea of Fire. Souls that are transformed into living brass are thought to suffer one of the worst agonies throughout the planes of existence. This soul-infused metal, however, has many special properties and is highly prized by the efreet.
Living brass a Level 10 material. Living brass is impervious to fire damage or heat of any sort. Other energy attacks deal only half the damage they normally deal against objects when used against living brass. Living brass repairs itself at a rate of 1 hardness per minute until it has resumed the shape into which it was originally forged. Due to its uniquely created nature, living brass can have other distinct qualities as well. Such qualities are described separately when they occur.