Green Crater

This puzzle is less linear than the others I have written up on this site, so I'm just going to dump various parts of information about how it is solved here, and the players can piece it together.

In the centre of the five pillars is what looks like a huge stone egg, segmented like an orange into five parts. Upon inspection, there is a grate in the floor that is wildly overgrown. If removed, spiral stairs will lead down and around the egg to a room with a stone tablet. This houses the second half of the poem:

"When returned, the keys will wait

to be awoken, it is their fate.

First, the dead must burn to pass,

and then the frost, upon the glass.

Next, the sand who misses the sea,

and a tree wishes to sprout its leaves.

Last the slate, dark and cracked,

a holy light, and then shall act.

Open the egg, the pillars plead,

they long so greatly to finally recede."

So, to open the egg the keys must be activated in this order : Bone, Glass, Sandstone, Wood, Shale. To activate each one, bone must have a fire spell cast upon it, the glass must have a frost spell cast upon it, the sand must have a water spell, the wood a plant based spell, and the shale a Light spell. If no one in the party knows any of these spells, Chlora knows one of each. But the obvious question is, where are the rest of the keys?

1. The glass pillar. The glass key has been taken by a group of Magcoys (Half magpie, half coyote, loves shiny things. 5e Brown Bear, with slightly less HP and higher dex), who have a den in the nearby shrubbery. The den can be found through tracking the Magcoys, or if one is found out in the open when wounded it will retreat to the den. They are not aggressive, unless you get too close to their home. Also in their home are all sorts of shiny goodies, including one d8 fortune crystal for each of the party. The key can be fought or traded for. As well as this, the pillar itself is in a small lake (X3), and protrudes from the centre of the water. A single Kelpjaw (Large, overgrown wooden crocodile-like creature, 5e Hunter Shark) sleeps in the lake. It won't wake up unless blood falls into the water, or something very, very loud happens near the lake. It would rather not leave the lake, but will if provoked.

2. The wood pillar. The wood key has been taken by a mischievous Leemling (Small lemur like creature, covered in sprouts and plants. 5e Imp, minus all magical abilities and sting. Has a single, weak bite attack, +2 to hit 1d4 damage), who lives in the East of the crater (X1). The Leemling will actively run away from the party, but is not very smart and can easily be trapped.

3. The bone pillar. This is the pillar that Chlora already has the key for, and the pillar itself is unaltered.

4. The sandstone pillar. When approached, it is obvious that the key is already in place. However, the pillar is incredibly overgrown with various thorny vines. Upon these vines, large venus flytrap like heads sprout, and will attempt to attack if anyone draws too near.

5. The shale pillar. Mr. Pirks gave the party the shale key, and the pillar itself is unaltered.

When the puzzle is completed, and the keys activated in the right order, the stone egg will unfurl as the pillars recede into the earth. Curled up tightly in the centre, is the Keymaster. The Keymaster is a giant humanoid with five arms sprouting from its back. On each hand is a bracelet, one made of bone, of made of glass... you get it. Where it should have eyes, its grey-green skin just grows over. In fact, the only feature on its face is it's huge toothy maw. Around its neck, on a necklace, is item 038 : The Singing Key. Keymaster has 50hp, and the stats of an ogre. As far as attacks go, it can make two attacks on its turn, one melee and one ranged.

Melee attack: +6 to hit, 2d6 damage and 12ft range. This attack is just a punch, but empowered by the type of bracelet it wears.

Ranged attack: +4 to hit, 2d6 damage and the range of the entire crater. A beam of power, empowered by the type of bracelet on the hand that casts it.

The Keymaster is actively aggressive, and upon emerging will attack everything it can sense nearby. When killed, its body will turn to flickering green lights and drift upwards and item 038 will drop to the ground.

Chlora thanks the party for their service, and says that the creature was the only thing she was interested in, letting them keep the key. She then parts ways with the party.

When arriving back, Pirks pays them 1500G each. The night the party arrive back in Rockfern Creek, Kaufmann finally appears. Falling through the door and lugging a sled of tightly tied burlap sacks, he is badly wounded and immediately retreats to his quarters asking Pirks to come help tend his wounds, barely casting a glance at the new people in his home.

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