Map House (Skelem)

The Map House in Skelem was a building containing a model replica of the city in its heyday. The building was one of the most intact structures still standing in the ruins of Skelem as of the mid-to-late 14 century DR.

Location
The Map House was located on the western side of the city, near to the city center.

Interior
The model map was still intact as of the the mid-to-late 14 century DR, and offered the only evidence that the city of Skelem had once had a wall and had been twice as large as was apparent from the surviving ruins.

Upon entering the building, a magic mouth would appeared on the opposite wall and asked the visitor three history questions:
 * "Who stole Mystra’s power in order to become a deity?" (correct answer: "Karsus")
 * "What is the name of the progenitors of the serpent races?" (correct answer: "The sarrukh")
 * "What two empires rose six hundred years before the fall of Netheril?" (correct answer: "Narfell and Raumathar")

If the visitor correctly answered at least two of these questions, an illusory pillar would appear on the model map to mark the location of the House of Kossuth where the Elemental Scourge was hidden. Answering two or more questions incorrectly caused the pillar to appear in an incorrect location in the northeastern corner of the city.

History
In the, the fire giants Soluf and Gharod sent an excavation team to Skelem to search for the Elemental Scourge. This group was led by a team of yuan-ti abominations who discovered the Map House. Unfortunately for the excavators, the yuan-ti selected for this archeological mission were not as well versed in ancient history as they ought to have been, and they failed to answer any of the questions correctly. They thus began digging in the wrong place.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * Mysteries of the Moonsea: "Eastern Moonsea adventure arc"