# Under Mount Ghakis

> From the Curse of Strahd game wiki (it covers the whole game, spoilers included): https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.html. Unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy, not approved or endorsed by Wizards of the Coast.

> [!infobox]
> ![loc ghakis lair 1](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-ghakis-lair-1.webp)
> **Region:** [Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/regions/mount-ghakis.md) · level 10
> **Resting:** no
> **Light:** dark
> **Getting here:** [The North Shoulder of Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-north-shoulder-of-ghakis.md)
> **Quests:** [The Warm Snow](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-warm-snow.md)

## Overview

The count's caves under the north shoulder of Mount Ghakis: the keepers' post, their larder, the anchor of a great chain, a gallery of fire-cracked rock and, at the bottom, the dragon chained on her hoard (The Warm Snow, docs/story/side_quests.md).

A tunnel into the mountain, warm as a kitchen and getting warmer. The rock sweats. Every so often the whole floor trembles, very slightly, in and out, like a sleeper's chest.

**Resting:** no Every few minutes the floor shivers with her breathing, and the heat never lets up. Nobody sleeps in here.

![loc ghakis lair overview](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-ghakis-lair-overview.webp)
*The whole place from above.*

## Getting here

### Ways in

- **From [The North Shoulder of Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-north-shoulder-of-ghakis.md):** Into the mountain

### Ways out

| # | Exit | Leads to | Only when |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Out to the gate | [The North Shoulder of Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-north-shoulder-of-ghakis.md) |  |
| 2 | Out to the gate | [The North Shoulder of Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/the-north-shoulder-of-ghakis.md) |  |

## Map

![ghakis lair](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/maps/ghakis-lair.svg)

**Key:** gold, people; red, containers; purple, hidden finds; teal, skill checks; white, exits; orange, traps. The numbers match the lists on this page.

### Close up

![loc ghakis lair spot1](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-ghakis-lair-spot1.webp)
*the keepers' strongbox*

![loc ghakis lair spot2](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-ghakis-lair-spot2.webp)
*the great drum*

![loc ghakis lair spot3](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/img/shots/loc-ghakis-lair-spot3.webp)
*Carcasses on hooks*

## People

> [!note]- Who turns up at points in the story (1)
> - **[Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/people/sarkhaza.md)**, The hoard (#3): when not sarkhaza slain

## What to find

| # | Where | What | How |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | the keepers' strongbox | [Potion of Resistance (Fire)](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#potion-of-resistance-fire) ×2, 300 gp | lock DC 16 |
| 5 | the captain's rack | [Dragon Slayer](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/magic-items.md#dragon-slayer) | open it |

The containers here also get random magic items and potions, rolled for a party of level 10 the first time you come ([Random Treasure](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/items/random-treasure.md)). Hidden finds need a Search (F) nearby; the party's best roll counts.

## Fights

- *The cracks in the floor flare white. Something climbs out of the biggest of them, shaped like a man made of a…*, in [Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md): [Fire Elemental](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/fire-elemental.md), [Flameskull](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/flameskull.md).

- *The collar falls off onto the gold. Sarkhaza rises, all of her, and the cavern is too small for her, and she…*, in [Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md): [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md). Scales with your level. Part of [The Warm Snow](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-warm-snow.md).
> [!example]- By party level (the first line your party fits is the fight you get)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when wyrm unchained and wyrm salted and ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when wyrm unchained and wyrm salted and not ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; lair)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when wyrm unchained and not wyrm salted and ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when wyrm unchained and not wyrm salted and not ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; lair)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and wyrm salted and wyrm chain drawn and ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; surprise: enemies)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and wyrm salted and wyrm chain drawn and not ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; lair; surprise: enemies)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and wyrm salted and not wyrm chain drawn and ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and wyrm salted and not wyrm chain drawn and not ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; lair)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and not wyrm salted and wyrm chain drawn and ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; surprise: enemies)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and not wyrm salted and wyrm chain drawn and not ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; lair; surprise: enemies)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**, when not wyrm unchained and not wyrm salted and not wyrm chain drawn and ghakis sluice open: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP)
> - **[Under Mount Ghakis](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/locations/under-mount-ghakis.md)**: [Sarkhaza](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/bestiary/sarkhaza.md) (10000 XP; lair)

## Quests and lore

- [The Warm Snow](https://curseofstrahd.app/wiki/quests/the-warm-snow.md): Sergeant Valcu's log has forty years of smoke on the north shoulder of Mount Ghakis, snow that melts in midwinter, and the count's cart…