Page 226 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

Knightly Argument. Left undisturbed, two female Food in the form of humanoids is delivered to the
githyanki knights argue quietly with one another in neothelid through a stone door set into the east wall, be-
the middle of the room. One of the knights has a de- yond which is a smoothly carved tunnel leading to area
capitated mind flayer head hanging from her belt. 16a. The door is sealed with a Qualith lock (see "Qualith
Door Locks," page 222).
The older githyanki knight, Yaveklar, commands the
The neothelid is always hungry and tries to devour
githyanki forces on this level. Though she is eager to any creature that enters its cave. It lacks the intelligence
slay the ulitharid and wipe out the mind flayer colony,
Yaveklar is cautious and patient. She has suffered more to distinguish one kind of prey from another and feeds
indiscriminately.
losses than her superiors would consider acceptable, so
Tunnel to Expanded Dungeon. If you decide to ex-
she's waiting for reinforcements before launching any
pand the dungeon southward, the passage in the south
further assaults.
wall exists but is sealed off with a wall of force.
The younger knight, Lashiir, stands ready to take over
Walls of Force. The illithids have a psionic device in
in the event that Yaveklar is removed from command.
Lashiir is proposing to attack the neothelid in area 8, area 16c that generates the magic walls of force sealing
using misty step spells to bypass the walls of force con- off the neothelid's cavern. Each wall is identical to that
created by a wall of force spell, with these differences:
taining it. Yaveklar is not convinced that her forces are
strong enough to defeat the neothelid and still maintain • The walls last until the psionic force generator in area
a foothold on this level. 16c is deactivated.
If the characters can communicate with the knights, • A disintegrate spell cast on a wall destroys it for 1 min-
they can attempt to forge a truce with the githyanki. ute, after which the psionic force generator in area 16c
Yaveklar orders them to slay the neothelid as proof of resummons the wall.
their worth. If the characters kill the neothelid but re-
turn to Yaveklar in a very weakened state, she takes ad- 8B. STANDING GATE TO LEVEL 19
vantage of their situation and tries to finish them off. If In the middle of this otherwise empty cave is a pair of
they kill the creature and return with strength to spare, standing stones topped with a lintel, carved into which
Yaveklar agrees to let them travel through Seadeeps is a symbol of an arrow. The standing stones form
unmolested and will even commit forces to a joint op- a magic gate (see "Gates," page 12). Its rules are
eration to conquer the mind flayer colony. IfYaveklar is as follows:
neutralized, Lashiir readily fills the power vacuum and • If an arrow or a crossbow bolt is shot between the
behaves much like her predecessor. standing stones, the gate opens for 1 minute.
The illithid head dangling from Yaveklar's belt is a • Characters must be 15th level or higher to pass
trophy from a recent skirmish. Resourceful characters through this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page
can animate the head and use its writhing tentacles to 10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig-
unlock doors equipped with Qualith locks (see "Qualith gers an elder rune (see "Elder Runes," page 12).
Door Locks," page 222). • A creature that passes through the gate appears in
Treasure. Each githyanki knight wears a suit of area 15 on level 19, in the closest unoccupied space
baroque half plate armor set with three alexandrites next to the identical gate located there.
(500 gp each) and ten citrines (50 gp each). In addition,
Yaveklar carries a potion of supreme healing. 8c. DEAD - END CAVE
The tunnel leading to this cave narrows dramatically,
8. OPERATION: EAT THEM ALL but not enough to keep the neothelid from reaching prey
The mind flayers have spawned a neothelid and trapped that flees here. The cave is empty.
it behind magic walls of force controlled from area 16c.
The illithids are waiting for Extremiton to give the order 9. GUARD POST
to unleash the savage creature on their githyanki ene- The doors to this area are made of stone and sealed
mies in Seadeeps and the Crystal Labyrinth. with Qualith door locks (see "Qualith Door Locks,"
page 222). Unless they are held open, the doors au-
8A. NEOTHELID'S CAVE tomatically close and lock. This area has the follow-
Magic walls of force seal off all tunnels leading to this ing features:
enormous cavern (see "Walls of Force" below). The
Sentries. Two mind flayers stand behind eight orogs
floor, while uneven throughout, has been worn smooth
by the creature trapped here. The cavern has the follow- (lined up in two rows of four) facing the double door
ing features: to the west.
Pillars. Two stone pillars with glowing veins of crystal
Neothelid. A 210-foot-long neothelid (see appendix stand to either side of the western hallway.
A) is curled up in the middle of the cavern, waiting
The mind flayers have orders to thwart any frontal
to be fed.
assault on the colony. The orogs are thralls under the
Ceiling. The ceiling is uneven- ranging in height from
illithids' command and defend their alien masters to
60 to 90 feet-and festooned with stalactites.
Ledge. A ledge climbs the western wall to a maximum the death.
height of 20 feet. At the back of this ledge are two tun-
nels leading to area 8b.

LEVEL 17 I SEADEEPS