Page 227 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

10. DETENTION FACILITY 11. HALASTER ls GLOWING
The mind fl.ayers use this detention facility to hold "cat- The stone doors to this chamber are sealed with Qua-
tle"-the term they use to describe humanoids they con- lith door locks (see "Qualith Door Locks," page 222).
sider a food source. Unless they are held open, the doors automatically close
The door to the cell block is made of stone and sealed and lock. The ceiling here is 10 feet high. The room has
with a Qualith door lock (see "Qualith Door Locks," the following features:
page 222). Unless it is held open, the door automati-
Arch. Embedded in the middle of the east wall is a stone
cally closes and locks.
arch. Carved into its keystone are three human-like
The cell block is 10 feet high throughout and contains stick figures holding hands.
the following:
Statue. In the middle of the room, a statue of a thin,
Cells. Spaced along the corridor are ten cells with doors bearded, wild-haired man wearing a robe covered
made of sturdy iron bars through which a Tiny crea- with eyes stands atop a 3-foot-high block of stone. The
ture could squeeze. Each cell door is fitted with a Qua- statue is surrounded by a faint nimbus of multicolored
lith door lock (see "Qualith Door Locks," page 222). light and points a stony finger at the eastern arch.
Prisoners. Three prisoners are locked in separate cells
The glowing statue depicts Halaster Blackcloak. It is a
when the characters arrive: a foul-smelling troglo- magic trap that casts a prismatic spray spell every time
dyte, a young male human veteran wearing the uni- a creature emerges from the arch gate in the east wall.
form of a City Watch constable of Waterdeep, and an
(Simply passing between the statue and the gate doesn't
elderly female grimlock in a soiled gray robe. trigger the trap.) The rays created by the spell originate
The three prisoners subsist on a slimy but nutritious from the statue's pointed finger and target all creatures
gray mold delivered to them in bowls once a day by il- between the statue and the gate (save DC 19).
lithid thralls. A detect magic spell reveals auras of abjuration magic
The troglodyte, Glorz, has a dinner date with the and evocation magic around the statue. It melds seam-
neothelid in area 8 and, given its chaotic evil alignment, lessly with its base and the floor, as though one with
can't be trusted to behave itself if set loose. both. It can't be toppled and is impervious to damage.
The City Watch constable, Ishan Toru (LG male Close examination of the statue reveals that the eyes
Kozakuran human), waits to have his brain devoured by carved into its robe, twenty in all, have lids that are
the illithids. Toru's weapons were taken from him and locked open. Casting an arcane Jock spell on the statue
discarded, and he plans to meet his death with whatever closes the eyelids on all the robe's eyes and deactivates
courage he can muster. He remembers being lured into the statue. Encompassing the statue in a darkness spell
an alley by a young girl who claimed her father was suppresses the trap for the duration.
being accosted by ruffians. Toru was knocked uncon-
scious by an unseen foe in the alley and awoke in this ARCH GATE TO LEVEL 14
cell. If set free, he joins forces with his liberators and The arch is one of Halaster's magic gates (see "Gates,"
helps them in any way he can, but is eager to report to page 12). Its rules are as follows:
his superiors in Waterdeep about what he has witnessed • If three humanoids hold hands while standing within
here. He also has parents and siblings who are no doubt 5 feet of the gate, it opens for 1 minute.
wondering what happened to him. • Characters must be 13th level or higher to pass
If his death seems likely, Toru asks one of the char- through this gate (see ''.Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page
acters to take his City Watch badge and return it to his 10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig-
father in Waterdeep. If this is done, Toru's mother- a gers an elder rune (see "Elder Runes," page 12).
renowned jewelry artist-gives that character a sapphire • A creature that passes through the gate appears in
bracelet or pendant worth 2,500 gp as a show of her area 39b on level 14, in the closest unoccupied space
gratitude. next to the identical gate located there.
Ahpok, the old grimlock, has an intellect devourer in
her skull. She is used by the mind flayers to lure other 12. DYNAMO
grimlocks to the colony to have their brains devoured.
The central feature of the mind flayer colony is a psionic,
Ahpok has been unable to leave the colony in recent
weeks because of the githyanki, so the illithids have sta- quasi-magical turbine powered by a thunderous under-
tioned her here with orders to keep an eye on the other ground river that flows through it.
River water entering the dynamo is channeled along
prisoners. The grimlock speaks Undercommon. Ahpok
10-foot-deep troughs. As the water courses through
claims to know this level of Undermountain by sound,
smell, and touch, and offers her services as a guide if the each trough, it passes U-shaped, gold-plated metal
characters agree to set her free. If the characters follow conductors bolted to the sides and bottom of the trough
at 10-foot intervals. The energy from the water is trans-
her, Ahpok leads them to the neothelid to be killed and
ferred to the conductors and used to power the appara-
consumed. If the intellect devourer is deprived of its
tus in area 12g and the psipods in areas 14 and 15. After
host, it teleports away to seek a new one.
fl.owing through the dynamo, the water exits through
submerged, rough-hewn tunnels carved into the sides of
cisterns. The underground river then resumes its natu-
ral course, eventually emptying into the Underdark.

LEVEL 17 I SEADEEPS