Page 45 - Waterdeep - Dungeon of the Mad Mage_Neat

In reality, a band of duergar thieves posing as mer- SEA HAGS OF THE SARGAUTH
chants recently stole Azrok's dagger of blindsight and
fled using their invisibility. News of the theft reached Eager to expunge the drow occupying his dungeon,
the drow of House Auvryndar and spurred them to take Halaster has summoned a coven of sea hags from the
frigid waters of the River Sargauth. The hags have gath-
over the eastern section of Stromkuhldur. Lurkana,
Azrok's wife and strongest captain, tried to cover up her ered followers that oppose the drow, including grim-
husband's blindness, but her efforts were undone by a locks and troglodytes.
mind flayer acting as Skullport's ambassador. This mind
fl.ayer secretly implanted intellect devourers in the skulls EXPLORING THIS LEVEL
of several goblins in Azrok's court, and these goblins All location descriptions for this level are keyed to map
are spreading the truth of Azrok's blindness throughout 3. As one gets closer to the River Sargauth, the echoes
Stromkuhldur to further besmirch his reputation and of its sluggish waters become ambient.
demoralize his troops.
The hobgoblins under Azrok remain loyal to him, but 1. CATACOMBS
many of the goblins and bugbears have fled to Skullport
to join the Xanathar Guild. Compounding Azrok's and These catacombs are part of a temple complex formerly
dedicated to the dwarven god Dumathoin, patron of
Lurkana's woes is the likelihood that House Auvryndar
is planning another attack to seize more territory. Fears mining and exploration and the protector of the dwarven
of a Xanathar Guild offensive emerging from Skullport dead. The catacombs have the following features:
also play in the back of Azrok's mind. Meanwhile, Lur- Carvings. The smooth-carved walls bear engraved im-
kana searches for aid in finding the duergar thieves who agery of mountains marbled with veins of glittering
stole the dagger of blindsight and returning it to her. minerals, and the marble floor is caked in dust.
Tombs. Shelf-like niches carved into the walls are
1 stacked three high. Each of these open tombs contains
SIDE QUEST: RETRIEVE AZROK S DAGGER
the dust-covered bones of a long-dead dwarf.
Adventurers who enter western Stromkuhldur (area 21) are
brought before Azrok and Lurkana (in area 21 n) as a man- The dwarves laid to rest here were all worshipers of
ner of protocol. After Azrok guarantees their safety in his Dumathoin. Characters who search each shelf also find
settlement, Lurkana takes them aside and offers a reward fragments of metal armor so old that they turn to dust
for the safe return of her husband's magic dagger. She em- at the lightest touch, as well as tiny stone beads with
phasizes that without the dagger, the invading drow and
the Xanathar Guild might conquer Stromkuhldur and be- holes bored through them. A character who inspects the
come immensely more powerful. She reminds the adven- beads and succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (History)
turers that the Legion of Azrok has never once threatened check recalls that ancient dwarves braided the beards of
Waterdeep- but the drow or the guild might leap at the their dead using these stone beads.
chance to do just that.
Lurkana knows that the thieves who stole the dagger are 2. DEAD EXPLORER
duergar of Clan lroneye, and she thinks they might be hid- The partially rotted remains of a male human lie in a
ing in Skullport. (Characters who make discreet inquiries
in Skullport can learn that a large contingent of duergar corner of this cavern. What's left of his face is twisted
from Clan lroneye resupplied in Skullport and drank ale into a silent scream.
at a local tavern called the Black Tankard before heading A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals
deeper into Undermountain. The tavern's tight-lipped several grisly wounds on the corpse, including one on
duergar proprietor, Droon Stonedark, denies everything. his neck where the skin has peeled outward, suggesting
The characters can catch up to the duergar of Clan lroneye that something emerged from within. This human died
on level 6.) after spider eggs hatched inside his body and the crea-
If the characters accept her quest, Lurkana suggests they
tures swarmed out of him.
search Skullport first and points them in the right direction
(beyond area 23). She also suggests that they speak with 3. GRICKAMBUSH
Skullport's ambassador to Stromkuhldur (the mind flayer
in area 21 g) to see if it knows anything. She cautions them Three gricks hide at the end of this tunnel and attempt
not to harm the ambassador in any way, so as not to fray to ambush the characters.
relations any further.
Reward. In exchange for the dagger, Lurkana is prepared 4. WEBBED TUNNELS
to pay 1,000 gp delivered in a locked chest along with the
key. If the characters demand more, she is willing to in- Spiderwebs drape across these tunnels, clinging to
crease the payment to 1,500 gp and throw in two bugbears creatures as they pass until the webs are brushed or
and five goblins as bodyguards and scouts. Unknown to burned away. Ghostly faces glimpsed in the webs are
Lurkana, two of the goblins have intellect devourers in actually random patterns among the threads.
their skulls and act as secret spies for Xanathar. The bug- Web-covered areas count as difficult terrain, but
bears and other goblins serve the adventurers well, but they're not strong enough to restrain anyone. A charac-
being evil and greedy, they become increasingly difficult to ter can use an action to burn a 5-foot cube of web with
control over time.
a torch or to cast a spell that deals fire damage, which
clears all the webs in the spell's area.

LEVEL 3 I SARGAUTH LEVEL