GETTING TO THE LAIR
Very few members of the Xanathar Guild have access to
the beholder's secret lair. If the characters want to get
there, the following factions know where it is and can
help them find it.BREOAN D'AERTHE
Jarlaxle has a spy in the Xanathar Guild: the advisor
Nar'I Xibrindas, who uses sending spells to transmit in-
telligence to his drow brethren. Bregan D'aerthe knows
that the safest route to the beholder's lair is a secret
staircase in the sewers of the Castle Ward. Any charac-
ter who belongs to this faction can get this information
fromjarlaxle or another source.
lf the party includes at least one Bregan D'aerthe
member with renown of 4 or more in the faction, four
male drow are waiting for the party at the top of the
staircase. Their names are Arannis Nur'zekk, Beldar
Tlabbath. Rylvar Tlabbath, and Draknafein Uriss. Their
orders are to help the characters complete their mission,
whatever the cost. These drow also have secret orders
to kill Nar'I Xibrindas, if he's still alive, and retrievejar-
laxle's bag of holding (see area X35). If you're tracking
experience points, each drow gets an equal share of the
XP while a member of the adventuring party.
HARPERS
Characters who belong to the Harpers can approach
Mirt (see appendix B), who knows the location ofXana-thar's lair. (He has dealt with the beholder many times
as a Lord of Waterdeep.)
Mirt leads the characters to a secret staircase in the
Castle Ward sewers (area Xl). As the characters pre-
pare to descend the stairs, Mirl tells them that Xanathar
doesn't relate well to humanoids. doesn't trust them as a
matter of course, and is prone to imagining conspiracies
where none exist. He also tells the characters that Xana-
thar has a pet fish and is insanely protective of it.
Mi rt won't accompany the adventurers, but he knows
a secret that could be helpful: Thorvin Twinbeard, Xana-
thar's chief engineer, is a Harper informant. Mirt shares
this secret with any character who has renown of 4 or
higher in the Harper faction.LORDS' ALLIANCE
Characters who are members of the Lords' Alliance
can reach out to j aleste r Silvermane (see appendix B).
jalester doesn't know the location of Xanatbar's lair but
can get the details from Laeral Silverhand.
With the information in hand,Jalester leads the party
to a secret staircase in the Castle Ward sewers (area
Xl). As the characters prepare to descend the stairs, Jal·
ester warns them to avoid confronting the paranoid and
unpredictable beholder.
If one or more characters have renown of 4 or higher
in the Lords' Alliance, jalester offers to join the party on
its mission into Xanathar's lair. If you're tracking experi-
ence points,jalester gets an equal share of the XP while
a member of the adventuring party.C H APTF.R 5 I SPRlNG MADNESS