D24. MYRKUL's REST
Followers of Myrku1 use this plundered crypt as a place
to rest. Describe it to the players as follows:
Four flickering torches in wall sconces illuminate this
crypt, the middle of which is occupied by an open stone
sarcophagus. The sarcophagus bears no carvings or
other ornamentation, but is full of humanoid skulls and
bones. Six dusty bedrolls lie on the floor around it.The Myrkulites filled the sarcophagus with skulls and
bones found throughout the dungeon, creating an altar
of sorts to the Lord of Bones.
D25. BANE'S REST
Slumped against the walls of this plundered, partially
collapsed crypt are four sleeping fists of Bane (see page
232 for their stat block). All are fully armored and have
their weapons nearby. If awakened by loud noises or the
guard in area D23, they grab their weapons and quickly
mobilize to repel any intrusion.The room is lit by two sputtering torches in sconces
on the north and west walls. A stone sarcophagus in the
middle of the room stands empty, its lid half buried un-
der rubble on the floor behind it.
D26. BHAALS REST
Read or paraphrase the foUowing boxed text when thecharacters enter this area for the first time:
Four flickering torches in wall sconces light this partially
collapsed crypt. An open sarcophagus in the middle
of the area is filled to the rim with blood, with spillage
streaking the sides of the sarcophagus and pooling
around its base. The sarcophagus lid lies half buried
under rubble behind it.Bhaal worshipers like to bathe in the human blood that
fills the sarcophagus. A female reaper ofBbaal (see
page 233 for her stat block) lurks behind the sarcopha-
gus, drenched in blood from head to toe. At the first sign
of intruders, she uses a disguise self spell to appear as a
frail old woman named Nebra. In this guise, she claims
to be a florist who was captured by the Dead Three and
brought to the dungeon as a slave. If the characters fall
for the act and bring Nebra with them, she claims to
know the location of a secret door (area D23) and tries
to lead them through it to area D29, where she hopes to
find reinforcements. If she leads the party to a location
occupied by other cultists, she drops the disguise and
attacks. She also attacks if her spell ends before then.
- ECHOES OF BATTLE
This ten-foot-wide flooded passage is braced at regular
intervals by wooden beams. Old torch stubs float on the
murky water. At the point where the tunnel bends west
toward area D29, the characters hear echoes of a battle
unfolding in that location.D28. OLD CELLAR
This flooded room was once a cellar, with the collapsed
eastern passage marking a staircase that formerly led
up to a residence in the city. Hidden under the murky
water are four animated human skeletons that rise up
and attack anyone who crosses the room.
- MORTLOCK VANTHAMPUR
The sounds of combat intensify as the characters ap-
proach this area. Describe the scene to the players
as follows:
Beyond the hall, a flooded chamber opens up with rough-
hewn steps climbing to the south, north, and northeast.
The floor buckles up above the water line in the middle
of the room, forming a small island. Corpses and doused
torches float in the water around the is land, atop which
two men circle each other with weapons bared. One of
the men- a tall, unarmored brute with a greatclub and a
scarred face-towers above his opponent but is gravely
wounded. The smaller figure is muscular and bare-
chested. He clutches a bloody dagger in one hand and a
torch in the other, and has no flesh covering his skull.The man with the greatclub is twenty-nine-year-old
Mortlock Vanthampur (see page 26 for his stat
block), who has 30 hit points left. His opponent is an
uninjured death's head ofBhaal (see page 233 for his
s tat block) named Vaaz. Four other Dead Three cultists
lie dead in the water, their skulls caved in by Mortlock.Mortlock is tolerated by his mother, Duke Thalamra
Vanthampur, and despised by his older brothers, Thurst-well and Amrik, who view him as a simpleton and an
abomination. Half of Mortlock's face was scarred by fire
when he was a child, and his disfigurement gives him a
fearsome countenance. He was sent to the bathhouse
dungeon by his mother to help the followers of the Dead
Three coordinate attacks against the city. When it be-
came clear that the Dead Three cultists could function
without Mortlock's support, Thurstwell and Amrik con-spired with several Bhaal cultists to assassinate Mort-
lock without their mother's knowledge.Mortlock and Vaaz stop fighting when the characters
arrive. Believing them to be Mortlock's associates, Vaazdisengages from the fight on his next turn and with-
draws to area D33, where he makes his final stand. Vaaz
takes his torch with him. Rather than pursuing, Mort-
lock tries to forge an alliance with the characters. If they
come to terms with Mortlock, he gives them the follow-
ing information in exchange for a promise of amnesty:"I was betrayed. These assassins conspired with my
brothers to kill me. 1f you hadn't come along, I'd be
dead. I owe you my life."• "My family is paying the Dead Three cultists to mur-
der people in the city. Our goal is to prove that the
Flaming Fist can't do its job. Once the city stops pay-
ing them, the Flaming Fist will have less of a reason
to stay in Baldur's Gate. With them gone, no one can
stand in the way of my mother becoming the city's
CHAPTER l I A TALE OF TWO CITIES
25