Descent into Avernus

A character can bend the bars w ith a successful

DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check, creating a gap

wide enough for a Medium or smaller humanoid to

squeeze through.

V31. VESTRY

Four wooden wardrobes stand against the walls in this

area. The cultists store their robes and masks in these

wardrobes before leaving the dungeon and returning
to the city above. The wardrobes along the west wall

stand empty. Characters who search the wardrobe on

the south wall find four sets of black robes and four gold

devil masks, as worn by the cultists encountered else-

where in the dungeon.

V32. CONNECTING TuNNEL

The dim light from two of the cultists' green-glass lan-

terns doesn't reach the ends of this corridor, creating

pools of darkness there. Two lawful evil human cult

fanatics guard the tunnel, one at each end. Characters

with darkvision or their own light sources spot the fa-

natics. Otherwise, the fanatics surprise the characters.

Each fanatic wears a black robe and a thin gold devil

mask similar to those worn by cultists in other areas.

Sounds of combat here alert the cultists in area V33,

who arm themselves but stay where they are.

V33. CULTISTS' QUARTERS

This room is lit by two tall wrought-iron candlesticks

each topped with nine flickering candles. Around the

room's perimeter are ten wooden bunk beds, next to

which are unlocked footlockers containing ordinary

clothes belonging to the cultists.

Ten cultists gather here, minus any cultists defeated

in area V22. These cult members are lawful evil hu-

mans wearing black robes and thin gold devil masks.

Some have dozed off, while others are sitting on their

beds, sharing rumors regarding Thavius Kreeg's hand

in the fall ofElturel and Duke Vanthampur's plans for

Baldur's Gate. These cultists show intruders no quarter.

Sounds of combat here alert the cult fanatics in area

V32, who investigate immediately.

V34. RITUAL CHAMBER

This room is hidden behind secret doors (see "Dungeon

Features," page 37), and its features are as follows:

This ten-foot-high vaulted chamber has a plaster ceiling

painted with images of terrifying winged devils looking

down on a symbol embedded in the room's floor: a circu-

lar disk of black stone inscribed with a nine-pointed gold

star. Four wrought-iron candlesticks bristling with unlit,

half-melted red candles surround the circle.

The cultists use this chamber to perform diabolical

rituals that duplicate the effect of a divination spell,

except that the spell's contact is a devil that manifests

as a pillar of smoke above the symbol on the floor. The

images on the ceiling are pit fiends, recognizable by any

character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Reli-

gion) check.

V35. ThAVIUS KREEG'S QUARTERS

Describe this room to the players as follows:

Wrought-iron candlesticks topped with flickering candles

light this room, which is heated by a cast-iron stove with

clawed feet. Across from the crackling stove is a modest

desk with a matching chair. Other furnishings include

a small table and chair for dining, a bed, an iron chest

resting at the foot of the bed, and two tapestries: one

showing spirits rising as lemure devils from the River

Styx, and another depicting a dead man dangling like a

marionette from hooked chains.

Treasure. Thavius keeps a holy symbol of Torm (a

silver pendant shaped like a right-handed gauntlet on

the end of a silver chain) in the chest. The holy symbol is

worth 25 gp. The chest contains nothing else.

V36. VANTHAMPUR VAULT

The door to this room is locked (see "Dungeon Fea-

tures," page 37), and Duke Vanthampur has the only

key. The door can be unlocked from the inside with-

out the key.

When the characters open the door to the vault, read

or paraphrase the following boxed text to set the scene:

This room contains four wooden tables with two small

wooden coffers atop each one. Hanging on the wall op-

posite the door is a beautiful golden shield. Standing in

front of the sh ield is an old man in plain garments, carry-

ing a lit candlestick. As he turns to face the door, you see

that his shadow on the far wall doesn't match his form,

but appears to be the shadow of a pudgy, horned fiend

with small wings.

The man is Thavius Kreeg (see his stat block on page

42), the former high overseer of El tu rel. Formerly

a priest of Torm (god of courage and self-sacrifice), he

lost his spellcasting ability when he abandoned his faith

and now only pretends to worship that deity. The shield

hanging on the wall behind him is the Shield of the Hid-

den Lord, which is depicted and described in appendix

C. Thavius has been speaking to Gargauth, the fiend im-

prisoned in the shield, and has concluded that the shield

is responsible for much of the rampant avarice and mal-

ice in Baldur's Gate. Given time, Thavius thinks he can

use the shield to drag Baldur's Gate down into Avernus.

Thavius craves power and the appreciation of his

hellish masters. However, he abhors violence and avoids

combat whenever possible. He sheds crocodile tears

for Elturel, claiming that he was visiting a parish a few

miles outside the city when it disappeared, and express-

ing horror in response to the city's fall. Neither story

holds up under scrutiny.

Thavius also lies about his relationship with Duke

Vanthampur. He claims the duke's guards captured him

shortly after his arrival in Baidu r's Gate, and that the

CHAPTER l I A TALE OF TWO CITIES

41