KEYED ENCOUNTERS
The following encounters arc keyed to the map of
Mantoi-Derith.L SECRET ENTRANCES
Mantoi-Derith is hidden behind 10-foot-squarc secret
doors carved to resemble walls of natural stone. A
creature within 5 feet of a secret door can make a DC
15 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot it. Each secret
door has an arcane lock spell cast on it. Speaking the
proper password within 5 feet of a secret door opens
it. Opening a secret door by any means other than the
correct password triggers a magical disintegration
trap on whichever side the door i::; opened from. Each
creature in the 20-foot-square area directly in front
of the secret door must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity
saving throw, taking 55 (I Od I 0) force damage on a
failed save, or half as much damage on a successful
one. A creature reduced to 0 hit points by this trap is
disintej!rated. leaving only it5 possessions behind.lA. NORTHWEST ENTRANCE
Characters guided by representatives of the Zhentarim
arrive at Mantoi-Dcrith via this route a subterranean
rift with a rough-hewn path carved into one wall. This
entrance is also used by :.virfneblin from Blingdcnstone
and drow from Menzohl'rranzan. The switchback path
ends at the secret door whose password is ''im'yat.'' a
svirfncblin word meaning "darkness."l.B. NORTH ENTRANCE
The password to open this secrl't door is "belaero,''
a drow word meaning "wealth.'' If the characters are
being guided by members of the Black Network. they
are led through this secret door into the trench that
bisects Manto! Dt'rith (area 2).1C. NORTHEAST ENTRANCE
This secret door stands at the back of a naturally formed
ledge overlooking the Dark lake. The password to open
it is "ssussun," a drow word meaning "light.'' When the
characters first gaze upon the ledge. read the following
boxed text to the players.An elf with long red hair and a backpack sits on a ledge
overlooking a vast, water-filled cavern. The elf is dressed
in the finest att1re and IS d1ppmg his bare feet in the
murky water. "Care to JOin me?" he asks w1th a wry smile.The figure dipping his feet in the water is Sladis Vadir. a
high elf druid and member of the Emerald Enclave. Use
the druid statistics in the Monster Manual to represent
him, with the following modifications:
Sladis is neutral good.
He has dark vision out to a range of 60 feet.
He speaks Common, Elvish, and Undercommon.
His fey ancestry gives him advantage on saving
throws against being charmed, and magic can't put
him to s leep.
He can cast the prestidigite~tion cantrip at will and
uses it to make his dirt stained garments look clean.
Sladis Vadir has alway:. felt a strange attraction to the
Underdark, but the demonic incun;ion has broken hjs
sanity. lie kills and cats other humanoids he encoumers
or, as he calls it, "culls the hcrd to maintain the
natural order." This is considered a form of indefinite
madness (sec "Madness'' in chapter 8 of the Dungeon
Master's Guide).
Sladis happily accompan1es the party and graciously
offers his service:. a:. a guide. lie knows how to get
to^1 evcrlight Grove, Blingdenstone, Gracklstugh,
and Menzob<•rranzan, hut not Gravenhollow. If the
characters invite Sladis to accompany them, he thanks
them by offering them some "food" (sec 'Treasure'').
Treasure. In addition to his quarterstaff and spell
components. Sladis carries a blood-caked Hint knife
that he uses to cut up his victims. as well as a H eward's
handy haversack stuffed full of severed limbs and
eviscerated organs the uncookcd remains of his
svirfneblin, grimlock, quaggoth, and drow victims.
XP A wards. If the characters cure Sladis Vadir's
madness, award each of them 100 XP. If he is safely
returned to Morista Malkin in Gauntlgrym (see chapter
8). award each character ISO X P.lD. SOUTH ENTRANCE AND SHORE
This secret door to Mantoi-Oerith lie::; halfway down a
dead-end tunnel stemming from a rocky shoreline that
hugs the Darklake. Ducrgar t raders from Gracklstugh
use this entrance. The password to open the secret door
is "groht," an archaic Dwarvish word meaning "stone."
When the characters first ga.ce upon the shore, read
the following boxed text to the players.Someone has p1tched a small tent on this pebbled beach
overlooking a vast underground lake. Above the sound of
water lapping at th e shorelme, you hear a soft, feminine
voice humming an unfamiliar tune. The voice comes
from inside the tent , which is illuminated from within.The tent belongs to the figure inside it: a female human
named Rystia Zav. Rystia i:. a chaotic gootl HarperCtl \P'I E K 9 I M A ;>;TOL-PfiUTH
135