Peebles. The svirfneblin holding lhe bag is Peebles.
He came to Mantoi-Derith to investigate rumors of
a beholder living here. He claims to be fascinated by
a berrations, be holders in partic ular. He has confirmed
t hat there are no beholders in the due rgar or svirfne blin
e nclaves, but he hasn't yet been able to explore the drow
or Zhentarim e nclaves.
Peebles is the deranged, neutral evil servant of Xazax
the Eyemonger, a beholder that hunts other beholde rs,
takes their eyestalks, and grafts the m to its own body.
Peebles is Xazax's private surgeon. Once he has
confirmed the presence of a be holder in Mantol-De rith,
Peebles plans to find his "maste r" and share the news of
his discovery. He suggests that the characters take him
to the drow or Zhe ntarim enclave. under the pre tense
of having information about the duergar attack. Once
he has found Lorthuun the be holder. Peebles tries lo
leave Mantol-Dc rith at once. If th e characters delay
his departure, he gets angry at the m and claims to be
a n expert Underdark guide, promis ing to lead the m
whe re ver they wis h to go. lf they accept his offer, he
leads them to Xazax the Eyemonger (see chapte r 10 for
more information).
Pee bles's bag is made from s titched quaggoth hide
a nd contains a pair of sharpe ned flint knives. a s pool
of thread made from rope r gut, a thin iron needle.
two pounds of barrelstalk flesh, and a copper canteen
containing a half gallon of water.
Pool. The large pool cast of the marke t is fed by s mall
waterfalls pouring through cracks in the cavern ceiling.
The water is fresh and safe to drink. Growing a long the
hore arc 3d6 wa te rorbs (see "Fungi of the Unde rdark").
Treasure. Cha racte rs who searc h the marke tplace
find a tot a I of 2d6 50 gp gems scattered about.
- DROW ENCLAVE
The drow usc Mantoi-Derith to trade exquisite and
exotic goods according to their ra refied ta s tes. Rare
perfumes. potions, distilled beverages , and othe r
alchemical products are s ome of t heir regular goods.
as well as common and uncommon magic items. House
Baenre controls the flow of me rc handise here. placing
a nd removing c hief negotiators as their efftciency wanes.
Sirak Mazelor is the current drow representative. A
ophisticated merchant, s he deals in luxury ite m s from
d row artisans: gems of high value, incense. art objects.
\'arious magical treas ures. and exotic spices and s pirits
exclusive to the Uoderdark.
4A. DROW FUNGI GROVE
This is where the drow c ultivate edible and poisonous
fungi. In the heart of the fungi grove is a stunted
zurkhwood mus hroom, 20 feet tall, with a thick s talk
a nd a wide cap that forms a dome, keeping the area
underneath dry. The dark elves use the mushroom as
a pavilion, and this is where Sira k Mazelor conducts
business with vis iting traders.
Six gargoyles pe rc h on naturalledgcs overlooking the
fungi grove. They attack any creature unaccompanied by
a drow that approaches the stone double doors leading
to the d row ware house (area 4b). Standing in front of
Z tLC:HYN Q'LEPTtN
PeEBLESth e double doors a re two female drow elite warriors
th a t do the same.
Zilchyn Q'Leptin. Sitting on a zurkhwood bench
unde r the giant zurkhwood mushroom is a male drow
mage named Zilchyn Q'Lcptin. Trained as a wizard
in Menzoberranzan. "Zilch'' was forced to flee the
drow city after a rash of spell compont:nl thefts was
traced back to him. He can't control his kleptomania,
which is considered a form of indefinite madness (see
"Madness·· in chapte r 8 of the Dungeon Master's Guide).
This madness befell Zilch long before the demon lords
arrived, and has only gotten worse since.
Zilch lost his spellbook during his escape from
Me nzoberranzan, and an unfortunate e ncounte r with a
black pudding left him with acid scars covering the left
side of his body, including his face. In addition to his
st<Jff, which doubles as a walking stick, the drow carries
a purple bag made of kuo-toa skin that contains hand-
drawn maps of th e Underdark on s heets of trillimac,
ma te rial compone nts for all of Zilch's prepared s pells.
a nd ld4 + 3 stole n trinkets (roll on the Trinkets table in
cha pter 5 of the Player 's Handbook ). Characters can use
Zilch' s maps to ge t to Menzoberranzao, Gracklstugh, or
the Wormwrithings from Mantoi-Derith.
Zilch doesn't know what caused the due rgar to attack
the svirfneblin. but he knows the drow merchants
have withdrawn to the warehouse and that the drow
are waiting to sec how the viole nce plays out. If the
characters seem approachable, Zilc h offers to help the m
ge t inside the drow warehouse.
Tf the characters ta ke a short or long rest and Zilch
is with them. he atte mpts to steal som ething from one
ra ndomly dete rmined party me mber. Far from being a
s killed thief, Zilch must succeed at a Dexte rity check
contested by the passive Wisdom (Pe rception) scores of
eve ry character with line of sight to him. If he wins the
contest, Zilch hides the stolen ite m in his bag and feigns
innocence if questioned about the item 's disappearance.
Flink Thunderbonk. Huddled against a stone column
at the edge of the fungi grove is a cowardly deep gnome
named Flink. He suffe rs from a form of indefinite
madness (see "Madness" in chapter 8 of the Dungeon
Master's Guide) that makes him wa nt to please his
mistress, Yantha Coaxrock, and also causes him to beCHAPTER 9 I MANTOL-Df.RlTH
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