Out of the Abyss

0-'.RKLAKE DocK s
.rriving at the Dar k lake Docks requires a combination
'<.kill. ingenuity, and luck. Vigilance is a little more
rpJaxed here because the guards at Overtake Hold can
;;pot any obvious threat coming from the waters.

After hours of tense n avigatio n, you glimpse an orange

g1ow in the distance. Soon you hear faint metallic echoes,

growing louder as you come closer.

Firelight illuminates massive columns with structures

ou It around their bases. The cold air of the Underdark is

oecommg warmer even at this distance, and you can now

see a variety of piers made from zurkhwood, stone, and

plam rock jutting out along the edge of a huge cavern.

o\!> the characters draw closer, they can see that the

c: :.tern docks are t he least crowded. If Buppido is w ith

t1 m, he guides them to a natural rock pier on the

~tern edge of the cavern. Otherwise, the characters

·.1st make a successful DC 14 group Dexterity (Stealth)

t"Ck or a DC 15 group Wisdom (Survival) check to

~1de their boat safely and inconspicuously to an empty

k. lf the group check fails. nearby guards notice the

aracters but don't immediately identify them as a

reat. However, you can choose to impose disadvantage

·.any checks the characters make to remain

onspic uo us during their first day in Gracklstugh.

GETTING CAPTURED

E. en after making it inside the city, the characters must

rt"ad carefully, as the duergar use the slightest pretext

arrest them. Even t rying to haggle with a duergar

.. rchant might inspire a call for the guards to take the

aracters away. Getting caught stealing is punishable

death on the spot, but guards or the offended party

.ght sec some value in enslaving the culprits instead.

, the characters can be shackled and shipped beyond

e Darkla kc Dis trict Resisting arrest is a tr uly bad

ea: every duergar a round is reinforcement.

If the characters get arrested. you can interrupt thei r

.... nsfer with a random encounter or lead them to other

... nned encounters. The '·Rampaging Giant" encoumer

'ttch takes place in the Darklake District) is the most

··I) event to interrupt a prisoner transfer. Alternatively.

aft agent of the Keepers of the Flame can stop the guards

b. iore they take the characters to Overlake Hold (see

·-l-Jemberchaud's Lair'" for information regarding the

· pers' interest in foreign mercenaries).

Possible offers of employment in the Blade Bazaar can

..a be turned into timely rescues for the adventurers.

C•herwise, they end up in Overlake llold, interro~ated by

f rrde Blackskull.

D ARKLAKE DISTRICT

.. bl. Dark lake District gh·es an illusion of openness.

1 _ str('ets are relatively wide to allow for merchant

rts and wagons to pass. and rhe buildings aren't as

~owded around stalagmites as in the southern districts.

penness doesn't mean welcoming, however. The

duergar who ply their trades here are wary of all the

fore igners confined by law to this part of the city.

A wave of heat slams against you as an acrid smog rises

to choke the air out of your lungs. The Darklake spreads

out beyond a jumble of buildings and streets, reflecting

the lights of countless fires burning across the c ity within

hollowed·out columns and stalagmites.

Though the streets are crowded, you move easily

within the surging throng of buyers, merchants, and

slaves. You aren't the only outsiders here, as you spy

drow, svirfneblin, derro, orcs, and other races in the

crowds. The shouting of people blends with the sound of

distant hammering to create a constant, distracting din.

Behind the forbidding walls separating the Darkla ke

District from t he rest of the city stand the docks,

markets, and shops where Gracklstugh's commerce and

trade are conducted. The many duergar merchants-

along with drow, svirfneblin, orcs, and others-pay little

attention to the characters unless they are looking w

do business.

Guards posted at the gates make it clear to the

characters that non-duergar are restricted to the

Dark lake District, and the characters have bcrter luck

asking other outsiders for directions rather than t rying

to engage the duergar locals. They arc directed to the

Blade Bazaar if they wish to sell anything they might

be carrying with them. For gossip and a me<~ I, the

Shattered Spire tavern is recommended, while lodging

for non·duergar can be had at the Ghohlbrorn's Lair inn.

At any point during which the characters move from

point to point in the Darklake District, they can witness

one or more of the following events.

RAMPAGING GIANT

This encounter t riggers possible side quests through

which the characters can learn about the influence of

Demogorgon in Gracklstugh. You can use this event any

time during the party"s stay in the city. Holding it for

later use gives characters a chance to notice the little

things wrong among the duergar, while using it right

away can help characters avoid being enslaved if they

are arrested at any point during their visit.

The rhythmic hammering of the city's forges is drowned

for a second by a thundering roar and the sound of

crumbling rock. Due rga r and visitors alike turn to look as

a two-headed, gray·s kinned giant bursts through a gate ,

howling madly and lashing out left and right, littering

the plaza with rock and stone debns. As he bellows, one

of his swings connects with a duergar soldier, whose

broken body flies through the atr and crashes near you

with a sickening crunch.

CHAPTER 4 I CRACKt.STUCH

59