Four of the vats are empty, their contents having long
since evaporated or been depleted. The southwest vat
contains a beholder zombie, which rises out of the vat
and attacks if disturbed.
Barrels. There are thirty empty barrels, all made of
iron-banded zurkhwood (a woody fungus). Most are in
such poor condition that they can no longer hold liquids
without leaking, but clever characters can use them to
safely avoid the pit traps in area 22d.22D. BARREL RUN
Beyond a 10-foot landing, this hall gradually slopes
down toward the west.
Secret doors at the west end of the hall open into
areas 22e and 22f, respectively. Dwarves used to fill bar-
rels of ale and roll them down this hall to be stored in
the secret chambers.
Pit Traps. The Melairkyn dwarves built three 20-foot-
deep pits in the sloped floor to guard their ale supplies.
The pits' covers blend in with the surrounding floor,
though a successful DC 15 Wisdom (Perception) check
detects each pit.
When a creature weighing 50 pounds or more steps
on a pit's cover, it swings open like a trapdoor, causing
the creature to spill into the pit below and take 2d6 blud-
geoning damage from the fall. The lid is spring-loaded
and snaps closed after the creature falls through. A suc-
cessful DC 20 Strength check is necessary to pry the lid
open. A character in the pit can also attempt to disable
the spring mechanism from the inside with a successful
DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, provided
that the mechanism can be reached and the character
can see in the dark.
Wedging at least two iron spikes between the pit's
lid and the surrounding floor prevents the lid from
opening, thereby making it safe to cross. The lid can
also be magically held shut with an arcane lock spell or
similar magic. The dwarves constructed the pit covers
so that they won't open if an object is rolled over them. A
character can circumvent the traps by climbing into an
empty barrel and rolling down the hall or climbing onto
a barrel and balancing atop it as it rolls down the hall.
Balancing atop a barrel as it careens down the hall re-
quires a successful DC 20 Dexterity (Acrobatics) check.22E. NORTH ALE STORAGE
This chamber is hidden behind a secret door.
The room's walls climb 10 feet, then angle inward to
form a pyramidal cap with a 30-foot-high apex. Stacked
in the middle of the room are one hundred forty zurkh-
wood barrels banded in iron. The barrels form a 21 -foot-
high pyramid with a base measuring seven barrels on
a side. Engraved on the lid of each barrel is a magical
glyph that radiates an aura of abjuration magic under
the scrutiny of a detect magic spell.
Treasure. Each barrel contains 40 gallons of dwarven
ale that has been magically preserved for centuries.
Removing a barrel's lid or breaking the barrel causes its
glyph to fade away, ending the preservation spell on that
barrel. If the ale is marketed as "Melairkyn Ale," "Un-
dermountain Ale," or something similar, characters can
sell a barrel of it for 40 gp in Waterdeep. A full barrel of
ale weighs approximately 400 pounds.
LEVEL 2 ) ARCANE CHAMBERS22F. SOUTH ALE STORAGE
This room is identical to area 22e, except the pyramid of
barrels has collapsed. Most of the barrels lie smashed
on the floor. Fifty-nine of them remain intact, their ale
preserved. Another three appear to be intact but are, in
fact, three mimics placed here by Halaster. The three
hide within 10 feet of one another and fight together.- RUINED DWARVEN TEMPLE
These rooms once formed a temple dedicated to the
dwarven god Dumathoin, the Keeper of Secrets under
the Mountain, but Halaster has destroyed and replaced
most of their original contents.
23A. DEFACED DWARVES
Light. The walls climb 15 feet, then angle inward to cre-
ate a peaked, 30-foot-high ceiling. The sloped upper
walls have red glowing crystals set into them. These
crystals fill the hall with dim light. (Crystals pried out
of their fixtures go dark.)
Carvings. The lower walls were once lined with carv-
ings depicting dwarves pushing mine carts toward the
west, but these works have been defaced and, in some
cases, replaced with stony tentacles that protrude
from the walls.
Dwarf-Guarded Doors. A 20-foot-tall double door
stands closed at the west end of the hall. Carved into
the walls flanking the double door stand armored
dwarves, their stony beards flowing out of great helms
that conceal their facial features.
Halaster used magic to distort the wall carvings al-
most beyond recognition and to create tentacle-like pro-
trusions that weren't part of the original design. These
tentacles writhe as creatures pass by them- a harmless
effect created by the Mad Mage.23B. HALL OF DEAD DRAGONS
Ceiling. The 30-foot-high vaulted ceiling of this room is
supported every 20 feet or so by thick stone arches.
Skeletal Displays. Standing in the hall are the skele-
tons of four Huge dragons, their bones held together
by wire and cement. A few pieces of each dragon have
broken off and fallen to the floor. A fifth dragon skel-
eton in a similar state of disrepair fills an alcove to
the south.
This hall contains the posed, inanimate skeletons of
five adult dragons- one each of brass, bronze, copper,
gold, and silver. The gold dragon skeleton occupies the
southern alcove, while the others are lined up in the
main hall. The skeletons are harmless.- DEAD ADVENTURER
What was once a dwarven shrine is now the tomb of a
long-dead adventurer.
Splayed across a broken stone bench in the middle
of the room are the skeletal remains of a tiefling clad
in rotted leather armor. The skeleton clutches a quar-
terstaff that bas become brittle with age. A tattered
backpack contains adventuring gear that bas rotted or
rusted away.