In reality, a band of duergar thieves posing as mer-
chants recently stole Azrok's dagger of blindsight and
fled using their invisibility. News of the theft reached
the drow of House Auvryndar and spurred them to take
over the eastern section of Stromkuhldur. Lurkana,
Azrok's wife and strongest captain, tried to cover up her
husband's blindness, but her efforts were undone by a
mind flayer acting as Skullport's ambassador. This mind
fl.ayer secretly implanted intellect devourers in the skulls
of several goblins in Azrok's court, and these goblins
are spreading the truth of Azrok's blindness throughout
Stromkuhldur to further besmirch his reputation and
demoralize his troops.
The hobgoblins under Azrok remain loyal to him, but
many of the goblins and bugbears have fled to Skullport
to join the Xanathar Guild. Compounding Azrok's and
Lurkana's woes is the likelihood that House Auvryndar
is planning another attack to seize more territory. Fears
of a Xanathar Guild offensive emerging from Skullport
also play in the back of Azrok's mind. Meanwhile, Lur-
kana searches for aid in finding the duergar thieves who
stole the dagger of blindsight and returning it to her.SIDE QUEST: RETRIEVE AZROK^1 S DAGGER
Adventurers who enter western Stromkuhldur (area 21) are
brought before Azrok and Lurkana (in area 21 n) as a man-
ner of protocol. After Azrok guarantees their safety in his
settlement, Lurkana takes them aside and offers a reward
for the safe return of her husband's magic dagger. She em-
phasizes that without the dagger, the invading drow and
the Xanathar Guild might conquer Stromkuhldur and be-
come immensely more powerful. She reminds the adven-
turers that the Legion of Azrok has never once threatened
Waterdeep- but the drow or the guild might lea p at the
chance to do just that.
Lurkana knows that the th ieves who stole the dagger are
duergar of Clan lroneye, and she thinks they might be hid-
ing in Skullport. (Characters who make discreet inquiries
in Skullport can learn that a large contingent of duergar
from Clan lroneye resupplied in Skullport and drank ale
at a local tavern called the Black Tankard before heading
deeper into Undermountain. The tavern's tight-lipped
duergar proprietor, Droon Stonedark, denies everything.
The characters can catch up to the duergar of Clan lroneye
on level 6.)
If the characters accept her quest, Lurkana suggests they
search Skullport first and points them in the right direction
(beyond area 23). She also suggests that they speak with
Skullport's ambassador to Stromkuhldur (the mind flayer
in area 21 g) to see if it knows anything. She cautions them
not to harm the ambassador in any way, so as not to fray
relations any further.
Reward. In exchange for the dagger, Lurkana is prepared
to pay 1,000 gp delivered in a locked chest along with the
key. If the characters demand more, she is willing to in-
crease the payment to 1,500 gp and throw in two bugbears
and five goblins as bodyguards and scouts. Unknown to
Lurkana, two of the goblins have intellect devourers in
their skulls and act as secret spies for Xanathar. The bug-
bears and other goblins serve the adventurers well, but
being evil and greedy, they become increasingly difficult to
control over time.LEVEL 3 I SARGAUTH LEVEL
SEA HAGS OF THE SARGAUTH
Eager to expunge the drow occupying his dungeon,
Halaster has summoned a coven of sea hags from the
frigid waters of the River Sargauth. The hags have gath-
ered followers that oppose the drow, including grim-
locks and troglodytes.Exploring This Level
All location descriptions for this level are keyed to map- As one gets closer to the River Sargauth, the echoes
of its sluggish waters become ambient. - CATACOMBS
These catacombs are part of a temple complex formerly
dedicated to the dwarven god Dumathoin, patron of
mining and exploration and the protector of the dwarven
dead. The catacombs have the following features:
Carvings. The smooth-carved walls bear engraved im-
agery of mountains marbled with veins of glittering
minerals, and the marble floor is caked in dust.
Tombs. Shelf-like niches carved into the walls are
stacked three high. Each of these open tombs contains
the dust-covered bones of a long-dead dwarf.
The dwarves laid to rest here were all worshipers of
Dumathoin. Characters who search each shelf also find
fragments of metal armor so old that they turn to dust
at the lightest touch, as well as tiny stone beads with
holes bored through them. A character who inspects the
beads and succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (History)
check recalls that ancient dwarves braided the beards of
their dead using these stone beads.
2. DEAD EXPLORER
The partially rotted remains of a male human lie in a
corner of this cavern. What's left of his face is twisted
into a silent scream.
A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Medicine) check reveals
several grisly wounds on the corpse, including one on
his neck where the skin has peeled outward, suggesting
that something emerged from within. This human died
after spider eggs hatched inside his body and the crea-
tures swarmed out of him.- GRICKAMBUSH
Three gricks hide at the end of this tunnel and attempt
to ambush the characters. - WEBBED TUNNELS
Spiderwebs drape across these tunnels, clinging to
creatures as they pass until the webs are brushed or
burned away. Ghostly faces glimpsed in the webs are
actually random patterns among the threads.
Web-covered areas count as difficult terrain, but
they're not strong enough to restrain anyone. A charac-
ter can use an action to burn a 5-foot cube of web with
a torch or to cast a spell that deals fire damage, which
clears all the webs in the spell's area.