6G. SECRET ROOM
This room is hidden behind a locked secret door on
which is carved a fresco depicting a satyr in a forest,
dancing and playing a lute while butterflies fly around it.
One of the pegs on the satyr's lute is a hidden switch;
when it is turned, the secret door unlocks and swings in-
ward. The secret door can a lso be opened with a k nock
spell, o r by a cha racter using thieves' tools to pick the
lock with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check.
Treasure. A niche carved into the southeast wall
holds a small wooden chest bearing painted images of
worms burrowing out of the ground. Set into the chest
is a magic lock whose tumblers adjust to confound bur-
glars. A character using thieves' tools can pick the lock
with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check, but the check
is made with disadvantage. Inserting Wyllow's gold key
(see area 6a) into the lock also opens the chest, as does
a knock spell.
T he chest conta ins a pair of sapphire earrings (250
gp apiece), an armband made of overlapping gold leaves
(250 gp), a random trinket (roll on the Trinkets table in
chapter 5 of the Player's Handbook), and a crystal bulb
as big as a pear. Inside the crystal bulb is a tiny effigy
of Halaster Blackcloak. A detect magic spell reveals an
aura of conjuration magic around the bulb.
If the crystal bulb is planted in earth or soil on this
level of Undermountain, it is destroyed as Halaster
Blackcloak (see appendix A) sprouts from the ground
where the bulb was buried. This is the real Halaster, de-
livered by his own magic. The Mad Mage entrus ted the
bulb to Wyllow in case she needed to summon h im and
is annoyed if someone else uses it.
If the characters have done nothing aside from this to
offend him, Halaster babbles about his current preoccu-
pation (see "Halaster's Goals," page 11) and demands
the characters do whatever they can to help him. He
then teleports away in a huff. If the characters manage
to get a word in edgewise, they might persuade him to
share useful information before he leaves. He might, for
example, divulge the secret to activating one of his many
gates, or he might mention creatures known to dwell on
one of the deeper levels of Undermountain. If the char-
acters attack him, Halaster retaliates in kind.
6H. STATUARY
The spiral staircase reaches its peak in this room, which
contains the following features:
Statues. Standing in alcoves to the north and south,
facing one another, are green marble statues of 6-foot-
tall, proud elf warriors clutching shields and spears.
The shield of the northern statue features a pine tree,
while an oak tree is emblazoned on the shield of the
statue to the south.
Frescoes. The walls are carved with frescoes of elves
traveling through space aboard sleek wooden vessels
with giant crystalline wings, visiting strange worlds
and battling ores and dragons in space.6I. ARCH GATE TO LEVEL^3
Dust and cobwebs fill this room. Set into the middle
of the east wall is a stone arch enclosing a blank wall.
This is one of Ha laster's magic gates (see "Gates," page12). The keystone and base stones of the arch each
bear the graven image of an old man clutching a staff.
The rules of this gate are as follows:- Tapping the arch three times with a staff of any kind
causes the gate to open for 1 minute. - Characters must be 7th level or higher to pass through
this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page^10 ). The
first creature to pass th rough the gate triggers an el-
der r une (see "Elder Runes," page 12). - A creature that passes through the gate appears in
area 15b on level 3, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.
6J. 0SSUARY
Wyllow has slain scores of adventurers over the years,
and she chooses to memorialize them with this ghastly
ossuary, the walls and ceiling of which have humanoid
skulls and bones cemented to them in decorative ar-
rangements. A few bare patches have yet to be filled.
Secret Door. A secret door behind one bone-layered
wall swings open into area 6k.6K.CALENDARSTONE
This spacious room has been swept clean of dust and
cobwebs. It contains the following:
Guards. Four giant toads lurk in the far corners of the
room. They leap forward and attack anyone not ac-
companied by Wyllow.
Calendar Stone. Set into the floor is a 15-foot-diameter
stone device engraved with a multitude of images.
The device has a circular center 9 feet i n diameter,
around which are two concentric rings of stone. The
center stone is fixed in place. Its engravings depict
birds, butterflies, fish, and small mammals encircling
Wyllow's smiling visage. Each ring is 3 feet wide and
turns clockwise on hidden rollers. The inner ring is
engraved with images of plants and animals weathering
the change of seasons. The outer ring bears alternating
engravings of the sun at various heights and the moon
in all its phases. A fixture on the outer edge of the device
is used to line up the rings and indicate the present time
of day and season in Wyllowwood. The rings slowly turn
on their own, tracking the natural changes that occur
over time. By turning a ring manually, one can force a
more sudden change from day to night or night to day, or
bring the effects of a new season upon Wyllowwood.
If the characters change the time of day or the season,
all the surviving werebats except Vool (see area 17)
investigate Wyllow's tower in goblin form to find out
what is amiss.
The calendar stone can't be damaged or dismantled.- ALCOVES O F THE DEAD
Four deep alcoves, each roughly^10 feet wide and^15
feet tall, line the cavern wall south of Wyllow's tower.
Strewn about in them are the skeletal remains of sixty
humans clad in rotting clothes and furs- the remains
of Matar worshipers killed by the green dragon's poison
breath. Wyllow dragged the corpses here and left them
to rot, as a dire warning to others who would betray her.
A search of the bones reveals nothing of value.
LEVEL 5 I WYLLOWWOOD
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