8. P ARK-AND- RI DE
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The duergar searched area 8a for treasure but didn't
find anything of interest. They also failed to detect the
secret door to area 8b.8 A. DONK EY DUMMIES
Frescoes. The walls are carved with frescoes depicting
dwarves defending their mountain homes against ank-
hegs, purple worms, umber hulks, and other burrow-
ing monsters. (Hidden behind a fresco of a dwarf bat-
tling a bulette is a secret door that leads to area 8b.)
Wooden Donkeys. Standing around the room are five
crude wooden constructs resembling donkeys. Each
of these magic dummies has a body made of a wooden
keg turned on its s ide. A head and neck made of wood
and sackcloth is attached to one end of the keg. At the
other end is a tail made from a straw broom. Each keg
is held up by four 2-foot-long peg legs.
When a Small or Medium humanoid sits atop a
wooden donkey, it moves and attacks as directed by its
rider. Each donkey has the statistics of a mule, with
these changes:- The wooden donkey is a construct with blindsight out
to a range of (^30) feet. It is blind beyond this radius.
- Without a rider, the wooden donkey is incapacitated.
- It has immunity to poison damage, and it can't be
blinded, charmed, frightened, paralyzed, petrified,
or poisoned.
8 B. ARCH GATE TO LEVEL 9
A stone arch embedded in the south wall is engraved
with images of beholders, flumphs, and stirges. The
arch is one of Halaster's gates (see "Gates," page 12).
Its rules are as follows:- If a creature flies or levitates within 5 feet of the arch,
the gate opens for 1 minute. - Characters must be 10th level or higher to pass
through this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page
10). The first creature to pass through the gate trig-
gers an elder rune (see "Elder Runes," page 12). - A creature that passes through the gate appears in
area 13b on level 9, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.
MUSTERING HA L L
Decor. Blunted picks hang with shields every 10 feet
along the walls.
Double Door. Dwarvish runes for strength and safety
are etched in the floor in front of the double doors
to the east.
The doors to area 10 are locked, and the key to unlock
them can be found in area 25. Characters who don't
have the proper key can open the double door using a
knock spell or similar magic. It can a lso be forced open
with a successful DC 30 Strength (Athletics) check.
The lock on the doors can be picked by a character
who makes a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using
thieves' tools.
LEVf:L 6 I LOS1 LEVEL
PIT TRAP
In front of the double door, situated between the Dwar-
vish runes carved into the floor, is a hidden 20 -foot-deep
pit that opens if the lock on the doors is successfully
picked. The cover of the pit can be spotted by a charac-
ter who searches the floor for traps and succeeds on a
DC 20 Wisdom (Perception) check. The pit automati-
cally closes again if the double doors are relocked.
The pit is filled with a corrosive gas that billows up
through tiny holes in its floor. Any creature standing be-
fore the double doors when the pit opens must succeed
on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or fall in, taking 7(2d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall and (^10) (3d6)
acid damage from the gas. A creature in the pit takes the
acid damage again at the start of each of its turns.
The pit's sheer walls can't be climbed without the aid
of climbing gear or magic.
(^10). ROYAL ARMORY
The double doors to this room are locked but easily
opened from the inside. The key to the lock is found in
area 25. The features of this room are as follows:
Quartz Pillars. Four glowing quartz pillars cast bright
light throughout the room.
Mannequins. Twenty dwarf-sized wooden mannequins
stand in two rows of ten in the middle of the room.
Racks. Stone racks mounted on the west and east walls
hold battleaxes and war picks.
Arch. Set into the back of a deep alcove to the south is a
stone arch engraved with images of dancing dwarves.
ARCH GAT E TO LEVEL 5
The arch in the south alcove is one of Halaster's magic
gates (see "Gates," page 12). Its rules are as follows:
- Standing within 5 feet of the arch and imitating the
moves of the dancing dwarves carved into it causes
the gate to open for 1 minute. The dance requires 1
minute to perform.
Characters must be 8th level or higher to pass through
this gate (see "Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page 10). The
first creature to pass through the gate triggers an el-
der rune (see "Elder Runes," page 12). - A creature that passes through the gate appears in
area 9 on level 5, in the closest unoccupied space next
to the identical gate located there.
ARMOR AND WEAPONS
The racks contain a total of twenty suits of dwarf-sized
scale mail, twenty battleaxes, twenty war picks, and
twenty steel s hields emblazoned with the symbol of Du-
mathoin. All the equipment is in excellent condition.
The mannequins are all fitted with suits of scale ar-
mor and steel shields in good condition.- KING'S WALK
This interconnected series of rooms tells the story
of King Melair's life in art. The duergar have looted
each chamber.