llA. TRAINING YEARSPilla rs. Stone pillars support a series of stone arches
beneath a 30-foot-high domed ceiling.
Frescoes. Stone panels set into the walls bear frescoes
and Dwarvish runes.
The frescoes chronicle the birth of Melair, a common
shield dwarf, and his early years struggling as a brewer,
metalsmith, and stonecarver.
llB. PROSPECTING YEARSFrescoes. Stone panels set into the north and south
walls bear frescoes and Dwarvish runes.
Displays. Three objects are displayed on stone blocks
in the middle of the room, each encased under glass.
A fourth display has been plundered, its glass broken
and its object stolen.
Three historical objects are on display here-a rusty
iron trowel that Melair used to s pread mortar, the claw
of a wyvern, and a n ore's split helm. (The duergar stole
the fourth item, a golden gauntlet of elven design. It can
be found in a rea lSa.)
The frescoes depict Melair's early exploits as a pros-
pector: building a bridge over a river, meeting his first
elf, prospecting for ore and gems in caves and foothills,
hiding from ores, and fighting a wyvern. Io each scene,
he is joined by a small company of dwarf prospectors.
llc. CORONATION
Frescoes. Stone panels set into the west and south
walls bear frescoes and Dwarvish runes.
P e destals. Six stone pedestals stand before the fres-
coes, surrounded by shattered glass.
The frescoes show Melair, a shield dwarf prospector,
discovering veins of mithral under a mountain and shar-
ing the wealth with "kith and kin." It shows dwarves
flocking to the Underhalls of Melairbode, the subse-
quent formation of the Melairkyn clan, Melair's corona-
tion as king of the clan, and the gifts given to the newly
acclaimed king by various dwarf families in attendance.
The duergar smashed the glass cases atop the ped-
estals and stole all the items on display. The items here
were gifts given to King Melair during his coronation-
the same gifts represented in the frescoes. Characters
who examine the frescoes can ascertain what was sto-
len: a gem-studded cloak, an onyx smoking pipe, a fist-
sized diamond, a red crystal tankard, and a golden belt
with an obsidian buckle and studs. (These items can all
be found in area lSa.)Un. CRADLE AND CROWN
Frescoes. Stone panels set into the nor th and east walls
bear frescoes and Dwarvish runes.
Bier. Resting atop a marble bier in the middle of the
room is a carved stone rocking cradle.
The frescoes depict Melair spending time with his
wife, their children, and their children's descendants.
The cradle weighs 500 pounds and is an art object
worth 2,500 gp. It contains a 2-foot-long statue of a
swaddled dwarf infant sleeping soundly. A detect magic
spell reveals an aura of transmutation magic around the
statue of the dwarf infant.Treasure. If the infant statue is removed from the
cradle, it transforms into a crystal crown (250 gp) that
reflects color as a prism does. This crown is needed to
activate two of Halaster's gates: on level 8 in a rea 18b
and on level^11 in a rea lla.llE. LIFE IN UNDERMOUNTAIN
Stone panels set into the west and east walls of this
20-foot-high room bear frescoes and Dwarvish runes
that tell of King Melair's obsession with mithral. The
discovery of vast veins of that metal in the Seadeeps
(beneath what is today Mount Waterdeep) is recorded,
as is Melair's determination to rid Undermountain of its
infestations of beholders, duergar, and drow.
When the characters first enter this room, ghostly
orbs of light arranged like the eyes of a beholder appear
in the middle of the room. This spectral display is one
of Halaster's harmless regional effects (see "Halaster's
Lair," page 311) and lasts for 1 minute.
MITHRAL THIEVES
Any creatures that escaped from area 7 regroup here
and will make a final stand in this a rea, the features of
which are as follows:
Wa ll Car ving. The south wall bears a lavish carving of
a mountain, beneath which a large stylized eye looks
down on a line of dwarf warriors.
Monsters. Five enlarged duergar occupy the 10-foot
spaces in front of the carving, examining the mithral
filigree. Two xorn stand watch in the middle of the
hall, feeding on discarded mithral fragments.
Broken Door. The door to the north has been reduced
to rubble, creating an open passageway.
The occupants of this area are tenuous allies. The
duergar attack anyone they don't recognize, and the
xorn assist as best they can. If the duergar are defeated,
the xorn disengage from combat on their next turn and
flee by burrowing into the walls. If the xorn escape, the
characters can encounter them again in other nearby
chambers at your discretion. The xorn become indif-
ferent toward characters who feed them gems and pre-
cious metals.
TREASURE
The carving on the south wall is inlaid with mithral
filigree. Ambitious characters can strip a total of^20
pounds of mithral from the walls. One character can
strip I pound of mithral in^15 minutes. Each pound of
the metal is worth 50 gp.- HIGH PRIEST'S CHAMBERS
The duergar ransacked this room but left a few trea-
sures behind. The room has the following features:
Fu rnishings. Scattered about the room are the remains
of a bed, an armoire, a desk, and a chair.
Scrolls. Heaped around the broken desk are hundreds
of torn-up scrolls all bearing religious sermons.
Secret Door. A secret door in the east wall opens into a
dusty, cobweb-filled corridor that connects to area 14.
(Characters inside the tunnel can spot the secret door
at either end of it without having to make a check.)
L£VEL 6 I LOST LEVEL