If the hand of a living or dead dwarf king is pressed
against either door, both doors swing slowly inward,
revealing area 16 beyond. (The characters can find such
an appendage in King Melair's true tomb, area 29f.) ff
the doors are touched by anything other than the hand
of a dwarf king, the symbol of Dumathoin above the dou-
ble doors casts a Bigby's hand spell.
The shimmering hand created by the spell has^80
hit points and a +6 bonus to initiative. (See the spell
description for the hand's other statistics.) On each of
its turns, this hand flies up to^60 feet and makes one
clenched fist attack against a random creature on the
dais. The spell has a duration of 1 minute. It can be trig-
gered repeatedly, though a new hand can't come forth
until an existing one is gone.
- HEART OF THE MOUNTAIN
The Melairkyn dwarves carved this 20-foot-high room
out of the rock at the point they believed was the heart of
their subterranean realm. The features of this room are
as follows:
Door Handles. The black basalt doors leading to the
dais (area lSb) have handles on this side and are eas-
ily pulled open from within.
Mithra l Veins. Thin veins of mithral spread across the
hewn walls, looking like gleaming cracks in the stone.
Tapestry. A huge tapestry depicting a dwarven kingdom
under a mountain hangs from an iron rail and spans
the south wall. The tapestry is so old that it begins to
crumble if any attempt is made to handle or move it.
Mirror. A tall oval mirror is mounted on the east wall.
Carved into its stone frame are dozens of lidless eyes
and the following phrase in Common: "The gate can-
not hide from those it cannot see."
While in this room, dwarf characters can sense the
immense weight of the mountain gently pressing down
on them and realize subconsciously that they can attune
to this room as though it were a magic item. A legend
lore spell or similar magic reveals that this room sits
at the heart of the mountain and that the Melairkyn
dwarves came here to learn secrets and receive di-
vine guidance.
While attuned to the room and inside it, a dwarf can
cast the divination spell at will. Answers provided by
the spell come from an unknown source (perhaps the
Keeper of Secrets under the Mountain, perhaps the
mountain itself). Too many castings of the spell in a
short amount of time can lead to false readings, as noted
in the spell's description.
Creatures that finish a short or long rest in this cham-
ber absorb some of the strength of the mountain around
them and gain^10 temporary hit points, or^20 temporary
hit points if the creature is a dwarf. Once a creature
gains this benefit, it can't do so again until the next
dawn, and then only after finishing a short or long rest.
MIR ROR GATE TO LEVEL^10
The mirror is one of Halaster's gates (see "Gates," page
12). Its rules are as follows:- The gate opens for 1 minute when an invisible crea-
ture stands directly in front of the mirror. - Characters must be 11th 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 4b on level 10, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.
- PRIESTS' STUDY
This room was once a quiet study space for deacons of
the temple, but it has been ransacked by the duergar.
This area contains the following features:
Toppled Statuary. Statuettes that once stood in shallow
niches along the walls lie toppled and shattered on
the floor.
Smashed Diorama. An alabaster diorama that de-
picted a meeting between elves and dwarves has
been smashed to pieces, along with the stone table on
which it once rested.
Brok en Desk. A stone desk has been broken in two, its
chair knocked over and cracked.
18. HEMISPHERE OF HORRORS
This hemispherical chamber has a 30-foot-high domed
ceiling and contains the following:
Guardians. Two h elmed horrors of dwarven stature
wield battleaxes instead of longswords and stand in
front of the doors to area 19.
Quartz Pillars. The room is brightly lit by four
quartz pillars.
The helmed horrors won't attack dwarves, including
duergar, except in self-defense. They stand aside when
approached by any dwarf, allowing those creatures to
enter area 19 freely. Other creatures that approach the
helmed horrors are attacked. The helmed horrors un-
derstand Dwarvish but can't speak.19. MOUNTAIN SHRINE ~~~~~~~-
Statues. Four statues representing the dwarven deities
Moradin (god of creation), Berronar Truesilver (god of
hearth and home), Clangeddin Silverbeard (god of bat-
tle), and Marthammor Duin (god of exploration) stand
in niches at the corners of this room.
Mouthpiece. Lying at the foot of Clangeddin Silver-
beard's statue is a tiny, tapered cylinder of worked
brass-the mouthpiece for the tuba in area 40.20. WALL OF GEMSTONES
Carved into the northeast wall is a fresco that depicts
dwarves tossing gems into the mouth of a giant xorn."Th.EASURE
The gemstones in the fresco are real and can be pried
from the wall with a knife or similar tool. Six banded
agates (10 gp each), nine moss agates (10 gp each), four
carnelians (SO gp each), three citrines (50 gp each), and
an amethyst (100 gp) can be acquired.LEVEL 6 I LOST LEVEL