A dwarf priest named Mornhyld Crystalmantle bound
her spirit to Undermountain for eternity. Most of her
bones turned to dust long ago. What's left of the dwarf
floats above the shattered coffer, courtesy of Halaster's
magic. Casting a successful dispel magic spell on the
bones (DC 16) ends the effect and causes the skeletal
remains to clatter to the floor.
Mornhyld's disembodied spirit can sense when any
humanoid moves within 5 feet of the bones, and it im-
mediately tries to possess that creature. The target must
succeed on a DC 18 Charisma saving throw or become
possessed by Mornhyld. While possessed, the target
is incapacitated and loses control of its body, though it
retains its awareness. The possession lasts until the
target's body drops to 0 hit points, the target leaves
the room, Mornhyld's spirit ends the effect as a bonus
action, or the spirit is forced out by an effect such as the
dispel evil and good spell. The creature is immune to the
spirit's possession for 24 hours after succeeding on the
saving throw or after the possession ends.
If Mornhyld's spirit fails to possess a creature, it can
try to possess another creature on its next turn. The
spirit has a + 1 bonus to initiative.
Mornhyld's spirit requires a host body before it can
communicate. While possessing a humanoid, it uses
that host to share the following secrets, doing so in the
course of a brief conversation:
- "The heart of the mountain is sealed behind doors
of black basalt that only a dwarf king can unlock. In
the mountain's heart, you'll find your own greatness."
(See area 15.) - "When you enter a room, speak the word 'xunderbrok'
for all to hear. You might be rewarded." (Characters
who understand Dwarvish know that the word means
"secret trove.") - "Demons invaded our temple, but we trapped them in
statues on this level. Beware them." (See area 29d.)
- Music HALL
Characters who make no effort to conceal their ap-
proach alert the creatures in this 20 -foot-high vaulted
chamber, which is carved out of solid rock. The room
contains the following:
Quartz Pillars. Glowing quartz pillars stand in the cor-
ners of the room.
Duergar. Two duergar are inspecting a stone arch em-
bedded in the center of the east wall.
Instruments. Protruding from the south wall is an
organ whose pipes are carved out of stalagmites. Its
bench and keys are made of polished gold and black
marble. Two large copper kettle drums stand against
the west wall. Resting atop them is a shiny brass tuba.
The duergar have taken a break from looting to in-
spect the arch in the east wall. They turn invisible if
they detect other creatures approaching, then move up
behind the pillars to the north to take stock of the new
arrivals. Then they sneak off to area 15a to alert the
duergar there. They avoid confrontation in this room. In
addition to their weapons and armor, these duergar have
treasure (see "Treasure" below).
ARCH GATE TO LEVEL 11
The arch embedded in the east wall is one of Ha laster's
magic gates (see "Gates," page 12). Carved into the
arch's keystone is a hand-shaped indentation with a sigil
representing magic scribed into the palm. The rules for
this arch are as follows:- Casting the mage hand cantrip and pressing its spec-
tral fingers into the keystone's indentation opens the
gate for 1 minute. - 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 2b on level 11, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.
INSTRUMENTS
Any inspection of the room allows the characters to ex-
amine the instruments more closely.
Brass Tuba. This bulky instrument is missing its
mouthpiece, which characters can find in area 19. With-
out it, the tuba can't produce its deep, distinctive sound.
The tuba is worth 30 gp and weighs 30 pounds.
Kettle Drums. When struck, these two copper drums
make a thunderous booming sound. Each drum is worth
50 gp and weighs 100 pounds.
Stalagmite Organ. This monstrous pipe organ pro-
duces deep, earthy tones from its hollow stalagmites
when its stone pedals are pumped and its marble keys
are played. The music of the organ not only fills this
room but also magically sounds throughout the temple
(area 15), alerting the creatures there. If duergar are
still present in the temple, four of them are sent to inves-
tigate the disturbance in this area and silence the music.
The organ's stalagmites were part of the cavern from
which this room was hewn, and thus they blend seam-
lessly with the surrounding floor and wall.TREASURE
Each duergar carries a sack of stolen items. One sack
contains a silver figurine of an ox (25 gp), a tiny mithral
bell (25 gp), and a pewter flagon sculpted in the shape
of a gold dragon with amethysts for eyes (250 gp). The
other sack contains a small trapezoidal mirror set in an
onyx frame (25 gp) and a leather eye patch with a blood-
stone (50 gp) sewn into it.- PRIVIES
This room is divided into four stone privies with holes
cut into their floors and long-disused lavatory pits below.
An invisible gray slaad lurks in the privy to the south. It
attacks anyone who searches or uses its privy. - HIDDEN PIT
A breakaway stone floor in this corridor conceals a
10-foot-wide, 20 -foot-deep pit. A character who searches
the floor for traps and succeeds on a DC 20 Wisdom
(Perception) check spots the irregular floor tiles. When
a weight of 20 pounds or more is placed on the floor, it
LEVEL 6 I LOST LEVEL
93