life. It treats Spite like an older brother, and it's the only
being in whom Spite confides.
Spite wants to get his hands on a spellbook hidden
in Halaster's private sanctuary (area 45b), and he'll use
any kind of distraction to get it. Spite cuts a deal with
the adventurers: if they distract the arcanaloth and the
night hag long enough for him to steal the spellbook,
Spite will show them the stairs leading down to level 10
(see area 44). He will also tell them an Undermountain
secret, determined by drawing a random card from the
Secrets Deck (see appendix C). Spite upholds his end
of the deal only as long as it's to his benefit, and he tries
to pin the theft of the spellbook on the adventurers once
they're gone.
If the characters turn down Spite's deal, he teams up
with NylasJowd and Skrianna Shadowdusk (see below)
to destroy them.CEPHALOSSK THE MIND FLAYER
Cephalossk is a solitary mind flayer arcanist (see the
sidebar in the "Mind Flayer" entry in the Monster Man-
ual). It is a pariah among its own kind, has no allies at
the academy, and isn't looking for friendship from any-
one. It shadows adventurers and casts detect thoughts
spells on them to glean their true intentions.
The mind flayer considers itself intellectually supe-
rior to everyone else, and it loathes Spite Harrowdale
for being Halaster's favored pupil. Cephalossk tries to
convince the characters to distract and kill Dumara
(Spite's oni bodyguard) while it devours Spite's brain.
In exchange for their help, Cephalossk promises to tell
them "three secrets that every Undermountain explorer
should know." Once it has fed on Spite's brain, Ceph-
alossk makes good on its promise and telepathically
shares the following information with the characters:- A mind flayer colony has taken over a level of Under-
mountain known as Seadeeps. (Cephalossk knows
this because it has been in telepathic contact with the
ulitharid on level 17.) - Githyanki have invaded Undermountain and are try-
ing to exterminate the mind flayer colony in Seadeeps. - Halaster has commandeered a vessel that can travel
between worlds through space and hidden it some-
where in Undermountain (see level 19).
If the characters refuse to assist Cephalossk, the mind
flayer attacks them.
PNEUMATIC T U BES
Dweomercore has a system of copper tubes, through
which cylindrical copper canisters are propelled by air
pressure. Each tube is 3 inches in diameter, and each can-
ister is 9 inches long and just shy of 3 inches wide, with
a screw-on copper lid. The tubes are labeled with their
destinations.
Many of the level's inhabitants use these tubes to send
scrolls, assignments, and missives to one another. Any
object or creature able to fit in a tube {including characters
in gaseous form) can be transported from one end to the
other in a matter of seconds. If timing becomes important,
assume that whatever a creature inserts into a tube on its
turn arrives at the destination at the start of that creature's
next turn.LEVEL 9 I DWEOMERCORE
NYLASjOWD
NylasJowd (NE male Thayan human mage with ani-
mate dead prepared instead of fly) wanders the halls of
Dweomercore with a pair of invisible will-o'-wisps that
obey his commands. Ny las journeyed from Thay to study
under Halaster and learn the deeper secrets of necro-
mancy, and he has all the hallmarks of a Red Wizard of
Thay-namely, the red robes, the bald head, and the evil
bent. He treats others as soon-to-be corpses and is more
interested in their anatomy than what they say or do.
Nylas wants to turn the Horned Sisters (see below)
into zombies because they have acted cruelly toward
him. He asks the characters to kill them so he can raise
their corpses with animate dead spells. If the characters
refuse, Nylas and his will-o'-wisps attack them.SKRIANNA SHADOWDUSK
Skrianna Shadowdusk (CE female Illuskan human
m age) recently enrolled in Dweomercore at Halaster 's
urging. She is one of the Shadowdusk family (see level
22) and is spoiling for a challenge. Rude, stuck-up, and
privileged, Skrianna shows utter disdain for "common
rabble" and takes sadistic pleasure in abusing and ma-
nipulating others with her magic. She is accompanied at
all times by her shield guardian bodyguard (she wears
its amulet), as well as a grell valet that carries her spell-
book (which contains all the spells she has prepared).
Skrianna doesn' t trust new arrivals and attacks them
at the slightest provocation, trusting that her bodyguard
and her valet will protect her if a fight breaks out.THE HORNED SISTERS
Two tiefling sisters named Turbulence and Violence
sought to join the Arcane Brotherhood of Luskan but
were turned down. They served aboard pirate ships for
a few years before ending up in Skullport, where they
heard rumors of a secret academy for magic-users deep
inside Undermountain. They fought tooth and nail to
reach Dweomercore, but the place hasn't lived up to the
hype. They have no friends at the academy, and they're
unhappy with the quality of the instruction they've re-
ceived. Now they want to leave, but the headmaster has
instructed them to remain while giving them assurances
that things will change for the better. Wormriddle the
night hag has been keeping an eye on the sisters, who
take advantage of any distraction to flee back to Skull-
port. They will attempt to enlist the characters to cause
such a distraction.
The sisters are tiefling m ages, with these changes:- The sisters are lawful evil.
- Each sister has these racial traits: She has resistance
to fire damage. She has darkvision out to a range of
60 feet. She speaks Common, Draconic, Infernal, and
Undercommon. - Each sister carries a spellbook that contains all the
spells she has prepared.
ELAN TANOR^1 THAL
Elan is a drow mage from a house that ran a lucrative
slave trade operation in Skullport until it was driven out
by the Xanathar Guild. He hopes to learn enough magic
to one day conquer Skullport for his family. Like most