6. CULTISTS' Q,UARTE RS _____ _
Furnishings. Six empty wooden bunk beds line the
north and east walls. Between the bunks are stone
shelves stocked with rations, casks of water, wooden
dishware, and steel utensils.
Arch. Embedded in the south wall is a stone arch, its
sides carved in the form of scantily clad elves (one
male and one female) holding fingers to their lips in a
gesture of silence.
Secret Door. A secret door in the east wall leads
to area 5.ARCH GATE TO LEVEL 6
The stone arch is one of Halaster's magic gates (see
"Gates," page 12). Its rules are as follows:
If a silence spell is cast so that the arch falls within
the spell's area, the gate opens for 1 minute.
Characters must be 9th 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 47a on level 6, in the closest unoccupied space
next to the identical gate located there.- HALLS OF WORSHIP
Cultists gather in this area to worship Shar and suffer
Keresta's tests of devotion.
7A. CRAWLING RATS
Characters hear human voices chanting as they ap-
proach this chamber, which contains the following:
Purple Flames. The walls are lined with rusty iron
sconces, each holding a torch coated in black wax that
burns with a purple flame.
Cult Ritual. Six human cultists of Shar kneel on rough
woven mats in the center of this area, chanting in low
tones. A human cult fanatic engulfed in a swarm of
r ats stands quietly in their midst.
The kneeling cultists are named Caradoc, Feldar,
Hong, Khafra, Serenade, and Xandeval. They are
chanting the following verse over and over in Common:
"Darkness quench the sun. Darkness swallow the
moon. We are nothing but the night."
Keresta Delvingstone is using the swarm of rats to
test the cult fanatic, whose name is Jian. To pass the
test, Jian must allow the rats to crawl over his body with-
out fear or protest, or else they will devour him. Only by
passing this test canJian qualify to become one of Ker-
esta's vampire spawn.
The arrival of intruders prompts the cultists to take up
arms and attack. Jian, however, does nothing while the
rats swarm over him. If he takes damage,Jian panics
and is swiftly devoured by the rats. If the swarm loses
more than half its hit points, it scatters and flees.
7B. RITUAL PREPARATION
Table. In the middle of the room stands a wooden tres-
tle table bearing a small pile of treasure, along with
bottles of oil and flickering candles.
LEVEL 18 I VANRAKDOOM
Cultists. Two human cultists of Shar are anointing the
precious baubles with oil.
The cultists are named Elthimar and Zelaya. They are
carefully anointing items that have been plucked from
Umbraxakar's hoard-treasures that will be used in rit-
uals to tether the shadow dragon's memories to specific
areas of Vanrakdoom.
Treasure. The items on the table include three silver
bowls (25 gp each), two ceremonial daggers with wavy
obsidian blades (75 gp each), a coral figurine of a mer-
maid clutching a pink pearl (250 gp), a carved harp of
exotic wood with ivory inlay and zircon gemstones (750
gp), and a crystal dragon mask (2,500 gp).7c. FEEDING HALL
Cultists unworthy of becoming vampire spawn are
brought here to nourish Keresta's brood.
Vampires' Feast. A dead male human lies naked on
a chaise longue in the center of the room, his cast-
off purple and black robe draped over a small table
nearby. Two vampire spawn loom over the body, one
slurping ferociously at the corpse's wrist while the
other sinks her fangs deeper into the corpse's thigh.
Purple Flames. The walls are lined with rusty iron
sconces, each holding a torch coated in black wax
that burns with a purple flame. S ituated between the
sconces are fancy wooden chairs with red-cushioned
seats and backrests.
Secret Door. A secret door in the east wall leads
to area 8.
The vampire spawn, named Angelica and Yaveros,
hiss at intruders and demand they leave at once, attack-
ing those who disobey. Close examination of the dead
cultist reveals no s igns of a struggle, suggesting that he
offered no resistance as he died from exsanguination.- SCINTILMORN'S REST
Fog. The room is lightly obscured by fog.
Vision and Hilt. Any character who moves more than
halfway into the room experiences one of the shadow
dragon's fleeting visions and notices the shiny hilt of a
longsword lying on the fog-shrouded floor (see "Trea-
sure" below).
DRAGON'S VISION
In this vision, the character confronts a man in a mithral
chain shirt (Lord Vanrak Moonstar). The man's eyes
brim with madness as he levels a longsword with a ra-
diant blade at the character and screams, "What have
we to fear from darkness, you and I? Undermountain
is where we belong. It calls to us-can't you hear it?"
Waving the sword in the air like a lu natic, he continues,
"Together we shall see the Moonstar name elevated to
glorious heights my father could never dream of! Water-
deep will shudder at the very sound of it!" With that, the
vision ends.TREASURE
The hilt lying on the ftoor is carved to resemble a bronze
dragon with its wings spread and its mouth agape. This
device is a sun blade that has held many names over the