Books. The room is cluttered with stacks of books, most
of them caked with dust (see "Books" below).
Desk and Chair. A path between the books leads from
the door to an old desk and chair by the east wall.
S tairs. A spiral staircase climbs to area 18.
If the characters discover the lich here, see the "Role-
playing Ezzat" sidebar for guidelines on determining his
reaction. The characters gain no XP for defeating Ezzat
unless they also destroy the lich's phylactery (located
in area 23).
Ezzat has the forcecage spell prepared instead of
plane shift, and he wears an amulet of proof against de-
tection an d location that conceals him from divination
magic and scrying sensors.
Ezzat's pseudodragon is selfish and doesn't like shar-
ing its master with strangers. The lich lets the pseu-
dodragon out of the tower once a day so that it can catch
food and scour the cavern floor for Runestone fragments
(see "Capturi ng lpses," page 261).
Ezzat enjoys the pseudodragon's company but does
not need its assistance in battle. If a fight breaks out, lp-
ses settles atop the lintel of the nearest door and tries to
stay out of harm's way. It has little cause to fear for the
destruction of its master as long as Ezzat's phylactery
remains secure in area 23. Ipses won't willingly betray
Ezzat by divulging the phylactery's location.
BOOKS
Ezzat has amassed a large collection of books written by
self-proclaimed experts on Undermountain. Most of the
tomes are filled with information of questionable worth
and accuracy. The lich has spent years separating truth
from fiction, trying to learn how Halaster's command
of the dungeon has gone unchallenged and how Under-
mountain changes to serve its master's whims.
Ezzat's]ournal. A book lies open on the desk, next to
a quill and a jar of ink. This is Ezzat's journal, a distilla-
tion of the lore found in his other books. Any character
who reads the journal learns Undermountain's history
(see "Dungeon History," page 6) as well as the ways
in which the dungeon affects magic (see "Alterations to
Magic," page 10). Ezzat's advanced understanding of
this lore is what enabled him to create such potent magi-
cal defenses around his tower.
In later entries, Ezzat postulates thatjhesiyra
Kestellharp, one of Halaster's original seven appren-
tices, is the key to seizing control of Undermountain (see
''.Jhesiyra Kestellharp," page 10). The lich describes
how jhesiyra was imprisoned by her master, only to es-
cape during the Spellplague. She then used a wish spell
to imbue herself into the stones of Undermountain and
hide from Halaster.
Ezzat believes thatjhesiyra can affect Undermountain
in ways that even Halaster cannot, and the lich longs
to find some means to contact her. In the journal's final
entry, he writes of wanting to use wish- a spell he does
not yet know- to forge an alliance withjhesiyra, defeat
Halaster, and end the Mad Mage's reign in Undermoun-
tain forever. (The lich doesn't realize thatjhesiyra is
beyond the reach of any mortal magic.)TREASURE
Ezzat wears an amulet of proof against detection and
location and carries an ebony wand (25 gp) that he uses
as an arcane focus.18. GNOMES' LANDING ~~~~~~~~-
Standing in an alcove at the top of the spiral staircase
leading to this area is a 6-foot-tall stone statue depicting
three smiling gnomes balanced precariously on each
other's shoulders.- EZZAT'S SCRYING MIRROR
Mounted on the south wall 6 inches above the floor
is a 3-foot-wide, 9-foot-tall rectangular mirror with a
stone frame. Carved into the top of the frame is a hu-
man-sized eyeball.
Ezzat uses the mirror as a focus for his scrying spell.
Whenever this mirror is used to scry Halaster, the spell
appears to succeed automatically but shows a false im-
age of Ha laster sweeping a dungeon floor with a broom.
The image pauses every few minutes to wave at the
viewer, do a little dance, or strum the broom as if it were
a guitar. Ezzat understands that this scene is one of
Halaster's magical tricks, and he does not bother trying
to scry the Mad Mage from here.
20 .LABORATORY
Table. A stone table cluttered with decrepit alchemical
apparatus and dirty bottles of reagents stands at the
center of the room. Among the clutter on the table is a
small clay bowl containing crystal pebbles (see "Rune-
stone Fragments").
Cabinet. A narrow cabinet with glass doors stands in
the northwest corner.
Stairs. A stone staircase with no railing hugs the outer
wall and climbs to area 21.
The bowl contains six crystal pebbles, each one a
Runestone fragment that has been collected by lpses
the pseudodragon (see area 14). Bringing a fragment
to jalester Silvermane in Waterdeep completes a quest
(see "Retrieve a Runestone Fragment," page 9).TREASURE
Sitting on the top shelf of the cabinet are two potions
of resistance (force and lightning). The other shelves
are strewn with spell components, including two forked
mithral rods (250 gp each). These are material com-
ponents for the plane s hift spell, attuned to the Astral
Plane and the Shadowfell, respectively. They serve little
use in Undermountain, given the dungeon's restrictions
on such magic.- L I T LANDING
A small crystal embedded in the ceiling flickers with
the light of a candle flame. If the crystal is pried from its
cavity, it goes dark. This room is otherwise empty. - ROOMS OF MAGIC
Ezzat summons and speaks to planar beings in area
22a, and keeps his spellbook in area 22b.
LEVEL 20 I RUNESTONE CAVERNS