Melissara is a human archrnage, with these changes:
- Melissara is neutral.
- She speaks Common, Deep Speech, Draconic,
and Dwarvish.
- She has the dimension door spell prepared instead of
banishment.
If the characters address her in a civilized manner,
Melissara listens to what they have to say. She then
implores them to destroy Dezmyr and Zalthar before
they can enact their plan to conquer Waterdeep, not re-
alizing that death knights are not so easily vanquished.
Melissara asks that she and Derrion be left out of the
ensuing conflict and provides the following information
to the characters in good faith:
All members of the Shadowdusk family have, to some
extent, been corrupted by the Far Realm. To the best
of Melissara's knowledge, the damage is irreparable.
Other family members living in Shadowdusk Hold in-
clude Melissara's three cousins: the wizards Berlain,
Cassiok, and Vertrand.
Dezmyr and Zalthar are death knights that dwell on
the lower tiers of Shadowdusk Hold. Contact with the
Far Realm has given Dezmyr the ability to warp real-
ity to a limited extent. Zalthar has no such ability but
wields a sword that drains souls.
- The lowest tier of Shadowdusk Hold is home to a blue
dracolich in league with the death knights. (Melissara
knows the dracolich's phylactery is hidden somewhere
in Shadowdusk Hold, but doesn't know where.)
If the characters have no interest in conversing with
Melissara, she uses dimension door to get to area 11
and sends her lunatic husband to eliminate them.
Treasure. The armoire holds fine clothing and a
wooden jewelry box containing a pair of matching
gold bracelets (250 gp each), a gold-and-pearl necklace
(1,250 gp), and the key to the strongbox in area lOb.
10B. DERRION'S CHAMBER
Derrion. A middle-aged man with a scarred face (Der-
rion Shadowdusk) is pacing about the room anxiously.
Furnishings. These include a simple bed to the west, a
dresser filled with clothes to the east, and a weapon
and armor rack.
Derrion enjoys killing unwelcome visitors. He is a
human champion (see appendix A), with these changes:
- Derrion is chaotic evil.
- He speaks Common and Deep Speech.
- Derrion stores his weapons and plate armor on the
equipment racks. If he doesn't have time to don his
plate armor, he makes do with a chain shirt (AC 15).
Derrion accompanies Melissara whenever she leaves
their suite, fearing that she will come to harm without
his protection. He lives in constant fear that adventur-
ers might invade Shadowdusk Hold and lay waste to it.
Prolonged exposure to the Far Realm has made him
sleep-deprived and irritable. His eyes are bloodshot, and
he hears whispers of things that aren't real. Only Me-
lissara can control his inexplicable rage toward visitors.
Treasure. Under the bed is a locked strongbox
containing 200 pp and 1,000 gp. The key in area lOa
unlocks the strongbox, which can also be opened with
a knock spell or similar magic, or by a character using
thieves' tools who succeeds on a DC 15 Dexterity check.
- MELISSARA'S STUDY
Bookcase. A long bookcase with glass doors takes up
much of the north wall (see "Bookcase" below).
Desk. A sturdy writing desk covered in stacks of parch-
ment stands against the east wall (see "Desk" below).
Workbench. A workbench near the south wall holds a
set of alchemist's supplies.
BOOKCASE
The bookcase's glass doors aren't locked.
Treasure. The case holds texts on various arcane
subjects, focusing on evocation magic and planar travel.
Three of the texts are valuable (100 gp each). They are
titled Tenebrous and the True Path to Lichdom, Musings
of a Planar Traveler, and Touched by the Far Realm:
A Wizard's Lamentable Descent into Lunacy. Tucked
among these mundane tomes is Melissara's spellbook,
which bears the (right side up) Shadowdusk family crest
on the cover and contains the spells Melissara has pre-
pared, plus arcane lock and glyph of warding.
DESK
The desk holds an orderly stack of notes. Half of the
notes detail meticulous magical experiments and stud-
ies regarding the nature of the Far Realm. The other
notes are nonsensical ravings that hint at a fractured
mind slowly coming undone.
The bottom drawer is sealed with an arcane lock spell
cast by Melissara. Inside is a small black journal. The
first page of the book is trapped with a glyph of warding
spell, whose explosive runes deal fire damage (save DC
15). The glyph is keyed to go off if anyone but Melissara
opens the journal (a precaution to prevent her cousins
from reading it and discovering her secrets).
The journal details Melissara's unease with her fam-
ily, as well as her growing fear of losing her mind and
soul to the Far Realm. She seems desperate to use her
writings in the journal as a touchstone to her own mind.
- LOUNGE
Tapestry. A beautiful tapestry covers the west wall (see
"Treasure" below).
Furnishings. Several sitting areas with comfortable
chairs and side tables are arranged about the room.
An empty bottle of fine wine stands on an end table
next to a used wineglass.
Secret Door. A secret door in the north wall opens into
Melissara's study (area 11).
TREASURE
The tapestry depicts the original Shadowdusk Hold, an
impressive villa overgrown with ivy that stood in Water-
deep's Sea Ward until it was burned to the ground. The
tapestry is worth 250 gp and weighs 50 pounds.
LEVEL 22 J SHADOWDUS.K HOLD
