- WALKING DEAD
Zombie. A human zombie in rotting, soiled robes
shuffles back and forth through the room. A powerful
stench of decay accompanies it.
Furnishings. Moldy furnishings include a bed, a desk
strewn with yellowed papers, and a barren bookshelf.
The zombie is what remains of Zail Ephram, a human
wizard and adventurer who was killed in Shadowdusk
Hold. Melissara Shadowdusk (see area lOa) used an
animate dead spell to animate the wizard's corpse. The
zombie has nothing of value and attacks any creature
that disturbs it other than its creator.
The papers on the desk are architectural drawings.
Characters who spend 1 hour studying the drawings
can piece together accurate maps of tiers 1 and 2 of Sha-
dowdusk Hold, except for secret doors and areas hidden
behind them.
- TRAINING ROOM
Mannequins. Two wooden practice dummies stand
near the east and west walls.
Racks. A weapon rack and an armor rack hang on the
north wall, one to each side of the doorway.
Mats. Canvas mats stuffed with straw are spread out to
create a sparring area in the middle of the room.
The armor rack contains two shields and two suits
each of leather, studded leather, chain shirt, and plate
armor. The weapon rack contains one matched pair
each of longswords, daggers, battleaxes, quarterstaffs,
warhammers, and spears.
- FOUNTAIN
A low-walled marble fountain with a statue of an aboleth
as its centerpiece dominates the room. Water spills from
the aboleth's mouth and splashes noisily into the stone
basin. Drain holes in the basin's rim prevent overflow.
TREASURE
A detect magic spell cast on the fountain reveals an
aura of conjuration around the aboleth statue, contained
within which is the source of the water: a decanter of
endless water. The decanter can be obtained only by de-
stroying the statue, which has AC 17, 60 hit points, and
immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Tier2
Stairs from areas 3 and 9 lead down 50 feet to tier 2.
Vertrand and Berlain, two thoroughly corrupt and evil
members of the Shadowdusk family, inhabit this tier.
Barely perceptible whispers can be heard throughout
the tier, and shadowy forms constantly writhe and recoil
at the corner of each character's eye.
- ARCANE SANCTUM
Three invisible will-o'-wisps linger in this area in case
Vertrand or Berlain require their services.
LEVEL. 22 I SHADOWDUSK HOLD
16A. BURNED LIBRARY
Berlain (see area 18b) lost her temper here a tenday
ago and used multiple fireball spells to destroy the
room's contents.
Burned Shelves and Racks. The walls are lined with
burned bookshelves and scroll racks.
Charred Furnishings. The charred remains of three
padded chairs and three coffee tables lie atop badly
burned rugs in the middle of the floor.
16B. LABORATORY
A workbench along the west wall of this area is covered
with tools, components, and magical apparatus.
Treasure. The bench holds a set of alchemist's sup-
plies, a poisoner's kit, a healer's kit, and an unlit lantern
filled with oil. A recently brewed potion of invisibility
rests among other vials that contain mundane liquids.
16c. CLEAN ROOM
Antimagic. All magic is suppressed here, as if by an an-
timagic field spell.
Tapestry. A tapestry on the south wall depicts a land-
scape of trees made of tentacles, and floating islands
of rock covered with drooling mouths and bloodshot
eyeballs (see "Treasure" below).
This room is used to rid objects and creatures of unde-
sirable magical energy that might destabilize a sensitive
experiment. In addition to the antimagic effect always
active in the room, any creature that passes through
this area has any magic items it carries and any magical
effects active on it suppressed for ld4 minutes after it
exits. Detect magic cast from outside the room does not
detect the antimagic field.
Treasure. The tapestry weighs 30 pounds and is
worth 250 gp (assuming the characters can find a buyer
who appreciates its disturbing, otherworldly imagery).
- VERTRAND'S ROOM
Vertrand. A bald, elderly man (Vertrand Shadow-
dusk) sits at a writing desk to the north, his back to
the doorway.
Bed. A simple bed stands against the south wall.
Tapestry. A tapestry hanging on the east wall depicts
noble members of the Shadowdusk family, their fea-
tures distorted in unnatural and frightening ways.
(Close examination reveals that the tapestry has been
damaged by mold, rendering it worthless.)
Vertrand has smooth flesh where his eyes should be,
for he surrendered his ocular orbits to a Far Realm
entity in exchange for blindsight. Having foreseen the
arrival of intruders, Vertrand has elected to face them
alone. "Death owns us all," he says, before rising to his
feet and unleashing his destructive spells.
Vertrand is a human archmage, with these changes:
Vertrand is chaotic evil and speaks Abyssal, Common,
Deep Speech, and Undercommon.
- He has blindsight out to a range of 60 feet, but is blind
beyond this radius.
- He has the confusion spell prepared instead of
banishment.
