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Cassiok is insane and attacks anyone who isn't a mem-
ber of his family. The grick and the gray slaad defend
him. If reduced to 20 hit points or fewer, Cassiok uses
his next action to break his staff of power in a retributive
strike, cursing the characters as he does so.MORPHING STATUE
A detect magic spell cast on the statue reveals an aura
of transmutation magic surrounding it and a powerful
source of necromancy magic deep inside it.
Without significantly changing its mass, the statue
shifts form every few seconds, becoming various mem-
bers of the Shadowdusk family and, every so often,
depicting Halaster Blackcloak or other humanoid crea-
tures that have come into contact with it over the years.
When a humanoid creature touches the statue, it tempo-
rarily morphs into that creature before assuming one of
its other forms. Regardless of the form the statue takes,
its features are slightly deformed, as though carved by
an inept sculptor.
Phylactery. Embedded in the heart of the statue is a
black sapphire the size of an apple. This gemstone is
worth 5,000 gp and serves as the phylactery of Lynno-
rax the dracolich (see area 40). If the dracolich is slain,
its life force becomes trapped in the jewel until it can
possess another dragon corpse and rise again. The gem
is destroyed if subjected to the fiery breath of an ancient
red or gold dragon; it is otherwise impervious to dam-
age. The statue containing the gemstone is a Medium
object with AC 17 , 40 hit points, and immunity to all
damage except force damage.TREASURE
In addition to his staff of power, Cassiok carries a spell-
book bound in green slaad hide. It contains the spells
Cassiok has prepared.- LYNNORAX'S LAIR
Ceiling. This room has a 40-foot-high, domed ceiling.
Dracolich. Lynnorax, an adult blue dracolich, faces the
double door to the east and ex hales lightning in that
direction as soon as it sees intruders.
Pillars. The four pillars that buttress the ceiling are
carved out of black crystal and inscribed with ar-
cane runes.
Lynnorax fights without fear, knowing that its phylac-
tery (hidden in area 39) will preserve its life force if its
skeletal body is destroyed.
A detect magic spell reveals auras of abjuration magic
around the crystal pillars, which grant the dracolich
a damage threshold of 40. While in this room, the
dracolich doesn't take damage from any single source
unless that damage is equal to or greater than its dam-
age threshold, in which case it takes the damage as nor-
mal. Damage that fails to meet or exceed the dracolich's
damage threshold is magically negated by the pillars.
Each time the pillars negate damage to the dracolich,
their arcane runes glow brightly.
The dracolich loses the pillars' protection it leaves the
room, so it prefers to fight here.LEVEL 22 I SHAOOWDUSK HOLDEach pillar is a Huge object with AC 13, 60 hit
points, and immunity to poison and psychic damage.
Destroying a pillar reduces the dracolich's damage
threshold by 10.4 1. SHADOWDUSK VAULT
The Shadowdusks store their family's wealth here. The
walls climb 15 feet vertically before angling inward,
coming to a point^30 feet above the floor. The room's
contents are as follows:
Hoard. Treasure is piled in the middle of the room.
Statues. Three statues stand in shallow alcoves. Each
depicts a monstrously warped humanoid.
Each statue is roughly 6 feet tall and shows a human
figure in robes, standing with arms outstretched. Each
one has been warped by the power of the Far Realm:- The western statue has a mass of tentacles where a
normal creature's head would be. - The face of the southern statue has been replaced
with a chisel-toothed maw, and its arms resemble oily
pseudopods. The head of the eastern statue has begun
to flow and melt, but it is still recognizable as Halaster.
TREASURE
The treasure hoard consists of the following:- 2,200 pp, 24,800 gp, and 14 ,000 sp
- Three gemstones amid the coins: a topaz (500 gp), a
star ruby (1,000 gp), and a jacinth (5,000 gp) - A tiny, incandescent blue sphere easily mistaken for a
magic gemstone (actually an ioun stone of insight) - A child's rocking horse, half scorched by fire, with a
gold music box (750 gp) tucked in a small compart-
ment under the hinged saddle
Aftermath
Any humanoid member of the Shadowdusk family
killed on this level returns as a will-o'-wisp unless
certain precautions are taken (see "Exploring This
Level," page 278).
If Zalthar and Dezmyr are destroyed, they eventually
re-form as death knights are wont to do. Their ambition
and hatred burn too fiercely for them to be able to give
up their dreams of conquest, and they are too corrupted
by the Far Realm to be redeemed.
If they return to find the rest of their family destroyed,
the death knights expand their hatred to include the ad-
venturers who dared oppose them. Out of desperation,
the twins try to forge alliances with other denizens of
Undermountain, such as the drow of House Auvryndar
or House Freth, the mind flayers of Seadeeps (level 17),
or the cult of Shar in Vanrakdoom (level 18). If no such
allies remain, Dezmyr and Zalthar look deep into the
Underdark and the Far Realm, drawing forth aberrant
horrors by offering them promises of a new life in Un-
dermountain.