Dungeon of the Mad Mage

Prologue

Following on from your success in tracking down the vault of Lord Neverember and returning the gold to Duke Rygal of Modan, you set out to the lost temple of Tamoachan in search of the lost colleagues of Barri, your colleagues. The journey took you to the distant northern town of Northrock and then on to the tomb. Inside you discovered all manner of traps, cursed shrines and temples to gods long forgotten. Unfortunately Barri's former colleagues were long dead, twisted into unliving parodies of their former selves you were forced to put them out of their misery and you slew the tortured soul of a banshee before making your escape.

Barri was not the same following the death of his friends and you parted ways when leaving Northrock. Barri returned to the halls of his clan to see that his friends were given a proper burial while the rest of you headed back to Modan. Upon your return there was a period of relative calm though another of your former colleagues, Vilari, has now mysteriously disappeared. In any case, it was not long before word spread that the heroes of Trollskull Manor had returned and so it was that a note was sent requesting a meeting at the Yawning Portal Tavern.

Dungeon of the Mad Mage

You met with Esvele Rosznar later that day where she informed you that her brother, Kressando Rosznar, had gone missing in Undermountain, the Dungeon below the city. Esvele had already enlisted the help of Feryldis, a Cleric of Gond with a penchant for knowledge and was hoping to enlist the rest of you to help with the search. After a degree of...negotiation, a deal was struck and you returned home to Trollskull Manor only to find a break in in progress! Following a minor scuffle the would be thief, Devin Nalarys, was enlisted in to the group and it was agreed you would meet at the Yawning Portal Tavern early the following Morning.

You descended the wooden lift into the gloom and began your expedition into Undermountain. It quickly became apparent that you were not alone here and thre were two factions at odds with each other. Even more disturbing, was that it seemed some of the Bugbears were in fact under the control of strange brain beasts. You headed north and met with a man named Uktarl Krannock, self appointed leader of The Undertakers, a gang of minor thieves attempting to pass themselves off as vampires but you saw through their disguise. He charged you with clearing out the Bugbears and Goblins to the south in exchange for payment, more work and some possible information on the whereabouts of Kressando.

You gladly obliged and explored much of the south west portion of the dungeon, killing a number of bugears as you went. You retrieved a bronze mask and used it to enter a strange magical room where you met a black robed figure sat atop a throne. He bade you ask him three questions, two of which he would answer truthfully and one he would answer with a lie, to which you asked:

How do we defeat the greatest danger in undermountain?

You'll find the thing you should most fear

Deep within the lower tiers

A beast once noble, regal, hallowed

Corrupted now, consumed by shadow

To speed it to its final breath

Seek you out the power of death

How do we acquire the greatest treasure in Undermountain?

That with you doth seek to muster

Lies with a house shorn of lustre

Its holder blue, its contents read

In hands once living, now undead

To claim this prize, to make it yours,

Those hands shall have to die once more

What is the greatest secret of Undermountain?

Keen of wit, a mind as sharp,

I speak of jhesiyra Kestellharp

She who served then fled the master

The one in black, the mad mage, Halaster,

Deep within the stone surround,

Her body gone, her spirit bound,

And yet for all his knowledge great,

Even he knows not her fate. 

You continued to explore the south of the dungeon, heading into the south east areas where you fought more bugbears before you met the wererat, Sylvia Featherstone. Sylvia claimed to herald from the underground city of Skullport and promised to help you if you ever went there if you let her go, which you did. During your explorations of this area you stumbled upon the lair of a strange reptilian or maybe amphibious demonic beast and although you slew it, Yelrin was struck down with a sickness and you were forced to return to Modan for healing.

Upon your return to Undermountain you reported back to Uktarl who informed you that he had indeed seen Kressando heading through Undermountain to the lower levels. He asked you to kill his once lover turned rival Haria Valashtar so that he could claim sole leadership over The Undertakers. You agreed but ultimately you set up a double cross, convincing the two to meet where a fight ensued. As he suspected, Uktarl was no match for Haria with her flesh golem in tow. You made your way north to a long hall filled with statutes of heroic figures and smothered in sticky cobwebs.