MAGICAL CHAOS TABLEEmploy this table whenever magic or natural powers akin to magic are used at any point in this adventure.

The spells of Midnight, avatars, and Elminster are affected least by Magical Chaos. They roll on this table nor-mally. All other beings roll with a penalty of -20% (since the Fall, chaos has been increasing throughout theRealms, so magic is less reliable than it was in the earlier modules in this series).

Within the city of Waterdeep, decrease the penalty to 10%, and allow Midnight, avatars, Khelben, andElminster a +10% bonus. This is due to the many powerful defensive magics cast on the city, which lessenmagical chaos.

The DM should further modify percentile dice rolls as follows: +1 for every experience level of the spell-caster (magic items are considered 6th level, artifacts are 12th level); +12 if the spell or effect contributes tochaos or drastic change of a given locale (e.g. fireball or polymorph spells); and +4 if the spell is small andsimple, such as a 1st or 2nd level spell or a cantrip (items and artifacts cannot receive this bonus). When themodified score is determined, consult the table below. The DM should not feel bound by the results of thistable, and should indeed decide on a case-by-case basis whether spells function or not, to best suit play as itunfolds (but don�t reveal this to the players).

Percenti leScore01-1920-23

24-27

28-3132-35

36-39

40-43

44-47

48-51

52-5960-7172-98

99-00+

ResultSpell rebounds on caster, with full effects (if impossible due to nature of spell, reroll).Pit opens instantly beneath the caster (depth varies at DM�s option); there is no otherspell effect.Target of spell (or caster, if spell has no target) is instantly pelted with fiery red flowerblossoms that materialize and vanish again 1 round later. Blossoms do no damage, butprohibit accurate aiming of wands or missile weapons, and prevent reading of books,scrolls, inscriptions, and the like.Spell affects random creature or area (DM�s option) rather than the intended target area.Spell functions normally, but any material components are not consumed, and spellknowledge is retained by the caster or the charge is retained by the item.Spell functions normally, but magical energy is released around the caster, healing anyinjuries of any beings within 10 yards of the caster (includes fatigue, feeblemindedness,etc.).Total darkness and silence occur in a 30-yard radius about the caster, and last 2-8rounds.Reverse gravity (cf. spell) effect occurs in a 30-yard radius sphere about the caster, last-ing 1 round; caster included in the effect.Shimmering colors dance and play in a nimbus around the caster, blinding caster and allcreatures within 20 yards for 1-4 rounds.Nothing happens; no spell effect occurs.Nothing occurs; no spell effect, but spell knowledge or charge is not lost.Spell functions normally.Spell functions with maximum possible effects, full damage, maximum duration.

Special Effects Subtable

With any result on the above table, the DM can add to play excitement by adding one or more of the following�special effects� (roll 1d12):

01: Earth tremor underfoot (minor, with rolling echoes).02: Sun dims and then brightens again or a star falls.03: Violent roaring or screaming sound.04: Intense wave of heat (no damage) felt in the vicinity.05: Non-harmful, oily green slime forms on everything within 120 yards.06: Maniacal, echoing laughter is heard. Flowers fall from the sky.07: Old, brittle bones (3d20) rain down for 2 rounds, in a 60-yard radius.08: Caster and everything within 60 yards lose all hair; plants grow hair.09: Harmless yellow-green and purple smoke rises from the ground.10: Boulders rise, swirling in midair like leaves (2d12 impact damage).11: Nearby tree is uprooted (indoors, rock or furniture moves by itself).12: Whispering voice is heard, murmuring a random character�s name�and�a prediction about that

character�s future (the DM can make it as specific as he wants; given the PCs� circumstances, por-tents of danger and doom would probably not be too far off...).

WaterdeepTable of Contents

Prologue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2Chapter 1: Cold Welcome in Cormyr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5Chapter 2: Danger, Danger Everywhere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14Chapter 3: Magic�And Murder . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Chapter 4: Darkness and Death . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27Chapter 5: Interesting Times . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31Chapter 6: To Save the Realms! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Non-Player Characters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42Avatars of the Gods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43New Magical Items . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46New Monster: Denizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47New Monster: Night Rider . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48

Magical Chaos Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside front coverPhysical Chaos Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside back coverRandom Encounter Tables and

Monster Summary Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . inside gatefold

CreditsDesign: Ed GreenwoodEditing: Allen Varney, Kim MohanAvatar Trilogy Coordinator: Jim LowderCover Art: Clyde CaldwellInterior Art: Allen NunisCartography: DieselTypography: Angelika LokotzKeylining: Stephanie Tabat

Copyright ©1989 TSR, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

TSR, Inc.POB 756Lake GenevaWI 53147 USA

TSR Ltd.120 Church End, Cherry Hinton

Cambridge CB1 3LBUnited Kingdom

ADVANCED DUNGEONS & DRAGONS, AD&D, FORGOTTEN REALMS, DRAGON, PRODUCTS OF YOUR IMAGINATION, and the TSR logo aretrademarks owned by TSR, Inc.

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This material is protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America. Any reproduction or other unauthorized use of the material or artwork con-tained herein is prohibited without the express permission of TSR, Inc.

9249 ISBN 0-88038-757-2

Ye�ll hear tales tonight, aye, and othernights besides, until ye know them well.And all of them tell of folk getting hurt,and enduring hardship and suffering,and spilling blood, too much of it theirown. And ye�ll laugh and enjoy it andthink it grand�as ye can be sure they didnot, during its unfolding. �High adven-ture,� �tis called; more�s the joke.

�From an address given byElminster the Sageat GENCON 20; Milwaukee,1987

Notes for theDungeon Master

Waterdeep is the last in a trilogy of mod-ules that describe the Time of Troubles,called by some �the Godswar,� in theForgotten Realms.

These modules loosely parallel the actiondescribed in the Avatar trilogy of novels byRichard Awlinson, published by TSR, Inc.Neither you nor your players need to readthe novels before playing this adventure,nor is the action herein identical to that ofthe novels. Players should use their owncharacters, though several non-playercharacters (NPCs) will prove valuable if notnecessary.

This module is not a guidebook to thecity of Waterdeep itself. For this informa-tion, consult sourcebook FR1, Waterdeepand the North, and the boxed City Systemaccessory set.

The Timeof Troubles

The gods of the Forgotten Realms havefallen. Now vastly reduced in power, theywalk the earth as �avatars,� mortal incar-nations of their godly forms. Avatars aremarkedly weaker than the deities theyrepresent, but still far outstrip PC adven-turers in power. However, an avatar canbe killed, and this can mean true deathfor the god.

Because the gods no longer maintain or-der in this dimension, chaos has over-whelmed the land. During the Time ofTroubles, magic spells and magical itemswork abnormally or not at all. Because de-ities are disregarding their usual respon-sibilities, priest characters cannot gain orregain any spells of 3rd level or higher.And as if this magical upheaval wasn�t bad

enough, the land itself is in chaos; unnatu-ral effects may occur at any time.

Unless the gods soon regain theirplaces, the Forgotten Realms must perish.

Lord AoThe gods are victims of an enigmatic be-

ing who calls himself Ao, the overlord ofthe gods who is also known as �The OneWho Is Hidden.� Ao�s power exceeds thatof the gods by as much as theirs exceedshumanity�s.

Ao grew angry at the gods� petty behav-ior, and finally had all he could standwhen two of the deities, Bane andMyrkul, made off with the Tablets ofFate�two artifacts that Ao had speciallycrafted. By casting the gods down into theRealms as avatars, Ao is teaching themhumility . . . and also testing them. Ao hascommanded the gods to seek the Tabletsof Fate. Only when one entity possessesboth tablets and returns them to Ao canthe gods ascend again. Until then, the wayback to the celestial realm is blocked bythe guardian god Helm, the only one oftheir number who was not cast down.

MidnightAmong the gods cast down was Mystra,

Goddess of Magic. Always a wise and kinddeity, Mystra has of late grown tired ofher fellow gods� endless scheming. Shewishes for dissolution, and so she has lo-cated a suitable successor.

This candidate is a young womannamed Ariel Manx, otherwise known as�Midnight.� Midnight has some inkling ofthe fate awaiting her, as do her friendsand allies. She has shown amazing magi-cal powers, and she is less prone to theeffects of magical chaos than other wiz-ards. Everyone realizes now that she isimportant.

That, unfortunately, includes the evilavatars Bane, Myrkul, and Bhaal. Thesegods have hunted her ceaselessly as thetrail to the tablets grows warmer. Mid-night has faced danger bravely, and so farshe has survived. In fact, she grows greatin magical power, and by the time this ad-venture opens, she has played a majorpart in bringing about the death of Bane�savatar.

But Midnight needs a lot of protectionagainst the dangers ahead. That missionfalls to the player characters.

AlliesIn the Avatar Trilogy of novels, Mid-

night travels with three companionsnamed Adon, Kelemvor, and Cyric. Adonis a good-hearted but rather prim 5thlevel priest of Sune Firehair. Kelemvor, a5th level fighter, is a warrior who is proneto impulsive actions. In these adventuresthe PCs fulfill their roles as guardians.Nevertheless, Adon and Kelemvor can ac-company the party as NPCs.

Cyric, a fighter and former thief, beganas Midnight�s ally and guard. However, inthe course of the story he has grown cor-rupt and turned to evil. Midnight has sofar refused to bel ieve that he haschanged. However, in the adventure thatfollows, Cyric becomes the PCs� chief an-tagonist and rival for the tablets. At lasteven Midnight recognizes his evil. Cyric�sfate is detailed at the climax of the adven-ture.

Descriptions of all three companions,along with Midnight, appear in an appen-dix at the end of this booklet.

Several other allies help the PCs ontheir quest. Most significant of these is thesage Elminster, a legendary figure in theForgotten Realms. Though immenselypowerful, Elminster can render onlyspotty aid to the party, for he is preoccu-pied with fighting chaos elsewhere in theRealms. Many cities owe their survival toElminster�s courage. However, from thePCs� point of view, the sage serves primar-ily as a source of clues and information.

For more about Elminster, consult FR7,Hall of Heroes.

Running theAdventure

In this adventure, Midnight must ac-company the party of player characters(PCs); the NPC Cyric must also appear as asometime ally, sometime foe of the party;and both of these characters must surviveto the end of the adventure.

Other NPCs are optional as party mem-bers, but in any case the PCs should havesome allies. The challenges they face inthis adventure are deadly. With both heal-ing and attack magic unreliable, theyneed all the help they can find.

Do not hesitate to provide NPC party re-inforcements from among the �back-ground� characters included herein, orfrom another source. The good DM willaim to entertain his players while pushing

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them to the utmost limits of their playingskill�not to slaughter their charactersout of hand. Allowing the party to occa-sionally escape from encounters mayhelp their survival, too!

How theAdventure isLaid Out

This module is divided into chapters.Each chapter contains events keyed to agiven time or part of the adventure; theseoccur regardless of what the PCs do.Some chapters also suggest encounters,which are keyed to a particular location;if the PCs enter that location, the encoun-ter takes place.

A few sections are labeled �OffstageEvents�� information, meant for the DM�seyes only, that explains more of the �bigpicture� about what is happening in theRealms.

Any text that appears in a box is in-tended to be read aloud to the players, orgiven directly to them in summary form.The remaining information is for the DM,and most of the time should only be re-vealed in response to PC actions.

Read the module through carefully be-fore play begins, and note what encoun-ters need preparation beforehand. Tailorthe adventure to your players and yourcampaign.

The SettingThis adventure is set in the continent of

Faerun, in the Forgotten Realms. Itsaction spans Cormyr, Tunland, the SunsetMountains, the High Moor country, andthe city of Waterdeep itself. These areasare described in detail in the boxedFORGOTTEN REALMS� Campaign Set;supplement FR1, Waterdeep and theNorth; and the boxed City System set.Consult these sources to add depth to thisadventure, and to include other adven-tures along the way.

DMs who place this adventure in othersettings can modify the gods, settings, andperhaps the rulers and other powerfulbeings to suit their own world. Much ofthe action described in these pages shouldbe easily adaptable to another campaign.

Priests andTurning

The increasing chaos of the Time of Trou-bles, coupled with the lessened power ofthe gods and their preoccupation with per-sonal troubles, has rapidly weakened thepower of priestly turning attempts.

Unless a priest is within two miles of thecurrent physical location of his deity�s ava-tar, no undead-turning attempt will be suc-cessful. (If the priest is within two miles ofhis god, normal chances apply.) This state ofaffairs lasts until the morning after the lastday described in this adventure.

Grabbing: In this story the PCs carry avaluable item, one of the Tablets of Fate.Many evil beings will stop at nothing toget this tablet. At points, in fact, the storyrequires them to get it. But since thatwould usually result in the death of PCsguarding it, the DM should use an alterna-tive rule that gives villains the tablet butstill keeps PCs alive.

Use the �overbearing� rules offered inthe AD&D 2nd Edition Player�s Handbook(page 98). The enemy tries to pull downand pin a character holding a tablet. Ifsuccessful, the enemy has gotten the tab-let without injuring the character.

A Note AboutAD&D�2nd Edition

This adventure is written for theAD&D� 2nd Edition game rules. Termsand references new to AD&D 2nd Editionshould be self-explanatory to DMs whoare not familiar with this new edition.Some noticeable differences are changesin name only. The term �magic-user� hasbeen replaced by �wizard� and �mage.�The �cleric� character class is now the�priest� class, although members of thatclass are still often referred to as �clerics.�

The new edition of the game specifi-cally describes benefits of extraordinaryability scores. Much of that information issummarized here in the appendix on ava-tars of the gods.

Another noticeable change involves thepresentation of monsters. The new mon-sters in this adventure are presented in aformat used in the new Monstrous Com-pendium series. Again, the changes arenot significant enough to cause any prob-lems for DMs and players who are contin-uing to use the original rules.

Ability Checks: From time to time theadventure calls for a character to makean ability check. Roll 1d20 and comparethe result with the character�s appropri-ate ability score (Intelligence, for exam-ple). Players may roll their own abilitychecks, although it is usually better forthe DM to ask for the roll without identi-fying the particular ability being checked.

If the roll is equal to or less than thecharacter�s ability score, the action suc-ceeds. If the roll is greater than the abilityscore, the action fails.

For New PlayersIf Waterdeep is being played alone, in-

dependent of the rest of the modules inthis series, use this section to bring thePCs into the story. If they have alreadyplayed the previous adventures, skip tothe next section.

Terrible times have befallen the Realms.During their past adventures, the PCshave seen bizarre weather, felt frequentearthquakes, and noticed omens in thetrees and sky. (Improvise suitably weirdphenomena here.) Wizards can no longercontrol their spells. At times their magicdoes not work; at other times it works toowell, with disastrous effects.

Describe to the players the situationoutlined in the above section entitled�The Time of Troubles,� presenting it inthe form of rumors or news from distantlands. Stress the turbulence and dangerof the times, and make it clear that theForgotten Realms themselves are injeopardy.

For the PCs, the breaking point camewhen they stopped at a tavern outsideMarsember, in the land of Cormyr. Dur-ing a heavy storm, the entire tavernfloated into the air! It hovered 40 feet offthe ground for perhaps half a minute,then settled back to its foundations. Noone was hurt, but the PCs decided to takerefuge in the nearby forest of Hermit�sWood.

While searching for a campsite, theystumbled on the unconscious body ofMidnight, along with other (also uncon-scious) NPCs that the DM wishes to in-clude in the adventure.

Rousing the victims, the PCs learned ofMidnight�s quest for the Tablets of Fate.She has already gained one (at the end ofthe previous module in this series, Tan-

3

tras). She believes the other is in Water-deep, far to the north. But en route, sheand her party were attacked while sheslept. Many died, and she (along with theother surviving NPCs) barely escaped.Now she needs the PCs� help to guard herand the tablet on the way to Waterdeep.

The party camps in Hermit�s Wood. Af-ter they learn more about Midnight, heradventures, her quest, and its goal, turnto Chapter 1 to begin the adventure.

Myrkul�s PlanIn Waterdeep the PCs seek the second

Tablet of Fate, and fight Cyric�s attemptsto steal the one they already have. In addi-tion, they fight the forces of Bhaal (God ofMurder) and Myrkul (Lord of the Dead).These two avatars seek the party�s tabletas well . . . or so the adventurers think.

Actually, the two evil gods are usingMidnight and the PCs in a subtle scheme.True, they want the tablets. But evenmore, they plot to gain the power to over-throw Lord Ao himself!

Myrkul already possesses one of thetablets. He stole it himself and now holdsit in his home dimension of Hades. How-ever, since he has been thrown down tothe Realms as an avatar, he cannot goback to Hades. And as an avatar, he can-not draw on the power of all the soulstrapped there. So Myrkul wants to bringthose souls here, where they can increasehis power. How?

Humans can still travel the Planes,though the gods cannot. Myrkul, aided byBhaal, plans to lure Midnight to Hades,

have her steal the tablet there, and bringit back to the Realms. Through many sub-tle spells that Myrkul wove into that tab-let, its theft lets all the denizens of Hadesfollow it across the dimensions. Unwit-tingly, Midnight will fetch not only thetablet, but the souls that will strengthenMyrkul�s avatar enormously.

Then, aided by Bhaal, Myrkul will takeboth tablets from Midnight, ascend theCelestial Stairway atop Mount Water-deep, and overthrow Lord Ao.

To fool Midnight into visiting Hades,Myrkul pretends he doesn�t want her togo there�reverse psychology! He sendsundead minions to (fail to) seize Mid-night�s tablet. And he sends Bhaal to kid-nap Midnight.

The PCs think Bhaal wants Midnight sohe can gain the tablet. Actually, this is aruse. Bhaal �accidentally� tells Midnightthe location of a gate to Hades, and �letsslip� that Myrkul�s tablet is there. Then heallows Midnight to escape, knowing shewill head straight for the gate. And therest of Myrkul�s plan proceeds fromthere�if all goes well for him.

From Tantrasto Here

This section briefly describes the eventslinking this module with its predecessor,FRE2, Tantras. Use this section if this ad-venture is played as part of its trilogy.

At the end of Tantras, the party hired aship to take them down the Dragon Reachand across the Sea of Fallen Stars to Ilipur,

on the Lake of Dragons. There they in-tended to join a caravan for the overlandjourney to Waterdeep.

The ship set sail through capriciousseas, passing lots of floating wreckage onthe Reach. Running west through theNeck, the ship�s lookouts several timessaw a galley with the black-and-red sailsof Zhentil Keep far behind, followingthem. Midnight believed it to be Cyric�sship.

In the Lake of Dragons a fierce squall,with howling winds and dangerous wa-terspouts, arose from a calm sea to drivethe adventurers� ship north toward theport of Marsember.

The harried captain, fearing for his lifeand openly suspecting hostile magic ofcausing the storm, wanted to be rid of theband of heroes. He battled the wild wavesto turn back east, whereupon the stormslackened immediately. This increased hiscertainty that magic was involved.

The party was put ashore in Cormyr, onthe wrong side of the lake from Ilipur.They came in by open boat amid the dan-gerous rocks and sand shoals near themouth of the Wyvernflow (the lower Im-merflow), south of Wheloon, within pa-trol distance of Marsember. Horses andheavy gear could not be landed; as it was,it took everyone�s strength poling the boatto hold it off the rocks amid the surgingwaves.

The PCs and Midnight gathered wearilyon the beach. The first order of businesswas to get supplies, which were readilyavailable in well-to-do Cormyr. Theywouldn�t face attack from the locals ifthey kept quiet and moved quickly, butthey dared not visit the nearby city of Su-zail or make more of a public appearancethan they had to. Cormyreans are suspi-cious of travelers right now, given Zhenti-lar activities, the general unrest of natureand magic, and the schemes of avatarsand worshipers alike.

The party, facing evening and exhaus-tion, and wishing to avoid undue atten-tion, camped in a wooded hollow near theedge of Hermit�s Wood. Chapter 1 of thisadventure begins in the middle of thenight, in that encampment.

4

This chapter begins on the evening ofthe day the adventurers land in Cormyr.If this adventure continues from FRE2,Tantras, the heroes are footsore and thor-oughly weary after facing the storm�s fullfury.

Without supplies, the party cannotreach Waterdeep. Nearby supply townsinclude Marsember, to the west, andWheloon, to the north. Beyond Marsem-ber lies Cormyr�s royal capital, Suzail,where Midnight hopes to charter a ship toIlipur. First, though, it�s time to camp forthe night.

The party finds a wooded hollow at theedge of Hermit�s Wood, well east of Mar-sember, where they can hide from brig-ands, Zhentilar agents, and Cormyreanpatrols alike. (If Adon is along as an NPC,he remembers the name of the forestfrom his temple teachings. The long-dead hermit for whom the wood isnamed was a devotee of Sune Firehair,Adon�s deity.)

The party settles down to sleep.

OFFSTAGE EVENTTwo rival factions seek the party.Unknown to Midnight or the PCs, the

NPC Cyric is trying to prevent the partyfrom reaching Marsember or Suzail. Tothis end he has enlisted the evil Zhentilar;he also plays informant to the standingarmy of Cormyr, the Purple Dragons, tell-ing them that one or more of the PCs arefugitive criminals.

Cyric has learned that servants of thedeceased god Bane are swarming acrossthe south, seeking revenge on the womanwho �caused� Bane�s death: Midnight.Cyric does not want the party (and theTablet of Fate in the group�s possession) tofall into anyone else�s hands but his own.Therefore he intends to drive the adven-turers northward to Wheloon, then to thesmall village of Eveningstar.

Unfortunately for both Cyric and thePCs, Myrkul has also located the adven-turers. In Event 1, agents of the God of theDead try to kidnap Midnight.

Event 1:Happening inHermit�s Wood

In the third watch of the night, a fewhours before morning, have the charac-ter(s) on watch (if any) make an Intelli-gence check.

If the check succeeds, the watchmansees much vigorous movement in thedarkness beyond the firelight, but doesnot hear anything; the character can raisethe alarm. If the check fails, the charactersees nothing, and the attack that followscomes completely by surprise.

Myrkul has animated 13 night riders (aspecial, intelligent sort of zombie) to at-tack the encamped PCs by night. Theyand their undead mounts, called gaunts,are fully described in the New Monstersappendix at the end of this adventure.

Their orders are to kidnap Midnightand any other human females in the party(to avoid cases of mistaken identity) andlocate a stone tablet to be found some-where in the party�s saddlebags. Thenight riders must then kill all the othersand take the hostages and tablet to theLord of the Dead.

(If the kidnapping attempt succeeds,Myrkul intends to connive so as to getMidnight to do his �dirty work� for him.He will �let slip� the whereabouts of thetablet he possesses and the location of thegate to his realm in Hades. Then the deitywill allow Midnight to escape. At thisearly point in this adventure, Myrkul re-gards the PCs as expendable. Later hesees their importance in protecting Mid-night, so he treats them less ruthlessly.)

Night Rider TacticsIn life, these riders were a Purple

Dragon patrol, and accordingly wearchain mail with the Cormyrean insigniaemblazoned on their surcoats. Theirshields bounce unused at their saddles.Each is armed with a light horse lance(1d6 damage), long sword, mace, anddagger.

The undead are all mounted on gaunts:skeletal, bloated horses covered withblackened, twisted strips of rotting skinand flesh. These mounts have 12 hp each.

The mounted undead charge down intothe wooded hollow where the PCs aresleeping. Two are in the lead, and six moreride fast behind them, spread out. A sin-gle rider follows slowly to tackle any es-caping or especially powerful adventurer,and four of the undead remain fartherback, in reserve.

The two lead night riders and the outer-most two of the six that follow have 15 hpeach and attack as 2nd level fighters. Theothers have 7 hp each and attack as 1stlevel fighters, except for the very lastnight rider.

In life, this last rider was Ogden theHardrider, sergeant of the patrol. He has24 hp and attacks as a 4th level fighter. Hehangs back, committing his four-man re-serve force to spoil any spellcasting.Then, if he can, he tries to snatch up Mid-night across his saddle and ride backnorth toward Myrkul.

The night riders raid and harry, repeat-edly turning their mounts to ride past PCsand strike, rather than staying to face theparty in melee. The darkness and thicklyclustered trees should make this a con-fused, disorganized fray.

Cyric IntervenesCyric, observing the battle from a dis-

tance, is too far from his Zhentilar to offera great deal of help to the party againstMyrkul�s riders. But he does aid the ad-venturers with sniper fire.

Whenever a member of the partyseems hard pressed by a night rider, anarrow comes out of the night to strike themonster. Note that night riders feel nopain, but can in a fight be distracted byunexpected attacks and sights, even as liv-ing beings are.

PCs do not see the mysterious archer;he slips away into the night at the end ofthe battle. PCs who pursue can identifythe archer as Cyric, but they should notcatch him.

AftermathThe battle should end with the defeat of

the undead. Magical chaos permitting,Midnight hurls a fireball to dispose of sev-eral of them. The spell sets the hollowaflame. Characters are in no immediatedanger from the fire, but unless they putit out or flee, the light will attract Cormy-rean patrols or further attacks.

If the PCs have had an easy time of thefight, provide additional challenges whilethe party is putting out the fire or stum-bling through the darkened wood.

Event 2: Well Metin WheIoon

The rest of the night passes unevent-fully. In the morning the party heads to-ward Wheloon. There they hope to rest,buy horses and supplies, and, if neces-sary, seek healing at the local shrines.

Should the party head toward Marsem-ber, try to discourage them with numer-

5

ous Zhentilar or Purple Dragon patrols.Dragon patrols are described in Event 3of this chapter, the Zhentilar in Event 4. Ifyou allow the party to bypass the patrolsand reach Marsember, the following de-scription of Wheloon can be adapted foruse with the other city. No map of Mar-sember is provided; in a pinch, the map ofSuzail in the FORGOTTEN REALMS�Campaign Set can be used.

Travelers whom PCs meet on the roadto Wheloon warn the characters to con-ceal their weapons as much as possible;citizens must have a charter, or license, tobear arms in Cormyr.

A hot day of walking follows, throughrising, rolling farm country. Walls madeof stone rubble and stumps separatemany small fields. Deep, muddy lanes zig-zag everywhere, sometimes sheltered byhedges. When the travelers reach a forkor an intersection of two paths, they mustproceed north or northwest to remain onthe route toward Wheloon. Small, fadedwhite symbols of wyverns painted onrocks at crossroads indicate the directionto Wheloon. Symbols in the shape of acrown show the way to Suzail; anchorsymbols represent Marsember. The ad-venturers see more birds and cows thanthey do people.

Near sunset, the road rises, broadens,and enters the prosperous town of Whe-loon. The buildings are stone; some have

stucco and timbered upper stories. Thevisitors see an occasional thatched roof,but most roofs are dark green slate shin-gles. Road-lamps glimmer here and therein the gathering dusk. Despite the latehour, characters hear clanging, chatterand the hubbub of work from manyshops. Carts rumble through the muddy,patch-cobbled streets. This is a way-townof busy trade and skilled craftsmen.

The best-looking inn the party sees isthe Wyvern Watch Inn, operated byBuldegas Mhaerkoon (F4, hp 42, Str 17,Dex 13, Con 17). He is ruddy-faced andoverweight, with a cynical way of speak-ing but a kindly demeanor overall.

The inn is cozy and not overly busy.Buldegas charges a silver piece a head perday (all meals, drinks, and a bath in-cluded; a stable stall and horse care, twocoppers extra). He readily agrees to hidethe party away for a few days.

If he sees their weapons, the stout inn-keeper adds, �You need not trouble aboutthose.� Amid the chaos that has grippedCormyr, King Azoun has relaxed the pro-hibition against citizens carrying arms.Plain folk must defend themselves againstincreasingly numerous monsters and des-perate brigands; the Purple Dragons can-not be everywhere at once.

In the taproom of the Wyvern Watch, orelsewhere in Wheloon, PCs may engagein, and overhear, conversation. Reveal ru-

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mors from the the following table (roll d12 orsimply select), or devise others that maylead to offshoot adventures.

Wheloon RumorTable

1. All ships on the waves of the openDragon Reach a tenday or so ago weresunk by the shock waves of a terrific explo-sion. Wreckage enough to make men richhas been washing up on Sembian beachesthis last ride. The blast was heard as farwest as Ordulin. Some say that it camefrom Tantras. (DM Note: The blast markedthe death of the god Bane's avatar.)

2. A fleet set sail from Scardale over atenday ago�a Zhentilar fleet led by amysterious warrior named Cyric. Itheaded east to land troops north of Tan-tras, and the soldiers attacked that city.Cormyr is mustered to arms, expectingwar, and Sembia is offering a gold piece aweek to anyone who can hold a sword tobolster its border levies.

3. Strange tales have come out of thesouth of gods walking the lands, spells go-ing wild, and the like. A high priestess ofLoviatar died when her own blade bar-rier spell went awry.

4. All mages of power seem to have van-ished from Cormyr. Even Vangerdahast,the Court Wizard, has not been seen for atenday now.

5. Daggerdale is one vast, smoking pit.The goddesses Tymora and Beshaba aresaid to have fought each other there.(False rumor.)

6. A great black statue as tall as the low-est clouds is said to have marched east intothe sea at Scardale, walking steadily untilthe deepening waves swallowed it up.

7. Dragons have been seen dancing inthe air over the Thunder Peaks. Somesages have held that these are the �nineblack doves� referred to in the propheciesof the ancient seer Alaundo. Others saythat the �war among wizards� that heforetold long ago has begun.

8. Elminster the Sage, the Old Mage ofShadowdale, has been killed in a battlethere, in the temple of Lathander. Wander-ing brigands were captured and foundguilty, but some say the god Bane appearedand killed the sage himself. Others say thatElminster still lives, and that the Harpersare seeking his whereabouts. (DM note:This refers to events in FRE1, Shadowdale.As Midnight and her companions found inFRE2, Elminster is not dead.)

9. Sylune �the Witch,� the Lady ofShadowdale, was slain a few seasons agowhile defending Shadowdale against thegreat attacking flight of dragons thatswept down over the Dragon Reach. Nowher glowing white phantom has beenseen walking the corridors of the RoyalCourt in Suzail. She smiled at several no-ble ladies, who fainted dead away. Sylunewalked through guards and doors alike,into Azoun�s throne room, and moved herhands in a series of silent signs. Vangerda-hast, the Court Wizard, turned pale andwhispered something urgent to Azoun,then left the chamber and has not beenseen since. Sylune�s form then fadedaway.

10. Alusair Nacacia, younger princessof Cormyr, has been seen several times inthe Dalelands, riding hard with a swordon her back. Merchants have seen herstriding through the ruins of Myth Dran-nor with a bloody blade. Some say thatshe rode down a man in the streets of Sel-gaunt.

11. The forces of the Citadel of theRaven have grown larger and more activethan ever before. They patrol the areaceaselessly, putting all trespassers todeath.

12. A patch of darkness that nevermoves has apparently settled in beyondthe Sunset Mountains. No one who hasgone into it has emerged alive.

Outfitting andTraining

The trip from Cormyr to Waterdeep islengthy and dangerous under the bestconditions, let alone in the Time of Trou-bles. While they are in Wheloon, PCs cankeep busy outfitting themselves for theirupcoming long overland trip.

They must buy provisions, particularlysafe drinking water, and pack them forrugged travel. They must replenish, re-pair, or replace cooking gear, tents, and thelike. Above all, they must buy horses, in-cluding spare mounts, and buy and modifytack to fit them. You can either detail in fullthe mounts used by the party throughoutthis adventure, or simply give them aver-age values of AC 7, MV 22, and 16 hp.

If the optional training rules are beingused, those characters who aren�t busyoutfitting themselves can take the oppor-tunity to train. Midnight agrees to pro-vide training, free of charge, for any PCmage who agrees to accompany her toWaterdeep. PCs of other classes can scoutaround Wheloon for tutors.

To determine how long training takes,decide which tutors hired by PCs have17+ Wisdom. Midnight accepts a maxi-mum delay of twenty days�two weeks,in the Realms. After that, she willthreaten to take off for Waterdeep by her-self. The threat should be sufficient topersuade any procrastinating PCs tobreak off what they�re doing and makeready to accompany her. If it isn�t, thenthe tutors themselves will break off anyongoing training sessions, saying some-thing like, �I hear that it�s time for you tobe on your way�not much point in train-ing anymore, when the fate of the worldis at stake!�

Priests may have difficulty gaining levelsat this time. Most deities are too weak ortoo busy to answer the prayers of theirfaithful. And besides, most priests are tooshocked and frantically busy seeking newsof their deities to do any training.

The nature-oriented deities, such asSilvanus, Eldath, and Mielikki, have takento avatar form well and remain diligent intheir responsibilities. Their priests cancomplete training normally. But of theother deities, only clerics of Lathander, Ty-mora, Tempus, Gond, and Chauntea cancomplete training�and such trainingtakes twice as long as usual.

Tutors available in Wheloon includethese individuals:

Chalannos �the Masked� Firehawk,8th level fighter, retired adventurer. Hiscottage lies on a lane at the northeasternfringe of town. As a training fee he de-mands a permanent (not one-shot) magicalitem he can use, or 2,000 gp/level (countingthe level to be attained), or some combina-tion of these. He is very good; if the PC de-sires to acquire proficiency in a particularweapon, allow Chalannos to provide it.

Haerldoun �Hawkmaster,� 6th levelfighter (Wis 17), a mercenary warrior bytrade. Haerldoun, a veteran man of battle,knows the Dragon Reach lands well. He isespecially skilled at the art of command,organization, tactics, and scouting tech-niques.

Wounded in Daggerdale while fightingorcs, bugbears, and trolls allied to theZhentilar, Haerldoun has rented a househere in Wheloon while recovering. Herehe keeps an eye on his sideline, a helm andshield importing business run by his niece,Albhaera (F2, Dex 18, Cha 16). Haerldounwill train a PC for a flat fee of 4,000 gp, or amagical item and 2,000 gp.

If the party is weak or a PC has perished,the DM could allow Albhaera to join theparty as a replacement PC or NPC. She isyoung, soft-spoken, and demure but rest-less. Albhaera knows the value, repair, andproper fashioning of helms, bracers,shields, belts, and baldrics. She is fit, lithe,and well trained as a warrior.

Haerldoun dotes on her. If word reacheshim that a PC has mistreated her, that PChas acquired a tireless and wary foe whowill track him across the entire Realms totake revenge.

Mhezenter Mirilar, 5th level thief (Wis16), a thin, beak-nosed man who pretendsto be deaf. By day he loads crates of goodsfor a hardware merchant, Zendaros Rallo-gar, whose old, rambling shop is locatednear the center of town.

Mhezenter sleeps in an attic of the shop,and plies his other trade by night. He robsmainly warehouse goods or wagonloadspassing through town.

He does not advertise his profession; PCswishing to train must find and catch upwith him by night, then survive theencounter�Mhezenter is very quick withthrowing darts and a slim, rapierlike shortsword. The best way to persuade Mhezen-ter to train a PC is with payment of a magi-cal item, but Mhezenter settles for 3,000gp/level (counting the level to be attained),preferably in the form of gems.

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He cannot be blackmailed. Threats to ex-pose him just make him shrug; then he tar-gets the threatening character with a 3d6fireball� the last missile of a necklace ofmissiles� before making his escape.

Mhezenter has a ring of the ram hiddenaway somewhere in Wheloon. If he is at-tacked by PCs, he takes to wearing it, andto tipping his weapons with a sleep-inducing drug. Give his victims +2 onsaves against this venom; it has beenstored for a long time, and has lost some ofits efficacy.

Orlenstar Thirlthorn, 4th level druid(Wis 18), who keeps a shrine to Silvanuseast of Wheloon, north of the road in agrove of duskwood trees.

Everyone in town knows where thegrove is. Citizens take injured animals toOrlenstar; town children are always wel-come in the grove; and Orlenstar keepsgoodberries and home-brewed sprucebeer on hand at all times. He is a gentle, sat-urnine young man, willing to train anyonewho makes an offering to Silvanus of atleast 1,000 gp/level, counting the level to beattained.

Devise other NPC tutors as desired. Al-low PCs time to �spread their wings� in solooperations if they are not being trained.They can seek out Zhentilar spies, for ex-ample. Or, if they figured in the events ofFRE1 and FRE2, they might have to explaintheir actions to agents of the Harpers whoidentify them and accuse them again ofslaying Elminster.

The party should be at maximumstrength before journeying onward.

OFFSTAGE EVENTNot far from Starwater Bridge near the

village of Hilp, Cyric and his band of Zhen-tilar attack the small halfling village ofBlack Oaks. While his men destroy the vil-lage, Cyric assaults a young halfling calledSneakabout, whom the PCs will meet inEvent 5 of this chapter. Cyric steals Sneak-about�s magic sword, a cursed blade thatgradually enslaves its owner�s will (see theNew Magic appendix). Sneakabout, still af-fected by the sword�s curse after it isstolen, will not rest until he retrieves theweapon. The curse does not affect Cyric,whose will is so strong that he masters thesword, bending the weapon�s will to thestrength of his own.

In his adventuring, Cyric has gained alevel, so that he is now a 4th level fighter.Being dual-classed and unable to advance

in his former profession, he remains a 5thlevel thief and retains the combat abilities(HD 5, hp 24) he gained while a member ofthat class.

Event 3:Arrests,Alarums, andAmbushes

This optional event takes place at thetime when the PCs gather as they prepareto leave Wheloon. This event can beskipped to speed up play.

When the party has outfitted, healed,trained, and is ready to travel onward, theWheloon Watch arrives to arrest a PC on acharge of murder.

A local merchant (the one the PC boughthorses from) has been found murdered,his goods missing. Someone testified to thelocal lord, Sarp Redbeard, that they sawthe PC leaving the merchant�s house withbloody sword in hand. This false witnesswas one of Cyric�s men, seeking to drivethe PCs from the safety of Wheloon.

The dour captain of the watch warns allthe PCs to �bide peace� until Lord Sarp ar-rives. Expected within the hour, he willquickly pronounce a sentence of execu-tion. �There�s not much doubt, ye see,� thecaptain adds fiercely through his bristlingmoustache.

The PCs have three options: cooperate,fight, or flee.

Cooperate: They can wait for LordSarp, then tell him their story. Judge theevidence as Wheloon�s lord would�with astrong bias toward declaring guilt and get-ting the whole matter over with. If he pro-nounces the PC guilty, the party�s onlychance is to break and run; see below.

If the evidence for innocence is compel-ling, Lord Sarp apologizes to the PCs. Buthe doesn�t want them staying in Wheloonand drawing further trouble, so he politelyoffers them an armed escort�the Watchand its captain�to the village of Hilp (or tothe next village or city on the PCs� journey).The PCs shouldn�t refuse this offer, or thewatch will make their lives hard duringtheir remaining time in Wheloon.

Fight : The watch consis ts of 16constables�volunteer militia, all mer-chants by daily trade�in leather armor,bearing maces, short swords, daggers, andcrossbows. Each constable is F1, THAC020, 6 hp, AC 8.

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Four rounds after combat begins, 46Purple Dragon soldiers rush up the streeton the double. Since their presence virtu-ally ensures that the PCs must flee, the sol-diers are described in the next subsection.

Attacking the constabulary guaranteesthat the PCs and their companions will behunted fugitives for the remainder of theirstay in Cormyr. If they are caught, the lordof the city imprisons them and sentencesthem to public execution. Then the PCsmust stage a jailbreak, or Cyric and hisZhentilar can do so. Improvise details ofthe jail, or consult the jail (and jailbreak)description on pp. 6-7 of FRE2, Tantras.

Flee: If the PCs want to make a breakfor it, Midnight and other NPCs leap totheir aid, attacking the nearest constablesin an attempt to screen the player charac-ters� escape and then joining the flightthemselves. (If Kelemvor is along as anNPC, he may try this tactic, taking thechoice away from the PCs.) Battle ensues.

The party can grab their horses and fleejust before the 46 hurrying Purple Dragonsoldiers arrive. Make this departure ur-gent, with armed townsfolk gathering towatch. Lord Sarp Redbeard (F9, 77 hp, Str17, neutral good with CN tendencies), hisjeweled blade drawn, can be seen shoutingangrily and pointing his sword, as he or-ders the Purple Dragons to pursue theadventurers.

Fourteen of the Purple Dragons, a localroad patrol, are mounted. These menchase the PCs, brandishing lances andmaces. All are F2, 16 hp each, wearingchain mail, armed with light lances, longswords, maces, and daggers. The leader ofthis patrol, Roadcaptain Thondar (F4, 37hp), wields a battle axe and a wand ofmagic missiles with 14 charges.

All of this should cause the PCs to fleealong the nearest road out of town, head-ing west and north toward the village ofHilp. (If they don�t run away, conduct com-bat normally; if the PCs haven�t attackedthe constabulary, the Purple Dragons willfight to subdue and capture them.)

Assuming that they do flee, the chasecontinues for quite some time; the PurpleDragons are hot on the heels of the party,so no map of Wheloon�s surroundings isprovided.

Guardsmen and terrified citizens alikescramble to get out of the way. The PCs gainopportunities to jump their horses overabandoned crates and stumbling people,watch their pursuers crash into a cart, spill-ing potatoes all over the street, and so on.

If the PCs outdistance the guards tooeasily, have a heavily loaded stonecutter�scart block the road. The PCs must turn(slowing down) or ride right into it. Any-one who tries to jump the cart or cutaround it must make a Proficiency checkfor land-based riding (if the proficiencyrules are used). Unless the check is suc-cessful, the rider cannot pass the cart,and must make a Dexterity check orcrash into it, suffering 3d4 impact dam-age and killing the horse. Such unfortu-nates must abandon horse and gear andflee quickly, or be captured.

The PCs should think of employingmagic or clever strategies to elude theirpursuers. If they try and their efforts fail,Midnight turns to confront their pursu-ers. She asks the PCs to shield her whileshe tries to cast sleep spells. (Let PC wiz-ards try to cast magic as well, if theywish.)

Assuming magical chaos does not alterthe spells, the onrushing Purple Dragonriders slump in their saddles. They tum-ble off to be trampled underfoot, or theyride into each other, and everyone hitsthe ground with a crash and a cloud ofdust.

AftermathRegardless of the outcome of this event,

the party must by now have left Wheloonbehind. After traveling through Hilp�which doesn�t take long�the PCs shouldbe encouraged to take the road leadingsouthwest toward Suzail. (Midnight hasher own reasons for wanting to go thisway, as explained in the beginning of

Event 4 below.) In any case, whether ornot they were pursued, they are tiredfrom their journey.

Night begins to fall as the party mem-bers wind their way south, walking theirexhausted horses. (If the PCs are cap-tured and must escape jail, assume the es-cape takes place as evening falls, whetheron the day of Event 3 or the next.)

As the shadows lengthen, the partyheads southwest along the fringe of theKing�s Forest, which cloaks the heart ofCormyr. As they proceed cautiously in thedusk, the lane the party is following endsin a secluded woodcutter�s glade. Thislooks as good a place as any to camp.

Well, perhaps. Refer to the High ForestEncounter Table on the inside of the fold-out cover of this adventure. Four timesduring the night, roll for encounters.Most monsters turn away if they encoun-ter alert, determined opposition; let thevigilance of the PCs determine what hap-pens. The exhausted NPCs cannot standwatch all night, but do not point this outto the PCs unless the PCs raise the subjectof posting a watch.

Event 4:StarwaterBridge

In the morning the party hastens onsouth toward Suzail, hoping to outdis-tance any word from Wheloon (the NPCsknow that in the absence of mages fromthe kingdom, messages must travel byriders on the roads). In Suzail, Midnight

plans to buy passage for the party on a lo-cal merchant ship that will take themacross Dragonmere to Ilipur, where theparty can join an overland caravan toWaterdeep.

When the party reaches StarwaterBridge, read the following:

The River Starwater glimmers beforeyou, sparkling in the morning sun. Itlies in an old, broad valley, mirroringthe blue sky overhead, and your roadcrosses over it by means of a broadstone span: Starwater Bridge.

There are men on the bridge withspears in their hands. As you drawnearer, you see that they are hard-faced fighting men, clad in a variety ofarmor. Some even wear black fieldplate. All wear scarves or surcoatsbearing badges of a red circle on ablack field.

They�re Zhentilar! Here in the heartof Cormyr!

These Zhentilar are loyal to Cyric.There are 24 warriors on the bridge, and16 more mounted troops hiding in thenearby trees to the west. Cyric is watch-ing from within the trees, along with 10other men who guard the tethered horsesof the entire troop.

Stress to the players that the presenceof Zhentilar troops here is highly unu-sual. Midnight believes, correctly, thatCyric is using them to warn the partyaway from the south. But she doesn�t yetbelieve he has evil motives.

If the PCs show themselves, the fighterswaiting on the bridge lower their spearsto menace their horses, bracing them-selves to face any charge the PCs mightmount. If the PCs attack the 24 fightingmen on the bridge, the 16 warriors in thetrees ride to the attack.

The party can fight, though the oddsare overwhelming. If the PCs win, theycan travel unmolested for a time. ButCyric escapes and eventually forms an-other band. Skip to the next event.

More likely, however, the party fleesnorthward again, while those PCs whofeel inclined can fight a rear-guard action.However, Cyric has ordered the Zhentilarnot to kill the party, and in fact the fight-ers pursue the PCs only a short distancenorthward.

The Zhentilar�s purpose is to force theadventurers to go north. They dare notremain assembled in strength for long, or

9

chase the adventurers along the roads.They know that if they try, they�ll soonfind Purple Dragons moving againstthem, several hundred strong.

Cyric's ZhentilarAll these men have chain mail and

shield (AC 4) or better. All have access to alight crossbow and two cases of 21 quar-rels each, and to a spear or a pike. Allcarry a long sword or a mace, a hand axe,and two daggers. Optionally, some mayalso wield war hammers, battle axes, orbastard swords.

They are all experienced fighters.Dalzhel, Cyric�s second in command, is a4th level fighter with 36 hp. The others inthe troop include 10 3rd level fighters (25hp), 20 2nd level (18 hp), and 19 1st level(10 hp). If desired, you can give Cyric�smen individual names and hit point totals. . . but some of them may not live longenough to be worth the work.

However, you should prepare a simpleroster list of Cyric�s band. They reappearthroughout this module as foes of the PCs,and it may prove easier to keep track oftheir declining strength and numbers inthis manner.

Another approach is to assign Cyric�scommand a variable strength. Simply fol-low the encounter descriptions giventhroughout the adventure, suitably ad-justing the band�s numbers according tothe effects of physical chaos, desertions,reinforcements, sickness, offstage fight-ing or scouting, and so on. Though not asrealistic as the first approach, thismethod guarantees that the band alwayspresents a threat to the PCs.

Events 5: Ashes atBlack Oaks

The Zhentilar do not pursue the partyout of sight of the bridge. But if the PCstry going east or west and then turningsouth again, they meet the whole band ofZhentilar, moving to intercept them andforce them back. If they evade or some-how defeat this band, let them proceedto their destination. Most of the follow-ing encounters can easily be adapted totheir new surroundings, but you mustimprovise many details of a southern ad-venture.

The rest of this chapter presumes thatthe adventurers are warily heading north

again. Midnight and other NPCs argueabout the Zhentilar: whether they are ac-tually Cyric�s men, and whether he ishelping or hindering them. The PCs cantake part or try to guide this argument asthey wish, but Midnight refuses to believeCyric is really an enemy.

Suddenly PCs smell smoke in the woodsto the west of the road. If they investigate,they find a narrow trail. Tree branchesmeet above it at about chest height (for ahuman), forming a very low roof. Thesebranches can be cut away to clear thetrail.

The trail winds down and then upthrough thick stands of sumac, until itreaches a stand of black oaks. Fromthe center of the stand, in a smallglade, wisps of smoke are drifting. Thesmells of burnt wood and flesh arestrong in the air.

Midnight points at a ring of stones.�A well,� she says quietly.

This was a halfling village known asBlack Oaks. The Zhentilar, impatient toloot something, chose this village bychance. Cyric, their leader, merelyshrugged and allowed them to sack it. Forhimself he took only one item, but what atreasure: a magical sword of incrediblepower, formerly owned by a halflingnamed Sneakabout.

Amid the RuinsPCs may want to scout around, to

make sure there are no lurking brig-ands or other menaces. Most of the ad-venturers will probably want to searchthe tumbled piles of stone rubble andsmoking burrow-holes, all that remainsof the village.

Amid the wreckage they discover theashes of much wickerware and cloth, thetrampled remnants of many plants, andforty-five halfling bodies. Ten are males,the others women and children. Manywere crushed under their collapsed huts.The searchers find no valuables, not evenstray arrows or broken weapons. Lawfulgood PCs should consider gathering theslain halflings for burial.

While the PCs are busy searching theruined village, halfling thieves from thesurrounding woods go silently to work.They try to steal most or all of the party�sfood and bedrolls, Midnight�s spell book,and a flint-and-steel pouch.

You can decree that the halfling thievessimply will not be caught in the act, re-gardless of PC precautions. This movesthe story along smoothly. But if the PCsposted an alert guard or took clever pre-cautions, they can catch the thieves red-handed.

In this case, alert PCs notice the half-lings just as one thief is heading into theforest with Midnight�s spell book. Theothers are looting the party�s saddlebags.Try to focus attention on the ones still inthe camp, and not on the thief who liftedthe spell book.

The halflings, once discovered, run likebunnies. PCs can attack, trap, or pursuethem. But in the forest the halflings prob-ably outdistance their pursuit. By thetime the PCs follow the trail to the halflinglair, the thieves have already destroyedMidnight�s spell book.

Assuming the party fails to discover thethefts at once, they find out about theirmissing gear by dusk. PCs can track thethieves, aided by crumbs from some cornbiscuits that were in the saddlebags.Aghast at the loss of her spell book, Mid-night insists they search, or she desertsthe party to search by herself.

The Thieves� LairThe trail leads some distance northwest

through deep forest to a tiny campfire.There PCs discover two dozen halflings,

obviously survivors from the village. ThePCs see that the halflings are using theirown stolen possessions. An old, matronlyhalfling woman is slicing up the missingcorn biscuits with a PC�s dagger. An oldhalfling man drinks wine from the fingersof a glove that another PC recognizes. Ifthe PCs carried spears, the broken spearsare propped over the campfire, and threerabbits are roasting on them.

Because Midnight has lost her spellbook (this must occur, regardless of howthe rest of the thievery turns out), stealthand surprise are impossible. With ashriek of horror, Midnight recognizesamid the flames the blackening, crum-bling ashes of her spell book.

Alarmed, the halflings scramble to grabweapons. They have slings, spears andatlatls (also called woomeras), and a fewdaggers.

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The old halfling mother faces youfiercely, raising a stolen dagger with ahiss. �So! What you want?� she says inbroken Common. �Come back to finishjob? Tall ones all the same. Come to lootrich halfling cities.� She steps forward,waving the dagger. �Not take Berenga-ria without fight!�

Midnight, ignoring Berengaria�s dag-ger, rushes to the fire and scrabbles init for her spell book. She is too late.Nothing is left. �Gone,� she says softly,staring into the flames. A single tearruns down her cheek.

PCs can fight the halflings or call atruce. NPCs, even Midnight, recommenda truce. They do not take part in attackson the halflings.

Fight: The able-bodied halflings of thevillage were away hunting when theZhentilar raided. Now they are back, sothe PCs don�t have an easy time of it.

There are 16 able-bodied halflings, allLN, all equipped with with short swords(1d6 damage) but no armor (AC 7). Four2nd level fighters have 14 hp each. Four2nd level thieves have 10 hp. Four fighter/thieves are 1st level in each class, withonly 6 hp each. Finally, four 1st levelthieves have 6 hp.

Eight 0-level halflings, old people orchildren, have no weapons and do not at-tack. However, they bravely rush in thepath of the PCs� attacks to protect theirloved ones. Throwing themselves at thePCs� feet, they scream for mercy. PCs whomurder these halflings are showing evilalignment tendencies.

Try to show bloodthirsty PCs that thesehalflings represent no threat. Their vil-lage and families have been destroyed;they have nothing left and nowhere to go.They stole the supplies just to survive.

Truce: These pathetic halflings evokethe NPCs� sympathy. To avoid a fight andprove their friendship, the NPCs suggestletting the halflings keep what they havetaken. This is for the PCs to decide ulti-mately, of course. The halflings sadly sur-render their stolen goods if asked.

Though Midnight laments her lost spellbook, she does not blame the thieves. �It�sall right,� she tells them. �You didn�t un-derstand.�

�She might not have understood thespell book,� says a new voice. �Butthat�d be all she didn�t understand.� Agaunt halfling male steps out of thedarkness. A bandage is bound aroundhis forehead. His eyes are red, and hisskin an unhealthy gray.

The other halflings back away, whis-pering among themselves. The new-comer steps to the fire and picks upthe rabbits. �Have these,� he says toyou. �There are plenty more wherethey came from, and it�s less than a fairtrade for what you�ve lost.

�The name�s Atherton Cooper,� saysthe newcomer. �But most call meSneakabout.�

Meet SneakaboutSneakabout is a 4th level halfling thief:

AC 4 (leather plus Dex bonus); hp 22;THAC0 19 (17 with missiles); #AT 1; Dmgby weapon (short sword, 2 daggers, slingwith 16 stones); Str 14, Dex 18, Con 15, Int16, Wis 12, Cha 16; AL CG (CN tendencies,due to his recent ownership of the magi-cal sword now in Cyric�s possession). Anempty sword scabbard swings at his belt.If asked about it, he simply shrugs andsay, �I lost it. I�ll get it back.�

Sneakabout asks the party if they�verun into any Zhentilar in Cormyr.

�I have unfinished business with thosebutchers,� he says grimly. �As do all themenfolk of Black Oaks! It might havebeen different if all the fathers had notbeen out hunting!

�To think men�d come with swordsand all, here in Cormyr! King Azoun�llhear of this, see if he doesn�t! And thoseZhentilar�they�ll hear of it too, beforelong!� A dagger flashes up into the airfrom his boot, twinkles in the firelight,and falls back into his waiting hand.

He looks at you all in the gatheringtwilight. �It seems to me,� he sayssoftly, �that you might be in need of aguide�and protection, too, just in caseyou run into any more Zhentilar here-abouts. Well?�

The PCs can accept or reject Sneak-about as a guide. Establish him as a sym-pathetic character with goals much likethose of the PCs. The adventure proceedsmore smoothly if Sneakabout is along, buthis presence is not vital.

In any case, the party can camp for thenight with the halflings. Berengaria�sfaulty Common proves to be a deception.She can and will answer any PCs� ques-tions about conditions in Cormyr, thewhereabouts of possible supplies and tu-tors, and the like. She can furnish the PCswith water and many fresh berries andcarrots for their journey.

Allow the heroes, especially lawfulgood PCs, to help the halflings. Theycould donate money or supplies; a priestPC could send a message to his templesseeking aid for the demihumans; theycould even take the halflings with themon a search for a new home. However, therest of the adventure makes no provisionfor the continued presence of any of thehalflings except for Sneakabout.

Setting OutSneakabout tells the party he knows the

deep forest trails, and he asks their routeof travel. If the PCs don�t have a route inmind, he suggests that they go to Evening-star, and from there find their way west-ward out of Cormyr.

The next morning the party sets off. Ifthey have accepted Sneakabout as theirguide, he promises to take them throughthe very heart of the King�s Forest, wheremen seldom go, in hopes of avoidingZhentilar and zealous Purple Dragon offi-cers alike.

Event 6:Walking Treesand Wildwood

The party travels on through old, deepwoods of shady gloom and ancient, tower-ing trees. Consult the King�s ForestEncounter Table, checking for encountersonce every 1d10 turns (or 1d6 turns when-ever the party makes a lot of noise). Brig-ands encountered have meager treasure;prepare such booty before play begins.

Whenever an encounter is called for,roll 1d6. If the result is a 6, do not checkthe table; instead, the encounter is an at-tempted ambush by one of Cyric�s Zhenti-lar patrols.

The patrol consists of seven men: six 1stlevel fighters, all AC 4 and having 10 hp,led by a 2nd level fighter. The leaderwears plate mail (AC 3), has 18 hp, andwields a battle axe or bastard sword as hisprimary weapon.

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The men of the patrol wear chain mailand bear shields. All except the leaderhave a spear and a light crossbow with 21quarrels. Everyone carries a long swordor a mace, a hand axe, and two daggers.

If the party runs into three Zhentilarpatrols, the third should be larger thanthe others�11 men, including two 2ndlevel fighters.

If the PCs question captive Zhentilar,the prisoners say they sailed from Scar-dale to Tantras and then to Cormyr�withCyric, who promised them much loot. Sofar Cyric hasn�t led them to this loot; somediscontented Zhentilar sacked Sneak-about�s village, though Cyric gave no or-der to do this.

(Midnight uses this statement as proofthat Cyric is not truly evil. In fact, Cyricdidn�t care that the village was destroyed;he simply saw no purpose in doing so.)

The prisoners say Cyric has ordered theZhentilar to drive the PCs north toEveningstar, arranging ambushes and tip-ping off the Purple Dragons if the PCs gosouth. �Suzail is already closed to you . . .and Marsember, too.�

EncountersDuring this event, introduce the

encounters that follow when the partyreaches appropriate locations in thewoods.

1. Watching the WatchmenIf Sneakabout is guiding the party, he

offers to lead them along the banks of theStarwater, under the bridge that carriesthe Dhedluk/Immersea road across it, toavoid patrols.

Unknown to Sneakabout, seven Zhenti-lar watchmen hold the bridge. These areidentical in strength to the seven-manZhentilar patrol described above, exceptthat two horses are tethered nearby. Ifthe watchmen spot the PCs, two menmount the horses and ride off to report toCyric. The other watchmen engage theparty and try to hold them at the spot un-til Cyric and the other warriors arrivefour rounds later.

The party should easily win though,especially if they dispose of the messen-gers before they can get away. But add ex-citement by pursuing them for a whilewith crossbow quarrels through thetrees.

2. Starwater FordEventually the party should reach

Starwater Ford, along the river about

midway between Eveningstar and theDhedluk/Immersea bridge, where gravelbars allow the party to cross over theStarwater River to the western side. If anencounter occurs here, it should be withan aquatic monster such as a giant gar.

The western bank of the Starwater atthis spot is thickly grown, an old and darkwoods (some say haunted). Here onlyelves, rangers, halflings, and the bravestof hunters go. The Zhentilar do not knowtheir way around this area.

3. Trees on the MarchThe lead character scouts ahead along

an unfamiliar trail�and comes runningback to the party screaming in terror.

�Off the trail!� the scout cries. �Now!�Behind the onrushing scout you hear adeep rumbling, crashing noise.

Leaves stir and dance, and a huge syc-amore tree suddenly lurches forwardinto view, swinging its branches like adozen flailing arms. Its roots creak asthey crawl along the ground like therushing feet of a centipede. The groundtrembles as the trunk of the tree twistsalong the ground. Then the trunk risesagain as the tree strides on.

Another tree follows right behindthe first. Mud rises in showers as manysycamores march in its wake. Thenoise is awesome, the ground shakes,and trees topple or are smashed asideby the marching sycamores.

The sycamores are part of the chaos ofthe Realms, perhaps directed by an avataror a spell gone wrong. They march to a vil-lage or city of the DM�s choice and attackits walls, not ceasing until the end of thisadventure. They do not attack PCs or ap-pear to notice PC activities, but any charac-ter who gets in the way is simply trampled,hurled aside, or torn limb from limb.

Allow Dexterity checks to avoid any orall of these misfortunes. Suggested dam-age is 1d6 per misfortune if a check is suc-cessful, and 2d8 if a check fails. Horsessuffer the same damage.

A resourceful party could �ride� thetrees, or tag along in their wake to avoidenemy encounters. This can be challeng-ing, for the trees move quickly, withoutstopping. But if the PCs have too easy atime of their journey, physical chaos even-tually subsides, and the trees collapse intoso many logs.

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Event 7: TheGlowing Glade

When at last the exhausted party de-cides to camp for the night, they comeupon a glade in the deep forest. It is in ahollow atop a wooded hill, amid rollingground deep in the forest, not far fromthe Starwater. It is of natural origin, and issafe and uninhabited.

The party eats as dusk falls. Read thefollowing:

An orange glow steals silently into ex-istence above the fire. As you notice itcurling gently in midair, it splits intonine little spheres of radiance. Thesedarken and start to spin, turning blueand then silver. They drift outward ina widening ring.

The ring silently expands until it en-closes the entire glade. The sphereschange shape in the air. Each forms theimage of a mouth�a human mouth,surrounded by a moustache andbeard! No faces appear; all of thesebearded mouths hang disembodied inthe air in a huge ring around the glade.

One mouth moves. You hear a famil-iar dry, fussy, accented voice. �Wellmet, friends! We are still friends, arewe not? We both, I trust, wish theRealms to survive.� It is the voice ofElminster the Sage.

Though currently far away acrossFaerun, Elminster has clairvoyantly lo-cated the heroes. He wants to remindthem of their mission and answer theirquestions, and he has chosen a typicallyflashy method of doing so.

The mouths are unaffected by physicalattacks or any magic�including, for themoment at least, dispel magic.

The initial glow above the fire is equiva-lent to an amber faerie fire, and thebearded magic mouths speak even ifcharacters flee out of the ring as it forms.

Talking WithNine Mouths

Allow the characters to talk withElminster as long as they like. He can an-swer most of their questions, particu-larly those that let them go forward withthe adventure.

Here are some typical questions and

samples of Elminster�s answers. If theplayers don�t ask all these questions, don�tgo out of the way to work in the extra an-swers; just let them pass. Don�t tell theplayers more than they want to know.

What is happening to the Realms?One mouth along the ring speaks:

�What�s going on? Well you might ask. It�sall rather confusing, really.� The mouthclears its throat and says, �This bit�srather important. So bend thy ears.�

A second mouth takes up the tale. �Eachgod of Faerun has a portfolio, a professionor natural force which that beingdominates�and know ye, that good andevil, law and chaos and neutrality all arebalanced evenly, greater gods and lesser,demigods and all. All hangs in theBalance�an ever-shifting Balance, to betrue, but a Balance nonetheless.�

Another mouth speaks. �Or, as ye mightguess, is supposed to. The Balance is nomore, for the gods have fallen down intoFaerun. Now every great power anddemigod strives among mortals, hardlymore than mortals themselves. They ne-glect the Balance, and chaos has strickenthe lands.�

How did the gods fall?�Know ye that there is one god above all

the gods of Faerun, a being known as Ao,the One Who Is Hidden.

�Ao it was, so we are told, who createdthe gods, to bring order out of chaos, sothat our world could exist, each beast inits place and each plant in its niche, all inharmony.�

The mouth falls silent, and anothermouth takes up the tale. �Standard talk, Iknow, but evidently true. Two of thegods, Bane and Myrkul, dared to goagainst the Balance created by Ao. Theystole the two Tablets of Fate. Their theftso angered Ao that he cast the gods down,supposedly to teach them weakness andhumility. But the gods are willful, andusurp each other�s powers and influence,and strive one with the other.�

What happened to Mystra?�Ah, Mystra! Her power was within

everything, and gathered stronger withina few in these lands, including one amongye. Yet even Mystra fought and arguedand connived, as if she were . . . human.�The mouth chuckles.

Another mouth speaks. �Mystra is nomore, although her power will pass on.She will never entirely perish, so long asthere is magic in the world.�

What happened to Bane and Torm?�The God of Strife battled the God of

Duty in mortal combat�or perhaps Imean immortal combat. They destroyedone another. As ye have seen, when a goddies, his energies scatter in an instant,with the power of ten thousand bolts oflightning.

�Those forces have wrought strangenew forms in the lands around Tantras,though not, fortunately, in the city itself.

�When Midnight rang the Bell of AylenAttricus in that tower in Tantras, she acti-vated an age-old power. The bell protectedthe city from destruction when the godsexploded. Only a wizard of great powerand caring heart could ring the bell. It isonly because her friends got her there toring the bell that Tantras survives today.

�Ye need not fear Bane, nor his well-meaning brother Torm�one so blind withpride that he knew not that Bane�s tabletlay hidden in his own temple cellar!�How can the problem be solved?

�The gods� planes are shut against them,the ways there guarded by Helm. To getback, the gods must find the Tablets ofFate and present them to Helm. We musthope that, once they resume their sta-tions, the gods can restore order.�

Why should we look for the tablets?�This test Ao has set for the gods. And

for men, too, aye, and all the mortal races.

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For anyone may win the tablets and re-deem the Balance. Ao has hinted at god-hood for any being who gives him thetablets.

�Ao would see that which sets us allapart from the beasts: the magnificenceof deed and achievement, love and friend-ship and aiding one another�that whichsoars above mere survival. And so, ofcourse, ye come into the picture.� Themouth chuckles.

What should we do?�All ye need do is find the second tablet,

and take both to the highest point in thecity of Waterdeep.�

The next mouth over gives a warning.�Ye need not worry about Bane. But thesecond thief, Myrkul, is still your foe�andit is his tablet that ye now seek. I�m afraid Iknow not where it is, but the old seerAlaundo mentions that �in the Time ofTroubles, all roads will end in Waterdeep.�So perhaps you�d best head up that way.

�As you search, take care. Other godsare just as dangerous as Myrkul�Bhaal,h i s s e r v a n t , f o r o n e . T h e G o d o fMurder. . . .�

Concluding the TalkPCs can ask other questions of Elmin-

ster; improvise the answers at will, butnote the following: Elminster knows noth-ing, yet, of Myrkul and Bhaal�s plan to herdMidnight toward the gate to Hades. Elmin-ster knows nothing about Cyric. Elminstercannot warn the PCs regarding any sur-prises still to come in this adventure.

After the PCs have finished asking ques-tions of Elminster, conclude the scenewith this passage:

�Forget not this: Whatever befalls ye,all roads end in Waterdeep. Go on withmy good wishes, all of you, and savethe Realms. The gods know it�s hightime someone else should do so!�

The mouths fade into silver motes ofradiance, and then drift to join eachother in a shimmering, silvery ring ofradiance. It encircles the entire gladein midair.

The ring remains until morning, unlessit is dispelled. It poses no barrier or harmto any party member, but turns aside allwandering woodland creatures.

This chapter opens as the charactersawaken in the deep woods of Cormyr.The ring of light caused by Elminster�sspell has faded. Midnight can think ofnothing but her lost spell book. She needsa spell book to cast spells, and the partycertainly needs her magic! Everyoneshould agree at this point that one of thefirst things they must do is find a way toreplace the lost book.

Event 1:The King�s Forest

As the party travels, consult the King�sForest Encounter Table, checking forencounters every 1d10 turns (or 1d6turns whenever the party makes a lot ofnoise).

Twice during the day the adventurersmeet Zhentilar patrols, who harry themwith crossbow quarrels from behind,hurrying them northward. Introducethese patrols whenever the PCs turn theparty toward any destination other thanEveningstar.

Zhentilar patrols are identical withthose described in the previous chapter:six 1st level fighters, all with 10 hp and AC4 (chain mail and shield), led by a 2nd levelfighter with 18 hp and AC 3 (plate mail, noshield). The leader is armed with a battleaxe or a bastard sword. The warriorscarry spears and light crossbows with 21quarrels. Everyone also has a long sword,a mace, a hand axe, and two daggers.

The adventurers spend a wary, wearyday of tramping through seeminglyendless damp, dark forest, approachingEveningstar only at dusk.

Event 2:An Evening inEveningstar

As purple twilight settles over the for-est, you see twinkling lights far ahead,glimmering through the trees: thelights of Eveningstar, the prettiest vil-lage in Cormyr.

If Sneakabout is guiding the party, hesays there is a lone guard standing watch,under one of those road-lanterns, at eachbridge. The halfling recommends theycross over the road and come in to the vil-

lage from the west to avoid the guardedbridges.

If Sneakabout is not guiding the party,PCs may run into a guard at a bridge.Each guard has the same abilities andequipment as the constables in Event 3 ofthe last chapter.

The guard may or may not be expectingtrouble, depending on details of the PCs�departure from Wheloon. If the PurpleDragons are hunting the party, Evening-star�s guards will recognize the adventur-ers and try to sound the alarm. Otherwisethe guard greets them peaceably, askstheir destination and business, and allowsthem to pass unmolested. He recom-mends lodging at the Lonesome TankardInn (see below).

EveningstarThis is a pretty market town set among

prosperous farms. Windowboxes arecrowded with many flowers. Trees growin plenty among the small, pretty woodenhouses and stone-and-timber shops.

Unfortunately, like those of many otherfarm villages, the folk of Eveningstar areup before dawn but go to bed early. Asthe PCs travel the streets in the gatheringnight, the shops are shuttered and dark.The streets are empty.

Midnight knocks hopefully at severalshop doors in hopes of finding someonewilling to trade gold for a bottle of ink, aquill or two, and a ledger or chapbook. Noone answers her rappings.

At a crossroads stands a large, three-story stone building, lamps lit and a faintmurmur of speech audible from within.Above the broad, rolling roof of the frontporch hangs a signboard proclaiming thisto be �The Lonesome Tankard: Inn and Sta-bles. Fine Ale and Finer Meals.� This lookslike the most suitable place for lodgings.

The LonesomeTankard

A map of The Lonesome Tankard Inn isprovided. Two smiling stableboys comeforward to take the party�s horses; theywave away any coins offered them. En-tering by the sets of double doors openingin from the porch, the adventurers findthemselves in a happily noisy diningroom. Here they can locate the innkeeperand arrange rooms for the party. The costis 2 sp per room per night, stabling and anevening and morning meal included, with

unlimited food and drink.The innkeeper is Dunman Kiriag,

known for his kindness and soft-spokenhonesty. Dunman is a burly, black-haired,affable man (F5, hp 42, Str 17, AL NG). Heunderstands at least the basics of mostlanguages spoken by humans and demi-humans in these parts, and is never with-out a dagger +4 that is strapped to oneforearm under his sleeve.

Dunman ushers you all through a cur-tain into a dim, quiet room in the back.A small fire in a fireplace throws re-flections off polished shields on thewalls. �If you�d spend the night here,we�ll have wine and roast boar beforeyou in but a breath or two. Khair willserve you. Would you like to see therooms?�

A young serving girl, her long hair tiedback with a scarf, hurries in with a smileand a decanter of chilled wine.

Any PC who wants to see the rooms ac-companies Dunman up a broad woodenstair that rises out of the dining room.Opening off a hallway, the rooms all over-look the stables. Behind them, a curve ofthe Starwater glimmers in the growingmoonlight. A light rain has begun to fall.

The party should be quite tired. NPCswill retire; PCs can stay up late if theywish. In the dining room they can pick uprumors; draw them from the WheloonRumor Table in the previous chapter, ormake up new ones.

Everyone seems especially sure that theDarkhold fortress is making passagethrough the Far Hills impossible. This istrue, and the PCs should reconsider if theyhad planned that route to Waterdeep. Asafer way to travel is through StormhornPass, which takes the party past the for-tress of High Horn, and then through theSunset Mountains north of Darkhold, em-erging due east of Corm Orp.

If PCs engage Dunman in conversation,he proves to be a garrulous veteran ofmany campaigns. Assuming they saynothing to offend the honor of the PurpleDragons, Dunman takes a liking to them.

�A little traveler�s tip,� he says. �Whenyou need a Dragon�s help, just say, �Aid,in Azoun�s name!� Then they�ll knowit�s an emergency . . . because if you in-voke the king�s name in vain, you�re introuble!�

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PCs can also slip away to exploreEveningstar. However, nothing of interestis happening in this quiet village so late atnight. Eventually the characters shouldgo to bed.

A Meeting With CyricMuch later that night, one or more of

the PCs (make Intelligence checks to de-termine who) is disturbed by the scrapeof a boot in the hall outside, followed al-most immediately by the faint sound ofone of the room doors opening.

Then they hear Midnight whisper, �I�mso happy to see you!�

Inquisitive PCs find that their roomdoors can be opened in silence. If theywatch, they see Midnight standing in thehall. At the head of the stairs is a hawk-nosed man�Cyric. Observers note a red-dish glow briefly from within his cloak, ashe sheathes a half-drawn blade. �You . . .er, I�m happy to see you as well,� he replies.

PCs may or may not be happy to seeCyric. They can attack, eavesdrop on theconversation, or join it.

Attack: If they attack immediately, Mid-night tries to cast a wall of force or othermagic to prevent their impulsive actions.(Although her spell book is gone, she stillhas some spells in memory . . . or so itwould appear; see Event 5 in this chapterfor a full explanation of what is happeningto Midnight.) After using her magic, or try-ing to, she steps aside in smooth haste. �Donot force me to choose between friends,�she says to Cyric warningly.

If her magic fails, Cyric fights defen-sively with his new magical sword. �Youwill have to make that decision soonerthan you think,� he spits out. Then he flees,if possible; the sword can teleport him out-side the inn, if necessary. From there hesignals his troops to attack (see below).

Eavesdrop: Read players as much ofthe following conversation as they careto hear. Let them interrupt at any time,and when they do, go to the �Join� sec-tion (below).

Midnight takes Cyric�s arm and drawshim away from the stairs. She asks in alow voice, �Were those your arrowsaiding us against those warriors inHermit�s Wood?�

Cyric nods. �I trust the tablet is safe?��Of course,� Midnight replies. �And

the Zhentilar who�ve been forcing us

north? They�re yours as well?��Right again,� says Cyric. �I wanted

you in Eveningstar.��Why? What hazards lie to the

south?��Why, the forces of Bane�s allies, of

course. The Black Lord may have per-ished, but he has many friends�anddead men are the least of them. That iswhy I came.�

�To rejoin us?� she asks quietly.�That is not what I mean. I�ve come

for you�and the tablet. Your friendscannot protect you. I can. Leave withme.�

Midnight shakes her head. �I can�t,�she says. �I won�t.�

Cyric says, �Think! Do you not real-ize the power we can possess? Withthe Tablets of Fate, we can be gods!�His voice trembles with excitement. Helooks wild-eyed and dangerous.

Midnight says sharply, �That�s blas-phemy!�

�Blasphemy?� Cyric laughs. �Againstwhom? The gods are here, tearing theRealms apart trying to recover the tab-lets. Our destiny is now ours to make!�

�Let me warn you,� he continues.�The gods are trailing you. Not twonights past, Bhaal butchered three ofmy best men. The Lord of Murder!Had Bhaal wished to stay for a few mo-ments, he could have killed us all. Buthe did not. Do you know why?�

Midnight remains silent.Cyric hisses, �Because Bhaal wants

you. You and the tablet!� He lets go ofMidnight and steps back, their gazesstill locked. �You will never live to de-liver the tablet,� he adds calmly. �Nomatter where you go, Bhaal will findyou and he will kill your friends�killthem in ways more painful than youcan imagine.�

Midnight shudders. �No,� she says. �Iwon�t permit it."

At this point, the conversation ends. Ifthe PCs don�t interfere, Cyric leaves tosignal his Zhentilar to attack the inn (seebelow).

Join: Any watching PCs can join in atany time. Cyric treats them contemptu-ously. In talking with them, Cyric tries toget across the following points:

1. The southern route is too dangerousto travel. The only safe route lies past the

great mountain fortress of High Horn,several hours� journey to the west.

2. The avatar of Bhaal is seeking Mid-night and the tablet.

3. Cyric can defend Midnight betterthan the PCs can. With the Tablets of Fate,the two of them can command immensepower.

Midnight never agrees to desert herfriends and join Cyric�and Cyric will notjoin the PCs.

If the PCs try to capture or kill Cyric, hismagical sword protects him; go to the �At-tack� section (above). If they permit himto leave freely, Cyric goes outside and sig-nals his Zhentilar warriors to attack.

The Zhentilar AttackCyric sends 50 Zhentilar soldiers to

drive the party westward toward HighHorn. They approach the inn with maxi-mum noise and no great speed, sinceCyric wants the adventurers to flee, notfight. Anyone looking outside can seehuge numbers of soldiers, clearly toomany to battle.

The party should be caught up in a wildfrenzy of scurrying, snatching up thingsand packing, and getting half-dressed. IfSneakabout is along, he has dangled arope out the open window of his room,scurried down it, and saddled the party�shorses for a quick getaway. Otherwise,PCs can choose their own escape routeand either saddle their own horses orsteal others.

If the PCs disagree on whether to fightor flee, read the following section aloud:

The rain has stopped. You hear thefront door of the inn crash open, andthe thunder of booted feet. A chair ov-erturns with a crash. Thumps fromheavy boots sound on the stairs, andthen you hear the quiet, steely voice ofDunman, the innkeeper.

�Just a moment, gentlemen. Roomsare two silver falcons a night� �youhear the clash of steel upon steel� �andI let them only to those folk I choose tohave under my roof.� Steel rings andclashes again, and you hear a curse.�And I must admit,� the innkeeper�svoice resumes, �that I�m beginning toentertain negative thoughts as to ad-mitting yourselves!�

There is a short scream, a grunt, theclatter of a dropped blade, and Dun-man chuckles. You can hear no more.

15

If any PCs try to stay and fight, they areshoved aside by Khair (the girl whoserved them dinner earlier), who hisses atthem, �Get you gone! You�ll be in the way!Go!� She has a heavy double crossbow inher hand. She fires over Dunman�s shoul-der into the faces of oncoming Zhentilar,as the innkeeper holds the stairs with agreat two-handed sword.

The snorting of horses and the creak ofleather as everyone mounts and ties onpacks drowns out further sounds of com-bat. A moment later, the PCs are ridinghard across the crossroads.

There is one surprised Zhentilar soldierhere. The PCs should have no trouble dis-patching him. Then the adventurers rideinto the night. They soon find that Cyric�smen block all avenues out of Eveningstarexcept the road to the west, towardStormhorn Pass.

Event 3: Meetingin the Peaks

Fleeing with Cyric�s men hot on theirheels, the adventurers ride desperatelywest toward the far-off safety of HighHorn. Streaming clouds cloak the moon pe-riodically, plunging the road into darkness.

Dodging the occasional crossbow bolt,they charge through Tyrluk. No map ofthe village is provided, as the night is darkand the chase very close, offering PCs notime to turn aside, take cover, call for aid,or snatch up anything.

The four rearmost adventurers areeach attacked twice during their wildride. The hard-riding Zhentilar are slowlyovertaking the party, but the pace is fran-tic and the night dark: only rolls of 20 suc-ceed in striking PCs. The Zhentilar lightcrossbow bolts do 1d4 damage.

The pursuing soldiers are too numer-ous for the adventurers to safely turn andfight them. The NPCs will certainly notstop�and if the PCs know what�s good forthem, they will keep on riding as well.Eventually, while riding up the rising roadinto the mountains, the adventurerscome upon a troop of 36 Cormyrean sol-diers riding hardy mountain ponies.These Purple Dragons are returning toHigh Horn from extended patrol in theStonelands. The Purple Dragons turn atthe party�s approach, spear points swing-ing around.

PCs can flee in another direction or tryto enlist the soldiers� aid.

Flee: The PCs must ride off the road,going either north or south into the foot-hills west of Tyrluk. Suspicious at the ad-venturers� behavior, the Cormyreanspursue. The soldiers break off the chase,however, when a rear guard shouts�Zhentilar!� The Purple Dragons chaseCyric�s band back toward Eveningstar,leaving the PCs to continue their journey.(However, the Zhentilar escape.)

The only safe route lies toward HighHorn in the west, but let the PCs takewhatever path they like. Run encounterswith monsters or Zhentilar patrols, andtranslate later events into the PCs� newsurroundings.

Enlist Aid: The PCs can tell a convinc-ing story; offer the code phrase �Aid, inAzoun�s name!� if they learned it from theinnkeeper Dunman; or just stall until theZhentilar appear. When the Purple Drag-ons see the Zhentilar, the Cormyreanspart to pass by the adventurers without aword, and promptly charge at the oncom-ing Zhentilar.

The Cormyrean soldiers are 2nd levelfighters with 17 hp each. All wear chainmail and carry shields (AC 4), and arearmed with light horse lances (1d6 dam-age), crossbows, long swords, darts, anddaggers.

The PCs hear barked orders. Cyric�smen wheel about and flee back east onthe road, soon outdistancing the ponies ofthe Purple Dragons with their larger,stronger chargers.

The trailcaptain of the Cormyrean pa-trol is Tharsar Immerlund (F5, AC 1, Int17, Dex 17). He is armed with a longsword + 1. Tharsar sends 12 soldiers tofollow and scout the Zhentilar, then con-tinues toward High Horn. If the PCs ha-ven�t fled out of easy earshot, he offersthe adventurers an escort.

If the PCs accept the offer, they andtheir new escort reach High Horn in thedark of night without further incident. Goto the next event.

If any PCs want to go elsewhere, chasethe Zhentilar, or split up, let them. Cyric�sband continues to harry them until theyevade or defeat it. If they don�t go to HighHorn, skip the next event. When the PCssettle down for the night, translate Event5 to their new surroundings.

Event 4: Dinnerat High Horn

High Horn is a mighty, many-toweredcastle perched atop a crag overlookingthe narrowest point in Stormhorn Pass.Frowning gatehouses guard the threewindswept paths that bend and twist upto it.

Alert guardsmen sound long horns asthe party comes within sight of High Horncastle. Over 60 mounted, plate-mailedPurple Dragons emerge from the nearestgatehouse to block the road.

Tharsar rides forward alone to report.He confers with the Swordcaptain ofthe Pass for quite some time. Then hereturns, smiling.

�You are to be guests of the LordCommander of High Horn, KaeDeverell,� he says. �Follow us on up.But draw no weapons, I warn you.Some of the lads tend to loose shafts inhaste, and think on it later.�

As the PCs pass through the thick cur-tain wall into the castle proper, the cloud-strewn night skies open up, and a gentlebut chilly autumn rain begins to fall.

Tharsar points across a vast courtyardto an inner tower, a keep surroundedby a moat, which in turn is sur-rounded by a low ring-wall. �Leaveyour mounts with the gate guard,� hesays, �and walk across the drawbridgeto the portal within. The Lord Com-mander awaits your attendance at ta-ble.� He grins. �I hope you like ale.�

Tharsar�s patrol turns aside to a bar-racks. The party rides straight across thecourtyard to the drawbridge, where sen-tinels armed with pikes await them.

Guards escort the advrenturers into thekeep, guiding them to a high-ceilinged,shield-hung feast hall. There the Lord KaeDeverell, a stout, bearded man, rises fromhis seat, tankard in hand.

�Well met, travelers! I�m told you wereset upon by Zhentilar this night! Inatonement, I offer the safety of thekeep, and a ready, hot meal! What sayyou?�

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As Lord Deverell speaks, servants carryfresh platters in from the kitchen on theirshoulders: steaming roast goat on rice, inmushroom sauce. The smell is delightful.Fifteen officers and six �war wizards� ofthe Purple Dragons sit around the long ta-ble, drinking wine and sipping cabbagesoup. Tubs of ice on the table hold ale jugs.Servants have set fresh places for the ad-venturers.

PCs can accept or reject the invitation.If they reject it, Lord Deverell appearsamused and bears no ill will. The partycan eat in their quarters in the castle. Skipto the next section (�Looking Around�).

However, the NPCs recommend accept-ing Deverell�s invitation. If the party ac-cepts the invitation, they follow servantsto their seats, and dig into the feast withgusto.

Twice during the meal, a page boy run-ning messages from the watchcaptain in-terrupts Lord Deverell to whisper in hisear. Each time, allow the nearest PCs In-telligence checks to notice the brief inter-ruption. A successful check means thatthe PCs overhear that, according to thewatchcaptain, guards are missing�firsttwo from the outer curtain wall, thenthree from the inner curtain. LordDeverell nods each time, but does not dis-cuss the matter with PCs.

Lord Deverell drinks heartily. From theexpressions of the officers around, it isapparent that the lord often gets roaringdrunk at evenfeast. Establish his jovial, es-sentially shallow personality for the PCs.Later in the adventure, they encounterLord Deverell�or at least his form�in afar different context.

When Deverell finally succumbs todrink, two grumbling officers put him tobed. Another four carry drunken PCs andNPCs up to their rooms. The guest apart-ments are on the fourth floor of the keep:plain chambers that open off staircaselandings. PCs may go up to bed at anytime, by asking a servant to take them.

Looking Aroundthe Castle

Important: Make it clear to the playersthat the staircase to their quarters spiralsup the open center of the keep. This maybecome important later in the event.

PCs can try to wander the castle. IfSneakabout is along, he encourages this.However, without Lord Deverell as aguide (and he�s either busy drinking or

passed out by now), this is impolite atbest.

Prying characters must avoid discoveryby the castle�s numerous guards. A char-acter caught snooping gets one diplo-matic warning from the watchcaptain; ifthe PC is caught a second time, the guardspolitely lock the character in his or herroom.

No map of High Horn is provided in thisadventure. If a PC successfully sneaksaround the castle, improvise descriptionsof a routine castle operation, or adapt acastle map from another TSR product.The only notable feature of High Horn in-volves the central keep; see �The Stair-case,� below.

Talking to Guards: PCs can staywhere they�re supposed to and talk to theguards. Regarding the disappearances thatthe page mentioned to Lord Deverell, theguards know nothing definite. But theygladly pass along plenty of stories aboutghosts that supposedly haunted the keep.These stories are completely false�at leastso far as this adventure is concerned.

The Staircase: Investigating the cas-tle, PCs may find one interesting architec-tural feature. If the proficiency rules arebeing used, give characters with engi-neering, carpentry, or other constructionskills a proficiency check. If the profi-ciency rules are not used, give any char-acter an Intelligence check.

If the check succeeds, the character ob-serves that the staircase landings on eachfloor of the keep are built to collapse! Thelandings are made of loose stones, fittedinto wooden frames. The frames are sup-ported by single-beam supports, wedgedin massive wooden brackets.

Iron cranks located in rooms on eachlanding can retract these brackets intothe walls by means of rack-and-piniongears. This is evidently a defensive mea-sure; defenders retreating into upperrooms of the keep can cut off access totheir refuges.

The staircase itself is solid, although thecollapsing of landings would cause it tohave long gaps at each collapsed level.

The collapsible landings are not espe-cially easy to detect because they were in-corporated into the original constructionof the keep. The architecture of the for-tress looks centuries old.

Event 5:To Battle Murder

In the early hours of the morning,shouts awaken the PCs:

�Halt in the name of Azoun, the PurpleDragon!�

�Stay back! Back, or I�ll�aiieee!�"No! No!��Watch him! He�ll�aaghh!�PCs must take at least two rounds to

grab a weapon and shield, prepare a mag-ical item, and/or put on armor beforethey rush outside to investigate. (Sneak-about, if he is with the party, is alreadyprowling around the keep on his own.Midnight also awakens, but stays in herroom, unsure of her usefulness withouther spells.)

In the flickering torchlight, PCs wholeave their rooms see the reason for theshouting. Read this aloud:

On the stone stair below the landing,four chain mail-clad guards armedwith halberds and short swords face asingle unarmed man. The man isclimbing upward, empty-handed. Hissimple tunic is torn wide open, show-ing a gaunt, bony body covered withmany cuts and gouges. He stands littlemore than a head taller than a halfling.His head is shaved bald and tattooedwith green and red swirls.

The man�s face is ugly, with nervous,bulging eyes, buck teeth, a small nose,and flaplike ears. His eyes burn with astrange intensity as he calmly walks upthe stairs.

This is the avatar of Bhaal, the God ofMurder. He has possessed the body of adisciple and punished it mercilessly duringhis long journey to High Horn. (The abili-ties of Bhaal�s avatar appear in the appen-dix section at the end of this adventure.)

If the PCs continue to watch, Bhaal killsthe four guards within four rounds. Fromone halberdier he grabs the weapon in hisbare hands, ignoring the gash it creates;with the weapon he casually sweeps twoguards off the staircase.

A third halberdier impales the avatar.Bhaal grabs the halberd�s shaft protrud-ing from his chest, holds it firmly in placeand charges up the stairs. He drives theweapon�s shaft through the guard�smailed chest.

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The avatar then punches the fourth andlast guard, shattering his blade as thoughit is made of glass, and hurls him down-stairs. Bhaal then steps onto the landingto battle PCs who stand against him. Heappears especially interested in the char-acter who carries the Tablet of Fate. First,he speaks.

The short man stares up at you. In adeep voice he says, �I am Bhaal. Yourtablet belongs to me.�

This is a feint. Bhaal offers this obviousmotive to conceal his real strategy: to kid-nap Midnight, tell her the location ofMyrkul�s tablet, then let her free so shecan fetch it. However, the PCs shouldhave no reason to suspect that Bhaalwants anything other than the tablet thatthe party is carrying.

Make it clear to the PCs that they can-not, under any circumstances, allow thegod to get their Tablet of Fate. Accordingto Midnight and the other NPCs, to do sowould mean Bhaal could rule the Realms!

Before the god can engage the PCs, hepasses the door to Midnight�s room. Thedoor suddenly flies open, and Midnightsinks her dagger hilt-deep in the avatar�sback.

Bhaal�s eyes open wide in surprise. Hestarts to turn, and PCs can seize the op-portunity to attack. Treat Bhaal�s AC as 10for this surprise attack. NPCs attack aswell (including Adon, if he is along).Bhaal�s knees buckle, and the avatar col-lapses, tumbling down the stairs with aroar of anger.

From below, you hear the clatter ofboots on the stairs, and shouted or-ders. More guards are arriving.

Midnight asks, �Is he . . . dead?�Bhaal rolls to his feet and leaps up

the stairs, dripping blood. A guardcharges to meet him.

Bhaal smashes the attacking swordaside, then grabs the man�s throat withhis other hand. There is a sickeningcrack, and the guard goes limp.

Suddenly, the guard stands upright,and Bhaal�s body falls. The short manyou fought now lies limp on the stairs.But the guard turns to look up at you. . . and in his eyes burns the madnessyou just saw in Bhaal�s previous body.

Stress the word �previous.� Bhaal hastaken over the guard�s dead body; it isnow his avatar. As such, he again has hisfull hit point total. Bhaal turns smoothlyand hurls his old body down the stairsinto the oncoming soldiers.

Fighting BhaalPCs have several options: attack, run,

try to trick Bhaal, or, if they have discov-ered the feature of the staircase de-scribed above, arrange to collapse thestaircase on Bhaal.

These options are described below. Atthe end of this event, a section called �Ifthe PCs Lose� discusses the PCs� possiblefailure and Bhaal�s victory.

Attack: A powerful party can chal-lenge Bhaal�possibly. After all, he is AC 0and has only 84 hp and 45% magic resist-ance. Since he regenerates only 2 hp perround, they might overwhelm him.

However, when he is in danger of dyingduring combat, he can simply possess anew body, regaining full strength as hedoes so. Bhaal does not possess PCs or im-portant NPCs; instead, he chooses an-other guard. There is no shortage of thesemen, who throw themselves bravelyagainst the god. Other than this, Bhaalprefers not to use magic in combat.

The PCs are probably aware by nowthat when an avatar of a god dies, the ex-plosion is tremendous. So they may be re-luctant to inflict fatal damage on Bhaal. Ifthey kill Bhaal and he explodes, they haveone round to prepare defenses or usemagic to escape before the god blows up.Consult Event 2 of Chapter 4 for ways tohandle the explosion.

The DM may prefer to keep Bhaal alivefor the later meeting in Chapter 3, but thePCs and Midnight may be in no conditionto entrap him (as described below). If so,Bhaal can teleport away when the battlegoes against him.

Run: This is a prudent idea. Bhaalkeeps hard on the party�s heels as theyflee High Horn. If they try to move eastover the pass, he attacks, perhaps killingtheir mounts. If the PCs move west, Bhaalallows the party to �lose� him. He makesanother attempt on Midnight in the nextchapter.

Trick: In general, this tactic does notwork. Bhaal can automatically seethrough 1st level illusions. And he isdeeply suspicious. For instance, if the PCs

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present him with an illusory Tablet ofFate or pretend to �summon� a rival ava-tar, Bhaal casts dispel magic or true seeingto detect the fraud.

At any rate, Bhaal enjoys killing. Even ifhe is fooled into accepting a false tablet, heshould still try to kidnap Midnight. The PCsprobably must beat him some other way.

Collapsing the Landing: There is acrank just inside one PC�s room, behindthe door. Turning the crank causes an ear-splitting metallic screeching, as rustygears pull the support for the landingback into the room.

And then the entire landing collapseswith a roar.

Bhaal and any PCs on the landing fall tothe floor below, amid the loose stones.The fall does 4d6 damage to everyone. Asuccessful PC Dexterity check halvesdamage. All items carried or worn mustsave vs. crushing blow.

However, Bhaal probably does not diethis easily:

As the dust clears, the avatar of Bhaallies amid the loose stone rubble. Hishead twists sharply to one side, and hissprawled body looks crushed and life-less. But his eyes are still open. Hestares up at Midnight in anger, andslowly curls his hands into fists, one af-ter the other.

Bhaal ignores PCs crawling away, orothers pulling PCs out of the rubble nearhim. Laboriously he hauls his shatteredbody into a sitting position.

At this point the players may think tocollapse the landings on other floors. (Ifthey don�t, give them Intelligence checksto think of this, if desired.) It takes oneround to move upstairs; floors below arenot accessible except through carefulclimbing or magic. Once on other floors,PCs have no difficulty finding the cranksthat retract the landing supports.

One stone falls, then another. Then thewhole landing gives way, plummetingonto the rubble of the first landing�s fall.Bhaal and anyone still in the rubble take afull 4d8 damage from the fall of the sec-ond landing (no saving throws allowed).

For those on a level beneath a collapsinglanding: Anyone whose body partly pro-jects from any room doorway is sweptaway by the fall of the second landing.They suffer 4d6 damage, but allow Dex-terity checks for half damage.

Everyone stares down at the dust-shrouded rubble.

As the dust clears, all you can see ofBhaal is a bloodied hand and foot pro-jecting from the stones. The handtwitches, and then slowly pushes astone away.

Midnight frowns, and murmurs some-thing. Making a pass with one hand, shetakes something from a pocket of her robe,and sprinkles it on the rubble below.

The rubble glows briefly, turns orange,seems to melt and shift, and turns trans-parent. Soon the mangled form of Bhaal isencased in something that looks like pinesap.

Bhaal continues to struggle slowly.Midnight, eyes shut, is quietly chantingand making intricate patterns in the airwith her hands. The sap hardens untilBhaal�all except for one feebly movinghand�is encased in a huge drop of rock-hard amber.

Midnight shrugs wearily. �It just cameto me,� she says. �I don�t understand itmyself.� She turns and walks acrossthe ruined door, disappearing into thedepths of her room.

Far below, a Purple Dragon officertaps Bhaal�s prison timidly with hissword. �Will this hold?� he asks, warily.

Bhaal stares balefully up at himthrough the solid amber.

Midnight's ChangeMidnight spoke the truth when she said

she didn�t understand how she cast thespell that imprisoned Bhaal. Do not revealthis directly to the players, but this is dueto Midnight�s growing magical powers.The power of Mystra now causes spells toappear fully formed in Midnight�s mind.

Thus, while wondering how to disposeof Bhaal, Midnight thought about encas-ing him in amber, and an appropriate typeof magic came into her mind. The instanti t happened, she knew what hadoccurred�but she still (at this point) isn�tsure why.

This ability remains with Midnight forthe rest of this adventure. Its details fol-low.

Midnight is not restricted to spellsknown previously, to spells of one schoolof magic, or even to spells described inthe AD&D� game books. She can use any

conceivable form of wizard magic (butnot magic specifically in the domain ofpriests, such as cure spells). When shethinks about using magic to achieve a cer-tain effect, she forms in her mind theknowledge of how to cast a spell that du-plicates or closely approximates the effectshe desires. If the spell ordinarily re-quires a material component, she stillmust possess that component in order tocast the magic. The particular compo-nents needed are made known to herwith the spell knowledge.

She can hold only one spell in her mindat a time. The spell appears only after1d4 + 1 rounds of continuous concentra-tion. (When Chapter 5 begins, shortenthis time to 1d4 rounds.) Her concentra-tion is automatically broken by any attackthat hits her, regardless of damage done.

Midnight�s spells remain subject to mag-ical chaos throughout this adventure, andcasting times are unchanged. The dura-tion and damage of one of her spells mayextend beyond normal maximums, begin-ning in Chapter 5.

Midnight need not cast a spell to get ridof it; she can intentionally �forget� it, andthe spell fades from her mind within a sin-gle round. But any spell desired in its placerequires the additional 1d4 + 1 (or later1d4) rounds of concentration to appear.

If the PCs LoseBhaal is a god, after all. If he can get past

the PCs to Midnight, he knocks her un-conscious, grabs her, and leaps out a highwindow of the keep. This breaks his cur-rent body�s legs�so outside, he kills and

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possesses a very surprised guard, thensteals a fast horse and flees out of thekeep.

However, he waits long enough for PCsto pursue. If the PCs are in no shape tochase Bhaal, he allows Purple Dragon pa-trols to trail him and report back to theheroes about his route.

Bhaal wants the PCs to find him. Heleaves a clear trail, and he travels slowlywithout being obvious about it. (Don�tpoint out his slow rate of travel unless thePCs wonder why they can track him thiseasily.)

Try to extend the pursuit over severaldays. Bhaal�s avatar needs no sleep, so hecan simply ride his horse to death, stealanother from passing travelers, and con-tinue. Also, PCs can be delayed by ran-dom encounters, or by bands of nightriders sent by Myrkul.

During the chase, as an offstage event,Bhaal �lets slip� the information he in-tended to convey to Midnight.

Along the trail the PCs encounterCyric�s band of Zhentilar. They may ormay not make an alliance to rescue Mid-night. See Event 8 in the next chapter.

In this way the chase eventually leads toBoareskyr Bridge. At that time, run Event9 from the next chapter.

The next chapter assumes that the PCssuccessfully fight off Bhaal�s attack with-out disabling or killing him.

Event 1:Perilous Paths

The next morning, over morningfeast, agrateful Lord Deverell offers the most re-sourceful PCs the post of Watchcaptain atHigh Horn as a reward for their quickthinking.

PCs who accept the offer need not re-main at High Horn; Lord Deverell can ap-point them as �escorts� to Midnight andthe others. They wear the Purple Dragon,carry High Horn�s reputation for honorand duty with them, and will gain respectthroughout Cormyr. After the adventureends, they have a new position waitingfor them.

If PCs reject the offer, Lord Deverellsays that he understands why they can-not accept. He adds that 40 halflingspassed High Horn before dawn, headingwest in search of the Zhentilar band thatdestroyed the halfling village of BlackOaks. High Horn�s patrols sighted theZhentilar once, and believes them to havepassed west out of Cormyr, through theStormhorns.

Lord Deverell offers to send a large pa-trol west into Tun Plain, to escort the ad-venturers as far as the Sunset Mountains.The presence of many Purple Dragonsshould discourage attacks from the rov-ing Zhentilar band, which by now couldbe on its way back to the Zhentilar base atDarkhold, in the Far Hills.

If asked why he�s aiding them, Deverellsays coyly, �A certain mage asked me tolook out for you.� This, obviously, is Elmin-ster the Sage.

Martial AidIf the PCs accept the escort, 50 fully

armed Purple Dragons ride out with thePC party. They are AC 4 (chain mail andshield) and are armed with light cross-bows, with 2 quivers of 21 quarrels each,horse lances, long swords, maces, and 2daggers each. All are 2nd level fighters(16 hp), except the leader, SwordcaptainLunt, who is 4th level and has 33 hp. Lunthas a bastard sword but no shield, cross-bow, or lance; he is still AC 4 because ofhigh Dexterity.

All the Cormyrean soldiers ride hardyponies and wear surcoats emblazonedwith the Purple Dragon. Every third riderleads a �pack horse� (actually a spare rid-ing mount, used for carrying food and

water until needed) on a long rein.Deverell outfits the PCs with all the nor-

mal, nonmagical gear they request, suchas mounts, rope, food and drink, armor,and weaponry. All equipment is of topquality. Note that there is no time tocustom-make armor; thus, PCs cannotgain field plate or full plate armor.

For the trip westward, a PC can strapthe wrapped Tablet of Fate securely to hisor her back.

DM Note: Keep careful track from thispoint on of the adventurers� provisions.Shortages of food and drink may wellforce the PCs to hunt in the Sunset Moun-tains. For example, they may have to fighta given monster, rather than flee. The ad-venturers are undertaking an overlandjourney that is dangerous and exhaustingat the best of times�and this is definitelynot the best of times.

A Night in theStormhorns

The adventurers (and the patrol, if it isalong) get underway in the late morning,and are still in the Stormhorns whennight falls. Check twice per hour for over-night monster encounters, using an ap-propriate table from the MonstrousCompendium or some other AD&D�game monster collection. Assign a chancefor having encounters based on howmuch of a challenge you want the party toexperience.

If the Purple Dragons escort the party,they mount a strong watch. Non-flyingmonsters of lesser power do not attackthe encamped warriors, or else the sol-diers defeat them without even awaken-ing the PCs. The arrival of more powerfulcreatures, however, may result in a mid-night battle.

Across Tun PlainThe next day the travelers emerge onto

Tun Plain. In the northern reaches wherethe force is crossing, the plain is rollinggrassland, broken by gravel ridges. Thesize of the force discourages most mon-ster attacks. But if the party travels with-out the escort from High Horn, consultthe High Moor Encounter Table inside thefoldout back cover of this adventure.

Late in the afternoon of the first day,the travelers are startled to see clouds inthe shape of a great armored warrior on agalloping horse passing silently and ma-

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jestically overhead. Perhaps it is somespell or manifestation of Tempus. Whoknows? Use similar mysterious effects toremind the players of the chaos thatblights the land.

The next two encounters are optional.Run them if the players are in the moodfor combat, or if it suits the story�s needs.

Attack of theLizard Men

The lizard men who dwell in the Marshof Tun have developed a sophisticatedraiding and trading society. They usestolen weapons themselves, and trade allthe seized goods they cannot use for heal-ing potions. They deal with certain un-scrupulous traders based in Eagle Peakand Proskur.

Drawn by the adventurers� campfires,the lizard men come to raid. After dark ofthe first nightfall on Tun Plain, in the coolof the night, the party is set upon by hiss-ing, gray-skinned scaly horrors.

If the party is accompanied by the Pur-ple Dragon patrol, there are 36 lizardmen. If the party refused the Cormyreanescort, the lizard-man force is a scoutingparty numbering one monster per PC andNPC in the party.

These lizards are after plunder, not afight to the death. Trying to draw the ad-venturers (and Purple Dragons) awayfrom the camp, they attack repeatedlyfrom various directions. The lizard menhurl javelins from the darkness to fellthose on watch, or anyone who appearsto be casting spells. If the characters leavetheir goods unattended, the lizards stealthem and try to escape.

Lizard Men: AC 5 (4 with shield); MV6; HD 2 + 1; hp 15 each; THAC0 19; #AT 2or 3; damage by weapon type plus 1d6(bite), or 1d2/1d2 (claws) and 1d6 (bite);AL N. Each carries six darts (range 30�,1d4 damage), two javelins (1d6), a shortsword (1d6), and a dagger (1d4).

All lizard men also have shields andlarge canvas sacks with shoulder straps,for the carrying of booty. Six lizard mencarry potions of healing in vials attachedto their belts.

The Dead Are AlwaysWith Us

On the second night of their journeyacross the plain, the travelers camp atopsome grassy hills. They see lizard men

just after dusk, but the scaled ones do notattack or approach again.

Later there is a sudden, silent charge ofnight riders on gaunts, activated offstageby Myrkul. (Both monsters are describedin the appendix of this adventure.) Theundead attack in eerie silence.

There are 16 night riders, all mountedand armed with light horse lances (1d6),morning stars (2d4), and scimitars (1d8).They attack as 4th level fighters and have30 hp each. Their mounts have 18 hpapiece.

Two of the night riders also havescythes of wounding +1. These do a basedamage of 2d4 + 1, and have magical ef-fects identical to those of a sword ofwounding (detailed in the DMG).

These hills are ancient barrow-tombs. Ifdesired, these can contain treasure andeven extensive dungeon complexes forfurther adventuring.

Event 2:Through theBonerun

The trip across Tun Plain takes at leastthree days. During that time the weathergets steadily colder and more wintry. Mid-night is thoughtful and withdrawn, medi-tating on her new power.

If the Purple Dragons accompanied theparty, the adventurers part ways with theCormyrean patrol in the foothills of theSunset Mountains. While the charactersmake their farewells, a Purple Dragonscout gallops up to report that a Zhentilarforce is hurrying north from Darkhold tointercept them.

Swordcaptain Lunt smiles slowly. �Arethey, now? Well, we�ll have to greetthem in the appropriate manner, won�twe?�

He turns back to you. �We�ll keepthem busy for you�but hurry now,lest you be caught up in the fray be-fore you can get clear!�

Lunt points up into the rising moun-tains ahead of you. �Your best route isthe Bonerun. It�s a valley, just there�see? It heads west, but never reachesthe other side. On its northern wall,near the end, you�ll have to climb upout of it. Look for a trail marked by hu-man skulls. . . it�s the Zhents� back wayup over the lowest peaks.

�It splits, up there somewhere. Oneroute goes up into Yellow Snake Pass�avoid that, or you�ll all find death forsure. The other winds west, comingout between the pass and Corm Orp.Go warily; plenty of flying beasts preyon the mountain ways.�

He grins. �Good luck! And when yourun short on that, make your own!�

The PCs can use a narrow, twisting trailalong one wall of the Bonerun. It is linedwith thick stands of pine, already gloomyin the late afternoon light.

Roll 1d6 for encounters every hour:1-3: Nothing occurs.4: 3d4 stirges or 1d3 wyverns (DM�s

choice) attack.5: 1d4 hungry griffons attack.6: Rockfall on the party.

RockfallsA rockfall in the Bonerun lasts two

rounds. Each round, four rocks �attack�each character (roll four to-hit rolls,THAC0 13). Each rock does 1d6 damage.Characters get a Dexterity check againsteach strike; if it is successful, reduce dam-age by half, rounding fractions down.

Consider a damage result of 6 (before aDexterity check is applied) to hit the char-acter�s head. Two head hits knock out acharacter for 1-2 turns. No means shortof magical healing can rouse the charac-ter. Shouting, slapping, and even furtherattacks have no effect.

For the effects of rockfalls on charac-ters who try to climb the walls of theBonerun, refer to p. 82 of the WildernessSurvival Guide rulebook.

Event 3:DarknessAttacks

PCs find no Zhentilar guards alive in theBonerun. Dead ones, yes, and lots ofdropped weapons, fireball scorch markson the rocks, and the like�but livingguards, no. Though they cannot know it,this is the aftermath of an encounter be-tween Cyric�s forces and the avatar ofBhaal, God of Murder.

As dusk approaches, the adventurersare unable to continue along the moun-tain trail. They should not try to usetorches or magical light and thereby at-

tract attention. Should they do so, letthem travel normally, but stage monsterencounters every 1d6 turns. The bestplan is to look for a place to camp.

The likeliest spot is a stand of pines atopa cliff, overlooking the lower Bonerunthey have been climbing all day. (If thePCs choose another spot, translate detailsof the following encounter to fit the newsurroundings.) All characters should rec-ognize that they dare not lay a fire.

It is a clear, moonlit night. With no at-tempt at stealth, a cloaked and hoodedman�Cyric!�steps into the camp clear-ing. �I�m here to see Midnight,� he an-nounces. This wakes up everyone in thecamp.

Cyric�s MotivesCyric is making one more try to con-

vince Midnight to join him, bring the Tab-let of Fate, and desert the PCs. This timehe hopes a show of force, and perhaps athreat against her friends, will convinceher.

The PCs very likely try to attack Cyric.If Kelemvor is along, he certainly tries.Midnight protests that Cyric only came totalk, and demands that everyone putaside their weapons.

However, Cyric did not come withoutbackup. Whether or not the PCs attack,Cyric draws his own glowing red shortsword and calls, �Dalzhel!�

Cyric�s Zhentilar number over 30, un-less their casualties so far in this adven-ture have been very heavy. They emergefrom the night in a long line, cocked cross-bows in hand. (Event 4 of Chapter 1 liststheir statistics and weaponry.) They closein, trapping the party against the cliffedge.

Midnight casts a wall of fire. It rises upas a raging 20-foot-high wall of greenflame. It sets the pine copse alight, andseparates Cyric, the adventurers, andtheir mounts from the Zhentilar. Cyric,for once, appears impressed.

Engaging CyricThe encounter proceeds according to

whether the PCs avoid fighting or attackCyric; and, if they attack, whether theydefeat him. They cannot �lose,� since forthe moment Cyric does not attack.

Avoid Fighting: Cyric proposes thatthe two parties join. Go to �Conversation,�below.

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Attack: Regardless of how many PCsjoin in, Cyric can hold off the attackingweapons. Whenever he parries, the touchof his magical sword (detailed in the NewMagic appendix) stops other weaponscold, as though they had been swungagainst a stone wall.

If Sneakabout is present, he charges in,crying �My sword!� Brainwashed by thecurse he suffers, Sneakabout wants to killCyric himself, but gladly allows anyoneelse to try.

Take into account the chance that an ad-venturer might fall over the edge of thecliff. The chance varies according to whattactics PCs use and where they positionthemselves during the fight.

If the PCs Defeat Cyric: NPCs suchas Kelemvor and Sneakabout argue thatthey should kill Cyric at once. If PCsagree, read the following aloud:

�Stop!� Midnight screams. �If you killhim, what�s to stop his men from kill-ing us?�

Cyric smiles. �I was wondering whenyou�d take note of that.� He frees hissword arm. �Can we reason together?Many men serve me. Let us join forces;we all want the same thing�to bringboth tablets to Helm, and save theRealms!�

If PCs decide not to kill Cyric, the bellig-erent NPCs acquiesce, grumbling. Cyricmakes the offer above, and discussioncontinues from there. Go to �Conversa-tion,� below.

If PCs still try to kill Cyric, read thefollowing:

�Wait!� Midnight screams. �We will notbecome butchers!� And she wills thewall of fire into nothingness. As yourcompanions stand amazed, the Zhenti-lar raise their crossbows and take aim.

If this happens, go to �Battle,� below.

ConversationCyric makes his pitch to Midnight,

much like the one he made at the Lone-some Tankard Inn in Chapter 2. He arguesthat since his Zhentilar got the drop onthe PCs, the heroes are unfit to protecther. And so on.

When Midnight refuses his offer, Cyricthen counters with an offer of alliance.

The two bands can join to increase theirstrength against the gods who seek thetablet.

Choosing Alliance: PCs can decidewhether to ally with Cyric; Midnight ar-gues strongly for it.

Any alliance, needless to say, is ex-tremely cool. The Zhentilar travel andcamp at a distance from the PCs; theyshout sneering insults in battle; and theyalways try to make the PCs lead or takerisks in combat.

At the first opportunity, Cyric betraysthe party, tries to steal their tablet, anddeserts them, preferably in the midst ofbattle with Bhaal or at some other peril-ous time.

Refusing Alliance: Cyric, infuriated,commits an atrocity that alienates Mid-night from him. See �The Deed of Blood,�below.

BattlePCs can try to fight Cyric�s Zhentilar (a

foolhardy choice). The Zhentilar get onefree attack before any PC can attack; thencombat continues normally.

If they do fight, this should be a very dif-ficult battle for the PCs. All of them, evenMidnight, should become convinced thatCyric means them no good. The partyshould eventually have to retreat into thedarkness, with Cyric�s troops in pursuit.Cyric himself, of course, survives.

PCs can also try to avoid battle by takingCyric hostage. If they do this, read thefollowing:

�Stand up,� you order Cyric. �Orderthem back.�

�Hold, Dalzhel!� Cyric yells. At awave from Cyric�s second in com-mand, the Zhentilar halt. Dalzhel askscalmly, �Your command, milord?�

Let the PCs tell Dalzhel what his troopsshould do. Probably they order the Zhen-tilar to go away.

Cyric looks at Dalzhel. �Do as they say,�he says briefly.

There is a tense silence. Dalzhel sur-veys the scene coldly, and then says, �Ifyou do not release him unharmed, wewill be back.� Then in silence he leadsthe Zhentilar away. Some of them keepbows leveled on you all until they haveretreated out of sight.

The Deed of BloodAssuming the party does not ally with

Cyric, the purpose of this scene is to alien-ate the entire party from him. (If they doally with him, the alienation comes later.)Even Midnight must now recognize hisevil. To this end, Cyric must commit anatrocity, a genuinely evil deed.

The specific deed varies according tothe players� actions. Be ready to takemany kinds of opportunities. Some sam-ple atrocities:

* Cyric slays an important NPC. In thenovel, Cyric kills Sneakabout; this event isdescribed in more detail below, as a sam-ple for the DM�s own improvisation.

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* A Zhentilar soldier makes some ele-mentary blunder, such as accidentally fir-ing at Cyric. Though the sword deflectsthe blow, Cyric grows furious. Before theparty�s eyes, he brutally slays his ownman in grotesque fashion.

* Cyric spitefully mutilates or inflicts anugly wound on any PC. The wound doeslittle damage, but it leaves an unsightly,unconcealable scar. Reduce the victim�sCharisma score by 2 or 3. Treat this as amagical power of Cyric�s sword, so thatthe damage cannot easily be healed. Thiskind of deed gets on players� nerves in atruly personal way. As much as a killing, amutilation can turn the PCs into Cyric�smost determined foes.

Here is a sample atrocity, drawn fromthe corresponding event in the novel.Cyric has confronted the party on thecliffside. The heroes take him hostage,send away the Zhentilar, and (bound by apromise not to kill Cyric) let him go. Heuses Sneakabout�s rope to climb down thecliff and rejoin his troops. If events fallthis way in the game, read the following:

Without sheathing his sword, Cyricwraps the rope around himself to rap-pel down the cliff, and disappearsfrom view.

�Please don�t make me regret savingyour life, Cyric,� Midnight calls. Agrunt from below is his only answer.

Suddenly Sneakabout shoves heraside. �I can�t take it any longer! Mysword! I must have my sword!� hecries, and scrambles down the rope af-ter Cyric.

Midnight gasps and casts a light spelldown into the valley below as the partypeers over the cliff. Assuming the spell isnot affected by chaos, her magic is in timeto show the PCs the scene of Sneakaboutstruggling atop Cyric�s shoulders, clawingfor the glowing short sword. An instantlater, that blade pulses, and the halfling�sbody falls away from the rope, plummet-ing silently down to the valley below.

PCs can cut the rope, but Cyric has al-ready swung in toward the cliff face, outof view. They do not see him fall; he mustbe safely clinging to the cliff.

AftermathIn the wake of his atrocity, Cyric es-

capes. Assuming the party did not destroyall the Zhentilar, the sickened NPCs urge

the party to move on, quickly, beforeCyric can lead his men back up to trapthem again. This is excellent advice; en-courage the PCs to take it.

Using the light of the last of the blazingpines, and illumination conjured by Mid-night (assuming magical chaos allows it),the party should flee along the trail in thedarkness.

OFFSTAGE EVENTBhaal is back. . . .If the avatar escaped from High Horn,

he returns to the fortress under cover ofdarkness. If he was encased in amber byMidnight�s magic, he manages to get freewhen Lord Deverall orders his men to tieropes onto the mass and hang it up nearthe front gates for display. The ropesbreak, the amber casing hits the groundand shatters, and Bhaal is unleashed onceagain.

The avatar wreaks havoc throughoutthe fortress, killing any guard who tries toblock his way. His trail of slaughter leadsfrom the gates to Deverell�s rooms. Therehe kills and possesses Deverell. Investiga-tors find no sign of the Lord Commander,only the shriveled skin and bones of astranger, lying in Deverell�s apartments.

Event 4: A Wallof Darkness

This event begins as the chilly morningfinds the adventurers still in the Bonerun.PCs who investigate discover that Cyric�stroops are following them.

The trail winds on, climbing out of theBonerun north through a rocky cleft be-tween two mist-shrouded peaks. Fromthat vantage point, the adventurers lookout over Yellow Snake Pass. It stretchesbelow them for as far as the eye can see, agreat channel through the mountains,running west to east.

But the pass is entirely filled with dark-ness: black, impenetrable darkness.

The Chaos FieldThe darkness is the result of a Zhentilar

experiment. In the service of Bane, manyZhentilar worked together to create a gateto allow the Black Lord to escape from theRealms. They failed, due in part to Helm.The backlash created a temporary planarrift, or chaos field. The presence of thisvast field of darkness has rendered thepass useless for the time being.

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If the PCs test the darkness, they findthat its touch instantly disintegrates all in-organic matter, including magical items.Artifacts leave their wielders and areplane shifted at random.

The chaos field also causes all living be-ings to suffer 2d4 internal damage perround of contact. Intelligent creatures incontact with the field must also save vs.poison once per round. Whenever thesave fails, one of the following effects isinstantly visited upon the affected being(roll 1d6):

1: Victim is slowed for 1d4 rounds (asthe 3rd level wizard spell).

2: Permanent blindness.3: Some form of insanity. Choose a men-

tal illness (paranoia, pyromania, delu-sions, etc.) and tell the player of theaffected character to role-play it.

4: Victim suffers a feeblemind effect (asthe 5th level wizard spell). This applieseven to non-spellcasters.

5: Victim receives permanent infra-vision (60-foot range). If the victim al-ready possesses infravision, it is increasedin range by 60 feet.

6: Victim permanently loses 1d4 hp. Thelife energy is expended in a dischargefrom the victim�s eyes, a straight beamthat strikes anything in its path (i.e.,wherever the victim is looking) up to 90�distant, for 2d8 hp of damage. The beamcan injure up to three beings before itfades.

DivertedThe party must turn aside on a narrow,

ever-climbing trail and take the routewestward over the peaks, whether or notthey want to. A day of difficult climbingpasses. Midnight is short-tempered andmorose.

Roll 1d6 every hour to check forencounters.

1-3: Nothing occurs.4-5: A random encounter, selected pur-

posefully or taken from a table in theMonstrous Compendium or some othersource.

6: Rockfall; see Event 6 in Chapter 2 fordetails.

Event 5:Black Rain

The next day dawns cold and gray, awarning that winter is not far off. As theadventurers struggle upward, check forencounters and rockfalls as describedabove.

Around highsun (noon), wyverns attackthe PCs on the mountain trail. These fourhungry wyverns have 49, 47, 40, and 32hp. They carry no treasure. If the battlegrows too close for comfort, Midnightslays or drives them off with a meteorswarm� and then collapses, exhausted.

After the adventurers defeat thewyverns, they crest the high saddle be-tween the peaks. They see the mountainsfalling away to the west, with the greenexpanse of the Far Lands beyond. Thescene would usually be beautiful, but atthat moment an ice-cold driving rain be-gins to fall. Its drops are jet black (a mani-festation of physical chaos), and where ittouches flesh, it leaves itching red circlesbehind.

Check for encounters as the adventur-ers follow the trail down the western sideof the mountains. Midnight continues toride in grim silence, responding angrilywhen spoken to.

When the sun is sinking low, the partyfinds a sheltered overhang at the base of acliff in a steep-sided valley, and makescamp. A small, clear pool nearby containsa human skeleton�and nothing else. Thewater is cursed; horses can drink it safely,but it makes humans sick and weak (- 1to hit, - 3 on all damage dealt, + 1 on AC)for 24 hours after drinking from itswater.

Any monster encounters here are withstirges or mountain lions. Because of theheavily overcast sky, night comes early.

Event 6: MidnightGoes Missing

Blaming herself for Cyric�s atrocity (dueto her misjudgment of Cyric), and reason-ing that as long as she is with the party,she will bring death to her friends, Mid-night resolves to seek the second tablet onher own.

In the early hours of the morning, Mid-night leaves. If any PCs are standingwatch and see her, she casts sleep onthem. Using magical silence and, if neces-

sary, invisibility to conceal her actions,Midnight takes the tablet from the sleep-ing character who carries it.

If a PC has cleverly hidden the tablet,Midnight may resort to mind-reading orother magic to obtain it. If absolutely nec-essary, she leaves without the tablet. Sheassumes that those who menace the partywill assume she carries the tablet and fol-low her instead of her friends.

Midnight wants to discourage pursuituntil she builds a long lead. Therefore,she patiently bridles all the horses, ties to-gether their reins, and attaches the com-bined lead rein to her own saddle. Thenshe mounts her own pony and leads themaway. She leaves saddles and saddlebagsbehind.

When the PCs awaken in the morning,their only choice (besides cursing) is tofollow the trail left by the horses. It will beslow going. Allow the PCs to abandonwhatever gear they want . . . but theymay wish they hadn�t, later.

Check for encounters in the mountainsperiodically, as the adventurers walk fortwo days. The nights are clear and frosty.On one of these nights, with the PCscamped well off the trail, Cyric�s bandcatches up to them and unwittinglypasses them by.

Night Riders ReduxUse this optional encounter as desired.On the morning of the third day after

Midnight�s disappearance, the party is at-tacked by seven of Myrkul�s night riders.All are armed with clubs (1d6) andscythes o f wounding. These are +1magic weapons that do 2d4 + 1 damage,plus magical wounding effects identicalwith those of a sword of wounding, as de-tailed in the DMG. All night riders attackas 3rd level fighters, and have 20 hp.

Back in the SaddleBy midafternoon the party reaches a

tall stand of pines on the trail. In its centeris a glade�and waiting in its shade are themissing horses, hobbled with their reins.

However, there is no sign of Midnight.Where has she gone? Characters who arefamiliar with this area (including Kelem-vor, if he is along) expect that Midnight isheading for Hill�s Edge, the only easy rivercrossing for many days� ride. It�s also theonly strong fortified city for milesaround, and inhabited by men who hatethe Zhentilar.

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The NPCs recommend pressing on to-ward Hill�s Edge. There seems little else todo. If the PCs decide on another course,let them take it. The events that followstill take place.

OFFSTAGE EVENTMidnight travels alone for several days,

through the time of the next event. Thenshe encounters Bhaal�s avatar, and hequickly captures her.

Event 7: Battlein the Trees

Riding on the trail soon after Event 6,the adventurers hear a faint crashing inthe underbrush ahead. A man rises out ofbrush beside the trail and runs awaythrough the pines, clawing and scratch-ing at small dark furry things swarmingall over him.

PCs who succeed in an Intelligencecheck recognize the man as one of Cyric�sZhentilar. This sentry turns and runs intothe woods. He seeks his fellows, so theycan brush all these things off of him.

Try to arouse the players� curiosity, ifthis hasn�t already done so. If PCs decidenot to investigate, skip the remainder ofthis event and proceed to the next one.

PCs can investigate among the pinesand creep along after the faint crashingnoises. Bent double amid the pricklyboughs, they are suddenly beset by aswarm of biting, clawing black squirrels.

Squirrel WarfarePhysical chaos has driven every squir-

rel in this wooded area fighting mad. PCspellcasters can dispel this effect, but ononly one squirrel at a time. Any charactercan attack and kill a squirrel, but again,only one at a time. And there are hun-dreds of them!

Each character must make a successfulDexterity check every round or suffer 1hp of bite damage. All attacks by charac-ters during this event are at -1 to hit,since the attacker must constantly tearsquirrels away from face, throat, andhands.

Cyric and his band are now about 22strong, unless previous losses dictate oth-erwise. The men are sleeping in thewoods. If the party tries to take them bysurprise, the noises of the attacking squir-rels and the returning road-sentry alertthe Zhentilar.

Zhentilar WarfareAt this time, unless your up-to-date ros-

ter indicates otherwise, the band of Zhen-tilar includes Cyric, his second incommand Dalzhel (F4, 36 hp), and the fol-lowing troops: eight 3rd level fighters,each with 25 hp; ten 2nd level fighters of18 hp; and three 1st level fighters with 10hp each.

All Zhentilar wear chain mail and carrya shield (AC 4). All have a light crossbowand a quiver of 21 quarrels, a long swordor a mace, a hand axe, and 2 daggers. Op-tionally, some may also wield war ham-mers, battle axes, or bastard swords.

Depending on PC actions, there may ormay not be a big battle amid the trees. Ifthe PCs feel like talking, so does Cyric; seebelow. If PCs run, the Zhentilar followand try to surround them; once they aresurrounded, Cyric offers a truce. Again,see below.

If headstrong characters attack, con-duct battle. Try to arrange a pause in thebattle. At that point Cyric tensely calls fora halt to the fighting. To support his re-quest, Cyric�s men pull out menacingwands and brandish them as weapons.This is a ruse; the wands are nonmagical,tapered sticks of wood, painted black.

PCs can keep fighting or stop and talk.The consequences of these choices fol-low.

Keep Fighting: The battle continues.Cyric warns the adventurers not to attackhim. He says that if he is injured or re-strained, the magical blade he carries cananimate to attack by itself; only his expertcontrol prevents it from draining the lifeblood of anything it strikes.

This is all a lie. Anyone can wield thesword, and the user must do so for atleast a round before releasing it to fightfor itself. It cannot enter battle spontane-ously. (See the description of Cyric�ssword in the New Magic appendix.)

Stop to Talk: Cyric once more tries topersuade the PCs to join forces with him.To support his point, he tells them the lat-est news from Cormyr, gleaned fromZhentish spies: Bhaal is on the loose. (Seethe Offstage Event earlier in this chapter.)Cyric suspects that Bhaal now inhabitsDeverell�s body.

Cyric openly admits that he wants theTablets of Fate himself. But that alsomeans he doesn�t want Bhaal to get them.So to that extent, his aims coincide withthose of the PCs.

If the PCs ask where Midnight is, Cyricsays, �I�ve nothing to do with her. Bhaalhas her�and now that we�re all about tokill each other, it looks like he�ll keep her.�

Cyric knows this because he witnessedBhaal capturing Midnight. Cyric was trail-ing Midnight, looking for a chance to stealher tablet; he dared not attack the godalone.

PCs can accept or reject a truce to battleBhaal and recover Midnight. If theyrefuse, Cyric and his lieutenant, Dalzhel,covertly follow the party. In the battlewith Bhaal (Event 9), they try to find Mid-night and steal her tablet. But they getcaught up in the battle themselves.

Event 8:Heroes� RoadsGo Ever On

The combined bands travel on uneasilyt o g e t h e r f o r t h r e e d a y s , t o w a r dBoareskyr Bridge. Select encounters fromthe High Moor Encounter Table to test thePCs and whittle the numbers of Cyric�smen down still further (to around adozen).

Cyric suspects that Bhaal is heading forthe ruins of Dragonspear Castle, althoughhe remains mysterious about why hethinks this. (Riding alone, he caught up toBhaal. He crept up as the avatar was tell-ing Midnight about the gate beneath thecastle. However, Cyric did not want to at-tack the god alone.)

Cyric suggests that the party head inthat direction, avoiding the delays of en-

tering Soubar and other cities. If the PCsdisagree, Cyric assents to their wishes.The next event takes place regardless ofthe adventurers� route.

The party meets several large and heav-ily armed caravans. They can trade trea-sure, if any, for food and fresh mounts.Cyric produces many gold coins to buyfood for his men.

The caravans have heard nothing aboutBhaal, which indicates that he is not in acity. The news would spread quickly if hewere, for Bhaal just can�t seem to stop kill-ing people. He enjoys it too much.

Event 9:BoareskyrBridge�andBhaal

Just after nightfall on the brightlymoonlit third night of their traveling to-gether, the combined party reaches anabandoned tent city at the southern endof Boareskyr Bridge.

The massive 30-foot-wide stone span ofBoareskyr Bridge crosses the broadWinding Water in five long stone arches.Eyeing the bridge in the moonlight, Cyricsuggests that they should explore thetents. They should make sure the cause ofthe abandonment is not lurking nearby,and they also need to find a defensiblecamp.

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Battle Is JoinedThis is an area of rolling wilderland,

covered with brush and stunted trees.Very soon, the searching party rides into agully�right into Bhaal!

Unless past events have somehow pre-vented it, his current avatar is indeed thebloated, wound-covered body of KaeDeverell.

Dalzhel nearly rides over the avatar, notseeing him in the dappled moonlight ofthe gully. Bhaal snatches one foreleg ofDalzhel�s horse and simply tears it off,spilling Dalzhel and the horse down intothe bottom of the gully. Battle ensues (ofcourse).

Bhaal uses the leg as a club to fell one ofCyric�s men. He grabs any PC who con-fronts him in both hands, ignores attacks,and hurls the PC 30 feet through the air,to land on a grassy hill (3d6 damage; Dex-terity check for half damage).

The PCs become embroiled in a nastyknock-down fight. Refer to the appendixfor Bhaal�s avatar powers.

At some point, preferably after a PC orCyric has just inflicted a severe wound onBhaal, the avatar roars in pain or rage andraces into the forest. However, he movesslowly enough that the party can chasehim. If they don�t want to, tell them theyhear Midnight calling to them from theforest beyond.

The PCs and Cyric pursue, their snort-ing horses scrambling through the night.

Enter MidnightBhaal is heading back toward Midnight;

he left her tied up with the tablet boundto her. He plans to �accidentally� show thePCs where she is, then escape with hismission accomplished.

Midnight, however, has already wonfree of her bonds. She is walking warilythrough the moonlit wilderness with alightning bolt spell in her mind, the tabletsafely secured on her back, and murderin her heart.

She happens upon Dalzhel in the forest.Recognizing the Zhentilar, Midnightblasts him, rightly assuming that he willattack her if she doesn�t.

To her astonishment, the bolt she re-leases achieves titanic strength. It blastsDalzhel into nothingness and does 12d6damage to all within 20� of him; allow PCsto save vs. spell for half damage. Its elec-trical storm blinds all characters for1d4 + 1 rounds unless they save vs. spell.(Note that Midnight�s bolt has dealt morethan the 10d6 maximum of the wizardspell!)

Bhaal is caught in the spell, too, but ofcourse he survives. Cyric and all nearbyPCs are thrown to the ground.

Bhaal�s battered, smoking avatar ad-vances on Midnight. The PCs see Cyricslowly and painfully crawling towardBhaal, the sword in his hand glowing witha faint red radiance.

The PCs get a round of free attacks onBhaal, as the avatar kills and possesses thelast of Cyric�s underlings. On later roundshe hurls the PCs away as before, for 3d6damage per time (Dexterity check for halfdamage).

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A God's DemiseBy all rights Bhaal could escape now,

since he has told Midnight about Myrkul�stablet and the gate to Hades beneath Dra-gonspear Castle.

But the Lord of Murder enjoys the bat-tle too much. He remains, and the PCs canattack at will. In describing the battle, em-phasize Bhaal�s brutality, his impervious-ness to pain, and the disfigured, brokenbody he has possessed.

The PCs should eventually kill Bhaal�savatar. If they cannot do so, Cyric attacksfrom behind, plunging his sword throughthe god�s chest. Now describe the dyinggod�s screams�the energy that pulsatesaround his withering form�the bass humthat rises in volume. Clearly, the god isabout to explode.

The party has one round to set up de-fenses or escape. Their salvation lies withMidnight. She has prepared one of twospells, depending on whether the PCs areall near her.

Prismatic wall: Midnight casts this ifsome PCs cannot reach her in time for ateleport (see below). The wall protectsthose who stand behind it against the ex-plosion�s effects. This spell leaves theparty near Boareskyr Bridge, which is de-stroyed in the explosion. Cyric makes awild leap to reach the wall�s protection.

Teleport: This is the spell used in thenovel, and the best choice to speed the ad-venture. If the heroes can all reach her,Midnight calls, �Join hands, and touchme!� Cyric stumbles back, still holding theblade, to slap at her as the spell goes off�and the screaming Bhaal explodes.

Everything whirls away into oblivion.

If Midnight teleported the party awayfrom Bhaal�s explosive demise, begin thischapter with Event 1.

If the party did not escape Bhaal�s de-mise, the explosion may have transformedor moved them. Begin with Event 2.

Event 1: On theRoad Again

This event begins as Midnight�s teleportdumps the party elsewhere. They have nohorses and none of the supplies that thehorses carried. However, the tablet issafely tied to Midnight�s back, or carriedby a PC.

"Elsewhere� in this case is the snow-covered road to Waterdeep, a few days�ride south of Dragonspear Castle.

Midnight knows this spot through prac-tice with a crystal ball at Mystra�s templein Deepingdale, long ago. Her tutor, Sun-lar, was familiar with a spot where an oldshadowtop tree had fallen just off theroad. He often called up this place in thecrystal, then asked Midnight to observeand try to maintain the image.

Cyric�burned, twisted, and apparentlylifeless�lies in the snow beside the PCs.Above his body hovers his sword. (He isactually feigning death, and has releasedthe sword to defend his body.)

Assuming Cyric played a part in killingBhaal, the sword is aglow with the life en-ergy of an avatar. It fights on by itself in-definitely, deflecting attacks (includingmissiles) away from Cyric�s body, and re-flecting any magic cast at him or it back atthe caster.

This should discourage anyone fromharming or robbing Cyric. Since thesword also keeps him warm in the snow,he lies still and listens.

Midnight reveals her destination: Dra-gonspear Castle. Beneath it, Bhaal toldher, there is a gate� unusable by the gods,but open to mortals. It opens into theRealm of the Dead, Hades. There standsthe Bone Castle of Myrkul, Lord of theDead, the resting place of the second Tab-let of Fate.

Once the party leaves him behind and isout of sight, Cyric retrieves the swordand uses it to heal his wounds. (Clever PCscan hide and try to observe this, but Cyricdetects obvious spying attempts and re-mains still.) He follows the party towardDragonspear Castle.

Go to Event 3.

Event 2:Transfigured

Use this event only if the party wascaught in the explosion of Bhaal�s avatar.

Don�t just kill them outright; that is notmuch of a conclusion to an adventurestory, when the party�s major goal re-mains unfulfilled. As described in the ap-pendix, an avatar explosion is not physicalbut magical. Therefore, it can have un-predictable effects on player characters.

The effects should not be pleasant, butthey need not be fatal, either. Some ef-fects to consider:

1. Transformation. The characters getturned into random creatures from theMonstrous Compendium. In general, theyshould still be mobile and able to fight ordo interesting things. This can be a freshrole-playing experience for jaded players.

If they become monsters, choose mon-sters roughly as powerful as the originalcharacters. (If a PC becomes something aspowerful as a beholder, he or she mayoutclass the rest of the characters�andmay not want to become human again!)

A variant idea is to switch the charac-ters� bodies. Each PC�s mind ends up inthe body of another. This lends a comedictouch to adventures, but should not becarried on too long.

2. Teleportation. If Midnight could notteleport them, the explosion might�butnot to any place so convenient as Dragon-spear Castle. The party may end up some-where else in the Realms, in Kara-Tur, onanother plane, or even stranded in his-tory. Midnight�s magic has temporarily�burned out,� so the party must under-take a new adventure to return.

This is an excellent chance to work inshorter mini-adventures as part of thelarger story. Also, teleported PCs can losetroublesome magical items that haveproven too powerful.

3. Crippling. If the PCs have proven toostrong for the opposition so far, the explo-sion can drain them of levels, abilityscores, or special powers. Or it can de-stroy possessions. This type of unfortu-nate circumstance can arouse players�bitterest anger if it is applied in heavy-handed fashion, so choose calamitieswisely.

How LongDoes It Last?

Since Midnight survives the explosion,she can use her magic to remedy prob-lems right away. Or can she? If desired,she can fall into a comalike slumber ortemporarily lose her magic. This forcesthe PCs to find their way around theHappy Hunting Grounds, adjust to life asnarwhals or shambling mounds, or other-wise deal with their new problems.

The transfigurations of the explosionshould not prove permanent, unless bothDM and players prefer them that way. Letthe changes last only so long as they enter-tain, then restore the PCs to their previouscircumstances. Proceed with Event 3.

Event 3: Traveland Chaos

The party walks north, seeing ice on thestreams and frost glittering on shadowedhollows. An early winter is coming. Be-cause of the ice and cold, use the �tundra�terrain cost for overland movement inthis area (DMG, p. 125).

After daylight the party encounters an-other effect of chaos, even stranger thanthe squirrels in the mountains: a troop ofwolves marching in precise unison likesoldiers. The wolves ignore the adventur-ers unless attacked. The wolves are on asearch-and-destroy mission against a rivalwolfpack, as PCs can find out if they fol-low the lupine troop.

Later still, the adventurers meet with atough-looking band of over 30 warriorstraveling from Waterdeep to Baldur�sGate. They guard valuable cargo (gemsand fine wine). They keep their weaponsready and refuse to sell the party anyhorses.

Veterans in the band can tell the PCscommon knowledge about DragonspearCastle: a ruin east of the Trade Way, lessthan a century old, but taken over by evilforces that made the whole land unsafe.After two years of steady siege, armiesfrom Waterdeep and elsewhere finallycleaned it out. For more information, con-sult the �Dragonspear Castle� entry in theCyclopedia of the Realms, part of theFORGOTTEN REALMS� Campaign Set.

Should the PCs inquire about specificdetails of Dragonspear, one veteran men-tions that, though the entire complex is inruins, he has heard that the inner ward

27

still stands intact. (This is true.) He knowsnothing else of interest.

The PCs cannot persuade the soldiers tojoin them.

Event 4:Death Walks atDragonspear

The party reaches Dragonspear Castle.A map of the ruins is included in this ad-venture.

Exploring, they discover that its outerward is utterly ruined, and its main toweris a gutted shell open to the sky above. Butits inner ward is defensible. Give the PCstime enough to find the cellar beneath thecastle (see below), then start this event.

Caravan TrapWhile you explore the inner ward, youhear noises outside the ruins: gallopinghorses. You run to the battlements tolook, and you see a small group of peo-ple fleeing toward the castle. They aredressed in rich clothing; they look likemerchants. In close pursuit behindthem, in total silence, ride scores of un-dead night riders.

PCs may let the caravan into the safetyof the inner ward, close the gate, and thenhold off the undead.

If PCs Let in the Caravan: It�s a trap.

The inner ward�s wooden gate creaksas you start to push it closed. The mer-chants ride hard to make it throughthe opening. The last of them pushesthrough just as you slam the gate shut.

Before you can drop the bolt, theriders turn to face you. And you stopin your tracks. Their skin is withered,the eyes dry in their sockets. Theysmell like spoiled meat. These riders,too, are night riders!

Go to �Dragonspear Battle,� below.

If PCs Don�t Fall For It: Give suspi-cious characters an Intelligence check. Ifthey succeed, they realize that the mer-chants, too, make no noise�a sign thatsomething is wrong. They look veryclosely then, and see that the merchantsare undead too.

They can bar the gate, leaving all thenight riders outside. The attack of theseundead is futile.

But from his observing station highoverhead, the god Myrkul raises morenight riders within the inner ward! Theundead rise from the burial chamber be-neath the ward (see below), grab rustedweapons from the armory, and totter out-side to attack. This might catch the PCscompletely by surprise.

Another way to stage this is to have theundead wait until the PCs happen to dis-cover the cellar beneath the castle, de-scribed below.

In either case, go to the next section.(Note that the PCs cannot observe or in-teract with Myrkul; he is too far away.)

Dragonspear BattleThe undead attack. All of these night

riders are 1st level fighters, with 10 hpeach. The 12 �merchants� are mountedon living horses with 18 hp each; the 60�chasing� night riders are astride gaunts.All are armed with long swords (1d6 dam-age), and half of them carry bows and 10arrows each.

Freshly raised night riders have nomounts. They quickly move to open theward�s gate and let in the rest of the nightriders. All night riders have orders toseize the Tablet of Fate, if possible, butabove all to force Midnight down beneaththe castle. They do not need to kill theother party members.

There are over 70 night riders, andMyrkul can raise more as required. If thePCs are not already in the castle�s cellar,the sheer numbers of night riders shouldfinally force them to flee there.

Worn stone stairs lead down into alow-ceilinged room smelling of mil-dew. You hear rushing water some-where below. Faint light comes intothe room from narrow slit windows inone wall. The light falls upon molder-ing sacking and casks, some rustyweapons, and a pile of stone slabs.

�Awlinson Lieth Beneath, In Peace,�reads one. They�re tombstones!

None of the piles of rotting goods con-tain anything of interest.

As the undead spill down into the room,or rise from shallow graves in the cellar,let PCs (or, if they don�t search, Midnight)find a circular wooden hatch under the

tombstones: the cover of a well opening.Shifting the stones takes at least threerounds; heaving the hatch cover asidetakes a fourth. All this time, the partymust fight off the undead.

As soon as they uncover the hatch, thesound of rushing water from the dark-ness below grows louder.

An instant later, the light in the cellardims slightly as an undead archer, outsidewith bow ready, steps forward to one ofthe slit windows.

The archer�s shaft hums across thechamber and strikes an NPC (in the novel,Adon is the character felled by the arrow;here, it can be any NPC except Midnight).Silently he topples forward. Give the twonearest PCs Dexterity checks at -5 tocatch his falling body. If they fail theirchecks, the NPC falls through the openhatch and splashes into the river below.

Only powerful magic or extreme clever-ness can rescue the NPC, who has taken10 hp damage and is stunned.

Midnight points one finger at the win-dow and mutters rapid, angry words.She finishes her incantation, then spitstoward the window.

In the air, her spittle becomes a blackball of ice-drops. You feel waves of coldradiating from it. It spins toward thewindow, growing larger and faster.Midnight watches it rush outside.Then she staggers and falls to the cel-lar floor.

Many more undead come silentlydown the stairs. Death has come foryou all.

What happened? Midnight cast a coneof cold spell out the window at the archer,but magical chaos made the spell misfire.This created a rolling black iceball of de-struction.

If any PCs watch out the window, theysee the ball crumble stone to dust with itsintense chill. It rolls away out of sightacross the High Moor. (It does not retainsuch destructive force for long.)

The twisted spell also released a back-lash of energy, reducing Midnight toweak, shivering helplessness.

If anyone approaches any window, theundead archers� arrows strike withdeadly accuracy. Add a + 6 bonus to all ofthe monsters� attack rolls, for this eventonly.

Hurl endless waves of night riders atthe party until the PCs make a fighting re-

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treat. During this assault, unless the char-acter bearing the Tablet of Fate takes spe-cial pains to avoid coming into contactwith the undead, the night riders succeedin grabbing the tablet, whereupon someof them break off and head for Water-deep to deliver the tablet to Myrkul. As itbecomes obvious that vanquishing all thenight riders is impossible, one by oneeach of the party members should leapdown the hole into the blackness below.

Event 5:Downriver

The stream is ice-cold, fast-flowing, anddark. If Midnight is still with the party,she vanishes now. Despite anything thePCs do, she is sucked down into a whirl-pool and away.

The adventurers float along helplessly.Apply damage as detailed below, as theadventurers crash into rocky walls andsubmerged rocks, then go over a 20-footwaterfall. Here the underground riveremerges from the edge of the High Moorplateau to drop down a cliff and into alake.

The adventurers are in the water for sixrounds before emerging into the water-fall. During this time they are swept alongat 70 feet per round. They cannot slowtheir passage by grabbing onto things;there�s nothing to grab onto! They cannotswim against the current; it�s too strong,and too dark to tell directions accurately.

If the proficiency rules are being used,have every PC make a Swimming profi-ciency check each round. If proficienciesrules are not used, or if some charactersdo not have Swimming proficiency, eachcharacter must make a Strength check anda Dexterity check, each round. Failing anycheck means 1d4 battering damage.

Characters who are unconscious orbound make no checks, but automaticallysuffer 1d4 damage per round.

The waterfall does a further 1d6 dam-age. A successful Dexterity check allows acharacter to escape the waterfall withoutdamage. For more detailed hazards of wa-ter journeys, consult the Dungeoneer�sSurvival Guide and Wilderness SurvivalGuide rulebooks.

PCs who lose consciousness and vanishbeneath the roiling river, or who suc-cumb while fighting in Dragonspear Cas-tle, do not die. They are found later andnursed back to health by gnomes in

nearby underground caverns. (In thenovel, this is Adon�s fate.) But these char-acters are delayed in reaching Water-deep, and so are out of the adventure fora while.

Lost characters can reappear at a dra-matic moment at the adventure�s climax,to rescue the party as they battle Myrkul�savatar.

OFFSTAGE EVENTMidnight, swept downward by the

whirlpool in the underground river,winds up in an abandoned undergroundcity, the legendary Kanaglym. The citywas built by dwarves long ago, then aban-doned when the dwarves accidentallytunneled down to a portal that leads toMyrkul�s realm in Hades.

Here Midnight encounters the souls ofthe recently dead, who are trapped hereand cannot reach Hades. (Lord KaeDeverell is among them.) This is becauseMyrkul no longer dwells in Hades; he can-not force the dead spirits to go to hisrealm.

The portal lies beneath a still pool of wa-ter, enchanted to remove the memories ofdead souls that pass through it. Midnight,through her magic, enters the portalwithout memory loss and arrives inHades, where she sets out to locate thesecond Tablet of Fate.

Event 6: All This,and Ice Too

All the adventurers who are still aliveand conscious eventually come down thewaterfall to land in a small, round lake.Each character floats d100 feet fromshore.

Use the rest of this event only if, duringthe battle in Dragonspear Castle, Mid-night cast the spell that turned into an ice-ball. If she did not, assume the PCs get outof the lake without incident. (Stage anaquatic monster encounter if desired,such as a giant gar.) Proceed to Event 8.But if Midnight cast the iceball spell, con-tinue with the rest of this event.

PCs must make a Constitution check orbe stunned for 2-5 rounds after comingover the fall. They float to the surface andcan breathe, regardless of whether or notthey succeed�but stunned characterscannot swim.

This rapidly becomes important.

Something large and black is boundingtoward you, across the High Moor. It�sa sphere, moving quickly. As youwatch, it glances off the edge of thecliff and strikes the waterfall.

The waterfall turns dark, and its wa-ters slow with a slushy sound. In a mo-ment the fall becomes a black, curvingpillar. Water falls over it in a torrent.

The sphere is driven up and out intothe air by the rushing waters of thefall. Slowly it falls toward the lake.

The iceball created by Midnight�s spelldrops into the lake, menacing PCs swim-ming in it. Adventurers can only swim 20feet before the widening circle of blackice catches up with them. Thereafter,they must make a successful Strengthcheck every round (moving at only onefoot per point of current Strength).

A failed check means the character istrapped and held motionless by the hard-ening ice. Adventurers who reach theshore before the ice reaches them are un-harmed.

Every round spent battling the ice doesa character 1 hp of damage. A PC held bythe ice suffers no further damage. But be-gin a time countdown for hypothermiadamage; see �Hypothermia,� below.

The iceball dissipates upon contact withthe lake. It causes the entire lake to freezeto a depth of two feet through the nextday. Water flowing over the frozen fallsrests atop the ice, its level rising to floodthe surrounding shore. Perhaps this de-stroys party supplies.

HypothermiaThe Wilderness Survival Guide rule-

book provides detailed rules for this situa-tion. A simplified method follows.

Ability Losses: At the end of one turn ofbeing trapped in the ice, each trappedcharacter loses one point of Strength,Dexterity, and Constitution. At the end ofthe next turn, the character loses onemore point from each, and one point ofWisdom. Losses continue at this rate untilthe character is free of the ice.

When any of a character�s ability scoresreach 3, the reduction of that score ends.

However, when two of a character�sabilities reach 3, the character can nolonger move. The character falls uncon-scious 1d3 turns thereafter and, unlessrescued, dies 2d4 turns after that (regard-less of hit points remaining).

2 9

The hypothermia time-count does notend until the character is out of the water,clothed in dry garments or wrappings,and sheltered from the wind.

Getting Free of the Ice: During everyround from initial entrapment until hypo-thermia causes two ability scores to reach3, beings trapped by the ice may attemptto free themselves.

Any character may strike the ice withfists and feet, suffering 1 hp of damage.Allow a Strength check (against currentStrength total) and a saving throw vs. pet-rification. If both are successful, the char-acter has wrenched free of the ice�s grip,and now lies atop the ice.

Rescues: Freed characters can help oth-ers. They can easily walk on the ice toreach companions. For simplicity�s (andmercy�s) sake, characters trapped in icecan be broken free in 1-2 rounds bychopping and striking the ice aroundthem.

If the freed character has no weaponsto strike the ice, allow him or her to makea Strength check and a saving throw vs.petrification each round. If the check suc-ceeds (and the trapped character�s checkfails), the rescuing character can substi-tute the successful check. In like manner,a successful save can be substituted forthe trapped character�s failed save.

Checks and saving throws cannot besubstituted one for the other. And if therescuer fails both the check and the sav-ing throw, the rescuer has fallen backinto the ice and become trapped again!

Magic: Spellcasting is impossible for ice-bound characters. The ice prevents free-dom of movement for gestures and thereaching of material components; the coldcauses teeth-chattering and stuttering,making verbal incantations error-prone.

Event 7: TheRoad, Once More

The surviving adventurers considertheir options.

If they still have their Tablet of Fate,they should definitely head for Water-deep, on or near the overland caravanroad. Elminster suggested this in thestrongest terms.

If the PCs have lost their Tablet of Fate,going to the City of Splendors is still thebest thing they can do. They might be ableto find Elminster in Waterdeep, and there-fore receive aid to find Midnight and thetablet. If Kelemvor is along, he advancesthis line of reasoning and strongly recom-mends the party head for Waterdeep.

If the PCs decide to go somewhere else,conduct random encounters or mini-adventures in other settings. Kelemvorand other NPCs desert them, saying thatMidnight�s rescue lies in Waterdeep. Thecrisis of the Time of Troubles is eventuallyresolved without the PCs, though notwithout tremendous damage to Water-deep. The remainder of this adventure,however, assumes that the PCs continuetoward Waterdeep.

MerchantsOn their journey the PCs soon encoun-

ter a hard-riding company of ten mer-chants traveling from Scornubel toWaterdeep.

These are all 2nd level fighters, with 16hp, and armed with a variety of weapons.They have no armor and are low on cross-bow bolts from fighting off orc raiders andbrigands. They would be glad for a fewfriendly sword arms. PCs can join them orcontinue to travel alone, as they wish.

The merchants carry medicinal herbs,gems, and rare ingredients for spellcast-ing, potions, and gourmet cooking�allvaluable but lightweight, nonbulky goods.They fight ferociously to protect them.

The merchant leader i s a gr im,sardonic-humored man named Sarlgonthe Tall (he is tall, and thin, too). Othersamong them include the steadfast UithThongh of far-off Rashemen; the long-suffering Elbaerl of Tethyr; and the sar-castic, sneering Zzun Tzhar of Calimport.

Play these fellows for comic relief, re-counting all the bad jokes that the DMfeels like inflicting on the players. ZzunTzhar makes a good straight man forjokes the PCs tell in return.

The merchants know that many magi-cians of renown live in and around Water-deep. That is why they�re trading inmaterial components right now��a readymarket up there, though they sometimespay in odd coin,� says Sarlgon.

So the journey continues.

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If the PCs managed to hang onto theirTablet of Fate through the battle at Dra-gonspear Castle, they should lose it be-fore they reach Waterdeep. Harry themwith more night riders, or have Myrkulhimself steal into camp invisibly and stealthe tablet from its sleeping guard.

Once they lose the tablet, the PCs stillshould head for Waterdeep. They canguess that is where Myrkul will be, withone or both tablets. Besides, they stillwant to meet Elminster, so that the sagecan help them find Midnight.

Event 1:Roasted Griffon

As the PCs, NPCs, and merchants travelnorth together on the road to Waterdeep,consult the two High Moor Encounter Ta-bles (see the foldout back cover).

If the merchants are traveling with theparty, most intelligent foes avoid battlewith such a large, dangerous-lookingforce. Many beasts of the wild, however,are starving and half-crazed by the chaosaffecting nature, and they may attackanyway.

Use physical chaos more frequently, togive players a sense of mounting ur-gency. Use monsters that �don�t fit� thesurroundings. Inappropriate scenes thatyou have always wanted to use in playcan appear as illusions, cloud-scenes inthe sky, or as shared dreams. If anyonecasts spells, use magical chaos wheneverpossible. The Realms are in a perilousstate.

After the party has traveled for at leasta day and a half, read the following:

Ahead of you in the distance stands astone building. It is shaded by a standof maples beside the road, and looksempty and lifeless, its upper levelblackened and somehow . . . wrong.

The building is a roofless, burnt-outruin. A signboard trampled into the dirtproclaims it �The Roosting Griffon Inn.�

Its front doors are gone. Within, the ad-venturers can see a tangle of charred andfallen timbers, with a blackened woodenstair leading up to empty air. The chest-high stone walls of the ground floor re-main, but the upper story has entirelyburned away.

Charred ground behind the inn, withstray wisps of smoke still rising from it, is

all that remains of the stables. Dead draftanimals litter the stream nearby.

If the party searches the inn, they al-most immediately see an intact woodentable near the stairs, with two chairsdrawn up to it. In one is slumped the un-burned body of a short, portly man wear-ing an apron. The innkeeper�s name is(was) Farl.

If the PCs use magic to question him,they learn he was slain by Cyric after sur-viving the earlier burning of the inn bynight riders. Cyric�s sword has entirelydrained Farl�s body of blood. If Kelemvoris with the party, his eyes narrow whenhe sees this. He snarls, �Cyric! What will ittake to kill him?�

There is no treasure in the inn. Theheat of the fire has melted a few copperand silver coins into little circular puddles(now hardened) on the charred floor.

If the PCs investigate the rear of the inncarefully, they find stone stairs coveredby the fallen roof-timbers of the kitchen,leading down to a stone-lined under-ground storage pantry. They can salvagefood and casks of wine from this room. Itshows evidence that it has been raidedalready�Cyric at work again?

What the PCs don�t (and shouldn�t)know at this point is that Cyric has beentrailing the night riders back to Water-deep. He knows that Myrkul is the key togaining both Tablets of Fate, and he hascorrectly deduced that the Lord of theDead is in the City of Splendors.

ClawsEvent 2:Clutchingof Death

Run this event when the party makescamp at night. There comes a suddenshout of alarm from whoever is on watch.Night riders are attacking the camp!

All of the 20 attackers in this case have 8hp each, and strike as 1st level fighters.They seek to extinguish all sources oflight and then slaughter the adventurersin the dark. If the merchants accompanythe party, use this attack to slay most ofthe merchants. The surviving merchantsflee into the night with cries of terror.

From this point on, the adventurersface repeated undead attacks as theystruggle toward Waterdeep. Whenever amonster encounter is indicated (checkevery 1d10 turns), roll any die. If the re-sult is odd, consult one of the High Moor

Encounter Tables to see what appears. Ifthe result is even, the encounter will bewith tirelessly attacking night riders.

DMs who have access to the descriptionof the environs of Waterdeep (publishedin issue #128 of DRAGON� Magazine) mayhave the night rider attacks force the ad-venturers into the Rat Hills southeast ofthe city. Or, these encounters can tie thisadventure more closely to the DM�s owncampaign.

Scenes of physical chaos as the adven-turers hurry toward Waterdeep includethese:

* Thousands of fish wriggling and flop-ping inland, traveling away from the sea;

* Leaves of entire stands of trees break-ing free of their branches to fly about,swooping and soaring like swifts or otherfly-catching birds, changing color all thewhile;

* Grass growing with astonishing speedinto tree-high stooks and tangles;

* And so on. Chaos rules the land.

Event 3:Welcome toWaterdeep

The adventurers eventually see thegreat walls of the city of Waterdeep in thedistance. Mount Waterdeep rises fromwithin them like a great shoulder shelter-ing the city from the sea.

Overhead fly many griffons, each bear-ing a mailed rider armed with long joust-ing lances and javelins. One griffon-ridersees the party and circles overhead, ob-serving. He ignores attacks or attempts tocommunicate with him, and hurries backto the city to report.

As the adventurers approach the gateof their choice, they see that it is open andguarded by over 20 warriors in full plateof gleaming silver-blue.

The guards hold leveled pikes, and re-gard the PCs in steady silence until oneman steps forward from between thepikes, speaking to the armored men on ei-ther side. The pikes rise in smooth uni-son, and the soldiers stand aside, leavingonly two doorwardens in black scale mail.On the breast of each gleams a goldencrescent moon surrounded by nine silverstars.

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The lone man who ordered the pikesaside steps forward. He wears greenleather armor and a black chain mailshirt emblazoned with a crescentmoon.

�Well met, travelers. We yet hope forpeace amid these troubled times. Ac-cordingly, tell me your names andbusiness in Waterdeep, if you wouldpass within.�

The man looks pleased at hearing theirnames. Introducing himself as Ylarell �ofthe Watch,� he says, �Please come withme. There�s someone in the city who verymuch wants to see you.�

Ylarell is a lawful good 4th level fighterof 36 hp, armed with a short sword ofquickness, a +2 weapon that alwaysstrikes first (DMG, p. 185). Ylarell takesthe adventurers through the streets ofWaterdeep to Blackstaff Tower. He prom-ises that any needs they have can be metthere.

If any PC attacks Ylarell, griffons andwatch patrols arrive from all directions.The adventurers are magically held orcharmed, and the party is marched toBlackstaff Tower under guard.

Blackstaff TowerConsult the map of Blackstaff Tower

provided in this adventure. Ylarell takesthe adventurers up to the parlor. Read thefollowing:

Worn, comfortable chairs and sofascrowd a room that is littered withmaps and scrolls. A crystal ball sits inan ornately carved waist-high holderin one corner. A huge globe with itsown elbow-rail of smooth, gleamingwood stands in another. In two over-stuffed chairs sit bearded men.

One is clad in robes of black,adorned with many tiny silver stars.He is handsome, his black hair shotthrough with silver and white combedback from a high forehead. A neatlytrimmed beard adorns his chin.

He smiles at you with bright, almosthawkish interest. His voice is pleasant,yet commanding. �Well met, heroes! Iam Khelben Arunsun, called by some�Blackstaff,� and this is��

�They already know me, I think,�says Elminster the Sage.

Elminster prompts the PCs to tell theentire tale of their adventures since helast saw the adventurers in Tantras. Heand Khelben stroke their beards in si-lence as the tale unfolds.

If anyone (PCs or otherwise) tries tothreaten or attack Elminster, the twoarchmages are both 26th level (Khelben isAC 3 and has 70 hp; Elminster, AC 7 and96 hp).

Elminster has only his spells, a ring ofprotection +3, and a ring of regenera-tion.

Khelben, however, has at hand his staffof power (the �Black Staff�) and a seem-ingly endless store of magic items (i.e.,whatever you wish to throw against any-one so foolish as to attack him). Also, theprotective magics of his tower make himless subject to magical chaos whilespellcasting within it. (Assess no negativemodifiers on the Magical Chaos Table.)

Even if someone in the party mounts anattack against them, the two archmagesare not interested in destroying any PCs�merely in preventing them from hurtingthemselves, or from getting in the waywhile truly important things are dis-cussed.

Both archmages are more fully de-scribed in FR7, Hall of Heroes. But nomore detail is really necessary to runthem in this adventure. The PCs have toomuch else to worry about!

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Talking WithArchmages

Upon hearing of Midnight�s plans to re-cover the second tablet alone, Elminstershakes his head. �She�s not ready for suchdoings, yet. Mystra aid her, for the Realmsmust depend upon her!�

The archmages dispense potions ofextra-healing and vitality to the adventur-ers as needed, from stone chests that risesilently out of the floor (appearing therest of the time as flagstones visible be-tween the various old and opulent rugsscattered about the floor). They tell theadventurers something of the present sit-uation in Waterdeep.

One of the most important facts is that aCelestial Stair now rises from MountWaterdeep, and one of the sayings ofAzuth is that �in time to come, battle willcome to the great City of Splendors, andin that hour gods will meet amid strife atthe Stair, and all must stand to defendwhat they hold dear, lest all be lost.�

Accordingly, the watch has beenarmed. Piergeiron, Commander of theWatch, has been steadily gathering food,drink, and weaponry these last fewmonths to hold the city against a pro-longed attack.

Mirt the Moneylender has organizedships friendly to Waterdhavians to supplythe city, and to provide escape from it,should things go awry. He is now on the is-land of Mintarn, organizing additional

ships to scour the seas for pirates, and pa-trolling to give warning of approachingnaval invaders.

Khelben reveals that �my lady� Laeral,his right hand (and former leader of theadventuring group known as the Nine),has taken all of Khelben�s apprentices andmuch of the Tower�s magic to a secretplace on another plane. �For if all else islost,� Khelben says softly, �the great andbeautiful Art must survive, to lighten thelives and loads of others, somewhere else,in days to come.�

Whatever occurs in the Realms,Khelben hopes, something of the Art ofmagic will survive down the ages, shouldWaterdeep�or indeed, civilization ingeneral�fall.

�You have done well,� Khelben con-cludes. �Even if you lost one tablet andnever reached another, we know howfar you came and what you did manage.Few would have survived the Zhen-tarim and Myrkul this long�to saynothing of destroying Bhaal and rescu-ing the tablet from the temple in Tan-tras, ere it fell. Now your task is done.

�Ylarell, fetch Gower and meet us atthe Yawning Portal. Farewell, myfriends.�

Allow�in fact, encourage�the PCs toargue against this abrupt dismissal.Though Khelben has only their own wel-fare at heart, the adventurers shouldwant to see their mission through to theirconclusion. If players think they�re sup-posed to do whatever Khelben tells them,Elminster can cue them by arguing in fa-vor of taking the PCs along. Give the char-acters a chance to make heroic speeches.At last, they convince Khelben to takethem along to the Yawning Portal Inn.

To theYawning Portal

Gravely wounded adventurers aretended in a wing of Piergeiron�s Palace,which has been equipped as a crude hos-pital. Anyone merely tired of the quest isescorted by the Watch to the green andbeautiful calm of The City of the Dead. Inthis huge cemetery they sit idly out of theway in the coming conflict. They getcaught up in Event 2 of Chapter 6, rejoin-ing the action then.

Ylarell salutes and runs out. Khelben andElminster calmly follow him down to the

streets. The PCs see many hurrying sol-diers, and feel the vigilant eyes of numer-ous watch patrols. The wizards walkpurposefully through the bustling crowds,around the spur of mountain crowned byCastle Waterdeep, to the narrower, dirtierstreets leading to the harbor.

Consult the simplified map of Water-deep included in this adventure, or useFR1, Waterdeep and the North, or the CitySystem accessory set. Both products con-tain detailed maps of Waterdeep. (Map 7of City System also contains a floor plan ofthe Yawning Portal Inn.)

The wizards lead the adventurers to alarge, rambling building with a signboardover its rounded front door that says,�The Yawning Portal.� On the door itselfsomeone has chalked, �Come Ye Inn.�

It is dimly lit inside. Chatter ceases asthe two wizards enter. Elminster andKhelben thread their ways steadily be-tween tables, nodding to old men seatedthere.

Unless the PCs have other ideas, thewizards troop into a private side room, sitdown at a bare wooden table, and wave atthe adventurers to pull up chairs forthemselves. They pull out long clay pipes.

A 14-year-old girl sweeps into the roomto take orders for ale or food. A swordswings at her hip. Khelben says, �Wouldyou bring Gower, please?� The girlsweeps out again.

A stocky, grim-looking man with broadshoulders and a weathered face comesinto the room a breath or two later, withYlarell and a ruby-nosed dwarf.

The grim man is Durnan, the innkeeper.This iron-strong warrior, now retired,had a career very much like that of a cer-tain famous barbarian; in cases of trou-ble, play him accordingly.

Bargaining WithGower

The dwarf, beery and fat for his kind, isnamed Gower. Now retired from an illus-trious career, Gower rents out his servicesas a guide to the cavern complex beneaththe Yawning Portal. Gower has heard fromKhelben that the PCs want to go down be-low; this may be the first that the PCsthemselves have heard about the matter!

�Gower,� Khelben says, not bothering

to guide us to the Pool of Loss.�with any introductions, �you�re going

The dwarf sighs. �It'll cost you.fifteen�no, make it twenty�mugs ofale.� He eyes your tankards.

PCs can bargain Gower back down tofifteen mugs, but at Durnan�s reasonableprices this would be stingy indeed.

If they choose not to employ Gower as aguide, PCs can still find their way aroundbeneath the inn. Durnan gives them di-rections to the Pool of Loss. But this isawkward work, and the wizards adviseusing Gower. The rest of this event andthe next one assume that Gower is thePCs� guide beneath the inn.

Should he overhear that the party is go-ing �downstairs,� Durnan the innkeepervolunteers to accompany them. Elminsterand Khelben both suggest this is a goodidea, but they allow the PCs to decide.

VenturingDownward

Durnan leads the party to the back ofthe inn. He takes down a burning torchfrom a wall bracket with one hand and aglittering sword from over the next doorwith the other.

The innkeeper lifts a huge bar fromthe door with one hand, as though itweighs nothing, and leans it againstthe wall. Then he opens the door andleads you into a dark room. The torch�sflickering light shows a covered welland a table. On the table lie coils ofrope, a tinder box, and half a dozen un-lit torches.

Durnan uncovers the well, lights awall lamp and a torch for himself fromYlarell�s torch, and then steps into thewell, planting one foot in the wellbucket.

He tests the rope�s strength. �I ha-ven�t been down this back way in sometime,� he says. �We usually go down thedry one; it keeps the water cleaner.�

Ylarell cranks Durnan, Gower, the twowizards, and each adventurer down thewell in turn. The adventurers are pulledinto a side-passage well above the dark sur-face of the well water, and into a labyrinthof dark, dripping passages and caverns.Gower strolls ahead unconcernedly, hav-ing produced a rather large axe fromsomewhere beneath his clothing.

The speed of the trip, coupled with the

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numerous twists and slopes of the pas-sages and intersecting caverns, makemapping impossible. Gower leads themahead for only a short time before hesays, �Here we be!� He steps into nothing-ness, vanishing into the floor.

The adventurers face a dirt-walledchute plunging down six feet and curvingsideways. Assuming they go down, theyare tossed out into a huge cavern, its soar-ing ceiling and farther reaches lost indarkness. This is merely a part of thecomplex beneath the Yawning Portal.

�Here�s the Pool of Loss,� Gower sayscalmly. �I don�t recall seeing all this excite-ment here before, though.�

Event 4:The Pool of Loss

The cavern is full of glowing whiteshapes drifting aimlessly through theair. In the center of the room is a shim-mering dome. �Look away from thesphere!� Khelben commands sharply.

Each adventurer must make an Intelli-gence check to avoid looking at thesphere. It blinds anyone of less than 8thlevel for 2d4 turns.

About the PoolIn answer to PCs� questions (if any),

Elminster explains that the Pool of Loss isa portal to Hades. The drifting shapes are�soul spectres� from that plane.

These harmless phantoms are waitingto enter the Realm of the Dead. They cansee, move freely and speak, but have notangible existence (appearing only astranslucent images), and can neither at-tack nor be attacked on the Prime Mate-rial Plane. They can only have come herethrough the pool, which is customarily anopen gate between the Realms and theLand of Always Night.

In ancient days, barbaric northern peo-ples hurled the bodies of great leadersinto the pool, so that their greatnesswould not be lost to the service of theclan. The pool today exists as a well in thishidden cavern beneath Mount Water-deep.

If the PCs have told Elminster what theyknow about the second tablet, he says itlies beyond this portal, in Hades.

The well is currently filled with the up-per half of a prismatic sphere. Elminstersays that he and Khelben believe that Mid-night has created the sphere, and is prob-ably still inside it. The problem is how toget her out.

Rescuing MidnightShould PCs inquire about the nature of

a prismatic sphere, Elminster launchesinto a long-winded explanation of theseven globes and the effects that negatethem (Player�s Handbook, p. 196).

Even without his explanation, PC wiz-ards know that touching a sphere is ex-tremely hazardous, and dispelling it isintricate work. Elminster and Khelbenboth believe the simplest course is to wait;no human wizard can maintain the en-chantment indefinitely.

PCs can wait for the sphere to disperse,or�if the players are clever�devise away to contact Midnight. (Trying to de-s t roy the barr ier i s an extremelyunwise�and difficult�thing to do; if thePCs attempt this, they will simply fail.)

If PCs do not want to rescue Midnight,let them return to the surface and haveadventures in Waterdeep. After a fewhours, Elminster and Khelben eventuallyrescue Midnight without destroying thebarrier. She rejoins the PCs . . . but shemay be less well disposed toward them atthe story�s conclusion, because they didnot stand by her.

The outcomes of likely choices:

Wait: This does not work. The wizardsbide their time patiently. Inquisitive PCscan explore the passages, though Khelbenadvises against it: �If we fall, here, who�sto stop the creatures of Hades from over-whelming the city? Then Myrkul wouldwin the tablets after all�and I�d not wantto live in the Realms if they were ruled bythe Lord of The Dead!�

If PCs still insist on exploring the pas-sages, improvise dungeon adventures us-ing published cavern complexes or othersfrom the campaign. No cavern maps areprovided.

PCs can also return to the surface andundertake encounters there. When thePCs return below, the sphere is still in-tact, and the wizards still wait.

While the adventurers watch, severalsoul spectres drift too close to the sphere.They vanish in silent flashes of whitelight, destroyed by its magic.

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At last Khelben stirs. �If this is Mid-night�s work, she must commandpower at least equal to Azuth�s! Nomere mage can hold a sphere thislong!�

Contacting Midnight: If Elminsterdescribes the effects of a prismaticsphere, be sure he mentions that (a) onlythe first of its seven globes bars physicalobjects; and (b) the caster can passthrough the globes without harm.

This may give alert players a clue to res-cuing Midnight. Following Kelemvor�s ex-ample in the novel, a PC can get Elminsterto dispel the first globe, then throw a mes-sage or recognizable token through thesphere.

This recognition signal lets Midnightknow she is among friends. She passesthrough the sphere, leaving it intact, andrejoins her friends outside the Pool ofLoss. Weary but jubilant, she holds outthe recognition token: �Is this yours, byany chance?�

News From HadesThe NPCs with the party are overjoyed

to see Midnight alive and well. Amid theirwhooping and embracing, Elminster fillsand lights his pipe, and asks, �Perhapsyou�d care to explain your need for asphere?�

�Not here,� Gower says firmly. �I�mthirsty�and those mugs of ale are callingme, from Durnan�s taproom!� Durnanand Gower, with Midnight and the arch-mages, head back to the inn.

En route, Midnight gives her most ur-gent news: The Denizens of Hades waitbeyond the Pool of Loss to invade Water-deep. If she hadn�t erected the sphere,they would be flooding out even now. Shebelieves Myrkul�s tablet has been en-chanted to allow these monsters to enterthis dimension.

(Hearing this news, players may thinkof posting a guard over the Pool of Loss.The magicians say this is not necessary,for Midnight�s barrier bars the denizens�way. In this case, the magicians arewrong. If the PCs insist on posting aguard, the guard(s) will witness the col-lapse of the barrier at the start of the nextchapter. Award the players extra experi-ence at the end of the adventure.)

Now What?The party may now want to head for

Mount Waterdeep. If so, start the eventsin the next chapter immediately. How-ever, the heroes should consider Mid-night�s extreme weariness. She�s too tiredto go right now, and wants to be at fullstrength for the coming confrontation.

What�s more, it is probably night bynow. And Elminster recommends that theheroes get some rest . . . or at least let himget some, before they bring Myrkul downon his neck.

PCs who so desire can explore the un-derground ways beneath the YawningPortal Inn. However, these labyrinths arenot described in this adventure. Employany cavern complex for adventures be-neath Waterdeep. PCs should be aware,though, that it isn�t very heroic to spendextensive time underground while thecity above is in chaos.

Event 5: Rest andRevelations

The wizards return to the side room.Durnan promptly serves everyone a hotmeal of beans and bread (or whatever thePCs wish, if they�re not rude and it�s notfancy). Noticing Midnight�s weariness,Durnan steps out of the room and re-turns, hefting a full-size wooden bed un-

der one massive arm.While Midnight sleeps, the party can dis-

cuss what must come next. Midnight�ssphere prevents the foul Denizens of Hadesfrom invading Waterdeep, but the adven-turers must still fight Myrkul himself. Forthis they may have to depend on Midnight,who apparently commands more powerthan any other mage in the city.

Uncovering the PlotSmoking his pipe, Elminster raises some

points that have been troubling him. Usethis opportunity to drop clues and pro-mote the players� speculation. Allow themto unravel as much as they can ofMyrkul�s subtle plot to overthrow LordAo.

The players can�t figure out the wholescheme yet, for they don�t have enoughinformation. But Elminster can start themthinking with the following observations:

1. Bhaal�s avatar let slip the location ofMyrkul�s tablet, and of a gate to Hades.Bhaal is an absolutely loyal servant ofMyrkul. This was stupid behavior for agod.

2. The gate is in Dragonspear Castle.Bhaal and Myrkul presumably wouldn�twant mortals using it to enter Hades�especially not Midnight, who had thepower to steal the tablet. Yet Myrkul�sforces kept driving the party north andwest, toward Dragonspear. When Bhaal

kidnapped Midnight, he carried her inthat direction.

3. However powerful Midnight is, itseems impossible that she could haveovercome the legions of Hades single-handedly. Since the realm belongs toMyrkul, the feat should be beyond a sin-gle being�s power, even a god�s.

4. How is it that Midnight escaped thedenizens by fleeing into exactly the gatethat would bring her to Waterdeep?

Let the players speculate as little or asmuch as they wish. In any case, establishthe mystery. Over the rest of the adven-ture, the PCs may or may not ever deducethat Myrkul has manipulated them. Un-derstanding the plan is not vital to theadventure.

An EndingWhile the adventurers talk, news

comes that Ylarell is dead. While trackingthe undead in the sewers under the city,the watchman was slain by Myrkul him-self. The news leaves Khelben and Elmin-ster solemn. They retire to meditate,leaving the PCs to their own devices.

PCs can venture into Waterdeep. Fortypical adventures in the City of Splen-dors, consult the published productsmentioned earlier. Eventually, the adven-turers grow tired and should get somesleep at Blackstaff Tower. Then begin thenext chapter.

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Midnight has seen the Realm of theDead, and she would rather be destroyedutterly than live in the Realms if Myrkulrules them. What actually happenedthere? �Don�t ask,� Midnight replies, shak-ing her head. �Never ask me that again.�

The only fact she will reveal about hertime in Hades is that she succeeded ingaining possession of the second Tablet ofFate�the one that had been held byMyrkul. As the PCs can deduce, her suc-cess occurred at just about the same timethat Myrkul�s minions stole the first tab-let. Thus, an ironic and uneasy balance ismaintained�and the fate of Realms, asbefore, still hinges on which faction willultimately possess both tablets at thesame time.

If the players think to post a guard overMidnight�s sphere in the Pool of Loss, goto Event 1. However, don�t remind themof this if they don�t think of it! No NPCthinks of it, either.

If the PCs post no guard, skip the nextevent. PCs can undertake more adven-tures in Waterdeep (left as exercises tothe DM). If and when they return toBlackstaff Tower to rest, go to Event 2.

Event 1:The Gate Opens

Use this event only if the players postPC guards at the Pool of Loss, the gate toHades beneath the Yawning Portal Inn. Ifthey fail to post PC guards, or post NPCsas guards, simply skip this event and go tothe next one.

The watches pass uneventfully throughthe afternoon and into the night. Then,take aside the players whose charactersguard the pool in the last watch beforedawn.

Describe the quiet cavern, Midnight�samazingly persistent prismatic sphere,and the wispy soul spectres who now andthen collide with the sphere and annihi-late themselves. Let the PC take whateverprecautions he or she likes. Then have thePC make an Intelligence check.

If the check fails, the PC does not noticethe arrival of Myrkul�s avatar�not untilit�s too late.

But if the check succeeds, read thisaloud:

A black fog rises from the ground. Itsmells of sulphur. Inside it you canmake out a human figure dressed inloose black robes. As the fog clears,you see that the figure is not human�exactly. Its head is a bare white humanskull.

This is Myrkul. Finally ready to comeout in the open and make his moveagainst Ao, Myrkul starts by destroyingthe barrier blocking his denizens fromentering the Realms.

Myrkul has set a special version of ahold portal spell on the Tablet of Fate heholds, so that it will keep the passagewayopen once it has passed through it. Whenthe sphere is gone, the denizens will beable to enter the Realms!

Give the PC(s) present one round to dosomething�either attack, flee, or hide.

Attack: Myrkul pauses before destroy-ing the sphere to kill the foolhardy PCwho attempts this. If an NPC guard is alsopresent, Myrkul destroys the NPC first, sothe player can reconsider this fatal courseof action.

Flee: If the PC flees, Myrkul allows himor her to escape; the avatar fears no oppo-sition now. (Myrkul�s abilities appear inthe appendix to this adventure.) The char-acter easily escapes. In the tunnel behind,the fleeing character hears the sounds ofmany attacks striking the sphere, andthen devilish laughter as the Denizens ofHades swarm through the opened portal.

Hide: The character can hide behindan outcropping of rock or just inside atunnel. If hidden, the PC can watch every-thing that follows without being detected.

Myrkul�s avatar makes wide gestures inthe air. He attacks the globes of Midnight�sprismatic sphere with all the spellsneeded to destroy it.

Then the fiendish denizens from Hadesswarm into the cave through the portal.(For descriptions of the two kinds of deni-zens appearing in this adventure, see theappendix.)

Myrkul commands them to headstraight for the surface and overwhelmthe mortals who oppose him. �Find thetablet, kill its bearer, and bring it to me!�he cries.

Then Myrkul vanishes, and most of thedenizens fly upward. If the PC attacks,the denizens tear the foolish character topieces. If the PC waits for a chance, the

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denizens leave the cavern, giving him orher an opportunity to run for it. Since afew denizens continue to pass throughthe portal at random intervals, the PCmay have to fight one or more on the wayto the surface.

Sounding the AlarmThe PC can warn the rest of the party

and Elminster. With this early warning,Midnight, one of the archmages, or apowerful PC can quickly return to thePool of Loss, fight the escaping denizens(three for every member of the partypresent), and cast another barrier spell toblock the portal.

If they reseal the portal, fewer denizenscan escape to plague Waterdeep. This re-duces the turmoil seen in this chapter.Leave the actual effects vague, dependingon how soon the PCs blocked the portal. Ifthey acted very quickly, there are fewdenizens in Waterdeep; if the PCs actedslowly, the numbers of denizens are un-changed.

However, note that the wizards cannotclose the portal permanently. Myrkul�stablet keeps the gateway open betweenHades and the Realms. Only when Myrkuland the tablet are both destroyed, later inthis chapter, can the party return andclose the Pool of Loss for good.

Event 2:MarchingOrders

This event begins on the followingmorning, when a sudden noise outsidethe tower awakens the PCs.

A company of over 200 soldiers arrivesat Blackstaff Tower, their nailed bootsclattering on the cobbles. The PCs canopen their windows and look down onthe tower courtyard below.

The company�s capta in presentsKhelben with orders from Piergeiron.Blackstaff must assume immediate com-mand of this newly mustered WyvernCompany of the Waterdeep Guard, andlead them into battle.

�Battle?� Khelben asks, blinking.�Against whom?�

�Hundreds of fiends are ruiningDock Ward, sir,� said the captain.�They're coming up from below, from

the sewers, sir, and tearing apart every-thing they can�t kill. They�ve got every-thing from Harborwatch Tower to SnailStreet. We�ve got every man underarms to the city fighting �em, and we�vejust slowed them down. Even the grif-fons are taking a beating�some ofthose devils can fly. Before long they�llhave all of Waterdeep�unless you canstop �em, sir.�

�Oh,� Khelben replies mildly. �I see.�

From this news PCs can deduce, orElminster can tell them, that Myrkul musthave destroyed Midnight�s sphere. �Andhe�ll be on his way here for the tablet,�says Elminster, �while his denizens pourthrough that pool and tear apart the city!�

Obviously, therefore, Khelben wants tostay in his place of power, the better tobattle Myrkul. But the captain�s ordersare firm; Piergeiron, ruler of Waterdeep,insists Khelben lead the troops into battle.Since Khelben is a good soldier, he reluc-tantly leaves.

Khelben says, �So be it. Come, captain!�Blackstaff turns and steps through thesolid stone courtyard wall. The captainstares at it, sighs, and then turns to-ward the open gate. �Wizards,� he mut-ters, just loud enough to be heard, ashe leaves.

Event 3: War inWaterdeep

The adventurers dress in haste. Make itclear to the players that Myrkul�s avatarwill probably attack soon. Let them plotstrategy. Their options include waiting inthe tower, or going out and actively seek-ing Myrkul.

A Waiting GameIf the PCs decide to wait in the tower, let

them set traps, plan ambushes, and pre-pare for battle. Stress the danger of con-fronting an avatar, though by now theplayers probably need no reminders ofthis. As battle rages through the city,build suspense while the adventurerslook out from the deceptive calm of thetower.

At last Myrkul appears . . . in force. Thegod shatters the door to the tower, and his

legions of undead night riders storm in-side to battle the PCs. Go to the nextevent.

Taking the InitiativeKelemvor, if he is along, argues that ev-

eryone should attack Myrkul, rather thansitting in the tower waiting to be killed byhim. Taking the battle to the god is the lastthing he�ll be expecting.

Elminster wonders how the party cansneak up on Myrkul, since the avatar re-mains attuned to the tablet he once pos-sessed and thus will always know, via thetablet, where they are.

Elminster suggests hiding the tablet inone of Khelben�s hidey-holes: an extradi-mensional vault in the tower. If the PCsagree, they discover that Myrkul�s web ofmagic on the tablet includes a hold portalspell that prevents the vault from closing,and keeps the tablet from leaving thePrime Material Plane. Ah, well, no oneever promised that battling a god wouldbe easy. . . .

The next problem: How to find Myrkul?He could be anywhere in, above, or underWaterdeep. The PCs� magic or a cleverplan can both work. Also, if the PCs sug-gest it, Midnight can work a spell to trackMyrkul just as well as Myrkul can trackhis tablet.

A City at WarThe adventurers set out. Elminster can

go along or not as they prefer, but Mid-night absolutely insists on coming withthem.

In the city, columns of smoke are risingin the distance above Dock Ward. Over-head, griffons hurry south from thenorthern outposts of the City Guard, tojoin a confused battle in the skies.

Almost three thousand city guardsmen,watchmen, and hastily mustered militiaare gathering in the streets northeast ofDock Ward. These forces include merce-naries, the bodyguards of the nobility,and volunteers such as the WvyernCompany.

The denizens lurk everywhere. Thebattle for the city will be a long andbloody fight.

Every time the PCs move through citystreets for the rest of this adventure, roll adie. An even result means the way is clearfor that trip; an odd number means that2d6 denizens leap, fly, or charge to attackthe PCs, and the adventurers must fight.

Let the PCs fight enough denizens, saveenough lives, and stop enough fires to earnthe title of �hero� several times over.

Meeting With MyrkulA detailed map of the city is not neces-

sary to run this part of the adventure. Asthey search for Myrkul, the route the PCsfollow�at Midnight�s direction�is a cir-cuit of streets going south from the tower,then east, north, and west, ending back atthe tower again.

The PCs hurry down Swords Street.Then Midnight directs them east, ontoKeltarn Street. A short block later, thisjoins the Street of Silks, and Midnightfrowns. �That�s odd indeed,� she murmurs.�He�s to our north now.�

The PCs race up the Street of Silks, turnwest onto Tharleon Street at Midnight�s di-rection, and wind up at Swords Street�and Blackstaff Tower�again!

Walking up to the tower gates is a figurein a ragged robe, carrying saddlebags overhis shoulder. As he walks, he hurls peoplein his path violently out of the way.�Myrkul!� Elminster says, pointing.

Midnight hurls a lightning bolt, but itmisfires, spraying the entire street withsmall arcs of blue flame. People scream,horses bolt, and Myrkul stands unharmed.He turns at the gates, sees his attackers,and waves an arm at them.

Up from the underground sewers rise ahorde of night riders! There are at leastthree for every character in the party; allattack as 2nd level fighters and have 14 hpeach. As Myrkul disappears within thetower gates, the undead advance to attackthe PCs. However, no more than two at atime attack a given PC.

The night riders have gone berserk dueto the Hades-derived magic in the air.Those not directly involved in combat turnon one another with ferocity. Given this,the PCs should be able to break throughthem to chase Myrkul. But the night riderspursue the adventurers throughout thenext event, attacking until destroyed.

Event 4:To Battle a God

The tower�s door is open, and the reek ofdecay is strong within. The night riderspursue the adventurers into the tower.

The specifics of this battle depend verymuch on what the PCs try to do. Midnight

3 7

and Elminster are plagued by magicalchaos during this fight. Until pressed,Myrkul has little interest in fighting the ad-venturers; his night riders do that for him.

On the second floor, the library door isclosed. Elminster warns everyone thatMyrkul is probably inside, because off thelibrary is the vault where the tablet is hid-den. If the PCs haven�t stopped the nightriders yet, Elminster turns and (successful-ly) casts a wall of stone to close the stair be-hind him. This keeps the night riders atbay.

PCs who succeed in Strength checks oruse magic can break down the librarydoor. Inside, the room is deserted. Thevault stands open and empty. �Mystra�sdark folly!� Elminster curses. �He�s got thetablet already!�

The parlor opens off the other side ofthe landing from the library. It is empty.The bedrooms beyond are also empty.

Khelben has magically sealed off most ofhis keep, but both Elminster and Midnightcan tell that the seals have not been dis-turbed: Myrkul has not exited the staircaseby any of the doors on the third or fourthfloors. That leaves the roof. Sooner orlater, the PCs head up there.

OFFSTAGE EVENTAs soon as the adventurers reach the

roof, the study�s stone floor rises, twists,and flows back into Myrkul�s humanlikeform. Picking up the two tablets from thereal floor of the landing, Myrkul puts onein each of the saddlebags he carries andwalks down the stair to Elminster�s wall ofstone.

�Remarkable,� he says aloud. �They�rehunting me! We can�t have that!� Hetouches the wall and mutters a spell. Adoor-sized section separates neatly fromthe rest of the wall and hops down thestairs as though alive.

Dispassionately watching the boundingstone crush one of his night riders, Myrkulwaves a hand commandingly at the surviv-ing zombies. �Up�up, and slay everyone!They�ve caused me too much trouble al-ready.� The door disappears around a bendof the staircase below.

Myrkul steps through the hole andfloats down the stairs. He plans to returnto the Pool of Loss and call the dead tohim. After absorbing their energy, hec a n c o n f r o n t A o a t t h e C e l e s t i a lStairway�and, augmented by the en-ergy of the dead, destroy Ao himself!Bane was foolish, choosing to attack the

ready Torm. Myrkul will not make thatsort of mistake.

Rooftop StrugglesOn the roof of Blackstaff Tower, the PCs

realize that Myrkul has eluded them. Mid-night, though tired, says, �Let me trysomething.� Her power has grown to thepoint that (she thinks) she can fetch thetablets out of Myrkul�s hands!

Midnight concentrates, and then swaysand falls. Across her prone body lies one,but only one, of the Tablets of Fate.

Midnight is unconscious, and PCs can-not rouse her for several rounds. At thisinconvenient time, the night riders ad-vance from below. Every round six nightriders come through the roof�s trap door,two at a time. PCs can probably pick themoff as they emerge, but their numbers ap-pear endless. Adjust the numbers of at-tackers to wear down the PCs.

When the battle grows exhausting ortedious, Myrkul himself makes a dramaticentrance. Furious at the theft of one ofthe tablets, Myrkul casts a magical silencethat blankets the roof and extends in asphere 120� around the tower roof. Spell-casters on the roof cannot cast magic thatincludes verbal components. That proba-bly makes this a purely physical fight.

The night riders form a wall betweenMyrkul and the adventurers, then ad-vance, attacking. The PCs battle evil toe-to-toe, in dead silence, while Myrkul firstseizes the stolen tablet, then attacks Mid-night. If any PCs try to block his way, re-fer to the appendix for Myrkul�s powers(but remember, he too may be affected by

38

the magical silence). After three rounds,Midnight awakens and tries to help theparty, though she is still weak.

The party may well slay Myrkul now. Ifthey do, Waterdeep survives; Myrkul�s si-lence spell lapses, and in that momentMidnight desperately casts a dimensiondoor spell to shunt the avatar�s explosionfar out over the Sea of Swords. Run thefollowing conclusion to the battle only ifthe PCs cannot make much headwayagainst Myrkul.

The End of a GodWhile they are engaged in their futile

battle with Myrkul, give PCs an Intelli-gence check. Successful PCs note a grif-fon and rider diving out of the sky towardBlackstaff Tower. It appears to be headingstraight at Myrkul. They can�t make outthe griffon�s rider.

If necessary, cue the players that some-one should distract Myrkul from noticingthis attack. Any especially heroic attacknow distracts Myrkul, so that he does notsee the griffon.

It strikes, its rider leaping clear. As thegreat talons of the griffon pierce Myrkulthrough the chest, Myrkul opens hismouth in a silent scream.

The rider leaps clear and lands on theroof. PCs recognize the rider now. Useany important character who appearedto die at an earlier point in this adventure.(In the novel, it is Adon; when he wasswept away by the underground river be-neath Dragonspear Castle, he was res-cued by subterranean gnomes whonursed him back to health.)

The griffon flaps wildly as it lifts the av-atar off the roof. As Myrkul shrieks si-lently, Midnight grabs any nearby PC andpoints at the saddlebags Myrkul is hold-ing. They hold the Tablets of Fate! If no PCmakes a grab for the saddlebags, Elmin-ster does so.

As the saddlebags are torn away, Mid-night prepares two spells (another sign ofher growing power). Myrkul turns in theair and withers the griffon; to do so, helifts his cloak of silence from the rooftop.

At that moment, Midnight casts disinte-grate.

The spell works automatically; do notcheck for magical chaos. There is a flashof golden light, the ground trembles, andthen a deepening purple glow settles overthe scene. When it dies away, Myrkul andthe griffon have vanished. A brown murkhangs in the air where The Lord of theDead had been.

In the same moment, Midnight has alsosuccessfully cast a special dimensiondoor. She shunts the force of the avatar�sexploding energies far away from Water-deep, out over the sea. PCs can see the ex-plosion from the tower roof: a brilliantwhite sphere exploding over the Sea ofSwords, on the western horizon.

Myrkul�s RuinsThe murk settles slowly to the ground.

Where it touches, trees and plants turnbrown and wither. People collapse, gasp-ing and choking, their skin darkening.Buildings lean, topple, and collapse slowlyinto dust.

DM Note: Two square blocks of Water-deep, at the lower end of the market-place, become a devastated area whereno building can stand and nothing cangrow. This area, called �Myrkul�s Ruins,�remains for a time as a legacy of the Timeof Troubles.

Event 5:To Battle a Man

Elminster manages a meteor swarm topolish off any remaining night riders. TheOld Sage makes sure the tablets are safelyin the party�s possession. Then he takeshis leave, explaining that he must try toclose the gate to Hades to stop the incom-ing flood of denizens. If Khelben has re-mained with the party through all this, heleaves with Elminster. However, if PC wiz-

ards volunteer to help, Elminster gentlytells them they�d only get in the way.

(If the characters blocked the portal toHades earlier, Elminster still goes down tothe Pool of Loss. Now that Myrkul is dead,Elminster believes the gate can be perma-nently closed.)

Before he goes, Elminster points downto the carnage in the streets below. �Lookye! When Myrkul�s denizens begin to re-treat, take the tablets to the top of MountWaterdeep, to Peaktop Eyrie�look,there!� He points out the small battlementhigh up on Mount Waterdeep. With acheery wave he teleports away.

In the streets below, the denizens arewinning the fight for Waterdeep, forcingthe defenders back across Trades Ward.

Cyric Attacks!While all of this has taken place, Cyric

has stolen up the staircase inside BlackstaffTower and waited for Elminster to leave.Now he makes his move. He slays an NPCfrom behind with his magical sword (in thenovel, the victim is Kelemvor). Then Cyrictosses the weapon into the air to �dance.�He draws another blade and hurls a glassvial of sleep gas to the roof.

The gas is called �greensleep.� It ex-pands rapidly into a spherical cloud ofmint-green smoke 20� across. All PCsmust save vs. poison at -2 to avoid fallingasleep for 1-2 turns. Midnight saves, butother NPCs fail automatically.

I t i s n o t n e c e s s a r y t o b r e a t h egreensleep; it works by skin contact. Itsantidote can awaken affected victims im-mediately. If the antidote is taken justprior to the release of the gas, it preventsprotected beings from any effects. Cyrichas just taken the antidote, but there is noother store of antidote nearby, nor areany of the adventurers familiar with it.

Thanks to the effects of the gas and theconfusion it causes among even thosewho make their saving throws, Cyricseizes the tablets and fights his way clear.Cyric also tries to kick conscious oppo-nents off the roof. A fall from the roof ofBlackstaff Tower onto the hard cobblesbelow does 4d6 damage.

Some ten minutes later, a griffon landsatop the tower. On its back is a cityguardsman and Khelben Arunsun.Khelben fetches healing potions for in-jured PCs and finds a store of greensleepantidote somewhere in the tower. Hesends the guardsman on his griffon tobring more griffons to the tower�

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enough to fly all of the surviving adven-turers to Mount Waterdeep.

If Cyric slew Kelemvor, Khelben looksat the body sorrowfully and says thatthere is nothing he can do. Cyric�s swordhas utterly drained the warrior.

Event 6: At theFoot of the Stair

DM Note�Celestial Stairways: ACelestial Stairway is a rare link betweenPrime Material Planes (in this case, theRealms) and a multiplicity of OuterPlanes.

Created by godly magic, Celestial Stair-ways are usually only visible to those of22nd level (or 22 Hit Dice) or more. Anyliving being can use them. However, with-out constant magical maintenance, Celes-tial Stairways soon fade into ether andvanish.

While touching the stairway, a traveleris protected by its magic from hostileatmosphere and temperatures on foreignplanes. If a traveler becomes separatedfrom a stairway partway up, the traveleroften loses access to it and is stranded inan intervening plane. If a PC leaves a stair-way partway up, have the character �fall�through ethereal mists into another cam-paign world.

Most stairways are guarded at thePrime Material Plane end by Einheriar orLantern Archons (detailed in the Manualof the Planes rulebook), or by other ser-vants of the power controlling the stair-way. In this adventure, Helm guards thestairway for Ao.

The Celestial Stairway atop MountWaterdeep changes appearance con-stantly. To those who can see it, the stair-way first appears as a shimmering,translucent spiral path of amber andpearl; then a set of plain white raillesssteps; then a ramp of pure silver; and soon, changing every few seconds.

On Mount WaterdeepThe adventurers, on griffon-back, wing

their way across the city (through aerialbattles with denizens, if the DM desires)to land at Peaktop Eyrie. Khelben remainsbehind to fight alongside the Waterdha-vian defenders in the streets.

The adventurers can persuade Khelbento come along if they really want to, buthis presence has no effect on the climax.

Midnight can see the stairway clearly.PCs who search around it find no sign ofCyric; evidently he has not reachedMount Waterdeep yet. PCs can go aheadto the Celestial Stairway, or they can re-main behind and ambush Cyric.

Go to the Stairway: The partyreaches the stairs. As anyone tries toclimb them, read the following:

The instant you set foot on the bottomstep, a giant in burnished armor ap-pears to block your way. �I guard thispath!� he cries.

This is Helm, Guardian of the Way. Sincethe PCs do not have the tablets, and Helmknows this, he continues by saying, �Donot approach. This way is forbidden, saveto the one who bears the tablets.�

Just as Helm finishes speaking, Cyricrushes up the mountainside shouting,�Wait!� Breathlessly he joins the party;Helm prevents them from fighting.

Go to �Talking With Helm,� below.

Wait for Cyric: If PCs decide to lay anambush, they can hide in a nearby look-out tower of the Eyrie.

Suddenly Cyric appears, sword in hand,walking calmly up the slopes of MountWaterdeep toward the stairway. The Tab-lets of Fate are contained in saddlebagsslung over his shoulder.

If the PCs confront him, Cyric sneers, de-fends himself with his sword, and runs forthe stairway. If he reaches the steps, Cyriccannot attack or be attacked. A new figureappears beside him; go to the next event.

PCs can only stop Cyric from reachingthe stairway by attacking him. Midnightdefinitely wants to kill Cyric, and fires alightning bolt unless restrained. If they at-tack, read the following aloud:

As you attack, Cyric runs for the stair-way. A huge figure in gleaming armor

Helm.

materializes at the bottom of the steps.�No!� it shouts, striding forward. It is

Helm throws up his hand, and missileattacks veer toward it. No mortal attackscan bypass the god�s magic. Midnight�slightning strikes the armored colossus,covering him in a harmless shower ofsparks. Helm�s armored head turns to-ward the PCs. �This life is not yours totake.�

Talking With HelmCyric thrusts the saddlebags intoHelm�s hands. �I have recovered theTablets of Fate,� he says proudly. Heglances back over his shoulder at you,and smiles.

Helm takes the tablets and staresdown at Cyric. �I know who recoveredthem,� he says coldly.

If PCs protest that Cyric is lying, Helmagrees. He seems to know everything thathas happened, and he knows Cyric is evil.Nevertheless, Helm allows him near thestairway, along with Midnight and thePCs. Read the following:

Midnight angrily asks Helm, �If you areaware of Cyric�s evil, why do you notpunish him?�

�Because it is not his duty to passjudgment,� says another voice, deepand resonant. A new voice. BehindHelm on the stair, another figure ap-pears.

Helm bows. �Lord Ao!� he says rever-ently.

Event 7:The Lord of All

The Overlord of the Gods appears as acryptic yet awesomely imposing figure.He has hair and beard of purest white,but his face and posture do not suggest aparticular age; he could be young, or old,or anywhere in between. His face is nei-ther handsome nor ugly�the sort of vis-age that looks absolutely average. Inshort, he is the embodiment of the Bal-ance, showing no aspects of any ex-

4 0

t r e m e . W h a t d o e s s e t h i m a p a r t ,however, is his robe: as dark as oblivion,yet at the same time dotted with millionsof twinkling stars, such that the motes oflight and the inky blackness balanceeach other perfectly.

�Bring me the tablets,� Ao commands.Helm does so, removing them from thesaddlebags and kneeling. Ao touchesthem. �On these tablets,� he says in avoice like thunder, �I have recordedthe Balance created to keep the Order.They have now been restored!�

�And I returned them to you,� Cyricsays quickly.

Ao looks down at him. �I know whatyou have done,� he says in calm, eventones. �And here is what all of itamounts to!� Ao crushes the tablets inhis hands; they explode into dust.

The tablets meant nothing, of them-selves. Ao kept them to remind the godsthat he created all of them to serve theBalance, not to twist it to their own ends.Unfortunately, the gods saw the tabletsonly as a set of rules. When the rules be-came inconvenient, two gods stole thetablets.

For that, Bane and Myrkul have paid theultimate price, and are no more. But, Aosays, all the gods are guilty. All causedworshipers to raise wasteful temples, todevote themselves slavishly to the gods�aggrandizement so that they could notfeed themselves, even to spill their bloodupon altars�all for no reason.

Silence hangs heavy over MountWaterdeep. Then Ao speaks again�this time addressing all of the godsacross the Realms as well as the PCs. �Icreated the gods for a purpose. Now

you, the gods, will fulfill that purpose.From this day forward, your truepower depends upon the number anddevotion of your followers.�

There is a rumbling in the sky, a gaspof astonishment from avatars allacross the Realms. Ao smiles slowly.�Aye, and after what has befallen inthe Realms, it will not be easy to winthe faith of mortals. You will have toearn it by serving them. Now, let thegods return!�

�No!� Cyric yells. �After all I wentthrough��

Ao says, very quietly, �I do not careto be challenged. It makes me fear Ihave made a poor choice for my newGod of Strife and Death.�

Cyric smiles. �So you do keep to thebargain! I am to be a god!� He steps for-ward to stand by Ao on the CelestialStairway. �My thanks!�

Ao replies, �Do not thank me, evilCyric. Being given the role of God ofStrife and Death is no gift. It is eternalpunishment. At first, you will enjoy it,for it is the only thing you are suited to.But you will find it wearisome in theend. The freedom you seek lies notwith godly power. You serve me now. . . and your worshipers.�

For a moment you see in Cyric�s eyesthe beginnings of fear. Then he scowls,but he says nothing.

Lord Ao turns. �Midnight!� he sayscommandingly. �I have lost Mystra,Lady of Mysteries, Mistress of Magic.She is within you, and yet she wasweary and weak, and could not now berestored as she should be. I have se-lected one mortal for malevolence andcruelty. I hope to select another for wis-dom and spirit. Will you take herplace?�

A ring of nine small, blue-white starsappears in the air around Midnight,dancing softly.

Midnight looks both surprised andexhausted. She almost shakes herhead. Then she looks at you for guid-ance.

The PCs can argue pro or con. Only Mid-night responds to them; Ao ignores queriesput to him. Let the players really ham it up;after all, the circumstances merit great or-atory. Lord Ao himself smiles upon PCswho orate exceptionally well; award thembonus experience points.

Regardless of what the PCs say, Mid-night finally agrees to godhood. Sheclimbs the stairway to stand beside Cyric,with the words, �I accept. And you, Cyric,will soon wish you had not.�

Ao lifts his hands, and the CelestialStairway and those upon it vanish in a pil-lar of light.

The Time of Troubles is over.

RewardsMidnight, now transfigured, soon ap-

pears in a vision to each PC. She grantseach character one wish, as per the 9thlevel wizard spell. Exception: Characterswho did not try to protect Midnight, ordisregarded her importance (for in-stance, by arguing against rescuing herfrom her prismatic sphere in the Pool ofLoss), receive no wish and also are not re-warded as described below.

Midnight grants all PCs enough experi-ence to go up to the next level of experi-ence. She heals wounded characters of alldamage, and resurrects dead PCs.

After theAdventure

Now the purpose of the Avatar storylinebecomes clear: It provides a golden op-portunity for DMs to change from theoriginal AD&D® game to the AD&D 2ndEdition rules.

What�s more, the DM can correct cam-paign problems of all sorts. The world�sgodly pantheon can be rearranged, landsrenamed and shifted, and so on; the DMhas carte blanche, as though creating anew campaign world from scratch.

The New Pantheon: In the officialForgotten Realms campaign setting, Mid-night becomes the new Goddess of Magic.Cyric, �the Swordbearer,� is now God ofStrife, Murder, and Death.

Bane, Bhaal, and Myrkul are gone,along with the entire assassin characterclass. However, Lord Ao reforms the dis-persed spirit of Torm so he can return asGod of Duty.

The Harrowing of Hades: Manysouls were unjustly trapped in Myrkul�srealm. The gods had abandoned their re-sponsibility for retrieving these spirits oftheir faithful.

Following the Time of Troubles, Mid-night leads the gods to Hades to recovermost of the spirits trapped there�

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including Lord Kae Deverell, Sneakabout,Kelemvor, and Cyric�s other victims�andbring them to a happier afterlife.

Restoration of Order: With the godsin their places, all is once again right withthe world. Magical and physical chaoscease. Aftereffects of the chaos can stillprompt adventures, but most effects soonvanish.

The denizens in Waterdeep, their goddestroyed and their portal to Hadesclosed, become much less powerful. Theforces of Waterdeep slaughter themwithin a few days.

The Source of Godly Power: Godsnow draw their strength directly fromthe numbers and devotion of their fol-lowers. For game mechanics of this newarrangement, consult the forthcomingForgotten Realms hardcover rulebook.

Effects on the Land: As shown inShadowdale, the area around Castle Kil-grave has been destroyed; it is now a landof bubbling tar pits.

As shown at the end of Tantras, the areanorth of the city of Tantras becomes amagic-dead wasteland for (at least) sev-eral years. No magic works here. Thearea becomes a refuge for those fleeingfrom vengeful wizards.

As shown in this adventure, two squareblocks of Waterdeep become uninhabita-ble. As an offstage event, the explosion ofBhaal�s avatar poisons the Winding Waterriver for 100 miles, from BoareskyrBridge down to Trollclaw Ford.

Also, Boareskyr Bridge is destroyed.However, the DM can easily decree that ithas been rebuilt �offstage,� or make theconstruction the hook for a new adven-ture. Speaking of which . . .

Further Adventures: First, the PCsmay help the Waterdhavians mop up theremaining denizens who haunt Water-deep. They can sail out onto the Sea ofSwords, to ensure that Myrkul�s explosiondid not create any weird new creatures(or to find that it did).

Naturally, a lot of priesthoods will bevery busy in the near future�sorting outdetai ls , proselyt iz ing fur iously tostrengthen their gods (and themselves),and grabbing power. They employ adven-turers on all sorts of missions to recoverthis, vanquish that. . . .

Life, as they say in the Sword Coastlands, unfolds as the gods will, whetheror not one feels like being a part of it.

This section describes four non-playercharacters, the four major characters ofthe novels of the Avatar Trilogy. These aredescribed more fully in accessory FR7,Hall of Heroes.

Only Midnight and Cyric must appearin this adventure. Use Kelemvor andAdon as desired, to augment the party�sstrength or provide useful information.

�MIDNIGHT�(ARIEL MANX)Human Mage, Level 9 (at beginning of ad-venture; later, level becomes irrelevant)

Str 6Int 16Wis 10Dex 11Con 10Cha 17HP 27Alignment: Lawful NeutralWorships: Mystra, Goddess of MagicArmor Class: 10

Equipment: Spell book containing ar-mor, charm person, comprehend lan-guages, feather fall, magic missile, run,Tenser�s floating disc, identify, readmagic, shocking grasp, sleep; continuallight, darkness 15� radius, deeppockets,detect evil, ESP, invisibility, levitate, locateobject, scare, shatter, wizard lock; clair-audience, clairvoyance, feign death, fire-ball, fly, haste, hold person, infravision,material, suggestion, water breathing; di-mension door, enchanted weapon, firecharm, fire shield, ice storm, Leomund�ssecure shelter, massmorph, polymorphother, polymorph self; two daggers�oneat belt, one hidden in boot; staff, twoflasks of oil, one potion of healing in a

steel vial, and a pearl of power (allowingMidnight to �recall� two 1st level spells),sewn into a garter worn beneath herrobes.

Midnight is a thin woman in her late20s, with a slim, catlike body. She has jetblack hair that reaches to her waist (but isusually braided) and darkly tanned skin.

In her youth Midnight was unruly, rest-less, argumentative, and bored. Her mer-c h a n t p a r e n t s e v i d e n t l y l a c k e dimagination and dreams. Having both inplenty, Midnight developed an activenight life (thus earning her nickname). Af-ter a tryst with a conjurer, she set hersights on magic.

She began to feel watched. Sunlar, ahigh priest in the Deepingdale temple ofMystra, singled her out for special atten-tion. This fueled her suspicions that shehad been selected for some great destiny.

Midnight is scrappy, tough, and taci-turn. She enjoys being mysterious, andoccasionally flirtatious. And she knowsthat some important destiny lies justahead of her.

CYRICHuman Fighter/Thief: Character withTwo Classes; 4th level Fighter, formerly5th level Thief

Str 17 (+1 on attacks and damage)Int 11Wis 10Dex 15Con 15Cha 15HP 24Alignment: Lawful EvilArmor Class: 1

Equipment: Plate mail, magical sword(see �New Magical Items�), longbow and10 arrows, dagger, hand axe, coil of 100�of black waxed rope, grapnel, set of lock-picks and thief tools hidden in a hollowed-out wooden crutch, 16 empty canvassacks with drawstrings, three flasks of oil,six iron spikes, mallet, darklantern,12,000 gp in gems.

Born in the back alleys of Zhentil Keep,Cyric never knew his parents. He sus-pects his father was influential in theZhentilar. After his mother was mur-dered and his father vanished, the infantCyric was sold to slavers. He ended up asa foster son to a wealthy family in Sembia.

Cyric always showed curiosity aboutforeign lands and customs. After causinghis foster parents much grief, he ranaway. Forced to steal to survive, Cyricspent four years in Sembia�s Thieves�Guild. Later his love of travel took himacross the Dragon Reach and to manyports on the Inner Sea.

Cyric returned to Zhentil Keep to learnabout his family. After the death of a manwho might have been his father, Cyric de-cided he must abandon the thief�s life. Hebecame a fighter and worked as a guardin Arabel. There he befriended Adon andKelemvor. Since the Time of Troubles be-gan, Cyric has grown cynical about�causes� and now works only to increasehis own power.

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30s. He was once a werepanther, a lycan-thrope with the ability to become a pan-ther. Much to his delight, he discoveredthat after the death of the avatar of Bane(in FRE2, Tantras) he had been mysteri-ously cured of his curse; whether it wasan after-effect of the explosion or the by-product of some other magical effectgone awry matters not to him.

Now restored to his original (fully hu-man) form, Kelemvor seeks to do goodwherever he can�for little or no reward.He lives now to become the hero his curseprevented him from being earlier in hislife. He loves Midnight and will sacrificeanything for her safety. His fighting skillsmake him a match for most foes.

KELEMVOR LYONSBANEHuman Fighter, Level 5Str 17Int 15Wis 13Dex 16Con 18Cha 14HP 44Alignment: Lawful Neutral (good)Armor Class: 4

Equipment: Chain mail and shield, shortsword, bastard sword, lance, bow, dag-ger, three potions of healing in steelflasks.

Kelemvor is a mercenary, a muscularand ruggedly attractive man in his early

ADONHuman Cleric, Level 5

Str 11Int 9Wis 15Dex 12Con 12Cha 13HP 25Alignment: Neutral GoodWorships: Sune Firehair, later MidnightArmor Class: 2

Equipment: Plate mail, large shield,mace, war hammer, two vials of holy wa-ter, three flasks of oil, a pack with a rackof six potions of healing in glass vials; ascroll with the spells command, detect

evil, detect magic, protection from evil,and purify food and drink; and a note-book of mediocre love poems.

Adon was born wealthy but grew upshiftless, extravagant, vain, and weak-willed. On the night of his 15th birthday,Adon had a dream that the love goddess,Sune Firehair, would raise him to becomeher divine consort. On the spot, he primlyresolved to become a cleric for Sune.

The scar that Adon receives during theevents of this adventure changes his out-look. He spends a great deal of time ques-tioning the worth of the gods�especiallySune. Now he accepts the state of theworld as it is. He might eventually regainhis faith as a priest, but not until after thegods have departed from the Realms.

This appendix details two avatars thatplay major parts in this adventure. Theseare but two of many avatars cast down toFaerun during the Time of Troubles. Farless powerful than �usual� avatars as-sumed by divine beings, they are the re-sult of possessing human or humanlikebodies.

These are the gods: No god has multipleavatars or a simultaneous existence onother planes during the time covered inthis adventure. These weakened avatarsare subject to magical chaos, although lessso than mortal spellcasters. All types ofweapons affect these weakened avatars.

All avatars can hear their names spokenanywhere in Faerun, along with the nextnine words of the same speaker. Avatarsalso detect the speaker�s voice-likeness,distance, and direction. The gods usuallyignore the ceaseless babble this creates intheir minds, but Bhaal and Myrkul do lis-ten to the PCs during this adventure. Noglyph or symbol magics have any effecton avatars, except to attract theirattention.

Modify the minor powers avatars use inplay to explain spectacular magical ef-fects, physical feats, and so on. Thoughmagic is temporarily unreliable, most dei-

ties are still the equivalent of a 12th levelmage, able to unleash full magic.

Avatar DeathAvatars can be slain. However, most dei-

ties prepare magical safeguards that en-able them to survive the �death� of theirphysical forms. Only energy drain, wishspells, or similar magics that drain theirdivine energy can prevent this. But thescattering of its energies may prevent agod from taking another avatar for 1d6weeks or longer.

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Destroying an avatar may or may notdestroy the being. Some deities surviveapparent death as ghostlike �anima�forms. These anima cannot be turned,can become invisible at will, and can per-form magic. They have a ghost�s attacksand half the avatar�s hit points.

When a god truly dies, everyonearound knows it. Their titanic magical en-ergy disperses in a huge explosion with aradius of 5-10 miles. The landscape isusually devastated. When Bane and Tormkilled each other outside Tantras (inFRE2), the land was blasted down to baremolten rock.

However, since this is not a physical ex-plosion, it does not necessarily kill its vic-tims. Instead, plants and animals twist intoweird new shapes and species. Buildingsusually collapse, though not always.

Important characters (especially PCs)caught in an avatar explosion need notdie. They may be transformed into mon-sters, or shifted to other planes of exist-ence. Choose a fate that allows the playerto remain active in the game.

After an avatar explodes, the surround-ing area is �dead� to magic for 1d4 + 1years. No magic of any kind works in thearea, with the exception of powerful arti-facts (DM�s discretion). Spellcasters feeldazed while in the area.

Lord Ao and HelmDescriptions of Helm and the Overlord

Ao are not included here. Ao is all-powerful, a god above gods. He simply ig-nores attacks, and they have no effect onhim. He is not subject to magical chaos,but can cause it to plague any being he de-sires.

Helm only appears in this adventure inthe presence of Ao, who extends hispowers to protect Helm. Helm by naturedoes not act against attackers.

AbbreviationsAL: Alignment.Symbol: The sign by which the deity is

known. An avatar may display it at will, orproject it into surrounding minds to causeinstant recognition.

HD: Hit Dice.THAC0: Acronym for �To Hit Armor

Class 0�: the score needed on a 20-sideddie to hit an opponent having an ArmorClass of 0. The score needed to hit otherArmor Classes is easily calculated fromthis number. Note that THAC0 does nottake into account adjustments due tostrength, skills, or magic.

SpA: Spell Ability. The class and level atwhich the avatar casts spells (W = wizard;P = priest).

MV: Movement. How fast, in distanceper round, that the avatar moves (Fl = fly-ing speed, with maneuverability class fol-lowing it in parentheses).

AC: Armor Class. This is the avatar�sfrontal Armor Class, including adjust-ments for Dexterity, magical protections,and innate durability. The AC may beworse if the avatar is attacked from be-hind or from the flank.

hp: The avatar�s hit points (always lessthan those of the deity at full powers).

#AT: Number of attacks per round.Dmg: Damage per attack.MR: Magic Resistance; the chance that

a spell may fail when used against the ava-tar. Apply this factor in addition to magi-cal chaos. The deity�s normal MR isusually twice that of its weakened avatar.

SZ: Size. An avatar can cause a pos-sessed body to grow larger, or shrinksmaller, by 50% of its normal size.

High Ability Scores: The 2nd EditionPlayer�s Handbook details the increasedpowers and abilities conferred by abilityscores higher than 18.

Note that high Wisdom confers the abil-ity to throw off the effects of certaincharmlike magical effects, as follows:

19 Wis: cause fear, charm person, com-mand, friends, hypnotism

20 Wis: forget, hold person, ray of en-feeblement, scare

21 Wis: fear22 Wis: charm monster, confusion,

emotion, fumble, suggestion23 Wis: chaos, feeblemind, hold mon-

ster, magic jar, questNote that the above list assumes immu-

nity to less powerful versions of similarspells.

Avatars should appear in play only spar-ingly. It is hard to excite or awe playerswhose characters are battling the thir-teenth or fourteenth avatar of the day.

In this adventure PCs are likely toencounter these avatars:

BHAAL(Lesser Power)

AL: LE; Symbol: A circle of red blood-teardrops, falling counterclockwise, usu-ally depicted circling a white skull.

HD 12; THAC0 as body ( + 5 to hit due toStrength); SpA W12, P14; MV 12; AC 0; hp84; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6 or by weapon type(+11 due to Strength); MR 45%; SZ asbody (usually M); Str 23, Int 17, Wis 19,Dex as body (no AC change), Con 25, Chaas body; regenerates 2 hp/round.

Bhaal, The Lord of Murder, has been re-duced to a killing force able to possess hu-mans. He must personally slay the ownerof a body to take possession. The victimgets no saving throw to avoid being pos-sessed. Possession takes one round; itdoes not require Bhaal�s physical contact,but he must be able to see his victim.

The spirits of humans slain by Bhaal be-come �soul spectres� (phantoms), and goto the Land of Always Night in Hades toserve him and Myrkul.

Bhaal retains his own strength and vital-ity, but employs the possessed body�sfighting skills (�to hit� rolls). His possessedbody can withstand attacks that wouldkill a living human. The avatar feels nopain except that caused by magic; he cangrasp and pull on bare weapon blades, orslap weapons aside. He can force asmashed body to do things that a livinghuman could not, such as hurling menthrough the air with single blows.

Bhaal does not care what happens tobodies he inhabits, but tries to keep abody mobile so he can readily slay re-placement bodies. The eyes of possessedbodies burn with a strange, mad intensity.

Bhaal can also exercise additionalpowers by touch. He can animate undeadindefinitely. Skeletons or zombies obeyhim absolutely; greater undead must per-form one service for him�treat as a com-mand spell�and are then free-willed.Bhaal cannot command existing undeadthat have greater power than skeletonsand zombies. He can influence only thoseundead he himself animates. Bhaal is im-mune to all undead attacks of any sort.

4 4

Symbol of BhaalBhaal can also disrupt undead with his

touch, turning them instantly into dustthat not even he can reanimate.

Bhaal can possess undead to serve himas bodies, in the same way that he pos-sesses living humans in the act of killingthem. To do so, Bhaal must �slay� the un-dead (reduce it to 0 hp). Undead pos-sessed by Bhaal lose a l l o f the irnon-physical attacks. They last only 1d6turns before disintegrating, destroyed bythe divine energy within them. There-fore, Bhaal uses such bodies only as ameans of escape.

MYRKUL(Greater Power)

AL: NE; Symbol: A skull or skeletal hand(sometimes combined, the hand issuingfrom the mouth of the skull).

HD 18; THAC0 14; SpA W23; MV 12, Fl18 (D); AC -4; hp 136; #AT 1; Dmg 1d6(+1 due to Strength) + special (see be-low); MR 45%; SZ M; Str 16, Int 18, Wis 23,Dex 15, Con 25, Cha 9; regenerates 2 hp/round.

Myrkul, Old Lord Skull, appears as acloaked skeletal human. The corpsesMyrkul uses disintegrate rapidly, and sothey tend to be more skeletal than zom-bielike. The head usually appears as abare skull.

The Lord of Bones i s somewhathaughty, even by the gods� standards. Hethinks nothing of lesser gods and �no-account cattle� (mortal creatures). He pre-fers to frighten or awe them by tauntingthem with his image, rather than facingthem in combat.

Myrkul�s attacks are as follows: 1d6(open-handed) or by weapon, plus 1d4chilling damage. This additional damageis identical to a chilling touch spell: 1d4damage (no save), plus save vs. spell toavoid a 1-point Strength loss; lost Strengthreturns at 1 point per hour. The chill canbe conferred by Myrkul�s touch or aweapon he wields.

Myrkul can also exercise Bhaal�s powersto animate and control the undead. LikeBhaal, he can possess undead bodies (butnot freshly killed victims). For a descrip-tion of these powers, see Bhaal�s entryabove.

Symbol of MyrkulWith a touch Myrkul can confer flesh

rot, the �mummy disease.� It negates allcure wounds spells, causes infected crea-tures to heal at only 10% of the normalrate, causes a permanent Charisma loss of1 point every two weeks, and is fatal in1d6 months. Touched creatures can avoidthis with a save vs. poison, but they mustsave again each time Myrkul touchesthem.

A side effect of Myrkul�s touch is thatliving creatures see all those around themas moving, talking, clothed skeletons. Vic-tims cannot see flesh, including expres-sions, moving lips, and so on. This doesnot mean victims automatically assumethat comrades have become undead; sim-ply describe the effect to the player andlet the player determine the PC�s reaction.Make an Intelligence check every turn toend this side effect.

4 5

The Tablets of FateIndestructible in the hands of anyone

except Lord Ao, each Tablet of Fate ismade of plain, weathered stone, two feethigh and with rounded ends and edges.On the sides are engraved the names andsymbols of the gods and their divine port-folios. However, no one but a god can in-terpret anything except the gods�symbols.

Tablets reflect all spells back 100% onthe caster, but are otherwise inert. No onecan use them offensively. The PCs� tabletradiates no dweomer. Myrkul�s tablet ra-diates strong magic, signs of the enchant-ments he has placed on it. These spells lethis denizens cross from Hades into theRealms; maintain an open gate to Hades,so that their power remains strong; andallow Myrkul to locate the tablet wher-ever it is.

Cyric�s SwordThough it resembles a short sword of

dancing +2, this chaotic evil weapon isintelligent and has powers almost on thelevel of an artifact. Its origin and purposeremain a mystery, as does its arrival inSneakabout�s hands.

Abilities: If directed to parry, thesword hurls back any weapon it contacts,regardless of weapon velocity or wield-er�s strength.

The sword has vampiric abilities. Onany killing blow, the sword can drain allthe blood and life energy of its victim.This causes the sword to glow a brightrose red. If the sword has not drained avictim in more than a day, it graduallywanes in color.

If it desires, the blade can releasedrained life energy to heal or revive itswielder (but no one else). It cannot beforced to do this. The sword can also keepthe wielder comfortable in extremes ofheat or cold.

The sword can speak with its user tele-pathically. It has an Intelligence of 17 andan Ego of at least 10. Refer to the DMG fordetails of magic sword blood-draining,dancing, ego and intelligence.

The sword possesses other powers de-termined by the DM. Use these powers topreserve Cyric�s life until the end of theadventure.

The Curse: This weapon�s principaldrawback is a curse that causes blood lustin the wielder. Also, as with many objectsof powerful evil, the item gradually pre-occupies its owner�s mind. The wieldereventually grows paranoid, obsessedwith the sword, and knows no peace ifthe sword is taken away. This happenedto Sneakabout.

However, shortly after acquiring theweapon, Cyric engaged it in a contest ofwills. Cyric won, and now he is immuneto the blood-lust curse. When Cyric meetshis fate at the end of this adventure, thesword passes from the world with him.

46

Denizen

CLIMATE/TERRAIN:FREQUENCY:

Hades of vampiric fangs, insectile compound eyes, and a flat hoglikeCommon in Hades; snout. Both hair and quills grow on its head, just behind a pair ofunknown elsewhere diminutive horns.

ORGANIZATION:ACTIVITY CYCLE:DIET:INTELLIGENCE:TREASURE:ALIGNMENT:

GroupAnyNoneAverage (10-11)V (magical weapons possible)Lawful Evil

Combat: Denizens have several special abilities that only func-tion in their home plane of Hades, or near an open portal toHades. They cannot be harmed by less than than +1 magicalweapons; they have magic resistance and innate protection fromgood; and they are immune to the same attacks as undead crea-tures.

NO. APPEARING:ARMOR CLASS:MOVEMENT:HIT DICE:THAC0:NO. OF ATTACKS:DAMAGE/ATTACK:SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:MAGIC RESISTANCE:SIZE:MORALE:LEVEL/X.P. VALUE:

1 - 41/012/12, Fl 188/1013/111/21-6/1-8 or weaponNilSee below30%/35%M/LSteady (11-12)650 (3000)/1400 (5000)

These creatures of Hades are servants of Myrkul, brought tothe Realms by the magic he placed on his Tablet of Fate.

Each denizen was once a living being, usually a cleric ofMyrkul. Evil and cunning in life, they were rewarded in deathwith these new forms and the role of tormentors of the dead.

There are many kinds of denizens, with many different powersand proficiencies. This entry describes the two seen in Water-deep during the Time of Troubles: knights and dukes. In the abil-ity listings above, some entries have two values, separated byslashes. The number before the slash indicates knights; the num-ber after, dukes.

All denizens regenerate 1 hp of damage each round. All haveinfravision (60� range) and extraordinarily acute senses of smelland taste. Some denizens also have other special abilities.

However, no denizen can turn invisible, and none can leave theplane of Hades without Myrkul�s assistance.

When stranded in another dimension without an open gate toHades within 100 miles, denizens lose their special abilities (ex-cept their superhuman senses). They regenerate only 1 hp perday. All attacks can harm them, except for fire- or heat-based at-tacks. They have no other special defenses. Dukes in flight dropfrom maneuverability class C to class D.

In combat denizens attack viciously, picking off the weakest op-ponents first. They take sadistic pleasure in inflicting pain.

Use the first XP value given above for denizens without theirspecial abilities; the XP value in parentheses applies to denizenswith all abilities intact.

Habitat/Society: Denizens are found only in Hades, specificallyin the Realm of the Dead (Myrkul�s domain). They often fly outover the Fugue Plain of Hades to harvest the waiting souls of theFalse and Faithless.

Denizens belong to an elaborate social structure modeled onhuman aristocracies. Low-ranking denizens are called �knights�;those of greater power have titles such as �duke� or �prince.� Allobey Lord Myrkul without question. It is not clear whether a den-izen can voluntarily advance in social status.

Knights have grotesque, casklike bodies with gangly, mis-shapen arms that drag along the ground. Their short legs belytheir speed and grace. Knights have humanlike heads and fea-tures, except for bilious fangs and glowing red eyes. They speakin low, guttural voices.

Ecology: Denizens do not need to eat to survive, but they enjoythe taste of living flesh.

Dukes have fat bodies covered with feathers. Their huge, leath-ery wings propel them through air at maneuverability class C. Aduke�s head looks like nothing human, but rather a combination

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Night Rider

CLIMATE/TERRAIN: Any (guardian)FREQUENCY: RareORGANIZATION: Solitary or groupACTIVITY CYCLE: AnyDIET: NoneINTELLIGENCE: Low (5-7)TREASURE: V (magical weapons possible)ALIGNMENT: Lawful Evil

NO. APPEARING:ARMOR CLASS:MOVEMENT:HIT DICE:THAC0:NO. OF ATTACKS:DAMAGE/ATTACK:SPECIAL ATTACKS:SPECIAL DEFENSES:MAGIC RESISTANCE:SIZE:MORALE:LEVEL/X.P. VALUE:

3 - 2 4710As in lifeAs in lifeAs in life1-8 or by weapon typeChill touchProtection from good, darknessSpecialMVery Steady (13)650 (varies)

These undead are created by Myrkul and a few liches and evilclerics. They are usually found as guardians or servants, and re-semble zombies or (more rarely) skeletons or partially skeletalcorpses. They are more powerful than both of these types of un-dead, and their intelligence makes them far more dangerous.

Although utterly silent in movement, night riders usuallychuckle or cry out in triumph when they strike an opponent.They are so profoundly evil that they can create a protectionfrom good, 10� radius at will. Night riders are turned as shadows.

Combat: Night riders may use all sorts of weapons, but becauseof their relative clumsiness, they are -1 to hit with missile weap-ons. Unlike zombies, night riders do not necessarily strike last ina round (being faster than zombies, night riders suffer only -1on initiative rolls).

Most night riders in the service of Myrkul are armed withscythes of wounding +1 (treat as a sword of wounding), whichdeal a base damage of 2-8 +1.

Night riders can create darkness in a 15� radius at will. Theirtouch chills all non-undead for 1d4 hp damage, and causes a (cu-mulative) hour-long 1-point Strength loss.

Night riders cannot use spells, potions, or magic items requir-ing a living touch. They suffer only half damage from edged andpiercing weapons, and are unaffected by sleep, charm, hold andcold- based magics.

Healing spells and potions actually do damage to night riders.Such magics diminish their unlife energy, causing the loss of hitpoints equal to the points of healing the magic would have doneto a living being. (A partial or splash hit from a potion does 1-2 hpdamage.) Holy water does a night rider 2d4 damage per vial.

Habitat/Society: Night riders are created for a purpose, and gowhere commanded. They have no societal organization, but aremost often found with other undead�particularly gaunts (see be-low), normal zombies, and skeletons. They retain something ofthe intelligence they had in life, and seem drawn to areas theyfrequented when alive.

Ecology: Night Riders eat nothing, and serve no ecologicalniche. They may serve Myrkul or the greater undead.

Gaunt

AC 7; MV 24 (leap 20�); HD 2 + 2; #AT 2; Dmg 1d4; SZ L; AL LE;Morale 12; XP value 975.

Many night riders have as companions only their undeadhorses called gaunts. These skeletal steeds, also known as dead-mounts, are rare. Some believe them to be created only by Baneand Myrkul.

Gaunts appear as skeletal horses, some with manes, tails, andeven tatters of withered flesh still attached. They are of all sizes,and although their bones are as brittle as most dry bone, their un-life gives them strong and supple joints. They gallop and leap asswiftly and surely as living horses. Gaunts are turned as ghouls.

Gaunts fight anything that their rider attacks, or as com-manded. In battle, gaunts lash out with their hooves for 1d4 dam-age per attack.

Their breath has a chilling effect. Living creatures within 10�must make a Constitution check every round. Failure means 1d4hp damage and causes a (cumulative) one-point Strength loss last-ing one hour.

Any living being foolish enough to mount a gaunt must save vs.paralyzation every round or be paralyzed. Such paralysis canonly be broken by a successful saving throw on a subsequent at-tempt. On the first round, the save is made at -6; on the secondround, at -5; and so on. On each round of paralysis, a rider suf-fers an automatic 2 hp of chill damage. Helpless living riders areusually taken on a ride over a cliff. Anyone who can reach a para-lyzed rider can readily pull him or her off.

Gaunts suffer only half damage from edged or piercing weap-ons, and are unaffected by sleep, charm, hold and cold- basedmagic. Holy water does a deadmount 2d4 damage per vial.

Some gaunts, who have lost riders far from anything that cancommand them, wander alone and in small bands in wildernessareas. They may even join and run with wild horses, who ignoreor fear them.

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RANDOM ENCOUNTER TABLESThe tables below are provided for the convenience of the DM to determine the nature of random encoun-

ters in some of the areas where this adventure takes place. Other types of creatures may be encountered,at the DM�s discretion; these tables are meant only as a guideline and a time-saver. Use the King�s Foresttable when the party is in the forested area of Cormyr, and use the High Moor tables whenever the party isin open terrain west of the Sunset Mountains. For encounters in other areas and other types of terrain, theDM can select appropriate creatures from the Monstrous Compendium or use the general encounter tablesprovided with any official AD&D® game book or supplement.

King’s Forest1d20 Encounter

1 Choke creeper (1)2-3 Wild dogs (4d4)4-6 Goblins (5d4)

7 Fire beetles (3d4)8-9 Mongrelmen (3d4)

10-11 Stirges (5d6)12 Giant hornet (1)

13-14 Korreds (1d4)15-17 Orcs (2d6)18-19 Brown bears (1d6)

20 Green hag (1)

High Moor (Day)1d20 Encounter1-2 Bugbears (3d4)3-4 Huge spiders (2d4)5-6 Wolves (4d4)

7 Land lampreys (2d6)8-9 Manticores (1d4)10 Bulettes (1d2)

11-12 Trolls (1d12)13 Wild boars (1d6)

14-15 Giant wasps (4d4)16-18 Hobgoblins (4d8)19-20 Griffons (2d4)

High Moor (Night)1d20 Encounter

1 Hill giants (1d10)2-3 Bats (2d20)

4 Groaning spirit (1)5-6 Wolves (2d10)7-8 Trolls (1d12)9-10 Hobgoblins (4d8)

11-12 Jackalweres (1d4)13-14 Land lampreys (1d6)

15 Ascomid (1)16-17 Bats (2d10)18-19 Orcs (2d10)

20 Giant slug (1)

MONSTER SUMMARY TABLESome of the vital statistics of monsters featured in this adventure are presented in this table for handy

reference during play. Refer to the original AD&D® game monster books or the 2nd Edition MonstrousCompendium volumes for more detailed information.

AC HD3 6 + 6

8(4) 1-2 hp6 3+34 1+27 3 + 3

5(10) 3+1-2/4/6 9

6(5) 254 8+1-26 1 - 1

- 2 93 71 75 1+1

2(4) 54 45 6+17 1+26 3+14 6 + 35 4

6(10) 18 126 2 + 28 1 hp8 1+14 6 + 64 47 2 + 23 7 + 7

#AT1131113

8+1123111111331111113212

Dmg1 (poison kills)

11-6/1-6/1-8

2-83-12

2-8 or weapon4-48/3-18/3-18

1-42-16

1-6 or weapon7-8/7-8

1-4/1-4/2-161-8

1-8 or weapon1-42-8

1-2 +4 or weapon1/rnd (up to 3)

1-3/1-3/1-61-3/1-3/1-8

1-10 or weapon1-8 or weapon

1-121-6

11-3

5-8/5-8/5-122-8/1-4

2-52-16 (bite), 1-6

MV Remarks12 cloud: 1-4 rnds helpless

Fl 24 ruin spells, torches out12 hugs: 2-12 dmg12 glands glow 1-6 days15 fights 2-5 rds. at 0 hp9 attack as team

14 jump 8': 3-18 X 4 dmg1 strangles

12 hurl rocks to 200�: 2-16 dmg6 may have slaves

12, Sw 12 spell-like powers12, Fl 30 eat horses

15 wail kills (range 30�)9 swords & morning stars

6, Fl 24 poison, paralysis12 gaze sleeps, wpn immunities9 animated ropes entangle

12 drains blood15 (leap 20�) rear claws: 1-4/1-4

12, Fl 18 tail spikes: 1-6, 18� r.9 pickpocket, camouflage, mimic

9 (12) -1 to hit in full daylight6 60' + range acid spit

6, Wb 15 poison, leaps 30�9 lair 20� up in trees

3, Fl 18 blood drain, hits as 4 HD12 regenerates 3 hp per rnd

6, Fl 21 poison paralyzes18 hunt in packs

6, Fl 24 tail sting: killing poison

NameAscomidBatBear, brownBeetle, fireBoar, wildBugbearBuletteChoke creeperGiant, hillGoblinGreen hagGriffonGroaning spiritHobgoblinHornet, giantJackalwereKorredLamprey, landLion, mountainManticoreMongrelmanOrcSlug, giantSpider, hugeSquirrelStirgeTrollWasp, giantWolfWyvern

PHYSICAL CHAOS TABLEThe effects described on this table are suggestions only; the DM should feel free to make up alternatives and

substitute freely. Bear in mind, however, that play will have to go on in the �new� environment afterwards;consider the impact of widespread or long-lasting changes to the landscape beforehand. Roll percentile dice,and consult the table below; the frequency with which the DM consults the table is a matter of choice (gener-ally, the presence of avatars or large-scale magical activity increases chaos, and the presence of large popula-tions or mountains decreases chaos). The use of this table should make travel strange, exciting, andoccasionally dangerous; not an exhausting, neverending obstacle course. DMs who also used the precedingadventure, Shadowdale, should roll on this table more often than they did in the previous adventure, sincechaos in general is increasing throughout the realms.

PercentileScore01-10

11-24

25-30

31-44

45-52

53-62

63-70

71-88

89-96

97-00

ResultNatural fireworks effect (as in the pyrotechnics spell) occurs. The air is filled with a ringing,chiming sound that dies away (with the fireworks) after 1-4 rounds.Undergrowth sprouts into sudden, frenzied life (if no foliage underfoot, it will grow, evenfrom bare rock or atop water), equal to an entangle spell, which lasts 7 rounds in a 60-yarddiameter area (save equals slowed, not held; held creatures can fight and cast spells, but notchange location). Musklike plant scents and floral bouquets will waft (harmlessly) in the air.Insects appear with a menacing buzzing sound, a swarm equal in effects to an insect plague(priest spell), lasting for 1-4 turns.The air turns violet and luminous (lasting 1-12 rounds). During this time, all within the area (a400-yard diameter sphere extending into any buildings, the ground beneath, etc.) are slowed,affected by feather fall and neutralize poison, and are cured of 1-4 points of damage if in-jured. All invisible creatures and objects, and all dweomers (but not alignment auras) can beclearly seen in the violet field.There is a menacing crackle, and a strong smell of ozone. Lightning bolts (damage 1d6 through4d6; determine randomly) form spontaneously from rocks or exposed wood of any sort, leapingin a straight line to the nearest bit of rock or exposed wood (rock to rock or wood to wood, neverone to the other). Save vs. breath weapon to avoid if possible (contact with any part of a bolt�sdestination, such as climbing elsewhere on the same cliff, makes a saving throw impossible). Boltsand discharges will veer away from and avoid large concentrations of pure metal; fully armoredcharacters will automatically make their saving throws, if allowed any.Lashing rain begins, though the air grows warm. This precipitation lasts 1-10 rounds, affectsa small (80-yard-diameter cylinder from ground to upper air) area, and within it, all creaturescan understand the speech of all other creatures, as if a tongues spell were in operation.All small, light (roughly 10 lbs.) objects within a 10-yard radius that are not held or securedwill animate (as the priest spell animate object). They will fly about aimlessly; make Dexteritychecks each round to avoid being hit. Any hit does 1-2 points of damage. Any being concen-trating on a moving object for at least 1 round will discover that he can influence its course,perhaps employing it as a weapon. A maximum of 1 object at a time can be so controlled by abeing; if two beings try to control the same object, the creature with the higher Intelligencewill ultimately prevail. This effect will last for 1-2 turns.The ground begins to rise and fall as if it were waves on the open sea. Charging or springingaccurately becomes impossible, as does riding other creatures. Writing and spellcasting taketwice as long (but are not ruined). There is a 1 in 6 chance each round that this conditionexists that a rift will open in the earth and swallow a rock, tree, or being up, spitting them outunharmed (unreachable by magic or physical means during their entombment) 2-5 roundslater. There is also a 2 in 6 chance that a shooting star (as in the missile released by a ring ofshooting stars) will appear overhead, and burst. All creatures must save vs. spell to avoidsuffering damage. These conditions last for 1-3 turns, moving with any traveling creatures.All creatures within a 90-yard radius, from earthworms to dragons, are enshrouded in a faeriefire radiance for 1-6 turns thereafter. The radiance will shift color slowly but constantly; it willalso act as a ring of spell turning, and as a regeneration field: all damage, however caused, suf-fered by a creature within a radiant field, is not suffered but gained as healing. Creatures at fullhp can increase their hp by this means, such increased hp being lost at the rate of 1 per day (24-hour period), or through injury. Creatures augmented substantially in this way save at their �new�Hit Dice total, but still attack and function at their original level or Hit Dice.A reverse gravity effect occurs. All creatures take damage as per the spell, but upon landingfind that they have permanently gained 1-4 hp, and 20-yard-range infravision (if they alreadypossess infravision, its range is extended by 20 yards). A strange, flickering golden radianceflashes here and there; arrows of direction and similar devices will not function. Tracking isimpossible. These latter effects fade away in 1-2 turns.