Adventurers race against time to stop Xardorok Sunblight from unleashing terror upon Ten-Towns.
Sequestered among the crags of the Spine of the World is a grim fortress hewn out of rock. This fortress is home to Xardorok Sunblight, his two living sons, and the rest of the Sunblight duergar clan. It is a heavily defended gateway between the clan’s former home in the Underdark and its future home in Icewind Dale. From here, Xardorok plots the destruction of Ten-Towns.
Xardorok has no imagination of his own. Instead, he receives inspiration from his patron, whom he believes is Deep Duerra (the duergar god of conquest). Unknown to Xardorok, his warlock powers come from Asmodeus, the Lord of the Nine Hells, who enjoys impersonating other gods. It is Asmodeus, not Deep Duerra, who inspired Xardorok Sunblight to become the first duergar to leave the Underdark and carve out a kingdom for himself on the surface.
Running This Chapter
Characters who learn of Xardorok’s plot to forge a dragon of chardalyn and unleash it upon Ten-Towns might decide to launch a preemptive strike on Xardorok’s fortress. This chapter describes the fortress of Sunblight in detail, in the event the adventurers decide to attack it. But the characters are in for a surprise: by the time they arrive, Xardorok has already finished his construct and set it loose, leaving the characters with an agonizing decision: press the attack against the duergar fortress, or intercept the dragon in Ten-Towns. If they choose the latter course, skip over this chapter for now and proceed withchapter 4.
The characters are more likely to survive an invasion of Xardorok’s fortress if they are at least 4th level. Characters of lower level can succeed if they take frequent rests or have an edge, such as plenty of healing magic or allies to back them up.
Speaker’s Quest
If the characters lack incentive to confront Xardorok in his fortress, either because they didn’t encounter his sons in chapter 1 or because the duergar threat hasn’t impacted them yet, you can have one of the speakers in Ten-Towns invite them to a private meeting. The speaker would know the characters by reputation, if nothing else. At this meeting, the speaker presents the following information:
“Invisible enemies walk among us. We have seen their boot prints in the snow, and now we know what they are: duergar. These malevolent dwarves of the Underdark have infiltrated Ten-Towns in search of a rare crystal known as chardalyn. With it, they’re building a mighty construct that will lay waste to Ten-Towns if nothing is done to stop it.
“Our militia captured one of the duergar and forced it to divulge the location of their mountain stronghold. Therein you will find a duergar warlord named Xardorok Sunblight. He aims to conquer Icewind Dale and destroy us all. For the good of Ten-Towns, will you penetrate the duergar fortress, slay this evil warlord, and destroy his terrible weapon?”
If the characters accept this quest, the speaker provides them with a map of Icewind Dale that marks the location of the duergar fortress, as shown on map 2.1 (see “Map 2.1 Icewind Dale”). For the benefit of your players, you can point to the fortress’s location using the poster map of Icewind Dale.
If the characters ask to speak with the captured duergar, the speaker informs them that the duergar was put to death following the interrogation, to keep him escaping and warning his kin. If the characters insist on seeing the duergar, the speaker takes them to a cellar where the body is being kept. Any character who casts a
The speaker has little to offer the characters as recompense beyond hospitality and friendship. If the characters insist on a more tangible reward, the speaker scowls, apologizes for misjudging them, and lets them go about their business. Their reputation takes a blow if they decline to help. Regardless of the meeting’s outcome, the speaker’s next task is to prepare the settlement for what will surely be the fight of its life, in the event that Xardorok’s construct attacks Ten-Towns.
Trouble in the Fortress
The following sections describe what the characters are up against in this chapter.
Xardorok’s Paranoia
Xardorok’s obsession with chardalyn is a form of madness that has consumed the duergar warlock, to the extent that he will stop at nothing to obtain all of it. Xardorok prizes chardalyn more than he loves his sons and his clan, which has alienated his closest advisors and forced them to question their blind obedience to him.
Prolonged contact with malevolent magic suffusing the chardalyn has made Xardorok extraordinarily paranoid. He keeps his two sons, Durth and Nildar, as far away from him as possible, sending them on dangerous missions to acquire more chardalyn in and around Ten-Towns, fearing that they might usurp his throne otherwise. Xardorok rewards his subjects for spying on one another and uncovering plots against him. The duergar closest to him are aware of the changes in his demeanor, but they lack the courage to stand up to him. A few have learned to capitalize on his paranoia, gaining Xardorok’s favor by fabricating evidence of coups orchestrated by their rivals.
The Muzgardt Conspiracy
Grandolpha Muzgardt, the grand dame of the Muzgardt duergar clan, has recently arrived at the fortress after being invited here by Xardorok. The Muzgardts are based in Gracklstugh, a duergar city in the Underdark. They mass-produce and distribute a filthy duergar ale made from mushrooms. Xardorok has been eager to take a fourth wife and has had his eye on Grandolpha Muzgardt for many years. He asked Grandolpha to his fortress to give her a gift—a pseudodragon made of chardalyn (a pseudo-pseudodragon, if you will)—and make her an offer she can’t refuse. Once he conquers Icewind Dale, he wants the Muzgardts to control the ale trade throughout his sunless surface kingdom.
Grandolpha, for her part, is too canny and jaded to fall for Xardorok’s blunt attempt at seduction. She has begun plotting with disenfranchised advisors and warriors in his ranks to overthrow him when the moment is right. Ironically, despite his paranoia, Xardorok is too blinded by his admiration for Grandolpha to foresee her treachery. In Grandolpha, the characters might find an unlikely (if temporary) ally.
Character Advancement
In this chapter, characters can advance to 6th level and no farther. Level advancement is handled as follows:
- The characters gain a level if they defeat Xardorok Sunblight.
- The characters gain a level if they accomplish any two of the following feats: find the chardalyn dragon’s flight plan in area area X4, free the myconid sovereign in area area X19, or destroy the heart of the red dragon in area area X24.
Finding the Fortress
The characters can find a map aboard the Easthaven ferry that shows the location of Xardorok’s fortress. They obtain a similar map if they accept the speaker’s quest presented earlier in this chapter. If the characters fail to obtain the map, they can use magic to compel a captured duergar to divulge the location of the fortress.
Approaching the Fortress
To get to Xardorok’s fortress, the characters need to negotiate the Spine of the World. Use the rules in the “area Mountain Travel” section to simulate the perils of getting around in the peaks.
Beyond the snowy foothills, low-lying clouds obscure the icy peaks of the gargantuan mountains that form the Spine of the World. Eventually, you get above the clouds and behold a sheer mountain wall rising more than a hundred feet before you. Carved high on the wall are rows of arrow slits with lights burning behind them and clanking sounds issuing from them. A narrow staircase hewn from the rock leads up along one side of the wall.
The steps leading up to it are barely 5 feet wide and climb 150 feet to a frost-covered shelf that adjoins the main entrance (area area X1).
Difficult Decision
As the characters begin their ascent, read:
From high above comes a loud grinding noise as large sheets of ice break off the fortress walls and tumble down the mountainside. Suddenly, great doors of ice previously hidden under snow stand open more than three hundred feet above you, and from between them flies a huge dragon made of dark ice. Its eyes glow with a bright golden light as it lets out a terrible roar, hurls itself into the air, and glides away from the fortress, then turns and heads north toward Ten-Towns.
The chardalyn dragon (see appendix C) exits the fortress by climbing up a shaft that leads from the forge level to the fortress’s summit. The doors at the top of the shaft remain open until the dragon returns or until someone closes them by using the levers in areasarea X13 and area X15.
The dragon stays at least 250 feet away from the party and does not pay any attention to the characters as it flies off on its mission to destroy Ten-Towns. Given the dragon’s impressive flying speed, it’s unlikely that the characters will be able to catch up to it.
The characters must now make a big decision: do they assault Xardorok’s fortress as planned or follow the dragon back to Ten-Towns? If they continue their climb to the fortress, continue with the next section; if they pursue the dragon, move on to chapter 4.
Xardorok’s Fortress
The fortress, depicted on map 3.1, has the following noteworthy features:
- Bare Stone Hewn from gray stone, the fortress is bereft of ornamentation or artistic flair. Doors are likewise made of bare stone, with iron handles and hinges.
Smoky Haze
Smoke from the forge (area area X24) permeates the interior of the fortress. Unless the text notes otherwise, all areas are lightly obscured by this smoky haze. Exposure to it is unhealthy; characters who take a long rest in a hazy location regain one fewer Hit Die than normal. A strong wind that lasts 1 minute or longer clears an area of smoky haze for 1 hour thereafter.
Heat
Duergar have
- Ceilings Tunnel ceilings are 10 feet high and flat. Room ceilings are 15 feet high and vaulted in most areas except for the larger spaces on the forge level, which are 30 feet high.
Elevators
The three levels of the fortress are connected by two mechanical elevators that are continually moving up and down their shafts, except for a 1-minute stop each time it arrives at a floor. One elevator links areas area X6, area X13, and area X22, and the other links areas area X12, area X15, and area X30. An elevator can be disabled in any location where its wheel mechanisms are exposed (as shown on map 3.1).
Where Is Xardorok?
To determine Xardorok’s whereabouts when the characters arrive at the fortress, roll a
Xardorok’s Location
| d20 | Location |
|---|---|
| 1–5 | Resting on his throne in area area X19 |
| 6–10 | Barking orders in area area X24 |
| 11–15 | Praying before the statue in area area X29 |
| 16–20 | Torturing a duergar accused of treason in area area X34 |
Command Level
The command level contains living quarters for Xardorok and his two sons, as well as halls for training and dining.
X1. Entrance
Moving east from the top of the stairs leads you to the entrance of the fortress: a ten-foot-high double door of featureless stone. An arrow slit facing in your direction guards the approach.
The entrance doors are barred shut from within and can’t be opened from the outside, except with the use of a
Beyond the double door is a lowered iron portcullis. Area X6 contains the winch that raises and lowers the portcullis, which can also be forced open with a
Arrow Slit
A duergar guard in area X6 watches the icy ledge through the arrow slit, which grants him three-quarters cover against attacks made from outside the fortress. If he sees the characters approaching on the ledge, the duergar turns
X2. Vestibule
Beyond the portcullis is an empty room with a narrow opening at the far end and an arrow slit in the western wall.
Arrow Slit
A duergar guard in area X3 watches this room through the arrow slit, which grants her three-quarters cover. If she sees or hears intruders inside the fortress, she shouts, “To arms!” in Undercommon. The nine duergar guards in area X3 spend 1 round rallying before pouring out of the barracks to confront the foes.
X3. Upper Barracks
A low stone table flanked by stone benches dominates this room, which is heated and illuminated by braziers of glowing-hot coals. Through the hazy smoke, you see featureless stone doors lining the walls.
A female duergar guard stands in front of an arrow slit that peers into area X2. Additionally, eight duergar guards rest in the smaller rooms attached to this one. Each of these 10-foot-square rooms has three stone bunkbeds protruding from its walls.
Secret Door
A character who searches the walls for secret doors and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (
Duergar Names
Here are some names you can use to identify duergar guards: Bruvo, Duerreth, Dwargyn, Fisketta, Gurn, Harmok, Jarjun, Jonkin, Kolbrak, Lurgash, Mrod, Mursk, Narla, Qualkin, Rovaalt, Skarda, Skorn, Throd, Ulkinn, Vygardt, Zorzula, and Zulkrod.
X4. Xardorok’s War Room
This rectangular room has two sets of double doors, one to the north and the other to the south. A brazier of glowing-hot coals stands in each corner. In the middle of the room is a low stone table, on the top of which is drawn an illustration that looks something like a map.
Closer inspection of the drawing reveals that it’s an accurate depiction of Ten-Towns and its environs. Mounted to the top of a thin iron stand on the table is a 6-inch-tall dragon figurine carved out of chardalyn—a miniature version of Xardorok’s chardalyn dragon, its wings outstretched. The figurine’s stand is attached by an iron rod to a groove carved into the table, allowing the figurine to move across the map from one settlement to another. If a lever on the west side of the table is pulled, the dragon figurine “flies” over Ten-Towns on its preset course. Any character who pays close attention can discern the flight path of Xardorok’s chardalyn dragon (see chapter 4 for details).
Dragon Figurine
The chardalyn figurine can be broken off its stand. As an art object, it is worth 50 gp. Anyone who keeps it on their person for more than 1 hour gains a random form of indefinite madness (see “indefinite madness” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide).
Secret Door
A character who searches the walls for secret doors and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (
X5. Xardorok’s Quarters
Braziers heaped with glowing-hot coals heat this chamber, which contains a large stone bed covered with soot-stained furs, its head against the north wall. In a shallow niche above the bed is a bas relief of a giant, scowling duergar clenching its teeth. At the foot of the bed is a flat-topped iron trunk sealed with a bulky padlock. A stone door is set into the western wall.
Closet
The western door opens into a closet that Xardorok has converted into a shrine. A shelf embedded in the south wall holds a 2-foot-tall statuette of Deep Duerra made of chardalyn. It depicts a nude female duergar with no facial features and a spiked crown atop her bald head. Stacked on smaller shelves around the statuette are seven mind flayer skulls. A character can identify the depiction with a successful DC 20 Intelligence (
Anyone other than Xardorok who touches the statuette of Deep Duerra must make a DC 16 Wisdom saving throw, taking 18 (
Iron Trunk
The iron trunk is bolted to the floor. A character using thieves' tools can use an action to try to pick the lock, doing so with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. A
The trunk contains Xardorok’s personal possessions (see “Treasure” below), and it is trapped. If all its contents are removed, hidden springs raise the trunk’s false bottom to rise slightly, at which point the stone visage above the bed opens its mouth and belches a cloud of poisonous gas large enough to fill the room. The gas hangs in the air for 10 minutes, then dissipates. Any creature that starts its turn in the cloud must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (
Treasure
The iron trunk contains a pair of dwarven sandals carved out of obsidian (250 gp), a quilted smoking jacket sized for a dwarf and sewn with fifty gemstones (500 gp), a malachite beard comb set with seven red garnets (750 gp), a hookah made of platinum and star sapphire (2,500 gp), and a rolled-up leather scroll with the following sequence of numbers written on it in Dwarvish:
| - | - | - | - | | 1-3-6 | 2-5-2 | 9-7-5 | 4-3-4 | | 8-2-7 | 5-6-3 | 7-1-4 | 2-9-9 |
The numbers on the scroll are the combinations for the locked chests in the treasure vault (area area X37).
X6. Guard Post
This room is heated and illuminated by braziers of glowing-hot coals. Visible on the west wall are an arrow slit, an iron lever, and a heavy iron winch.
A floor-to-ceiling iron cage in the middle of the room contains an elevator shaft with chains running up and down away from it. The chains are in constant motion, and you hear loud mechanical noises higher up the shaft and farther down as well. A double door is embedded in the middle of the east wall. Air enters the room through a row of four arrow slits in the south wall.
An
Elevator
A box-shaped iron elevator car constantly goes up and down the shaft, stopping for 1 minute on each floor and taking 1 minute to move from one level to the next. A collapsing iron gate on the west side of the cage slides open when the car arrives at this level from above or below. The 10-foot-wide stone shaft climbs 100 feet to area area X13 and descends 100 feet to area area X22.
Lever
Moving the iron lever on the west wall opens and closes the fortress’s outer doors (see area area X1).
Winch
Turning the iron winch on the west wall raises and lowers the portcullis between areas X1 and area X2.
X7. Office of the Captain of the Guard
A stone desk and chair stand empty on the east side of the room. The braziers that normally heat and light the room have been extinguished. An arrow slit in the south wall lets in the frigid mountain air.
Until recently, this room was the office of Xardorok’s captain of the guard, who has been accused of plotting a coup and is being tortured in area area X34.
X8. Private Dining Hall
Three braziers heaped with glowing-hot coals illuminate and heat this long hall. At the eastern end is a hexagonal stone table surrounded by six stone chairs. Seated in the chair facing the door is a haggard old duergar with long black hair streaked with ribbons of white and fingernails like shards of iron. She is devouring a hearty buffet of cooked meats, mushrooms, and strange Underdark fare. Lurking next to her is a small mechanical dragon made of a shiny black substance.
Hunched over a hot stove in the west side of the room are three duergar cooks. At the sight of you, they drop their utensils and reach for their weapons, but the old duergar says something in Dwarvish that keeps them at bay.
Xardorok and his sons dine here, occasionally joined by guests. In attendance today is Xardorok’s paramour, Grandolpha Muzgardt (see the accompanying stat block). The three duergar cooks are Grandolpha’s loyal bodyguards. The chardalyn dragonet next to Grandolpha is a gift from Xardorok; it’s a lawful evil construct that understands Draconic and Dwarvish but can’t speak. It otherwise has the statistics of a pseudodragon.
After telling her bodyguards to stand down, Grandolpha invites the characters to join her for dinner. The main course is a cooked intellect devourer, its brain-body stewing in its own juices. The characters can partake of the feast that Grandolpha’s guards have prepared, but the food has a thin layer of ash covering it that spoils the taste. Grandolpha doesn’t seem to mind, though. She also offers the characters a vile Muzgardt brew made from Underdark mushrooms, which she pours from a jug on the table before her.
Grandolpha has no stake in Xardorok’s plot to conquer Icewind Dale and does nothing to help or hinder his efforts. If the characters threaten her, she laughs at their audacity and refuses to meet their demands. If the characters ask for her help, she shares the following information with them:
- She doesn’t know Xardorok’s current whereabouts but assumes he’s in the forge (area area X24) on the lowest level of the fortress.
- Xardorok has programmed his chardalyn dragon to follow a prearranged flight plan. The characters can view the dragon’s route in Xardorok’s war room (area area X4).
- Xardorok is capturing Underdark monsters, which he plans to unleash upon Icewind Dale. He has also captured a myconid sovereign and is using its spores to reanimate corpses.
- Xardorok has proposed an alliance between his clan and the Muzgardt clan. Grandolpha is entertaining Xardorok’s offer but hasn’t agreed to anything. The mechanical pseudodragon was a gift from Xardorok, designed to win Grandolpha’s affection.
- Given time, Grandolpha thinks she can turn most of the Sunblight duergar against Xardorok. Several of them have already pledged their loyalty to her.
Before entering combat, Grandolpha casts
Slaad Host
If a character has the Slaad Host secret (see appendix B) and has a slaad tadpole gestating inside them, having the tadpole burst out of the character’s chest during dinner would be excellent timing for its shock value. Grandolpha suggests not killing the tadpole and instead proposes that it be allowed to grow into a full-sized slaad. “Let Xardorok deal with it,” she says. If the characters allow this to happen, the tadpole slinks away and finds a quiet corner of the fortress in which to grow, becoming a full-grown slaad within
X9. Portcullis
Across from the double doors to area X8 is a short hallway with a lowered iron portcullis at its southernmost end. Moving an iron lever jutting out of the west wall raises and lowers the portcullis, beyond which is a wide shaft that descends 100 feet to area area X26 and climbs 120 feet to a pair of enormous doors carved out of ice.
The characters need magic or climbing gear to scale the shaft’s rough-hewn walls.
X10. Durth’s Quarters
This dark chamber contains a plain stone bed, a stone trunk, and four unlit braziers.
This room belongs to Xardorok’s eldest son and heir, Durth Sunblight. Durth is here only if he was forced to abandon his hideout in chapter 1 (see “area Easthaven Ferry") or if he managed to steal a trove of chardalyn from the Easthaven town hall (see “area The Chardalyn Caper"). Durth is a duergar mind master (see appendix C). If he hears suspicious activity outside his room, he shrinks to Tiny size and hides under the bed.
The trunk is Durth’s longtime companion, an intelligent mimic that speaks Undercommon. It attacks anyone else who disturbs it. If he is present when the mimic attacks, Durth rolls initiative and joins the battle on the second round of combat.
X11. Nildar’s Quarters
This dark room contains a plain stone bed, a stone trunk, and four unlit braziers. Mounted on the walls are the heads of various creatures that might be found in the mountains or the subterranean depths.
This room belongs to Xardorok’s youngest son, Nildar. If the characters forced him to abandon his post in chapter 1 (see “area The Unseen"), Nildar is here, sulking in the dark and plotting his revenge. Nildar is a duergar. If his pet ogre zombie escaped with him, the rotting behemoth stands in the northeast corner of the room.
Trophies
The mounted heads are those of a crag cat, a grick, a male drow, a kuo-toa, a troglodyte, a wolf, a peryton, and a female grimlock. Nildar didn’t kill most of these creatures by himself, but he claimed the trophies.
Trunk
Nildar’s stone trunk holds a ceramic jug of wine, a drinking horn, and a rolled-up piece of leather bearing a charcoal sketch of his late mother’s stern visage.
X12. Training Room
Braziers of glowing-hot coals stand in the corners of this room, working to offset the cold air that flows through a row of arrow slits on the south wall.
Scattered around the room are several training dummies made of wood and sackcloth, as well as four freestanding suits of plate armor. A floor-to-ceiling iron cage in the middle of the room contains an elevator shaft with chains running up and down away from it. The chains are in constant motion, and you hear loud mechanical noises high above and below.
The training dummies are harmless; they have been dismembered and sewn back together numerous times.
Touching one of the suits of armor or dealing damage to any of them causes all four to animate (use the animated armor stat block to represent them). They attack all other creatures in the room, which they can’t leave of their own volition. If there are no other creatures in the room that they can attack on their turn, the suits of armor deactivate and revert to their inanimate state.
Elevator
A box-shaped iron elevator car constantly goes up and down the shaft, stopping for 1 minute on each floor and taking 1 minute to move from one level to the next. A collapsing iron gate on the west side of the cage slides open when the car arrives at this level from above or below. The 10-foot-wide stone shaft climbs 100 feet to area area X15 and descends 100 feet to area area X30.
Ice Gate Level
The uppermost level of the fortress contains the mechanism that operates the ice gate—enormous doors through which Xardorok’s chardalyn dragon comes and goes. These doors are carved out of thick ice and have hinged iron clamps holding them in place. When the doors are open, they allow access to a 30-foot-wide vertical shaft that descends 220 feet to area area X26.
X13. Western Gear Room
The following boxed text assumes the characters enter this area by coming up the elevator. If they enter by the north tunnel, adjust the boxed text accordingly:
Ascending the elevator shaft deposits you in the middle of a large room with machinery filling the eastern half.
A duergar stands in front of a double door in the north wall, and another is in the southeast corner next to a lever that juts out of the east wall. Braziers heaped with hot coals do little to offset the cold air that blows through the arrow slits in the south wall.
The two duergar are hostile toward non-duergar. On their first turn in combat, the duergar grow to Large size; on subsequent turns, they attack intruders. Meanwhile, two Duergar Hammerer (see appendix C) lurk in the small chambers to the west. After all other creatures in the room have taken an action, roll initiative for the hammerers; on their first turn, the hammerers emerge from their rooms and join the fray on the side of the duergar.
Elevator Shaft
The 10-foot-wide stone shaft descends 100 feet to area area X6 and 200 feet to area area X22.
Ice Gate
The large stone wheel near the east wall is part of the mechanism that opens and closes the doors at the top of the fortress. Pulling the lever on the east wall causes the wheel to turn, opening the western half of the door; sliding the lever back to its original position closes it.
X14. Workshop
This messy workshop is heated and illuminated by braziers of glowing-hot coals in the corners. The room is furnished with stone tables and cabinets. In the middle of the room, surrounded by twisted bits of metal, is a half-finished exoskeletal construct like the ones you encountered in the room you came from.
This room contains two duergar mechanics (one male, one female), both of whom turn
Treasure
Characters who search the workshop find two sets of smith’s tools and a set of tinker’s tools.
X15. Eastern Gear Room
The following boxed text assumes the characters enter this area by coming up the elevator. If they enter by the north tunnel, adjust the boxed text accordingly:
Ascending the elevator shaft deposits you in the middle of a large room with machinery filling the western half.
A duergar stands in the southwest corner next to a lever that juts out of the west wall. Braziers heaped with hot coals do little to offset the cold air blowing into the room through arrow slits in the south wall.
The duergar guard grows to Large size before entering combat.
Elevator Shaft
The 10-foot-wide stone shaft descends 100 feet to area area X12 and 200 feet to area area X30.
Ice Gate
The large stone wheel near the west wall is part of the mechanism that opens and closes the doors at the top of the fortress. Pulling the lever on the west wall causes the wheel to turn, opening the eastern half of the door; sliding the lever back to its original position closes it.
Forge Level (X16-X26)
The lowest level of the fortress contains, among many other features, Xardorok’s forge, the iron mines, and a tunnel that connects to the Underdark. This level is also the warmest due to the heat generated in the forge.
X16. Northwest Cavern
This cavern is unlit and has a jagged, 30-foot-high ceiling.
A strange sight confronts you as four duergar, two of them much larger than normal, use ropes to restrain a hulking biped with an insectoid body. A large sack has been pulled over the creature’s bulbous head.
A team of four duergar recently captured an umber hulk in the Underdark and brought it back here. If the characters challenge the duergar, the two enlarged ones remove the sack covering the umber hulk’s head and release the creature, after which all four duergar turn
To the Underdark
A 10-foot-wide, miles-long tunnel connects Xardorok’s fortress to vast caverns and subterranean lakes under the Spine of the World. Exploration of the Underdark is beyond the scope of this adventure.
X17. Duergar Mines
Rich veins of iron ore run through the walls of this cavern. Narrow tunnels are cut deep into the rock. Here and there lie stacks of mining equipment.
These mines provide the duergar with all the iron ore they need to fashion tools, weapons, exoskeletons for hammerers, and other items. They use the excavated stone for furniture and other structures. Currently, there are no duergar working in the mines.
Characters who explore the mines come across three Rust Monster scrounging for iron ore. The rust monsters, which came up from the Underdark, attack anyone wearing metal armor or carrying metal shields or weapons.
X18. Guarded Corridor
Between two sets of double doors is a corridor with a dozen arrow slits along its walls. Four duergar guards are stationed in the hallways to either side (two per location). In addition to their normal weapons, these duergar carry heavy crossbows (+2 to hit) that deal 5 (
X19. Chardalyn Throne
If Xardorok Sunblight (see appendix C) is encountered here, he’s sitting on his throne. Describe him as a soot-stained, gray-bearded duergar with a jagged black crown on his brow and a spiky black gauntlet on one hand. His crown and gauntlet are made of chardalyn.
The ceiling of this hall arches to a height of thirty feet. Stone steps lead up to a semicircular dais against the south wall. Atop the dais is a misshapen throne crudely carved out of black crystal. Small, crackling flames burn in braziers that occupy the room’s corners.
Slumped near the east wall is a tall, bipedal fungus creature. Luminous spores float in the air around it. A savage, white-furred biped has torn off one of the creature’s arms and is holding it while four other white-furred bipeds covered with fungal growths try to capture the floating spores in jugs.
Xardorok’s garrison includes several quaggoth thralls. A little over a tenday ago, a quaggoth thonot named Krob helped the duergar capture a myconid sovereign in the Underdark. The sovereign’s name is Pleurota. With Xardorok’s consent, Krob is harvesting Pleurota’s animating spores and using them to turn dead quaggoths into spore servants. When the myconid sovereign became uncooperative, Krob tore off one of its arms.
Thonot Krob uses the Quaggoth Thonot stat block with the modifications noted in the “Variant: Quaggoth Thonot” sidebar in the Monster Manual. He is joined in this room by four Quaggoth Spore Servant. Krob and the spore servants fight to the death. If Krob dies, one of the spore servants uses its next action to pour its jug of spores over Krob’s corpse, turning it into a new spore servant.
Sounds of combat here bring reinforcements from area area X18 (four duergar) and area area X20 (four Quaggoth). All the duergar, including Xardorok if he’s present, use Enlarge before joining the fight. If defeat seems likely, Xardorok retreats to area area X22 and uses the elevator to make his way toward area area X8, where he hopes to enlist the aid of Grandolpha Muzgardt, unaware of her true intentions. Grandolpha goes along with Xardorok but won’t aid him in a fight, allowing the characters to kill him. If Xardorok is gravely wounded and Grandolpha can kill him without putting herself in harm’s way, she seizes the opportunity.
Throne
Prolonged contact with Xardorok’s chardalyn throne can warp one’s mind. A creature that remains in contact with the throne for 1 hour gains a random form of indefinite madness (see “indefinite madness” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). If this madness isn’t cured within 24 hours, it becomes permanent. Only a
Treasure
Each quaggoth spore servant has a jug containing enough of Pleurota’s animating spores to turn one fresh corpse into a spore servant (as described in the “Myconids” entry in the Monster Manual).
X20. Quaggoth Den
This dark, filthy room is strewn with bones. It contains ten crude beds made of moss and clumps of fur. Loud mechanical noises come from behind the west wall.
Unless they are drawn to area X19 by sounds of combat there, four Quaggoth gnaw on bones in this room and attack intruders on sight. The quaggoths follow Thonot Krob who, in turn, obeys Xardorok Sunblight.
The noises heard coming from behind the west wall originate from the elevator located in area X22.
X21. Treacherous Guards
This room contains braziers of glowing-hot coals in the northwest corner and the southwest corner. Loud mechanical noises come from behind the double door in the middle of the east wall.
Unless they were drawn to area X19 by sounds of combat there, two duergar stand against the west wall, watching the doors to area X22. These duergar have secretly pledged their loyalty to Grandolpha Muzgardt (see “area The Muzgardt Conspiracy") and try to thwart Xardorok at every turn. They allow characters to pass through the room unmolested and are 50 percent likely to know Xardorok’s current whereabouts.
X22. Western Elevator
The elevator shaft terminates in this room. A large stone wheel next to the iron cage turns constantly.
Elevator Shaft
The 10-foot-wide stone shaft ascends 100 feet to area area X6 and 200 feet to area area X13.
X23. Outer Gate
A 15-foot-high, 10-foot-wide iron gate is set into a 20-foot-high, 15-foot-wide wall that separates area area X16 from area X24. The gate has a bulky padlock on its eastern side. The duergar forewoman (see area X25) carries the iron key to the padlock. A character with thieves' tools can use an action to try to pick the lock, doing so with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. The check is made with disadvantage if the character must reach through the gate from area area X16 to get at the lock. A
Any attempt to breach the gate alerts the guards atop the watchtowers in the forge (areas X24–X26).
X24–X26. Forge
Smoke fills this warm cavern, which has a ceiling that ranges from forty feet high down to twenty feet high along the south wall. The source of the smoke and heat is a ten-foot-tall stone forge shaped like a pyramid with its peak sheared off. Ripples of heat and flashes of firelight spew from the top of the forge, which emits a deep, pulsating heartbeat. A five-foot-deep trough extends east from the forge, with rows of black anvils on either side of the depression.
Overlooking the forge are four twenty-foot-tall guard towers with gray-skinned dwarves standing behind their low battlements. Stone stairs provide access to the tops of the two towers nearest the forge.
South of the forge is an enormous, five-foot-tall iron platform fitted with cranes and clamps, with short flights of iron stairs leading to the top of the platform. Surrounding it is a clean-up crew consisting of a female duergar with a horn and six hulking bipeds, their white fur stained with soot. They are tossing scraps into a cylindrical container. In the twenty-foot-high ceiling above this bin is a wide, rectangular hole.
This encounter area is made up of several smaller locations within sight of one another. Area X24 is the forge itself. Area X25 is the iron platform where Xardorok’s chardalyn dragon was assembled. Area X26 is the bottom of the shaft that the dragon uses to move up and out of the fortress. In addition, four guard towers ringed by 3-foot-high stone battlements look out over the area.
If Xardorok Sunblight (see appendix C) is here, he is standing atop the assembly platform (area X25), barking orders at the clean-up crew. Describe Xardorok as a soot-stained, gray-bearded duergar with a jagged black crown on his brow and a spiky black gauntlet on one hand. His crown and gauntlet are made of chardalyn.
The clean-up crew consists of the duergar forewoman, Thontara, and six Quaggoth. Thontara carries a horn that she uses as a loudspeaker; the iron key that unlocks the outer gate (area X23) is hidden inside a compartment in the heel of her left boot.
Three guards are stationed atop each tower—twelve duergar in total. One guard on each tower is secretly loyal to Grandolpha Muzgardt (see “area The Muzgardt Conspiracy"). If the characters engage in battle with Xardorok and appear to be winning, these duergar help by attacking the other duergar on their respective platforms; if Xardorok appears to be winning, these duergar stay out of the fight. The remaining duergar hurl javelins at foes from atop the towers, growing to Large size and switching to their war picks if forced into melee combat.
A fight here brings reinforcements from area area X28: three Duergar Hammerer (see appendix C).
If defeat seems likely, Xardorok retreats and makes his final stand in Deep Duerra’s temple (area area X29).
X24. Forge
Any creature that touches the forge for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in contact with the forge takes 10 (
Characters who get close enough to peer through the vents in the side of the forge can see that it contains a large, beating heart. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (
X25. Assembly Platform
Underneath the platform is a 5-foot-high crawlspace.
X26. Vertical Shaft
The shaft ascends 200 feet to the doors that make up the ice gate, which are open unless the characters closed them in area area X13 and area X15. The characters need magic or climbing gear to scale the shaft’s rough-hewn walls. Below the shaft is a 5-foot-tall, 10-foot-diameter cylindrical bin. It contains dozens of fragments left over from the construction of the chardalyn dragon. Any chardalyn fragments stolen from the Easthaven town hall are here as well (see “area The Chardalyn Caper").
Forge Level (X27-X37)
X27. Giant Lizard Pens
This corridor is lined with six arched cells, each sealed off with a latched iron gate. Housed in each cell is a big lizard fitted with riding gear.
The six Giant Lizard kept here are used by the duergar as mounts and pack animals. They are hostile toward non-duergar but can’t attack through the closed gates. The gates are latched shut, but not locked.
X28. Dungeon
Unless they are drawn to the forge by sounds of combat there, three Duergar Hammerer (see appendix C) are spaced equidistantly along this corridor. Their job is to prevent prisoners from escaping, but they attack anyone outside the cells whom they don’t recognize.
This dark corridor has narrow iron doors along the north wall and two similar doors at each end. An iron crossbar seals each door.
If the duergar hammerers have been defeated or lured elsewhere, add:
Loud banging from one cell causes the bar on its door to tremble in its brackets. From another cell comes a gentle tapping sound.
After its bar is removed, each iron door pulls open to reveal a cramped cell with no furnishings.
The tapping comes from the cell of a doppelganger that was caught trying to infiltrate the fortress. This creature takes the form of a scrawny human in a dirty loincloth named Pekoe Quint. “Pekoe” claims to be a trapper from Dougan’s Hole and has the small, malformed ears and pointy teeth typical of that town’s inbred stock. Pekoe says that the duergar abducted him and asked him a lot of questions about his town’s defenses.
The doppelganger knows the settlements of Ten-Towns well enough to pass for a Ten-Towner. Any character who doubts Pekoe’s story can make a Wisdom (
The loud banging comes from an unarmed goliath warrior named Kapanuk Talltree Thuunlakalaga. After becoming separated from his hunting party during a blizzard, Kapanuk was ambushed by duergar and brought to the fortress for interrogation. Since he knows nothing about Ten-Towns, Kapanuk was of little use to his captors.
If released, Kapanuk tries to acquire some weapons and armor. He also invites the characters to return with him to Wyrmdoom Crag, where his kin will give them the heroes' feast they deserve. He shows no offense if the characters decline the invitation, but if they accept and are ready to leave, Kapanuk guides them through the mountains to his home (see “area Wyrmdoom Crag").
You can add additional prisoners to the cellblock, at your discretion. The remaining cells are otherwise empty.
X29. Deep Duerra’s Temple
When one or more characters enter the room with the statue, read:
Inside this room, you can hear loud mechanical noises that seem to come from behind the south wall.
Standing in the middle of the room, facing the double door to the north, is a seven-foot-tall statue of a female duergar in a scale mail robe. The top of its head above the eyes has been sheared off, making a space for a stone brazier that gives off a flickering flame. Chained to the statue’s pedestal is an emaciated, malformed creature with rubbery, purplish-gray flesh, a bulbous head with a metal plate bolted to it, and sinister eyes.
If Xardorok Sunblight (see appendix C) is here, he is kneeling before the statue and calling on Deep Duerra (speaking in Dwarvish) to grant him the power to conquer his foes. Describe him as a soot-stained, gray-bearded duergar with a jagged black crown on his brow and a spiky black gauntlet on one hand. His crown and gauntlet are made of chardalyn.
Deep Duerra
Deep Duerra is a lawful evil god of conquest and psionic power. Her symbol is a mind flayer skull.
According to legend, Deep Duerra stole the power of psi from the mind flayers and gifted it to her people. Her command of psionic power was so great that she dominated a mind flayer colony and turned the illithids into her slaves. Inspired by her mythic deeds, her priests are devoted to finding and annihilating mind flayer colonies or turning mind flayers into their thralls.
While in this temple, Xardorok has the following additional trait:
Psychic Conquest
Xardorok deals an extra 5 (
A character who succeeds on a DC 20 Intelligence (
The creature chained to the statue’s base is a mind flayer with 9 hit points and no armor (AC 11). Klondorn, the duergar priest (see area X31), has amputated its face-tentacles and removed the part of its brain that enables the mind flayer to use its psionic powers. Consequently, it has no innate spellcasting abilities and no effective attacks. It retains its Magic Resistance and its telepathy, however. Its challenge rating is 0 (0 XP).
The mind flayer doesn’t expect sympathy from the characters and shies away from them. If the characters question it, the mind flayer shares the following information with one of them telepathically:
- The mind flayer’s name is F’yorl. It was captured by the duergar in the Underdark.
- This room is a temple dedicated to Deep Duerra, a duergar god of conquest and psionics. Xardorok comes here to pray and draws strength from the statue’s flame.
- The temple’s priest, Klondorn, resides in the room to the southeast (area area X31).
Northwest and Northeast Rooms
The temple is flanked by L-shaped rooms to the northwest and northeast. The northwest room contains heaps of cold weather clothing and a dozen pairs of snowshoes. The northeast room contains piles of weapons, including six war picks, nine warhammers, a dozen javelins, ten heavy crossbows, and a nicked greataxe that belongs to the goliath prisoner in area X28.
Secret Door
A character who searches the temple’s walls for secret doors and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (
X30. Eastern Elevator
The elevator shaft terminates in this room. A large stone wheel next to the iron cage turns constantly. West of the wheel is a duergar encased in a cruel-looking exoskeletal construct, his face a mask of pain.
The construct is a duergar hammerer (see appendix C). It guards this room and attacks intruders on sight.
Elevator Shaft
The 10-foot-wide stone shaft ascends 100 feet to area area X6 and 200 feet to area area X13.
X31. Devil in Disguise
This room is filled with stacks of granite tablets. Behind them lurks a long-bearded duergar wearing black robes and a tall black miter.
Klondorn, the duergar priest of Deep Duerra and Xardorok’s trusted advisor, is in fact a barbed devil. The devil’s miter is a
Klondorn is a fiendish emissary sent by Asmodeus to help Xardorok conquer Icewind Dale. Xardorok is unaware of Klondorn’s true nature. In the guise of a duergar, the devil earned Xardorok’s confidence and refuses to be intimidated by a stray band of adventurers. If the characters threaten Klondorn, it tosses aside the miter, revealing its true form, and attacks. If reduced to 0 hit points, the devil vanishes in a cloud of black smoke and returns to the Nine Hells, leaving its
Infernal Tablets
The barbed devil spends its time chiseling on granite tablets to inscribe them with Infernal runes. Characters who can read Infernal script can learn about the devil’s manifesto, in which Klondorn reveals that Asmodeus, in the guise of Deep Duerra, is using the duergar to further his interests.
There are ninety-two granite tablets stacked about the room. Each tablet weighs 50 pounds and is 1 foot wide, 1½ feet long, and 2½ inches thick.
Treasure
Aside from the devil’s
X32. Trapped Hall
Two sets of double doors frame a short corridor. Bolted to the walls are a dozen black boxes, each one measuring eight feet tall and one foot wide, that give off a low hum.
Operating a lever in area area X36 deactivates the trap in this hall, which can’t be disabled by any other means. Any creature that enters the hall for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in the hall is struck by bolts of lightning that leap from the boxes and must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 18 (
X33. Lower Barracks
The characters hear deep voices speaking Dwarvish and Undercommon as they approach this area.
Six duergar sit on stools around three hexagonal tables in the middle of this hall, with a copper keg atop each one. Braziers heaped with glowing-hot coals provide light and heat. Through the smoky haze, you count nine doors embedded in the north, west, and east walls.
Fifteen duergar guards occupy this area—six relaxing in the main hall and nine more resting in the smaller rooms attached to it. Ten of the duergar have secretly pledged their loyalty to Grandolpha Muzgardt (see “area The Muzgardt Conspiracy"). If the characters claim to be on Grandolpha’s side, the duergar that support her turn against their kin. If the characters let these duergar fight among themselves, five duergar survive the battle, all of them loyal to Grandolpha. They are willing to help the characters slay Xardorok, but any alliance they make with the characters ends with Xardorok’s death.
Copper Kegs
The three kegs contain Clan Muzgardt’s finest mushroom brew, Darklake Stout, which only a duergar could find palatable.
Quarters
Each of the smaller rooms has three stone bunkbeds protruding from its walls.
X34. Torture Chamber
Characters who approach this chamber hear screams of agony coming from inside.
Braziers of glowing-hot coals heat and light this room, the walls of which are lined with closed iron sarcophagi standing on end. In the middle of the room, a duergar has been shackled to a chair. Her flesh is covered with blisters. A pair of hooded duergar prod her with hot iron rods, searing her flesh and causing her to bellow in agony.
The unarmed and unarmored duergar shackled to the chair is Nefrun, the former captain of the guard. She has 7 hit points remaining. Her torturers are two Duergar Mind Master (see appendix C) wearing black hoods.
If Xardorok Sunblight (see appendix C) is encountered here, he’s overseeing the torture of Nefrun, who has been implicated in a plot to assassinate him. Describe Xardorok as a soot-stained, gray-bearded duergar with a jagged black crown on his brow and a spiky black gauntlet on one hand. His crown and gauntlet are made of chardalyn.
The mind masters want their prisoner to identify others involved in the coup against Xardorok. Nefrun is refusing to cooperate and is not guilty of the crimes leveled against her. She suspects Klondorn, the high priest of Deep Duerra (see area area X31), has turned Xardorok against her. If she is released, Nefrun intends to demonstrate her loyalty to Xardorok. If that means betraying her liberators, Nefrun does so without question. Nefrun’s gear, including her armors and weapons, is on the floor next to the chair.
Xardorok won’t fight to the death in this area. Instead, he uses the secret door (see below) to retreat to area area X30 and uses the elevator there to make his way toward area area X8, where he plans to join forces with Grandolpha Muzgardt. Grandolpha goes along with Xardorok but won’t aid him in a fight, allowing the characters to kill him. If Xardorok is gravely wounded and Grandolpha can kill him without putting herself in harm’s way, she seizes the opportunity.
Iron Sarcophagi
The closed, upright sarcophagi are iron maidens. The room contains ten of these devices, each one with spikes lining the interior of its lid. A Small or Medium creature shackled inside an iron maiden takes 11 (
Secret Door
A character who searches the walls for secret doors and succeeds on a DC 15 Wisdom (
Torture Closet
The small room to the south contains an array of torture devices, including whips, mallets, barbed scourges, spiked chains, branding irons, hooks, thumbscrews, pliers, and shears.
X35. Guest Quarters
Two beds stand against the south wall of this room, one of them with a yeti hide draped across it. At the foot of each bed is a stone chest next to a stack of five sealed copper kegs. The room is heated and illuminated by glowing coals in stone braziers.
This bedchamber is set aside for honored guests and is currently being used by Grandolpha Muzgardt, whom the characters encounter in area area X8. The yeti hide on her bed is a gift from Xardorok. The kegs contain Darklake Stout, Clan Muzgardt’s finest mushroom ale, which Grandolpha brought with her from the Underdark. She keeps no valuables here, and both chests are empty.
X36. Duergar Hammerers
Two featureless stone pillars support the vaulted ceiling of this unlit chamber. East of the pillars, a duergar encased in an exoskeletal construct stands before a lowered iron portcullis. A similar creature stands in an alcove to the north, its squeaky pincers clenching and unclenching in nervous anticipation.
A stone lever juts out of the back wall of an alcove to the south.
The two Duergar Hammerer (appendix C) attack anyone they don’t recognize.
Iron Portcullis
When the characters move close to the portcullis, they can see that embedded in the north wall next to it is a 1-foot-square chardalyn plaque with an oversized, hand-shaped indentation on its face. The plaque can’t be removed from the wall. If the fingers and palm of Xardorok’s gauntlet are placed in the indentation, the portcullis rises into the ceiling, allowing access to area area X37. The portcullis can also be raised with a
Stone Lever
Pulling down the lever in the south alcove deactivates the trap in area area X32, making that tunnel safe to traverse. Raising the lever reactivates the trap.
X37. Treasure Vault
The characters can see into this room through the bars of the portcullis that blocks its entrance:
This unlit room contains four alcoves on the north wall and four on the south wall. Inside each alcove is an iron chest.
The pointed teeth of a raised iron portcullis jut from the ceiling of each alcove. These barriers fall and lock into place if the characters physically forced open the portcullis that seals the vault’s entrance. Placing the fingers and palm of Xardorok’s gauntlet in the hand-shaped indentation in area X36 causes all the lowered portcullises in this room to rise. A portcullis can also be raised with a
Iron Chests
Each chest has a built-in combination lock with three tumblers that bear tiny Dwarvish runes representing numerals from 1 to 9. Xardorok keeps the combinations for these chests in his quarters (area area X5). A character using thieves' tools can spend 1 minute trying to disable the lock, doing so with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. A
Chest 1 contains a dozen stoppered gourds, each holding a pint of a fiercely hot liquor made from fire lichen, which grows in the Underdark. Each gourd can be sold to a tavernkeeper in Ten-Towns for 10 gp.
Chest 2 holds a gold mask shaped like the visage of a male drow (750 gp), lying on a bed of 350 gp.
Chest 3 contains a silver chalice shaped in the likeness of a spider and inlaid with eight obsidian eyes (250 gp).
Chest 4 holds a bundled-up gray spider-silk robe sewn with darkmantle eyes, wrapped inside which is a
Chest 5 contains a folded
Chest 6 holds an amber headdress set with three large purple pearls (2,500 gp).
Chest 7 contains a 2-foot-tall stone statuette of Demogorgon that weighs 50 pounds. Anyone who looks into the statue’s eyes must succeed on a DC 14 Charisma saving throw or contract a random form of short-term madness (see “indefinite madness” in the Dungeon Master’s Guide). A creature can be affected only once by the statue, after which it becomes immune to the effect.
Chest 8 houses an inanimate svirfneblin skeleton encrusted with
Fortress Fallout
The chardalyn dragon won’t return to Xardorok’s fortress until it has destroyed Ten-Towns (see the next chapter). If Xardorok is alive and his forge is intact when the dragon returns, Xardorok begins repairing it. The dragon regains
After returning to the fortress, the dragon remains there until such time as Xardorok needs it to cause more devastation, and certainly not before Xardorok’s duergar scouts have assessed the damage to Ten-Towns.
Xardorok’s demise spells the doom of the Sunblight clan if neither of his sons are alive to take command. If Grandolpha Muzgardt outlives Xardorok, she absorbs the remnants of the Sunblight clan into her own and has Xardorok’s surviving sons executed. The Muzgardt clan takes over Xardorok’s fortress but has no immediate designs against Ten-Towns or Icewind Dale. If the characters were instrumental in helping Grandolpha capture the fortress, she allows them to keep any treasures they found in the fortress but insists that they leave at once.
If Xardorok and Grandolpha are both still alive when the characters depart the fortress, the division among the two duergar clans continues to deepen, but no immediate effort is made to unseat Xardorok. Grandolpha is content to bide her time, betraying Xardorok only after some setback leaves him weak and vulnerable.