It is 8PM on the day before the DragonBowl sign ups when you descend the Yawning Portal back into Undermountain. When you reach the tunnels you see that once again, the selections are new, but you know a trick. Walking backwards once around the elevator shaft you turn around and see a dark 40' square room covered in a thin layer of sand. All manner of dented and rusty shields are lined on the walls here, covered in graffiti in various languages, all making it obvious that these shields belonged to adventurers who were beaten by Undermountain.

If you take a step back and shine the light just right, all of the graffiti makes a wall length mural of elvish letters that read:

Beyond the pillar forest, the Mad Mage waits.

Casting spells behind magic gates.

---

(you're at 1 on map, obvious route is to 2, but perception check dc20 you spot the secret door to area 6, you were told Manshoon will be around area 12.

Travic sends out his familiar, the owl Iceaclease, to scout the area. Trying to enhance the birds superior senses with his magic, Travic will project his own awareness through the magical animal. However, the bird spots nothing.

(Ooc: projecting ny senses via the owl, using its superior sight and hearing with advantage, and casting gudience on it ahead of time. Even with all that, I get a grand total of a 10.

Oy.)
This message was last edited by the player at 21:50, Thu 19 May 2022.

Andromeda hopped off the pulley lift that had delivered them to the shallowest depth of Undermountain, then called up the shaft, "Thank you, Durnan!  We'll return before you know it!"  The celestial jewel began to glow with starlight, revealing a chamber arrayed with dented and blood-spattered shields.  It seemed like a warning, but Andromeda was sure her shiny new magical eye-shield would never end up in such a display!  She felt good about this delve despite the lack of magical competence potions, and smiled to her companions of the Dragonstar Syndicate.

The druidess turned the light to the mural and read the message aloud, translating from Elvish into Common.  "Hal spoke that very same verse in the Green Dragon, and I recall it seeming a bit odd at the time, even for him..."

The secret door seemed rather obvious to Andromeda thanks to the sensory enhancement provided by the aforementioned shield, and so she opened up the secret passage as if it were a regular door.  Turning to the secret opening, she said, "I would wager that the path behind the secret door must be the more interesting of the two.  Shall we?"

---

Activating Light!  20 feet of bright light + 20 feet of dim.

Perception @ advantage thanks to Sentinel Shield:

• 14:27, Today: Andromeda rolled 23 using 2d20+6, dropping the lowest dice only with rolls of 11,17.  Perception (advantage).

Moving toward 6a

In reply to Andromeda (msg # 3):

"Well spotted, Andromeda! One would think an owl would be able to match your keen senses. But I fear my familiar may be more interested in mice, sad to say." Travic sighed and shook his head. The Owl flew to his arm and then vanished into the special holding space he had for the beast.

"Best to prepare for the strange and weirdness of this dungeon, huh." Devan says after the secret door was revealed and Andromeda translated the text,"Betting for a copper that this Manshoon is actually a clone of Hal."

Jhank's eyes scanned over the writing, huh, she grunted to herself before darting her gaze at the rest of the group to make sure no one noticed her reaction. The lizard lady hung in the back of the group and followed them, waiting sort of patiently for something to happen.

Onyxclaw, with his mechanical drake 'silver' at his side, arranged his pack for the trip at hand, back in the dungeon, he seemed a little more confident with his mechanical friend at his side.

The kobold looked at the writing as Andromeda found the secret doorway, and smiled at her. "Romda good eyes." He looked at Silver and nodded. "Silver....scout"

The mechanical stalked forward through the secret door, with Onyxclaw close behind, hand crossbow in hand

"Ooooo! Good find!" Roxanne said as she peeked inside the secret door. The dwarven woman held a handaxe in each hand as she entered the space with the others. She tried to keep a keen eye out for danger near the front of the group, ready to slash at anything that might threaten them. Her swarm was currently nestled tightly against her scale mail in the form of colorful scarabs. They made her armor appear almost alive with iridescence as the bugs stayed packed closely together.

"Have you guys been anywhere near this area of the dungeon yet?" she asked conversationally as she scanned the halls vigilantly. She was pretty sure she knew the answer already, but decided to ask regardless.

---

Here is a perception roll to notice anything else:
20:09, Today: Roxanne Drubble rolled 12 using 1d20+5.  General Perception roll.

Andromeda beamed at several congratulations for spotting the secret door, and shyly raised her shiny new shield emblazoned with an image of an eye with a pupil wreathed in stars.  "Well, I ought to confess that I am cheating, just a bit.  This new shield enhances my awareness by effectively providing a magical third eye.  I can't see through it, exactly, but it feels like I can see everything!"


"Never... Our prior adventure began in Wyllowood, which I understand is several levels beneath us.  Surely it will be much less dangerous here...?"  Andromeda didn't sound so sure as she followed behind Silver as the mechanical pet scouted down the corridors beyond the secret door.

Andromeda finds a secret door.

Roxanne finds a piece of crystal that faintly glows in the moonlight.

Travic finds a brass orb etched with strange runes.

Everyone else finds that the DM is too lazy to give out trinkets to anyone that didn't post their rolls.

---

The hallway goes a few different directions, but you decide to take the closest door. 6a. Standing atop 4' tall stone plinths in the middle of the room, facing east, are three 6-foot-tall statues depicting male Waterdavian nobles clad in decorative plate armor. Lying at the base of the central statue are the bones of a long-dead hobgoblin and a white wooden staff broken in half.
Carved into the stone base of each statue is a name: Elyndraun (south statue), Ruathyndar (central statue), and Onthalass (north statue). These names have been crossed out with chalk; beneath them, new names have been added in Goblin: Smelly Bottom, Stupid Skull, and Born Toothless, respectively.

Before you can fully take in everything about this room, two vampires swiftly come out of hiding from behind all three statues, for a grand total of six male vampires. You know they are vampires because frankly, they dress like vampires, have ridiculous eyebrows, and lastly, their teeth kinda give it away.

The vampire closest to you speaks, "Velcome to ze Crypt of Ze Undertakahz. I am Vulfghar, and you 'av our zafe passage for a small vee. Ten gold eeeeech and all vill be vell vif you. Verever you vish to go on zis levaaaal."

The one beside him produces an empty coin purse and tosses it at Devan for you all to fill up with money.