Sunless Citadel

The Sunless Citadel is an underground complex in Thundertree.

Campaign Recap

On 5 Mirtul, Collateral Damage was in Leilon, and they were approached by Amethyst Mountainbender. Amethyst had attended the meeting of the Leilon Town Council at which the group had spoken about the Cult of Talos, and Amethyst offered to give them more information.

Amethyst described the events that happened at the Sunless Citadel in 1451. The highlights were:

• Amethyst worked for a mercenary guild based in Neverwinter.
• Kairos, who also worked for the guild, assembled a team that included Amethyst, Azrael, Knismizo and Thimble.
• Taris Greenshadow hired the mercenaries to invade the Sunless Citadel, kill a druid named Belak, and retrieve the dragon egg that Belak had stolen from the green dragon Claugiyliamatar.
• The mercenaries succeeded in killing Belak, but they discovered that the dragon egg had already hatched. The dragon wyrmling, whom Belak had named Venomfang, escaped during the fight.
• After killing Belak, Kairos communed with a tree and discovered that it was the site where the Talassans had killed Gulthias with a wooden stake, fusing the magic of the ritual site with the stake to create an undead tree.
• Kairos then led the mercenaries through the roots of the Gulthias Tree and all the way to the ancient dwarven city of Gauntlgrym. A Talassan cultist named Izoneus Stormsworn followed them.
• When they arrived in Gauntlgrym, Izoneus appeared and pulled a lever to release the fire primordial Maegera.
• Maegera attacked everyone. The mercenaries used a portal to escape to a different dwarven city, Mithral Hall. Kairos turned into his vampiric mist form and escaped, and Izoneus stood and watched Maegera.
• Maegera's outburst caused the eruption of Mount Hotenow, which destroyed much of Neverwinter and the Neverwinter Wood.

For the complete details of the events of 1451, refer to the History section below.

History

Cult of Talos and Gulthias (Early 1400s)

The Sunless Citadel was built as the original headquarters for the Cult of Talos. The cultists designed the complex so that it was both hidden from the general population and had an area that was open to the elements. Through that open area, they conducted lightning rituals to honor Talos. They captured individuals, brought them into the complex and forced them to pledge their allegiance to Talos. If the captives didn’t pledge their allegiance, the cultists sacrificed them in lightning rituals.

In the early 1400s, Gulthias, a vampire working for the Red Wizards of Thay, was traveling through the area and hoping to find an entrance to the ancient underground dwarven city of Gauntlgrym. While exploring the Neverwinter Wood, he found the entrance to the Sunless Citadel and went inside in his mist form, eventually witnessing a lightning ritual by the Talassans. One of the cultists spotted Gulthias, and they surrounded him and killed him with a wooden stake directly on the ritual site. The stake fused with the magic of the ritual site and grew into a massive undead tree.

Over time, the Talassans became distracted by the mysterious Gulthias Tree, some worshipping it more than Talos. Talos commanded his followers to leave the citadel and create a new headquarters, which he called the Circle of Thunder. Not all of them followed his commands; some of the Talos worshippers stayed at the Sunless Citadel and instead worshipped the tree.

Belak the Druid (Early 1400s-1451)

After many of the Talassans left the Sunless Citadel, a druid named Belak arrived. Belak convinced the remaining inhabitants that he could help them spread the Gulthias Tree's influence throughout the world, and he quickly became their new leader.

In 1451, a group of mercenaries was hired by Taris Greenshadow to infiltrate the Sunless Citadel and kill Belak. Taris also wanted someone to retrieve a dragon egg that Belak stole from the Cult of the Dragon-Claugiyliamatar Sect; Taris didn't know that the egg had already hatched, and Belak was holding the green dragon wyrmling he named Venomfang captive.

Kairos, a former vampire spawn of Gulthias, worked for the mercenary guild hired by Taris. He formed a team of Amethyst Mountainbender, Azrael, Knismizo and Thimble and led them to the complex.

Entryway Garden

After the mercenaries arrived at the complex, Kairos turned into a bat and distracted the guards stationed above ground while the others climbed down a rope ladder to the underground level. The ladder ended in an entryway with a garden and shelves full of garden tools. The shelves on the eastern wall mostly covered a large mural of Talos. Two kobold gardeners were turning soil and spreading compost as the group entered. One of the kobolds, Meepo, tried to leave the room and go get his boss, but the mercenaries didn't let him leave.

Amethyst made the first move, grappling one of the kobolds, and combat began. The mercenaries killed both kobolds, plus two twig blights that appeared in the garden. The group looked into a natural cavern to the north and saw two giant rats asleep in nests made of hair, fungus and refuse. They also saw a cloak made of fur hanging on a pole. Amethyst heard a noise coming from some third unknown creature, but the group decided to enter the doorway to the east, where Meepo was intending to go to find his boss.

Laboratory

After going through the doorway, the group entered a laboratory lined with marble columns and full of tables. The tables held mortars and pestles, small tools, bowls filled with crushed leaves, chopped fungus stalks, and other plant specimens. The main hallway led to six rooms, three on each side, and the hallway ended in another door leading east. The group listened at each of the six doors, hearing various sounds, and they decided to enter the northeast room in which they heard multiple human voices.

Thimble walked into the room, distracting the humans by saying he was lost before attacking them with his greataxe. The mercenaries easily killed the humans, and within the northeast room they found several weapons and a notebook. The notebook described multiple subjects for some kind of tests they were performing, all marked as failures except for the last line describing an ogre and marked as "success."

Vegepygmy Hallway

The group, not wanting to be distracted by whatever was in the other rooms that were connected to the laboratory, decided to continue east instead. They entered a different section of the complex with several arboretums in which various forms of fungus grew. They listened by the doors to several areas, sometimes hearing hissing or growling sounds and other times hearing only insects.

When entering a door to the north, the group was attacked by a group of twig blights and vegepygmies, including a vegepygmy chief and a thorny. The creatures retreated into an arboretum to the east during the combat, but the group defeated them.

Within the arboretum, the mercenaries discovered two dead bodies - one gnomish and one human - decomposing near the northern wall. The corpses, and the fungus growing behind them, had russet mold on their surface and in their insides. After a moment, a new vegepygmy rose out of one of the bodies and attacked the party. Just after that attack, a duergar, two giant rats, and another vegepygmy stormed into the arboretum and joined the fight, but the mercenaries killed them all.

After the fight, Amethyst found a key that the vegepygmy chief was holding around his waist. The group then decided to rest in the hallway, away from the russet mold.

Shrine of Talos

After a short rest, the group used the key held by the vegepygmy chief to travel into another arboretum to the north, which led to a storage area. Within the storage area, a marble statue of Talos was covered with a sheet. After removing the sheet, the group saw a blood-stained basin built into the floor, and Azrael recognized it as a ritual site. Behind the statue, Amethyst investigated a loose block in the wall. She then found a set of thieves' tools and the following letter:

Fheralai,

I don’t have much time, so I’m writing this quickly. You might come looking for me here one day.

I know you remember me telling you about all of those times Talos appeared to me in dreams. He said “Izoneus, keep watch. The dead one will lead you to your destiny.” I believe the dead one is finally here. I’m following him to my destiny.

If my plan doesn’t work, and the druid is still here when you read this, find the warrior shrine. Take the hallway south of the garden, then follow the rift to the southwest. Recite the words on the blackguard statue, and Talos will grant you the power of the storm.

Also, the faerie dragon in the cell next to the warrior shrine should help you. The druid is holding it captive.

Finally, the tools I left here might help you get into the druid’s living quarters. I didn’t have time to try myself, but you might find something useful there.

You too are destined for great things. I know it.

Love,

Your Father

After reading the letter, Amethyst was surprised by a darkmantle disguising itself as a stalactite. The darkmantle dropped from the ceiling and engulfed Amethyst's head, but Knismizo pulled it off her and the rest of the group killed the creature.

The mercenaries then discussed what to do next after reading through the note from Izoneus to Fheralai. Knismizo wanted to move forward, but the rest of the group wanted to follow the info from the letter and look for the warrior shrine and the faerie dragon. Knismizo reluctantly agreed.

Records Office

Before looking for the warrior shrine and the faerie dragon, Knismizo decided to enter the room to the north. He discovered a records office with stone drawers and shelves. On one side of the room, he found notebooks labeled with years starting with 1430 and ending with 1451. The notebooks had detailed records of the people who served the druid and their sales of the "Thunder Apple" in Neverwinter every year. There were notes from each year, including where they attempted to sell the fruit, to whom they sold it, what the price was and more.

He then tried forcing the safe open; he couldn't open the safe, but slamming down on it forced a journal wedged under the counter to fall to the floor. The journal belonged to someone who was here before Belak and before the magical fruit. After reading through the journal, Knismizo learned that the Sunless Citadel was the original headquarters for the Cult of Talos. The journal also described the arrival of Gulthias, the creation of the Gulthias Tree, and the resulting abandonment of the complex by many of the Talassans.

The Rift

The mercenaries then followed the directions from Izoneus' letter and entered the hallway that led south from the entryway garden. After walking into the hallway, they noticed the words "Forgive us, Talos" carved onto the walls. At the southern end of the hallway, the group discovered a rift in the ground that appeared to be the result of some kind of earth-shattering seismic event.

The rift traveled diagonally from southwest to northeast. To the northeast, Azrael heard kobold voices whispering to each other. He heard one saying "Man, I can’t believe Meepo is dead. He had all that unfinished business." Another voice then said “Yeah, I know. I hope those killers don’t come here. I think we’ll be OK.”

The group stepped into the rift and started walking southwest, looking for the warrior shrine and the faerie dragon. After stepping into the rift, they heard the kobolds running away to the northeast.

Ticklecorn

Near the southwest end of the rift, the group discovered a makeshift holding cell with iron bars. Inside the cell, they saw dancing lights moving back and forth. After looking inside, a red-scaled faerie dragon named Ticklecorn - who was previously invisible - greeted them. Ticklecorn asked the group why there were there, and they explained that they were here to take out the druid.

Ticklecorn then explained that he hatched in that holding cell a while ago, and Belak and his servants brought him food every once in a while. All he had to entertain himself were his dancing lights and a magic ring he found in the cell. He showed the group that the ring allowed him to become invisible. Thimble asked Ticklecorn if he would be willing to part with the ring, and he said that if they helped him escape - and he could see the look on Belak's face when he flew away - he would give them the ring.

The group used the key that was hanging on the other wall of the rift to unlock the iron gate, and Ticklecorn climbed onto Thimble's shoulder.

Warrior Shrine

The mercenaries then went to the nearby hallway that led to a closed door. The door was unlocked, but it was off-center. Amethyst Mountainbender tried to knock the door down with her shoulder; she loosened it, and Azrael stepped in and pushed it all the way down.

Faded mosaic tiles decorated the walls, but most of the tiles had fallen to the floor and shattered. In the center of the room was a large statue. The statue depicted a man in full plate armor, and the armor was painted black with gold trim. The symbol of Talos was painted on the figure’s chest. This figure, known as a blackguard, was also holding a large glaive with both hands, and the eyes glowed yellow. In front of the large blackguard statue were three smaller statues. One was a kobold holding its hand out and casting some kind of spell. Another was a raven flying through the air. The third was a boar with giant tusks coming up out of its mouth.

The base of the statue included a carved phrase: "Let the power illuminate my spirit." Knismizo stepped forward and recited the words. The statue's eyes and glaive glowed yellow, and a bolt of electricity connected with Knismizo, granting him the power of the storm.

Retracing Their Steps

The group returned to the entryway garden to discuss what to do next. While there, they noticed the doorway into the laboratory was wide open, and Amethyst Mountainbender spotted kobold- and human-shaped footprints on the floor leading to the ladder going upstairs. The group also heard something toward the cave to the north, and they then spotted a gelatinous cube slowly making its way toward them. Rather than fighting the ooze, the group entered the laboratory.

After closing the door to prevent to gelatinous cube from following them, the group walked through the hallway and noticed that most of the doors were left open. In the south central room, Thimble spotted a diseased giant rat strapped to a table. He also saw a vial of some kind of liquid, and after examining it he tried pouring a drop onto the rat. The rat squirmed in pain. Thimble then closed the vial and took it with him.

In the southeast room, Amethyst saw jars of blood on a table, and seeds were floating inside the jars. With her expertise in giants, she recognized qualities about the blood that reminder her of blood from a giant or giant-like creature. It appeared that the seeds were being soaked in the blood for some unknown purpose.

The group continued exploring areas they hadn't been to yet, including two arboretums off the vegepygmy hallway that were now empty. They continued traveling through the rooms, passing by the shrine of Talos and going through the records office before arriving at a dark underpass.

Belak's Living Quarters

They followed the underpass into a hallway lit by torches, and at the end of the hallway were two wooden doors. The first door was locked, but Knismizo eventually unlocked it after three attempts of using the thieves' tools the group found near the shrine of Talos. While this was happening, Ticklecorn released his grasp from Thimble's shoulders.

Meanwhile, Amethyst put her ear to the other door and heard muffled kobold voices on the other side. She unsuccessfully tried to communicate the new info the rest of the group using complicated hand signals. After more miscommunication, Thimble decided to loudly barge through the door Knismizo unlocked, revealing the living quarters of the druid, Belak.

Belak was not inside the room, so the group looked through it. Inside the room, they found numerous tomes and scrolls written in the druidic language, which none of them knew. Knismizo looked under Belak's bed and found multiple items of interest. He discovered a pile of grass and twigs with a two-foot-long, oval-shaped indentation, indicating a nest of some kind. He also found a pouch with two magic items inside: a circlet of blasting and a hat or vermin. Azrael donned the circlet and Thimble wore the hat. Knismizo also spotted something carved into one of the wooden posts of the bed: "Venomfang, aka 'Young Gnawbone.'"

Before leaving the room, Knismizo carved some more words into the bedpost: "Knismizo wuz here in 1451."

Twilight Grove

The group came up with a plan to enter the next area, timing their entries at the same time. Two of them entered through the hallway, and the other two entered through Belak's room, but they were met by four kobolds ready to attack with wooden daggers. During combat, the kobolds called for help. Three of the four kobolds were killed, but one escaped into the hallway and back toward the complex's entryway.

The group looked to the south and saw the vast twilight grove area and felt fresh air coming from that direction. In the distance, they saw an area mostly obscured by walls, but behind the walls they could see the branches of the Gulthias Tree. While looking in that direction, they noticed two rust monsters headed their way. The rust monsters were able to permanently damage Knismizo's longsword and Azrael's chain mail armor. Azrael then dropped his double-bladed scimitar, keeping the rust monsters occupied while they continued south.

Belak, the Gulthias Tree and Venomfang

Amethyst Mountainbender cast past without a trace on the group, and they tried approaching the Gulthias Tree stealthily, but Belak noticed them. Belak saw Knismizo trying to look around a wall, and he heard Azrael stumbling behind the wall.

Belak, standing next to his wood woad guardian, called out, saying "Hold right there, you know not what you do. Your remains would enrich the com­post, but you’ll serve my needs better as supplicants. You will retain your lives, in a way. Surrender and submit peacefully, or perish. It’s your choice."

Suddenly, Ticklecorn turned visible and looked toward Belak. The faerie dragon touched a claw to his ring, changing forms to a green dragon wyrmling. The dragon then flew up and out of the twilight grove, escaping to the surface area, while Belak shouted "Venomfang, no!"

While Belak was distracted by Venomfang flying away, Thimble took the initiative to start the fight. During the fight, the mercenaries battled Belak, his wood woad guardian and many twig blights. Kairos, in his bat form, also flew down into the Twilight Grove from above with a swarm of bats, and they joined in against Belak.

In the end, Amethyst Mountainbender landed the killing blow on Belak, and the wood woad and remaining twig blights stopped fighting.

Kairos Leads the Mercenaries to Gauntlgrym

After the group recovered from the fight, Kairos shifted back to his regular form. He first walked to the Gulthias Tree, closed his eyes and put his hand on the trunk. He then collected himself, and with tears in his eyes, he turned back to the group, saying:

"You’ve earned my trust. Thank you, again. This tree, this was my master, Gulthias. He was hired by the Red Wizards of Thay, and he came here but he never returned. Just now, while communing with him in this tree, I learned what happened. He was ambushed by the cultists who lived here previously, the worshippers of Talos. They trapped him, killing him here with a wooden stake. That stake, fusing with the magic from the cultists’ ritual site, grew into this tree.

"The truth is, I’m here for two reasons. The first, well, I didn’t tell you everything. The guild was hired by someone named Taris Greenshadow. She wanted someone to kill Belak and bring her the dragon egg. That egg obviously hatched, but Belak is dead, so that’s done.

"The second reason we’re here is more personal. When I learned about this job, well, I had to take it. Gulthias, my master, his mission when he came here was ultimately to scout the ancient dwarven city of Gauntlgrym for the Red Wizards. See, the Red Wizards hoped to take over Gauntlgrym for themselves, and they still do today. So I’m here to finish what he started. Gauntlgrym is an underground dwarven city of great wealth, and Gulthias left a way for us to find it. The second half you’re owed for this job, well, it’s time for us to go and take it. We’re going to Gauntlgrym."

Kairos then cast animal shapes, changing all four of the mercenaries into flying insects. Kairos then shifted into his vampiric mist form and floated down into the tree roots, and the group began traveling through the root system to Gauntlgrym.

Maegera and the Eruption of Mount Hotenow

After the group arrived in Gauntlgrym, a series of events led to the primordial Maegera being released and the eruption of Mount Hotenow. For more details, visit the Gauntlgrym page.

The village of Thundertree was decimated by the eruption, but the mysterious Sunless Citadel and the Gulthias Tree remained.

Type

Fortress

Parent Location

Thundertree