Pool of Loss

The Pool of Loss was a gate linking a cavern beneath Waterdeep with Myrkul's City of the Dead when it stood in the plane of Hades.With Myrkul's City of the Dead becoming first Cyric's City of Strife and then Kelemvor's City of Judgment and being relocated to the Fugue Plane, the status and function of the Pool of Loss following the Time of Troubles are unknown.
==Description==
On the Toril side, the Pool of Loss lay within a vast cavern similar to a cathedral in scale, with its high ceiling and far ends obscured in darkness when mundane torches were used for lighting. The pool itself lay in the center of the chamber. It was small and ringed by a stone wall, rather like a well.
When it was sealed by Midnight, a shimmering rainbow-hued dome (the upper half of a prismatic sphere) encased the pool, entirely fitting the walls of the well.
==Geography==
The cavern lay deep beneath Mount Waterdeep and was a part of the greater Undermountain complex. The known route there was circuitous: from inside the shaft of the second "wet" well in the Yawning Portal inn, one could enter a side passage of the maze of natural caves and dwarf-dug tunnels under the mountain. Altogether, these twisted and turned, sloped up and down, and intersected other tunnels, making it difficult to map. Moreover, some of these passages had partly collapsed and others were half-flooded. The whole cave system was dark, dank, and dripping. Lastly, a steep tunnel or dirt-walled chute descending some and curving sideways led down to the cavern in which the Pool of Loss was found. Those who slid down the chute were propelled safely into the cavern, though the timid might tie a rope top a rock and climb down.
==Access==
The gate to the Realm of the Dead was usually left open, allowing 'soul spectres' to go to and fro. These took the form of glowing white translucent figures and could move and fly, see, and even speak, but were completely intangible whilst on the Prime Material Plane, so neither they nor the living could attack one another.
At the end of the Time of Troubles, however, the gate was sealed, first with a permanent prismatic sphere cast by Midnight, and then another by Elminster. This blocked all passage to matter and magic, and even to the spectres, which were annihilated on contact with the sphere.
==History==
In the ancient history of Waterdeep, the barbarian tribes of the North that settled the lands above used this pool as a burial site, throwing the bodies of their greatest leaders into its waters. They believed this ensured their greatness would continue to serve their people.
During the Time of Troubles on Marpenoth 14, Elminster, Khelben "Blackstaff" Arunsun, and the adventurer Kelemvor visited the Yawning Portal to meet Durnan and the dwarf Undermountain guide Gower. The mages hired Gower, for the price of two-score mugs of ale, to lead them to the Pool of Loss so they might reach the Realm of the Dead and find Midnight and the second Tablet of Fate. Led by Durnan and Gower, they went down the inn's wet well and through the tunnels, finally sliding into the cavern. They found the area swarming with hundreds of trapped spectres and a blinding prismatic sphere covering the portal, correctly presuming it to have been cast by Midnight from the other side to block invasion by the forces of Myrkul, the god of the dead. Elminster dispelled the first layer of the sphere and dropped his familiar pipe inside as a signal to Midnight. Leaving the remaining sphere intact, Midnight emerged and rejoined Kelemvor and Elminster and they all returned to the Yawning Portal to confer.
The next day, however, Myrkul came and destroyed the rest of the prismatic sphere, allowing his fiendish minions, called the denizens, to march through. They passed through the tunnels to the sewers and invaded the Dock in the Battle of Waterdeep. During the battle, Elminster returned to reseal the Pool of Loss, reasoning that the fiends would lose some of their powers if cut off from the Realm of the Dead. He succeeded and the defenders of Waterdeep gained the upper hand. In the aftermath, Khelben retrieved Elminster from a new sphere over the Pool of Loss, where he'd been beset by denizens.
==Appendix==
===Notes===
===Appearances===
===References===
Category:Gates
Category:Locations in Undermountain
Category:Locations in the Castle Ward of Waterdeep
Category:Locations in Waterdeep
Category:Locations on the Sword Coast North
Category:Locations in Northwest Faerûn
Category:Locations in Faerûn
Category:Locations on Toril
Category:Locations in Oinos
Category:Locations in Hades
Category:Locations in the Lower Planes
Category:Locations in the Outer Planes
Category:Locations in the Great Wheel planes
Category:Year of Metropolises