Rats' Nest

The **Rats' Nest** is a settlement in the Underdark, underneath the ground north of Milton. However, it is not an official Tundragan town.

## Appearance

The Nest is described as being taller than it is wide or long, being almost cylindrical in shape. It has three floors, the upper two of which are wooden platforms, connected by narrow wooden staircases. Living quarters are dug into the walls, with reinforced wooden walls for each. At the bottom is a small lake that feeds into a crop farm for irrigation. To get into the Nest, one must know or deduce the solution to a puzzle presented by the door, being that one must pull on a handle camouflaged amongst the roots hanging above it.

## In the series

The Nest first appeared when the party came upon the door while traveling through the Underdark to investigate the ithre smuggling ring they'd been tasked with looking into. When they arrived, the town seemed mostly devoid of inhabitants, though they later learned that the residents had shut themselves away to watch the newcomers carefully before exposing themselves.

After milling about for a while, and buying several things, they were approached by a 'gnomish man' who requested their assistance with a 'project' off his. When they followed him to his room, he showed them a large wooden box that wouldn't open, marked only with a symbol of two hand-prints on the top. After numerous failed attempts at various means of opening it, they discovered that it was sealed with ki, and Taja Inverno was able to channel her ki into it to unlock it, receiving a disorienting vision of what seemed to be a group of adventurers before her senses returned. Inside the box, they found the oddly well-preserved corpse of a male harpy monk, with a high concentration of ki in a blue feather on his chest. The gnomish man, wanting to sell the contents, tried to leave with them, which the party disagreed with.

After some tension and arguing with the man, he used the power of a magical lens he was wearing to order Grigore Ardelean to leave. Grigore did, but took the box with him. After ordering Taja to stop him, the party made an effort to catch the man and resolve the situation, eventually succeeding when Mirabel Nox cast Hold Person on him. As he fell, he was caught by two gnome girls who knew who he was, revealing him to be Vhudelk in disguise.

After Taja and Silaqui buried the monk and returned to the party, Taja was given the feather by the gnome girls taht had taken it off of Vhudelk. When she took it, she received another vision, of what seemed to be the monk's last moments alive as he focused his ki into the feather with an embedded sentiment to give the feather and its powers to the one who found it. The gnome girls then took the party to meet with their employer, Marosi Elzo.

In Marosi's office, they discovered that he shared a goal with them in rooting out and taking down the ithre smuggling ring. He explained that he and his brother had been partners in crime for a while in the past, but that his brother began to seek out more and more illicit business, until a rift was former when he wanted to deal in the ithre smuggling ring, against Marosi's wishes. After giving them the information about the ringleaders' location that he had obtained, paying them some money, promising more to come after they completed the objective, and asking Silaqui if they'd met before, apparently recognizing her, the party slept in his office and set out of the town to continue in their mission.

## Features

The following are some notable locations in the Nest that one or more members of the party went to:

* The puzzle door
* A crop farm full of strange pale vegetables and herbs
* A shop selling silvered weapons
* Vhudelk's room
* Marosi's office

## Residents

The following are some notable groups and individuals that live or operate in the Nest:

* Mason LePyonn
* Magnolia Rissh
* Kingsley Necaad
* Vhudelk
* Velani Denry
* Zafore Denry
* Marosi Elzo