Troglodyte Warrens

The Troglodyte Warrens was a series of tunnels and cavernous chambers located deep within the Undermountain, between Muiral's Gauntlet and the Maze Level.

Entrances
The following paths led to the Troglodyte Warrens:
 * A cavernous pathway that extended down from Muiral's Gauntlet (c. 1493 DR).

Notable Locations

 * Forest of Stone:
 * This large, 20' (6.1 m) tall cavern was filled with stalactites and stalagmites that caused the chamber to resemble a forest made of stone trees. Above the stalagmites were glowing runes imbued with transmutation magic, that were harmless to humanoids but caused perverse mutations among trolls.

Two particularly long stalagmites had their points chiseled away and were crowned with a lintel stone. Chiseled into this stone were the words "DON THE CRYSTAL CROWN" in dwarvish. These elder runes could be activated by the crystal crown of King Melair I.

Exits

 * A tunnel leading down to the Maze Level (c. 1493 DR).
 * The temporary, two-way portal that opened up to the Slitherswamp.

Inhabitants
As the name suggested, troglodytes were the predominant species living within the Warrens.

While it primary denizens were the tribes of namesake troglodytes that skulked its caverns, the Warrens were home to a number of other deep-dwelling creatures such as stirges, fire beetles, piercers, and clans of trolls. One such clan wandered too close to the Forest of Stone; this left them horribly mutated, disfigured, and in the case of one troll, magically transformed into a svirfneblin.

One stretch of the Warrens contained the lair of a monstrous behir, that had been inscribed with arcane markings by the Mad Mage himself.

History
During the 15 century, the Warrens were a battleground between the drow of House Auvryndar, who attempted to establish a permanent stronghold in Muiral's Gauntlet, and those from House Freth who lived within Spiderwatch Keep in the maze below. During these years they shackled and enslaved many of the troglodytes, using them as thralls in their ever-growing feud between one another.

Sometime before the Year of the Purple Dragons, 1493 DR, Kol'daan emerged as a leader among the troglodytes of the Warrens. He bravely guarded his kind from the pervasive threat of drow enslavement.