Trobriand's Graveyard

Trobriand's Graveyard was the 13 level of Undermountain, an area used as a scrap heap and arcane laboratory by the mage Trobriand. It was full of his rejected and half-completed experiments, some of which maintained an active existence forming a sort of makeshift societal hierarchy.

Description
The layout of Trobriand's Graveyard resembled the archmage himself. The various chambers and corridors were arranged in such a way they resembled a large scorpion with his tail and stinger splayed out to one side.

Entrances

 * The main entrance to the graveyard was a gate that appeared like a will-o'-wisp. It traveled Faerûn autonomously, although it was more likely to appear in areas where there had been recent heavy magic use or where there were large collections of magical items. It was confused by an anti-magic shell or magic with a similar effect, and could be evaded by plane-shifting. Otherwise, the gate would attempt to teleport people into the graveyard (without their consent or knowledge) so that Trobriand could study their interactions with its inhabitants.


 * By the Year of the Three Ships Sailing, 1492 DR, a series of tunnels had been formed in Undermountain by Trobriand's bore worm that connected the graveyard to some of the other levels. One such path in the eastern region of the domain led up towards the Maze Level above.

Notable Locations

 * Graveyard within a graveyard:
 * In the southeast corner of Trobriand's domain was a chaotic cavern where ferragans crawled over other metal constructs in a manner that resembled swarm of insects. As the metal monsters became "older" they were relegated to this chamber to "die", whereupon they were picked apart for spare parts that could be used by other, more modern metallic creations. Nothing was wasted within the graveyard. Worn out parts were smelted while those still of use were ripped from the constructs' bodies and set aside to be of use once again.


 * Any creation that went "berserk" were brought here before they were thrown in the furnace to be smelted outright.


 * Smelting room:
 * Just north of the two southern-most chambers was a makeshift "smithy" and a smelting room full of smoke and fire. Metal items recovered by Trobriand's metal monsters were melted down and formed into ingots until they could be used for the propagation of their own kind. The automatons used the furnace and their own fiery breath to repair their own metal hides and make modifications upon their metallic kin. The heat, smoke and fumes created by smelted metal were nearly unbearable for most living creatures and the white-hot light of the flames blinded any who looked within.


 * Beyond the arachnid automatons, the only creature that dwelled within this infernal chamber was a single entrapped and particularly irate salamander. Their mere presence within the chamber helped to power the furnace, though the contribution of magical items was needed as well.


 * Southern chambers:
 * A long, curving tunnel extended from beyond the stinging portal to the southern rooms of the graveyard. One chamber served as a storage area for all sorts of metal "scrap", meticulously organized and sorted into piled that lined the room's walls. Nearly every known type of metal could be found in some quantity within this room, including pounds of silver, gold and platinum, along with a variety of precious stones and gems which were stored in their own protective bins. Any valuable magical items were taken to the room immediately east and examined by Trobriand's silversann minions.


 * Stinging portal:
 * Those who were transported into the graveyard appeared upon a 30' (9.1 m) wide stone dais located in the chamber that corresponded to to the tail of the scorpion-shaped domain. The walls of this room were inscribed with runes that vaguely resembled dwarvish and the platform itself was surrounded by a pool of mildly acidic water. Natural gas from beneath Undermountain leaked into the room, that after having been somehow ignited, formed small jets of flame.

Inhabitants
ferragans

Squch

History
Each time he needed to dispose of a failed creation, Trobriand used his wand of rejecting to send it to the graveyard. He assumed that everything sent there was inactive, but later discovered that this was not the case, and became fascinated with the interactions between his failed creations. He then set about supplying the mechanical inhabitants of the graveyard with what they needed, and experimenting with their reactions.

The name "Trobriand's Graveyard" was coined by Halaster, Trobriand's ex-master, after he showed it to him. As of 1368 DR, it was led by a scaladar known as Squch and populated with ten silversanns, twelve thanatars, and up to thirty ferragans, as well as many more generic mechanical creatures.