Khelbenite

The Khelbenite was the name given to the hero who, under the orders of Khelben Arunsun, stopped the drow plot against Waterdeep in 1370 DR.

History
Not much was known of the Khelbenite's life prior to the events that made him a hero. He was from an unremarkable family from Waterdeep, where his mother often shopped for fruit in the splendorous markets.

In Eleint 1370 DR, he was summoned by Khelben Arunsun on the behest of the Lords of Waterdeep. The Lords of the city were worried by a recent drastic increase in kobold activities and thefts across the streets of Waterdeep. Khelben determined that something or someone was driving the creatures away from their habitats deep in Undermountain and forcing them to venture out into the city streets. The Lords increased the presence of the City Watch and tasked the hero with stopping the kobolds from growing bold and harming the City of Splendors. Khelben gave the hero two gold coins to pay for his entrance and exit from Undermountain through the Yawning Portal and sent him on his way.

The Khelbenite uncovered the reason behind the kobolds' attacks. A drow High Priestess of Lolth, Azurna, was forcing the kobold "king" to steal from the Lords of Waterdeep. The hero confronted the kobolds and their leader, putting an end to their thievery. A relatively simple but dangerous task earned the lone hero a reward from the Lords and gratitude of the Blackstaff. This was not the end of the expedition to Undermountain, though. Khelben had another mission for the adventurer. A skeleton adorned with the noble family of Cassalanter was seen attacking several citizens of Waterdeep. The Blackstaff theorized that the undead likely came from the ancient family tomb with several family members interred. This tomb was on the Dungeon Level of Undermountain, and the hero was tasked with the investigation. The family crypt, along with the Shrine of Myrkul that it was a part of, was corrupted by an undead necromancer Ghoulmaster.

Cleansing the Cassalanter crypt, the lone hero discovered a shrine to Lolth with a curious piece of a spider-shaped artifact. Khelben was able to determine that the item's origins laid beyond the Prime Material plane. The next mission for the adventurer led to a recently uncovered part of Undermountain that served as the base for the Shadow Thieves' operations in Waterdeep. With the guild's colorful history and hate for the Lords, the newly discovered pretense was troubling and dangerous.

The hero managed to discover the Shadow Thieves' hidden stronghold and cull their numbers by confronting the Guild Master Georges. With the cruel guild leader's departure, the lone hero recovered scrolls that contained detailed information on the city, patrols, defenses, and schedules of the City Watch and high-ranking officials. Khelben realized the Shadow Thieves were collecting data for some mysterious party in the depths of Undermountain.

Following the dire revelation, the Blackstaff was on full alert but still did not know what dark power plotted against Waterdeep. This time, he sent the hero deeper into Undermountain in search of Maskar Wands's delinquent grandchild and the wizard's stolen heirloom, the golden scarab beetle. Marcus Wands, the grandson in question, lost the family artifact to a "three-headed-troll" and the lone hero was to retrieve it.

The hero descended into the Tomb of Ankh-Kephra and survived the traps hidden within, retrieving the missing item. Upon the next conversation with Khelben Arunsun, the Blackstaff informed the adventurer that something was amiss and sent the hero back into the depths of Undermountain with a vague request to find more clues on the deviant plot against Waterdeep and maybe more pieces of the spider-shaped artifact. The search led to the old dwarven prison complex within the dungeon, overtaken by a marauding tribe of humanoids, led by an orc of demonic blood, Horazak. Following the mining tunnels underneath the prison, the Khelbenite, as the lone hero was now known, found a way into an abandoned dwarven temple that held the second piece of the drow spider statue.

Khelben Arunsun was researching the significance of the mysterious spider pieces; he sent his trusted adventurer to retrieve the Black Wand of Myrkul. This task was part of the Blackstaff's personal vendetta against the dead deity. The wand was created to encase a piece of Myrkul's divinity, and Khelben could not wait for a chance to destroy another piece of the god of death. Once the hero uncovered the well-hidden artifact, Khelben had more dire news that needed investigating. The dwarves of Clangeddin's Hearth, who were attempting to reclaim ancient temples within Undermountain, faced numerous undead that was somehow tied to all the recent goings-on underneath Waterdeep.

When the Khelbenite reached the Temple of Clangeddin, none of the dwarves who reclaimed it were alive; they were slaughtered by the drow for the dwarves' attempt to flood the kobolds out of the sewers. Their bodies reanimated as undead servants by Morik Stormhand, an old lich allied with the drow and his fellow worshipers of Velsharoon. The hero defeated the lich and discovered another spider piece hidden inside the temple's vaults.

Following the expedition to the temple, Khelben was informed that the Shadow Thieves were not fully rooted out. The mysterious grandmaster Xabash had a lavish lair deeper in the dungeon. During another struggle against the shadowy organization, the adventurer rescued Meryth Phaulkon, a noblewoman from Waterdeep and Georges' paramour. At the heart of the base, the adventurer came across Xabash himself, a green beholder who was impressed with the hero's prowess. The beholder decided to betray his drow allies, knowing that they were not to succeed in their plot against Waterdeep.

Khelben had yet another mission ready for the adventurer. Asborn Moonstar, a desperate noble youth, was sent to Undermountain to retrieve a crystal rose from the Garden of the Drow. Asborn had been missing for over a week, and Khelben feared the worst. By the time the adventurer reached the young man, he was long dead, trapped by the drow, locked in the room with the rose, and starved to death. While there, the adventurer discovered yet another piece of stone spider that radiated powerful magic.

The crystal rose was retrieved and gifted to the young noble's lover, Elene Ruldegost, as a way of remembering Asborn. However, there would be more trouble in Waterdeep. Khelben informed the adventurer that one of Halaster Blackcloak's apprentices summoned spectators and assigned them to guard enchanted items, such as the Blackstaff, and Piergeiron the Paladinson's sword. The aberrations were creating chaos in the city. Khelben sent the adventure to try and stop the chaos. Eventually, the adventurer confronted Ibbalar Thrul's servants and destroyed the magical device that was summoning the creatures. While in the wizard's vaults, yet another spider piece was discovered.

The plan of the drow became clear. They had found the fabled Flame Sword of Lolth that the deity herself wielded during the War of the Seldarine. The sword's fierce magics could tear open the planes, opening portals and sowing destruction. The stone spider was the artifact that worked together with the sword, focusing its destructive powers, and at the time, the broken statue was also the key to releasing the sword from its prison. The elven gods hid the sword after the war. The shattered artifact and its pieces were hidden throughout Undermountain by Halaster Blackcloak himself.

The priestess of Lolth that had caused much trouble before, Matron Azurna, was led to discover the vault and search for the spider pieces by Lolth. The hero held all the statue shards and took them into the Flame Sword's vault. As the spider statue was assembled, the Spider Goddess gained access to the Prime Material plane via the sword's divine powers. Here, as an avatar, she assumed the form of a huge female drider. A fierce battle ensued, but the avatar was defeated. The hero destroyed the stone spider, banishing the avatar and making the Flame Sword disappear in an explosion of arcane magics. Waterdeep was safe once again, with the remains of Azurna's alliance destroyed or dispersed.

Appearances

 * Video Games
 * Descent to Undermountain