Durnan retired from adventuring and purchased the land on which sat the deep, broad well that was the only known entrance to the dungeon. While Mirt used his wealth to buy a mansion, Durnan had different plans. The duo were the first adventurers to return from Undermountain, laden with riches and magic treasures. Its reputation as a death trap grew to the point that criminals in Waterdeep who were sentenced to die were forcibly escorted into the dungeon and left to fend for themselves.Īll of that changed with the arrival of two men, a warrior named Durnan and a ne'er-do-well named Mirt. Everyone who entered its halls failed to return. For untold years, the secrets of Undermountain remained hidden from the surface world. Halaster eventually disappeared, as have all his apprentices, but the massive complex he built remains to this day. In time, their excavations grew into the vast labyrinth known today as Undermountain, the largest dungeon in all of the Forgotten Realms. Halaster and his apprentices expanded the tunnels they found, worming out new lairs under the surface for reasons of their own. In ages past, the mighty wizard Halaster built his tower at the foot of Mount Waterdeep and delved deep into tunnels first built by dwarves and drow in search Before there was a Castle Ward or even what could be recognized as an ancestor of the City of Splendors,there was a dungeon, and in that dungeon begins the tale of the Yawning Portal. STORY OVERVIEW Amid the bustle of Waterdeep, within the Castle Ward where barristers, nobles, and emissaries battle with word and contract, stands an inn not quite like any other.

The tales from the yawning portal