Before the Adventure Begins...

Just after dawn on the last day of Eleint in the Year of Risen Elfkin (1375 DR), a long, rolling earthquake shakes the city awake. Cracks appear in walls and crockery rattles, but no buildings collapse.

Uproar ensues. Earthquakes are almost unheard of in the city. Rumors of disaster soon race through the streets, fueled by the anguish of people across the city whose heads fill with sharp, sudden mental visions of a screaming bearded man whose eyes blaze with rage, sorrow, and swimming stars. The visions shift into scenes of pillars cracking and tumbling, ceilings collapsing in caverns and dark rooms, and surging explosions of blue-white sparks. These tides of fearsome force leave many who receive the visions gasping on their knees, unharmed but overwhelmed by the sensation of great magical forces crashing through them. Repeatedly the screaming face returns, with feelings of strong despair, of something left unfinished -- and swept away in great loss and ruin. What has happened? A few wizards across the city who shared the disturbing visions recognize the screaming face as that of Halaster Blackcloak, the infamous "Mad Mage of Undermountain."

Soon everyone knows that something terrible has happened in Undermountain. There's an unknown but exceedingly dark doom approaching the city and the massive dungeon beneath it, and Halaster is very upset about it.

Those who have experienced the visions can't stop thinking of Undermountain, of walking through its chambers, of finding brightly glowing treasures. They yearn to go there, to answer Halaster's urgent call. Undermountain awaits, in desperate need. Something down there must be repaired, or renewed, or rescued. Halaster wants something done now, something vital. A terrible calamity must be set right, or greater doom will surely come.

That night, wizards, sorcerers, a scattering of adventurers, and others across the land dream of Undermountain and a screaming Halaster. They all feel a yearning to enter the infamous, legendary dungeon and do "something that must be done." No one quite knows what that something is, but many momentarily mind-glimpse strange subterranean rooms, weird items, and a rushing Halaster struggling to accomplish various tasks.

Throughout the land, on the morning after the earthquake, wizards, sages, and all sorts of adventurers start packing. The trek to Undermountain has begun. The Council of Waterdeep summons renowned heroes to band together in the interest of the city, these chosen warriors answer the the call to appear before the council...