Page 147 - Tomb of Annihilation

covered in papers on natural history and anatomy, and the beholder doesn't take kindly to the mold's destruc-
he uses the scrying pool in area 25 to study the natural tion. When a patch of growth is destroyed, the next
world through the eyes of Omu's gargoyles. nearest patch sprouts a stubby eyestalk that shoots a
When he encounters the characters, Withers is keen randomly determined eye ray at the nearest character.
to learn everything he can before killing them. He's par- (Roll a dlO and consult the beholder stat block to deter-
ticularly interested in current affairs in Chult and in the mine which ray it produces.) After making this attack,
history of foreign lands. If the characters humor him, he the eyestalk. quickly disappears back into the mold.
behaves cordially while they answer his questions. Then
with some regret. he finally announces that it's time 29. J ACKAL M ASK
for them to die. Withers would rather escape than be
destroyed or captured, so he uses his spells to retreat if
the battle goes against him, saving wall of fire to cut off A huge carving of a snarling jackal's head protrudes from
pursuers when he flees. the wall at the end of this corridor. A chamber is visible
J OURNALS through the gaps between its fangs.
Withers is a diligent scribe. His moldy journals track
the history of Omu and the Tomb of the Nine Gods. and
The gaps between the teeth are only 2 inches wide, but
detail the arriva 1 of the atropa I and the construction of
any character who looks through can see into area 35:
the Soulmonger. Any character who spends 10 minutes
flipping through the journals finds an entry that stands
out. Give that character's player a copy of handout 22 in Four torches illuminate stone sphinxes crouched in the
appendix E. To flesh out the journals further, refer to the corners of this fifteen·foot-high room. The torches cast
"History of Omu" section in chapter 3 and "History of
flickering light across hieroglyphs carved into the tiled
the Tomb" earlier in this chapter.
floor. At the center of the room, a gold-inlaid funeral
TREASURE barge stands atop a three-foot-tall stone dais. Resting
Withers has enough equipment on his desk to assemble on the deck of the barge is a small golden sarcophagus
a scholar's pack. A manual of golems (clay) lies open on decorated with horned rabbits. A dark shaft opens in the
his desk next to a spellbook containing all the spells
ceiling directly above the barge.
he has prepared. On the inside back cover of the spell-
book is what appears to be a name: Khomara Blackfire.
"Khomara" and "Blackfire" are actually the command This view is a magical window into the past. Whoever
words for the mirror of life trapping in area 50. looks through the jackal's jaws sees a vision of I'jin's
The desk drawer contains a translucent, fist-sized gray tomb (area 35) as it was just before the last person en-
stone that radiates an aura of enchantment to a detect tered it. After a few moments, the vision reveals a per-
magic spell or similar effect. This stone is the control son entering the chamber.
gem for the gray slaad in area 24. For more information
on control gems, see the "Slaadi" entry in the Mon-
ster Manual. A slab of wall suddenly grinds upward to the east, and
Withers's skeletal songbird is tame but cantankerous. a dwarf wearing a turban and chain mail creeps into the
It can't fly, but it can be sold to a buyer in Port Nyanzaru tomb. He brandishes a shield in front of him as he treads
for 75 gp. Withers's bronze mask is worth 25 gp.
cautiously across the floor.
LEVEL 3: VAULT OF
The magic here records the last moments ofBravus
REFLECTION Boulderborn, hero of the Company of the Yellow Ban-
Map 5.3 shows this level of the dungeon, which an invis- ner. The dwarf ignores any attempts by the characters to
ible beholder named Belchorzh the Unseen (see area 44) communicate with him.
claims as its home. It doesn't have access to lair actions
and regional effects; instead, it has infected its home A loud click sounds out as the dwarf steps onto one of
with weird alien growth.
the floor tiles. Then a deafening buzzing rises as locusts
ALIEN GROWTH pour out from the mouths of the sphinx statues, quickly
The beholder's aberrant influence permeates the stone- engulfing him. He tries to fight them off, to no avail.
work across this level of the tomb, causing purple mold
When the cloud of insects vanishes, nothing of the dwarf
to sprout from the floors, walls, and ceilings. The mold
remains except its bones and gear.
smells like rotting corpses and occasionally releases
clouds of harmless spores. As characters move through
areas with alien growth, tiny eyeballs emerge from the If all the characters turn away, the vision resets. When
mold to scrutinize them. Belchorzh can see through any character next looks through the mask, the dwarf is
these eyes and uses them to track the party's progress. seen entering I'jin's tomb once more.
Any effect that deals fire, necrotic, or radiant damage
destroys a patch of alien growth on contact. However,

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