Page 68 - Tomb of Annihilation

Among the rusty blades stuck in the walls are ten fly-
PIRATES OF )AHAKA ANCHORAGE
ing swords that pull themselves free and attack when Three pirate ships use jahaka Anchorage as a base,
the treasure in the room (see "Treasure" below) is dis- and their captains have forged tenuous alliances with
turbed. The animated blades don't attack any creature each other and Liara Portyr of Fort Beluarian. Use the
wearing an eye patch, nor do they animate when an eye deckplans in appendix C of the Dungeon Master's Guide to
patch-wearing creature disturbs the treasure. represent each pirate ship, as needed. Each ship's crew is
Treasure. The warehouse's treasure is contained in described below.
numerous unlocked chests, sacks, sealed crates, and
Dragonfang
casks. The trove consists of 6,400 cp, 2,500 sp, 300 gp,
Captain Elok Jaharwon (NE male Chultan human were-
60 pp, ten gold bracelets (25 gp each), an electrum gob-
boar) has no patience or sense of humor. He was first
let (25 gp), and two spell scrolls (knock and Leomund's
mate of the Dragonfang until a year ago, when he staged
tiny hut) in corked wooden tubes. a mutiny and hurled the former captain overboard. The
other captains are still adjusting to their ill-mannered new
5. 'THE 0.A.GE confederate, who seems intent on bullying his way toward
Prisoners are held in this large but filthy cell until declaring himself king of the pirates.
they're ransomed or sold into slavery. High waves Elok wants to stop sending a slice of the pirates' profits
sometimes wash into the chamber, soaking everyone to Fort Beluarian, which would end the alliance with Liara
and leaving puddles on the floor. Palm logs form the Portyr and probably be self-defeating; the pirates could
bars across the front of the cage; they're held in place by keep more of their profit, but they'd take fewer pri.zes and
incur more risk. The other captains see the disadvantages
sturdy pins that must be noisily hammered out before
clearly, but Jaharwon is building a following among the
the logs can be lifted out to create a gap wide enough for
rank-and-file pirates of all three crews.
a Small or Medium creature to slip through. Escape is
The Dragonfang's crew includes a first mate named Mad
risky for three reasons. First, pirates on watch atop the
Kalita (LE female Chultan human spy), fifteen Chultan
tower (area 6) keep an eye on the cage. Second, ld4 + 1 bandits, three Chultan thugs, arid a "sea witch" named Eye
reef sharks inhabit the water below the cage. Third, the of the Deep (N female Calishite human druid).
only place escapees can go is the jungle, which is more
cruel than the pirates. Emerald Eye
Whether any prisoners are in the cell when charac- The calculating Captain Zaroum Al-Saryak (LE male Cal-
ters arrive atjahaka Anchorage is up to you, but it's ishite human bandit captain) has a special fondness for
seldom empty. Besides captive sailors and merchants, gemstones. He wears a coat with glittering gems sewn
into it (750 gp) and wears a scimitar with gemstones em-
there could also be Harpers, Zhents, or adventurers. bedded in the hilt {l,250 gp). His ship, the Emerald Eye,
Adventurers imprisoned here could be members of the has cabins decorated like rooms in a Calishite pasha's pa!·
Society of Stalwart Adventurers, a group from Cormyr ace. Al-Saryak is fond of chopping off the heads of those
that maps uncharted places and hunts for lost artifacts. who displease him and dangling them from his ship's
Characters who have not yet encountered Artus Cimber mermaid figurehead. A long-ago injury cost him his left
and Dragonbait might find them hiding nearby, plotting eye and incised a scar in the form of a large X across his
to free the prisoners. As a former member of the Society face. The ruined eye socket now holds a magical gem that
of Stalwart Adventurers, Artus would be motivated to allows Al-Saryak to discern ghostly pathways leading to
help other society members in jeopardy. treasure. The gem works for no one else. Al-Saryak holds
the sending stone matched to Liara Portyr's (see "Fort Belu-
arian," page 54).
6. WATCHTOWER
The crew of the Emerald Eye consists of a first mate
This ramshackle watchtower stands 30 feet above "dry"
named Voltan (CE male Calishite human berserker), twelve
land. It's surrounded by a crenelated parapet that pro-
Calishite bandits, two Calishite thugs, and five Chultan
vides half cover to defenders. A ballista is also mounted tribal warriors.
on the tower. It can be used against vessels intruding
in the anchorage, but it's primarily for defense against Stirge
large reptiles threatening the jungle wall (area 1). Two Captain Laskilar (NE male Tethyrian human bandit captain
pirates (bandits) are always on duty atop the tower, and wearing a cape of the mountebank) is a flamboyant, rakish
more come pouring out of Bosco's Bilge (area 6A) if the pirate who's grown tired of chasing merchant ships and
brass alarm bell is rung. A spiral staircase carved into a hearing their captains whine and plead over lost revenues
and spilled blood. He'd rather seek lost treasures and
nearby pillar of rock allows access to Bosco's Bilge.
magic items, but not by digging into ruins and tombs; in-
stead, he'll happily pursue adventurers across jungles and
6A. Bosco's B1LGE
oceans to steal whatever hard-earned plunder he believes
This structure is built from the hull of a captured ship they have. His ship, the Stirge, is filled with scoundrels and
that was too slow to be used as a pirate ship, but it had cutthroats eager to do his dirty work. Laskilar also stays in
one fine quality: it didn't leak. The pirates hauled it out contact with a host of wealthy patrons in Port Nyanzaru
of the bay, hacked it apart, and flipped it upside down and more distant ports who are eager to pay a king's ran-
to form a building of sorts. It's now Bosco's Bilge, an som for the rarest of his ill-gotten gains.
ersatz tavern catering to the off-duty pirate crews relax- The crew of the Stirge includes a first mate named
Heel (NE male half-ore gladiator), twelve Chultan and
ing atjahaka Anchorage. The room contains benches,
Tethyrian bandits, six Chultan thugs, and a mad sea priest
stools, and a few tables on a sand floor. It reeks of named Caldos Hellingskorn (CE male llluskan priest of
spilled beer, old food, and stale tobacco smoke.
Umberlee).

CHAPTER 2 I THE LAND OF CHULT