Page 83 - Tomb of Annihilation

the items changes nothing; it's too late. Characters who
PORT CASTIGLIAR
enter with their orchid and feather find themselves in
Port Castigliar (pronounced kah-STEE-lee-ar) is a port
the same room, but as it was centuries ago. They can en-
in name only. In fact, it's nothing more than a stretch of
ter the naga's presence once. Someone who leaves and
beach with an abandoned supply depot, seven battered
comes back in sees only the bare room.
huts made of bamboo and thatch, and a defiled grave-
Read the following to players whose characters find
yard. Undead drove away the inhabitants long ago, and
themselves in the naga's presence:
ghouls dug up the graves.
Hanging lamps illuminate the room, while incense burn- REFUGE BAY
ers fill it with exotic scents and curling smoke. Cushions
Refuge Bay has a reputation for being a relatively safe
and reed mats cover the floor, pots of blooming flow- place to make landfall. Many explorations of Chult have
ers line the plastered walls, and singing birds flit from begun on its white sand beach, which stretches as far
plant to plant. as the eye can see around the entire shore of the bay.
A Chultan town calJed lshau once stood at the head of
An immense snake with iridescent scales rests on a
the bay, but its foundations sank into the sea during the
heap of cushions opposite the doorway. It rises slowly
Spellplague. The town's buildings are still largely intact
to a height of 5 feet, staring directly into your eyes as it but they now lie more than a mile from dry land, and
moves. Its face is remarkably humanlike, and its tongue they're prowled by sharks, plesiosaurs, and sea hags.
flicks before it speaks.
RIVER OLUNG
"I am Saja N'baza. What do you seek in this ancient
place? Speak truly, for I hear your hearts!" Steaming-hot water from Lake Luo cools quickly as it
tumbles down rapids and low cataracts. This river is
recognized by guides and explorers as an important
If the characters haven't yet encountered Artus Cimber boundary. To the east is "normal" jungle; to the west is
and Dragonbait, the duo might be conferring with the undead territory. For this reason alone, some expedi-
guardian naga when the party arrives. Saja N'baza tions choose to enter the peninsula through Refuge Bay.
knows what happened to the city of Mezro (see "Mezro,"
page 74) and tells Artus that it won't return as long as RIVER SosHENSTAR
Ras Nsi lives. This gives Artus incentive to accompany
The Soshenstar flows north from the Aldani Basin to
the party to Omu.
the Bay of Chult, tumbling down waterfalls every ten to
The naga knows through visions that Ras Nsi and his
fifteen miles.
yuan-ti followers are scheming to end the world from
their lair in Omu. She doesn't know much about the
RIVER TATH
death curse, but when characters describe it, she con-
firms that it fits with various omens tied to Omu. The This river springs from the Aldani Basin and meanders
naga knows that Omu lies between the Peaks of Flame westward, passing over waterfalls and through the can-
and the Valley of Lost Honor, and she also knows it's yon of Ataaz Kahakla before washing intojahaka Bay.
sunken below the level of the surrounding jungle, so the
RIVER TIRYKI
best way to spot it will be from the air or from the near-
est high ground. The Tiryki spills from the back of a mist-shrouded can-
The naga remembers Ras Nsi's first uprising, and she yon and flows north toward the Bay of Chult, plunging
urges the characters to kill him both as punishment for over waterfalls every few mites. This makes it arduous
his past atrocities and to prevent any possibility of a re- to traverse by canoe upriver-everything must be labo-
currence. Each character who agrees receives a super- riously portaged around the cataracts- and dangerous
natural charm (see chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's to travel downriver, lest a canoe gets caught in the cur-
Guide) to aid their task. Assign charms to characters rent and swept over a waterfall or smashed in rapids.
that are appropriate to their roles in the party. Charac- What's worse, jungle predators and undead prowl both
ters who seem reluctant might have seas cast on them. riverbanks. Considering the pterafolk nesting at Fire-
finger and the grungs living above the gorge, it's easy
LEAVING THE SHRINE
to see why the Tiryki is considered the most dangerous
After characters leave the shrine, nothing they do brings river in Chult.
them back to Saja N'baza's presence. The shrine is a
barren chamber every time they reenter. It's dawn of the SHILKU
next day, no matter what time it was when they entered.
This abandoned coastal village was both destroyed and
They can descend the ziggurat with no difficulty, with
preserved by volcanic eruption. The silent streets are
or without the orchid and feather; the snakes are gone,
buried in ash, and the harbor is choked with cooled lava.
the steps are solid, and a clear path extends through the
Since Mezro is now largely "cleared out," Liara Portyr
plants and thorns. When they reach the ground, charac-
of Fort Beluarian is under pressure from her patrons in
ters see blue tulips blooming all around the base of the
Baldur's Gate to begin exploring and excavating Shilku
ziggurat. The tulips are beautiful but nonmagical.
for the treasures that are undoubtedly entombed there.
OH APTER 2 I THE LAND OF CflUl.l
82