Page 97 - Tomb of Annihilation

2. WALLED COMPOUND

Smoke drifts lazily from a walled compound. The gate
lies in splinters, and scorch marks deface the buildings.
Near the center of the compound is a plaza littered with
charred human corpses. One of the corpses is being torn
apart by a pack of wild dogs.

0RVElt 0CRllMMAS
The Red Wizards seized this compound as their base
of operations in Omu, but yuan-ti attacked and nearly
wiped them out. Thirty corpses are scattered across
the compound-the remains of three Red Wizards,
twenty human mercenaries, and seven bearers hired
in Port Nyanzaru. The yuan-ti looted alJ the supplies
they found and stole their enemies' weapons. Six wild
dogs (use jackal statistics) feed on one of the Red Wiz-
ards. The dogs pose no threat if the characters keep
their distance.
SPIRIT POLE
The yuan-ti burned their dead comrades and arranged
their bones into a spirit pole. Characters who explore
the compound discover this effigy:

A glaive has been thrust into remains of a burned-out
Much of the interior has collapsed into rubble. Creepers
pyre. Charred snake skulls and blackened inhuman verte-
cling to the walls, and high grasses sprout between the
brae are lashed to the spear. On a wall nearby, a symbol
flagstones amid evidence of long-dead campfires. One
has been daubed in ash: a snake curled in a spiral, grip-
wall is covered with graffiti-some words painted, oth-
ping a circle in its jaws.
ers etched.
With a successful DC 15 Intelligence (Religion) check, a
The graffiti (written in Common) provides hints about character recognizes the sigil on the wall as the symbol
the challenges that await of Dendar the Night Serpent devouring the world.
"Fear the fangs of Ras Nsi!"
"Erik, I've gone in search of the nine shrines. V." ORVE.X 0CRAMMAS
"The puzzle cubes are the key." During the attack, an explosion buried a member of the
"Beware the frog monster!" Red Wizards' expedition under a fallen section of wall.
"Who is Unkh?" Orvex is dying of thirst and exhaustion. As characters
"All hail the King of Feathers!" search the compound, they hear him calling out for help
from under the rubble. If the characters free Orvex, he
"The snakes are not what they seem."
"Kubazan =bravery. Shagambi = wisdom. Moa = ?" begs to join their band until he finds sanctuary.
Orvex serves as scribe and translator for the Red
RAs Ns1's ScouTs Wizards. He's a pragmatic, balding human in his early
Five yuan-ti malisons watch this entrance to the city forties who serves the Red Wizards because, as he puts
from a small cave carved into the cliffside. A narrow it, they pay well. Orvex has the statistics of a spy, with
goat track zigzags up the cliff to their hideout. these changes:
The group consists of two type 1 malisons, two type 2 Orvex is neutral.
malisons, and one type 3 mallson. They follow the char- He has 3 hit points remaining and 3 levels of exhaus·
acters into Omu and shadow them through the streets. tion (see appendix A of the Player's Handbook for
Their goal is to ambush the characters and capture at exhaustion effects).
least one of them. If they remain out of sight, the yuan-ti • He speaks Common and Grung.
launch their attack when the characters try to take their
first long or short rest in the city. If the characters befriend Orvex, he can help them
forge a truce with any surviving Red Wizards. Orvex can
TREASURE translate Old Omuan, and bis studies of Omu's carvings
The type 3 malison's longbow is painted and carved taught him the legend of the nine trickster gods (see
like a serpent with tiny amber gemstones for eyes. The "Legend of the Nine Gods," page 92), which Orvex is
weapon is worth 250 gp as an art object. happy to recount once he's fully healed and rested.
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