Page 23 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

Bridges. These bridges are made of wooden planks and
This area is the north end of a large natural cavern, but it has
have no rails. The south one is rigged to collapse when
been finished with dressed stone block walls and a flagstone
a creature weighing more than 50 pounds moves across
floor. Several barrels are stored against the walls here, along it. A character next to the bridge can discern that the
with a number of empty crates, straw for packing, hammers, construction is faulty with a successful DC 15 Intelligence
pry bars, and nails. (Investigation) check. Any creature can use an action
The cavern continues for some distance to the south. You to dislodge one end of either bridge, dropping it into
the crevasse.
can make out several passages that open up off the larger
Crevasse. This steep-sided fissure is 5 to 10 feet wide
cavern, and what looks like a deep pit or crevasse in the floor.
and 20 feet deep. Its rough walls are easily climbed
without an ability check. A creature that falls into the
This room contains two secret doors, one leading to area crevasse takes 2d6 bludgeoning damage and lands prone
6 and the other to area 12. See the "General Features" in a jumble of rubble that is difficult terrain (see "Difficult
section (page 20) for more information on secret doors. Terrain" in the rulebook).
The bottom of the crevasse feels unnaturally cold. When
TREASURE viewed with a detect magic spell, the area emanates a faint
Most of the provisions and goods here aren't valuable, necromantic aura. The magic causes all organic matter in
but lying among them are thirty beaver pelts (2 gp each). the crevasse to age and decompose at half the normal rate.
They were looted from a caravan on the Triboar Trail a Currently heaped at the bottom among broken and well-
few days ago. gnawed bones is the half-eaten body of Thel Dendrar,
the woodcarver of Phandalin who was murdered by
8. CREVASSE the Redbrands. The outlaws left his corpse here for the
The characters arrive here by one of three routes: the nothic to feed on.
tunnel from area 1, the storeroom at area 7, or the rough-
hewn passage to the south, which continues off the map TREASURE
for about one hundred feet and emerges from a tunnel in The nothic keeps its hoard in a battered wooden chest
the woods south of Tresendar Manor. The passage is an hidden in a cubbyhole at the bottom of the crevasse, under
excellent way to smuggle people or goods in and out of the north bridge. The chest can't be seen from the edge of
Phandalin without being seen, and is thus perfect for a the crevasse, but is obvious to any character who descends
gang of slavers and thieves.

A cold breeze fills this large natural cavern, carrying with it
the faint scent of decaying flesh. A crevasse divides the cavern
and is flanked by two rough stone columns that support the
twenty-foot-high ceiling. Two arched wooden bridges span
the chasm.

The guardian of this cave is a nothic-an insane
subterranean monster that hungers for flesh. The creature,
lured by a faint magical effect emanating from the
crevasse, was occupying the area when the Redbrands
moved in. Iarno managed to strike a bargain with the
monster, convincing it to help guard the stronghold in
exchange for treasure and the occasional gift of fresh
meat. Still, the nothic is untrustworthy.
The nothic lurks near the west ends of the two bridges.
If it notices intruders entering the cave, it hides behind one
of the large stone columns and watches them, attempting
to use its Weird Insight (see the creature's stat block) to
discern the characters' secrets.
The nothic communicates using telepathy. If detected,
it prefers to negotiate and isn't above betraying the
Redbrands for the right incentive, such as the promise of
food. When roleplaying the nothic, consider speaking in
whispers and throwing in some mad cackles and bits of
gibberish. Also be sure to mention that the creature isn't
actually talking but rather filling the characters' heads
with its foul murmurings and demands for food. The
nothic knows everything the Redbrands know; see the
"What the Redbrands Know" sidebar on page 20.

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PART 2: PHANDALlN