Page 26 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

instead assembled a group of outlaws • No other members of the Lords' Alliance know of
and local ruffians to secure his own Iarno's betrayal.
position in town.
larno knew of the Black Spider DEVELOPMENTS
through his contacts in the Lords' Various papers and notes are stacked neatly on the desk,
Alliance and brokered a meeting. The mostly consisting of larno's written orders to apothecaries
drow promised to share the secrets and alchemists in nearby settlements for more materials
and wealth of the Forge of Spells for his workshop. The characters also find a letter signed
with the wizard in exchange for his with the Black Spider's symbol.
help and loyalty.
larno puts on airs of gentility and Lord Albrek,
courteous manners, addressing his My spies in Neverwinter tell me that strangers are due to
ruffians as "my good gentlemen,"
and referring to sordid acts such arrive in Phandalin. They could be working for the dwarves.
as kidnapping or arson as "that Capture them if you can, kill them if you must, but don't allow
unpleasant little business" or "those them to upset our plans. See that any dwarven
unfortunate events." He refers to the maps in their possession are delivered to me with haste.
characters as "guests" and expresses I'm counting on you, larno. Don't disappoint me.
regret that he cannot provide suitable
entertainment for their visit. Beneath
his genteel demeanor, however, larno
is just as thuggish and arrogant as any
Redbrand outlaws. If larno is taken into custody, Sildar Hallwinter arranges
If threatened, larno uses his staff to have the wizard incarcerated in the townmaster's hall
I of defense to cast mage armor on Whether larno stands trial for his crimes is beyond
until he can be safely transported
back to Neverwinter.
himself. He then casts offensive spells
at enemies he can see. Iarno's stat
block contains a list of the spells he the scope of this adventure. The Black Spider is too
to meddle in the wizard's fate.
preoccupied
has prepared. For descriptions of
those spells and their effects, see the TREASURE
rule book. larno uses the shield power of At the foot of Iarno's bed is a sturdy, unlocked wooden
his staff for added protection. chest holding the best pickings of the Redbrands' loot
If he is reduced to 8 or fewer hit over the last two months. It contains 180 sp, 130 gp,
points and has no avenues of escape, and a silk pouch containing five carnelians (10 gp each),
larno surrenders. He values his life two peridots (15 gp each), and one pearl (100 gp). It
more than anything, and he remains also contains two magic items that larno brought with
a model prisoner in the hopes that him from Neverwinter: a scroll of charm person and a
the Black Spider will somehow learn scroll of fireball.
of his predicament and "arrange for larno also wields a staff of defense (see appendix A).
his freedom."
If he is questioned while in captivity, AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS if the party
Divide 200 XP equally among the characters
\ all of which is true: slays larno Albrek. Double the XP award if they capture
larno relates the following information,
larno and deliver him to Sildar Hallwinter
in Phandalin .
• The Black Spider is a drow (dark elf).
The Black Spider sent three bugbears
to help larno keep the population WHAT'S NEXT?
of Phandalin under control, but the The next stage of the adventure continues with part 3,
Redbrands have managed without "The Spider's Web," in which the characters undertake
them. The bugbears know the way to a number of short adventures that advance the story. At
Wave Echo Cave, but larno does not. some point during part 2, the characters are likely to
• The Black Spider is searching advance to 3rd level, so make sure the players are keeping
Wave Echo Cave for the Forge of track of their XP.
Spells. Dwarves and gnomes of the
Phandelver's Pact used the magical
forge to fashion powerful magic items.

26
PART 2: PHANDALIN