Page 103 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

T HE SURVIVORS GOLDEN MEDALLI ON
This medallion is a golden disk inscribed with complex
A few of the abbey's clerics and guards survived the pi-
geometric designs, worth 30 gp. It is not magical, but
rate attack and now live a spartan life in the ruins. They undead of the Winding Way recognize it and allow anyone
made rough accommodations in the abbey's cellars. who possesses the medallion, plus their companions, to
The abbey's vegetable garden and a few barrels of salted pass safely unless the undead are attacked. Only the un·
pork also survived the pirate attack. The survivors fish dead guardians recognize the medallion, and it cannot be
from the lower cliffs and raise buckets of seawater up used for safe passage past traps or other guardians in the
the cliffs by rope. By casting purify food and water on Winding Way, or for protection from any other undead on
the seawater, the abbey's clerics create enough water for or off the island. The undead do not obey orders from a
character who wears the medallion.
their drinking, cooking, washing, and gardening needs.
The survivors have no boat and no means of building
one. The island's few stunted trees and gnarled bushes Ozymandias is now the highest-ranking cleric and the
are incapable of supplying the wood for even a crude leader of the survivors. He is a capable administrator,
canoe or raft. The survivors have no control over the but he does not inspire loyalty or trust in those under
undead of the Skull Dunes and would have to fight their him. Underlings obey him because of the hierarchical
way through the skeletons to launch a boat (they are un- structure of the abbey's chain of command, not because
aware of the path made by the pirates). he shows any strong leadership. if attacked, he defends
The survivors keep a low profile. They stay close to himself to the best of his abilities. If the characters
the ruins of the abbey and keep out of sight of pass- attempt to negotiate, Ozymandias is treacherous and un-
ing boats. They do not hail ships or light signal fires. likely to keep any agreement (except at sword point). He
Trapped on the island since the pirate attack, they are wants to get word of the abbey's destruction to the main-
unaware that the pirates have been destroyed. They are land, and he hopes to hold the island until help arrives.
therefore hesitant to make their presence known for Ozymandias wears a special golden medallion (see
fear the pirates will return and finish them off. the sidebar) that allows safe passage through the un-
Even though the survivors desperately want to leave dead guardians of the Winding Way (the tunnels below
the island, their superiors would not approve of their the abbey ruin). As the highest-ranking cleric on the
abandoning the island to the mariners. The clerics and island, Ozymandias wears the medallion as a symbol of
the surviving guards would be severely punished (per- his faith, but he doesn't know about its special property
haps by death) if they left. Therefore, they have resolved or about the dangers of the Winding Way.
to capture or kill anyone coming to the island. If any of
the characters are captured, they are kept alive only if ODIUM
they can be used in negotiations to extract a ransom. Odium (NE male human cult fanatic) was visiting the
Ransom demands are likely to include a boat or at least abbey on business when the pirates attacked. He gave
transportation to the mainland. a brave account of himself during the battle, though he
The survivors' main goal is to get word to their su- survived by sheer chance. He ran through the burning
periors while still retaining possession of the island. building to save his spell scrolls and other valuables. As
They have sent missives by means of sending and an- the flames mounted, Odium was forced to retreat to the
imal messenger spells (using seagulls), but they have cellars with his rescued goods.
received no response. Nonetheless, they still hope to be He is a grumbler and annoys everyone with his con-
sent reinforcements, laborers, and material for rebuild- stant griping. Odium and Ozymandias dislike each other
ing the abbey. intensely. If one gets into trouble, the other will do noth-
They typically keep watch on the Skull Dunes during ing to help.
the day, but have grown lax in that duty as boredom and Odium desperately wants to leave the island and get
hunger overtake them. Therefore, there is a 50 percent on with his life. If the characters do not attack Odium
chance that the characters will land unseen at the Skull immediately, they might be able to strike a deal with
Dunes during the day. The survivors do not keep watch him. He will draw a rough map of the abbey ruins in
at night, meaning that the party has a 100 percent return for 200 gp and safe passage off the island. (If this
chance of landing unnoticed when it's dark. occurs, you should provide only a rough map of the cel-
During the day, the survivors might be above ground lars without including the Winding Way.) Odium refuses
getting water, fishing, or gardening, or they might be in to join the party in a fight against the other survivors.
area 2 of the ruins. At night they stay in their rooms.
BAYLEAF
The major personalities among the survivors are de-
tailed below. Bayleaf (LE male elf bard; see appendix C) is amerce-
nary who works for the highest bidder. He was hired by
OZYMAN DIAS the abbey as a training instructor for the guards. If the
Ozymandias (NE male human priest) barely survived party does not attack him immediately, negotiation is
the battle against the pirates because he tried to rescue possible. Bayleaf can be bought off for 500 gp and safe
important books and scrolls from the burning abbey, passage off the island. He does not draw a map for the
and a collapsing hall closed a doorway behind him. He party or help them attack his former employers, but he
was forced to abandon the written works, and he es- does tell them there are treasure-filled tunnels beneath
caped only after a wall collapsed and provided him with the abbey. If pressed, Bayleaf admits that the treasure is
an escape route. guarded (true) and claims it is worth 10,000 gp (false).

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