Page 130 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

SHERN: LOBSTER, TELEPATH, FRIEND
l A semicircular niche has been hollowed into the center
Until it escaped, Shern was used by the sahuagin in their
makeshift lobster fighting arenas. It managed to escape its of the south wall. The floor of the niche sits seven feet
fate as a gladiator, in part due to its strangely high level of off the ground. On the shelf formed there stands a large
intelligence. carved stone head, visibly battered and disfigured. The
The lobster has limited telepathy, though it cannot ex-
plain how it came to have this ability. It can communicate features can still be recognized as those of a lizardfolk.
with any other living creature within 10 feet. The lobster The head is about twice as large as life size.
has named itself Shern, and it desperately wants to escape i
the fortress.
If Shern becomes aware of the characters, it attempts When the lizard folk lived here, one of their proudest
to communicate with one of them despite not being possessions was a 10-foot-high statue of Semuanya,
able to convey language. It knows the following informa· their deity. When the sahuagin took over the fortress,
tion, which it communicates through feelings and pro-
they destroyed the s tatue, breaking it into s tone frag-
jected images:
ments and leaving only the head, before the baron
• A terrible monster lives in the temple. intervened. Instead of allowing them to destroy the
• Two four-armed sahuagin rule this fortress. head, the baron decided to keep it as a memento of his
• The bulk of the sahuagin forces are on the fortress's triumph- not only over the lizardfolk, but over their very
lowest level. way of life. He had his warriors re move it to the banquet
• If the party frees Shern by returning it to the ocean, it hall and place it so that it faced him as he sat on his
can lead the characters to a sunken treasure (of your de-
throne. It is an object of scorn and derision among the
sign) a few miles south of the fortress.
sahuagin- rarely does a sahuagin pass it without mak-
Shern knows the layout of the two lowest levels of the ing a malicious, usually obscene, gesture.
fortress, including areas where large number of sahuagin Development. From this room, the characters can
gather. The lobster accompanies the characters if it senses hear fragments of the discussion taking place in the
they will help it escape. Shern hopes to hide in a backpack,
a cloak pocket, or a hood while the characters explore the throne room (area 42). Conversely, the baron and those
with him in area 42 can hear any noisy activity in the
rest of the fortress.
banquet hall.
A seemingly ordinary lobster scuttles along the floor. 42. THRONE ROOM
This is S hern, an unassuming but most remarkable lob-
ster (see the "S hern: Lobster. Telepath, Friend'" sidebar).
l
The lobster has no effective attacks and is killed auto· At the end of a short stretch of corridor, another archway
matically by a ny attack. opens into a larger area. Here, the floor is tiled indigo
41. BANQUET HALL and the walls dark blue. On the north side, a massive,
ornately carved throne rises from a pale blue dais.
Pale blue marble pillars stand to the east and west. The
The corridor leads to a great hall, its floor tiled in black,
dais is of the same pale blue marble, while the throne is
the walls in coral pink, and the ceiling in white. Black-
black coral. The ceiling is tiled in pale blue.
tiled pillars are regularly placed in a line slightly south of
the east-west axis. To the north of the pillars, long tables
Assuming the occupants have not left. read:
have been placed end to end, with benches to either side.
At the midpoint of the north wall, an archway opens onto
a passage. This ornate archway is decorated with elegant j On the throne sits an oversized sahuagin. This creature
black and gold designs evocative of waves and mon- has four arms. In his right upper hand, he holds a large
j trident. His two lower hands grip the arms of his throne.
strous sea creatures.
Floating next to the throne, on the creature's right-
hand side, is an adult female sahuagin holding a long
This is the sahuagin banquet hall. S ince sahuagin prefer
staff tipped with a jumble of shark jaws and teeth.
to eat informal ly when individuals feel hunger, this ha ll
is used only for important functions, such as to celebrate In front of the throne and at the foot of the dais, three
a great victory or entertain visiting nobles. The ceiling is adult sahuagin float with their backs to you. Two float
30 feet high. with bodies held rigid, while the third pleads before
The tables and benches can accommodate two hun-
1 the throne.
dred sahuagin with space to spare , but at p resent the
•
area is empty.
The stone head in the semicircular niche in the cen- The sahuagin speaking to the baron is complaining
ter of the south wall is not clearly visible to characte rs about offensive rem arks made by another s ahuagin. The
standing unde r the western or eastern arch. As soon as sahuagin wants tbe baron to punish the offe nder. The
a character moves to a position from which they can be baron is growing impatient with the pettiness and is
observed, read the following: close to feeding all involved parties to the Maw of Seko-
lah in area 37.

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