Page 149 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

drowned ones). the vines are rooted in large clay pots. cackle in delight when speaking of the drowned ones.
Tallos grew the vines for their fruit. which he fermented The hags have lived in the area for years, and they wit-
into a unique wine. The other residents knew to give nessed the first drowned one attack ten years before.
a wide berth to the vines, which attack anyone (except They refer to the drowned ones as "walkers," because
the now-dead druid) that comes within their reach. the creatures plod along the floor of the bay, never swim-
Anyone who ascends the west stairs is in reach of the ming. They did not see the shipwreck during the storm.
vines· attacks. and know only the that the walkers came from the gen-
Outer Wall. The wall surrounding the courtyard is 15 eral direction of the Pit of Hatred. They eagerly give the
feet high and has a 3-foot-wide walkway along its top. characters directions to the rift, trading predictions of
accessed by the stairs to the east and west. The wall has party members' deaths all the while.
no parapets and provides no cover to those atop it. A pile Cistern. The central cistern is 7 feet deep. lined with
of gardening tools lies al the base of the east stairs, next flagstones, and has a lip l foot wide and I foot high. It
to wooden buckets used to carry water from the cistern collects rainwater for drinking and washing, but the
in area 3 to the garden. hermits often augment that supply with barrels of fresh
Barricaded Doors. Any close inspection of the double water shipped in from the mainland. Recent rains have
doors leading into the hermitage reveals that they were filled the cistern to capacity.
recently broken open and have been jammed shut again. Treasure. Since their arrival on the island, the
The doors were smashed by the drowned ones, but the hags were able to enter the hermit cells (area 11) to
survivors of the attack have repaired and barred them gather some treasure, but they haven't yet advanced
with broken planking from the dining hall. The doors past the barricaded door in that area. The loot now
can be forced open with a successful DC 16 Strength lies hidden in silt at the bottom of the cistern. A char-
(Athletics) check. acter who succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception)
check while looking in the cistern spots something be-
3. YARD AND CISTERN neath the muck.
Anyone who swims to the bottom can recover a
leather sack containing l25 gp. a gold paperweight
A low, unfinished stone wall encloses a broad, sandy yard
in the shape of a tortoise (100 gp), a silver candelabra
abutting an open vista of beach and sea. A small tower
stamped with the symbol of the sea god Procan (50 gp),
accessible by an external stair rises against the hermit- and two potions of greater healing.
age's eastern wall. Several scrubby bushes stand to the
4. MAIN ENTRY
north of a large oval pool at the center of the yard.
If the characters enter the hermitage through this area,
they must break through the barricaded doors with a
If the characters have not already visited area 2, add: successful DC 16 Strength (Athletics) check. Adjust the
read-aloud text accordingly.
Along the north edge of the yard, the wall of the fortress
once abutted the larger of the island's rocky hills. But Pieces of broken planking and debris reinforce the dam-
that hillside has since been hewn away to create a pas· aged north doors of this room, whose floor and walls
sage rounding the corner of the hermitage. are spattered by bloodstains. A twisted padlock lies at
the foot of the north doors, and the south doors have
been nearly ripped from their hinges. Arrow slits are
When the fortress was abandoned, the garrison sol-
visible in the east wall, shrouded by cobwebs. The west
diers were in the process of enclosing this yard behind
a 3-foot-wide. 15-foot-high wall identical to the one wall displays patches where similar arrow slits have been
protecting the courtyard (area 2). The unfinished wall bricked over.
stands 3 feet high.
Two sea hags were drawn to the island during the re-
cent attack. when they heard the screams of the victims When the drowned ones assaulted the hermitage, they
of the drowned ones. While prowling around the hermit- broke down the main doors here and caught its resi-
age with an invisible stalker they summoned. the hags dents by surprise. The arrow slits are 3 feet above the
spotted the characters approaching and have hidden in floor and 6 inches wide; the area beyond cannot be seen
the scrub nearest the wall. because of the spiderwebs. The hermits' patchwork is
The hags can be noticed only by a creature who of poor quality, and the bricked-up arrow slits can be
s ucceeds on a DC 17 Wisdom (Perception) check. The smashed through with a successful DC 18 Strength
invisible stalker is in the cistern and cannot normally (Athletics) check.
A character who makes a successful DC 16 Wisdom
be seen. If anyone spots any of the three monsters or
(Perception) check notices numerous humanoid tracks
moves within 5 feet of the cistern's edge. these crea-
tures attack. in the blood and dirt streaking the floor. With a success-
ful DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Sur-
The hags try to flee into the sea if the stalker is slain.
vival) check, a character discerns more than a dozen
Development. If the hags are captured, they provide
individual sets of tracks, some of which arc outlined by a
detailed accounts of the assault on the island. and
thick crust of salt.
( 11 \ r• I I R 1 I AM M I !{,\ l r s I ~ n