Page 150 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

The drowned ones killed several hermits here, then
5. MIDDEN
hauled the bodies to area 14. The door from this area to
area 11 has since been barricaded from this side.
A foul stench permeates this dark room, which holds a A character who studies the blood spatters in the
pile of filth beneath a trapdoor in the ceiling. A ladder is room and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Inves-
bolted to the west wall below the trapdoor. The bricked- tigation) check determines that several people were
recently slain here-including one who was drowned
over outlines of three arrow slits line the east wall, and an
in the tub. The blood spatters on the floor are a day old
entire doorway has been bricked up to the south. at most. The character also notices a few more recent
• tracks, suggesting that at least one person survived
the onslaught. It's not clear in which direction the sur-
The inhabitants of the hermitage use this room as a
dump and privy, dropping their refuse through the trap- vivor fled.
door above. They bricked over the arrow slits and the Bricked-Up Door. Characters who pass along the
door to contain the smell. A hole in the north wall allows hallway between this area and area 15 can see that a
creatures of Small size or smaller to come and go freely. doorway in the north wall has been bricked over. The
Five giant rats slither and skitter through the pile of sloppy brickwork can be smashed through with a suc-
waste. They instinctively attack any intruders. cessful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check.
Ladder. A rung at the top of the ladder has rotted, and Treasure. One of the hermits owned a well-made
it breaks if more than 50 pounds of weight are placed set of false teeth carved of elephant ivory. These teeth,
on it. A character who succeeds on a DC 14 Wisdom worth 150 gp, can be found by anyone who searches the
(Perception) check notices the weak rung. Any character tub, where they ended up after their prior owner was
who breaks the rung while climbing falls 10 feet and has drowned by an undead attacker.
a 50 percent chance of landing in the waste pile. 8. DINING HALL
Pile of Waste. Any character who makes substantial
contact with the pile of waste (searching through it, •
falling into it. and so forth) must succeed on a DC 14 This large hall has a vaulted ceiling that rises to nearly
Constitution saving throw or contract sewer plague. See thirty feet high at its center. The area is dominated by a
"Diseases" in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Masters Guide. flagstone hearth at the north end and a twenty-foot-high
Treasure. A character who searches the waste pile
discovers a brooch of shielding dropped here years ago. wooden balcony to the south. supported by rickety-look-
ing posts. High windows are set into the east and west
6. ARCHER'S POST walls, which also have door·sized holes smashed through
them at either end of the balcony.
T
Cobwebs shroud this apparently abandoned room, ob- The shattered remnants of a large trestle table and
scuring three arrow slits on the west wall. A ladder bolted a pair of benches litter the center of the room. Broken
to the east wall leads to a trapdoor in the ceiling. crockery is scattered about, along with chunks of food.

This room can make a defensible hideout later in the The great hall of the fortress once served as a defensive
adventure when the drowned ones return. position as well as a gathering place.
Windows. The cast windows open to the outside and
7. SCULLERY allow light into the hall during the day. The west win-
dows allowed archers on the second level to fire down
• on any intruders in this area.
Stairs rise to a railed balcony that covers two walls of
Hermit Alterations. The hermits have made several
this large, vaulted chamber. The balcony stands ten feet structural alterations to the hall. including widening ar-
above the floor, with heavy crossbeams above reinforcing row slits in the guard tower and the entry hall balcony to
the twenty-foot-high, slate·tiled ceiling. Here and there, create doorways on the second level. They then built the
missing ceiling tiles have been covered over with thatch. crude wooden balcony to connect the upper ftoor of the
watchtower with the inside of the main building.
A large, rusty metal tub and a broken wooden frame
The balcony's construction is shabby. and the wooden
stand near the staircase. The floor shows spatters of
poles that precariously support it look unsafe. lt can
blood and obvious signs of a recent scuffle. support up to 200 pounds of weight before collapsing.
Anyone on the balcony when it collapses falls 20 feet to
the floor below, taking normal falling damage.
This area was once a gallery, but the hermitage resi-
dents have turned it into a scullery. The tub formerly Smashed Table. Two of the hermits were enjoying a
served as the oil receptacle for the beacon in the tower late repast here when the drowned ones attacked. They
above (see area 24). but it now holds dirty water and went to area 7 to investigate !>Ounds of a scuffle and
shattered crockery. The wooden frame is a drying rack were slain there. The survivors of the assault later broke
up the table and benches so they the pieces could be lo
for laundry. Behind the tub sits a bucket of lye with a bar the entrances to the hermitage.
copper scoop, and several pumice stones for scrubbing.

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