Page 151 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

9. LIBRARY
The heady scent of fermentation fills this dark, win·
dowless hole. Its walls are rough masonry and its floor
Faded tapestries showing maritime scenes and dramatic
hard-packed earth. No ladder rises to the trapdoor in the
storms at sea hang from the north and south walls of this
ceiling. A table along the west wall holds a collection of
cozy room. The floor is carpeted in a ragged green shag
copper tubing and vats. Next to it are several casks.
woven to depict a crashing wave. A low set of book-laden
shelves sits against the east wall, and three wooden ta-
This space beneath the watchtower of area 21 was once
bles and several chairs fill the rest of the room. Books are
a holding cell for prisoners. Tallos the druid converted
strewn about the tables and the floor.
the space into a distillery. Berries harvested from his as-
sassin vines were brought here for fermentation. and the
tubing and vats make up a functioning distillery.
This chamber once served as a chapel devoted to the
Casks. The four casks hold a rotgut vintage ofTallos·s
god of the sea for the members of the fortress garrison.
assassin-berry wine. Anyone who drinks this concoction
It was here that Oloran, the chaplain of the fortress,
must succeed on a DC 14 Constitution saving throw or
prayed to Procan for divine intervention against the
become poisoned for ld4 hours. The saving throw to
approaching Tammeraut. The residents of the hermit-
overcome the wine's nauseating effects can be repeated
age, who generally espouse no particular religion, have
every 15 minutes.
converted the chamber into a library. Any character
who has an appropriate background or who succeeds
11. HERMIT CELLS
on a DC 14 Intelligence (History or Religion) check rec-
The door into this area from outside is damaged and
ognizes that the carpet depicts the symbol of Procan.
opens freely. The door into area 7 is barricaded from the
the sea god.
opposite side. It can be forced open with a successful
Books. A few of the works on the shelves deal with
DC 14 Strength (Athletics) check.
the worship of the sea god and date back to the original
garrison. but most are later acquisitions brought by the
hermits. By and large. these tomes deal with common What was apparently once the main barracks of the
philosophical quandaries and the passive contemplation
stronghold has been turned into individual meditation
of nature. The books are old and impressive-looking but
cells by the residents of the hermitage. Numerous
have no monetary value.
wooden poles have been crudely lashed together and
H the characters search the library, one of them dis-
covers a handwritten poem scrawled into the open cover hung with curtains to create eight-foot-high partitions
of a book. The fragment was composed by Oloran, the throughout the room. The ceiling peaks twenty feet
chaplain of the garrison, the morning after Tammeraut overhead, where a thatched roof is reinforced with
sank. It was intended as a paean to Procan, also known
wooden poles.
as the Storm Lord. and a warning to the god's foes.
The entire room is a shambles, with many of the par-
• • titions damaged and the curtains torn apart. Debris and
Beware the sea and its scarlet harbinger.
the broken remains of simple furnishings are strewn
Beware the sword and death that await.
about, while pools of drying blood and gore fill the room
For guidance, we beseech almighty Storm Lord; with a metallic stink.
Consign to our foes Tammeraut's fate.
The drowned ones' main assault on the hermitage took
The beginning of the verse will look familiar to charac- place here. Most of the residents were sleeping in their
ters who visit the belfry (area 24). See that area for more cells and died in the first minutes of the attack. The her-
information. mitage's only real hope of fighting off the invaders. the
A character who succeeds on a DC IS Intelligence druid Tallos, died in his cot. All the bodies were dragged
{History) check recognizes ''Tammeraut" as a family away by the drowned ones, after which the sea hags
name, and recalls that it was a noble clan that faded found in area 3 did some looting here.
from history years ago. Rats attracted by the slaughter are skulking in this
Treasure. Lying atop the bookshelf are four spell room. Because the drowned ones removed the corpses,
scrolls: gust of wind, speak with animals, speak with the rat swarms have found little to cat. They stream
plants, and control water. These were created by Tal- from beneath broken furniture and from behind parti-
los the druid. who misplaced them here and forgot tions and curtains to attack anyone entering the room.
about them. Every round. three swarms of rats appear in one of
the cells (your choice) and pour out to devour the char-
10. DISTILLERY
acters. A total of twelve swarms can appear in this way.
Although this area is on the first level, it is accessible
Treasure. The partition walls of one cell (Tallos's)
only from outside and through the trapdoor in area 21
are held up by a pole containing a hollowed-out hidden
on the second level.
space within, which can be found with a successful DC
16 Intelligence (Investigation) check. The disturbed
\ll\f'lfk7 IAMMIR\ll'SFAll