Page 154 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

17. BATTLEMENT This area was a key defensive point for protecting the
main entrance (area 4) against incursion. The kettle was
•
A walkway open to the sky overlooks a grotto formed by r once used to boil oil for the murder holes. This chamber
is rarely visited by the residents of the hermitage, except
the island's rocky peak and the hermitage's walls. leading to use the trapdoor into area 5 as a dump and a privy.
from the hermitage to the large tower along its west side.
20. PRIOR'S QUARTERS
A crenellated battlement blocks the walkway in and is set
with arrow slits. •
The door to this chamber hangs open, with the detached
head of a mace on the floor acting as a doorstop. The
This battlement served as the main point of defense for
the fortress's postern entrance from the grotto, allowing room is modestly furnished with a cot, a table, a chest,
the garrison lo fire arrows or hurl rocks at invaders. It and a chair. An oddly shaped basin rests on the table,
remains an excellent defensive position. with a small piece of mirror hanging from the wall
The door from the open battlement into the corridor above it.
that leads to area 18 and the interior of the second level
is barricaded from the inside. Breaking through it from
outside requires a successful DC 14 Strength (Athlet- When the fortress was occupied, this area was the quar-
ics) check. ters of the chaplain Oloran. The leader of the hermitage
Development. Unless the characters are moving qui- moved in here after his sect took over the island five
etly, the three snakes in area 18 detect them and slither years before. Old Prior Borisanth had little interaction
through the arrow slits to attack. with the other residents, due to his having taken a vow
of silence. On the night of the attack, he was awakened
18. SCRIPTORIUM by the noise and slain by a drowned one as he opened
his door. The broken handle of his mace rolled un-
r A partial wall divides this chamber into two sections. Two l der his cot.
Treasure. The unlocked chest next to the cot contains
arrow slits are set into the west wall, and a small fireplace a selection of threadbare garments and worn sandals. It
stands to the north. Several tables crowd the room, all also holds a religious icon set with fourteen small dia-
covered with sheaves of paper, quills, ink pots, candles, monds (100 gp each), two blocks of amber (50 gp each),
and a Quaal's feather token (anchor).
and a few bound books. Numerous uncomfortable-look-
The metal basin on the table holds water, and a bronze
ing stools stand around them. One of the ink pots has
straight razor lies next to it. Closer inspection of the ba-
been overturned, resulting in a large black stain on one
sin reveals that it is an upturned helmet bearing images
tabletop. of cavorting dolphins-a helm of underwater action (see
appendix B) whose magic went undetected by Borisanth
and the other hermits.
This chamber served as the officers' quarters for the
original garrison. After the hermits moved in, they 21. GUARD TOWER
converted it to a scriptorium where they compose phil- The door into the tower is barricaded shut from the
osophical tracts, illuminate other texts, or copy man- inside. Forcing it open requires a successful DC 14
uscripts. Completed works are moved downstairs to Strength (Athletics) check.
the library.
Three giant coral snakes (see appendix C) lurk in this i T
chamber. The snakes originally lived in a cave on the Where this small guard tower once abutted the east side
east side of the isle. where they fed on rats. When the of the fortress, part of the fortress wall has been knocked
rats were drawn to the fortress by the smell of death, the out to create an open doorway into the interior, with a
snakes followed, entering this area through the arrow
rickety-looking balcony beyond. Arrow slits around the
slits. The snakes are currently coiled up in the north
tower give a view of the area outside the fortress and the
section of the room, and emerge to attack anyone who
trespasses in their new lair. stairs that access the tower door. A wooden trapdoor is
set into the floor, with a cloying odor rising from it. A ten·
19. DEFENSIVE OVERLOOK
foot ladder lies next to the trapdoor .
•
' '
Arrow slits set along the walls of this chamber make it
The smell comes from the distillery in area 10 below.
a bit drafty. Murder holes open up in the center of the
floor, overlooking the entryway into the level below. A UPPER L EVELS AND CELLAR
fireplace is set into the south wall, with a dusty iron kettle The belfry tower rises above the main levels of the
close by. A trapdoor is set into the floor at either end of hermitage, and a secret cellar below the kitchen has
this chamber. become a refuge for the survivors of the undead assault.
The following locations are identified on map 7.4.

t'JIAl'rF.I! ; rA~ntfl! \ ( T':> FATE