Page 47 - ghosts-of-saltmarsh

22. SANBALET'S PRIVATE QUARTERS Six old skeletons lurk in the shadows here. They rise
and attack as soon as the characters enter the room.
' They have disadvantage on initiative checks owing to
Unlike the barracks, this small room holds comfortable
the length of their dormancy. The skeletons are rein-
furnishings and appears to be well cared for. forced by compounds applied to their bones years ago.
A comfortable-looking bed in the northwest corner has The first time they take damage from a melee attack,
a wooden locker at its foot. that damage is reduced by half. If the skeletons are vul-
nerable to that damage. they instead ignore that vulnera-
A small wooden table stands against the east wall, with
bility for this attack.
a padded leather chair beside it. On the table, a brass
Development. If the characters spend more than a
three-branch candlestick with three burning candles pro- few moments here, a faint blue light appears at the seam
vides the room with bright light. The candles, though not of the secret door to area 24. The light gradually grows
fresh, are far from spent. brighter as the alchemist's remains reanimate after long
decades. At a time of your choosing, the alchemist (skel-
Under the table is a small wooden box and an unlit
etal alchemist; see appendix C) emerges through the
bullseye lantern with a movable shutter over the lens.
secret door to assist the skeletons.
On a shelf above the table sit three books. In the
When the alchemist enters the scene, read:
northeast corner is a closed wooden wardrobe.
A hunched corpse wearing a pointed hat and dressed in a l
Jf the characters have avoided alerting the smugglers to robe embroidered with mystic symbols crosses through
their presence, Sanbalet (see appendix C) is in his quar-
the hidden door. Thin wisps of beard A oat from its bony
ters. Otherwise, this room is vacant.
jaw. It raises a finger, tracing arcane symbols in the air.
Sanbalet's books consists of the following volumes:
In a hoarse voice, it speaks: "Secrets found and lost then
A volume of erotic poetry, fully illustrated
found again. Your paltry minds cannot fathom ... "
A naval almanac listing tide times for the area of coast
around Saltmarsh (a total of one hundred miles of
coastline is covered) Treasure. The alchemist wears an empty bag of hold-
A treatise concerning the demigod luz and its minions ing at the waist. One rib bone on each of the skeletons
Inside the third book is a sheet of parchment featuring is dipped in gold and is worth 5 gp. The alchemist also
a few simple words and phrases in the Common tongue carries a cursed luckstone (see appendix B).
and their equivalents in Goblin. The words include
'"stop," "fight," "lift,"' "come,'" and so forth- key words
used by Sanbalet to instruct his hobgoblin mercenaries.
Bullseye Lantern. The lantern is used to signal the
Sea Ghost. Someone who makes a successful DC 10 In-
telligence (Investigation) check realizes that the lantern
is used only infrequently.
Treasure. The three books are worth JO gp each. A
fancy floor-length oilskin coat (5 gp) hangs in the ward-
robe. Its sleeves contain numerous pockets (empty), and
it is trimmed in iridescent green silk.
A character who makes a successfu l DC 12 Intelli-
gence (Investigation) check finds a hidden compartment
under the table that holds Sanbalet's spellbook. The
book contains all the spells Sanbalet has prepared.
The small wooden box holds twelve candles, flint and 5KELE T~L ALCHEMl~T
steel, and a piece of parchment that details Sanbalet's
method of communicating with the ship. See ""The Sig-
naling System·· in the second part of this adventure for
more information.

23. SKELETONS' ROOM
The bar securing the door is easily lifted. The smugglers
sealed this room after discovering the undead within.

Light spilling in from the large room behind you barely
shows that the chamber 1s only about twelve feet across
and the corners are filled with shadow. What little you
can see is dingy and dirty.

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