Thisareais the north end of a largenatural cavern, but it has
been finished withdressed stone blockwallsand a flagstone
floor.Several barrels are stored against the wallshere,along
witha number of empty crates, strawfor packing, hammers,
pry bars, and nails.
Thecavern continues for some distance to the south. You
can makeout several passages thatopen up off the larger
cavern, and what lookslike a deep pit or crevasse in the floor.Thisroom contains twosecret doors, oneleading to area
6 andthe other to area12. Seethe "General Features"
section (page20) for more information on secret doors.TREASURE
Mostof the provisions andgoods here aren't valuable,
but lyingamong them are thirty beaver pelts(2 gp each).
Theywere lootedfroma caravan on the TriboarTraila
fewdaysago.- CREVASSE
Thecharacters arrive here by oneof three routes: the
tunnel fromarea 1, the storeroom at area 7, or the rough-
hewnpassage to the south, which continues off the map
for about onehundred feetandemerges froma tunnel in
the woods south of Tresendar Manor. Thepassage is an
excellent wayto smuggle people or goods in andout of
Phandalin without being seen,andis thusperfect for a
gangof slavers andthieves.
A cold breeze fills thislargenatural cavern, carrying withit
the faintscent of decaying flesh. A crevasse divides the cavern
and is flankedby tworough stone columns that support the
twenty-foot-high ceiling. Twoarched wooden bridges span
the chasm.Theguardian of thiscaveis a nothic-an insane
subterranean monster that hungers for flesh.Thecreature,
luredby a faintmagical effectemanating fromthe
crevasse, wasoccupying the areawhen the Redbrands
movedin. Iarnomanaged to strike a bargain withthe
monster, convincing it to helpguard the stronghold in
exchange for treasure andthe occasional gift of fresh
meat.Still,the nothicis untrustworthy.
Thenothiclurks near the westendsof the twobridges.
If it notices intruders entering the cave,it hides behind one
of the largestone columns andwatches them,attempting
to useits WeirdInsight (seethe creature's statblock)to
discern the characters' secrets.
Thenothiccommunicates using telepathy. If detected,
it prefers to negotiate andisn'tabovebetraying the
Redbrands for the rightincentive, suchas the promise of
food.When roleplaying the nothic, consider speaking in
whispers andthrowing in some madcackles andbitsof
gibberish. Alsobe sureto mention thatthe creature isn't
actuallytalking but rather fillingthe characters' heads
withits foulmurmurings anddemands for food.The
nothicknows everything the Redbrands know;see the
"Whatthe Redbrands Know"sidebar on page20.
Bridges.These bridges are made of wooden planks and
haveno rails. Thesouth oneis rigged to collapse when
a creature weighing more than 50 pounds movesacross
it. A characternextto the bridge candiscern thatthe
construction is faultywitha successful DC 15 Intelligence
(Investigation) check.Anycreature canusean action
to dislodge oneendof eitherbridge, dropping it into
the crevasse.
Crevasse.Thissteep-sided fissure is 5 to 10 feetwide
and20 feetdeep.Its roughwalls are easilyclimbed
without an abilitycheck.A creature thatfallsintothe
crevasse takes 2d6bludgeoning damage andlands prone
in a jumble of rubblethat is difficultterrain (see"Difficult
Terrain" in the rulebook).
Thebottom of the crevasse feelsunnaturally cold.When
viewedwitha detect magicspell,the area emanates a faint
necromantic aura.Themagic causes all organicmatter in
the crevasse to ageanddecompose at halfthe normal rate.
Currently heaped at the bottom amongbroken andwell-
gnawed bones is the half-eaten bodyof ThelDendrar,
the woodcarver of Phandalin whowasmurdered by
the Redbrands. Theoutlaws left his corpse herefor the
nothicto feedon.TREASURE
Thenothickeeps its hoard in a battered wooden chest
hidden in a cubbyhole at the bottom of the crevasse,under
the northbridge. Thechest can'tbe seen fromthe edgeof
the crevasse, but is obviousto anycharacter whodescends23
PART2: PHANDALlN