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The ghostly figure smiles withcoldamusement. "Verywell,"
she says."I knowthatyou seekmanythings. Ask me one
question, andI will giveyou an answer."
If the charactersaskaboutBowgentle's spellbook, Agatha
tellsthem thatshetraded the bookto a necromancer
named Tsernoth fromthe cityof Iriaebor morethan a
hundred years ago.Shedoes not knowwhatbecame of
the bookafterward. Heranswer is truthful, andit is all
the informationSister Garaele needs for the Harpersto
resume theirsearch.
The characters might instead choose to ask Agatha
about something else-for example, the location of
Cragmaw Castle,the locationof WaveEchoCave,the
identity of the BlackSpider, or HamunKost's question
about OldOwlWell(seethatsection).Agatha is well
informed and a capable diviner, so shecananswer almost
anysingle question pertaining to the adventure thatthe
characters thinkto ask.However,the banshee answers
onlyonequestion, so the charactersshould choose
it carefully.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Thecharacters gainexperience for successfully
persuading Agatha to answer a question. If theydo, divide
200 XP equallyamong the characters.
WHERE'S THEMAP?
No mapsare providedfor Agatha's lair, Old Owl Well,or Wyvern
Tor. Theseadventure locations contain onlyone or two points
of interest, and you don't needmapsto run the encounters
effectively. If you feel the needfor a map, createyourownusing
the adventuretext as a guide.
Old OwlWell
Builtthousands of yearsagoby a long-vanished empire,
OldOwlWellis a ruined watchtower thatnowconsists
of littlemorethan a fewcrumbling walls andthe broken
stump of a tower.In the tower'scourtyard stands an old
wellthat stilldelivers clean, fresh water. OldOwlWelllies
in the wildand rugged hillssouthof the TriboarTrail.The
siteis relatively easyto find,andanyNPCin Phandalin
canprovide directions to the ruins.
Recently,prospectors in the areahavenotedthat
someone hasset up a campsiteat OldOwlWell,andthat
undead guardians havebeen posted to keepintruders out.
As you cresta low ridge,you spy the crumbling ruinsof an
old watchtowerstanding amidthe rugged hills.The placeis
so old thatthe wallsare onlymounds of rubbleenclosing a
courtyard of sorts,adjacent to the broken stump of an old
tower.A colorful tent has beenset up in the middleof the
courtyard, but no one is in sight.
The ruins are currently occupied by a magewhois busy
exploring the sitein the hopeof gleaning arcane lore
left behindby its builders. Thecharacters canenter the
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sitefromanydirection, eitherfollowing old footpaths
or scrambling up the slopeandfinding a gapin the
surrounding walls of rubble.
Twelvezombies lurkinside the crumbledshellof the old
watchtower and can'tbe seenfromoutside. However, any
character witha passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 10
or higher smells a deathly odorwafting fromthe tower's
direction. When characters approach the toweror the tent,
the zombies shamble out of the tower.
If a battleerupts, Hamun Kost,the evil rnage, emerges
fromhis tentand asks,"What is the meaningof this?"
Kostis a stout,red-robed figurewithsallowskin,
a shaved scalp,anda blacktattoo on his forehead.A
character whosucceeds on a DC10 Intelligence (Arcana)
checkrecognizes Kost's tattoo as a necromantic symbol.
A successful DC10 Intelligence(History) checkverifies
the garbas thatusual for Thay,a landfar to the eastwhere
wizards pattern theirfleshwithtattoos. Thetattoo on the
headrepresents a wizard's school of magic.Kost's school
is necromancy.
If anycharacter attempts to talkto Kost,evenby calling
out a greeting or answering his questions during combat,
he temporarilycallsoff his zombies.TheRedWizard is
not particularly aggressive, andhe is willingto strike a
dealthatadvances his interestsat the sametime it helps
the characters.
Koststays tight-lipped about the reasonfor his
presence in the region.He is, however,willing to provide
information the partyneeds if it doesa favorfor him.If the
characters giveKost someindication of whattheywant, he
shares oneor both of these requests:
- He wantsthe oresat WyvernTor removed, since they
havescouted out his campand seeminclined to cause
trouble.
He wants to ask a questionof Agatha the banshee:
"What is the nameof the wizardwhobuiltthe towerat
OldOwlWell?"Kostwon't riskthe banshee's anger, but
the characterscouldaskthe questionfor him.(Agatha
knows the name:Arthindol.)
TREASURE
Hamun Kost's tentcontains a comfortable traveling suite,
including a cot,a chair, a writing desk, supplies, anda
chest of clothes. In the chestis a leather bagcontaining
35 sp, 20 ep, 20 gp, 5 pp, onepearl (100gp),a potion
of healing,a scroll of darkness in a bonetube,and a
tinyjeweled box(25 gp) containinga ring of protection
fromancient Netheril, the RedWizard's mostinteresting
discovery so far.
AWARDING EXPERIENCE POINTS
Learning aboutthe RedWizard's presence at OldOwl
Wellcompletes a quest givento the partyby Daran
Edermath in Phandalin. Divide 200 XP equallyamong
the charactersif the partyparleys withHamun Kost and
reports backto Daran.
Divide 800 XP equally amongthe charactersif the party
defeats Hamun Kostand his zombies.
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PART3: THE SPIDER'S WEB
