Ghosts of Saltmarsh

17. BATTLEMENT

• A walkway open to the sky overlooks a grotto formed by
  the island's rocky peak and the hermitage's walls. leading
  from the hermitage to the large tower along its west side.
  A crenellated battlement blocks the walkway in and is set
  with arrow slits.

This battlement served as the main point of defense for

the fortress's postern entrance from the grotto, allowing

the garrison lo fire arrows or hurl rocks at invaders. It

remains an excellent defensive position.

The door from the open battlement into the corridor

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-

ics) check.

Development. Unless the characters are moving qui-

etly, the three snakes in area 18 detect them and slither

through the arrow slits to attack.

18. SCRIPTORIUM

r

r A partial wall divides this chamber into two sections. Two l

arrow slits are set into the west wall, and a small fireplace

stands to the north. Several tables crowd the room, all

covered with sheaves of paper, quills, ink pots, candles,

and a few bound books. Numerous uncomfortable-look-

ing stools stand around them. One of the ink pots has

been overturned, resulting in a large black stain on one

tabletop.

This chamber served as the officers' quarters for the

original garrison. After the hermits moved in, they

converted it to a scriptorium where they compose phil-

osophical tracts, illuminate other texts, or copy man-

uscripts. Completed works are moved downstairs to

the library.

Three giant coral snakes (see appendix C) lurk in this

chamber. The snakes originally lived in a cave on the

east side of the is le. where they fed on rats. When the

rats were drawn to the fortress by the smell of death, the

snakes followed, entering this area through the arrow

slits. The snakes are currently coiled up in the north

section of the room, and e merge to attack anyone who

trespasses in their new lair.

19. DEFENSIVE OVERLOOK

' Arrow slits set along the walls of this chamber make it

a bit drafty. Murder holes open up in the center of the

floor, overlooking the entryway into the level below. A

fireplace is set into the south wall, with a dusty iron kettle

close by. A trapdoor is set into the floor at either end of

this chamber.

'

This area was a key defensive point for protecting the

main entrance (area 4) against incursion. The kettle was

once used to boil oil for the murder holes. This chamber

is rarely visited by the residents of the hermitage, except

to use the trapdoor into area 5 as a dump and a privy.

20. PRIOR'S QUARTERS

The door to this chamber hangs open, with the detached

head of a mace on the floor acting as a doorstop. The

room is modestly furnished with a cot, a table, a chest,

and a chair. An oddly shaped basin rests on the table,

with a small piece of mirror hanging from the wall

above it.

When the fortress was occupied, this area was the quar-

ters of the chaplain Oloran. The leader of the hermitage

moved in here after his sect took over the island five

years before. Old Prior Borisanth had little interaction

with the other residents, due to his having taken a vow

of silence. On the night of the attack, he was awakened

by the noise and slain by a drowned one as he opened

his door. The broken handle of his mace rolled un-

der his cot.

Treasure. The unlocked chest next to the cot contains

a selection of threadbare garments and worn sandals. It

also holds a religious icon set with fourteen small dia-

monds (100 gp each), two blocks of amber (50 gp each),

and a Quaal's feather token (anchor).

The metal basin on the table holds water, and a bronze

straight razor lies next to it. Closer inspection of the ba-

sin reveals that it is an upturned helmet bearing images

of cavorting dolphins-a helm of underwater action (see

appendix B) whose magic went undetected by Borisanth

and the other hermits.

21. GUAR D TOWER
    The door into the tower is barricaded shut from the
    inside. Forcing it open requires a successful DC 14
    Strength (Athletics) check.

i T

Where this small guard tower once abutted the east side

of the fortress, part of the fortress wall has been knocked

out to create an open doorway into the interior, with a

rickety-looking balcony beyond. Arrow s lits around the

tower give a view of the area outside the fortress and the

stairs t hat access the tower door. A wooden trapdoor is

set into the floor, with a cloying odor rising from it. A ten·

foot ladder lies next to the trapdoor.

The smell comes from the distillery in area 10 below.

UPPE R LEVELS AND CELLAR

The belfry tower rises above the main levels of the

hermitage, and a secret cellar below the kitchen has

become a refuge for the survivors of the undead assault.

The following locations are ide ntified on map 7.4.

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