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ANCIENT WARNING
If the characters search the sand around the ship,
they discover the tip of a stone slab sticking up above
the muck and ooze. The rest of the slab is buried. If it
is pulled out (requiring a successful DC 15 Strength
check). it is found to be inscribed with ancient runes.
A character who succeeds on a DC 14 lntelligence (In-
vestigation) check deduces that the slab is the product
of magic. A subsequent successful DC 16 lntelligence
(Arcana) check confirms it was made using a stone
shape spell.
The runes are in Elvish. They communicate a warn-
ing to stay away from the sealed rift and the horror that
lies below.INSIDE THE SHIP
Numerous breaches in the hull and openings on the
rowing decks allow entry into the ruined ship. Alterna-
tively, characters can swim down into the stem's interior
from the top of the sh ip, where the bow is missing.' The interior of the sunken ship is a ruin. The decks
have all but collapsed, creating a tangled maze where
ooze and muck cling to sundered timbers and beams.
An eerie, many-colored light pulses from the depths of
the hull.The rotten tangles of timbers and bulkheads are weak
after ten years underwater and can be pushed thr ough
with relative ease.
A large hole in the buried stern of the wreck allows
easy access to a darkened cavern that opens up beneath
broken slabs of stone- the remains of the seals that
once blocked the opening of the pit.tAs the characters enter the wreck, a number of
drowned ones that stayed behind from the most recent
assault on Firewatch Island take notice. Three drowned
blades, one drowned ascetic, and one drowned as-
sassin lurk inside the ruined Tammeraut and attack as
soon as the characters enter. The undead do not pursue
Aeeing characters beyond the 300-foot hemisphere of
dark energy that surrounds the rift.THE RIFT- A pulsating light composed of unnatural colors perme-
ates this underwater cavern. The stern of the ship has
broken through the cavern's fifteen-foot-high ceiling near
the center of the area. The nauseating light reveals a
hideous array of p iled bones, many of which clearly once
belonged to humanoids-far more bones than could be
accounted for by the crew of a single sunken ship.
A shallow alcove opens up to the north, with a rotting
sea chest set before it, leaning against the rough stone
wall. Within the alcove, a funnel-shaped hollow in the
cavern floor terminates at a narrow hole in the bedrock
below. The pulsing light emanates from this hole.
<,Jl \l'T!CR 7 I TA~IMERAU"l '!i I .\JIi
This cavern is all that remains of what was once a
jagged chasm in the seaAoor. The mound of bones rep-
resents both the crew of Tammeraut and others who
have succumbed to the ocean's perils. all preserved by
the rift's dark magic. The hollow to the north is the ac-
cess point to the ancient evil that has imbued the Pit of
I latred with its sinister aura.
Tammeraut's captain, Syrgaul Tammeraut, resides
in this chamber- transformed into a twisted monster
known as a drowned master (sec appendix C). Syrgaul
is the conduit through which the pit's evil essence once
again spreads its dark influence into the world. Feeding
off the captain's rage and hate as he died, the energy of
the rift animated Tammeraut's crew and turned them
into drowned ones. Though the drowned ones can range
abroad. Syrgaul is forever trapped within the rift near
the source of his dark unlife.
As the characters explore this area, Syrgaul and one
drowned blade rise from the pile of bones and attack.
Treasure. The treasure carried on Tammeraut has
been placed in front of the north alcove by the drowned
ones, as an offering to the great sleeping evil below. A
rotting sea chest holds 5,000 sp, 1,850 gp,^75 pp, and
ten masterfully cut pieces of jade depicting various sea
animals (100 gp each).SEALING THE RIFT
The funnel-shaped hollow to the north of the hull is 3
feet in diameter and descends 2 feet to a 1-inch-wide
vent at the bottom. In addition to being the source of
the pulsating light, the vent is the center and source
of the area's dark hallow effect. This narrow opening
continues down for hundreds of feet beneath the ocean
bottom, never widening.
Sealing this vent is the only way to lay Syrgaul's spirit
to rest. Doing so also prevents the evil from further cor-
rupting those who drown in the area. One easy method
of sealing it is to use the flask of sovereign glue from the
hermitage to affix a plug over the opening (the substance
hardens even underwater). Spells such as stone shape
can also seal off the vent. When the vent is sealed, the
hallow effect surrounding the rift immediately ends.CONCLUSION
If the characters accomplish all their objectives-res-
cuing the surviving hermits, destroying the drowned
ones and their leader. and sealing the opening in the Pit
of Hatred- things soon return to normal on Firewatch
Island and the communities of the nearby coast. The
surviving hermits abandon the island. but a new group
settles there before long. Or, Feldrin Kane, the Uskarn
bailiff, might deed the island and fortress to the char-
acters as a reward for ending the threat of the drowned
ones. Of course. such a reward comes with the expecta-
tion that the characters would use the place to protect
and defend the settlements of the nearby coast.
If the characters depart Firewatch Island before night-
fall and the drowned ones' second attack. the undead
become a greater threat. Now that they've exhausted
the nearby prey, the undead make it to the mainland in
their nightly wanderings. Attacks on coastal roads and