Ghosts of Saltmarsh

(Nancy Kaufman) #1
If Dory is aware of the characters' approach. he casts
invisibility on himself before they arrive here. While
the golem holds intruders at bay, Dory retreats to the
far corner of the room and uses Eye of Corruption to
weaken the most threatening character. He then follows
up with cloudkill. catching the victim of Eye of Corrup-
tion. He uses fear to drive the characters away from him
and. with luck, into the lingering cloudkill spell. Finally,
he mixes fireball and his melee attacks to finish off the
party. If the situation becomes dire, he casts ethereal-
ness in an attempt to escape.
Development. If the golem is defeated and Dory is
captured, his bravado vanishes. He begs for mercy.
promising information to the characters in return. He
willingly provides any of the following information in
exchange for a promise of freedom:


  • Jarme was guilty of the Lantern Ghost murders, but
    was never anything but a mind-controlled pawn.
    A cult ofTharizdun is thriving in the Low Quarter.
    The cult has made an alliance with some sort of sea
    monster, which the cultists have identified as a spawn
    of their dark god.
    The cultists augment the spawn's growth by incubat-
    ing it in the fear and misery of the Styes. The Lantern
    Ghost murders were set up to amplify that fear.
    The cultists hope to have their god's spawn fully
    grown in a matter of weeks.
    Dory does know the location of the cult's temple, and
    gladly shares it. But he will not go there with the char-
    acters under any circumstances.


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Dory is willing to give up this information because he
knows its time in the Styes is coming to an end-and
he wants to trigger as much final mayhem as it can.
If he can't use the cult for its own purposes, he wants
the characters to seek out and slaughter its members.
That doesn't mean he won't nurse his grudge for a few
months, then come back seeking revenge against the
characters for ruining his fun.
The wicker plate on the desk is heaped with strange
and hideous fish, their bodies burst as if from internal
pressure. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (Nature)
check identifies them as fish from the deep sea. seldom
caught by fishers. (Dory has the flesh golem fetch these
delicacies.) A careful search of the room also locates a
crumpled s heet of soggy parchment bearing a message:





The catch again indicates a disturbance beneath us. We
cannot locate the cause but fear THEY may be in the water
near you. Praise Tharizdun! He rests and awaits!
The Whisperer anticipates renewed Lantern Ghost har-
vests-the young one must be fed. This is how you will serve
us. The harvest must increase, for the young one grows in
both size and appetite. Find someone to resume the Lan-
tern Ghost's task, and bring the candidate to the temple,
where we shall appraise its worth.

Dory received this note from one the Whisperer's min-
ions in response to jarme's arrest. It tasks Dory with
finding more Aesh and negative emotion for the kraken.
Other notes on the desk and the table arc either hor-
rid examples of disturbing erotica written with a shaky
hand. or various letters that implicate Dory in foul
crimes. Still more scraps of parchment contain scrib-
bles and crude drawings of tentacled monsters- mad vi-
sions induced by Dory's connection to the Whisperer. lf
the characters saw the drawings on the walls of jarme's
cell. they immediately notice a similarity.


Treasure. The mahogany box on the desk is unlocked.
Within it is a velvet purse containing six rubies (500 gp
each). The box also contains a tattered book with a Aorid
spiral design. A successful DC 15 Jntelligence (Religion)
check identifies this design as the symbol of Tharizdun.
The book is handwritten in a combination of Abyssal
and Infernal. It contains nonmagical prayers to Thariz-
dun, and a folded scrap of parchment tucked inside the
front cover with a note written in Infernal:


  • This book contains all the invocations and prayers you'll
    need to learn the truth, Mr. Dory. The dark god's faithful
    are wary of new converts. But learn the words, and they
    should accept you soon enough. Seek their pulpit in the eve·
    ning shadow of Frother's Lamp. Praise Tharizdun!


If the characters don't know the reference to ''Frother's
Lamp," inquiries anywhere in the district can direct
them toward the abandoned lighthouse in the Low
Quarter. where part 4 of the adventure takes place.

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