fi':-
222casting dispel magic on the dagger or striking the dag-
ger with a magic or adamantine weapon will cause rhe
dagger to break. The ghosts in area M9 know how to de-
stroy the dagger. If the dagger is destroyed, the undead
it created are destroyed, and their souls return to th e
afte rlife.
Vecna's Dead. The cultists twisted the souls of five
missionaries, turning them into one wraith and four
specters that haunt the lower deck of the Marshal. The
undead attack the characters when they come below,
fighting co che death.
Ignoring the Threat. If the characters don't kill the
undead and recover the dagger, the undead attack
the town during the next festival thrown by Gellan
Primewater.MERROW MAYH E M
Calimara Deswin (see area M9) was a warrior who
fought the forces of Demogorgon in life. The Prince of
Demons wants to keep Calimara's soul trapped in her
watery grave and has sent merrow to guard the wreck.
Saltmarsh Story Hook. Gellan Primewater's smug-
glers bring in goods by moving through the waters
near the wreck of the Marshal, since they know other
people avoid the place for fear of the harpies. One of
these boats, posing as a merchant vessel. was attacked
by merrow while traveling near the wreck and barely
escaped. Gellan offers the characters a letter of recom-
mendation (see "Letter of Recommendation" in chapter
7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide) if they can end the
merrow threat.
Merrow. Relzagon is a muscular m errow (with^72 hit
points), missing one eye, who spends most of her time
in area M3 with four other merrow. Another three mer-
row patrol the water just outside the Marshal. These
monstrosities are on a mission from Demogorgon and
fight to the death.
Extra Reward. If the characters kill the mer row and
fulfill the ghost's request to lay the missionaries to
rest (see ''Ghosts'' in area M9), the ghosts reward the
characters with a charm of heroism as they depart (see
"Charms" in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master's Guide).GO LE M DIVER
Captain Xendros (see location 7 in Saltmarsh) wants
the statue in the cargo hold (area M3) of the Marshal
because he knows the gift would please luz, an enemy of
St. Cuthbert. At the same time, Arla and Vengi Carma-
clo, twin mages and worshipers of St. Cuthbert, want to
recover the statue for themselves.
Saltmarsh Story Hook. Captain Xendros asks the
characters to recover the statue from the wreck, offering
a box of Nolzur's marvelous pigments in exchange for
the likeness of St. Cuthbert. Xendros warns the charac-
ters that bandits might try to recover treasure from the
wreck and to be on the lookout.
If the characters recover the statue but don't give it to
Xendros, he sends two glabrezus to attack the charac-
ters while they rest.
Wizards. When the characters approach the wreck,
they notice a keelboat. the Bat Guano. anchored in the
distance. The boat belongs to the twins Arla and Vengi\Pl'J::NllfX A C>I "llll'S \:-ill^1111 Sf·\Carmaclo ( LN human mages), devout followers of St.
Cuthbert on a mission to recover the statue, which was
carved by their father, Fergos. They sent their iron go-
lem to claim the work of art so they could avoid the har-
pies and are waiting for the construct to return.
1f the characters are polite, the wizards happily share
their mission. A character who succeeds on a DC^18
Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check convinces
the mages to allow the characters to recover the statue
for them. The wizards are willing to give^500 gp to the
characters if they help with the recovery.
If the characters recover the statue without talking to
the wizards, the mages attack the characters, demand-
ing the statue be given to them. The mages fight until
one of them falls.
Iron Go/em. When the characters arrive at the wreck
of the Marshal, Arla and Vengrs iron golem is in area
M3. breaking the chains that bind the statue before it
attempts to lift it out of the ship. If the characters try to
hinder the golem. it attacks, fighting until the characters
retreat. The golem allows the characters to help it bring
the statue back to the Bat Guano.DRAGON TuRTLE BANDIT
Those who fish in the waters around Saltmarsh know
that a dragon turtle called Xalatamos claims the wreck
of the Marshal as part of its domain. As long as thewreck was undisturbed, Xalatamos kept to itself-until
recently, when it began threatening fishers to hand over
their daily catches to pay for the theft of his treasure.
Saltmarsh Story Hook. Anders Solmor can't turn
a profit with his fishing vessels if Xalatamos keeps de-
manding the haul. He offers the characters 1,000 gp,
plus the recovery of any expenses they incur, to discover
why the dragon turtle is angry and mollify it.
Xalatamos. The dragon turtle spends most of its
time within 60 feet of the wreck, watching the Marshal.
When the characters enter the area, the dragon turtle
approaches, demanding to know what they are doing in
its domain. A character who succeeds on a DC^15 Cha-
risma (Persuasion) check convinces Xalatamos to speak
with them. Otherwise. Xalatamos demands tribute in
the form of coins and gems worth no less than^500 gp
before speaking further with the characters.
lf the tribute is forthcoming, Xalatamos tells the char-
acters that it kept a staff of power in the crew quarters
(area MS), but the item went missing ten days ago. The
creature is certain a thief from Saltmarsh took the staff,
and it intends to make the fishers of the town pay until
the item is returned. A character who succeeds on a DC
13 Charisma (Persuasion) check convinces Xalatamos
to let the characters explore the wreck for clues of where
the lost staff could be.
If the characters try to explore the wreck without its
permission, Xalatamos attacks. Jt fights until reduced to
100 hit points and then flees.
What Real/y Happened. The culprit is none other
than Keledek the Unspoken (see location 6 in Salt-
marsh). After using research and magic to discern that
an item of power was likely buried somewhere aboard
the Marshal, he conjured a water elemental and sent it
forth to uncover what it could. The elemental found the