- In the southeast corner of this decayed bedroom lie s a
man; he is alive, though bound and gagged. He is clad
only in undergarments and appears to have no weapons
1 or equipment.
As with area 14, anyone who enters the room with
reasonable care can avoid moving into the part of the
floor that is sagging and damaged, looking perhaps not
strong enough to support significant weight.
Falling Through the Floor. Each time a Medium or
large r c reature moves into the shaded area on the map,
it must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity saving throw or
fall IO feet through the floor, landing in area 6.
Ned, Bound and Gagged. The man on the Hoor is
Ned Shakeshaft (spy) (see "A Man on the Inside" in
the Adventure Summary and the "Snake in the Grass"
sidebar), who does a convincing job of wanting to be res-
cued. He has a pretty good idea where his clothes are,
and will ask to be escorted to area 17 to retrieve them.
Ned has no other possessions, except for a single dose
of basic poison (see chapter 5 of the Player 's Handbook)
that he has concealed in the waistband of his under-
garments. He can apply it to any s lashing or piercing
weapon as a bonus action.1 6. ALCHEMIST'S BEDROOM
Damp mold covers portions of the walls and ceiling
in this large bedroom, and rubbish is strewn liberally
around the floor. In the center is a single mattress that
has been badly torn, from which stuffing protrudes. Un-
der the window sits a large wooden chest, the timbers
split and its lid closed.- The chest is not locked and opens easily. Inside is a pile
of moldy, ragged clothing in styles that we re never in
fashion-nothing of value- and a bundle of documents.
These pages are rotted and stained, their meaning
lost long ago.
- Box ROOM
This room appears to have been used for storage. A
large, ill·made oak chest stands under the window, its lid
closed. Elsewhere in the room lie three broken wooden
chairs, two splintered wooden buckets, and a mildewed
sack. Just inside the door is a heap of clothing; these gar-
ments have collected little dust, appearing to have been
placed here only recently.The c hest is e mpty and the sack contains drab, rotted
clothing- laundry soiled long ago by the house's former
owner. Those who untangle the balled contents find an
inordinate number of wool socks.
The clothes on the floor belong to Ned Shakeshaft, the
occupant of area 15.<.II \PTER 2 Tllf Sl'l;J~ I FR ><; 1 (Rf l <H ><;,\I T\I \R~llSNAKE IN THE GRASS
Ned tells the characters he is a traveler from Seaton who
entered the house the previous night to find a p lace to
sleep during his journey to Saltmarsh where he hoped to
find work as an adventurer. He entered through the back
door and had only reached the kitchen when he was at·
tacked from behind and knocked unconscious. He awoke
some hours ago-bound, gagged, and stripped of his pos-
sessions-in this room. He did not see his attackers nor
has he heard any sounds in the house. Now he would like
to be released and to join the characters in their m ission.
Neither Ned nor his merchant mentor are fools, and
they have given some thought to preparing th is story-it
is not possible for the characters to discern Ned's true
motives. Indeed, to add verisimilitude to the story, Ned
has a lump on the back of his head (inflicted, with sadistic
delight, by the merchant before Ned left his company).
What Ned Wants. Ned wants to manipulate the char·
acters into abandoning their mission. He tries to achieve
this by playing up the dangers of the place and causing
accidents as they explore. The closer the characters get
to discovering the truth about the smugglers , the more
desperate he becomes. When it become clear he can't
warn the characters off, he'll try to ambush them with a
poisoned weapon during a fight against other creatures.- LANDING
- Along the north wall of this area, a staircase descends
to the ground floor of the rear of the house. The treads
appear to be loose and perilous.
Another staircase along the east wall climbs to the up-
per level. This stair has mostly collapsed-only the low-
est six steps are still intact, and there is no easy access to
the hole in the ceiling to where the staircase used to lead.
A heap of rotten timber lies in the northeast corner.
The stairs into the attic are not usable, and the charac-
ters must find another way to ascend into the topmost
level of the house.- ATTIC
A gaping hole in the floor shows where the top of the
staircase used to lead before it collapsed. There are grimy
cobwebs on the walls and ceiling, and the floor is covered
with broken furniture and other rubbish.
Several holes in the roof allow dim light to enter this
large room that extends the length of the house. Two
large sacks lie heaped in the northwest corner.The sacks contain old clothing and rags.
A group of six stirges nests in the rafters of the attic.
They descend on the party at an opportune moment, re-
vealing themselves after the characters enter the attic.
Treasure. A character who sifts through the rubbish
discovers a porcelain doll costumed to look like a sailor.
The doll's eyes are made from two pieces of jade worth
lOgp each.