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the asylum where he spent his last days. Not even the
pleas of his sister and a local priest named Refrum were
enough to save him. Only yesterday, Jarme Loveage dan-
gled from the executioner's noose.
Withjarme's death, the Styes breathed a collective
sigh of relief-but that relief is destined to be shor t-lived.
The kraken is nearing maturity, and the Whisperer is
preparing the final stage of its dreadful plan.Adventure Summary
The adventure text consists of five parts. In part 1, "A
Dying District," basic information is provided about
the geography, atmosphere, and major personages in
the Styes. as a backdrop for use when characters move
around town.
The story begins in part 2, .. Murder Mystery," when
the characters meet with Master Refrum. an inven-
tor-priest who dwells in the Alchemists' Quarter of the
Styes. Refrum is convinced that a young man named
j arme Loveage was wrongfully executed for the killings
attributed to the Lantern Ghost. As proof, he points to
the fact that another murder has occurred since the ex-
ecution, and in the same style as the previous murders.
The priest believes thatjarme was framed by some sin-
ister conspiracy. and he asks the characters to clear his
friend's good name.
During their investigation. the characters visit
Hopene'er, the asylum wherejarme was held. They
learn that Mr. Dory, a prominent member of the com-
munity, has some odd connections tojarme's case, and
might find clues hinting lo broader connections to the
recent murders. In part 3, "Hemlock Pit," the characters
seek the councillor out at his warehouse and the home
he keeps behind it-a ship held aloft by a crane over a
muddy flat. A confrontation takes place, and it's discov-
ered that Mr. Dory is a devotee ofTharizdun blessed
with power granted by Sgothgah. After defeating the
aberration, the characters discover manic drawings of a
gargantuan squid-like demon of the deep, just like those
seen injarme's cell.
I n part 4, "The Lamp's Shadow," these clues lead the
characters to a hidden temple to Tharizdun, where they
are attacked by chuuls that dwell there. At the climax of
this battle, the Whisperer appears from the polluted seaABOUT THE ORIGINALto attack the heroes-hoping to enslave them to its own
dark purposes.
In the aftermath of that battle, the characters learn
of how the Whisperer has used the gloom and despair
of the Styes as an incubator for the juvenile kraken it
keeps to the west of the district. Part 5, "Tharizdun's
Progeny," takes place in the partially collapsed husk of
the temple housing the kraken, where the heroes face
a pair of aboleths that w ere sent to kill Sgothgah-and
then must destroy the kraken before it can escape into
the world.Adventure Hooks
This adventure assumes that the characters have re-
cently arrived in the Styes or the city it's a part of. H the
characters aren't based locally. they might be traveling
to the city to obtain a rare ingredient from the Alche-
mists' Quarter, or to speak to someone who retired or
fled to the Styes to hide from their enemies. Alterna-
tively, the characters might simply be passing through
the Styes when one of the following occurrences at-
tracts their attention.
The characters' arrival in the environs does not go un-
noticed-far from it. Any adult townsfolk recognize the
party as a group of seasoned adventurers. By engaging
the residents in conversation, the characters can quickly
find out that the Styes is a place in turmoil- a murderer
was caught and executed just the previous day, yet an-
other citizen was found dead from foul play when the
sun rose today.
The adventure hooks described below represent three
different ways of getting the characters involved in the
story. All hooks lead to a session with Master Refrum at
his workshop in part 2, "Murder Mystery," which kicks
off the action.REFRUM'S PLEA
Shortly after their arrival in town, the characters come
upon a dozen children chasing and tormenting an el-
derly male human-Master Refrum. The victim feebly
brandishes a holy symbol of good al them, but the chil-
dren and onlookers alike simply taunt him. They then
turn to pelting Refrum with stones as they accuse him
of being a friend to murderers.Richard Pett conjured this ghastly
sea port for Dungeon 121 in 2005.
"The Styes" feels like it was pulled
straight from the mind of H. P.
Lovecraft, but in Richard Pett's ca-
pable hand we're treated to perhaps
the most memorable depiction of
both a cunning aboleth plot anda sinister cult ofTharizdun. Many
adventures are set aboard a shipr 11 \ I' I I· K II I 11 ~ S I ) l· ~at sea. Can you name another
that challenges you to infiltrate
a moldering ship held aloft by a
crane, above the streets of a slowly
dying city?