- STOC K CAVERN
. '
The passage widens to th e south at this point to form a
small cavern. There are three bolts of cloth and five small
casks in the middle of the floor, resting on a piece of
coarse matting.
A lone bandit is here if the smugglers aren't on alert.
If either of the magic mouth spells has been triggered.
a lone hobgoblin keeps watch here (guarding against an
approach by sea) and joins the fray in area 27 if it hears
sounds of combat.
The bolts and casks have the same value and condi-
tions as those found in area 27.- SEA CAVE
The passage leads into a cave that opens directly to the
sea. The tide is out at present, and there is little water in
the cave. but there is an obvious high-water mark three
feet above the floor. Pulled up onto the sloping cave floor
is a small boat, perhaps large enough for eight people,
with oars, a step-down mast, and a neatly furled sail. A
rope tied to the bow is being held down by a large boul-
der that serves as an anchor.If the characters have avoid ed triggering either of th e
magic mouth spells, the two hobgoblin smugglers are
standing guard here.
There are no items of value in this area except the
jolly boat. which might fetch as much as 100 gp. Since
bolts of sil k and casks of brandy are cumbersome, the
characters can use this boat to transport the contraband
to Saltmarsh.CONCLUSION
T he town council of Saltmarsh gratefully rewards the
characters 200 gp for uncovering and shutting down the
smuggling operation.
Several days after the characters' return. or shortly
before they depart town. they are invited to a meeting
with the town council. This meeting begins the second
part of the adventure.The Sea Ghost..
In the next part of the adventure. the council asks the
characters to take the fight to the remaining smugglers.
A few days after their triumphant return from the de-
struction of the smugglers' ring at the haunted house.
the characters are hastily summoned to an emergency
meeting of the Saltmarsh Town Council. Here it is ex-
plained to them that. though the land-based operation of
the smuggling ring has been quashed, there must be a
seagoing vessel by which the contraband was origi nally
conveyed. and this is still al large. The council, fearful
that any surviving smugglers could seek to reestablish
their operation from some other base. asks the charac-
CllAPTF.R 2 Tll~ ~l'dSJ!o.R [(.IH1 lH ~Al IMAR~H
ters to apprehend this vessel and put an end. once and
for all, lo the smuggling.
A reward of 400 gp is offered to the characters for the
successful conclusion of the mission.THE PLAN
The council reasons that the smugglers on the vessel
are, as yet, unaware of th e capture or death of their land-
based colleagues, and a return visit by them might well
be expected. Since the last consignment was offloaded
only a short while ago. another one is not expected for
some time-perhaps during the next new moon. which
begins in about two weeks' time.
The council arranges for members of the town guard
to patrol th e potential rendezvous points each night for
the next two weeks in case the smugglers return earlier
than ex pected. lf the ship is sighted. the council is un-
willing to risk the lives of volunteers by ordering them
to take the ship and its crew by force. As soon as an
approaching vessel is spotted, the council expects the
characters to perform the actual task of boarding.
Once the characters accept the undertaking, the coun-
cil puts a small fishing boat at their disposal and pro-
vides them with any reasonable amount of nonmagical
equipment that they feel they require. The boat is large
enough lo accommodate the entire party plus two. The
council also provides the services of two members of
the guard to sail the boat for them when needed. They
are not willing to board the Sea Ghost with the charac-
ters. though they defend themselves and the fishing boat
if it is attacked.THE SIGNALING SYSTEM
If the characters discovered the bullseye lantern and theparchment in area (^22) of the haunted house. they have a
big clue to how the smugglers communicate. You might
require th e characters to make a successful DC (^12) In-
telligence (Investigation) check to determine how the
system works- although certain facts are not written on
the parchment. Alternatively, you can allow the charac-
ters to experiment with sending signals when the ship
comes back.
The signaling system utilizes th e bullseye lantern to
communicate the following messages by combining long
and short flashes:
Long- short- short-short: "Is it safe?" (The sh ip initi-
ates the exchange with this signal.)
Short-long-short-long: "Everything safe." (The smug-
glers respond with this signal.)
Long- l ong-long: "Ready to unload: come to the ship.''
(The ship confirms a reply with this signal.)
The arrangement calls for so meone aboard the ship to
flash the first signal. The shore party replies by Hashing
the second signal. after which the third signal flashes
from the ship. It drops anchor and waits for the arrival
of a boat from shore. A small group of smugglers ap-
proaches the ship in a rowboat. When it arrives. the ship
sends a boat in the other direction. These two vessels
alternate in transferring contraband between the ship
and the shore, with one of them remaining in the shore
cave at the end of the operation.