Chapter 8: The Styes

A series of mysterious murders shakes the downtrodden folk of the Styes—a decaying port fallen on hard times and slowly being reclaimed by the sea. Even after the so-called Lantern Ghost killer is caught and executed, some in the district believe that the true killer is still out there. It’s left to the adventurers to follow the clues that the local militia ignores, exposing corruption, the clandestine activities of a dark cult—and the alien presence whose evil lurks beneath it all.

The Styes is an adventure designed for four to six 11th-level characters.

About the Original

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 capable hand we’re treated to perhaps the most memorable depiction of both a cunning aboleth plot and a sinister cult of Tharizdun. Many adventures are set aboard a ship 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?

Background

There exists an underwater abyss known as the Endless Nadir—a haunted place shunned by the aquatic races of the region, for this realm is the site of a submerged city of aboleths. For the most part, the alien denizens of this city are content to plot and lurk in the depths of the ocean trench. But a few of them are cursed with curiosity. One such creature is Sgothgah, a scholar, crafter, and explorer—and an outcast among its kind.

Sgothgah’s life changed forever when it encountered and consumed a cult of lunatics who worshiped Tharizdun, an ancient deity of darkness. As it read the minds of its victims as it devoured them, some of what it gleaned of Tharizdun—between their screams and their unheeded pleas for mercy—found purchase in Sgothgah’s mind. For centuries, the aboleth mulled over the concept of Tharizdun in idle moments, and eventually those thoughts flowered into something alien and repulsive to most aboleths: religious faith.

The Mark of Tharizdun

To hide its burgeoning devotion to a non-abolethic entity from the prying telepathic abilities of its kind, Sgothgah relocated its lair to the edge of the Endless Nadir. There, in the solitude of the inky deep, the aboleth made a second astounding discovery: a juvenile kraken with an unlikely, circular scar on its head, a wound earned in battle against a giant shark years ago. Even such a strange scar would normally be little more than a curiosity, but Sgothgah saw a pattern in this one that evoked thoughts of Tharizdun’s dark madness. The aboleth took this event as a sign that Tharizdun had gifted it with the task of nurturing the kraken until it was fully grown.

Sgothgah knew the kraken could never be raised to maturity in the Endless Nadir—even in Sgothgah’s remote corner of it—without risking discovery by the other aboleths. So Sgothgah fled the abyss, taking with it the juvenile kraken and a number of loyal aquatic minions. It headed for coastal waters that the aboleths avoided because of the humanoids that dwelled there, trusting that other aboleths wouldn’t follow it or even care that it had left.

Purely by chance, the oceanic immigrants came to a stretch of water where the once-notable port district of a minor city had fallen into decay and corruption. Known as the Styes, the district was only a wretched shadow of what it had once been. But the aboleth found a perfect location to hide the kraken—a sunken temple to the west of the district, known to the locals as Landgrave’s Folly. Sgothgah quickly established mind control over a local cadre of fishers and sailors, sending them to infiltrate every corner of the ruined district. And to the aboleth’s surprise and unnatural delight, it discovered an active cult of Tharizdun in the Styes.

Led secretly by one of the Styes' own ruling councillors—an inhuman creature that calls itself “Mr. Dory”—this cult of Tharizdun has thrived in the decay of the Styes for decades. Through enslavement and telepathy, Sgothgah forged an alliance with the cultists, always taking care to conceal its true identity. The cultists knew Sgothgah only as “the Whisperer,” and they quickly came to regard their hidden ally as a powerful messenger of Tharizdun. To this day, only Mr. Dory suspects the truth.

The Lantern Ghost Murders

To feed the growing kraken’s ravenous hunger, Sgothgah has coerced its cultist allies into supplying the beast with beggars, drunks, urchins, and other sweepings from the alleys of the Styes that no one will miss. At the same time, the aboleth transformed the underwater pit where the kraken rests into a conduit for dark magic, fashioned to capture the plentiful negative emotions of the residents of the Styes. For months now, all their fear, sadness, despair, hatred, and anger has been focused into the pit to enhance and accelerate the kraken’s growth.

To maximize the effect of that emotional darkness, the aboleth chose a local human fisher named Jarme Loveage to be an instrument of murder and fear. Sgothgah enslaved the young man and has compelled him to commit brutal murders, fueling dread in the district. Jarme carries a lantern on all his grisly nocturnal harvests, and his horrible work has long been attributed to a faceless terror called “the Lantern Ghost.”

As the killings mounted, residents of the Styes grew increasingly frightened. Jarme retained little knowledge of his foul work. He awoke exhausted, haunted by vague memories of horrible nightmares, but hasn’t connected the vague horrors of his sleep with the very real horror occurring in the shadowy, mist-drenched alleys of his home.

Seven days ago, Jarme was captured by a nighttime patrol with a bloody knife in his hands. The confused fisher professed his innocence, but his dreams became suddenly clear. In his mind, he saw ravenous, tentacled creatures devouring the Styes and the city beyond, and he scrawled these images onto the walls of his cell in the asylum where he spent his last days. Not even the pleas of his sister and a local priest named Master Refrum were enough to save him. Only yesterday, Jarme Loveage dangled from the executioner’s noose.

With Jarme’s death, the Styes breathed a collective sigh of relief—but that relief is destined to be short-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, “area 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, “area Murder Mystery,” when the characters meet with Master Refrum, an inventor-priest who dwells in the Alchemists' Quarter of the Styes. Refrum is convinced that a young man named Jarme 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 execution, and in the same style as the previous murders. The priest believes that Jarme was framed by some sinister conspiracy, and he asks the characters to clear his friend’s good name.

During their investigation, the characters visit Hopene’er, the asylum where Jarme was held. They learn that Mr. Dory, a prominent member of the community, has some odd connections to Jarme’s case, and might find clues hinting to broader connections to the recent murders. In part 3, “area 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 discovered that Mr. Dory is a devotee of Tharizdun 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 in Jarme’s cell.

In part 4, “area 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 sea to 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, “area 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 were sent to kill Sgothgah—and then must destroy the kraken before it can escape into the world.

Placing the Adventure

This adventure presents the Styes as an old district in a port city or large port town. Making the Styes part of a larger, thriving settlement gives the characters plenty of potential reasons to visit the area, with the overall settlement ideally located in a nation that’s fallen on hard times. Alternatively, the district could be part of a free city that has fallen into despair and decay. In the world of Greyhawk, the city of Prymp in Ahlissa is an excellent choice. In the Forgotten Realms, the Styes fits nicely into the city of Marsember. In Eberron, the Styes could be a district in Rekkenmark or any of the other coastal settlements that haven’t fully recovered from the ravages of the Last War.

Alternatively, you could set the Styes up as a small, stand-alone port town. This approach has the advantage of limiting characters to the Styes' squalid confines. They can’t retreat to a nicer part of the city when they want a clean inn, a healthy place to eat, or a wholesome temple for healing or other aid. As a stand-alone town, the Styes can be added to your campaign world at the mouth of any river. You might have a hard time attracting the characters to such a dismal location, however, without drawing on the Styes' reputation for its alchemists and potion factories.

Adventure Hooks

This adventure assumes that the characters have recently arrived in the Styes or the city it’s a part of. If the characters aren’t based locally, they might be traveling to the city to obtain a rare ingredient from the Alchemists' Quarter, or to speak to someone who retired or fled to the Styes to hide from their enemies. Alternatively, the characters might simply be passing through the Styes when one of the following occurrences attracts their attention.

The characters' arrival in the environs does not go unnoticed—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 another 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, “area 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 elderly male human—Master Refrum. The victim feebly brandishes a holy symbol of good at them, but the children and onlookers alike simply taunt him. They then turn to pelting Refrum with stones as they accuse him of being a friend to murderers.

If the characters step in, the children run away and the onlookers rapidly lose interest. Master Refrum (LG male human priest) introduces himself, thanks the characters for saving him from a humiliating fate, and asks them to escort him back to his home. He provides the basic facts about the recent murders if the characters haven’t learned them from a passerby before now.

If the characters don’t intervene, Master Refrum protects himself by casting sanctuary, then using thaumaturgy to frighten away the children and any onlookers with terrifying roars and ground tremors. He still speaks to the characters afterward, recognizing them as adventurers as he asks for help clearing Jarme’s name. He pleads for the characters to accompany him to his workshop to get the details of the situation.

Eleanor’s Loss

It might be that something one of the characters did in the past impressed a local female human by the name of Eleanor Loveage (N female human commoner). She could be the relative of someone a party member saved in a previous adventure, or she might have heard of the characters' prior good deeds. She is also Jarme’s sister, and she can’t believe that her brother could have done the terrible deeds for which he was executed.

In her desperation, she approaches the characters for help (explaining the situation if need be) and asks them to meet her at Master Refrum’s workshop in the Alchemists' Quarter of the Styes, where she promises they will learn more.

Thornwell’s Offer

If the characters are less likely to get involved in the adventure out of altruism, they can be approached by a mysterious, handsome, well-groomed human female dressed in black-and-red leather armor. She declines to give the characters her name, but asks whether they’re interested in a well-paying job. If the characters haven’t learned about the murders yet, she provides them a summary of those events. She then goes on to say that she believes Jarme Loveage was innocent, and that the real killer is still out there. She recommends that they meet with Master Refrum, who has much more information about Loveage and the murders, and offers the characters a reward of 500 pp if they can find the real murderer and bring the culprit to justice.

The mysterious contact is one of the councillors of the Styes, named Thornwell (LE female human mage). She has discovered hints of Mr. Dory’s association with the cult of Tharizdun, which she suspects is also involved in the murders. Thornwell has wanted to be rid of Dory ever since she came to believe that her fellow councillor was responsible for the death of one of her allies. But she doesn’t want to jeopardize her standing on the council by taking direct action against Dory, so she has decided to try using the characters as her tool.

Thornwell suspects that Dory is the actual murderer (though she hasn’t an inkling of Mr. Dory’s true nature), and she secretly hopes the characters end up killing him. She never mentions her fellow councillor by name, though, instead making cryptic statements such as: “You must follow the facts wherever they lead, even if that includes the halls of power.”

Part 1: A Dying District

Even before they spend a lot of time in the Styes, the characters are quick to note its visible squalor. The haze of smoke hanging over the district is visible for miles, and its stench travels far downwind. Water flowing out the river mouth carries reeking sewage, streaks of dye, and islands of floating garbage far out to sea.

As the characters enter the district, the view only gets worse. All of the Styes appears to have one foot in the grave.

This is the Styes, the decaying remains of a once-notable port district. Under bent gables, the carcasses of its houses lean against each other—languid, broken, and awaiting the peace of collapse. Door frames sag, dislocated from sod walls heavy with mildew, while splintering timbers support rotting boardwalks like broken limbs, disappearing into the thick, rancid water of the harbor below. In numerous places, sections of the boardwalks have fallen away completely, leaving broad holes that expose polluted water.

History and Decay

Once, the Styes was a marvelous port district. Its magnificent buildings crowned an artificial island that was the centerpiece of a broad bay, held aloft on great oak pilings. Those huge beams supported great facades of marble grandeur, connected by boardwalks that thronged with richly clothed merchants, exotic travelers, and the passing palanquins of nobility. Known as the Island of Pleasures, the site was a destination for rich and decadent folk up and down the coast.

Time can be cruel, however. Warfare, corruption, famine, and natural disaster ruined many who loved the Island of Pleasures, and as their resources dwindled, so did this once-magnificent district. But even as fortune turned and the region rebuilt from devastation, the Island of Pleasures became an unneeded luxury. New people called the district home: poor, desperate folk crowded beneath fallen gables in hovels tattooed by mildew and damp rot. On their heels came folk whose trade was scorned elsewhere. Alchemists fouled the air and water with poisonous concoctions from failed experiments. Sweat-shop manufactories set up in the Styes and all but enslaved their desperate workers. Tanners and millers and dyers and butchers invaded the district, scraping every penny out of their businesses with no concern over the impact their toxic operations had on their neighbors or the environment. The district bears little evidence of its former glory as it daily sinks deeper into the muck.

Residents and Politics

The current population of the Styes is a little under twelve thousand residents, but they’re packed into an area that might house half that number in a more prosperous settlement. Four-fifths of the district’s residents are human, with the remainder split between gnomes, dwarves, halflings, half-orcs, half-elves, and a smattering of other humanoids.

The Styes is ruled by a group of four corrupt officials called “the council.” The four councillors are Mr. Dory (see appendix C), Rashlen (NE male elf assassin), Sliris (NE female wererat), and Thornwell (LE female human mage; also see “area Thornwell’s Offer,” above). The district is policed by a poorly trained militia consisting of some two hundred Guard (LE humans) led by ten officers (LE human Bandit Captain) and one commander (LE human veteran). The militia patrols in groups of at least ten, for their own protection more than anything. Larger groups of twenty or more usually include an officer.

Unless you used Thornwell as a hook, the only councillor who takes an active role in this adventure is Mr. Dory. Anyone who talks of Dory describes him as a longtime resident of the Styes and a wealthy warehouse owner, and mentions the tragic skin condition that requires the councillor to take regular immersion in water for relief.

The rest of the councillors are occupied with other concerns. If one of their fellow councillors is slain, however, or the balance of power in the Styes is seriously upset, the surviving councillors will almost certainly make sure that the characters responsible don’t get to walk away from the district. The timing and details of their revenge are left up to you.

Styes Encounters

The adventure presents only those encounters and events that drive the plot, but any character who spends time in the Styes is bound to have additional unpleasant interactions. As the characters are exploring and following up leads, feel free to spice up their time in the district with one of the following encounters.

Styes Encounters

Life in the Styes

In better days, the fact that the Styes was sheltered from offshore winds was one of its more desirable qualities. Now, the Alchemists' Quarter spews a permanent miasma of acrid, rancid yellow vapor that hangs above the district and coats its walls and roofs with a greasy film. The dense population of the decaying district makes the waters around the port swirl with sewage, blood and offal from butchers, lye and fur from tanners, and indescribable chemical mixtures from alchemists. In the eastern portion of the Styes, the pollution is so bad that the river’s flow has been diverted, leaving a large portion of the district’s boardwalks suspended over a wallow of rancid mud.

Merchandise

Most items for sale in the Styes can be had for standard prices, but they are of noticeably substandard quality. Anyone who walks around in fancy clothing, brightly colored accessories, flashy jewelry, or with expensive weapons or armor on display is bound to attract unwanted attention from thieves, opportunistic merchants, and any local willing to commit a crime of opportunity (which is to say most of them). Bartering is common in the district, and characters will find it difficult if not impossible to sell anything with a value over 75 gp for cash. Local merchants don’t have that much coinage on hand, or won’t admit it if they do.

Taverns and Inns

Taverns are everywhere in the Styes, ranging from large public houses to holes-in-the-wall with two tables and nothing but acrid, home-brewed rotgut on tap. The clientele are uniformly glum and morose, and brawls and fights are common. The best taverns in the Styes would be considered dives in most cities—and its inns are no better. Visitors are advised to bring their own bedding to avoid bugs, and to move the bed in front of the door to keep out burglars and unscrupulous innkeepers.

Religion

Though religion is important to many of the Styes' citizens, no public temples operate in the district. This is partially because the councillors impose steep taxes on the faithful, to prevent religious leaders from becoming too popular and eroding the council’s authority. But beyond this, even the most dedicated members of the clergy are eventually overwhelmed by the region’s emotionally fatiguing problems.

Disease, famine, cruelty, and brutality weigh so heavily on the Styes that well-meaning clerics are driven to despair. Small temples dedicated to gods of healing and charity operate quietly in nondescript buildings, and tiny shrines can be found in alleys and cul-de-sacs all over the district. Beyond these, only one organized faith exists in secret in the Styes, and it plays a central role in the adventure—the cult of Tharizdun.

Health

Disease and infection are real concerns in the Styes. Most residents suffer from some form of debilitating condition brought on by the poisonous waste flowing and billowing out of the Alchemists' Quarter, or from the polluted water of the river and harbor. The adventurers are no exception. Anyone who visits the Styes is exposed to a disease known as redface. This affliction causes itching and painful inflammation all over the face, and especially around the eyes.

The effects of redface are identical to those of sight rot (see “Diseases” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide), but it’s caused by pollutants in the air rather than contaminated drinking water, making it difficult to avoid. Sewer plague (also described in the Dungeon Master’s Guide) is common in the Styes as well, but avoiding contact with the district’s ubiquitous rodents and vermin is usually sufficient protection against it.

Layout of the District

Map 8.1 shows the layout of the district and the locations of important buildings and land features. The islands that support the buildings are almost all artificial. Some were created by ancient spells used to lift the floor of the bay above the water. Others consist entirely of huge boardwalks supported above the brackish water by decaying pilings.

The district is made up of four quarters. Travel from one to the other is either by foot over rickety walkways or by skiff. Local fishers often supplement their income by renting their skiffs as crude water taxis. Most trips cost 1 cp, but a skiff ride to a dangerous section of town usually brings 1 gp or more.

Low Quarter

Also known as Flotsam, the northwest section of the Styes consists mainly of slum tenements, dubious taverns, rickety warehouses, hovel-crowded alleys, and decommissioned ships converted into buildings. This entire area is slowly sinking into the sea. As old buildings become unlivable, new ones are built atop them, and the tangle of structures is four or five stories deep in some places. Many of the lower structures are completely walled off from the outside, making them ideal places for hidden temples and black markets. Swaying rope bridges provide the best avenues between the blocks of this quarter, since the old boardwalks are sinking like everything else.

Alchemists' Quarter

The Alchemists' Quarter is the northeast section of the Styes. Long ago, it was the seat of the district’s scholastic and religious leadership, but its once-fine temples and universities have long been dismantled for construction materials, or converted into dim, smoky factories and noxious laboratories owned by shady alchemists.

With no regulation to speak of in the Styes, alchemists are free to conduct whatever dangerous experiments they like, and to cut corners on safety and quality control. Iron chimneys belch smoke and foul vapors into the air, while liquid and solid waste are dumped into the water around the quarter.

A large part of this area has become so clogged and befouled with refuse that the water now moves only along shallow, sluggish channels that snake through the reeking expanse of mud. Still, it’s common to see desperate scavengers wallowing in the filth, scrounging for anything of value that a distracted alchemist might have carelessly tossed out with the trash.

High Quarter

The seat of local government in better days, this quarter is the southeast section of the Styes. Most of the buildings here were once municipal offices, but only a few are still in operation. All the rest are either deserted or have been rented to strange and furtive eccentrics.

This section of the district is the least populated, and its often-empty streets and boardwalks are in stark contrast to the crowds that frequent the other three quarters. Militia patrols are common here, but guards in the High Quarter are universally corrupt, accepting bribes from nobles, bureaucrats, and powerful merchants, and extorting protection money from everyone else.

Merchants' Quarter

The southwest section of the Styes hosts most of the district’s industry and mercantile efforts. Most of the community’s fishers live here, and numerous warehouses line the edges of the quarter. Most of these places are either abandoned and boarded up, or serving as flophouses. Of the four quarters, the Merchants' Quarter is the most welcoming to visitors—though that’s not saying much. It’s also said to be the healthiest part of the district—but that’s not saying much, either.

Locations in the Styes

The most notable buildings in the Styes are described here. A few of these locations are detailed later, but most are left for you to develop as you see fit.

1. Harbor Master

These two stone buildings on a small island in the Merchants' Quarter are the base of operations for Harbor Master Tak Merakin (NE female half-orc bandit captain) and her constables (twelve NE human Thug). Tak is profoundly lazy, and as long as merchants and fishers pay their dues without complaining, she doesn’t interfere with business on the water. She reacts only to obvious threats such as fires, riots, and storms—and even then, she displays an infuriating lethargy.

2. Frother’s Lamp

This decommissioned stone lighthouse was once a proud beacon welcoming ships, but it functions now as nothing more than a sad Flotsam landmark. When the last caretaker died in a loud argument at a nearby tavern, no one took up her mantle, and the light has fallen into disrepair. After a few more decades of slowly sinking into the soggy seabed, it might end up consumed by shanties and other buildings built atop its corpse.

3. Marketplace

This large, open space serves as the primary market for the Styes. The area is always crowded, but the goods for sale here are of low quality and dubious origin.

4. District Garrison

This three-story stone building houses the district’s militia (some two hundred LE Guard, ten Bandit Captain, and one veteran) in crowded conditions more like a prison than a barracks. A handful of the guards are honest, but they are the exceptions. Most of the militia members are youths who needed a job, and whose ambition was satisfied by becoming paid thugs. The guards' patrol routes are determined entirely by who pays the largest fees for protection. The gallows in front of the garrison seldom lies unused for more than a few days.

5. Council Hall

This once-elegant structure is the traditional seat of the council in the Styes, which is a part of the larger city government in name only. Today, the four councillors who run the district spend most of their time in their own homes and businesses. A small staff of clerks works here, and the councillors hold town meetings in the hall once or twice a month, but most of this structure’s other rooms have sat unused for decades.

6. Refrum’s Workshop

This modest wood and brick building along the edge of the Alchemists' Quarter is the home of Master Refrum (LG male human priest). Refrum has much to say to the characters, as discussed previously in “area Adventure Hooks” and below in “area Murder Mystery.”

7. Dory’s Warehouse

This is the home and business of one of the Styes' councillors, the sinister Mr. Dory (see appendix C). This location is detailed fully in part 3, “area Hemlock Pit.”

8. Rashlen Manor

One of many run-down manors in the High Quarter, this building is home to Rashlen (NE male elf assassin), one of the Styes' councillors. The manse is said to be guarded by golems and similarly horrible creatures.

9. Thornwell Tower

The tallest structure in the Styes, Thornwell Tower is a pinnacle of black and red marble surrounded by a stone wall. Councillor Thornwell (LE female human mage) dwells here. Locals whisper that the tower is haunted by devils and contains a portal to the Nine Hells.

10. Mortuary

The lack of a strong religious presence in the Styes means that the task of dealing with the dead falls to the mortuary. This large building is surrounded by a disused graveyard, but the district’s dead have long been universally cremated. Those who operate the mortuary are rumored to be thieves, undead, or wererats. The truth is a combination of all three. The master of this morbid structure is Sliris (NE female wererat), a devious and secretive member of the council.

11. Hopene’er Asylum

This enormous building (detailed in the following section, “Murder Mystery”) is the last remnant of a more optimistic time, when the desperate and doomed of the Styes were cared for and watched over.

Part 2: Murder Mystery

Once the characters have been contacted by or referred to Master Refrum, they travel to his abode in the Alchemists' Quarter. Refrum’s cluttered home is filled with half-finished clockwork inventions, and the air is thick with the smell of grease. Hundreds of books line every available inch of shelf space, and a tiny bed, likewise covered with books, stands in a corner of the room.

Refrum is a slight, bent figure. He wears simple gray clothing, speaks in short, excited gasps, and waves his arms when carried away with enthusiasm. The inventor is one of the last philanthropists in the Styes, and he strives constantly to focus his research on caring for the local poor. Master Refrum uses the statistics of a male human priest, with these changes:

• Refrum is lawful good.
• His AC is 10, and he is unarmed.
• He has the speak with dead spell prepared instead of spirit guardians.

Dark Justice

Refrum has few friends in the district, and he is eager to enlist the characters' aid in clearing Jarme Loveage’s name. Refrum attended Jarme’s execution the previous day, and the memory pains him. Because Jarme spent so much of his time alone, he had no alibi for the murders, but Refrum insists that his friend was a kind and honest man. (If Jarme’s sister, Eleanor, is present, she supports Refrum’s testimony with tears and pleading.)

Refrum is angry about how Jarme was never properly put on trial. When he tried to meet with Jarme in his cell at Hopene’er Asylum, he was denied access by the militia (secretly paid off by Mr. Dory). Faced with this challenge, Refrum launched his own investigation into the Lantern Ghost killings. He describes how the killer had been on the prowl for half a year, striking intermittently and leaving mutilated victims in public locations to be discovered at dawn. He also describes how singularly inept the militia were in their efforts to track down the killer, and how the slayings had pushed the Styes to the brink of chaos.

Jarme’s arrest came after he was found looming over the body of a victim, a dagger clutched in his bloodstained hands. Refrum can’t dispute this evidence, but he talks of how Jarme went to the gallows professing to have no memory of any slayings. After the execution, Refrum offered his ability to cast speak with dead to learn the truth, but was told by the militia that the case was closed. He was then threatened with incarceration in Hopene’er if he didn’t leave the matter alone.

A New Murder

Part of what drives Refrum’s need to exonerate Jarme is his belief that the Lantern Ghost is still killing. Rumors already spreading through the Styes talk of a young fisher named Raif turning up dead the morning after Jarme’s execution. The authorities were quick to ship the body to the mortuary for cremation, as if trying to cover up the event—and Refrum sees this as evidence that a sinister conspiracy in the Styes has some connection to the Lantern Ghost killings.

The priest suspects that agents of this conspiracy used enchantments to control Jarme, forcing him to commit one or more of the murders. When Jarme was caught, they used their influence to have him executed quickly. Now Refrum fears that the conspirators are not only free to continue their work—but that they know he’s onto them.

Refrum believes that the authorities are watching him. Moreover, his notoriety as a thorn in the side of the council means that many people are afraid to talk to him. As such, he believes that the characters will be able to gain access to information and witnesses that he can’t. The priest suggests that they start their investigation at Hopene’er Asylum (area area 11 and below), where Jarme was held for a few days after his capture. Refrum also recommends that the characters track down and speak with Constable Jute, the militia guard who found Jarme crouched over his victim. She can be contacted at the district garrison (area area 4 and below).

Refrum intends to leave the Styes and spend a few weeks in hiding for his own safety. Any Wisdom (Insight) check made to assess the priest confirms that he is honestly afraid that his investigation into the murders has made him a target of the conspirators.

Hopene’er Asylum

Hopene’er Asylum lies on Lamplicker’s Way in the High Quarter. The building is an old prison with bare walls and barred windows. A faded sign bearing the words “Welcome Home” hangs above the main entrance.

Hopene’er is run by Emil Trantor, a prematurely old female human physician with a worried brow and ashen-gray skin. Trantor and her staff of four are hard-pressed to control the more than four hundred residents and prisoners housed in the asylum. Consequently, the less troubled residents are called upon to help run the place. Everyone in the asylum, workers and residents alike, uses commoner statistics.

When the characters arrive at the looming stone structure, they are met at the door by Brey, a troubled youth who has a worrying way of staring at people for a long time before responding to them. Eventually, Brey agrees to allow the characters to enter and asks them to wait in a bare foyer while he fetches Trantor.

Speaking with Trantor

When Trantor first meets the characters, she is harried and protests that she has no time for long conversations or prying questions. But as soon as any character mentions Jarme or the Lantern Ghost killings, her attitude changes to one of concern for a lost patient.

Trantor describes Jarme as a quiet sort who was resolute in his claims of innocence. Though the physician has no reason to doubt the evidence suggesting that the fisher committed the murder he was arrested for, she describes Jarme’s remorse as far more compelling—and far more believable—than that of any other troubled person she has ever worked with.

If the characters ask about visitors during Jarme’s short stay at Hopene’er, Trantor tells them that only one person was permitted to see him, on the militia’s orders. That visitor was the councillor Mr. Dory, whose presence at the asylum struck the physician as both unsettling and odd.

Jarme’s body was cremated and the ashes were dumped into the receding tide, so nothing remains to be questioned with speak with dead or similar magic.

Jarme’s Last Message

Trantor also volunteers that Jarme spent his last days of life covering the walls of his cell with drawings, etched with a cast-off lump of charcoal. The resulting images were unsettling, to say the least, and Trantor is happy to let the characters see them.

The journey into the depths of the asylum to Jarme’s former cell is not pleasant. Constant screaming and cursing from the cells combines with an overpowering stench of unwashed bodies, filth, mildew, and rotting straw. Each character must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution check or gain one level of exhaustion that lasts for as long as they remain in the asylum. A character recovers automatically after spending 10 minutes in the open air.

Trantor eventually stops before a heavily locked door, at which she offers a word of caution. “This wing is where the worst of our cases are kept. I beg you not to look into any of the other cells. We’ve given succor to many folk over the years. But those here are truly forsaken by the gods.”

Unlocking the door reveals a long corridor with iron doors lining both walls. Each door has a small viewing hatch that’s latched shut. An unnatural gurgle churns up from a cell to the right, and is quickly joined by other voices.

Trantor ignores the din as she hurries to the far end of the hall, where she ushers you through an open cell door. The walls beyond are covered with childlike sketches, all overlapping each other in confusing waves and patterned swirls.

Any character who studies the sketches for a few minutes quickly recognizes that they are multiple depictions of a tentacled creature something like a squid or octopus, but determining further details is difficult. With a successful DC 13 Intelligence check, a character discerns a specific element hidden within the chaotic sketches. A character who has proficiency in Nature can add twice their proficiency bonus to the check. The specific elements include the following details:

• The tentacled creature is shown devouring a coastal city whose skyline suggests the Styes.
• The creature is shown trapped in a deep chasm or underwater pit, its tentacles wrapped around humanoids who are dragged down into the inky dark.
• The tentacled creature appears to be shackled by a collar attached to a chain, with the chain held by another creature resembling a vile, multi-tailed fish. Any character who succeeds on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check recognizes the creature as an aboleth, as does anyone who has encountered aboleths before.

District Garrison

If the characters visit the district garrison, there’s a 30 percent chance that Constable Jute is there. Otherwise, she’s on patrol and returns in 1d8 hours. As long as the characters don’t proclaim that they’re investigating the Lantern Ghost case, the militia guards are fairly friendly toward them. (It’s their policy not to antagonize powerful-looking strangers.) If the guards realize what the party is up to, they immediately suspect the characters are out to make them look bad. In that case, they become surly and tight-lipped.

All the militia guards have been assured by their commanders (all of whom were bribed by Mr. Dory) that the Lantern Ghost was executed, the murders have been solved, and anyone who wants to dig deeper into the matter must be a troublemaker trying to stir up dissent.

Constable Jute

Constable Jute (LG female human guard) is a rarity in the militia—an honorable and honest public servant. She is noticeably nervous and reticent when first asked about the Lantern Ghost case, as a result of the warnings that she and the other members of the militia have received. Being an honest guard means that Jute is already the target of scorn from her superiors and fellow guards, and she doesn’t need any more trouble in that area.

If she’s reassured that the characters aren’t trying to make the militia look bad, Jute gives a frank account of her discovery of Jarme in the area of the Alchemists' Quarter known as Hemlock Pit. She remembers that Jarme was cooperative when apprehended, which was surprising considering the state of his mutilated victim.

If the characters win Jute’s full confidence, either through roleplaying or with a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, she admits that she doesn’t believe Jarme was the sole killer—if he was the killer at all. She is aware of the murder that took place the morning after Jarme’s execution, and of how quickly its investigation was dispensed with. Jute doesn’t know why her superiors are acting the way they are, but she suspects that powerful interests must be involved.

Though she’s reluctant to name names, a little prodding inspires Jute to disclose that one of the councillors, Mr. Dory, has had numerous closed-door meetings with militia commanders recently. These visits did not occur during the day when Jarme was executed. Jute can also tell the characters that Mr. Dory can be found in the warehouse that is his home and business (area area 7).

Scene of the Crime

Constable Jute can show the characters where she caught Jarme, but there are no further clues there. The same isn’t true of the scene of the murder that took place the day after Jarme’s execution. Jute can escort the characters to that site, or they can find it in a few hours by asking around the Styes.

This latest murder was committed on Mr. Dory’s orders by one of his skum minions (see appendix C). Dory wants to maintain the momentum of fear in the Styes while he searches for a replacement for Jarme.

The deed took place in an alley in the northern end of the Alchemists' Quarter. The body’s immediate cremation was ordered by Mr. Dory, but the site holds one important clue. No effort was made to clean up the area, with the expectation that local rats and gulls would take care of any remains. But a careful inspection of the site is sufficient to locate unfamiliar, webbed footprints nearly obscured by the tracks of the militia and gawkers.

A character who has proficiency in Survival can attempt a DC 15 Wisdom (Survival) check. On a success, the character determines that the odd tracks were made by at least three separate creatures. Anyone can try to follow the tracks by making a DC 17 Wisdom (Survival) check. On a failed check, the trail is lost after a few dozen yards. On a success, the trail leads through muddy, reeking alleys to Dory’s warehouse (area 7).

Skum One, Skum All

Sgothgah has a number of minions called skum, humans that are warped by an aboleth’s magic and become faithful servants of their master. As part of his arrangement with Mr. Dory, Sgothgah pledged several of the creatures to Dory’s service. Skum wear long robes and heavy overcoats to hide their true nature. Only in a city as wretched as the Styes could they move about unnoticed. Although the skum are loyal minions, they can spend only a short time away from water before their skin starts to slough away. If necessary, they can endure that pain for the time it takes to complete a particularly important task.

Mr. Dory gained a variety of powers from Sgothgah’s patronage, though he was too clever to allow his mind to become compromised. The transformation came with a price. Similar to the skum, Dory’s body is now dependent on a hot, wet environment, such that his body begins to decompose if he spends more than an hour away from his chambers. When he appears in public, he wears heavy perfume and thick clothing soaked in water to forestall the effect, then rushes back to his lair as soon as he can to recover.

Part 3: Hemlock Pit

Although Jarme’s murderous actions were controlled by the Whisperer, no clues yet point toward the aboleth. If the characters don’t learn about Mr. Dory’s seemingly suspicious activities from Constable Jute or from the physician Emil Trantor, and if they missed the trail leading from the latest murder, they might need to resort to divination or commune spells or similar magic. Use the cryptic results from such magic to steer the characters toward an investigation of Mr. Dory, his warehouse, and his residence.

Dory’s unique home is in the center of the Alchemists' Quarter, perched at the edge of a large swath of mud known as Hemlock Pit. His ruthless business practices are well known, inspiring in the townsfolk a mix of respect, fear, and mockery. People know that his warehouse is well guarded, and protected at night by “vicious guard dogs” (a trio of Manticore whose snarling can be heard from the street). Getting that information out of any local requires a bribe of at least 10 gp.

Bribes and questions on the streets around Hemlock Pit also inform the characters that two figures in the Styes have strong dealings with Mr. Dory and are good potential sources of information: Master Loquid, a local perfumer, and Grotten Longflint, a gnome burglar.

Strange Housekeeping

The perfumer Loquid (N male human commoner) supplies Dory with large quantities of perfume from his shop in the Merchants' Quarter. He loves to talk about himself and his well-off clients, and he responds well to simple flattery and chatting up. In conversation, he cheerfully describes Dory as seeming to carry an unpleasant, mildewy odor.

During several of Loquid’s long talks with Dory, the councillor has enigmatically mentioned his “beauties in the pool” (the creature’s skum and golem servants) more than once. Loquid also knows that for inexplicable reasons, Dory floods the inside of his home with water, and keeps stoves burning day and night to maintain the place at a stiflingly hot temperature.

Warehouse Secrets

Grotten Longflint (NE female gnome spy) describes herself as an adventurer, but her current trade is burglar and pickpocket. She is understandably circumspect about her business, and discusses nothing without receiving a “consulting fee” of 100 gp up front. A character who succeeds on a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check can get her down to 50 gp, but no lower.

Recently, Grotten was led to believe that a cache of stolen pearls was hidden in Dory’s warehouse, so she did some “research” on the place to determine whether it was worth burgling. But a few days of watching the site revealed too much activity, with people coming and going day and night. Grotten also noted that Dory has creatures watching his place that appear to be part human and part fish (Dory’s skum guards).

Though Grotten loves to talk, she makes it clear that she has one other secret the characters definitely want to know—but she requires a 30 percent cut of anything valuable the characters extract from Dory’s warehouse in return. If that deal is struck, the burglar tells them that some sort of golem made up of parts of sea creatures was recently delivered to the warehouse. Grotten has no idea where it came from, but is sure that the golem is at the warehouse or in Dory’s residence still.

Mr. Dory’s Warehouse

Map 8.2 depicts the warehouse where Mr. Dory’s business takes place and the bizarre location where he resides. When the characters approach, read:

Mr. Dory’s warehouse is a three-story stone building, roofed in slate and dotted with iron-barred windows. Its walls and roof appear to be coated with a bituminous black gruel, an accumulation of the pollution that belches from nearby alchemists' workshops.

Behind the warehouse spreads a gray-green pit of mud. A huge, rickety crane protrudes from the far wall of the warehouse, its limbs rusted and bent. Dangling from it is the dripping hulk of a ship, hanging some fifty feet above the greasy mud.

During the day, the warehouse bustles with workers who load and unload large, six-wheeled freight wagons. Dory rents space in the warehouse to merchants and alchemists, many of whom use it as a staging area for shipments. After dark, the warehouse is locked tight and protected against intruders by monstrous guardians.

Dory lives in the suspended ship. Reaching the ship without magic requires climbing the crane, which takes a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check. On a failed check, the climber falls 40 feet. The safer route across the bridge can be accessed only through the warehouse.

The warehouse workers don’t want any trouble. If the characters bully their way in, the workers flee, hollering that they intend to summon the militia. Fortunately for the characters, they have an unknown ally pulling strings for them behind the scenes. Another of the local councillors, Thornwell, has her own reasons for wanting Mr. Dory humiliated, bankrupted, or—better yet—killed. She has been keeping an eye on her enemy as a result (see the “area Adventure Hooks” section), and has counter-bribed the militia that Dory has paid off, so that they ignore calls for help from the warehouse. No patrol ever arrives, forcing Mr. Dory to rely solely on his own guards and minions to defend his property and himself.

D1. Main Storehouse

The interior of the warehouse is piled high with crates, boxes, and packages, most marked with alchemists' personal symbols and “FRAGILE” or “HANDLE WITH CARE.” A closed door offers a way into a walled-in area to the northwest. A mechanical lift stands along the south wall to the east, and two iron spiral staircases rise from the northeast and southwest corners.

The lift is operated by a winch, and it can be used to move large objects between this area and the loft. At least two people are needed to operate the winch.

Daytime Crew

By day, this room bustles with workers (eleven Commoner), they alert Chumwell at once. If the characters act belligerently, the workers and the guards flee from such obviously capable foes, and try (without success) to summon the militia.

Nighttime Watch

By night, the only denizens of the warehouse are three Manticore and their red slaad handler. The manticores fly between levels on constant patrol, and the slaad spends its time lounging in the loft. If it needs to get down to the ground floor, it simply jumps, knowing it will quickly regenerate the damage it takes from the fall.

Fire Hazard

The alchemical contents of the crates make the warehouse a risky place to have a fight. At the end of each round in which weapon damage or the movement of combatants might accidentally disturb a pile of crates, or if any effect deals damage in an area other than necrotic, poison, or psychic damage, there’s a 20 percent chance that a nearby crate explodes, setting off a chain reaction that engulfs the entire warehouse in flames. The initial explosion deals 28 (8d6) fire damage to each creature in the warehouse, or half damage to creatures that succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw.

Every creature that starts its turn in the burning warehouse takes 3 (1d6) fire damage. Additionally, the upper floors of the warehouse collapse 2d4 rounds after the fire starts. Each creature in the warehouse when it collapses takes 14 (4d6) fire damage and must make a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, a creature takes an additional 28 (8d6) bludgeoning damage and is restrained beneath the rubble. On a successful save, the creature takes half the bludgeoning damage and is not restrained.

The collapse makes the entire area of the warehouse difficult terrain, and each creature that starts its turn in the warehouse thereafter takes 7 (2d6) fire damage. A restrained creature can escape by using an action and succeeding on a DC 15 Strength or Dexterity check, or can be pulled free by another creature within 5 feet that uses an action and succeeds on a DC 15 Strength check.

If the warehouse catches fire, a huge crowd gathers to help put out the flames before they spread to nearby buildings. This firefighting effort takes up to an hour, so it won’t help characters who were trapped in the blaze. The crane holding Dory’s home aloft is made mostly of metal, so it doesn’t collapse in the fire. Dory’s minions aboard the ship prevent the fire from spreading to it. Then they spend the next several days repairing the crane, clearing rubble, and installing rickety ladders to replace the stairs, while Dory devotes himself to plotting revenge on whoever he suspects of burning down his warehouse.

Treasure

A search of the crates reveals a wealth of alchemical gear and supplies, including everything from acid and alchemist’s fire to portable alchemy labs—a total value of 2,500 gp. These items are next to impossible to fence in the Styes because they’re all clearly labeled, and no one wants to cross the influential and vengeful Mr. Dory. (If the characters cut a deal with Grotten Longflint, the gnome’s assistance might make it easier to sell off the goods, as you determine.) All this treasure is destroyed if the warehouse burns.

D2. Office

This area appears to be the business office of the warehouse, containing filing cabinets, a work desk, and a large table, along with two sets of rickety bunk beds.

If the characters arrive during business hours, they’re directed to this office, where they are greeted by the warehouse manager. Birsk Chumwell (N female human commoner) is a phlegmatic, no-nonsense woman with a permanent look of frustration and a never-ending list of tasks. If the characters ask to meet with Dory, she agrees to put the request in for his consideration. She warns that it might be several days before a meeting can be scheduled, and it’s obvious she just wants to be rid of the party and get back to her work.

A search of this room turns up nothing suspicious. All the paperwork suggests that the warehouse and its activities are perfectly legitimate.

D3. Loft

This area is used for long-term storage. Many of the crates here are in a kind of legal limbo; their owners have ether forgotten about them, died, or for some other reason never reclaimed their belongings.

The loft is also the lair of the three Manticore and the red slaad that guard the warehouse at night. The manticores have no love for the slaad, but they follow its commands because they are furiously loyal to Dory. The manticores roam freely through the warehouse at night. They spend their days in the loft but respond quickly to any disturbance in the main warehouse below.

Treasure

The crates in this area and their contents are similar to those in area D1. The chief difference is that no one in town is likely to notice or care if these items are pawned or fenced. Much of what’s here has spoiled or lost its potency, but 1,700 gp worth of still-valuable equipment and supplies can be collected with a thorough search.

D4. Upper Walkway

A walkway surrounds the highest level of the warehouse, which is now used only as an approach to area D5. The door to area D5 is made of iron and is kept locked. Dory and all his guards carry a key for the door, which can otherwise be opened with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. The door can also be smashed open by making a successful DC 18 Strength (Athletics) check and a lot of noise.

D5. Crane

A narrow, rotting walkway with missing boards and no railing surrounds the rusting bulk of this ancient crane. The hull of the ship dangles from the crane’s arm, fifty feet above the broad mud pool below. A wooden trough connects the ship to a nearby water tower, and a crude bridge suspended between the crane and the ship’s deck promises a treacherous climb. Steam rises from the hulk, and rivulets of water spill out from between the planks of the hull, raining down to the mud below.

The walkway around the crane is rickety but is more solid than it looks. The real danger on the walkway and the bridge comes from their uneven surface and the lack of a railing. A character who moves no more than 10 feet per turn and devotes all their attention to watching where they place their feet is in no danger while moving through this area. But a character who moves more quickly or who performs any other action in addition to moving must succeed on a DC 13 Dexterity saving throw or fall prone. If the saving throw fails by more than 5, the character slips and falls 60 feet. The fall deals only 10 (3d6) bludgeoning damage because of the soft, deep mud below, but the mud is contaminated. Anyone who falls in must also succeed on a DC 11 Constitution saving throw or contract sewer plague (see “Diseases” in chapter 8 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

The crane’s gears and controls are heavily rusted and frozen in place.

Three skum (see appendix C and the “Skum” sidebar) hidden inside the crane’s shed stand guard over this area. They confront anyone who tries to cross the footbridge to the ship, simultaneously calling out to alert the ship’s occupants. These skum are intimately familiar with the walkway and the precarious bridge, so they can move and act normally with no risk of falling. If they can, they try to push intruders off the walkway rather than fight them.

D6. Upper Deck

The decrepit-looking hull of a ship is suspended from the crane by massive chains, all of which creak and groan ominously as the ship shifts in the wind. The only apparent access to the vessel’s interior is near the bow on the port side. A grate in the hull there belches smoke, while water flowing along a wooden trough pours through the grate into the hull.

Many of the compartments of this decommissioned hull have been flooded with water so that its aquatic occupants can move about more easily. The skum that lurk in area D7 patrol the upper deck once every 30 minutes, but they mostly rely on the guards in area D5 to warn them of intruders.

As the characters move around on the hulk, stress the ominous creaking and groaning from the chains holding it aloft. These chains are solidly attached and there’s no danger of the ship crashing to the ground, but it should feel like a dangerous environment. The grate through which water flows into area D7 isn’t locked or trapped, but lifting it open creates a lot of noise unless someone makes a successful DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check while doing so. Once the grate is open, characters can drop down into area D7.

The chains holding the ship aloft are too sturdy to be broken by any quick or simple method. Severing one would take a successful DC 30 Strength check, prolonged heating, or half a dozen shatter spells. Such attempts also likely attract the attention of nearby skum.

D7. Bow Pool

The air in this compartment is oppressively hot and humid. Clouds of smoke rise and escape through the grate above, billowing from a pair of roaring boilers near the bow, bolted to the deck and walls on either side of a large pool of steaming water. The walls, floor, and ceiling of the compartment are thick and shiny with condensation and mildew.

This area is difficult terrain because of the moisture and slime everywhere.

The bottom of the pool is open to the ship’s flooded bilge, allowing all the water in the ship to be heated from this area. That opening can’t be seen from above through the smoke, steam, and dirty water. A creature can swim from this pool through the bilge directly into areas D8 and D9, and vice versa.

The cloudy water conceals three skum (see appendix C and the “Skum” sidebar). If they were alerted by the skum guarding the crane or by a noisy opening of the grate above, they’re prepared for trouble and can’t be surprised. Otherwise, they’re napping or loafing in the water, so they’re automatically surprised by enemies who approach stealthily.

Water Hazard

The water in areas D7, D8, and D9 isn’t boiling, but it is uncomfortably hot and exceedingly foul. Any creature that starts its turn in the steaming water takes 1 fire damage and is poisoned until the start of its next turn. (The creatures that serve Dory spend all their time in the water and have become immune to it.)

D8. Amidships

The air here is hot and damp. Two pools of dark, swirling water fill most of this area. A narrow wooden walkway crosses between them to connect doors toward the stern and the bow. Condensation streams down the walls and drips from the ceiling.

Water and slime make this area difficult terrain.

The last two skum (see the “Skum” sidebar and appendix C) that serve Mr. Dory lurk in this room, along with one of the first victims to be enthralled by the Whisperer after its arrival in the Styes: a hateful man named Harid (LE male human assassin). He fell victim to the Whisperer while trailing a target through the Styes. Now completely dominated and transformed by the aboleth, Harid must soak his slimy, transparent skin in water every ten minutes to avoid excruciating pain.

Harid is cunning and clever. If combat breaks out here, he remains hidden in the water while the skum do the fighting. He makes a Dexterity (Stealth) check in an attempt to hide. As long as he remains unnoticed, his first attack can still benefit from the Assassinate trait after the first round of the fight.

Development

On the Whisperer’s orders, Harid offered his services to Mr. Dory. But his actual purpose here is to keep an eye on Dory, whom the Whisperer does not trust. Dory suspects this subterfuge, of course, and so he keeps Harid confined to this compartment. Because Harid has no loyalty to Dory, he might stay hidden in the murky water if the skum are dispatched quickly. Then after everyone else leaves the ship, he’ll eventually make his way back to the temple of Tharizdun to rejoin his master. See the “area Temple of Tharizdun” section in part 4 for more information.

D9. Dory’s Chamber

The air here is thick with clouds of steam scented by cloves, cinnamon, and ginger. Strange plants hang from the ceiling, featuring thick, twisted vines tangled around enormous bulbs and flowers of a sickly yellow hue. A large pool of steaming green water dominates the room.

A scarred desk with its legs sawed off is pulled up alongside the pool. The desktop is cluttered with damp parchment, a wicker platter of raw seafood, and a mahogany box.

The stern of the ship is Mr. Dory personal chamber. All of this area is difficult terrain because of moisture and slime. The creature spends most of its time in this compartment, leaving only when council business or boredom demands it.

Dory’s Plots

The rumors of Dory’s terrible skin condition are partly true. Several of the Tharizdun cultists were turned to skum to better serve Sgothgah, but Dory was too clever and important to be reduced to a simple thrall. Sgothgah granted him superior durability, along with magical talents, but at the cost of his partial transformation into a creature similar to a skum. Dory maintains his outwardly human appearance, but he must spend as much time as possible in a hot, wet environment to maintain his physical form. Otherwise, he develops lesions as the aboleth’s magic causes his body to rot away. After a few minutes away from a wet environment, his skin takes on a waxy sheen, while boils and ulcers form on his body. Anywhere other than the Styes he would have been ostracized long ago, but in this squalid, lawless place he has managed to turn his new talents to his advantage.

Dory’s Tactics

Any intrusion into this area draws an immediate attack from Mr. Dory (see appendix C), who has likely been alerted by fighting elsewhere. The aberration does not fight alone. Sgothgah recently bestowed another gift on the councillor—a unique flesh golem made from fish, monstrous lobsters, sharks, and octopi, and with the head of a humanoid female. Dory keeps the golem in this chamber as a guardian, concealed under the water.

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 Corruption. 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 etherealness 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 of Tharizdun 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 incubating 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 characters under any circumstances.

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 sheet 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 harvests—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 Lantern 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 minions in response to Jarme’s arrest. It tasks Dory with finding more flesh and negative emotion for the kraken.

Other notes on the desk and the table are either horrid examples of disturbing erotica written with a shaky hand, or various letters that implicate Dory in foul crimes. Still more scraps of parchment contain scribbles and crude drawings of tentacled monsters—mad visions induced by Dory’s connection to the Whisperer. If 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 florid spiral design. A successful DC 15 Intelligence (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 Tharizdun, 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 evening shadow of Frother’s Lamp. Praise Tharizdun!

If the characters don’t know the reference to “area 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.

Part 4: The Lamp’s Shadow

Whether they learn of the temple of Tharizdun from questioning Mr. Dory or from studying the documents found in his lair, the characters should make seeking the temple their next move. If they recognized the imagery in Jarme’s sketches (see “area Jarme’s Last Message"), they might also suspect that the true menace behind the Lantern Ghost killings is an aboleth. Otherwise, that aspect of the plot remains unknown.

A huge complication in the characters' investigation is the imminent arrival in the Styes of a pair of aboleths from the Endless Nadir. Having learned of Sgothgah’s traitorous turn to religion, these creatures have used magic to track both Sgothgah and the juvenile kraken to their hiding place, and they are on a mission to destroy Sgothgah and release the kraken into the sea.

As this part of the story begins, the aboleths have already mounted one attack on their traitorous kin at the sunken temple at Landgrave’s Folly (see part 5, “area Tharizdun’s Progeny,” for more information). This assault has forced Sgothgah to flee to the temple of Tharizdun to recover.

Temple of Tharizdun

The temple of Tharizdun, depicted in map 8.3, is located near Frother’s Lamp in the Low Quarter. At sunset, the shadow of the abandoned lighthouse stretches out to point in the general direction of the temple—a structure cobbled together from a partially sunken galley and some empty apartments under an abandoned pleasure pier. The area surrounding the temple is filled with partially collapsed buildings and walled-off alleys, atop which newer buildings and boardwalks have been built. The entire place is damp, reeks of mildew, and is loud with the creaking and groaning of surrounding buildings. The floors, walls, and ceilings of the temple are old wood, too damp to burn and rotten enough to be almost spongy to the touch.

No cultists dwell inside the temple. The faithful of the dark god hide their true calling and live otherwise normal lives as dock workers, fishers, or sailors. For years, they gathered once a month at the temple to venerate the dark god through the night, but were little more than a desperate mob whose tainted dreams brought them together. With the arrival of the aboleth Sgothgah in the Styes, the cult now has renewed vigor, and its members meet once a week or more.

This section assumes that no cultists are on site when the characters arrive, giving the party a chance to explore in relative peace. But if you decide so, the cultists could be in the middle of a dark ceremony to raise the risk and the stakes. None of the cult members are dangerous to a party of the characters' level (see area area T5 for statistics). But the presence of a hundred chanting, swaying, convulsing zealots can add a large dose of eerie atmosphere to the characters' investigations.

T1. Milden Span

A tangled wall of apartments and storefronts rises up on either side of a channel of sluggish, tainted water. The structures down near the waterline are empty and desolate, while the ramshackle additions built over their roofs appear progressively more inhabitable as they rise up into the polluted sky. The overall effect is that of a canyon, with walls made from the cross-section of a decaying shantytown rather than from stone.

A narrow timber bridge sags across the channel, leading from the back of a crooked alley to what appears to be a partially sunken galley whose structure has been incorporated into the ruined jumble of buildings.

Unless the characters want to swim in, clamber down the side of several stories of buildings, or use magic, this bridge (known locally as the Milden Span for its long-dead builder) is the only approach to the temple’s entrance. The skum lurking in the ship’s prow (area area T3) keep an eye on the bridge and respond to any intruders.

T2. Galley Pier

The main deck of the ruined galley has buckled, and is cluttered with trash, driftwood, and other refuse washed up on the tide. To the east, the galley’s prow juts into the channel like a jagged fang, while the west side of the deck disappears into a wall of boarded-up and badly weathered buildings. The only cleared pathway across the tilted deck leads from the bridge to a pair of massive wooden doors leading into the buildings.

This area is used by cult members as a gathering point before they stage their ceremonies inside the temple. A flight of rickety steps half hidden behind detritus leads up to the ship’s prow (area T3).

Unless a meeting is taking place, the heavy doors into area T4 are locked. They can be finessed open with a successful DC 15 Dexterity check using thieves' tools, forced open with a successful DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check, or broken down by physical damage (AC 15, 25 hit points, immunity to psychic and poison damage, resistance to piercing and slashing damage). If the characters manage to get to this point without attracting the notice of the skum in area T3, those guards are alerted by any noise at the doors.

T3. Ship’s Prow

The ancient ship’s prow juts up from the foul water of the channel, its tilted surface a hopeless tangle of trash, driftwood, and filth. Scurrying sounds within the detritus suggest the presence of a great many rats.

The trash heaped here make this area difficult terrain.

The aboleth has ordered the cult to keep four skum guards posted here (see appendix C and the “Skum” sidebar). These guards lurk behind mounds of rubble as they watch the surrounding area for intruders. When the characters assemble on the galley pier created from the ship’s deck (area T2), the skum rise up and attack with thrown tridents (they have a large supply of those weapons on hand). They have half cover while in the rubble, and they engage in melee only if the characters come to them or attempt to open the doors into the temple.

T4. Chuul-Haunted Hallway

This oppressive hallway reeks of mildew and rotting fish. The walls are severely stained, and the ceiling sags where pockets of water and fungus weigh it down. The sounds of creaking wood and dripping water echo loudly here.

Humanoid cultists and aboleth savants aren’t the only ones whose dreams have been tainted by Tharizdun’s whispers. Four Chuul have also become haunted by the dark god’s sendings, and were driven to seek out the cult in the Styes. Being near the temple soothes their psychic torment, so they spend most of their time hidden in a secret, submerged grotto beneath areas T4 and T5. They know that the cultists always chant when they are inside the temple, and so they interpret any voiceless movement in this hallway as a sign of intruders.

The chuuls have a number of options for their attack. Think about the type of combat the players might enjoy and choose one of the following:

• The chuuls can pull down the floor of area T4 from below, so that all creatures in the corridor fall into their grotto. The grotto is roughly circular, 40 feet in diameter, and filled with water 20 feet deep. The surface of the water is 5 feet below the floor of area T4. A submerged tunnel connects the grotto to the larger tunnel outside (see area area T6 and “area Mysterious Tunnel,” below).
• They can wait until the characters have filed into the chapel area of the temple (area T5), then tear their way through the floor of the tunnel or the floor of the temple to climb up and fight in those areas.
• They can use both tactics, splitting the party so as to turn the encounter into simultaneous battles in the temple and the submerged grotto. The chuuls are most likely to use this option if their Sense Magic trait suggests that doing so might separate powerful magic-wielding characters from the rest of the group.

T5. Dark God’s Chapel

This cavernous room smells of decaying fish and seaweed. The walls, floor, and ceiling are covered with carvings of complex spirals and smeared with blood. Crude chairs and benches are arranged in a semicircle facing a smaller antechamber to the west. A large, fish-like shape hangs in the air at the far end of the alcove.

When the cultists gather to worship Tharizdun, this room is filled with nearly a hundred of the dark god’s faithful (Commoner, Thug, Bandit, and Cultist), brought together by their belief in the imminent end of the world. These warped worshipers pay homage to the dark god in the hope of gaining reward in the new world he creates from the ashes of this one. Unless you prefer otherwise, no cultists are present here when the characters arrive.

T6. Watery Descent

A wide flight of slippery stairs stands at the end of this antechamber, leading down into a pool of slimy, murky water. The shape above the stairs is a rotting shark’s carcass, which hangs from the rafters on frayed, mildewed ropes. Humanoid heads in various states of decay have been crudely lashed to the shark’s flanks.

The stairs descend 20 feet into a completely submerged chamber that’s 20 feet square. Water fills the staircase to within a foot of the top of the stairs. A 10-foot-wide tunnel (not shown on the map) extends from the west side of the chamber, leading eventually to the kraken’s hiding place at Landgrave’s Folly (see the “area Mysterious Tunnel” section below).

Several hours before the characters' arrival at the temple, Sgothgah fled here from Landgrave’s Folly after losing a battle against two hostile aboleths from the Endless Nadir. It intends to rest here while it plots its retaliation.

The aboleth lurks at the base of the stairs (just outside the map), but it is aware of intruders as soon as they enter area T5. If the four chuuls in area T4 haven’t sprung their attack yet, it waits for them to do so before joining in.

While remaining hidden, Sgothgah uses its lair action to cast phantasmal force to make it appear to the characters that the dead shark has reanimated and is swimming through the air to attack them. Until one of the characters detects the illusion, pretend to use the statistics of a giant shark for the creature, but its attacks always hit and deal 3 (1d6) psychic damage. Even though the illusory shark doesn’t actually take damage, the characters' attacks appear to injure it.

The aboleth doesn’t reveal its presence unless a tempting target approaches within its 10-foot reach of the flooded stairwell. It can also use its Enslave attack from under the water against a creature it can see.

If all four chuuls are killed and the characters are aware that their real enemy is in the water, Sgothgah awaits the characters in the submerged chamber below this area.

Development

Sgothgah recognizes that accomplished adventurers would be highly useful servants in its conflict against the aboleths sent from the Endless Nadir, and it tries to keep at least three of the characters alive if it can. If the battle appears to be turning against the characters, Sgothgah contacts one of them telepathically (without identifying itself) to demand their surrender. If that demand is refused, the aboleth softens it to a request that they accept a temporary truce and agrees to answer a few questions.

The aboleth has no intention of dealing with the characters honestly, since inferior beings don’t merit such treatment. Using its Probing Telepathy, it discerns each character’s greatest desire, then uses this information against the party, promising each character what it knows the character wants in exchange for nothing more than being allowed to spend a few more months in the temple. After that time, Sgothgah promises, it will return to the unfathomable depths of the ocean and never bother humanity again.

If the characters have put together a sense of the aboleth’s plots, Sgothgah admits that it is raising a kraken, but it claims that the creature is meant to be used against its enemies in an ongoing civil war between opposing factions of the aboleth civilization. It claims that those enemies are already probing the aboleth’s defenses around the Styes, and are just as much a threat to the district and its people as to it. If the characters are so inclined, Sgothgah says, it could use their help in driving them off—concocting some far-flung suicide mission for them on the spot.

Sgothgah freely weaves lies, truths, half-truths, and the characters' desires into the conversation. As long as doing so is believable, Sgothgah offers and promises anything—because the cunning creature has no intention of ever delivering. All it wants is for at least three promising victims to come close enough to the pool for it to use a lair action to send forth a grasping tide, pulling the characters into the water in an attempt to infect and enslave them.

Dark Altar

The shark hanging above the stairs serves as the altar in this evil place. The cult routinely kidnaps beggars, vagrants, and lost children and sacrifices them to the dark god, saving their heads and affixing them to the shark. Eventually, the carcass will rot to the point where it tears loose from the ropes and falls into the water to be eaten by scavengers. When that happens, the cult members celebrate the occasion, hunt down a replacement shark, and start the cycle again.

Treasure

The cultists hid treasure they have collected from victims under the topmost step leading down into the pool. The treasure can be discovered with a search of the staircase and a successful DC 18 Wisdom (Perception) check.

Inside a flooded hollow under the removable step are eight sacks of coins, each containing 100 sp and 50 gp. A rusted iron coffer holds 17 pieces of jewelry worth a total of 1,530 gp, along with three Potion of Healing, four Potion of Greater Healing, and six Potion of Water Breathing.

Also inside the hollow is an object sealed inside a tightly sewn oilcloth—an Instrument of the Bards, Cli Lyre found by a cultist years before. The lyre is the cult’s greatest treasure, and has been kept as a gift for the leader that the cultists hoped would someday come to them. (They offered the lyre to Sgothgah, but the aboleth had no use for it.)

Mysterious Tunnel

The submerged tunnel snakes westward for nearly a mile, and is flooded along its entire length. It opens up to the seafloor 40 feet underwater and a few hundred feet off a deserted stretch of coastline. The only visible landmark in the area is the spire of Landgrave’s Folly, the sunken island where Sgothgah has been raising the juvenile kraken.

If the characters return to the Styes without exploring the area further, any of the folk in the Styes can tell the story of Landgrave’s Folly (as detailed in the next section) in response to hearing about the spire that the characters spotted jutting out of the waves. If the characters investigate the temple and take on the final section of the adventure immediately, the background story of Landgrave’s Folly can be filled in after they return to the Styes.

Part 5: Tharizdun’s Progeny

At the height of the Styes' long-ago glory, a local eccentric noble named Bryson Landgrave announced his intention to discover what lay on the underside of the world. To that end, he ordered the digging of a great pit that would eventually lead to whatever was there. Locals dismissed the effort as mad, but the noble was rich, and no one complained about the wages he offered to diggers.

For reasons no one could comprehend, Landgrave chose to excavate down through the solid rock beneath a small islet a mile or so west of the Styes. The work went well at the start. But then workers began to perish in bizarre or mysterious accidents. In an attempt to counter his ill luck, the noble commissioned the construction of a temple (using material removed from the hole) at the dig site to confer blessings on his work. As Landgrave’s luck would have it, on the night the temple was to be consecrated, a violent earthquake struck the islet, which sank into the sea and took the pit, the temple, all but a handful of workers, and Landgrave himself with it. Only the temple’s spire is still visible above the waves as a testament to what becomes of rich fools, and the site became known as Landgrave’s Folly.

Death from the Deep

Landgrave’s Folly is where Sgothgah has hidden the growing kraken, in the pit at the bottom of the flooded, ruined temple. The two aboleths that tried to attack the site did well in their earlier battle with Sgothgah, forcing it to retreat, and are in the process of dismantling the last of the magical wards set up by the renegade aboleth.

As the characters approach Landgrave’s Folly after either defeating Sgothgah, making a deal with the aboleth, or succumbing to its enslavement, the two aboleths from the Endless Nadir are arguing over what is to be done with the kraken. One wants to enslave it, and the other argues it must be destroyed. Neither of them understands the juvenile kraken’s intentions or suspects that a party of determined adventurers is about to interrupt their plans.

Landgrave’s Folly

The temple at Landgrave’s Folly, shown in map 8.4, is in ruins and under 40 feet or more of water, though its weed-encrusted spire extends above the ocean surface even at high tide. The characters can’t proceed into the temple without some means of breathing underwater, such as Cap of Water Breathing or the potions found in area T6. Potion of Water Breathing are also readily available from alchemists in the Styes, being one of the district’s more popular exports. Before running this final part of the adventure, make sure you’re familiar with the rules on underwater combat (in chapter 9 of the Player’s Handbook) and underwater movement (in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

The characters have three means of entry into Landgrave’s Folly: descending the spire that projects above the waves, going through the front doorway, or moving through a hole in the north wall. All areas of the temple are lightly obscured by dim light and silt in the water.

As the characters approach the sunken temple, read the following, making adjustments depending on whether they are coming from above or below the water:

Below the water looms the dark bulk of a sunken temple. Looming up and out of the briny murk is the temple’s spire, which appears to have been struck by more than one unfortunate ship, judging by the chunks missing from it. The temple lists toward the north, its roof and walls draped with seaweed and festooned with barnacles. The building’s facade is a mess of partially collapsed walls and ruined scaffolding, making it appear as though the site was still under construction when it sank. But it’s hard to tell which parts weren’t finished and which parts were damaged by the collapse.

L1. Ruined Spire

Most of the roof is gone from the belfry beneath the upthrust spire, but portions of the walls and their arched windows remain. A seaweed-tangled staircase descends deeper into the flooded tower.

Warded Entrance

Sgothgah’s advanced magical knowledge has allowed it to set up dozens of wards to protect the temple, each treated as a casting of glyph of warding using the explosive runes option. All but one of the wards have been dismantled or triggered by the aboleths that attacked the site. The sole remaining glyph is at the bottom level of the tower, in the doorway into area L2.

The glyph is triggered when anyone who isn’t a worshiper of Tharizdun moves or swims through the doorway from area L1 to area L2. When the glyph is triggered, each creature in area L1 takes 22 (5d8) lightning damage. Because the lightning diffuses evenly through the water, no saving throw is allowed against this effect.

The glyph can be found by any creature that inspects the doorway and succeeds on a DC 14 Intelligence (Investigation) check. The glyph can be dispelled by dispel magic, but there is no nonmagical way to disarm it. It can be avoided only by entering the temple through another entrance.

L2. Flooded Temple

Layers of silt cover the stone floor of the main section of the temple. Tangled mounds of collapsed scaffolding lie toward the east end of this area. The west side is dominated by a circular pit that stretches from wall to wall, and that throbs with a dim, unnatural light.

Two Aboleth from the Endless Nadir are in this chamber, having rested and recovered from their fight with Sgothgah. If the characters infiltrate the temple without alerting the aboleths, the characters spot the creatures floating above the rubble on the east side of the chamber, arguing in Deep Speech over whether to kill the creature in the pit or enslave it. If the aboleths have been alerted to the approaching characters (including if the glyph in area L1 was set off), they retreat to opposite corners of this chamber and stir up an immense cloud of silt for camouflage. Area L2 is heavily obscured for the next 5 minutes.

Failure is not an option for agents of the Endless Nadir, and the aboleths fight to the death if it comes to that. This is not the lair of these creatures, so they can’t use lair actions or regional effects. In the event that the characters could use some help in a battle, one of the aboleths might stray too close to the pit and be pulled in by the juvenile kraken; see the next section for more information. A fight isn’t inevitable, however.

Making a Deal

These aboleths have two goals: to kill Sgothgah and to deal with the kraken, either by destroying it or capturing it. If the characters don’t instantly jump to the attack and can demonstrate that they aren’t enslaved by Sgothgah—or, better yet, that they have killed the rogue aboleth—they can engage these aboleths in diplomacy regarding their desire to kill or enslave the kraken.

The aboleths might respond to a number of different arguments:

• Even if the aboleths can enslave the kraken now, the creature is still growing and will eventually break free of their control. Even a gang of aboleths is no match for a full-grown kraken, so the creature should be destroyed for the aboleths' own safety.
• The kraken’s substantial intellect has been hopelessly tainted by exposure to Sgothgah’s religious beliefs. All gods are anathema to aboleths, so the kraken should be destroyed before its poisoned thoughts can influence others.
• Nothing in the sea can match the strength of a kraken, and the aboleths might never again have the opportunity to take control of such a weapon in their fight against the gods. The creature must be enslaved and forced to serve them.

If the players would rather not roleplay a telepathic argument with highly intelligent alien minds, they can lead the aboleths toward one option or the other with a successful DC 20 group Charisma (Persuasion) check. If negotiations break down or if the characters give the aboleths a reason to be paranoid (which is easy to do, given their natural inclinations), these creatures attack.

L3. Landgrave’s Pit

The light that fills the pit originates in the flicker of intricate magical sigils that cover its top edge and the upper twenty feet of its walls. Those sigils are woven into a complex tapestry of magical light, undulating and writhing like an obscene carpet of snakes. Below their pulsing glow, the pit descends into utter darkness.

Landgrave’s dedication to his mad goal is demonstrated by the success of his doomed digging effort. The pit that opens up inside the temple is hundreds of feet deep and pitch black below the uppermost 20 feet. But the creature that lurks within is much closer than that.

The juvenile kraken (see appendix C) normally lurks several hundred feet down in the pit, but its hunger has steadily drawn it up higher. Its progress is slow because it must acclimate to the decreasing pressure as it rises. It now lurks 40 feet below the edge of the pit, concealed in the inky-dark water. If it senses activity in the water above or at the lip of the pit, it races up and strikes.

Although still immature, the kraken is already monstrous to behold, with oily, dark green flesh, 20-foot-long arms, and a ravenous mouth lined with hundreds of dagger-like teeth. Its enormous eyes are surrounded by an aura of red energy, the mark of the power channeled into it. The glyph with which Sgothgah branded the creature takes the form of a blue-black mark resembling the spiral sign of Tharizdun. The flesh surrounding the spiral is scarred by ulcers and sores; the energy channeled into it sometimes erupts spontaneously and rots away its flesh.

The kraken understands from Sgothgah’s constant whispering that it has a great, unknown destiny. It was content to let Sgothgah serve its needs as it grew, but it had already decided to kill the aboleth once Sgothgah’s usefulness had run its course. The kraken has no interest in cooperating with anyone. Its only fear is dying before it becomes monarch of the sea, so if it is reduced to 40 hit points or fewer, it stops fighting and focuses on escape.

Writhing Sigils

The glowing marks that writhe around the pit are a unique magical channeling device concocted by Sgothgah. The two aboleths from the Endless Nadir didn’t recognize it or understand its purpose, which led to their hesitation about attacking the kraken. If the characters heard Mr. Dory’s explanation of how the cultists are incubating their spawn in the fear and misery of the Styes, the players might figure out the function of this magical conduit. Otherwise, a character who has proficiency in Arcana who studies the glyph for a few minutes and succeeds on a DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana) check determines its purpose.

The pit’s magic acts as a beacon for negative emotional energy generated within five miles of it, drawing wisps of all such energy from the dismal environment of the Styes. Channeled through the unholy symbol of Tharizdun that the kraken bears, that energy accelerates the kraken’s growth and fuels its hostility. Normally such a beast would take decades to reach maturity, but Sgothgah’s magic has reduced that time to mere months—and now the kraken will reach maturity in only a few weeks unless it is destroyed.

The magic of the pit can be destroyed with a successful casting of dispel magic (DC 19), or by physically destroying the sigils on the floor of area L3 and the similar marks on the top 20 feet of the pit wall. The floor and the pit each have AC 17; 75 hit points; immunity to necrotic, poison, and psychic damage; and resistance to all other damage while the magic endures.

Aftermath

To end the killings that have been plaguing the Styes, the characters need only slay Sgothgah. But killing the aboleth won’t save the Styes from the doom lurking in Landgrave’s Folly.

If the characters don’t destroy the juvenile kraken (or at least wound it badly enough that it flees, after which they destroy the magic of the pit), it eventually kills the two squabbling aboleths and begins a reign of terror.

The creature starts to systematically destroy any ships and fishing boats sailing past Landgrave’s Folly, and seemingly for sport it periodically slithers up to the Styes to pluck hapless victims from its sagging docks. The cultists of Tharizdun are able to foresee the kraken’s strikes and can appease it with sacrifices, and their status in the district quickly improves. Eventually, the cult leaders replace the councillors as rulers of the Styes. Defeating the kraken and its growing cult becomes much more difficult at that point, though it could make for an exciting follow-up adventure.

If the characters destroy the kraken, they have done a huge service to all seafaring folk in the area, though the locals might not realize it or appreciate it at first. Some time after the kraken’s defeat, the councillors hold a closed meeting and decide to reward the characters: each receives a small teak coffer containing pearls and other gems worth 3,000 gp, on the condition that they do not speak publicly about their efforts.

If any of the aboleths survive, those creatures have long memories, and are certain to seek revenge against characters who wronged them. This is especially true of Sgothgah. Alternatively, if the characters came to an agreement with the aboleths of the Endless Nadir and aided them in their mission, they might be able to call in a favor in the future. The aboleths' alien nature, however, means that their idea of repaying a favor might not necessarily match that of the characters.

If the kraken escapes, it retreats into the dismal depths of the sea and grows naturally to maturity. The dire, apocalyptic events that might be triggered by a gargantuan monstrosity whose mind has been poisoned by negative energy and the constant nightmares of Tharizdun are left for you to imagine.