The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

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4. Hidden Entrance
The main entrance to the sahuagin lair is here, a 5-foot
wide tunnel covered with a stiff mat woven from weeds.
Living plants have been attached to this and sand thrown
over it, so that unless it is examined closely it seems to
be nothing more than another patch of vegetation. A
character can notice the hidden entrance with a Search
check (DC 25).
Immediately beneath the opening is a wide cave where
the sahuagin guards wait for word from above. There
are three sahuagin lacerators present here at all times. If
they hear anyone approaching, they train their crossbows
on the opening in case it is not one of their own.
At the point marked 4a is a ballista (see the DMG) taken
from a deck mount on a wrecked ship. If outnumbered,
the sahuagin will retreat back here to where they can
fire the ballista at invaders.
5. The Feasting Rooms
The water in this cavern is filled with particles of matter,
swirling like snow. Among these drift larger pieces of
material, which are recognisable – a scrap of torn cloth,
a matted tangle of hair, a toenail. The floor of the cave
is a charnel house of gnawed bones, empty skulls and
fragments of fish. You make out the remains of tritons,
merfolk and a great many humans.
The swirling matter is the result of the remains decaying
and provides concealment to all creatures within the
cavern.
This is where the sahuagin gather to feast. Their meals
are taken together under the eyes of Scathla and Render
Seaclaw, so there will either be no sahuagin here at all
or all of them except for the sentries. If the entire tribe
is gathered here, there will be ten wreckers and their
shark companions, eight lacerators, Scathla and Render
– an encounter that will almost certainly result in the
players’ deaths. If the Games Master wants a tense
encounter rather than a vicious fight, he can have the
Player Characters present when a feasting is called, so
that they have time to hide among the loathsome remains
on the cave floor, or somewhere along the walls; the
cloudy water makes it much easier to hide.
Sahuagin feastings among the cult involve the spoils from
the latest wreck being brought in, which in this case are
the drowned crew of the Sally Lunn, their ankles bound
together with seaweed. There are 20 other corpses who
seem to be from a different part of the world and have
manacles binding them. A Knowledge (geography)
check (DC 15) identifies them as the peasant people of
Kandang.
Scathla pronounces a blessing in Aquan, and then draws
the twenty dead slaves out of the chamber while the rest
of the tribe goes into a feeding frenzy. Characters who
can understand Aquan can tell that the dead ones are
an offering for The One Who Must Be Fed – whoever
that may be. While the sahuagin are preoccupied
with devouring their grisly dinner, they suffer a –4
circumstance penalty on all Spot and Listen checks.
Once the feasting is finished, the bones are dropped to
the cave floor and the sea devils return to their stations.
The Player Characters can search the noisome remains
if they wish but they find nothing of value no matter
how long they search. All valuables are removed and
offered to the One.
6. The Sacrifi ce Pit
This domed cavern is cleaner than any other you have
encountered so far. There are no plants growing at all;
the rock is bare and seems almost polished. On the floor
in the chamber’s centre is a huge irregular disc, ten feet
across, which seems to have been hacked from wooden
planks and then had pieces of metal plate nailed across
it, like a jerry-built shield for a titan. Four stout iron
chains run from the disc through brackets in the cavern
floor, with pegs thrust through the chains to keep them
in place.
Any Player Character examining the arrangement
concludes that it would be easy to tug the restraining
pins out and thus lift the disc up. This configuration
is clearly supposed to keep something in the chamber
beneath safely contained.
Two sahuagin lacerators are on guard here. If they are
attacked, they call out for help, bringing Scathla down
from Room 8 and Render Seaclaw from Room 7.
7. Chamber of Armaments
The opening of this cave has been closed off with a
large rock. Moving it requires a Strength check (DC
20). The cave beyond is where Render Seaclaw keeps
the tribe’s weapons, mending broken ones and making
new ones from salvaged bits. This is crucial to the
tribe’s survival, as it is impossible to forge new weapons
underwater. He keeps the cave shut for privacy while he
is working, not because he fears theft. No sahuagin in
this lair would be that stupid.
This cave is littered with weapons in various stages of
repair. Someone has been cobbling together the pieces
of broken weapons into makeshift tridents. In the room’s
centre is a depression, with several grey rocks in it.
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8