The Drow War Book Two. The Dying Of - RoseRed

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listeners than watchers, since there is nothing to see but
fog all around the ship.
At the points marked W on the map, a single sailor is
keeping watch. At the points marked LW, a lieutenant
is doing the same.
1. Siege Machinery
These huge catapults look like they belong on a castle’s
battlements, not the deck of a monster ship. The iron
spheres stacked next to them on a brass frame are
obviously ammunition. Next to these, there is a strange
hybrid of metal cradle and brazier, presumably for the
spheres to sit in.
A Player Character who examines the catapults and
succeeds at a Craft (carpentry) or Profession (siege
engineer) check (DC 20) concludes that these weapons
have rarely, if ever, been fired. The brazier device is for
heating up the iron balls until they are red-hot, at which
point they are launched at enemy ships to set them on
fire.
2. Ship’s Wheel
A ship’s wheel is mounted here. It is strange to think
that something so small can steer something so vast.
A locked bracket holds the wheel in place. Set in the
wheel’s centre is a metal cup-like depression.
The bracket is to prevent children and drunkards from
meddling with the wheel. It can be removed with an
Open Lock check (DC 30). A Player Character who
wants to sabotage the wheel can do so with a Disable
Device check (DC 20). The metal object is a speaking
tube, allowing the sailor at the wheel to communicate
with the witching tower and the engine room (see
below).
3. Beast Bellower
At this point on the deck, you find a structure like a
large brass trumpet on a metal tripod. The flared end
is around ten feet across. Pipes lead from it through the
deck. On one side of the foghorn-like device is a pull
cord, and on the other is a lever that has four different
settings.
This device is for scaring away sea monsters. It
uses pressurised steam and a selection of different
mechanical ‘voice boxes’ to emit sounds that are almost
identical to the roars of various sea beasts. The four
settings are ‘dragon’, ‘sea serpent’, ‘longneck’ and ‘sea
cat’. Setting the left-hand lever to the appropriate noise
and then pulling the cord causes the appropriate roar to
burst from the brass trumpet. A ‘longneck’ is the term
the Sea Harriers give to the elasmosaurus.
If the Player Characters activate this, all the Sea Harriers
on the deck will come up to see who is messing with the
device, since no order to sound it was given.
4. The Great Shaft
This is where the hatchway gives access to the interior
of the ship. You guess that the crane nearby is for lifting
cargo. It is large enough to manage a whale carcass
easily.
The hatchway is not locked but opening it will create
a lot of noise. The Player Characters can attempt to
open it quietly, which will take a Move Silently check
(–8 circumstance penalty). Nobody is supposed to be
unloading right now, so the guards will investigate if
they hear the hatch open.
The shaft below drops down through all the levels,
ending in the hold. Ships load and unload all the time,
so nobody below will care if the hatch opens. However,
Player Characters who lower themselves down it will be
seen unless they use magic, as the staircase around the
shaft is a high-traffic area.
B. Upper Forecastle
This is the holiest part of the ship. Nobody is allowed
to visit any room here without ritually bathing and
anointing himself first. Player Characters who are
caught here are blaspheming as well as trespassing.
1. Revered Reliquaries
As soon as you enter this area, you smell tar, salt and
something very similar to dried pork sausage. A silver
lamp on chains hangs from the ceiling, burning with
a low flame. Underfoot is a fine red carpet in perfect
condition. The room is octagonal. In each direction,
except for the door by which you entered, there is a glass
panel from floor to ceiling, cloudy on the inside from
dust and time. On the carpet in front of each panel is a
metal plate and in front of that is a rolled-up scroll.
Behind the panels are mummified human remains sitting
on chairs. They wear the gaudy clothes of Sea Harriers
and are decked with jewels and gold chains. Between
the skeletal feet of each one sits a little black coffer, like
a miniature treasure chest.
These are the revered ancestors of the Sea Harriers,
amma hadraki who have led the clan in centuries past
and now watch over them in death. They have chosen
to remain on board the ship instead of returning to the
Ibon Presno Gonzalez (order #73006) 8