Tied up to the northwest side of the far
end of the pier is the
Water Dragon, the
slave lords’
private galley. It is being readied
for immediate departure. A score of bedraggled
islanders cluster halfway out on the
pier, too frightened of the slave lords
and
their minions to advance any further. Near
the end of the pier 3 guards warily eye
the mob. One is an ogre
in a suit of banded
mail,
the other two are sergeants of the slave
lords’ troops.
Beyond these guards, 14 men
are loading
and preparing the boat <galley>. 8 of
these are
men-at-arms; the other 6 are slave
lords
(see below). The map of this area shows
the <link> <link>
starting positions of the guards and the
slave lords. The remaining slave lords
are
either dead or missing.
Ogre: AC 2;
MV 9"; HD 4+1; hp 20;
#AT 1; D 3-12 with 2-handed
sword
THACO 15
XP 190
Sergeants (2 Warriors):
AC 4;
MV 6"; hp 12, 9; #AT 3/2; D <1-8+2>
with long swords.
THACO 18
XP 104, 95
Men-at-arms (8 0-level fighters):
AC 7;
MV 9"; hp 5 each; #AT 1; D 1-8 with
long
swords
THACO 20n1
XP 10 each
If the party approaches the end of the pier
(including by swimming--the
guards are
watching the water
very closely for lacedons),
the slave lords
order their men-atarms
to back up the guards at the 1st sign
of trouble. At the 1st indication
that the
characters are more than just an ill-assorted
crowd of mercenaries,
the slave lords recognize
them && immediately spring
into coordinated
action.
The E.H.P., Stalman
Klim, will
CAST offensive spells from the bow of the
boat for as long as possible, and then
he will
leap to the attack. He will start by trying
to
silence
any spell-casters among his opponents.
He may command
enemies near the
edge of the pier or boat to dive.
In a pouch <link = boat>
at his belt, carefully wrapped up, is a
jeweled
idol of The Earth
Dragon
worth 4,000
gp.
The half-orc..fighter/assassin,
Theg
Narlot, will wade right into the heart
of the
battle, trusting to his combat
ability to
carry him through. He will shout
&&
charge,
trying to attract attention away
from the slave
lord spell-casters and the
thief. Theg
is wearing leather armor and a
<medium> shield. In a <large>
pouch at his belt are 50 pp and a
diamond
worth 1,000 gp (this is his ”emergency
escape fund pouch). Also in his
belt
is a scroll listing all of the slave
lords agents
among the lords of the Gearnat
AREA, and an
order for the assassination
of all the relatives
of the adventurers that can be found.
The order is signed by Edralve.
The drow fighter/cleric,
Edralve,
is still
1 of The Nine,
despite the testimony of the
PCs. She has powerful connections,
explained in Queen
of the Spiders,
and Stalman’s
evidence has yet to be examined
by these superiors. She knows, however,
what he has done and may use this
battle as an excuse to be rid of him. Thus,
she will do nothing to come to his aid,
unless
it would cost her own life not to.
Still, the PCs are an immediate
threat, so she will try to silence
opponent
spell-casters. She will then try to cast
levitate
on the enemy’s best fighter and raise
him or her 20 feet into the air.
She will then
JOIN the melee.
If at all possible, she will use
her charm to urge the PCs into
attacking their mutual enemy. In a pocket
she has 5 Drow brooches, each worth 500
gp.
The illusionist,
Lamonsten,
will CAST hypnotic
pattern
at the party. He will SAVE his
fear spell
until he has a clear shot at the
party without hitting his allies.
In a water proof case on Lamonsten’s
back is a deed to mining
rights in the hills
near Hardby, worth 1,200 gp, and his spell
book, which contains the fallowing spells:
1st level: change
self, detect illusion,
detect
invisibility, hypnotism, phantasmal
force,
wall
of fog.
2nd level: detect
magick, hypnotic pattern,
invisibility.
Third level: dispel illusion, fear.
Fourth level: improved invisibility, phantasmal killer
The thief,
Slippery
Ketta, will immediately
dive
overboard and swim under the
dock, planning to climb
up behind the party
at the right moment and backstab
somebody.
Her normal chance to move
silently is
88%, but when wet this will decrease to
68% . She wears a pair of earrings worth
700
gp each and a jeweled dagger
worth 900 gp.
The monk,
Brother
Kerin, will leap to the
dock and into the fray, supporting Theg
Narlot. Brother Kerin is unarmed.
Brother
Kerin was 2nd-in-command
to Brother Milerjoi, and took his place
when
his superior died (either in the earthquake
or
in the fight where the characters were
captured,
depending on how the DM has
handled this). Brother Kerin is the representative
of the Scarlet
Brotherhood, which
helped finance and set up the slave
lords.
Brother Kerin (Master):
AC 6;
MV 20”; hp 21; #AT 3/2 (open hand); D
2-8; SD feign
death, immune to slow; S 15,
I 12, W 16, D 17, Con 16, Cha 10; Com 12;
AL LE
THACO 18
XP 518
<optional: give him +7 HP>
All of the slave
lords will FIGHT to the
death,
as they are in desperate straits and
they know it. Only these 6 have apparently
survived the earthquake
and the resultant
chaos. Most of them were wounded in
their flight to the docks, and the group’s
cure spells
were all expended in healing
some of their wounds. (The half-orc
and the
cleric
are still slightly wounded.) Several of
the illusionists’
spells were also used in fighting
their way to The
Water Dragon.
Most of the slave
lords’ riches and equipment
are buried under tons of rock, but they
did manage to grab some of the more valuable
items and bring them along. In a
locked
wooden chest at the stern of the galley
are
the following treasures:
a gold brooch with gems worth 3,000 gp.
a platinum ring
set with a fire opal worth
5,000 gp.
a gems-studded
ceremonial silver dagger
of the Earth Dragon
cult worth 1,100 gp
a scroll of drawings of the demons
of The
Abyss by
the great Drow artist Ool Eurts,
worth 900 gp.
a box of gems,
containing 21 moonstones (base
50 gp),
<50, 50, 100, 50, 100, 60, 100, 50, 65, 50, 50>
<45, 50, 10, 60, 50, 50, 16, 50, 10, 100>
<total: 1166>
10 pieces of jade (base 100 gp),
<120, 500, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 100, 60, 100>
<total: 1380>
5 white pearls
(base 100 gp),
<150, 100, 200, 200, 110>
<total: 760>
1 black pearl
(base 500 gp),
<total: 500>
a tourmaline (base 100 gp),
<total: 100>
an amethyst (base 100 gp),
<total: 200>
a topaz
(base 500 gp),
<total: 400>
and an emerald, (base 1,000 gp).
<total: 5000>
<total treasure value: 19,506 gp>
In addition, all of the equipment
taken
from the characters when they were captured
is stored below in the tiny
hold. It was
to be sent to the
coast to be identified, and
eventually sold. The equipment is stored
securely among other TRADE goods (these
goods are worth a total of 350 gp).
<Commodities, DMG>
Finally, also thrown in among the crates
is
the vial containing the cure the PCs
were originally supposed to deliver. It
is, as yet, still unopened and should retain
its potency.
>>I.