The winds favor the characters on their return journey, and they arrive at the sunken ruins of
Flora Isle at dawn on the third day of travel. When the characters arrive at
Palma Flora and the Sharkfeather Abyss, read:
| Heidi Axebeard shouts out from the helm. “Sharkfeather Abyss! We’ve arrived!” |
The crew moves to the starboard side of the ship to look across the waves as the first light of dawn creeps over the horizon. Along the distant coast, you can make out the mainland section of
Palma Flora, which is intact but appears deserted, its residents presumably having fled in case of another
Sahuagin attack. The waters around the ship are murky and marked by only a few stray scraps of driftwood bobbing lazily on the surface.
If any of the characters have a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 15 or higher, also read:
| You spot movement out of the corner of your eye. Something is climbing aboard the ship from the port side—a small party of Sahuagin! Close behind them are two hulking, shark-headed humanoids. |
These monsters attack at once. If no one notices the eight
Sahuagin and two sharkbody abominations (see “
Sharkbody Abomination”) as they clamber aboard
Wavechaser, they surprise the characters and the crew. As with the previous encounter, you can streamline this encounter by having some of the
Sahuagin engage the crew of Wavechaser one-on-one.
Combat’s End
The
Sahuagin leap overboard and flee into the sea when the first of the
Abominations is killed. As they flee,
Three Earrings emerges from below decks and shouts, “Adventurers! Use the supplies we’ve acquired and follow them into the trench! We’ll deal with the last of these monsters!”
If the characters ignore the order, or if they kill all the
Sahuagin before killing the first
Abomination,
Three Earrings instead congratulates the adventurers after the battle. She laments that there aren’t enough water-breathing tools for her to join them and urges them to bring her the
Rod of Retribution from the
Sahuagin leader.
Descent into Sharkfeather Abyss
An earthquake caused by the writhing of
Uk'otoa deep beneath the sea has drawn
Flora Isle into the trench the
Sahuagin call home. The now-ruined island is lodged within a tight corner of the trench one hundred feet below the surface of the sea.
Diving into the depths of the trench is difficult but not impossible for heroic adventurers. Ask each character to make a DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. On a success, the character dives down to the ruins without strain. On a failure, the character makes the dive but gains one level of exhaustion (see appendix A, “Conditions,” in the Player’s Handbook).
Features of the Ruins
The sunken ruins of
Flora Isle have the following general features.
- Light - The trench is within the sunlight zone beneath the surface of the water and is brightly lit by day.
- Water - The deep, turbulent water of the trench makes movement difficult for creatures not used to it. A creature without a swimming speed must spend 2 feet of movement for every 1 foot it moves. Additionally, it must succeed on a DC 10 Strength (Athletics) check whenever it tries to move or have its speed reduced to 0 until the start of its next turn. The sahuagin can move normally in the trench.
Showdown with Selachai
Once the characters arrive at the ruins, read:
| What remains of the sunken island is wedged precariously in the undersea trench. The skeletal frames of its houses still stand, and the gruesome remains of villagers are strewn about.
Five Sahuagin flanked by several of the Shark-like Abominations you fought earlier kneel within the ruins before a Sahuagin wearing a magnificent headdress. This figure is chanting something in an unknown language and holds aloft a gleaming scepter tipped with a glowing amber eye. |
Two
Sharkbody Abominations and five
Sahuagin are gathered around
Selachai, the Sahuagin warlock of Uk’otoa who has channeled the power to destroy the hated surface dwellers. These creatures are all lending
Selachai their prayers as she invokes
Uk'otoa's power, turning another drowned villager into a
Sharkbody Abomination.
As soon as combat begins,
Selachai orders her
Sahuagin supplicants to protect her. However, none of them move to attack. Instead, they stand 20 feet back from her, still kneeling, intent on giving up their lives to protect her.
Selachai orders the
Sharkbody Abominations to put the characters out of commission.
Selachai waits until one
Sharkbody Abomination is dead before she acts in combat, unless she is attacked first. A character who succeeds on a DC 13 Wisdom (Insight) check can infer that she is watching as if to measure the characters’ capabilities. Once she enters combat,
Selachai fights to incapacitate the characters, not to kill them. If any character is reduced to 0 hit points by a melee attack, that character is knocked unconscious rather than being killed. An unconscious character is stable and doesn’t need to make death saving throws.
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