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BUSINESS OF THE VLADAAM SLAVE WAREHOUSE

This collection of posted bills records recent sales and transfers of inventory through the lower warehouse. A sampling of entries include items such as:

• Elven maid, 78 years of age, permanently dominated to any compliance
• Four dwarf workers, dim-witted but strong in thew
• Female child, of island stock
• Boy of sixteen, tongue removed, docile

Most of these slaves are being shipped to an “Ennin slave market” which is apparently located in the Undercity “beneath Delver’s Square” (the slaves are being transported via the sewers). Slaves are also being shipped to three “curse dens” located around the city:

• Curse Den – Guildsman District – Nethar Street
• Curse Den – Oldtown – Yarrow Street
• Curse Den – Rivergate – Outer Ring Row

In addition to slaves, large shipments of something referred to as “liquid pain” are also being shipped to the curse dens from here.

One particular reference of note identifies a batch of slaves as being “held at the behest of the Pactlords”.  Another says that a slave is to be sent “directly to Tridam Island by command of the Pactlord”.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE APPARATUS OF LIQUID PAIN

Detailed anatomical diagrams and accompanying texts explicate the points on the human body to which various tubes, syringes, and metallic attachments are to be placed (while others are stimulated through the use of acupuncture needles, including several needles placed into the optic nerves). The goal is to create “overlapping resonances of agony”, serving as the raw catalyst for withdrawing a substance referred to as “liquid pain” or “agony”.

The full process requires the use of a complicated apparatus capable of generating a “sympathetic resonance” which can be contained within glass cylinders crafted with exact precision.

In addition, the properties of the resulting “liquid pain” are detailed, along with alchemical instructions for how it can be purified and “stabilized”.

AGONY: Also known as “liquid pain”, this thick, reddish liquid is the distilled essence of pain, captured using special spells or items. It is highly sought after by outsiders. Through an alchemical law of antagonism it creates a feeling of intense pleasure in addition to its other effects. Recreational users use small, ceremonial knives to cut themselves and deliver the drug.

A MISSIVE REGARDING SLAVES

Guildmaster Arzan tells me you have a sharp eye. I expect you to practice it now. We are conducting crucial experiments in the apartments on Crossing Street and are in need of experimental stock. We are particularly in need of those with an affinity for metamorphic compounds while also possessing the physical endurance to withstand the experimental techniques. If you observe any such during your service, flag them to my attention immediately.

LETTER TO GUILDMASTER ARZAN

To Arzan, the most illustrious Guildmaster of the Red Company of Magi—

I have recently had an item of most potent power pass into my possession.

While slipping through the Teeth of Light after sailing north towards Trollone, we were blown off course by a strange tempest of silver and black which first seemed to roil the waters beneath us before emerging – or, perhaps more accurately, whipping forth – in what could only be described as a violent evaporation.

I was not certain that the Sarathyn’s Sail would survive the strange gales which ensued, nor the strange manifestations which occurred therein. As for those of my crew who simply vanished during the storm… I pray that they were merely swept into the sea and met their fates in a watery grave, for the alternative is too disturbing to contemplate.

When the storm finally released us from its grasp, we were in ill condition. Fortunately, we found ourselves near a small island with a hospitable cove. We were able to limp our way into this and begin effecting repairs.

While these efforts were under way, I led a small band of men into the island’s interior in search of a fresh water well or spring from which we could resupply. Instead, we stumbled upon a set of cyclopean ruins. These were marked by a great number of carvings, bas reliefs, and statues depicting serpents and, within the deeper recesses of the complex, serpent-headed men.

With dusk closing about us, we returned to the ship, but I vowed to return the next day and continue our explorations. It was at this juncture that the first of my men disappeared. At the time we thought it simply misadventure, but subsequent events would prove this not to be the case.

Returning to the ruins the next day, however, we pushed further into the lower chambers. Within one of these chambers I discovered, among other treasures, a curious ring in the the shape of twin serpents, one of mithril and other of taurum, swallowing each others’ tails. We have been able to ascertain that not only is the ring itself magical, but that it has been constructed to contain some even greater magical enchantment. It is for this reason that I am sending it into your care, in the hopes that perhaps your Red Magi might be able to unlock its secrets.

As for the ruins themselves, it emerged that the serpent-men who had constructed them had not entirely abandoned them. Instead, they appear to have withdrawn into caverns even deeper beneath the island. I suspect that they return to the upper caverns only as a kind of holy pilgrimage. As for what other secrets or lost lore they might be concealing, or what cataclysm precipitated their withdrawal from the sunlit world, I can only speculate.

Yours sincerely,

Captain Crotika

LETTER FROM THE FOUNDER’S GUILD TO CAPTAIN MORSUL

Captain Morsul—

Please accept this hellsbreath rifle, so recently liberated from the Shuul, as a token of good faith from the Founder’s Guild.

You will find it to be a powerful and potent weapon, but extremely dangerous if carelessly used. When priming the gunpowder pump, great care must be taken not to over-pressurize the reservoir of alchemist’s fire. If the reservoir becomes over-pressurized there is a great risk of a back-blast being triggered which can destroy the weapon entirely (and cause great harm to the one wielding it).

Similar caution should also be used when refilling the reservoir, as there can be great risk in the moments during which the alchemist’s fire is exposed to raw air.

Master Astrek
Red Company of Founders
Brass Street

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Beneath its charming exterior, the Eye of the East is a charnel horror of death and despair.

CAPTAIN MORSUL: Captain Morsul is a minotaur vampire, infected during a voyage through the Serpent’s Teeth. Use the stats for a vampire nightbringer (MM 2024, p. 316) with the following traits:

• Strength 18 (+4)
• Languages: Common, Abyssal
• Charge. If Morsul moves at least 10 feet straight toward a target and then hits with a gore attack on the same turn, the target takes an extra 9 (2d8) piercing damage. If the target is a creature, it must succeed on a DC 14 Strength saving throw or be pushed up to 10 feet away and knocked prone.
• Labyrinthine Recall. Morsul can perfectly recall any path he has traveled.
• Reckless. At the start of his turn, Morsul can gain advantage on all melee attack rolls he makes during that turn, but attack rolls against him have advantage until the start of his next turn.
• Multiattack. Captain Morsul makes one Bite attack, one Shadowstrike attack, and one Gore attack.
• Gore. Melee Attack Roll: +6 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 13 (2d8+4) piercing damage.

VAMPIRE SPAWN: There are 1d4+1 vampire spawn on the Eye of the East. (Morsul creates them from slaves and mutinous crew members, then has them periodically fight in survival-of-the-fittest deathmatches for the entertainment of the crew.)

SHIP MAP: Elven Tower’s Scorpion Ship battlemap. (Minor alterations.)

AREA 1 – MAIN DECK

A fairly typical, double-masted ship’s deck.

CARGO HATCH: A clever device allows a shutter, operable from below, to be drawn across the cargo hatches and cover the grating. (This is unusual, but can both hide the slaves in the cargo bay and protect the ship’s vampires from sunlight.)

AREA 2 – BALLISTAS

The upper deck ballistas are mounted on swivels.

SEARCH — DC 10 Wisdom (Perception): 6 of the bolts at each ballista tipped with alchemist’s fire.

ALCHEMIST’S FIRE BOLTS: 3d10 piercing damage. Target takes 1d10 fire damage at the start of each of their turns.

• GM Background: These bolts are sourced from the Alchemical Lab — Shadowworks.

AREA 3 – CREW QUARTERS

This compartment is filled with crisscrossing hammocks. Additional bed rolls are spread uncomfortably on the floor.

SECURE DOOR: The door to Area 5 is steel-cored and securely locked.

• AC 19, 40 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 4 – STORAGE & CREW

Ship’s stores are kept here. Because Area 3 is too crowded for all of the crew to sleep there, several additional hammocks are also hung high here above the stores.

AREA 5 – SECURE HOLD

This compartment is used to store high-value or sensitive cargo. The ship’s anchor is also operated from here.

AREA 6 – VLADAAM MAGE’S QUARTERS

Makena, the Vladaam Mage assigned to the ship, keeps her quarters here. Their personal belongings include their spellbook, a potion of superior healing, and a djinni’s lamp.

HADIYA THE DJINN: The djinni in the lamp is Hadiya. Makena has come to consider Hadiya her best friend and will spend hours in her quarters just chatting with her. Hadiya, however, yearns for freedom from her imprisonment.

AREA 7 – CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

The portholes of this aft cabin are draped with thick, black velvet curtains which have been securely fastened and block out all light. An everburning lamp is built into the desk and casts long, dancing shadows around the compartment.

BED: Concealed beneath the bed is a coffin of mahogany inlaid with jet (worth 3,000 gp).

DESK: On the desk is a box of red jade containing three onyxes each painted with a dragon’s head. (The box is worth 750 gp. Each onyx is worth 75 gp.) Also on the desk is a Letter from the Founder’s Guild to Captain Morsul (see handouts).

AREA 8 – SLAVE HOLD

Dozens of shackles are attached to the walls and to long metal bars running along the floor.

AREA 9 – VAMPIRE SPAWN QUARTERS

These rooms are used by the vampire spawn. The bedclothes are soiled and smeared with blood and filth.

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Named after Myliesha, an elven goddess of the wind (Ptolus, p. 73), the Myliesh’a Sail is the smallest vessel in the Fleet of Iron Sails. It’s notable for being the only ship in the fleet not armed with cannon or ballista. The absence of ship weaponry allows the Sail to avoid inspections at certain foreign ports, making it easier for them to engage in smuggling, slave-trade, and other illicit activities.

CAPTAIN CROTIKA: Use stats for pirate captain (MM 2024, p. 242).

SHIP’S MAP: Fat Goblin Games’ Simple Ship battlemap.

AREA 1 – MAIN DECK

The deck is well-scrubbed and kept in good order. Despite this, a large, black stain extends from the cargo hatch and runs for several feet across the deck. (Anyone watching onboard activity will notice that crewmembers avoid stepping on the stain.)

STAIN: Careful inspection notes that there are small arcane runes carved into the surface of the stain. Anyone stepping on the stain is must make a DC 12 Wisdom saving throw or be affected as per bestow curse.

DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana): The stain is from a blood curse. Someone cursed their own blood and then spilt it upon the deck in order to place a curse upon the Myliesha’s Sail. (GM Note: This was a lizardman witch who was being transported as a slave.)

DC 18 Intelligence (Arcana): The arcane runes are designed to seal in the curse. This prevents it from affecting the ship, but it would still be a good idea to avoid stepping on it.

CARGO HATCH: The cargo hatch is secured with a pair of hefty padlocks.

• AC 19, 7 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 2 – THE WHEEL

The wheel is coated with dragon bile (contact poison, DC 20 Constitution saving throw, 5d6 poison damage (half on save), and disadvantage on Strength checks). Crewmembers know to wear gloves while steering the ship.

AREA 3 – CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

TABLE: On the table is a small mahogany box containing a ring of counterspells (a serpent of mithril and a serpent of taurum, the true gold, swallowing each other’s tails) and Letter to Guildmaster Arzan (see handouts).

Ring of Counterspells (rare, requires attunement)

This ring might seem like a ring of spell storing upon first examination. However, while it allows a single spell of 1^st through 5^th level to be cast into it, that spell cannot be cast out of the ring again. Instead, should that spell ever be cast upon the wearer, the spell is immediately countered, as if per a counterspell. If a counterspell is casting into the ring, it can be used to counter any spell, as per the spell.

Once used, the spell cast within the ring is gone. A new spell (or the same one as before) may be placed in it again.

GM Background: This ring was recovered from ruins in the Serpent’s Teeth. It currently contains a gate seal spell and it’s possible the Red Magi might be able to research the spell by studying the ring. (The gate seal spell can be found in Planescape: Sigil and the Outlands.)

IRON COFFER: 465 gp, 79 pp, potion of blur

• Lock: DC 16 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 4 – SHIP SUPPLIES & ARMORY

In addition to hard tack, barrels of water, rope, and other necessary supplies, this room contains an unusual number of weapons:

• scimitars & dragon pistols (Ptolus, p. 522), enough to arm the sailors
• dragon rifles (Ptolus, p. 522) to arm the Advanced Vladaam Guards

AREA 5 – VLADAAM MAGE’S QUARTERS

The Vladaam Mage assigned to the ship keeps their quarters here. Their personal belongings include their spellbook, a potion of superior healing, and a shield of missile attraction (that they’re studying).

AREA 6 – CREW QUARTERS

This chamber is filled with crisscrossing hammocks and where most of the crew sleep.

DOOR: The door leading to the hold is steel-cored and securely locked.

• AC 19, 40 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 7 – HOLD

Although Myliesha’s Sail transports slaves, they usually carry no more than a half load, and often much less than that.

Greater effort is made to keep the hold well maintained and cleaned (with the Vladaam Mages using prestidigitation spells, among other measures), making it easier for the ship to fulfill its role as a smuggler when the hold is used for mundane goods (or seemingly mundane goods).

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The Pride of Morrain is named after a former scion of House Vladaam. Morrain was arrested for piracy during the War of Black Sails, escaped from the gallows in Trolone, and returned to Ptolus before being killed by Freeport assassins (who had been sent by a powerful pirate captain whose daughter Morrain had raped and murdered).

The prow of the ship is fashioned to resemble the head of a red dragon. The crew of the ship will tell tales of how the cunningly crafted wooden head contains the mummified heart of a dragon slain by Morrain himself. It’s possible that many or all of them actually believe this tale, but it’s not true.

CAPTAIN BOASTIA: Use stats for pirate captain (MM 2024, p. 242).

SHIP’S MAP: The map of the Pride of Morrain is based on the Duskbringer battlemap published by Elven Tower. The original map can be found here, but the version seen above has been heavily modified. Patrons of the Alexandrian have exclusive access to a high-resolution version of the modified map, suitable for printing or VTTs.

AREA 1 – THE WHEEL

The brass wheel of the ship has a plaque attached to it, explaining that it was taken from the original Pride of Morrain and was wielded by the hand of Prince Morrain during the War of Black Sails.

AREA 2 – MAIN DECK

At first glance, a fairly typical ship’s deck.

AFT DOOR: The aft door, leading below decks, is surprisingly sturdy and can be secured with two locks and a bar from the outside. (This is a final defensive measure against the potential of slave uprising.)

• AC 19, 40 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

CARGO HATCH: Similarly, the cargo hatch is secured with a pair of hefty padlocks.

• AC 19, 7 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 3 – BALLISTAS

The upper deck ballistas are mounted on swivels.

SEARCH — DC 10 Wisdom (Perception): 6 of the bolts at each ballista tipped with alchemist’s fire.

• DC 14 Intelligence (Wisdom): To find a slip of paper under the alchemist’s fire bolts at the prow of the ship billing for various supplies which were delivered to an address on Wayfarer’s Street. (This address belongs to Alchemical Lab — Shadowworks, which created the fire bolts.)

ALCHEMIST’S FIRE BOLTS: 3d10 piercing damage. Target takes 1d10 fire damage at the start of each of their turns.

AREA 4 – GRAPPLER BALLISTA

The lower ballista is secreted within the open mouth of the ship’s red dragon prow. The bolts shot by this ballista are tethered and a powerful, steam-powered mechanism under the deck can be used to drag pinioned ships into boarding range.

AREA 5 – SUPPLIES & ARMORY

In addition to hard tack, barrels of water, rope, and other necessary supplies, this room contains an unusual number of weapons:

• scimitars & dragon pistols (Ptolus, p. 522), enough to arm the sailors
• dragon rifles (Ptolus, p. 522) to arm the Advanced Vladaam Guards

STAIR DOORS: The doors at the bottom of the stairs are steel-cored and securely locked.

• AC 19, 40 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 6 – WATER PURIFIER

A technomantic device in this compartment siphons ocean water and purifies it for human consumption… but only imperfectly. The result is potable, but still has a slightly salty and unpleasant aftertaste. It’s good enough for the slaves, though.

SIGIL: The device is marked with the Vladaam alchemy sigil:

AREA 7 – UPPER HOLD

The upper hold generally contains mundane cargo.

CARGO HATCHES: Cargo hatches lead to both the upper deck (Area 2) and the slave hold below (Area 12). Both are secured from above with a pair of hefty padlocks unless in use.

• AC 19, 7 hp, DC 18 Dexterity (Thieves’ Tools)

AREA 8 – CREW QUARTERS

These chambers are filled with crisscrossing hammocks and where most of the crew sleep.

AREA 9 – VLADAAM MAGE’S QUARTERS

The Vladaam Mage assigned to the ship keeps their quarters here. Their personal belongings include their spellbook and A Missive Regarding Slaves (see handouts).

• GM’s Background: The sigil on the missive belongs to Aliaster Vladaam.

AREA 10 – SLAVE CELLS

These cabins are secured with locks from the outside and have been outfitted to secure rare and valuable slaves. They are generally empty, but there’s a 10% chance of occupation for each cell, in which case roll 1d8 to determine the CR of the inhabitant and use a random encounter table of your choice to determine who/what it is.

AREA 11 – CAPTAIN’S QUARTERS

Captain Boastia gets an actual bed! It’s nothing too fancy, but it’s pleasant enough.

The captain’s logs can be used to reconstruct the frequency and number of slaves being transported by the Pride of Morrain.

AREA 12 – SLAVE HOLD

The Vladaam Mages assigned to these ships regularly cast prestidigitation to clean out the holds, but it’s not enough to purge the sickening stench that clings to the slave holds – a mix of filth, excrement, blood, and putrescence.

GM Note: If the Pride of Morrain is not currently hauling slaves, this cargo hold may be converted to hold additional goods.

AREA 13 – LOWER HOLD

This area is generally used for standard trade goods and cheap rations for the slaves. If the ship is carrying a particularly large full load of slaves, the overflow may also be held in here.

AREA 14 – OFFICER’S MESS

Close inspection reveals that the officer’s mess is covered in a thin layer of dust, suggesting that it’s rarely used. The close proximity to the slave hold has rendered the mess an unpleasant place.

GM Note: There have been some discussions of converting the space into additional cargo space, but Captain Boastia has been hesitant to abandon the tradition.

Next: Vladaam Slave Ship – Myliesha’s Sail

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The Vladaam drug-running operations are woven through their deot and, thus, throughout The Vladaam Affair. This brief summary is designed to tie these disparate elements together, providing both an overview for the GM and some basic guidance if the PCs decide to pursue these leads.

Note: The drug trade also offers myriad opportunities for PCs to get involved with The Vladaam Affair for the first time. Addicts and dealers can be found throughout the city and in every walk of life, making it easy to drop clues into almost any scenario.

DRUGS HANDLED BY THE VLADAAMS

The Vladaam drug trade focuses on three specific drugs:

• Abyss Dust
• Snakeweed
• Liquid Pain (Agony)

ABYSS DUST: Abyss dust is alchemically distilled from snakeweed (see below), although few associate the innocuous effects of snakeweed with this powerful narcotic. Abyss dust looks like ashes, with a rich black and gray color. It is administered through inhalation or smoking. Some hardcore users like to mix their abyss dust with snakeweed, claiming the snakeweed “takes the edge off” of some of the more extreme hallucinations.

LIQUID PAIN: This thickish red liquid, also known as Agony, liquid pain is distilled from the living pain of tortured souls. Through an alchemical law of antagonism it creates a feeling of intense pleasure in addition to its other effects. Recreational users use small, ceremonial knives to cut themselves and deliver the drug. It’s said that the recipe was perfected by demons and stolen from them by a Dark Warrior. (Who may, or may not have been a member of House Vladaam.) It is difficult to say how much truth there is in such tales, as opposed to salesmanship.

SNAKEWEED: The sunburst flower is found growing in many ancient ruins throughout the Serpent Islands. The trances produced by smoking the dried leaves and flowers of the plant became a popular, casual intoxication among the pirates of Freeport and spread to ports throughout the Whitewind Sea. When dried, the stuff is simply called snakeweed by most, and while it can be psychologically addictive it is relatively harmless by itself. When smoked, snakeweed produces a feeling of serene calm, a deadening of pain, and slight euphoria. Heavy doses produce an incapacitating euphoric stupor, and sometimes inspire dreams of shadowy, serpentine forms and vast cities beneath the waves. In Freeport, it is commonly used by the poorer citizens and sailors as an escape from the drudgeries of everyday life.

See Appendix: 5E Drugs for the mechanical details of these drugs.

SOURCES

• Abyss Dust and Snakeweed are purchased in Freeport.
• Liquid Pain is manufactured at the Vladaam Slave Warehouse (Part 16).

RUNNERS

FLEET OF IRON SAILS: The Fleet of Iron Sails (Part 9) smuggle abyss weed and snakeweed out of Freeport.

SURVEYOR APPRENTICES: The apprentices of the Red Company of Surveyors (Part 14), are used to run drugs. Small quantities or secret messages can be placed within the hollow rachis (stems) of their diamond-feathered badges.

SPICE SHIPMENTS: It’s not unusual to mix illegal drugs into shipments of legitimate spices, take the cargo to the Spice Market, and then separate out the illegal drug.

RECIPIENTS

In Ptolus, the Vladaams deliver drugs to both their own Curse Dens (Part 8) and independent dealers.

INDEPENDENT DEALERS:

• Skull & Sword (Guildsman District; Ptolus, p. 180)
• Spice Market (South Market; Ptolus, p. 340)
• Dark Market (Midtown — Undercity; Ptolus, p. 399)
• Vistor Krun (Warrens; Ptolus, p. 381)

TRACKING

If the PCs want to gather information on the Vladaam’s drug trade or put drug-related facilities under surveillance, there are two likely discoveries.

First, runners carrying drugs can be observed coming from any ship in the Fleet of Iron Sails. They can be followed to either the Rivergate curse den or one of the independent dealers listed above.

GM Note: These drugs are taken to the curse den in Rivergate and then distributed to the other curse dens from there.

Second, drug runners can be observed leaving the Vladaam Salve Warehouse and going to a curse den. (1 in 4 chance per day of a drug runner. Determine which curse den they’re heading to randomly.)

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