19. The Gilded Shackle - Chapel of Zilchus

Chapel of Zilchus, serving as a front for financial manipulation and clandestine business dealings. High Priest Jereader Zomawyn saw the potential of Nulb’s lawless economy and, under the guise of pious devotion to Zilchus , established this chapel to profit from the pirates, smugglers, and bandits that operate within the village.

The locals, bandits, and smugglers of Nulb wouldn’t call this place something holy or respectable. To them, it’s “The Gilded Shackle”—a name whispered with both respect and resentment. It represents both wealth and servitude, a golden noose that tightens around anyone who dares to take its coin.

More than just a place of worship, the chapel functions as a hub for black market transactions, money laundering, and discreet financial services. While some genuinely worship Zilchus, most of the chapel’s business involves securing loans, contracts, and secret trade agreements between Nulb’s factions and powerful merchant interests from Dyvers, Free Lands of , Greyhawk, and beyond.

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The Chapel of Zilchus

A Beacon of Wealth in a Village of Poverty

Description

Located near the heart of Nulb, the Chapel of Zilchus is a stark contrast to the crumbling buildings and filth that surround it.

• Structure: A weather-worn wooden building, its facade repaired with sections of fine Dyvers stone.
• Exterior Symbolism: A gold-trimmed sign bearing Zilchus’ symbol—hands clutching a bag of gold—sits above the main entrance.
• Interior Splendor: Inside, the main chamber is adorned with bronze candelabras, polished wooden floors, and a modest altar of silver and gold, a mockery of piety meant to lure in merchants and nobles.
• The Back Office: Behind the chapel lies a hidden chamber, where loans, black-market deals, and money laundering are arranged.
• The Vault: Beneath the chapel is a reinforced vault, where gold, valuables, and contracts of debt are stored under heavy guard.

“Zilchus does not favor the weak. He blesses those who take what they are owed and crush those who would steal from them.”

— Kasper

The Political & Criminal Web of the Chapel

Temple of Elemental Evil

• The chapel provides financial support to the Temple’s agents, ensuring their operations remain liquid.
• Zomawyn ensures gold and goods flow in secrecy, obscuring where funds originate.
• Lucius Graeme occasionally passes orders through the chapel, making it a financial conduit for the Temple.

Lady Nysera & The Iron Talons

• Zomawyn advises Lady Nysera Krivaltis on financial matters, ensuring her rule is profitable.
• Iron Talons: The Men of the Baroness use the chapel’s services for laundering bribes, extortion profits, and slave sales.
• A subtle power struggle exists, as Zomawyn aims to exert influence over Nysera’s holdings.

The Inns & The Smuggling Network

• 1. Waterside Hostel of Nulb serve as meeting places for criminals using the chapel’s services.
• Captain Marad Vesrek ’s pirates use the chapel to launder plundered goods into legitimate trade.

“No man walks free of his debts, not in this life or the next. If you owe Zilchus, you owe forever.”

The Flow of Coin – Financing the Temple’s Rise

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Im a BIG SECRET
Such a big secret
Why cant I format this????

The Black Fund

War Chest of the Temple

High Priest Jereader Zomawyn isn’t just filling his own coffers—he’s building a hidden war chest to fund the Temple of Elemental Evil’s resurgence. Gold flows through The Gilded Shackle, washed clean through mercantile trickery before it finds its way into the hands of bandit lords, mercenaries, and cultists preparing for war.

• Coin for Bandits: Highwaymen and brigands operating in the Gnarley Forest are paid to disrupt trade routes, weakening Verbobonc’s economy while diverting stolen goods into the Temple’s hands.
• Coin for Pirates: River raiders receive financial backing to harass merchant ships, making the region dangerous for legitimate trade while bolstering the Temple’s naval assets.
• Coin for the Cult: Temple agents receive gifts of coin, supplies, and weapons, funneled through proxy merchants to avoid suspicion.
• Coin for Corruption: Gold bribes Verbobonc officials, mercenaries, and corrupt city guards, ensuring blind eyes are turned at the right moments.

The Debt Spiral

How the Gilded Shackle Enslaves Its Clients

Zomawyn doesn’t just hand out coin—he traps men in debt. Every pirate, brigand, and cultist who borrows from the chapel finds themselves bound by financial shackles just as strong as iron chains.

• Exorbitant Interest Rates: A loan of 100 gold pieces becomes 150 gp in two months.
• Contracts of Blood: Those who can’t pay in gold pay in service—often becoming killers or smugglers for the chapel’s purposes.
• The Unforgiven: If a debtor defaults, their family members or closest allies are forced to pay—or face retribution from the Debt Collectors.
• The Ledger of Power: Every name in the chapel’s books is a pawn in Zomawyn’s growing empire of influence.

The Temple’s Reinvestment

A Future Bathed in Gold and Blood

The Temple of Elemental Evil isn’t just rebuilding its armies—it’s securing an economic foothold. Through The Gilded Shackle, the Temple ensures that when war comes:

• The Bandits Are Ready: Paid and armed, the brigands will cut off trade routes, isolating Verbobonc from allies.
• The Pirates Have Their Orders: They’ll choke river trade, ensuring no supply lines feed Verbobonc’s war effort.
• The Cult Has Its Funds: When the time is right, coin will buy steel, and the Temple’s warriors will march on the Viscounty once more.

Final Thoughts
The Gilded Shackle isn’t just a place of business—it’s a machine of war disguised as a temple. It takes the greed of men and turns it into a weapon, ensuring that when the Temple of Elemental Evil rises again, it will be backed by a fortune in blood money.

“A tithe to Zilchus is a down payment on your own future. Pay wisely, and prosperity follows. Fail, and you’ll see what poverty truly means.”

— High Priest Jereader Zomawyn

DM-Only Section

The Secrets of The Chapel

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Adventure Hooks
“A Debt Unpaid”
- A desperate merchant owes the chapel a debt and pleads with the party to help.
- Zomawyn refuses to release the merchant, demanding full payment.
- Will the party negotiate, steal, or forcefully intervene?
“Ledger of Secrets”
- A powerful noble in Dyvers wants evidence of the chapel’s illegal dealings. The party must steal Gelder’s ledgers from the vault without being caught.
“Zomawyn’s Rival”
- A rival cleric of Zilchus in Dyvers wants Zomawyn removed for his corruption. Will the party aid a temple faction war or side with Zomawyn for profit?

Treasury of the Gilded Shackle

Wealth, Wards, and Warnings

The wealth hoarded within the Gilded Shackle is not simply currency—it is influence, debt, and power, carefully protected by ruthless security measures and divine enchantments. High Priest Jereader Zomawyn tolerates no thieves, and those who attempt to steal from Zilchus’ coffers will find their greed repaid with death or servitude.

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The Vault of Coin and Contracts

Iron Box – Daily Transactions Chest

• Used for day-to-day business and kept beneath the counter, hidden behind a false panel when not in use.
• Coins are pre-counted into stacks to speed transactions.
• Contains: 200 cp, 200 sp, 200 ep, and 200 gp.
• Security Feature: Box is engraved with Zilchus' Symbol of Prosperity—if stolen, the clerics can use Locate Object to track it down within 24 hours.

The Redwood Box

The High Priest’s Private Cache

• A redwood chest lined in black velvet, containing jewelry, gemstones, and high-value ornaments for bribes, tithes, and securing alliances.
• Contents:
• A diamond necklace with cascading gems of various sizes (5,000 gp).
• Twelve silver rings, each adorned with unique stones:
• 3 obsidian rings (10 gp each).
• 2 blue quartz rings (12 gp each).
• 1 pink rhodochrosite ring (15 gp).
• 2 bloodstone rings (50 gp each).
• 2 gold amethyst rings (100 gp each).
• 1 aquamarine ring (500 gp).
• 1 exquisite diamond-sapphire ring (7,500 gp).
• Security Feature: Zilchus' Warding Sigil – A divine glyph that curses thieves with unending misfortune (permanent Bane spell effect, Disadvantage on all Persuasion and Insight checks, removed only by a Greater Restoration spell from a cleric of Zilchus).

The Bedchamber Chest – The True Hoard

• Iron-bound, reinforced chest kept in Zomawyn’s private chambers, beneath a hidden trapdoor in the floor.
• Contents:
• 1,000 cp, 1,000 sp, 1,000 ep, 1,000 gp, and 500 pp.
• Bag of 7 pearls (500 gp each).
• Bag of 9 small diamonds (1,000 gp each).
• Bag filled with 50 assorted ornamental and semi-precious stones (1,500 gp total, each ranging from 10-50 gp in value).
• Security Measures:
• Poisoned Needle Trap (DC 15 Dex Save or take 3d10 poison damage).
• Acid Spray Trap (Triggers in a 10-ft. line, DC 15 Dex Save or take 5d10 acid damage).
• The Merchant’s Warning (Magic Mouth spell activates upon tampering, speaking in Zomawyn’s voice):
• "You are now stealing from the House of Zilchus. Your name and face are marked in the Guild of Coin. All debts are now upon your blood. Flee, return all you have taken, or be ruined."
• Zilchus’ Divine Ledger (Custom Glyph of Warding – Curse effect)
• If the thief takes any coin, their name is magically recorded into a ledger kept within the chapel.
• The thief suffers from The Curse of the Beggar’s Mark (Disadvantage on all Charisma and Persuasion checks when dealing with merchants, financiers, or nobles; lasting until the stolen wealth is returned or atoned for with double repayment).

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Final Warning – The Cost of Greed

The Gilded Shackle does not forgive debtors or thieves. Those who try to steal from the Temple of Zilchus find themselves either ruined, hunted, or inescapably bound by financial servitude. The true power of the chapel lies not in the coin itself—but in the consequences that follow those who dare take from it.

Meet the Gilded Shackle Debt Collectors

You scarcely step across the threshold of the Gilded Shackle before heavy boots scuff against the stone floor behind you. Turning, you find yourself facing a thick wall of armor and muscle—five grim-faced men in tarnished banded mail, each bearing the sigil of a broken coin. Their leader, a broad-shouldered brute with a crooked nose and a battleaxe slung across his back, steps forward, his mouth twisting into a humorless smile.

“Well, well... look what’s slithered in,” he growls, his voice like gravel. “Word ‘round here says you’re walkin’ with debts unpaid.”

Another of the thugs spits to the side, shouldering a heavy crossbow with casual menace.
The leader jabs a thick finger toward you.

“Zomawyn don’t like bein’ forgotten, and we don’t like wastin’ time.” His tone sharpens, cold and businesslike. "You pay what’s owed—or you pay another way."

The others fan out lazily, cutting off your retreat, their hands resting on axe handles and crossbow stocks. One, a wiry man with a scar across his forehead, sneers.

“Funny thing ‘bout the Shackle..." he chuckles. "You walk in free. You leave heavier—’cept when we got to carve the weight off ye first.”

The leader chuckles without humor, shifting his battleaxe with a metallic scrape.

“So... what's it gonna be?" he demands, his eyes hard as river stones. "Gold, blood, or both?"

The room stills. Even the candlelight seems to shrink back from their presence, awaiting your answer.

The Gilded Shackle by 3orcs

"Every coin has two faces; always know both."

High Priest Jereader Zomawyn

The Merchant of Souls

• Race: Human (Oeridian), Age: 63
• Appearance: A thin, hawk-nosed man in rich burgundy robes embroidered with gold thread.
• Voice & Demeanor: Smooth, persuasive, and calculated, never raising his voice.

“Faith is a currency like any other—invest wisely, and you shall profit.”

— High Priest Jereader Zomawyn

High Priest Jereader Zomawyn by 3orcs

High Priest Jereader Zomawyn

Medium Humanoid (Human, Oeridian), Lawful Evil

Armor Class 13 (Fine Robes, Defensive Magic)
Hit Points 49 (7d8+14)
Speed 30 ft.

STR 9 (-1) | DEX 12 (+1) | CON 14 (+2) | INT 16 (+3) | WIS 18 (+4) | CHA 17 (+3)

Saving Throws Wis +7, Int +6
Skills Insight +7, Deception +6, Persuasion +7, Religion +7, Arcana +5
Senses Passive Perception 14
Languages Common, Elven, Infernal

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Abilities

Master of Wealth. Jereader has advantage on Persuasion and Deception checks when dealing with merchants, nobles, or those in financial debt.

Divine Ledger. Any creature that owes a debt to Jereader is marked by Zilchus—he can target them with Scrying once per day, regardless of distance.

Aura of Authority (1/Day). As an action, Jereader exudes an aura of undeniable presence for 1 minute. Creatures of his choice within 30 feet must make a DC 15 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened of him for the duration.

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Spellcasting. Jereader is a 7th-level spellcaster (Spell Save DC 15, +7 to hit with spell attacks). He has the following prepared:

Cantrips (at will): Guidance, Thaumaturgy, Toll the Dead, Prestidigitation
1st level (4 slots): Command, Bless, Shield of Faith, Charm Person
2nd level (3 slots): Hold Person, Silence, Detect Thoughts
3rd level (3 slots): Bestow Curse, Counterspell, Spirit Guardians
4th level (2 slots): Banishment, Greater Invisibility
5th level (1 slot): Geas

Notable NPCs at the Chapel

Kasper – Zilchus Agent

• A Dyvers-born moneylender, working under Zomawyn’s influence.
• Handles daily chapel operations, ensuring debts are paid with interest.
• Secretly reports back to the Gillum family, balancing loyalty between Dyvers and Nulb.

Gelder the Scribe

• A half-elf clerk, keeps detailed financial records hidden in coded ledgers.
• Loyal to Zomawyn, but secretly fears the power struggles between Lady Nysera and the Temple.

The Debt Collectors

• Five armed thugs, ensure Zomawyn’s debts are collected—one way or another.
• Often seen “escorting” debtors into the chapel’s back office.

“The Chapel gives, but it never forgets. You borrow today, you pay tomorrow—or you become the payment.”

— One of the Debt Collectors

Debt collectors of the Gilded Shackle by 3orcs

Guards of The Gillum

Within the confines of The Gillum, Kasper is protected by four loyal guards:

• Names: Omeus, Narjin, Dumly, Kemp.
• Level 4 Fighter: Hit Points (HP) 23, 22, 21, 19
• Capabilities: Each guard is a competent fighter, equipped with banded armor and wielding either a battle axe or a crossbow.
• Role: Their primary duty is to ensure the security of The Gillum and its clandestine operations.

Type

Shop, Generic

Parent Location

Nulb

Owning Organization

Gillum Family

Zilchus holy symbol by 3orcs

Services Offered

• Loans & Money Changing: Offers high-interest loans to Nulb’s pirates, slavers, and merchants.
• Contract Brokering: Facilitates business agreements between criminals, merchants, and corrupt nobles.
• Tithes & Worship: Encourages lavish donations from the faithful, reinforcing Zilchus’ doctrine that wealth is power.
• “Protection Services”: Provides financial cover for criminals, ensuring that stolen goods can be "laundered" into legitimate trade.

“A man without coin in Nulb is a man without worth. Lucky for you, the Chapel can fix that—for a price.”

Debt Collectors of the Gilded Shackle

Medium Humanoid (Human), Neutral Evil

Armor Class 14 (Leather Coat, Bracers)
Hit Points 45 (6d8+18)
Speed 30 ft.

STR 14 (+2) | DEX 12 (+1) | CON 16 (+3) | INT 10 (+0) | WIS 11 (+0) | CHA 13 (+1)

Saving Throws Str +4, Con +5
Skills Intimidation +4, Persuasion +3, Athletics +4, Insight +2
Senses Passive Perception 10
Languages Common

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Abilities

Enforcers of Debt. The Debt Collectors have advantage on Intimidation checks against creatures who owe money to the Gilded Shackle.

Dirty Fighting. When flanking a target, the Debt Collector deals an extra 4 (1d8) bludgeoning damage once per turn.

Brutal Retribution. When an enemy they threaten attempts to flee or dodge payment, the collector can make an Opportunity Attack with advantage.

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Actions

Brass Knuckles. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 7 (1d8+2) bludgeoning damage.

Saps & Clubs. Melee Weapon Attack: +4 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target.
Hit: 8 (1d10+2) bludgeoning damage. If the target is surprised or incapacitated, they must make a DC 13 Constitution saving throw or be stunned until the end of their next turn.

Threaten (Recharge 5–6). The Debt Collector chooses a target within 30 feet and delivers a grim ultimatum. The target must make a DC 13 Wisdom saving throw or be frightened for 1 minute.

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Reactions

Break the Knees. When a creature within 5 feet tries to flee, dodge payment, or escape a grapple, the Debt Collector can make a Saps & Clubs attack as a reaction.

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Equipment

• Brass Knuckles & Saps (Used for "negotiation")
• Leather Coat with Iron Bracers (AC 14)
• Ledgers of Debts & Contracts (Each carries a list of names who owe money)
• Coin Pouches (Each carries 10-50 gp in various currencies, mostly "collected payments")