Yellyark is a Batiri goblin village in the jungles of Chult, home to the Biting Ant tribe. The village consists of approximately 40 goblins including Queen Grabstab (a goblin boss), 24 adult goblins, and 15 noncombatant children. The goblins wear stylized wooden ant masks and mark their territory’s perimeter with the heads and skulls of enemies.
Village Structure
The village features a unique defensive mechanism: important structures are built atop a “net” of strong, supple tree branches bound together with vines. This net is rigged to a heavy bent tree functioning as a giant spring. When threatened by predators, goblins can cut the vine, causing the entire village to roll into a ball and fling approximately 1,000 yards over the jungle. Internal structures are cushioned with layers of leaves and moss to minimize damage during these emergency relocations.
Defenses
The village maintains constant vigilance through posted sentries who wear vine-and-leaf ponchos that grant advantage on Dexterity (Stealth) checks while stationary but impose disadvantage when moving. The perimeter is protected by tripwires attached to shells and skulls filled with pebbles. These tripwires require a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check to notice (or passive Perception 13+). Triggering the tripwires or being spotted by sentries puts the entire village on alert, making infiltration impossible.
Key Locations
Queen Grabstab’s Hut
Queen Grabstab’s hut is guarded by two goblins. Inside, the queen (goblin boss) resides with four more goblins (her adult children and attendants), often bickering amongst themselves. One attendant wears the key to the wooden cage (area 4) on a rope around their neck.
Important Treasure: Queen Grabstab possesses a bronze and adamantine medallion etched with the word “Vorn” — this is actually the control amulet for a shield guardian. The goblins don’t understand its true purpose or connection to the construct they worship as a deity.
Connection to Vorn
The goblins are part of a coalition of tribes (including grungs and vegepygmies) that revere the deactivated shield guardian known as Vorn as a lesser god. They maintain the area around it as a neutral zone. If someone uses the control amulet from Queen Grabstab to reactivate and move Vorn, it will enrage these tribes, causing automatic hostile encounters unless the characters placate them with treasure or convince them Vorn wishes to be moved.