The flames in the brush die to a smolder, and Dwal's torch flickers and sputters on the ground where he left it. The smell of smoke is thick in the air. The night is cold and dark.
Prelan is sitting in Butter's cart trying to control her breathing, as he makes comforting small talk with her about Saltmarsh gossip.
"We done here?" asks Butter to the party. "We ready t' go? Somebody wanna load the Toy Man in the back?" Prelan exhales sharply.
Peri helps Qivys load Terrence's remains onto the cart. He picks up the toy cat, mounts his horse, and when the group begins to move he winds the action on the toy.
With the remains of Terrance the toyman loaded into Butter's growing cart of death, and with Peri holding the reins in one hand, and a tin cat playing a tiny fiddle in the other, the party sets off again into the black night.
Butter recognizes the tune and sings along: "An a byrchyn bank - ther boughs arne bryght, I saw a brymlyche bore - to a bay brought; Ronke rachis with rerde - thai ronnon aryght; Of al hore row and hore rest - little hom roght..."
He sings verse after verse until the cat winds down. "Me mama taught me that one..."
The rest of the journey is uneventful. You arrive well after midnight, in the early hours of the morning. A sole guard is sound asleep at the gate, curled up in a nook in the old wall. Missy doesn't recognize him - probably a new recruit.
Butter leads the cart up the hill to the tower, where a couple of weary guards greet the party and take the horses.
A very large, grim woman in padded leather armor stands in the doorway inspecting the group's arrival - Deputy Commander Clay, whom Missy knows as the humorless night commander.
Clay ignores Dwal, and addresses Missy and Butter. "Where's Seth and Farley? Did you bring back Onald?"
"They ain't back yet?" exclaims Butter, with surprise. "Yeah, we got Onald. He's in the back, with some sorry folk the smugglers got. We took out a whole nest of 'em. Damn near took us, too. These guys know more 'bout that," he says, pointing a thumb at Peri and the dwarves. "Farben will wanna talk to 'em." He pauses. "I gotta take Onald and them other bodies to Krag, then get some sleep." He rubs his scalp.
"You guys come back tomorrow morning," says Butter to the party. "Talk t' Farbern."
Clay nods. "Yes. Nine o'clock."
Butter adds "I gotta see the toy lady home, too. Got ambushed on the old shore road."
It's time for your characters to get some rest - Missy to the barracks, Dwal to the Mining Company Headquarters, Peri to the Wicker Goat, and Qivys to the Mariners' Guildhall?
Butter is off to deliver the bodies to "Krag" and to drop off Prellan.
Welcome to Level 3 - you may update your characters now.
Exhausted, Qiv returns to the Mariners Guildhall. Walking into the sleeping quarters, the smell of Ob's brew thick in the air, he checks to see if Red took his advice. Remembering how sick Red had been when he left, and the restless sleep he had endured here, he turns heel and heads to the Wicker Goat.
Upon entering the Goat he pays for a room but heads to the bar for a nightcap. Could this town get any more cursed. His thoughts drift back to the dismembered Toy Man, the battle in the caverns, his friends being eaten....The list went on and on. His thoughts finally settle as he thinks back to the silver blob and the events inside of it. At least there's positivity somewhere in this saga.
Dwal bids goodbye to the group and heads on to his room and bed. Upon arrival he will sort his things out, see if there are any notes and the like from his employer then set his mind and spend time praying and giving thanks. he will then settle in and get some long needed sleep.
Before heading to the Goat, Peri will return the toy cat to Prellan. "Truly, maam, I'm sorry for your misfortune. There seems t'be no shortage of it in this wretched village."
With that, he'll return to his room and crash out on the bed.
Qivys finds the Mariners' Guild locked - he's way past curfew. Peering through the windows, he spies mariners in bunks, but he can't tell if Red is there or not. The Wicker Goat is open, but dark and empty - any bar patrons have long gone home. No nightcap for Qivys. A half-awake teenaged boy appears to take his coin (5 sp / night) and show him to a room upstairs.
Dwal returns to his room at the mining company headquarters. Everyone is long asleep. No notes. His boss won't be thrilled that he'll miss work yet again tomorrow morning if he's going to see Farbern as requested by the Guard.
Missy returns to her bunk at the town guard's barracks. She notices that both Seth's and Farley's bunks are empty.
Peri returns the toy to a quiet Prellan before she leaves with Butter. She nods, but has nothing more to say. He returns to his room at the Goat, where he is visited by vivid and unsettling dreams that leaves him less rested than he would like.
Morning breaks. You gather once again at Hoolwatch Tower upon the hill. Butter is there, also, together with a couple of other guards.
You are greeted again by Farbern - the old, burly, and imposing captain of the Saltmarsh town guard who stands upon a finely carved wooden peg leg. He greets you in Dwarvish and Halfling as well as slightly-garbled Draconic. Butter has already filled him in on yesterday's events. He is concerned about the disappearance of Seth and Farley.
Addressing Qivys, Dwal, and Peri, he says, "The Guard thanks you for bringing back Onald, and for assisting us in clearing out the smugglers from that accursed house. You each have a job with the Guard should you wish to join us. We have a need for savvy folks like you."
"The Town Council is meeting at noon. They would like to meet you, and I believe they have a small reward for you, and perhaps a job as well."
"But first, did any of you find any notes, papers or other evidence of who was supplying the smugglers, or to whom they were fencing their goods?"
Thinking, Dwal will step up. "I found a bit of paper with some messages written on in I do not understand but, I will have to retrieve it from my pack where I am staying."
With that Dwal will jaunt off. Upon his return he will present the note he had found, "Here it is" he says "but, you'll need to look at it with these on." Dwal will hand the Eyes of Minute Seeing
Tired, sore, and cranky from a night of restless dreams, Peri grudgingly drags himself to the Tower for his meeting with Farbern. His belly grumbles through Farbern's questions.
"Y' know who probably had a lot o' those answers? That Sanbalet fellow. You could've asked him yourself if that drunken sot Butter hadn't shot him through the eye after he'd given up. This was, of course, after Seth the Hare-Brained Hero nearly killed the man as he tried to surrender. If those two had gone missing on the sea I'd say you were better off for it, but Farley seemed a competent sort, and I've a good deal of respect for Missy. But on the whole I think I'll decline the offer to join the Saltmarsh Guard, same as I wouldn't crew a ship with a rotted hull. Now, if you've everything you need from me, I think I'll carry myself over to the Goat for a bit of breakfast and a bath before I meet the illustrious Council of this benighted hamlet."
While Dwal goes to fetch his notes, Farbern addresses Peri's remarks in surprisingly fluent Halfling:
"While I am still grateful for your help, young Halfling, consider your job offer rescinded. I trust my Guard with my life, and with the job they have pledged to do."
Presented with the notes and with Dwal's spectacles, Farbern seems amused by the unusual glasses. "Very clever!" he says, trying them on for a moment to test them. He studies the note for a long minute. "What do you understand of this? Was there any more you found?"
"It's my opinion that this Sanbalet was but a small cog in the machine. Someone, or something, was providing this little operation with its muscle and it's booty. I guess we'll never know who though, since as my little mate here said, your guards shot first and asked questions second" he says, reiterating what Peri had said.
Dwal has a small breakfast then he sets about getting his affairs in order. He anticipates that his job with the mining company will be very sort term.
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The flames in the brush die to a smolder, and Dwal's torch flickers and sputters on the ground where he left it. The smell of smoke is thick in the air. The night is cold and dark.
Prelan is sitting in Butter's cart trying to control her breathing, as he makes comforting small talk with her about Saltmarsh gossip.
"We done here?" asks Butter to the party. "We ready t' go? Somebody wanna load the Toy Man in the back?"
Prelan exhales sharply.
Qivys
With much chagrin, Qiv tries to find and load the least mutilated parts of The Toy Man, keeping his body between the gruesome sight and Prelan.
Peri:
Peri helps Qivys load Terrence's remains onto the cart. He picks up the toy cat, mounts his horse, and when the group begins to move he winds the action on the toy.
With the remains of Terrance the toyman loaded into Butter's growing cart of death, and with Peri holding the reins in one hand, and a tin cat playing a tiny fiddle in the other, the party sets off again into the black night.
Butter recognizes the tune and sings along:
"An a byrchyn bank - ther boughs arne bryght,
I saw a brymlyche bore - to a bay brought;
Ronke rachis with rerde - thai ronnon aryght;
Of al hore row and hore rest - little hom roght..."
He sings verse after verse until the cat winds down. "Me mama taught me that one..."
The rest of the journey is uneventful. You arrive well after midnight, in the early hours of the morning. A sole guard is sound asleep at the gate, curled up in a nook in the old wall. Missy doesn't recognize him - probably a new recruit.
Butter leads the cart up the hill to the tower, where a couple of weary guards greet the party and take the horses.
A very large, grim woman in padded leather armor stands in the doorway inspecting the group's arrival - Deputy Commander Clay, whom Missy knows as the humorless night commander.
"Report?" she commands.
Dwal
Dwal speaks up "What do you mean "report"? Hasn't Seth returned with all those casts of wine and bolts of cloth?" he asks.
Clay ignores Dwal, and addresses Missy and Butter. "Where's Seth and Farley? Did you bring back Onald?"
"They ain't back yet?" exclaims Butter, with surprise. "Yeah, we got Onald. He's in the back, with some sorry folk the smugglers got. We took out a whole nest of 'em. Damn near took us, too. These guys know more 'bout that," he says, pointing a thumb at Peri and the dwarves. "Farben will wanna talk to 'em." He pauses. "I gotta take Onald and them other bodies to Krag, then get some sleep." He rubs his scalp.
"You guys come back tomorrow morning," says Butter to the party. "Talk t' Farbern."
Clay nods. "Yes. Nine o'clock."
Butter adds "I gotta see the toy lady home, too. Got ambushed on the old shore road."
It's time for your characters to get some rest - Missy to the barracks, Dwal to the Mining Company Headquarters, Peri to the Wicker Goat, and Qivys to the Mariners' Guildhall?
Butter is off to deliver the bodies to "Krag" and to drop off Prellan.
Welcome to Level 3 - you may update your characters now.
Qivys
Exhausted, Qiv returns to the Mariners Guildhall. Walking into the sleeping quarters, the smell of Ob's brew thick in the air, he checks to see if Red took his advice. Remembering how sick Red had been when he left, and the restless sleep he had endured here, he turns heel and heads to the Wicker Goat.
Upon entering the Goat he pays for a room but heads to the bar for a nightcap. Could this town get any more cursed. His thoughts drift back to the dismembered Toy Man, the battle in the caverns, his friends being eaten....The list went on and on. His thoughts finally settle as he thinks back to the silver blob and the events inside of it. At least there's positivity somewhere in this saga.
Dwal
Dwal bids goodbye to the group and heads on to his room and bed. Upon arrival he will sort his things out, see if there are any notes and the like from his employer then set his mind and spend time praying and giving thanks. he will then settle in and get some long needed sleep.
Peri:
Before heading to the Goat, Peri will return the toy cat to Prellan. "Truly, maam, I'm sorry for your misfortune. There seems t'be no shortage of it in this wretched village."
With that, he'll return to his room and crash out on the bed.
It's very late - the wee hours of the morning.
Qivys finds the Mariners' Guild locked - he's way past curfew. Peering through the windows, he spies mariners in bunks, but he can't tell if Red is there or not.
The Wicker Goat is open, but dark and empty - any bar patrons have long gone home. No nightcap for Qivys. A half-awake teenaged boy appears to take his coin (5 sp / night) and show him to a room upstairs.
Dwal returns to his room at the mining company headquarters. Everyone is long asleep. No notes. His boss won't be thrilled that he'll miss work yet again tomorrow morning if he's going to see Farbern as requested by the Guard.
Missy returns to her bunk at the town guard's barracks. She notices that both Seth's and Farley's bunks are empty.
Peri returns the toy to a quiet Prellan before she leaves with Butter. She nods, but has nothing more to say. He returns to his room at the Goat, where he is visited by vivid and unsettling dreams that leaves him less rested than he would like.
Morning breaks. You gather once again at Hoolwatch Tower upon the hill. Butter is there, also, together with a couple of other guards.
You are greeted again by Farbern - the old, burly, and imposing captain of the Saltmarsh town guard who stands upon a finely carved wooden peg leg. He greets you in Dwarvish and Halfling as well as slightly-garbled Draconic. Butter has already filled him in on yesterday's events. He is concerned about the disappearance of Seth and Farley.
Addressing Qivys, Dwal, and Peri, he says, "The Guard thanks you for bringing back Onald, and for assisting us in clearing out the smugglers from that accursed house. You each have a job with the Guard should you wish to join us. We have a need for savvy folks like you."
"The Town Council is meeting at noon. They would like to meet you, and I believe they have a small reward for you, and perhaps a job as well."
"But first, did any of you find any notes, papers or other evidence of who was supplying the smugglers, or to whom they were fencing their goods?"
Dwal
Thinking, Dwal will step up. "I found a bit of paper with some messages written on in I do not understand but, I will have to retrieve it from my pack where I am staying."
With that Dwal will jaunt off. Upon his return he will present the note he had found, "Here it is" he says "but, you'll need to look at it with these on." Dwal will hand the Eyes of Minute Seeing
Peri:
Tired, sore, and cranky from a night of restless dreams, Peri grudgingly drags himself to the Tower for his meeting with Farbern. His belly grumbles through Farbern's questions.
"Y' know who probably had a lot o' those answers? That Sanbalet fellow. You could've asked him yourself if that drunken sot Butter hadn't shot him through the eye after he'd given up. This was, of course, after Seth the Hare-Brained Hero nearly killed the man as he tried to surrender. If those two had gone missing on the sea I'd say you were better off for it, but Farley seemed a competent sort, and I've a good deal of respect for Missy. But on the whole I think I'll decline the offer to join the Saltmarsh Guard, same as I wouldn't crew a ship with a rotted hull. Now, if you've everything you need from me, I think I'll carry myself over to the Goat for a bit of breakfast and a bath before I meet the illustrious Council of this benighted hamlet."
While Dwal goes to fetch his notes, Farbern addresses Peri's remarks in surprisingly fluent Halfling:
"While I am still grateful for your help, young Halfling, consider your job offer rescinded. I trust my Guard with my life, and with the job they have pledged to do."
Presented with the notes and with Dwal's spectacles, Farbern seems amused by the unusual glasses. "Very clever!" he says, trying them on for a moment to test them. He studies the note for a long minute. "What do you understand of this? Was there any more you found?"
Qivys
"It's my opinion that this Sanbalet was but a small cog in the machine. Someone, or something, was providing this little operation with its muscle and it's booty. I guess we'll never know who though, since as my little mate here said, your guards shot first and asked questions second" he says, reiterating what Peri had said.
"May I share this with the Council?" Farbern asks Dwal, holding up the paper. "Here, you can have these back." He returns the spectacles.
"The Council would like to see you at noon today," he sums up. "Please be prompt. Do you know where Council Hall is?"
Dwal
"Of course" Dwal says as he takes the spectacles back.
With that, Farbern returns to the tower.
(Besides Peri's breakfast at the Goat, do any of you have any business before the noon meeting?)
Dwal
Dwal has a small breakfast then he sets about getting his affairs in order. He anticipates that his job with the mining company will be very sort term.