Gerrard:

”You can haunt me first, Master Fenwader,” says Gerrard.  “The vampire did speak about a feast of some kind.  Perhaps this is where we will find Saltmarsh’s missing children.”

“If we are to fight this evil together, you will need some magical healing to heal those wounds.  Here, take and drink.  This should help,” says Gerrard, handing over his Greater Healing Potion.

"Oh that's a lovely name." Qivys says sarcastically. "An' just what is gonna happen an' who are "THEY"?" he asks. 

 Kei 

Kei chuckles as the quiet dwarf drops a few simple words into the conversation with this newcomer. "Excellent observation Grumpy". Turning to face this Kevros,  Kei expands on Qivys' question. "Them? So it's more than just Bela we should be concerned with?"

Kevros pours more from his bottle onto Boko's finger. "I'm from nowhere, really, but I know the elves, of course. I fear I lack the strength to join you tonight, but I implore you to take action immediately, as time is short. Perhaps I can offer my weapons in my stead."

"If the folk tales are accurate, the Caretaker watches over the Citadel. Upon moonrise the Caretaker will light the beacon, calling forth the Three Consorts – perhaps even Granny Nightshade herself – and together they will descend upon Seaton, or Saltmarsh, or Burle, and eradicate the populace. You must stop the Caretaker before she lights the beacon tonight.

He accepts and quaffs Gerrard's potion, and while his external wounds heal, it is clear he is still barely able to walk. "Perhaps... perhaps after I sleep a bit."

Gerrard:

”That is…quite serious and a lethal threat to our home.  How is it that we know next to nothing about such a terrible threat?” wonders Gerrard, “And what weapons do you speak of that might be effective against this ‘caretaker,?”

Between Kei’s counsel and the claim of an existential threat to Saltmarsh, Gerrard is suddenly wondering if he is being manipulated by this half elf from “nowhere in particular.”

Insight:  7

"Let me sit a moment," Kevros says. He collapses on the snow-covered ground heavily and begins to rifle through his large pack. 

He pulls out an old piece of rolled carpet, and carefully unwraps its contents: an antique dagger, twenty thin arrows in a rotting quiver, an unstringed short bow, and two wooden stakes.

"These are old. And important. And powerful. If you will indeed go to the Citadel and do to the Caretaker what you did to those two, you may have them. And my sword as well. I wish only that I could go also. But I do not know how much longer I can survive out here like this. I will go to the camp and find you in the morning. But I fear that what must be done must be done tonight."

"The Citadel appeared three nights ago. It has not appeared in decades. Centuries, maybe. It is a very bad omen. Of vampires and demons and evils from other planes of existence. And tonight, I believe, the moon will be full."

Peri:

Peri lets out a resigned sigh. "Well, how do we find this 'Caretaker', and what do we need to do to stop 'em? I reckon they'll be a little tougher than Armand." Remembering Lankus's connection to their late caretaker he flushes. "Uh, not to disparage the dead, of course. I was lookin' forward to those frog heads."

He looks over the antiques Kevros was carrying and picks up one of the stakes. "We can divvy up the arrows -- assumin' they're special somehow, between Gerrard, Lankus, and me, and anybody else who might take a shot at this Caretaker." He can be overheard muttering a short prayer to Arvoreen, the formal phrases interspersed with some colorful commentary. "Strengthen our arms and sharpen our aim, cuz I guess we're all You've got to hand. And deliver us from danger -- which You seem to be pushin' me into, mind...."

Gerrard:

Picking up the dagger, Gerrard moves a bit away from the others and draws his glowing rapier.  Moving through a few combat maneuvers, he is satisfied that he can fight effectively with the new weapon.

”Many thanks for the warning and the equipment.  Unless your sword is far lighter than it looks, it will not suit my fighting style,” he adds.

Boko listens to this exchange. She's a bit confused. "How did you find out this, about the timing, and the Caretaker? You were on your way to the Citadel to stop them and you were waylaid by these creatures?"

She examines the items he offers. She can manage a shortbow, and she can use a dagger with her monk abilities, but she's curious if they have anything beyond mundane usage. If someone else can identify them she defers, but otherwise will take some time to look them over and delve their secrets (unless the man shares more).

A short rest would be welcome to her, to gain more wildlshape flexibility, but she asks about the distance to the citadel and she looks to the skies and tries to judge how far off moonrise is.

Kei 

Listening to Kevros speak of the absence of the Citadel and then looking at the gear he offers it strikes Kei that maybe this man is somehow from the time of the Citadels last appearance. He looks him over more closely.

Insight(?) 18

Regardless of anything he may discover he speaks directly to Kevros. "Speak the truth when you answer or tonight may be your last. Do you come from the Citadel? I mean you carry weapons that have seen as many days as our resident dwarf here and you seem to know much of the goings on of this magical hideout".

"Due east," responds Kevros, slumping a bit. "In the dead zone. Maybe five hours hike through the forest, due east from here, on the hill. The old Xolec estate. The keep has returned, where last week there was nothing but lifeless dust and rubble."

He massages his temples for a moment. "The Caretaker. She is an extremely powerful being. Undead. Dressed all in crimson. Ageless. It is said she is older, even, than the Consorts themselves, and that she has watched over this keep for millennia, even after it was thought to have been razed."

Peri can see that the arrows, the dagger, and his longsword are all magical. The bow, while ornate and antique, is not. The stakes are old and simply cut.

"I have heard about this possibility since I arrived here three decades ago. Recently, these past weeks, the dead have been returning to this part of the forest. Preying on the living. And other creatures more foul than the usual wolves and owlbears that we sometimes see here. Then I saw the Citadel with my own eyes, yesterday. I was waylaid while returning this morning. They almost took me."

"I did not go inside the Citadel," he answers to Kei, seemingly truthfully. "I never laid eyes upon it until yesterday. It is the stuff of legends. The weapons I was given years ago by the elves in the defense of the river, should the dead come back. And they have."

Qivys listens to all this in silence, letting the party ask their questions." He says little but looks to the east.

Gerrard:

”That matches what we have learned.  The old Xolec castle, the zone where plants do not grow.  Maybe the rise of this citadel caused Saltmarsh’s resident vampire to stir and kill those children, then kidnap the others.  We must make haste,” says Gerrard.

(Boko will use druidcraft to judge how long till moonrise.)

Boko reckons that the full moon will rise in about eight hours.

"We have but one small opportunity here, and you are it. The elves are too far away to help. If the Caretaker lights her beacon, I fear all is lost. Take these weapons and do to her what you did to those two abominations. If the other are summoned, it will be too late. I am useless until my strength returns."

(How long have we been here?)

"We have about eight hours. Should we prepare here and rest briefly, and try to find out what these weapons do? Then it is a five hour hike, which gives us two hours to take care of the Caretaker," Boko says. She blinks. "That was unintentional." 

(It's late morning. The sun will set in roughly seven hours.)

Gerrard:

”I would rather assault this castle as soon as possible in case we are delayed, Mistress Boko, as our window of time is short and our assault may take a while to reach the caretaker,” says Gerrard, “though if you wish to take a rest and can do so in small animal form, you are welcome to make a nest in one of my saddlebags for a few hours as we travel.”

(If Boko can do this, she absolutely will… as long as someone else can ID the magical items such that we can attune to any we are using and have them at the ready for a fight at the citadel.)

(Boko is welcome to receive the benefits of a short rest while wildshaped as a small animal resting within Gerrard's saddlebags. In addition, she is welcome to identify any one of the magic items you have been given.)

The way east looks cold, dark, unpleasant, and if Kevros is correct, long. Is there any further business you want to undertake before bidding goodbye to Kevros, and spending the remainder of the day hiking eastward, deeper into the depths of the Dreadwood?