"Oh, no..." the woman replies. "Aaron..." She goes quiet as the ointment is lowered down.

"Archais was the wizard of the old garrison,"  she finally replies, distractedly, as she takes the ointment. Her voice is strained and uneven. "I've just read a little about him. He was slain with the rest of the garrison years ago. He used to explore sunken ships, I guess. ...What happened to Aaron, do you know? They got him?" 

Boko pulls out and goes through the stuff she found in the tower:
The brass ring seems arcane, and may need further meditation.
The various bottles of different arcane liquids consist of a few ounces of a sticky black unguent that seems thick and heavy; a few ounces of a viscous, milky-white substance; and three small vials containing a cloudy green fluid that smells like seawater, each with a jellyfish-like bubble floating in it. They will all require arcane study or meditation.
The flat iron rod with a button on one end is likewise arcane and will need study.
The wooden box will not open. It seems magically sealed.
The black bag is of magical construction; it has an interior space considerably larger than its outside dimensions, and contains several fishing nets and 500 feet of weighted hempen rope.
The ordinary leather backpack contains Archais' spellbook and journal and nothing else.
The small metal baton is the size of a torch and has an arcane flame flickering upon it. It looks like a regular flame, but it creates no heat, can be covered or hidden, but cannot be smothered or quenched.

The woman below, whose name you learn is Janore, knows nothing about any of it, nor does Morley, her dwarven friend, who is already feeling better from the ointment. The very ill human man, Barret, is likewise quickly improving, although he is not yet well enough to stand. "Thank you..." he rasps weakly.

"So if'n these undead are coming back, where are we makin' our stand then?" he asks outloud. "Once I know that I can start workin' on fortifyin' anythin' that needs ta be." 

Peri:

Peri grabs Thwack before he can wander off into the night alone. "There's some kinda undead things out there, probably comin' from the ocean. You probably don't wanna get too close to the water. Hopefully the Captain manages to wait out the storm, though it's worryin' I don't see anyone on watch. Well, nothin' to be done for it now."

He responds to Qivys's question, "I think the kitchen here is a good enough spot. Two exits, plus a bolt-hole down to the cellar if we're in danger of bein' overrun. I think Boko's idea of a decoy room is a good one. Maybe we barricade the doors to the room with all the rats? I'm not sure how to get back out though... And we should pile up as much stuff as we can in front of the main door to the keep. If they're dumb zombies hopefully they'll waste half the night batterin' their way through there. But you and Boko should get some rest. Thwack and Gerrard and I can work on fortifyin'."

Boko shows Peri and the others the items. "These were hidden in the tower, I am not sure how I was able to find them after the fight with Rasp. Perhaps they can be of some use, if someone can find out their secrets." She then curls up in a corner and tries to rest. 

The sick survivors are now healed of their plague, although still very reluctant to leave their hiding place. Darkness has fallen outside, and the tempest rages on outside, unabated. Janore feels certain that the dead things will return tonight, she saw it in her vision from Procan. She urges everyone to hide, run, or barricade. The party remains in the larder and kitchen. 

But some of you need to sleep, too. Boko (and Qivys?) are curling up for a rest, while others make plans to fortify. Who's resting (and where?), who's keeping watch, and who's reinforcing the defenses (and how?)

Qivys tries to help fortify the sleeping area as best he can. 
"There an attic in this place?" he asks the priest. 

Gerrard:

“I would like to ensure the captain knows of the risk, then I will come back and help secure the kitchen.  Since the door locks, I suggest the pantry as a fallback position.  I like the idea of heavy items in front of the door backed by that magical rod,” says Gerrard.

Hearing that the captain could not be directly contacted via magic, Gerrard prepares to go swim over and talk to her directly, though he will pause to see if anyone has a better way to contact them.

If not, he makes sure that his insulated swim shirt and Mariner’s armor are ready to go, then heads out and swims to the boat.

Peri:

Peri intercepts Gerrard on his way out the door. "The Captain's stupidity is what got her -- and all of us -- into this mess to begin with. If she's dumb enough to not set a watch, havin' already been attacked once today, your warning isn't gonna do any good. We don't know what's in that water. Suppose another of those crab things showed up? You're goin' out there all alone, in the water, without support. You remember how you were gonna run off into the Dreadwood alone after those kids? How do you think that woulda turned out?" If Gerrard decides to go out anyway, Peri steps aside.

Gerrard:

“We have warning about a specific attack tonight.  If I do not at least attempt to warn the captain and her crew, I would feel at least partially responsible for their deaths.  Still, you have a good point about the danger in the water,” responds the young noble, acknowledging the wisdom in Peri’s words.

Taking out his calligraphy supplies, Gerrard writes a quick note about the nature of the threat tonight, offering the captain and crew protection in the keep should they wish it.  He binds it tightly around an arrow shaft and seals it with his signet ring.  Heading out the front door before they start barricading it, he steps out into the sheltered cove and aims for the ship, carefully loosing the arrow so that it hopefully thunks loudly in the deck near the hatch.

Precise attack with bow:  24

Peri:

Peri looks over their "bunker", trying to come up with the best defense possible given what they have to work with. Wish I had some kinda military trainin' for this, but we Small Folk have been hidin' since the dawn of time, so I guess I was kinda made for this. Yondalla and all Her Children, lend me Your cunning. He notices one of the rods Boko had discovered looks like a match for Thwack's "Sticky Stick." He tries the button and finds it works the same way. "This'll come in handy, especially if we need to move in a hurry. Too bad we don't know what the rest does, but if we have some time on watch maybe we can fiddle with 'em." 

He asks Gerrard to help move the bookshelf from the library to put it in front of the kitchen door. Then he pulls down some of the wall hangings and puts them over the door, doing his best to disguise the door's existence. "It's not perfect, but hopefully these dead things aren't too bright." He takes some of the broken crockery from the banquet hall and scatters it around the foot of the stairs, in front of the shelves, to obscure any drag marks they might have left behind.

He takes some of the broken benches from the banquet hall and does his best to reinforce the barricade of the main gate, but doesn't figure it will do more than slow down the invaders. Sizing up their work, he shrugs. "Best I know how to do." He retreats through the barracks room and attempts to barricade the door using the wedges they had previously removed. ((If it opens into the main keep the wedges probably wouldn't work, but it's what we have to work with.)) Then he exits through the south door and scurries along the wall back to the kitchen. Once inside, he'll help barricade the doors with the butcher block and the table, backed by the magical rods.

((If anyone has anything to interject, feel free. It's had to work collaboratively in PbP.))

Qivys watches Peri struggle a bit then lends a hand at getting the fortifications sorted out properly. 
"I ain't sure tha ground floor is tha best ta defend." he tells Peri. "It does depend on how we plan ta face these things. If it's a fight, tha second level might be best so as ta keep them from over running us, forcin' them ta use tha stairs an' creatin' a pinch point."
The dwarf pauses for a moment to think. 
"if'n we keep ta tha ground floor,: he continues. "We can either barrack, as best we can, tha two doors ta this kitchen, then tha door to tha larder. What we need are tools though."
"Do ya have any tools in this place?" he asks the survivors. "Hammers, nails an' tha like?"

While waiting for an answer, Qivys finds a place to take a seat. 
"I ain't sure I'm gonna survive fightin' a hoard of undead." he mumbles as he sits. 

"There's roof access from the scullery balcony. You'll want a ladder," responds Janore to Qivys' question. "But no attic. There's the bell tower, of course." 

Gerrard lets fly a perfectly aimed arrow with a message attached. He cannot see much more in the dark maelstrom outside, but Peri makes out the hatch opening and eyes peering out, trying to make out the source of the attack.

"There's hammer and nails in the junk room," replies Barret to Qivys' question about tools. "But you'd have to go back upstairs. You could go through on this floor, I guess, but it's locked and I don't know who has the key. It's probably gone now."

Meanwhile, Peri makes himself busy, with Gerrard's help. (Let's see if I get Peri's punch list straight. Note I added the numbers back into the map, below:
4. Main Entry
7. Scullery
8. Dining Hall
9. Library
11. Hermit Cells
12. Kitchen
13. Larder
14. Grotto)

• They move the bookshelf from the library (9) to put it in front of the interior kitchen door (from 7 to 12).
• Peri pulls down some of the wall hangings and puts them over the door, doing his best to disguise the door's existence. (The one from 7 to 12.)
• He takes some of the broken crockery from the Dining Hall (8) and scatters it around the foot of the stairs (in 7), in front of the shelves, to obscure any drag marks they might have left behind.
• He takes some of the broken benches from the Dining Hall (8) and does his best to reinforce the barricade of the main gate (inside 4).
• He retreats through the barracks room (11) and attempts to barricade the door using the wedges they had previously removed (from the exterior kitchen door (12).)  
• Peri exits through the south door (of 11) and re-enters the kitchen (12).
• He barricade the exterior doors (of the kitchen, 12) with the butcher block and the table, backed by the two magical rods. (There's also a cauldron full of sand to use. Thwack, Boko - are you okay with Peri borrowing your rods?)
• (Did I get this right?)

It takes some time. Boko, Qivys, and Thwack may gain the benefit of a Short Rest.

Gerrard:

Helping where he is needed and familiarizing himself with the defenses, Gerrard holds out hope that the crew will join them, or at least take some other precautions.  Failing that, he assists mainly in moving the heavy items and getting them wedged in place properly.  Once the defenses are in place (including the cauldron of sand), he goes to rest with his back against the barricade of the kitchen door to the outside.  He says, "Give me at least an hour to rest, then wake me at need to take my watch.  If anything tries to break through this door, it will at least wake me up."

Hour 2 begins.
Boko, Qivys, and Thwack gain the benefit of a Short Rest.
Gerrard goes to rest now.

(What's Peri doing? Who's taking watch for this next hour?)

Qivys will take the next hour.

Peri:

Peri helps himself to an immodestly large helping of the now-warm soup, then settles in for a quick nap. He tells Qivys to wake him in an hour, whereupon he will take the following 4 hours. It never occurs to him to work Thwack into the rotation.

Qivys is hard to wake, but he finally stirs. He is near exhaustion. He watches for hour #2, which is uneventful. The storm continues to howl outside. If anything, it worsens a bit. Peals of thunder reverberate through the sturdy old fortress.

Peri watches for hours #3-6. It is now the dead of night. All remains quiet. The storm has abated slightly. (Boko is close to a Long Rest, but not quite, and still remains asleep.)

The three survivors remain in their hiding spot. There is evidently a horizontal crevice between two blocks in the south wall that marks a narrow opening giving a view of the outside from their hole. Morley, with his Dwarven darkvision, is using it to keep an eye on the grotto, although he falls asleep at his post occasionally.

Who is taking the next watch above?

Thwack 

In a very unproductive manner, Thwack shuffles from companion to companion trying to assist in any way he can. Unfortunately,  the best he does is get underfoot. Finally he gets the message that preparing defences is beyond him, he grabs some of Boko's new found treasure and settles in a corner to study them. He leaves the rod alone as clearly it's the same as his sticky stick but he takes great interest in the brass ring and the metal baton. He sits squarely in the middle of the room and begins to turn the ring over and over.

Peri:

Peri keeps an uneasy eye on Thwack throughout his watch, but the kobold hasn't blown anything up yet, and they do need to figure these things out... 

As his watch ends without sign of danger, he wakes Gerrard and goes into the larder to sleep. If they didn't come as soon as it got dark, hopefully they're takin' the night off. 

Gerrard:

Somewhat refreshed by the rest (5 hours, I think), Gerrard starts his split shift in the middle of the night.  He stays standing with his rapier out for soft light, listening quietly and watching for any disturbances.