"Golden skulls? I'm afraid I can't do much with those, either." He pulls a small lens from his pocket and examines the skull carefully. He pauses, and sizes you up a little more thoughtfully. Ignoring Dwal and addressing Peri, he adds, "Your aging friend here doesn't have very long. These effects will be permanent very soon - a couple of hours at most. With Procan's blessing, we may be able to reverse this, but it'll come at a price. One hundred gold to pay for the diamond dust, plus a donation to the temple. And we need coins, not bones, I'm afraid. In addition, you will be asked to perform a small service for Procan."

Gerrard:

With hope in his eyes, Gerrard says, “I will perform whatever service is necessary and pay my companions back as soon as I have the coin, if only I can get my lost years back.”

Kei

Tipping his head to Peri, he shakes his head. Quietly he whispers back to the halfling. "This isn't my first time dealing with men of the cloth. Seems serving the gods is an expensive habit. Trust me. It's coin or nothing." He once more hefts the bag of silver and copper. "There's 130gp worth in here priest. Take that a payment AND the donation. Like you say, he doesn't have very long. We'd appreciate if you could see to him post haste"

Persuasion 6

If any of his companions complain about the handing over of the loot he will shush them and wait for the priests response. Uttering a single word to the complainant "Later".

((Seems he is not very convincing when telling the truth. ))

Peri:

Peri nods as he stows the golden objects. "Of course, Your Eminence. We've been very fortunate these last few days so we've coin enough; I just thought that perhaps you's have an interest in the relics from that Necromancer's lair. Nevermind, we'll sell them elsewhere. And I'd be honored to be of service to the Temple of Procan. Always best to stay on the good side of the Sea-Lord, eh?"

Dwal

Dwal shakes his head and walks off with Bjorn. "I'll be about some other business," he says. "I hope the Sea God aid ye in your time of need. I will leave this," Dwal stops and counts out 50 gold. "My contribution to get the lad well and fit." Dwal sets the coin on the closest table. 

With that Dwal will set out for his room and a little sleep before this big meeting. 

"Unless yer Necromancer is under th' bountiful sea, I've little interest in landlocked matters. But let's get yer friend into the other room while we still have some time." He stands and signals to his assistance a less-than-subtle gesture instructing them to take the sack of coins from Kei.

You follow the old man as he hobbles into the next room on his wooden leg. The altar room is voluminous but plain; the only ornaments a set of urns with an image of a kneeling fish-man holding a staff, as well as several small statues representing various undersea mammals. Empty benches fill the room. 

Brinehald takes a bucket of fishy slop from an assistant and splashes it across the ancient wooden floor. The prayers begin.

The ceremony is much longer than the actual magic, which takes both a moment. It concludes as he blows the diamond dust into Gerrard's face. It stings a little.

But it works. The years wash away before your eyes, and young Gerrard is back.

Gerrard:

”Oh thank you!  Thank you so much!  I have my years back!  I am in your debt—all of you!” gushes the renewed noble.  

“Tell me, what further service would you have of me, Father Brinehald?” asks Gerrard, anxious to know where he stands with the god of the sea.

Brinehald heads back to his alcove, and invites you to more tea, while his assistants clean up.

"Well. First. We had a big storm a week or two back. Maybe you were here for it. Big slaver wrecked just south o' here - a real mess. Took us days to get all the bodies buried. A little fishing boat went down, too, called Sinker. Just off Crabber's Cove – ye' can just about see th' mast from here. The water is only maybe fifteen feet deep there. Had a fancy silvered fishing pole its owner had aboard. Trouble is, the crabs. My people don' want to mess with them, so we need some tough guys like you. But there's two sailors aboard. We need ye to bring 'em back for proper burial. You can keep the pole. Them sailors gotta be pretty ripe right now, or whatever the crabs have left of 'em. But bring back what ye' can of both of 'em."

Gerrard:

"I will do this as you ask, Father Brinehald, though carrying the bodies might be a bit difficult.  What say the rest of you?  This seems a reasonable and honorable request?  Will you help me?" asks Gerrard.  Turning back to the priest, he says, "Will tomorrow morning be good enough?  We have a council meeting toni.....Oh my!  I must get cleaned up and presentable!  Please excuse me!".  The now-energetic young noble excuses himself and nearly runs back to the inn to get cleaned up and properly prepared to attend the council meeting.

Peri:

Peri watches the flustered, newly-restored noble rush out with amusement and relief. He'd been worried that even a priest of Procan wouldn't be able to reverse the ghost's curse.

"Aye, I know if I was lost in sight of land I'd want my body buried ashore. I'll join with the nobleman to retrieve the lost; can't speak for the others, though. As he said on the way out -- and please forgive his abrupt departure, Father. He's normally the politest person you'll meet, but it's been a rough couple of days. Anyhow, we'll try to tackle it first thing tomorrow. Do you know where we might borrow a fishing boat? I imagine the state the bodies are in, a net will probably be the best way to get 'em ashore."

Kei

"Let me get this straight. Crabs, sunken ships, dead sailors and silver rods. Now that's the bones of epic poems. This adventuring stuff is not too bad. I'll have material for life if this sorta stuff keeps on." Speaking to no one in particular he prattles on about fame, fortune and epic stories - himself as the protagonist of course. Peri's comment about joining Gerrard breaks through his self centred train of thought just enough. "Yes, yes. I'll be there. Can't write tales of my....the adventures if I'm not there".

He mindlessly will follow the group out of the vestry, caught up in his own thoughts of his poetic potential.

Unless the party has other business first, the group reconvenes at the Council Hall at the scheduled time, shortly after sunset.

You pass the weatherbeaten gallows and into the large brick building in the center of town, up the wide stairs and into the old Council Chamber.

Five Town Council members are seated behind a long bench, talking quietly and seriously among themselves: Eda Owland, Gellan Primwater, Eliander Farbern, Manistrad Copperlocks, and Anders Salomar. Rows of benches stand mostly empty. 

Owland gives a signal to the elderly guard. Everyone becomes quiet as the old man slowly climbs the latter into the tower above the chamber, and blows the huge horn. He slowly and precariously descends the ladder. "Let us begin," announces Eda Owland.

They get straight to your business. The party is commended for apprehending the smuggling vessel, breaking up their criminal ring, and returning the stolen cargo. At the close of the meeting, they announce, you will be given 400 gold for your services, as promised, together with another 500 gold for the recovered merchandise aboard. 

They are very concerned, however, about evidence that the smugglers were supplying weapons to a tribe of lizardfolk that have established a colony near Saltmarsh.

The council proposes to hire you to investigate the lizardfolk lair and learn why the creatures are arming themselves. They intend to keep the town safe in the event of  a possible lizardfolk attack, as it appears likely that the lizardfolk are preparing for war. While they hope that the townspeople are not the intended target, they greatly fear this possibility.

The site of the lizardfolk colony has been tentatively identified as a coastal promontory adjacent to a small river, the Dunwater, some ten miles southwest of Saltmarsh. The council considers it essential that a scouting party - you - be sent to reconnoiter the area and ascertain the strength and size of this colony, as well as the intentions of the lizardfolk. Owland, speaking for the council, impresses upon you that you are not required to act with hostile intent — in fact, quite the opposite. Your assignment would be one of information gathering, with the additional hope that you can return with knowledge of what the lizardfolk are up to.

A reward of 700 gp is offered for the successful completion of the mission. "What say you?" she asks.

Gerrard:

Looking to Peri, Gerrard smiles and nods, encouraging him to respond in the affirmative, as Master Fenwader is the leader of their little troupe--or so he claimed when Gerrard joined these few short days ago.  Looking dapper and put-together in his second finest outfit, the young noble seems to have bounced back quickly from his despair earlier in the day.

Peri:

Peri doesn't know why the well-dressed and presentable young nobleman is looking to the grubby halfling in a towel-skirt to speak for the group, but maybe there's some clever strategy at work here. Maybe he's letting Peri play "bad cop" so he can play "good cop" later? "Well, Mrs. Owland, we have an important mission to complete for the holy temple of Procan tomorrow. Then we may need a day or two to rest up; we just took a bit of a beating checking out an old dwarven stronghold north of town. Speakin 'of which, do you know what a bunch of duergar would be up to out there? Seems like they could be a bigger threat than those lizardfolk.

"But, back to your request, I think we might be able to check out your reptilian neighbors. The ones on the ship were a weird lot and threatened us a bunch if we tried to double-cross them, but they didn't seem interested in scopin' out the town when we were in the harbor so I don't think they were plannin' an attack here. Of course, then your Guard killed one of 'em and took the weapons they were escorting, so now maybe they'll want some payback. Let's say we get out there and turns out they only wanted the weapons to defend against some goblins or the like -- would you be willin' to deliver those weapons to keep the peace?"

Dwal

Dwal watches the proceedings with some interest. He smiles at Gerrard, happy the noble's youth has been restored. 

When Peri speaks up and mentions the abandoned dwarven outpost Dwal cringes a bit. He had hoped to keep this information less than public for a bit longer but, what's done is done.
Dwal doesn't have much to add to Peri's report and address. He will not say much unless called upon. 

Gerrard:

"A fair question indeed," agrees Gerrard, smiling at the leader of their party.  He adds, "If we want our best chance at peaceful relations with the Lizardfolk tribe, perhaps we should take with us the centerpiece of their purchase, a  shield emblazoned on the front with the design of a lizard with forked tongue extended.  If their intent is hostile towards the town, a single shield should provide no meaningful aid to their effort, but if their intentions are reasonable, delivery of the shield and the promise of delivery of their weapons could go a long way to calming down tensions."

Kei

A few days ago, Kei wouldn't be caught dead in a room full of town leaders, well not without a pair of shiny bracelets anyway. But now that he's an Adventurer he has no problem standing there. Watching the conversation unfold, with Peri and the rejuvenated noble doing the talking he whispers to Dwal "700 gold. That'd be enough to finish off your little apartment hey Master Quiethammer."

He remains quiet, like Dwal, but for different reasons. Through his mind is running images of coins all around him. An old man, retired from adventuring, sitting amongst piles of coins and jewels and precious artifacts. Now this is the life Kei!

Oweland addresses Peri, "We appreciate whatever it is you're doing for th' Temple, but we can't wait long while Saltmarsh is under th' threat of attack. Do you want one day? Two? Let's keep it to two, shall we? As to those weapons, I'm told they were stolen from a Crown supply ship by pirates some dozen leagues east of here last spring, in an incident in which innocent lives were lost, so I wouldn't expect those weapons to be delivered anytime soon."

Turning to Gerrard, she adds, "However, if you want th' one that somebody painted with th' lizard stickin' its nasty tongue out, you can have that one, I'm sure. We'll ask someone t' fetch it later."

Farbern stands. "One more thing." He pauses to examine the party carefully. "We found the guard ship, the one which accompanied your party, scuttled east of town yesterday, and we found its pilot, the guard Fossie, washed ashore with a hole burned through her skull this morning. Before we deliver your rewards, we'd like you to try to explain what happened to my guard and her vessel."

Peri:

Ignoring Farbern, he speaks instead to Owland. "I understand why the Crown might be tetchy about the weapons bein' taken, but I doubt the lizardfolk had anything to do with the theft. The ones that took 'em are all dead now, so the Crown's had its revenge. The lizardfolk think they've bought 'em fair and square. They're an odd lot and I don't think even my erudite friend here will be able to explain the finer points of property law to 'em. If they do need these weapons to defend themselves, and they think you stole 'em, they've got little choice but to come here and take 'em back. Wouldn't it be cheaper, and in the town's best interest, to just give 'em the weapons and let 'em kill whatever's out there before it can get to Saltmarsh?"
Persuasion 6

Ew, reroll that ugly roll with Halfling Luck 7

((Oof -- sorry, lizards! Looks like it wasn't meant to be!))

Owland shrugs. "Not my decision to make," she says.

Farbern adds, firmly, "They can take it up with the Crown."

Owland continues, "Your job is to find out why th' creatures are arming themselves. Gather information. You're not there to start a war, nor to deal arms."