Boko would love a short rest at the cove. "So many things I must add to my list. Pirates, aboleths, sahuagin, horrors of the deep, now an ancient dragon corrupting a swamp. I am exhausted. Let us collect ourselves here and then proceed back to the shore. We can either try getting inside the sahuagin base again, or attempt to return home," Boko says, settling to the ground.

Gerrard:

     “I hope you are right, Master Fenwader,” replies Gerrard about the dragon.

     “I’ll keep watch,” says Gerrard as Boko prepares to rest, the weary noble forcing himself to keep awake and alert so his companions can recover a bit.

Qivys tries to find the driest spot he can find and settles in for a nap before his turn at watch. As he settles in he remarks.

"I wouldn't say that that dragon was ancient." Qivys says from his spot. "If'n he was as all powerful as he let on, he'd have a much better lair than coverin' himself in a swamp. He's beggin' tha bard ta bring him babbles and hinted that he wanted tha bard ta teach him magic. Old dragons know magic, from what I heard an' wouldn't want people knowin' he's lookin fer treasure he'd just go out an' take it." 
Qivys nods to himself. 
"I figure he thinks he just up his game since he got himself a human lackey. It's why he could melt tha kobold." Qivys mumbles. "This ones lookin' fer agents ta act fer it. So, ta my mind, he's either young or hidin'. Tha thing ta ask is, what makes a dragon scared enough ta hide?" 

The party catches its collective breath under the protection of the old tree. (You may take the benefits of a short rest.)

It is still the middle of the night. (Is your intent to wait for morning and make it a long rest?)

Kei 

Squatting on his heels as the party stops it trudging, Kei is happy for the break. The slog through the swamp did a lot to drain the rush from his body. After a few minutes he feels the effects of the days travel start to make its way up his legs. He falls backwards into a seated position and rubs at his calves. 

"I agree with the dwarf" he chimes in. "A young one it is. By dragon standards anyway. It was quite taken by the magic of my robe - a mere trinket of a device, makes me think it knows nothing of its true power" then in his own mind Power I will possess one day. Maybe even taken from Doug. He drops back into silent self massage as the hour passes.

Peri:

"Young or old, the thing could snatch any of us up with one bite. And that kobold..." Peri shudders as he plops down to rest. "Anyhow, it's one more bit of information for the planners. And I say that's plenty. Let's angle southeast, away from this river, and meet up with the boat."

It is dark and cold and quiet. An icy, sour-smelling wind blows through the marsh, and flying insects harass and bite you as you rest. There are no signs of pursuit, nor of any other immediate threats. You still have at least an hour of hiking to go, downriver, before you reach the area near the mouth of the Javan where you last saw the worm farmers.

(You are on the west side of the river. The spot you left your boat – and your rendezvous point – is east of the river. So you will need to cross it at some point.)

Gerrard:

After resting fitfully, Gerrard is loathe to spend the rest of the night in this insect-infested swamp.  He stands up and readies himself as best he can, saying, "Indeed, let us move on and at least get to the boat soon.  I'd rather spend the dregs of the night sleeping on deck than here."

Boko stands after an hour and stretches, swatting at bugs that begin to bother even her. “Yes, time to go. We can cross closer to their fortress, and breathe water if we need to. Or perhaps there is a crossing along the way. I assume we wish to leave without another attempt at scouting or disruption. They have lost a search party, or hunting party, or diplomatic envoy, this night. Paired with the jail break and dead guards, they will be distracted so it may work. If we do not wish to risk it we should at least check with our new allies recently freed from captivity.”

Qivys nods and stands, ready to move out when the party does. 

Peri:

Peri stands and stretches, yawning widely enough that he swallows some sort of gnat. All that time in the cold water has taken a toll on him, and he's ready to find a warm, safe bed. "Sounds good to me. Lead on," he says to Boko.

The party moves on after a short rest, slowly following the river south, downstream toward its mouth near the fortress. The river gets wider and no less shallow as you retrace your steps past the worm fields, where the pair of sahaugin that you skirted earlier are no longer visible.

The causeway to the fortress lay ahead to the south, the worm fields to your west, the river to your east. Further east, across the mouth of the sluggish river, is another mile or so of swamp and beach to the spot you left the skiff; beyond that Tom and Butter and presumably hiding with the keelboat. It is still several hours before dawn, you estimate.

(Where to next? Swimming east across the river?)

Boko is fine with swimming - unless someone else has a better option? If they swim she would look around for their new allies.

Gerrard:

"Yes, let's swim and get some of this swamp gunk off of us.  We can check in with our new allies and see what has happened in our absence.  If they have observed an opportunity for further scouting, great, but otherwise I would be happy to return to the ship," says Gerrard.  He is somewhat recovered due to their rest, but still sleepy--not too motivated to further scout, but thinking of sleeping away the morning on board the ship on the way back to Saltmarsh.

Qivys nods and puts his helmet back on and enters the water. 

Kei 

"I think we've scouted enough for one day. I don't think anything except captured blueprints and an comprehensive inventory of the army would be enough to satisfy the ruddy council so regardless of what we being them they'll want more" His grumbling trailing off as they begin their way to the riverbank. He runs the recent events though his mind as they walk. It occurs to him that he may have overstepped with the dragon. Sheepishly he approaches Gerrard. "So...we don't have to tell the council everything about our encounter with Doug do we?"

Gerard:

”I am too tired to think about it properly, Master Kei, but the council needs to know at least the basics, and I’m sure they will have many questions…” says Gerrard, yawning as he prepares to get into the cold water.  The water wakes him up and washes some swamp slime off, but he is not truly alert as he should be given the length of the day they have had.

The young noble swims after Boko, letting his armor do most of the work.  he’ll think about council reports after he has finally managed to sleep for awhile…

The water is warmer than both the air and the ocean. It is black, and filled with silt and debris. Qivys and Boko see a severed arm, badly decayed in leather armor, pass by sluggishly under the surface in the slow current.

Successfully reaching the far bank, you emerge from the swampy river waters and begin your trek eastward behind the low, sandy bluffs at the edge of the marsh. You can hear the distant booming of the waves in the dark on the other side. There are no signs of life other than the ever-present biting insects.

Qivys steers clear of the arm and once he makes it to shore he will take a rest. He says little as they move along the sandy bluffs, preferring to keep an eye/ear out for any danger that might pop up. 

During the trek, Qivys keeps an eye on the rest of the party member. 

You hear it before you see it – a hollow boom that sounds different than the dull breakers. As the bluffs recede into a shallow cove, you see the dim outlines of a small shipwreck ahead, overturned at the water's edge, a hole stove into its hull, booming like a bass drum with each wave striking it. What looks like a flag or sign has been placed atop the overturned wreckage.