Shipwrecked in Saltmarsh

Kelnan smiles wryly at the dwarf.  He never had much animosity toward dwarves, but always thought the big, blustery fellows were a bit silly.

Katernin was about to try and ride the untamed horse herself before Fianna goes to mount it, but pauses to see the reaction.

Butter softens slightly with Fianna, but doesn't give. "No, ma'am. The cart is for returning with stolen cargo, if needed."

Subtly projecting the beguiling presence of the fey... Wisdom Save: 9

He swallows hard, but manages to fend off Fianna's rather alien persuasion. "He can walk if he prefers. It's all sand between here an' there – he ain't gonna slow us down. His own loss, really."

She manages to mount her own steed, with difficulty. It bucks a bit, and shifts uncomfortably, but it is ultimately agreeable.

The guards shrug and lead the fifth horse away.

Everyone mounted but Dain, you begin the long slog back up the old coastal highway in a cold, relentless drizzle.
The ruts in the dirt road become muddy, although eventually sandier as you slowly climb onto higher ground.

Seth is sullen, grumbling occasionally. He leads the way. Farley is silent and vacant.
Butter, driving the cart, sips from his waterskin and begins to sing.

"As me an' me marra was puttin' the tram,
The lowe it went oot, and me marra went wrang;
Ye wad ha' laughed had ye seen the gam,
The De'Il tyeuk me marra, but aw gat the tram."

He's not a very good singer.

Dain stomps along, subconsciously keeping time with the terrible ditty.  The hard walk up the long path is nothing more than an annoyance to him, his dwarven constitution and belligerent mindset being more than a match for a sandy hill.  He uses the whole experience as more fuel to the raging fire slowly building inside his belly.

Stupid guards with their stupid horses.  Dangerous, good for nothing, unpredictable things.  Stupid weather, why can't it stop raining around here?  Stupid smugglers.  They are going to wish they had never mugged this old dwarf by the time I'm finished with them.   Stupid hill!  Why can't haunted houses be built in more convenient places?

It's a dreary day, and you meet no one on the road. At one point, Seth squints far into the scrubby moors and asks Farley, "Are those orcs?" ...But they're not, they're boulders. Butter continues his song.

You finally arrive at the fallow fields near the house, where a large flock of crows takes flight at your arrival. This was approximately where Dain stumbled out of the brambles yesterday. Seth orders a halt. Butter stumbles out of the cart to stretch his legs and falls in the overgrown field, and Farley helps him up. Seth climbs into the wagon and stands on the seat, shading his eyes as he surveys the landscape. 

You see the distant shape of the house, on the peak of the hill, silhouetted against the heavily overcast morning sky. A thin rain continues to fall.

Climbing down from the wagon, Seth stands with his hands on his hips, watching carefully. Then he looks at the party and announces, "Okay. We're going to clear this house out now. Stay quiet, stay back, and don't get involved unless I tell you to. You're only here as guides." He pats his longsword and smiles confidently. "How many were there again?"

     “Best as I recall, we saw five.  Four we corpse-ified but one fled and got away.  We holed up in a room overnight, blockading the door.  We heard one try the door and give up and move on.  If that was the same as the one who fled, I couldn’t tell you,” Fianna says, a bit exasperated.

     “I am just a girl, after all.  And the rest victims of rather heinous criminality.  Still and all, we survived.  I’m sure you hold, brave men with your special duty carts and short... swords... can handle whatever is left.”

     “But if you do need help,” she adds, “”just give out a terrified scream and we’ll come rescue you.”

     Fianna really probably didn’t have cause to be as disdainful if these guards as she was, but her very limited experience with them so far was most bravado, pigheadedness and disappointment.  She’d be happy to be surprised and have the competently complete their mission...  She didn’t expect to be happy though.

Katernin gives Fianna a look, "They're just trying to help," she says, "and we do need their help."

Dain waits until the guards have gone.  "We could go take a peek in the caves?" he ventures.  "Though it might get a bit hard to explain if they do link up and we meet the guards in the cellar somewhere."

     Fianna gives Katernin a friendly smile. “I’ll be thankful for their help if they’re helpful... Recent events may have left me a bit... pessimistic?  Plus despite our loss, I think we handled ourselves pretty well.  Better, I suspect, than these guards could.”

     “But I think we should wait, for now, Dain,” she says, focusing on him.  “If the guards need us... for help or information, we should be nearby.  We can always direct them there once they return.  Or investigate ourselves if they do not.”

Kelnan

"If the basement does lead out here, perhaps we should remain if anyone were to flee this way."

The guards remount their horses and begin the final hundred yards or so to the old gate. Seth looks back at you and halts.

He sighs with exasperation. "C'mon! You're supposed t' show us! You ain't staying here!" He beckons you to follow. His plumed helm bobs comically as he begins his ride again toward the gate. Butter drains another waterskin in his wagon. Farley has a coughing fit. Crows caw in annoyance nearby.

Molo swaggers up to the guards, gives ‘em the lazy eye, and struts inside.

Katernin dismounts, "My apologies, I think I misunderstood what you meant." She goes to help the guards along.

     "Right behind ya, mi Capitan!" Fianna says brightly and meanders after them...

Seth holds Molo back with a sweep of his arm. "Don't worry. We'll leave one of 'em for you to kill, if you want. But I am in command of this operation," he says to Molo, sternly. He pats his head, patronizingly. "Let's go."

The decrepit house sits on the highest ground in the area. Around it, the stone wall has crumbled in many places, exposing the interior grounds. The ornate metal gate lies open at the end of the road, swaying slightly in the wind. Wild flora grows throughout the inner yard, but all the years cannot hide the evidence of a well-tended garden that once sat here. Near the house, the rotted wooden roof of a water well rises out of the tall grass.

Without hesitation, Seth leads the party down the old cobbled path, including Butter's cart. Its wheels clatter on the old stones. The thin, cold rain seeps deeper into your bones. Seth doesn't stop at the side door, but instead leads the group to the front of the house.

Even in the rain, the view is breathtaking. A sheer cliffs drops away near the edge of the path, perhaps a hundred feet or more straight down into the booming rocky ocean below. Clearly a lot of erosion has taken place since this house was built. It's not safe to get too close to the sodden edge.

The guards dismount and begin to tie up the horses. "Let's kill some smugglers," offers Seth.

Seth strides up to the front door. He bangs on it with his fist. "In the name of the Crown, open up!" He gestures for Butter and Farley to prepare to enter. Butter staggers dangerously getting out of his wagon- he's evidently quite drunk. He still softly singing his song ("Oh marra, oh marra, what dost thou think? / I've broken me bottle and spilt a' me drink...")

Although the door is obviously unlocked and barely hanging on its frame, Seth kicks it in with a splintering crash. "Let's go!" he barks, waving his longsword in the air. Farley and Butter load their heavy crossbows, Butter rather sloppily. Seth beckons the rest of you to follow.

(Front door in the center at the bottom of the map.)

Katernin follows the guards, confused and a little concerned by their over eagerness. As they kick down the door, she goes between her axe and mace, before placing her hand between both and deciding to make a decision if more combat occurs.

     “So did you scream and make a clatter to give the bad guys to run away or do you think they’ll find it intimidating” Fianna asks.  “Asking for a friend...”

     Fianna loiters behind, feeling mo need to be right on these guys heels.  She stays a good 15 to 20 feet behind them when possible.

As Fianna mentions asking for a friend, Molo raises a hand. “I was curious, too. Worried, really. It seems like a terrible idea.”