Ben can for sure clean the explorers' pack for Ash!

Ben, you drop the rock into that other bag. You see it go in, and when you look in to it, you see the rock has travelled about 4 feet! This bag has an interior space considerably larger than its outside dimensions, roughly 2 feet in diameter at the mouth and 4 feet deep. 

Ess slowly puts his band in the bag... and he's able to get the rock if you tilt the bag. He brings out the rock and also notices the odd dimensions when he actually looks in the bag. "Woaaahhh. Duuuude." and then he throws the rock away. 

If Ben is familiar in general with bag of holdings, then after all of this he'd know that this is one of those!

Korrik, you take some nice long draws of the tobacco. (strange and funny were my roundabout way of hinting these items are magical, haha. I suppose strange and funny are relative!)

As you exhale the smoke, it does not dissipate, instead lingering around you. After about 10 minutes, the smoke forms moving shapes that reenact your most impressive and heroic achievements for 5 minutes. (you can describe them!) When this realistic performance is complete, the smoke dissipates. 

Korrik, after using the pipe, you get a sense for it's power -> Pipe of remembrance

So it will take a little under an hour for Ben and Ess to get back to marshswamp. It would be around 7:00am when you get back to town.

And so Ben and Ess are heading back with the horses directly to the carriage? I believe it was left at the snapping line inn (#13 on the Marshswamp Overview map). And then bringing the carriage back to the house? Or will you guys talk to people once you get back to town?

If you bring the carriage back immediately, Korrik and Ash will have approximately 2 hours alone back at the house/caverns. 

Once the discovery of the bag is made Ben will load it with everything they were initially bringing as well as the books, just in case someone in town turns out to be interested.

He is planning on selling stuff, buying some things for himself and Ash and asking around a bit before he heads back with Ess.

For nine minutes and fifty nine seconds after exhaling, Korrik is convinced its a cursed pipe.

"Awww, fork it all man! That's probably why he was bald, the forking smoke just hung around his spooning head and choked the life out of his hair! Maybe I can outrun it?.... Forking ladles it FORKING FOLLOWS ME? Spoons, spoons, spoons. Ben, you'll have to introduce me to the local clergy, they can fix me right?"

"--and how am I supposed to mediate with a smoke cloud hanging around me? And the better taverns don't like you smoking inside, the Driftwood won't have me back in the kitchen if I've got this forking thing circling my head! Of all the forking stupi-- Oh!"

The smoke begins swirling, two small figures appearing and darting cavorting and avoiding larger smoke figures. The same two, slipping aboard a ship, then back out again, hiding and skulking about, picking pockets, running, leaping from roof to roof, swinging from the sails and netting of ships... then just one figure, training, leaping, running, cooking an enormous smoke feast... then that figured joined by two lager ones, one of which has a tail and horns, battling all sorts of lizards, then another figure, graceful and feline, fighting together against other smoke figures, the little one catching an arrow and throwing it back...

"-huh."

Before the show,

"Well they fixed me up quickly enough. They can probably deal with your smoke issues. I wonder if it will follow you under water? That'd be interesting."

After,

"Well. Not cursed, but I've seen better. Can you change what it shows? Or is it the same every time?"

((For ease Klein, when Ess and Ben arrive back in town they will head to the inn first and grab some breakfast and try to talk to Hanna. They'd also check to see if the market had started up and what was for sale/to buy.

Also now that they have the bag Ben would toss in most of the armor and a couple of the weapons too, cus why not!))

"Hmmm... oh, I'm not sure. I think fifteen minutes of smoke following me around is enough for today, but any of you are welcome to try.", he says quietly, tucking the pipe away among his things if no one else wants to give it a go.

While Ess and Ben are gone...

"So if one of them seems to be waking, are we knocking them back out, or just leaving them be for now?"

"Nah, I don't smoke. Need to take care of my voice. Interesting trinket."

((They are going to beat the spork out of Willard...))

When Korrik’s smoke depicts images right up to their last fight, Ash is enthralled. “It’s me!! On my gods... that’s me! How are you doing that?! Ha!...”, she watches completely engrossed.

When the others leave for town, Ash yawns. She asks Korrik, with a dry humour, “do you want to bury the dead before, or after, breakfast?”.

((while the others are away, I guess Ash and Korrik clear up the place a bit and bury the dead in the garden near the house? Or in the woods near by? I suspect it will be most of the morning before Ben and Ess are back? Ash would suggest leaving the survivors conscious in the skeleton room if they come round. No need to risk anything by opening the door)).

While they’re alone, Ash will joke, “They have all the loot, you sure they’re coming back?!”. With a sly look at Korrik.

"I don't really know how it's doing it."

"We didn't think this through, did we. Hauling them up the stairs on our own isn't going to be fun. Yeah, they'll be back. We might be liars, thieves and sneaks, but we've gotten this far having each other's backs."

((Next random person we adopt into the party needs to have at least 14 Strength. :D Party average is sitting at 9.))

Ok lets get some tandem action going here. 

From the things that Ess and Ben will be doing in town (breakfast, Hanna chat, market), and the almost 2hr round trip, they will likely be gone a minimum of 4 hours. Do you think that would give them enough time to haul up all of those bodies and dig the holes to bury them? I'm not exactly sure. They will be eating breakfast too, right? Willard will wake in 2 hours, the women in 3 and Sanbalet in 4. Keeping the survivors in the skeleton room with the door barred will indeed work!

((I forgot how much stuff there is to do in this town! It almost parallels Port Nyanzaru actually. Keep that in mind when all of you are back here, especially if there is any downtime in-game.))

The town is already bustling with activity as Ess/Betty and Ben/Swiftwind arrive on what is another beautiful day. You are greeted by the guards simply with a nod as you make your way to the Snapping Line inn to grab breakfast and chat with Hanna. 

The inn is already busy with fishing teams and sailing teams wolfing down breakfasts and staying quiet for the most part, likely because most of them are nursing hangovers from partying the night before. 

Different kind of partying than what you all were doing, hahaha.

Hanna is even working and running tables it's so busy, and immediately greets Ben and Ess "Ben! And.... oh, ESS! nice to see you both! You guys here for the special? OH, Ben, can I put you down to play tonight? One of the regulars bailed!" you can tell she's pretty busy. 3sp for breakfast. 

Brett is off today. 

What will you talk to Hanna about? Feel free to point form it, or RP and I'll do the same back. 

As for the markets, oh yeah, they are open. Big time. It's super busy. Here are the markets etc. in Marshswamp, you would've found them pretty easily by asking locals or Hanna. Ess would be asking the locals for directions. I'll go ahead and show all of the locations in the town that you can buy/sell at which you learned about from Hanna/locals.

Ben might've got some rude looks as well from locals as you walked through the town, but no confrontations. Probably because he was with a human. 

(shown on the marshswamp overview tab)

7. Faithful Quartermasters of Iuz

A trade delegation led by Captain Xendros has come to Saltmarsh to acquire large quantities of fish (salted and preserved for transport).

Xendros sometimes has need for adventurers.

Aaaaaaaand deals in magic items. This is common knowledge in the city. 

9. Green Market

A strip of open land that is the place for everything that isn’t fish, salt, or nautical wares, this market stretches among a dozen stalls down to the bridge. A few goats, eggs, cloth, marsh plants, and pots are available, as well as the occasional mule or ox for hauling carts.

11. Kester’s Leather Goods

Kiorna Kester runs this tannery, where she produces smooth, colorful leather for every purpose and sells both the cured hides and items she fashions from it. 

15. Weekly Market

Built around the first well dug for the fishers in the town’s early days is a large market square where merchants of all descriptions gather on the first day of each week to sell their wares. Initially established to sell fish, the market has grown to include a wide variety of goods. The center area of the square contains a dozen long tables where shoppers can eat communally. Items from the players handbook costing up to 150 gp are available for purchase here.

17. The Dwarven Anvil

The blacksmith’s forge has a single anvil with a clear sign of dwarven origins, and a backlog of orders ten miles long. The human smiths make hooks, nails, harpoons, knives, fishing weights, and much more all day. 

28. Winston’s Store

General store.

Let me know where you might want to go, also keeping in mind what time it is and that Korrik and Ash are waiting. 

((Bodies to the wine cellar, for now, one of us get started on digging a hole in the backyard, see how far we get. Other to keep watch for breakouts, when the digger gets tired, comes down and we switch off?))

((Sounds perfect.

Also, don’t forget the survivors are bound and gagged I think but maybe they can get free. I doubt they’ll get out through the barred door though. But good shout on shifts and watches taking turns.

I suspect we’d make ‘a start’ on the mass grave, but we may still be going when the others get back. That’s okay. Maybe we all pitch in to finish up here before staying over at the house again, or heading to town for the night. If we do that, Ash would suggest arriving after dark and keeping a low profile if possible.

Not sure what we do with the survivors in the long run? Can we risk letting them free? Do we leave them locked up and let fate decide? But I’m getting ahead of things. We can discuss that when we’re all back together! For now, we keep watch, and dig in shifts)).

((Just a quick question. Can we assume the screaming fear magic is gone now, from the hatch and the stairs? Or do we have to contend with that going off every time we pass through?! Thanks))

((edit...  oh, and how many survivors were there? Not many. Just two women, Willard and Boss? Was it?))

Ash would also chat to Korrik as the day goes by...

She’ll tell him she’s looking forward to a hot bath and a soft bed.

She’ll say that she wouldn’t mind spending a day (maybe less, maybe more) in town getting the lay of the land. Trying to contact ‘contacts’. A bit of shopping. And putting her ear to the ground for jobs and news.

More than anything though, it’s about getting properly clean, properly rested and maybe picking up some fine clothes. The kind you need to be there to buy and try on.

"Hanna! Yes, the special would be lovely. Tonight?"

He gives a grimace and looks to Ess,

"Probably not, unfortunately. I left Kay out in the woods and he would be a bit put out if we didn't come back for him. Tomorrow night?"

Then he will ask about the locations you pointed out above. He will also ask conversationally,

"Winston said Swampmarsh was having a problem with thefts for a while? Is it okay leaving our carriage here or should we be worried? Isn't someone trying to do something?"

--

He would swing by the Green Market to grab some fresh produce to bring back, enough for dinner and breakfast for four.

--

At Kester's,

"Hello sir! We are wondering if you sell studded leather armor? One in black if possible? We would also like to sell our old leathers if you're interested. As you can see they are well taken care of and thoroughly cleaned!"

Persuasion (min 17):14

((Only going to try and sell 4 leather armors here.))

--

At the Weekly Market he (and Ess) are looking for potential buyers for the books, gold items and gems.

Perception: 13

--

At the Dwarven Anvil he will see that they sell/buy metal armor. If so he would attempt to sell them the plate and chainmail.

“My friend here foolishly bought a set of plate before actually trying it out to see if he could wear it.” He points over to the scrawny build of Ess and continues, “Long story short he could barely walk in it. Then, not learning from his mistake, he bought some chain. At least with that he could walk. Slowly. As you can see, both are in good shape and are well cleaned.”

Persuasion (min 17):15

--

At Winston’s he will ask for the things Ash wanted while also trying to sell a shortbow and a shortsword,

“They are too much to pack around!”

Persuasion (min 17):8

And then ask,

”Ess here has fallen in love with the town and wants to move here, but I’m worried about those lizardfolk being so close. You know if they’ve been hostile at all?

--

Ben would check with Xendros to see what he has available for magic items and to generally say hello.

“Hello there! My name is Ben and I and my friend Ess are new to town. I understand you have magical items for sale? And do you identify magical items here as well?”

((The order might need to shift with Kester's coming later so Ben and Ess have the money they need for the studded armor.))

((If the alarms on the stairs are what I suspect they are, I believe they last until dispelled. Ihad been considering both of us digging since we'd know if they tried to escape if they're still active, but one word if they went and took the boat or tried to swim away.))

"What do you say we pull Willard out and ask him a few more questions when he comes to? We can truss him up tight to one of the chairs or something? Thank him for helping us but let him know that his boss is really pissed at him, maybe shake something loose from him that the Boss didn't give up?"

Ash replies, “If we’re going to do that, I suggest we get him out and truss him up to a chair now, while he’s out. Easier to work with... I’d also suggest we tie the chair to a post or something sturdy that won’t move. And I’d also suggest we put a sack over his head!.... Maybe it’s too late for that, but still. Good procedure is good procedure”. She looks back at Korrik from wherever in her mind, or training, or experience she got all that from, and smiles.

((Ash will help arrange that, and then get back to digging and the watch rota until he comes around, or the others get back))

Whether the grave/hole can be dug in time before Ben and Ess come back will depend on how many people Ben speak with and how much business they do. As you mention though it doesn't matter if they don't get it all done before they get back!

Let's say the survivors won't be able to get out of their gags and binds. You tied them very tight. :)

The magic traps are absolutely gone. Spider yep you're right it's a magic mouth, it's just I don't like the idea of them staying up when Sanbalet is unconscious.

Yep the survivors were those two women, Willard and Sanbalet. 

Ash and Korrik arrange Willard's unconscious body onto a chair and tied up along with the chair tied down and a blind over his head. You both would also be going back and forth between shifts on digging the hole as well. Very busy morning!

*camera zooms back to Marshswamp*

Hanna replies "Tomorrow night it is! Oh you should have nothing to worry about your carriage." she sighs. "unfortunately there's always a little bit of crime in this town. Ok maybe a lot at times. But that also brings the increased guard presence and they frequently scan this area all hours of the day and night. As long as you're not leaving the thing here for weeks on end, I don't mind, and it should be safe." She would explain the brief details of each location that I mentioned but would not have time to get into great details about each one. (1hr breakfast and talking)

((and let me know if you think I am totally off with the time estimates! Time includes walking to each location etc. ))

Green Market = 1gp for all of that produce. (20 min)

Kesters = During your visit here, you and Ess would get some information specifically about this place and Kiorna Kester herself. I have added her to the NPC tab on the google sheet. She runs this tannery, where she produces smooth, colorful leather for every purpose and sells both the cured hides and items she fashions from it. Kiorna is keenly interested in acquiring hides from exotic creatures to craft into expensive leather.

((I made an error here and would like to make a small retro change. I must've missed this place when you guys first arrived into town. She would've wanted the basilisk hide. I would like one of you (except Ash) to roll a survival or a slight of hand check. This would be for skinning that basilisk that you guys killed earlier. The result will determine how much she offers you for it. You still had to bury the corpse. We can say that this happened before you guys went to the house. Sorry!)).

She would buy the 4 leathers for 20gp total, and would sell you a studded leather (faded black color) for 45gp. (20 min)

Weekly Market = you don't find any buyers for those items. That's not to say this market will never have buyers... just not this day. (20min)

Dwarven's Anvil = The blacksmith’s forge has a single anvil with a clear sign of dwarven origins, and a backlog of orders ten miles long. The human smiths make hooks, nails, harpoons, knives, fishing weights, and much more all day. Their master smith is a dark-skinned woman named Mafera ; her son, Jasker , is her best journeyman. Both are shown on the NPC tab. They wouldn't say anything about humans operating a dwarven forge unless you asked. They would indeed buy the plate for 750gp, 37gp for the chainmail. Ess keeps quiet as Ben does the talking. "Great looking plate there. Jasker, take it to the back and melt it down." (20min)

Winston would not have bought the swords, more of a general store, although there was a small arms dealer in the market today that would've bought them for 12gp bow, 5gp sword. Winston smiles when he learns that Ess wants to live here. "Hmmm... I mean there's always a threat with the lizardfolk being so close to the town, but as of late we've had no issues. Why, you hear something?" (20 min)

Xendros = she would greet you both and take special notice to Ben. "Greetings, gentleman. You here for work? Got lots of fish to load today. Or if you're more of the adventuring types....."

"Magic items? Yes. Simply put, I can get you anything you desire, friend. Anything." she smiles at Ben. "Given the right amount of time, of course. Luz can only do so much. Although, what would speed it up is if you were to bring me something."

She would explain that she is looking for an apparatus of Kwalish. If news of one reaches her, she offers magic items to those willing to recover it for her. She has no idea where one could be unfortunately. 

Ben can roll history for Luz. 

Xendros could also assist with identifying magic items, although it's not guaranteed she would be able to do it. She'd charge the standard price if she is successful. 10 gold coins. She could contact Luz for that as well if she fails but it'd take time. (30 min)

Total in town so far approx. 3hrs.

"We getting lunch bro?"

*camera zooms back to the smuggler's base*

Willard has come to. Same with the 2 women. What questions would you ask him? And then the survivors are locked in the skeleton room? You hear them mumble a bit for awhile through the gags, and then just stop and accept their captured fate. 

Ash and Korrik could roll STR checks to see how their rotating digging fared out please in these 3 hours. 

Let me know if I missed anything!

((Wow, thanks for the detailed post! Perfect balance of RP and details. Really appreciate all the work!))

Ash’s strength check (digging): 3 

((No argument from me, until one of us can cast magic mouth, then you can be sure I'm arguing for it being permanent! :p ))

((Probably makes the most sense for Korrik to make the skinning check, Ben's been pretty hands off when possible regarding skinning and the like. Would Ess be able to help out, holding the hide back as Korrik cuts, etc. to get advantage? I'll roll it, but if not, can just take the first roll. 21))

((Hole digging: 17))

((Halfling Shovel Powers Activate! 18 ))

Korrik as rummaged through the stores and has started making a breakfast while Ash is digging upstairs. 

"Good morning Willard! No, I can see you twitching, I know you're awake. Sanbalet was pretty confused and upset when he saw you helping us take over his base here. He mentioned something about a ship, I don't suppose you'd care to share more? Oh, yes... the gag. Well, I can't leave the stove just yet, I don't want to burn anything! You just think about how best you can be helpful. Helpful boys get breakfast!"

He'll let Willard stew until Ash comes down off her digging shift to have breakfast.

"Hey Ash, I got some breakfast for us... not my best work, but we make due with what we have available, right? Willard's up. I told him if he's a very helpful boy, he can  have breakfast too."