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They arrive back at Saltmarsh, and the only local cleric gladly cures Alzar’s blindness as a thank you and reward. It appears that the men and mage were there as smugglers, and they were using the house’s reputation as a place of horror and hauntings to stay there, enchanting it with odd light shows at night and those screams and cries.
They are thanked, and for a few days, rest and heal up, and then the mayor comes back to them for a follow up mission, for 500 gold each.
Although the land-based operation of these smugglers has been squashed, there must be a major vessel on the River Storm or the sea beyond that is conveying the contraband and at large. They might seek vengeance, they might set up another post – who knows.
500 gold per person, and he will have some local guardsmen patrol at night, looking at the River for signs of a ship moving in to the house. A small fishing vessel will be put at Alzar’s disposal and they will wait at night, ready to attack and hit the ship. They will be out on the water, away, “Fishing” each night, and then when the signal comes from the shore that the right ship has arrived, they will take a small boat to that ship and try to board it, and capture or eliminate those on board.
Two weeks pass, before finally, one night, a passing seaworthy vessel slows, and then the shoreman sees it trying to signal the shore. He drops a pebble into the teleport jar he is keeping, and Alzar and his group see it, and move off. The skeletons are quietly in the wagons ashore, as are the16 animal skeletons – guarding the three wagons.
They approach from the river side, not the shore side, figuring that gives them a smaller chance of being noticed. The rowboat gently meets the ship, and Alzar’s Rope of Climbing makes a good, knotted, climbing rope that will keep the ship and boat moored to each other. They begin to rise, when suddenly, a passing patrol notices the boat, looks over the side, sees a group of people, and shouts out an alarm.
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