22nd of Serenith

It was morning in the Rusty Dragon, much like any other morning.  I was having breakfast with Kali and my baby brother, catching up on the goings-on in town since the last time I had seen them, at Niska’s funeral.  Although it was by no means unexpected, Niska’s death has hit Alarph really hard.  I’m a little worried about him, actually.  He was closer to her than any of us, and it’s no wonder; he was so young when mother died that I’m not even sure he has any memories of her.  Niska had a large part in raising him.  I’ve tried to do what I can to comfort him, but grief has its own timeline.

There were a number of new faces in the tavern that morning, and it seemed like the topic of the day was goblin hunting.  I was surprised to hear that the bounties had been reinstated; last time they were in effect, a couple of kids managed to get themselves completely in over their heads and consequently killed. 10gp per ear is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but there’s no such thing as easy money.  I dearly wish we could have made them aware of the risks before they snuck out of town.

A dwarf stranger tried to show off his new polearm, but Ameiko shut that down pretty quickly.  There’s a time and a place for comparing whose is bigger, and the Rusty Dragon is not it.  The dwarf quickly apologized and bought everyone a round; I raised my mug in a toast and ended up joining the discussion of the group of both newcomers and a few familiar faces.  Long story short, we decided to band together and investigate the quickly escalating goblin situation.

Ameiko informed us of a newcomer to the Brinemarsh whose self-designation is “Warden of the Swamp,” and suggested that he might have information about the goblins.  With the combination of having grown up here, and having roamed quite a ways, I know the area around Sandpoint pretty well.  I’ve often taken odd jobs as a guide (probably the oddest was that time an archaeological expedition was thwarted by an insurmountable army of bunny rabbits.)  Just like everyone else, however, I lack in depth knowledge of the Brinemarsh.  There’s been simply no reason for me to go there; it’s too overgrown for effective hunting, and it’s not exactly a tourist destination.

I gave Sopwith a couple of dates and a pat, and assured him we’d return soon.

22nd of Serenth, evening

Well, the rest of today was….eventful, to say the least.

In the end, we met the Warden of the Swamp, but not in the way we had anticipated. Upon encountering his house, and a tired, wounded halfling that appeared to be the Warden himself, Qatana barged past him inside yelling something incomprehensible about mice. I frantically tried to initiate damage control by apologizing profusely to what we thought was the Warden. While attempting to converse with him, I noticed a weird ripple across his face, almost like his form was unstable. “Oh, shit.” I thought. While I excused myself and began to search the house under the pretense of “taking care of his snake problem,” a bizarre standoff between our party and the “Warden” ensued.

The snakes that I found in a side room looked perfectly normal to me. I had even started to befriend one, when Kali peered into the room and motioned for me to come over. She told me in a low voice that he seemed awfully “together” considering his poison. I opened my mouth to agree when we heard a loud crash and some scuffling upstairs. I reassured my new snake friend that I’d be back, slid my greatsword from its sheath, and bolted towards the staircase, where I skidded to a halt as I noticed the narrow quarters and lack of room.

After the “Warden” was dispatched, we found the real halfling hidden away in a safe room, unconscious and wounded. I shudder when I consider what could have happened if we had waited a few days, or not come at all. He told us a few more details about the monster who took his form, and has generously allowed me to keep my new snake friend (who I have named F16, although I don’t expect anyone in this timeline to get the joke.) I promised that I’d bring her back to visit. Before the evening meal, I dragged the monster’s stinking corpse out of the house and burned it.

On a side note, I’m becoming increasingly concerned about Qatana. I get that she’s been through some trauma, but if this group continues adventuring together, her erratic behavior and affective instability could endanger all of us. Maybe Kali will have some ideas on what we can do.