04 - 8/4

After disposing of the suspected smugglers, the group tended to their wounds and decided a quick rest was in order. The bodies were moved and Zelem disguised himself as the leader encase any more were in the area. As predicted, after a short time a Hobgoblin came out and informed the disguised tiefling that they had finished stacking the goods. Zelem gave him a bit of a fib and the lackey returned back through the now-revealed secret entrance.
With a short rest, the magic mouth fright had worn off and the group was ready for more action. Before investigating the room with a clearly labeled "Skeletons, Beware!" warning, the party decided that a brief visit upstairs was in order. After returning to the living area and being startled by the Magic Mouth once again, Ruven focused her arcane energy on it and managed to end its effect. The group continued back towards the front door and continued north to the kitchen where Zelem found another magic mouth trap trying to ward off intruders. Unfortunately the scare had shaken Ruvens nerve, and she was having difficulty ending this ones effect, and decided to try again later.
The set of stairs on the north part of the house went down to a new room, where a man clad in plate armor lay dead. While investigating, a couple swarms of Rot Grubs poured forth from the body and attacked! They nearly overwhelmed poor Zelem as they dug into his skin, but after Ruven tossed a torch to Ira they managed to burn them out before they bore their way into Zelems heart.
Deciding that the Magic Mouths effect was hampering with their ability to explore and thinking the house likely safe for now, the group decided to rest for a bit in order to let its effect wear off. Unfortunately during this time, the remaining smugglers had gone out and found their leaders body dead. They attacked, but with their numbers proved no match for the group, especially with half of their number grappled by Zelems Grasp of the Kraken. One managed to survive the encounter, but he was quite unconscious and didn’t appear to be waking up, so Tifa carted him around while the group investigated the southern caves he had came from.
Here the caves wound into a storage area with bolts of cloth and some casks of brandy, clearly stolen, before coming to the ocean. The group deduced this must be where the smugglers offload their goods. With the area secure, it was time to investigate the strange skeleton room.
As expected, when the door was unbarred the party found a small horde of skeletons shambling around inside. In this bottle neck and using Zelems grasp ability the group handled them with ease. But when the group had nearly defeated them, the resident Alchemist came through a hidden entrance and began conjuring magical alchemical bombs to throw at the party! The remaining skeleton got a few lucky hits off and the deceased alchemist proved a worthy foe, but with a bit of healing and perseverance the group struck them down
In the hidden Alchemists room the group found the deed to the house along a book about the Philosopher's Stone. WIth the deed secure and their mission complete, the group prepared to scout the rest of the house before their return trip to Saltmarsh.

Important Characters

The Skeletal Alchemist - Long dead, this person was the old owner of the house and was finally put to rest by the party.