Warsh pulled the ferry to a dock on an island with trees blocking the view of the village ahead. The boatman was of very little help in answering questions and was content tending to his raft by the docks. Arannis motioned for the group to follow him up the hill with Nordak and the others guiding their mounts. The dwarf hoped for a warmer reception in the village and perhaps a place to lock their beasts away while they went to work.

After emerging through the treeline and climbing to the top of a hill, the group was able to see the village. The settlement was hardly a village and only consisted of a few hovels built from wood, a decently-sized barn, and a communal fire pit at the center of the place. The villagers, who looked very similar to one another, turned to the group with wide eyes. Then, they returned to their business, leaving the strangers alone instead of trying to talk to them. A young girl made her way to the hill but the others didn't pay much attention to her.

"Who would bother attacking this place?" Pallas asked out loud. "Nothing but a few buildings and inbred villagers."

"Pallas!" Arannis glared toward the half-elf.

"What?" Pallas shrugged. "Not like they can hear me from up here. Except for the kid, maybe, but what's she going to do?"

The girl waved at the group. "Who might ye be, Outsides?"

"Outsides?" Pallas raised an eyebrow at the girl.

"We're here to help," Arannis told the girl before introducing each member of the group. "I am Arannis, and this Hana, Nordak, Nalos, and Pallas."

"I'm Elisande!" the girl smiled. "It's good to meet ye, Outsides."

"Thank you," Nalos smiled back. "Do you get a lot of visitors?"

"Outsides sometimes come but they never stay for long," Elisande answered. "There's a madman we keep around but he's not a lot of fun other than throwing stones at him."

"We'll need te talk te him," Nordak told the others. "I can try te get th' lad te open up."

"We also need to do what we can to prepare the village for an attack," Arannis said, looking around. "Maybe we can set up defenses, but unless we have the help from the villagers, I don't see us lasting long if the enemy has many attackers."

"Perhaps we should wait until we have a place to stay before we start planning," Hana suggested. "Elisande, is there anywhere we can stay? Preferably somewhere that our horses can rest as well."

"Ye can use the barn," Elisande answered. "That's where we keep the goats. I'll show ye the way there."

Even though the group knew where the barn was, Elisande led the way toward the building without waiting for an answer. With the group not caring enough to turn their new guide away, they followed her inside the barn. On closer look, the barn was constructed of flotsam that washed up on the island from the Moonsea. They left their horses there but didn't want to stay as they saw the goats. The four animals were rather sickly with one having a stumpy leg and another with white eyes that showed it was blind.

While his companions left toward the exit, Nalos walked up to one of the makeshift beams that held up the barn.

"Nalos," Hana called out. "We're not staying in that barn."

"Audacity," Nalos said out loud.

"Huh?" Hana blinked in confusion.

Nalos turned and rejoined his companions. "Audacity. That's what's written on the beam. It's kind of faded."

"I doubt it means anything," Arannis said with a shrug.

"You might be right," Nalos nodded. "It's likely part of a ship that sank in the Moonsea. That's my best bet on what it means."

"We should get on task," Arannis told the group. "Elisande, who is in charge of the village?"

"The folk doesn't have a single leader," Elisande answered. "But I bet if ye Outsides could talk Warsh, Ulberto, and the crones to help, the rest of the folk will pitch in."

"Understood," Arannis tapped his chin in thought. "I'm better off coming up with traps. Pallas, you're with me."

"Not happening," Pallas said and lifted up one of his scrawny arms. "Do you think I have the muscles to help with digging or woodwork?"

"You managed to fight on par with me not that long ago," Arannis pointed out with a frown.

"That was because of the techniques I used," Pallas explained. "You beat me in pure strength any day of the week. I'll talk to Ulberto, whoever that is."

"Ulberto works at the smokehouse," Elisande said. "Ye can't miss it!"

"I'm not letting you go alone," Arannis flatly told Pallas. "Hana, do you mind joining him?"
Hana turned toward Arannis, having previously been lost in thought. "Oh, sure. I can manage that."

"Why can't I stick with Nalos?" Pallas asked.

"I'll need someone to help me with the traps, and of us all, Nalos may be best to persuade Warsh," Arannis said. "Is that fine with you, Nalos?"

"It works for me," Nalos replied with a smile.

"Ye can leave th' crones te me," Nordak told the rest of the group. "Afterwards, I'll meet with th' madman."

"Ooh, I'll guide ye te the crones, Outsides!" Elisande volunteered. "Follow me."

The group watched the girl run off without waiting and Pallas chuckled. "Good luck with the kid, Nordak."

Nordak grunted in a noncommittal manner and followed after Elisande. He didn't really care about sticking with the child, especially given that the rest of the group were in pairs of two. He could at least count on Elisande to tell him more about her home and to show him around. Unlike the rest of the villagers, she was very eager to meet with the outsiders and try to impress them. The dwarf had a few ideas on why that was the case but didn't voice his opinion on the matter yet.

Elisande led Nordak to the fire pit in the center of the village. Despite the rain that fell, three elderly women worked to maintain a small fire that boiled a bucket of water. They had long gray hair that was unclean and each smelled of fish as Nordak walked closer to the two. The dwarf was worried that they may be some sort of hag coven, but for now, didn't act on the possibility. The folk of the village were strange but they were still human.

"Greetings," Nordak greeted. "I have te say that I'm impressed that yer keepin' th' fire goin' in this fire."

"As long as the fire remains, the village will survive," one of the women spoke.

"Would you care for water?" the second woman offered. "We boiled it to be safe."

"It's no good poisoning dirty water," the third elder cackled.

Nordak shook his head. "I'm here te help defend th' village."

"From the monster of the sea?" the first elder asked.

"Or that of the woods taking strangers like yourself?" the second one suggested.

"Perhaps you are the threat," the third crone glared.

Nordak sighed. "Look, we have reason te believe there's a ship coming an' that it may attack yer village. If ye can rally the villagers, we stand a better chance."

"You may have a point," the first crone conceded.

"But we are not easily swayed," the second crone added.

"Solve our riddle and we may consider helping," the third crone told Nordak.

"Fine," Nordak grunted, crossing his arms impatiently. "Speak your riddle."

The third crone spoke on behalf of the trio. "I don't have eyes but once I did. I once had thoughts, now white and empty."

Nordak thought about the riddle for a few seconds. He stroked his beard, thinking as to what the three bitter crones had in mind. No doubt the answer would be something dark and creepy based on the way they acted, and as it so happened, his work in the name of Kelemvor brought him across such creatures. The dwarf snapped his fingers when the answer came to him, having seen plenty in his work at various graveyards.

"A skull!" Nordak answered.

"It looks like he has eyes and thoughts in his skull," the first crone noted.

"Shall we tell the villagers to prepare for what is to come?" the second crone asked.

"We shall not," the third crone answered with the other two nodding in agreement. "As long as the fire lives, so too shall the folk."

"But ye just told me that if I solved yer riddle, ye would help," Nordak said, unable to hide his anger.

"We said we might," the third crone reminded Nordak.

"Begone so that we may tend to the first," the first crone demanded.

"And stay away from the woods," the second crone cackled.

Nordak grumbled under his breath and stepped away from the trio. A few seconds later, Elisande walked back to him, having stayed away during his conversation with the trio.

"That was the fastest anyone solved one of their riddles," Elisande smiled widely. "Ye must be real smart."

"It's just common sense," Nordak said and shook his head.

"Shall I take ye to the madman?" Elisande asked.

"In just a few moments," Nordak told the girl. "I need a few moments te calm down after that…"

"And… finished!" Nalos declared.

The triton placed his hands over his hips and stood in front of the trap he made. With a few pieces of wood and a thick fishing line, Nalos built a trip line over by the shoreline. While this might not seem impressive by itself, the trip line was positioned in front of a pit that Arannis dug with a shovel that they found and borrowed from a villager. Any invader that tripped on the line would then fall down into the pit and suffer some bruises and even a broken bone.

Of course, if the invaders were from a ghost ship, these traps weren't going to do much.

The two adventurers were in sight of the docks where Warsh and four dockhands tied the ferry and several other boats to the docks, desperately fighting against the storm. Nalos wasn't sure why Arannis insisted on making the traps in front of Warsh but the dark elf was insistent on it being a way to persuade the boatman to help. Arannis threw his shovel up from the pit and started to climb out. Before working on the traps, he had changed out of his splint armor into a simple tunic and trousers as he figured he would work up a sweat. The dark elf took off his hat and used it to fan himself, no longer having to worry about the sun's rays damaging his eyes.

"Okay," Arannis said after several deep breaths. "I should be able to find some foliage to hide the pit, and maybe even find some materials for a swinging weight trap. That'll show those attackers."
"Do you need me to come with you?" Nalos asked. "I can help harvest some wood and branches from the woods."

"Not now," Arannis shook his head. "You need to convince Warsh to help us."

"How can I do that?" Nalos asked, confused.

"Warsh seems to be a practical man," Arannis noted. "Explain that we've already started and try to avoid mentioning your past work as a pirate, and I imagine that he'll agree to rally the village to help."

Nalos blinked in confusion. "Why should I not talk about being a pirate?"

"Because he's a legitimate sailor in the Moonsea who likely had to contend with pirates before," Arannis explained bluntly. "It's common sense."

"Right," Nalos said with a nod. "I can do that."

"Good luck," Arannis said and walked off.

Nalos watched his friend leave, wondering if he would be able to talk to Warsh by himself. The boatman was not an enemy but he certainly wasn't kind. After a moment to think over what Arannis suggested, the triton walked over to the docks. Some of the other workers ignored Nalos but Warsh looked at the triton with a skeptical look. When he turned back to pulling the ship he had tied by a rope, the druid knew it was up to him to start a conversation.

"Good day," Nalos greeted with a smile. "Wonderful weather we're having."

"It's storming," Warsh grunted.

"I like it when I can feel water on my skin," Nalos told the boatman. "I wanted to thank you for helping us get to this island."

"Just doing business," Warsh said in a blunt manner.

"Right," Nalos said with a nod. "Speaking of, I was hoping you'd be able to help us defend your home. We have a good start so far."

Warsh finally turned to face Nalos. "Why should I bother with you outsiders?"

"Because it'll get us out of here faster," Nalo said without thinking it over. "You don't want us to stay, so help us out."

The boatman looked over to the tripline-and-pit trap the two adventurers had constructed, then nodded. "I'll see who I can get to help."

Nalos grinned. "That's great! Thank you so much!"

Warsh turned back to his current work, leaving the triton alone. Nalos walked off the dock, proud of his work in convincing the island folk to aid in the defense of their village. He had a feeling that others in the group didn't think of him to be too competent and hoped this act would change their minds. Now, it was a matter of figuring out what to do without Arannis around to give orders.

Elisande led Nordak to a ruined hovel on the edge of the village. The building had collapsed on itself and left only a small area protected from the rain where the walls lean on each other. Empty bowls and fish bones were scattered around the place, showing that someone stayed there. This was where the madman was according to Nordak's guide.

"This was my home before my mother and father died," Elisande told Nordak, looking at him. "The chill fever took them."

"Ye have my condolences," Nordak told Elisande, sincerity replacing his typical attitude.

Nordak had figured that the reason why Elisande was nice to the group was that she wanted to come with them. While he knew that the rest of the adventurers would have no problem taking her from her home since it was in their nature, the cleric told himself to be more professional. Now, hearing of her parent's death, he realized that she had nothing left for her here. Nordak wasn't sure if he should tell the rest of the group but figured he would have to think of a way to help Elisande before they left.

After the brief conversation, Nordak stepped into the hovel and motioned for Elisande to stay back. Given the bones that scattered around, the cleric made no attempt to hide himself from the madman. He was a young and disheveled human man with skin tanned from the sun. Despite the crunching of bones underneath Nordak's feet, the man looked everywhere but toward the dwarf as though he heard something else.

"Lad?" Nordak spoke softly, waving his hand over the man's face to get his attention.

"The eyes of the dracolich are upon us," the man whispered. "The ghosts arrived with their ship and the undead warriors walked out to attack us. The dracolich breathed fire and laid waste to everything in sight."

Nordak frowned. "Is it really a ghost ship ye saw?"

"It was a galleon of spectral properties," the man looked down at the ground. "I saw its name written on the bow. Audacity."

"Audacity, ye say?" Nordak crossed his arms. "Seems a bit odd that the ship that attacked yer village was used te build th' barn here. I'm goin' te ask ye this an' ask ye be honest fer yer own good. Are ye actually mad?"

A moment passed, and slowly, the man looked up at Nordak. "You won't tell them, will you?"

"Why did ye make up th' ship attack?" Nordak asked while shaking his head.

"I actually didn't make up the attack," the man insisted. "My name's Verik. My home is gone. I wasn't sure if these island folk would aid me if they thought me to be a sane man speaking of a ghost ship."

"So ye played th' role of an insane man speaking of a ghost ship?"

Verik nodded. "The ghost ship is real, but really, who would believe me?"

Nordak looked at Verik, and after several moments, made his way out of the hovel. By now, he was sure that the liar couldn't offer any details on what happened. At the very least, the cleric wasn't going to bother telling the island folk about Verik's actual condition. They didn't seem to be the kind of people to take kindly to being used and lied to.

After failing to convince the crones and not learning anything new from Verik, Nordak thought it best to reunite with his companions. Elisande guided him toward the docks, but before they arrived, they noticed the villagers gathering around the firepit. The crones served water and food to each but what drew Nordak's attention was Warsh and another bearded man whose left arm was half the size of his right arm as they gave commands to the villagers. Afterwards, the dwarf saw Arannis and Nalos eating their rations and walked with Elisande to join them.

"I wouldn't drink th' water here if I were ye," Nordak advised the two, reaching for his own waterskin. "How did it go on yer end?"

"Nalos convinced Warsh and we built some traps," Arannis answered. "Who's the man with the long arm?"

"That's Ulberto," Elisande revealed.

"That means Pallas and Hana were successful in their task," Nalos said with a smile. "A few more traps and I really like our odds."

"I wish I could have done better," Nordak sighed. "Th' crones won't listen te me an' th' madman actually isn't mad. He was lyin' th' whole time an' didn't have anythin' te share other than rumors of his village bein' attacked by a ghost ship."

"I knew it was a ghost ship!" Nalos chuckled.

"Did you make sure he wasn't lying about that?" Arannis asked.

"What do ye mean?" Nordak asked back, confused. "I already found out he was lyin'."

"You found out he was lying but did you judge each word he said after the truth came out to see if he was honest? Once someone lies, it is best to doubt each word until they prove themselves."

Nordak shrugged. "I guess I didn't check he was lyin'."

"I'll have a word with him later tonight then," Arannis said. "I'll make sure he isn't lying."

Nalos looked around the village center. "So, where's Pallas and Hana?"

"They're probably around somewhere," Arannis said.

"But I think this is everyone in the village," Nalos noted. "So, where else could they be?"

After a brief look, Nordak noticed that Nalos was right. Hana and Pallas were both missing and nowhere to be seen. Although the dwarf was worried for a brief moment, he convinced himself to focus on the task at hand of preparing the island. Hana was a smart woman, and for all his faults, Pallas could handle himself in a fight. The island folk didn't trust the group but they weren't actively hostile either so they likely didn't attack the two. They were able to convince Ulberto to rally the villagers so Nordak thought he could trust that wherever they were, they were contributing to the village's defenses.

A/N: Three chapters in two days. This story has moved forward a lot and is nearing the climax and conclusion.

But for now, I am going to take a break to focus on some other projects. I remain optimistic about coming back before the end of the month to finish this story though.

Until next time.