The Stranger
Out in the hall, Darvin tries opening the last door but it's locked. He looks around and easily finds a key lying on the floor just outside the room and picks it up.
"What have you found now?" Illayana asks.
"A key," Darvin says and holds it up, "Which I hope will unlock this door."
Illayana nods and Darvin slips the key into the lock, the handle turns easily, and the door silently opens.
Inside, a man in only his undergarments lies bound and gagged in the corner of the decaying bedroom. He appears to have taken a terrible beating, but his side rises and falls from his breathing.
Darvin quickly and carefully makes his way over to the man, unties him, helps him sit up, and offers him some water. "Are you alright?" asks Darvin, "That looks like a nasty lump on your head."
The man rubs his wrists and carefully touches the lump on the back of his head, "Yes. I think so. Thank you," he answers.
"I can clean and bandage it and your other wounds up if you'll let me," Darvin says. The man nods. Darvin pulls out his supplies and begins to bandage up the stranger.
"I don't mean to be rude. But how did you end up in this predicament?" asks Illayana.
"Well, I was traveling to Saltmarsh looking for work as an adventurer. Last night, I knew I wouldn't make it before dark so I entered through the back door, hoping to find a safe place to sleep for the night. But I barely made it into the kitchen when I was attacked from behind and knocked unconscious. I woke a few hours ago in this room - bound, gagged, and stripped of all my belongings."
"The slavers must have found you. You're lucky we found you before they sold you into bondage. They probably stashed your belongs nearby to sell too," Illayana muses.
"Slavers!?" the man exclaims.
Thamila chimes in, "No need to worry. We've found you and you're free now."
"Yes and we would be happy to help you find your things," Darvin says while helping the man to his feet, "My name's Darvin. And these are my companions, Illayana, Kenku, and Thamila." Darvin nods his head at each of the others when introducing them.
"The name's Ned. Thank you," Ned replies, "I'm pretty sure my belongings must be somewhere on this floor. Have you seen them?"
Darvin replies, "We haven't, but we've only just begun our search of this place. Don't worry we'll help you find your belongings and then get you safely to Saltmarsh. But first, we need to find the slavers hiding out in this house."
"Oh, I'm not sure that's the best idea," Ned says and he looks shaken from his encounter with them last night, "They beat me, took me prisoner, and planned to sell me into bondage. It would probably be safest for us to go to Saltmarsh."
"Don't worry, my friend," Thamila says, "We can protect you. Now let's get moving and find you some clothes."
Ned looks at the little halfling and begins to protest again. But before he can, Thamila turns and walks out the door.
The group heads down the hall to the landing and stops when they come to the giant hole in the floor that Kenku almost fell through.
"That is easily five, possibly more feet across. I don't think we're going to make it this way. Perhaps there's a way up from the kitchen. Do you know where it is?" says Illayana.
"Like I said they knocked me out. I don't know a thing about this place," Ned answers.
"Well you said you came in the back door, so we should head to the back of the house," Illayana says while turning, and making her way down the stairs, assuming the others will follow.
Illayanna heads straight to the rear of the house and opens the door into a dirty and damp kitchen. She wrinkles her nose from the smell she assumes is coming from the patches of gray mold on the floor, walls, and ceiling. Looking around she sees some iron cooking equipment, a cracked discolored stone sink, and a door to the scullery.
Illayana notices the same tracks from the entrance hall leading to the scullery door. She points out the tracks and says, "Look. It's the same tracks as the ones in the entrance hall. We need to come back here after finding Ned's clothes."
"Agreed," Darvin says, "And I think I found stairs going up. Some of the treads appear to be loose, but I think it's safer than trying to jump that hole in the balcony."
The others follow Darvin, all of them picking their way carefully up the perilous looking staircase. At the top of the landing they find another, mostly collapsed, staircase leading to a hole in the ceiling, presumably leading to the attic.
Kenku opens the first door on the left. Inside the large bedroom, she sees parts of the walls and ceiling covered in a damp mold, and similar to the other rooms in the house, rubbish is liberally strewn across the floor.
"Clothes in here?" Kenku asks and points to a large wooden chest sitting under the window.
Ned goes over and easily opens the unlocked chest. Inside he finds a pile of moldy, ragged out-of-fashion clothing and a bundle of rotted and stained documents. He quickly drops the lid and says, "No."
The next room they enter appears to have been used for storage but it's in just as much disarray as the other rooms. However under the window sits a closed, large, ill-made oak chest free of dust, and just inside the door is a heap of clothing.
"My clothes!" Ned exclaims in excitement and immediately begins to dress himself.
While Ned dresses, Darvin goes over to the oak chest, opens it, and finds it empty.
Ned asks, "Do you see my sword in there Darvin?"
"It's empty," Darvin replies.
"Damn, thieves stole my sword! My father gave that to me before he passed three years ago."
Thamila says, "It's not a sword, but you can use one of my daggers," she pulls it out and hands it to Ned.
"Thank you, small one," Ned replies with a subtle smile.
Illayana says, "Now it's time to go investigate those tracks," and walks out of the room.
"Well she's no nonsense, isn't she," Ned says, "I still think it best for us to leave."
"What about your father's sword? Don't you want it back?" Darvin asks.
"Normally I would go after it…" Ned starts and then continues, "But… I don't want you all to think I'm crazy… But the place is haunted. I heard the wails and screams throughout the night. It was terrifying."
Darvin laughs a little, "We've already heard the tales of the haunted house…"
Ned interrupts, "It's not a tale. I heard it with my own ears."
"Don't worry, we'll protect you. And I've learned that things are not always what they seem. I doubt the house is actually haunted. I'm sure there is some secret the slavers are using to keep people away," says Darvin.
From the hall, they hear Illayanna say, "Stop your chatting, and let's get moving."
Before following her sister down the stairs, Kenku pauses at the bottom of the collapsed attic staircase. The kenku looks up longingly through the hole in the ceiling.
"Come along on Kenku," Illayana says before descending the stairs.
Kenku makes a sad whistling sound but follows the older woman. The others follow close behind picking their way back down the hazardous staircase.