Shabby Shack

First, the adventurers notice that Iztok, the goblin they captured, has seized the opportunity and fled in the heat of the moment. A pursuit through the swamp seems unlikely and not worth the effort. Instead, the search for the necromancer seems more important. After all, someone must have created and commanded the horde of skeletons that attacked the village. Upon studying the supposed map on the back of the fan again, Fushigi notes that neither of the two huts can mark their current position, as both are close to the western bank and Sirca could not see any open water to the west from the observation tower. So they must be roughly in the middle of the map. To confirm this, Hanrin suggests following the path east to the cliff and then walking along the foot of it to the southwest. They should then come across another path that leads to one of the huts marked on it. Before the group sets off, the village and the surrounding area are searched intensively for traces of the skeletons. And indeed, a clear trail can be seen from the gate, leading in a southeasterly direction. Unfortunately, the trail ends after a few hundred meters at a wide stream. Since no one is keen on swimming through the water and picking up the trail on the other side, they decide to go around the water and hopefully find the trail again later.

So the heroes follow the path back east, crossing a long wooden plank bridge and heading towards the cliff that borders the swamp. But the closer they get to the cliff, the more the path gets lost in the swampy vegetation. A light drizzle also sets in, which continues to obscure their view. Since there is no obvious path up the cliff, the group takes the path at the foot of the edge in a southerly direction. The ground is a bit drier here than deeper in the swamp and they make good progress. After about two hours of walking, they come across another path that leads down the cliff and into the swamp. "This must be the path to the second hut," remarks Hanrin, who has now taken over the map reading. They cross another wooden bridge and get deeper into the swamp again. After just under an hour's walk, this path also ends at a crooked, single-story hut. It is in a desolate state. The outer walls are covered in moss and lichen, the roof has sunk and is already showing the first holes, the tiny windows are dirty and in some of them the glass is cracked or broken completely. To the right of the hut is a shed with large cracks in its walls and it looks as if it could collapse at any moment. On the left side of the hut a pebble path continues, in the distance the faint sound of waves breaking on the shore can be heard. The grass and bushes around the hut have not been cut for a long time and are growing together in wild clumps. Small bones, feathers and colorful stones hang everywhere on string from the branches of the surrounding trees and the edge of the roof.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Sirca calls into the silence, but receives no answer.

"Seems to be deserted," says Lian and takes a few steps around the hut. Fushigi follows him. On the left side they find another door, apparently a back exit to the path that leads to the nearby bay. Nikta and Hanrin approach the front entrance door and Nikta knocks loudly on the door frame "Hello, is anyone home?" The blows sound very dull, the wood is obviously damp and swollen. The door is also jammed and cannot be opened. Nikta takes a few steps back and hits the blunt end of his spiked chain against the door. On the third blow, it springs open and gets caught at an angle on its hinges. A small cloud of dust and fungal spores rises and makes Nikta cough. He carefully approaches the door and looks inside. The entrance area takes up about half of the hut. Water drips through the leaky ceiling and the wooden floor is covered with a thick layer of mold. There are traces of small paws in it, apparently rodents or other animals seeking shelter here. Nitka carefully checks whether the floor can bear his weight, but the creaking of the planks makes him hesitate. Suddenly there is a quiet rustling and squeaking behind him around Hanrin. When the two turn around, they see three large rats rushing towards them from the shed. Hanrin screams in alarm and backs away towards the wall of the house, while Nikta jumps forward and blocks the rats' path. They are larger than normal sewer rats and do not behave like them. Rats would normally hide during the day and avoid being near people as soon as they notice them. But they rush towards the two friends and try to bite them with their sharp teeth. Nikta swings his spiked chain and the rats in front fly to the side, hit, and lie motionless on the ground. The other friends behind the house have heard Hanrin's cry and Nikta's call as he swings the chain and rush to help. Lian swings his sword, but the rats are too small and nimble to hit with the large blade. Ivar, Sirca's dog, also snaps his jaw shut - but in vain. Nikta swings his chain again and the second rat is hit and doesn't move. Finally, it is Sirca who catches the last rat with her spear and impales it.

As everyone takes a deep breath, Hanrin, who has retreated to the door, sees movement out of the corner of his eye and feels a burning pain in his calf. Another rat, even bigger than the others, had hidden in the hut, jumped out and bit Hanrin. He retreats again, realizing that the wound is deep and is beginning to bleed. Before the others can react, the rat disappears through a hole in the northern wall. However, they were able to catch a glimpse of it and notice that this rat has fingers instead of claws and an almost human face. Lian calls on the power of Desna and concentrates on the hut. The rat creature has disappeared on the right side, but he feels its presence and notices that it is now probably running under the roof shingles to the left side of the hut. Nikta steps into the open doorway, but hesitates to enter the hut completely because of the crumbly floor. Sirca sends Ivar to the back door again, which he pushes open with a powerful blow of his front paws. Behind it, a small vestibule appears with another door that leads into the hut. Rotten shoes stand next to a small wooden stool and give off a musty smell. Ivar immediately sets about kicking down the second door, but this one offers the strong dog a little more resistance. In the meantime, Nikta hears a thud from the left and the rat shoots out of a hole in the wall next to the door frame. It attacks Nikta, but cannot do any damage. He strikes back, and his chain of spikes tears a nasty wound into the rat creature. In the meantime, Ivar has also got into the hut and throws himself at the rat from behind, so that it is now wedged between two opponents. It tries to escape again, but another blow from Nikta makes it stagger to the right and it remains lying motionless in front of the wall.

Sirca and Hanrin, the two lightest of the group, cautiously venture into the hut, which is in danger of collapsing. The rat, with the face of an old man, is dead. The friends look into the adjoining rooms, a living area with a brick fireplace, a bedroom with a large hole in the roof and a puddle on the floor underneath, and a storage room with spoiled supplies. Behind another door they discover a laboratory. The workbench is encrusted with spilled chemicals that have formed crystals of various colors. In front of the workbench lies the skeleton of an old woman, wrapped in ragged, worn-out clothing. The bones are deformed in a strange way, the skull is unnaturally elongated, the left arm resembles a bird's wing, and the ribs of the chest have formed long spurs that protrude inwards and outwards. "Obviously the resident's last experiment went wrong," says Hanrin. "Yes, just look at how the ribs have grown inwards into the chest. She must have died from it, whatever she wanted to achieve with her ritual," Sirca replies. On the desk, Hanrin finds a number of unused scrolls and a carefully folded piece of paper among the records and notes. He carefully opens it and finds that it is a detailed map of the swamp. It contains a number of waterways, the position of the goblin village, Walthus' hut and this one, as well as the markings of two ships and a cave. The latter is marked with a red skull. "Look Sirca, I bet someone in Sandpoint would pay us a good price for a map like that."

Since the hut has nothing else to offer other than moldy clothing and rotten supplies, the heroes leave the place again. The musty smell is not inviting for an overnight stay, so they decide to leave the swamp completely via the path and look for a suitable resting place for the night near the coastal road. Nikta takes two of the killed rats with him for dinner. Outside the swamp there is a small birch grove that offers some protection from the wind and drizzle, and the friends prepare for the evening as best as possible.

"Are you sure these creatures are edible?" asks Lian. "They look a bit ragged and sick, don't they?"

"Of course you can eat them," Nikta replies. "On my trek with Sandru we caught all sorts of things and used them to stretch our travel provisions: rabbits, pigeons, ducks, but also squirrels and rats when nothing else was available. At least these beasts have a lot of meat on them."

"We often had rat at home," Sirca notes. "But I prefer snake, it tastes a bit like chicken. But don't tell Walthus that, otherwise he'll want his cloak back from me later."

In fact, Nikta prepares a very tasty stew from the rats and their rations. "It tastes excellent. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was rabbit," Hanrin praises the cook. However, Lian has a slightly queasy feeling in her stomach after eating. The group prepares as best they can for the night and then falls into a restless sleep.

The next morning they set out to find and explore the cave marked on the map.