The Ballad of the Return to Saltmarsh

The Ballad of the Return to Saltmarsh

A merry band were we,
As t’ward home we journeyed
Though Alton we were missing
And sure we were to be gurneyed.

Our first stop was the pub
Where Fox and Crios got bladdered
Whilst Manistred offered a ghastly job
If missing dwarves we gathered.

At the barracks Eliander stood
Humourless and impatient.
A fat lot of good he was
For any information.

On we went to another joint
Seeking poacher Janes, who nearly died.
Fox went off to make a point
And returned terrified.

At the local graveyard
We met Crag, the digger
He tells us of the old, rich alchemist
As the plot grows ever thicker.

Tasked to save and to seek
Yet drawn by tales of ghosts.
We couldn’t resist a sneaky peek
At the house where they played host.

We were warned of vampiric rats
Who were more like murderous ferrets.
Whilst Crios cleaved one in two
Istara tried to spare it.

It got her a near-fatal bite
From the ungrateful wretch
And Fox and Balderdash’s attacks failed
Like a Charlie Chaplin sketch.

Malcolm’s healing saved the day
And Fox overcame his drunken torpor
To deal the final deathly blow
To the weasel, stoat or otter.

Finally the party settled
To get some blessed rest.
And a druid whisked Malcolm away
On an exciting side quest.

We live to battle another day
And face our ghoulish fate.
Thank goodness we’ll have Alton back
For us to resuscitate.

Ishara the Bard

And whilst we almost lost Crios and Fox
To an impromptu drunken stupor
It would take Janes's tab and more
To keep these two from the folds of lore.

Long may our band triumph and sing
In the face of unrelenting evil
Whilst holding fast to our precious wisdom
Advantage: Eyes of the Eagle!

Malcolm the Mage