The Base / New Paphos

As you are talking a guard enters the room and at a gesture form Phlan approaches and whispers in his ear. A few quiet questions and whispered answers later he is sent off.
It appears we have a bit of a situation that may be the lucky break we have been looking for. A pair of scouts came back from the island and reporting encountering undead there then followed up on a lead and lost another pair of scouts just after they said they had found something. I would like to send all of you that are willing to the island to assist the the search and rescue operation. The high priest will accompany you to step in should any additional information about the undead problems we have been having there be uncovered. For this mission I will offer a base pay of 1 gold with bonuses up to 10 gold to any who uncover information about the undead.

Treat this as a chance to try out the scouting life with numbers to back you up, which would not normally be the case.

Now I must go confer with the priest so please talk with the clerk outside my office. He will direct any interested in assisting in todays even. The rest will have to wait for the mission to depart before seeing to other matters. I apologize.

The clerk shares what is known in greater detail that was revealed by the administrator. The island is across the river and was the site of a dark ritual raising the dead. There are two classifications of undead on the island.
1. Those that guard a fortress are known to be non-hostile unless attacked and have never given any trouble. They have even helped the expedition in the past and are being interviewed by the researchers. If you are in need you can go the the fortress and rest safely within its walls.
2. The cemetery on the northern tip of the island has been spawning random undead. Normally these are quite weak but the priest has been unable to locate the ritual enchantment creating the undead. Thus though he has blessed the site several times the corruption continues to fester.
The scouts that returned indicated that they were working with another pair in scouring the cemetery after fighting some undead in the area. The pair that has been lost was searching the cemetery that has been submerged by the river. The search effort is to focus on searching the cemetery area that has been submerged. The slope is slight and the current is slow so most will not have trouble walking though the structures. Baruman is assigned to a small skiff with another volunteer and will begin searching upriver and move toward the island shore.
Are there any questions?

The story continues in the Island thread

As you talk another group of adventurers, wounded and weary looking, enters the office.

Eddisham, Shmautz, Baruman, and Elph have been back from the isle for a few days now resting and doing some lighter duties to become more familiar with the area before undertaking their next large assignment. Their report was received verified and they were each given a bonus in their pay for their "exemplary work" in the form of a leather pouch with a healing salve. Eddisham has been hanging around the grippli shaman and she has been teaching him. You are not quite sure what but it has taken so much of his time that he stopped going scouting with the rest of you. At the end of your 2nd week here you are paid 10 additional gold. Shmautz, Baruman, and Elph are just coming back from exploring the river banks to the north. While on the north river bank they encountered a band of goblins who thought they look liked easy picking and had to dissuade the goblins from "taxing" the party. As the four enter the clerks office they note a couple of new faces fresh off the boat.

The birdfolk, Meep, expresses their thanks but has decided it is all a bit too much so will be finding jobs about the base for a bit before deciding whether they will stay or return to safer and more civilized lands.

The clerk takes your report and between all the conversations going on the four of you decide to retire to the diner to discuss options.

The clerk gave you the following options
1. Scout the area further to the west
2. Go talk with the intelligent golem "Dean" in the NW corner of the swamp
3. Search and verify the safety of the residential Remnant that the lead scout team cleared out recently.
4. Begin scouting to the north where the hobgoblins have claimed several Remnants

You wander over to the diner and enjoy a hearty meal with good drink as the veterans fill Fable in on the current situation and their activities to date. Undead on the island, Necromancers and spirits in mausoleums, a dragon to the south, orcs to the west, hobgoblins to the north, and Fey everywhere though rarely encountered.

With the boat that Fable arrived on bringing new supplies you know the bar will get busy tonight so you are enjoying the quiet of a diner lunch. A few other guards and scouts are about but the diner is more often populated by the researchers. While you sit, eat, drink, and talk, you hear some of the local news discussed by other patrons.
With the breaking of the necromancers ritual on the island the risee of the undead has been greatly reduced. The continual creation is a fading side effect of the previous ritual and planar rift to the Shadowfell that will continue getting weaker. The clearing of the isle of undead has returned to a minor task for new scouts and guards to practice their skills and prove their worth to the expedition.
Fable informs the others about the river pirates he encountered on his way to the base.
Likely this is a result of the frequent supply runs now hapening twice a week and the expented return wealth. Guards will have to begin being placed on the supply boats to ensure thei safety.
Aparently one of the lead scout teams has recently started looking into the troubles the expedition has been having with the fey. With the hostilities with the orcs and hobgoblins having escalated many are nerveous as they are known to outnumber th expedition guard and the bases arcane defences have been continually upgraded.