Swamp Crossings 2 gp

The day started off just fine. We toured a paper mill, got some souvenirs, wore stupid gift shop t-shirts all day, had a group hug after our guide left us at the border of Sagemarsh ; it was just fine.
 
Grayfly. I think that name will haunt me for a long time. I can only hope that we ceased the ... life, energy, whatever that was keeping that ship alive, and that no one else has to experience the same horrors we did. What started as an easy swamp crossing that should have only cost us 2 gold ended as a life altering nightmare that cost me my ability to ever sleep again. And somehow I still lost those 2 gold pieces! Blasted ghost pirates and their hordes of zombies.
 
Note to Party: Never Split Up
 
The ship seemed harmless. We had an inkling that it might be some sort of magic when it started moving and we couldn't find anyone aboard, but there was nothing amiss. Misht pointed out some old logo or something. I remember being cross with him, though now I can't recall why. I couldn't see the significance of that clue at the time. I don't know, I don't think I was actually angry. Maybe having a friendly quarrel was something that I needed to ease my nerves. Though, he continued to piss me off after stealing a blue shell from the ship and hiding it from me. Which is what led me to split up from him. I shouldn't have, I almost died down there. I continued to the hold as he and Gargax explored the upper floors of the ship.
 
"Welcome to the crew"
That's what it said to me. The specter captain, eager to suck the life out of me. All I had to do was look at the manifest, with almost illegible scrawlings of crew member names. So many names. "Jaxi Nyaldaashkmeller" was the last thing that was being written before the candle light was snuffed out and the putrid smell of rotten bodies invaded my entire being.
 
Horribly disfigured bodies coated the entirety of the ship, all to thwart my escape and allude to my nearing demise. If I'm being perfectly honest, I only made it out of there because of the boys. Gax came for me, he came to my rescue and Misht followed swiftly behind him, effortlessly destroying the undead with his powerful magic. But even then, we were hardly any match for the specter. Luckily Misht knew how to destroy it: destroy it's earthly body. Both Misht and Gargax burst through the door to the captain's quarters and I lit the captain's haunted remains aflame, sending the specter and his crew screaming and flailing into the afterlife.
 
Gax and I have first watch. We made it safely out of the bog, and found a... decent-ish camping ground. I should be resting, but I can't. The image of helpless, lifeless bodies locked in eternal terror won't leave my mind. I can feel exhaustion taking over. I just hope that I'm not still trapped on that awful boat, my mind being lured into a sense of false security as my body lays on the floor of the hold and my soul is added to the life-force of a red coated ghost.