Zalona shuts and locks the door and quickly gets to work getting out eight of her torches and begins working to light them all. Having four torches in hand, she begins planning an attack to move and put things in place to set the ship on fire.
Arn moves forward to the closest Lacedon that is on ground floor and swings out at the creature with his Dwarven Waraxe. He strikes out and catches the Lacedon on its thigh causing it to flinch and turn its attention to Arn. Biting out the Lacedon lands a blow that leaves Arn looking very bloody.
The other two Lacedons on the upper deck continue to climb up the ladder, and one makes it roughly halfway up the ladder. The second continues to stay stuck on the ladder struggling.
Down below, Zalona hears a crash in the room where the hole in the ship was located.
Rhadulaf continues carrying the boy up the stairs onto the top of the upper deck where the row boat was tied off.
Seeing a fellow Dawrf, Arn, being bit so gruesomely Aris moves forward and attacks out with her War Hammer but misses. The Lacedon turns and hisses at Aris with a bloody maw.
Nempura can see the ship being overtaken by Lacedons soon. How long would anything hold them down below? Did her party just leave the door open? She has no idea. Every minute they are on the boat, is another that they are not in the water making distance from this wreck. Perhaps it is her willingness to fight still that is driving her companions like Arn to come to her aid.
"No! Get to the boat. We need to flee. There is no way we can handle this. Look for that blasted ship, and if you can't see it, then we need to row hard for shore! Abandon ship! Make sure you have our loot from that room!"
Now that the Lacedons are properly intermingled into the high-set net, she will take a shot at one of the ropes binding it to the mast. Perhaps it can cause them even more trouble climbing and ultimately cause them to fall to their permanent deaths on the railing and stairwells below.
She hopes that with the Lacedon's demise being set in stone, she now can make her way toward the rowboat.
She sling her bow and will either leap off the edge of the crossbeam and into the deepest-looking part of water near the rowboat, or will use a rope or part of the tattered sail to swing herself downward to safety. She would prefer to not get even wetter than she already is.
Zalona picks up four torches, moves south 15 feet, drops two of them, moves 10 feet north, drops another, then moves back to her original position, dropping the last of the four.
”Arn, Aris, fall back! In the forge father’s name, withdraw!” Helgar called out, desperation in her voice as she watched her kinsmen make a pointless last stand.
Zalona begins moving about the room and dropping torches among the crates, barrels, doors and debris. Things begin to catch a little as she moves to pick up the final four torches.
Nempura takes aim on the rope ladder that the Lacedons were in hot pursuit behind her and lets an arrow fly. The arrow strikes true and cuts one of the main supports of the ladder and the two on the ladder go crashing down. Both of which look as if they are entangled and stuck in the rope mess.
Nempura, with near catlike grace, catches some of the now loosened ropes to aid her in her tumble from the crossbeam of the mast. Landing her near her dwarven companions.
Arn, the Stonelord Paladin, hating to be on the ship decides to unleash all of Torag’s wrath upon this undead scourge. Swinging with a mighty blow, Arn decapitates the undead Lacedon. Its lifeless body falls and Arn turns to head to the rowboat after Helgar’s plea sets in.
The lacedon’s struggle with the rope ladder on the upper deck, but seem to be entangled.
Zalona hears the sound of moving furniture from within the room she just placed a torch in front of. The sounds of struggle coming from within.
Rhaedlaf cries out; “Who tied this thing off? Should we get in it then lower it, or lower it then climb down?”
Arn and Aris move to head to the upper deck. As each of you pass by the stair well heading down, you see smoke beginning to file up from below.
"That's how you do it, all!" she voices with bravado as she stands up safely from her tumble, bow still intact. Quickly, she ruts through her pack for her hair oil, something she needs but could do better without right now.
"Get out of there Zalona! To the rowboat!"
Once procured, she will give the oil a nice little toss down the stairs toward door 9 so it quickly jumps under the door frame and into the flowing waters of the room. Hopefully lighting the Lacedons in there on fire as it is spread about. If nothing else, it hopefully will get the fires going quickly in the center room!
"Has anyone spotted the ship? Aris, grab our gear from that room. We'll get this boat down."
It should be a quick grab and run back since they had everything in a sack. Hopefully, by then the boat should be ready to be dropped into the water.
"Just get in it." she answers Rhaedlaf. "Stay in the middle. We'll lower it all at once, and fast, so it isn't crushed against the ship with these waves. Wait for my nod and then let go of the pulley rope. We'll have to row hard, okay? So someone get ready."
Once they are set, she will help by holding onto the rope until the waves crash against the ship, then whoever else is holding them with her she will nod to and let go, causing the boat to fall down into the water. Quickly, she will help whoever is primarily rowing by helping pull the oars in the direction they need to go.
Zalona picks up the remaining torches, moves 20 feet forward and drops three in the large area which looks like it has a lot of things that could catch on fire, then moves ten feet back and drops the remaining one on the cargo bay doors, hoping it will smoulder and eventually set fire to the wood below it.
When Nempura calls, she replies
Coming!,
planning to head up and get out of the area that is starting to get a little smoky as soon as possible.
"Time to go, now!" Helgar yelled at her fellow dwarves. With hammer and shield out she couldn't quite grab them, so instead she gave them the clearest most poignant look possible and broke into a run, heading up the stairs. The fresh air hit her as hard a hammer. It was almost like leaving a nightmare...almost. Seeing Zalona, she went straight towards her. "Fook! Fook, fook...fook! It's good to see ye." She said, with feeling.
The party makes their way to the upper deck where the ships wheel is. The once lifeless body that is tied to the ships wheel struggles against all of its might trying to break free from its bonds. Hungerly biting out with its twisted maw, the Lacedon is screeching out as a call. Arn steps up and swiftly ends the curse that fell upon this soul.
Each of you now get the sense that the man tied to the ships wheel knew his fate and tied him off to prevent any harm what he could have done in his undeath.
Reality comes snapping back as you hear from below screeching out from the other Lacedons from below. Looking to the stairs you see flames licking up from below. The rope ladder that was partly dangling down below also catches causing the Lacedons within to horrifically cry out in pain.
Following Nempura’s orders, the party plus the child board the rowboat and land in the water. The jerking causes most to stumble and fall over one another. But you all hang one to the one next to you keeping them aboard this small vessel.
You hear a cry from the Valerr following by what sounds like the cracking of a loud whip. Something flies through the sky and with an explosion of splinters hits the Sea Sprite. The timber end of a ballista bolt barely sticks out from the side of the ship.
The party of you row for you lives. Struggling against the rain, wind, and waves. Over and over the small ballista fires bolts that strike true on the Sea Sprite. Looking back, flames continue to consume the Sea Sprite even despite the best efforts of the storm.
As you draw closer to the Valerr you see the familiar face. A windblown and rain soaked Eevi Lotta is shouting out to the crew as she blows a whistle. Due to the rain the party in unable to hear her, but you see the results of her orders. Six sailors appear next to the railing, and they begin tossing out lines for the rowboat. Attaching the first line to the front, the sailors begin pulling you in. Once close a ladder is lowered for the team to climb up.
Boarding the Valerr, the rough looks of the party earn each of you concerning looks. But as Captain Knut Untamo sees the child he has someone else take the wheel and points to his cabin; “Get out of the rain. I’ll be there shortly!” He turns his attention to a few of the deck hands, pointing and giving orders. The team that helped pull you in are finishing raising the rowboat and begin tying it down.
As you make your way into the captain’s quarters you have the urge to look back and you see the first mate glaring at the child.
You duck into the cabin, safe from the rain. The child is clinging tightly to Rhaedlaf who is leaning against the wall, looking exhausted from holding this child for so long in the storm.
Everyone sits in silence thinking about what you just lived through…
(fail)
Zolana examines people's injuries and asks
What are the chances that anyone injured also has whatever those poor people had? Is there any way to tell?
As the weighty ropes are cast into the water, a sense of relief washes over Nempura, however, not as much as the sound of the frequently firing ballistae giving them cover and enabling them to escape. She could dream of that sound. Sweet dreams. Despite the confidence in her voice, she really can be quite scared inside.
The child and Arn, who is bleeding quite profusely if the rain were not otherwise washing it away, go up first. Sometime after, the bard climbs.
"Whew...thanks for having our backs." The first mate barks the Captain's orders or her own and Nempura nods. "Right away," she follows orders and moves into the quarters. Once inside though, she isn't sure if it is a punishment, quarantine, or if it is about to be a reward.
When Zalona asks her question, Nempura hums. "Bloodborne disease. I'm no expert but if they got their blood on you, or possibly if they harmed you, then that could do it." she suspiciously looks at both Arn and the child. "Who all got hit?"
She looks calmly over the group, but short of Arn, who clearly is hurt, she can't tell if anyone else other than her is hurt.
Slumping in a chair, Arn speaks up; “Aye! A few of them got some good swipes at me.” He moves his cloak to reveal a rather grotesque looking wound on both his stomach and left shoulder. “Not sure if the adrenaline is wearing off or if I am loosing too much blood, but I am feeling a bit light headed.” He lays his head back against the high backed chair. Looking below him you see a slow steady drip of blood pooling below him. You also realized that he is sitting in the only high backed chair in this room, the captain’s chair.
Rhaedlaf begins squirming around trying to look over the boy; “Just a few bumps for me, nothing major. The boy doesn’t have a mark on it from what I can see.”
“One got me, but I think it will be okay.” Aris says revealing a little wound on her person.
Nempura would see Arn move over to pull out the captain's chair and would rebuke him immediately, "What are you daft? You are covered in blood. Don't go sitting in his chair. I would flay you alive. Do you not know how precious a captain's chair is to him? They have pet names. Just like the ship. I have no doubt you'll be tossed overboard if you take a seat there." "Idiots..." she shakes her head and points commandingly to a wooden chair nearby her and looks forcefully to Arn.
"Anyone know healing better than me? I'm not particularly skilled..."
She looks to Helgar and others. Hopefully, they can reveal whether these wounds are something or nothing.
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”The first mate was glaring at the child.” Helgar said, her voice flat. She sat agains the wall, her head in her hands, as she stared at the floor. ”They knew to come for us. They came with ballista loaded. They knew.” She said, fighting the urge to shake. She felt like her fear had shamed her in the eyes of her ancestors and her God. It was a gut wrenching feeling. ”Why did they send us if they knew?” She asked nobody in particular.
As Nempura reprimands Arn he moves to a spot on the floor where he continues to lay down.
The door flings open as Captain Knut Untamo and Eevi Lotta walk in the door. Both fling off soaked overcoats and hats onto hooks on the wall. Sitting down the captain cuts right in; “What is the nine hells was that? Luck for us all that we kept a watch on the ship to keep tabs. One of our crew saw a manta ray dive out of the side of the ship and swim away.”
Pointing to Nempura; “Then our real concern was when we saw you climbing out, shoot, and three of their crew came chasing after you like mad men.” nodding towards the bloodied dwarf on the floor; “Looks like he’s got it the worst of you all. He going to be okay?”
Eevi speaks up, possibly overstepping her role; “Enough of all of that, he looks alive to me. What happened over there, what did you find, did you get what we needed, and who is that?” she points to the boy clinched to Rhaedlaf.
Actually captain, we don't know if he will be okay, or her... . The crew were all turned into undead by that Manta Ray shapechanger that you saw dive off the ship. Have you heard of Lacedon?
We did get the logbooks, and some assorted things and some gold, but we had to cut our search short when we were attacked by every former crewmember coming back as undead. I think that the boat was purposely grounded so that the contagion wouldn't spread. I set fire to it, but even if it doesn't go up in ash, don't let anyone else aboard. It's too dangerous.
I suggest that we isolate the people who have been injured... provide them with necessities of course, but prevent them from harming anyone else until we see if they are also corrupted... and get to a temple as fast as possible in case it is possible to find a cure.
Zalona also uses prestidigitation to clean the chair and the blood from Arn's wound, just in case it carries the contagion.
The words of Zalona from before echo in her ear. "The 'manta ray' you saw was a Brykolakas." Nempura calmly answers as she tilts her head to the side to get the remaining water out from it from the rain and her dripping hair. She is chilly and it is nice to get out of the rain and wind. "He had a look of a rotting humanoid with blue-gray skin, and black hair. Razor-like talons on each hand. They said they brought the beast on board and let loose the "curse" when they messed with the cargo." "Am I remembering that right? I can't recall...you better give him the books"
"In any case, mission success captain. Here are the charts, and I remember the markers. Now, do you have a ship's doctor who can patch us up? We all took some knocks. There were swarms, crazy rats, and much more. It was not easy..."
She will make sure that whoever has the log documents they are supposed to hand over, they do. She will hand over the charts and lay them out, then, if the captain wishes, she will put the pieces back on the map where they were last.
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Helgar listened to the others talk. It felt like a dream. Slowly, coming back to her senses and getting a hold of herself, she took a deep breath. She was a priestess of the Forgefather. She was made of stronger stuff than this. At length, she added: "It seemed like the first mate recognized the child we rescued. Who be the child?"
As the party mentions undead, lacedons, brykolakas and its description you are met with blank stares. “I’ve been captaining ships for longer than I can remember doing anything else,” Captain Knut Untamo says; “But this is the first I’ve heard of such creatures.” pulling the charts onto the table and beginning to spead them out; “But, I don’t doubt that such things exist. I know of undead and have seen the oddities you’d find at sea, just not those specific… creatures?” He says with a question. Turning to Nempura; “Now, about those location markers… where did you find those?” The captain produces an ink pot and quill.
The first mate Eevi Lotta is looking over the logbooks when Helgar brings up the child. “Recognize the child? No. But I do question why it was brought on our ship. You talk of such undead, curses, corruption… How do you know that you have not just doomed us to the same fate the Sea Sprite faced?” She continues to flip through the logbook. From time to time snagging the captain’s attention and pointing out what she is reading.
"Well, we are educated bards and adventurers. Did ya think we wouldn't know a monster when we saw it? That's why you hired us. There is also the matter of payment..." the bard idly mentions before leaning on the table toward the map. She will point to the locations, even showing the coins and how they correspond. She would describe the room they found the map in as well. Likely a captain's quarters.
When Eevi begins to speak to what Helgar says, Nempura gets a little bit more defensive and leaves the map.
"Well, for one, it's a child," "...you cold-hearted b+!%*" "And secondly, this child can tell us what happened more clearly than any old logs or any guessing we do from what we've seen over there. And far less likely to do so the more intimidating you seem."
Nempura seems all too ready to defend the child and steps in the path between Eevi and it. It had crossed her mind that the child could play some part of this, but she doesn't want to think in negatives just yet.
"And lastly, I don't bend ear to superstition unless I see it with my own eyes. You sever the lies from truth by doing that. If you are right, we'll deal with it. Right now, the only ones who know anything are right here. You start wagging your tongue about curses and you'll have a mutiny in no time..." She then gestures vaguely. "If you are so concerned about us, then quarantine us. That's the smart thing to do anyways."
Having already told them of the danger and knowing Nempura would keep pressing the case, Zalona remains silent. She heals her affected companions, hoping to at least patch them enough so they are not bleeding everywhere...
... and then, having used up her bigger spells for the day, she keeps using Prestidigitation liberally to clean up any blood or other trace of the contagion that might have come over with them, including people, weapons, other gear that may have touched them, and everything they brought back.
She's paranoid about anyone else being hurt and she's going overboard trying to do what she can to protect everyone if she can.
Captain Knut Untamo smiles and nods; “Don’t you worry yourself about the payment. You will receive what is owned when we deliver what Miss Vilutar Pakkanen requested.” As Nempura points out the locations and the corresponding coins the captain begins writing on the charts. “We are going to need to keep these coins also, She will want to see these.” As he writes notes on the charts the captain collects the coins. In a small leather pouch and puts them in his breast pocket. “Anything else with the charts?”
Zalona moves to two of her companions and heals them. “Thank you!” Aris says as she receives the blessings. Arn doesn’t say anything, but his discomfort in the way he is laying visibally lessens.
“Unless there is anything else…” Captain Kunt Untamo begins gathering the charts and places them in a long tube and takes them with him has he heads for the door.
With a sarcastic smile Eevi follows while saying; “You’ve been through a lot. Why don’t you rest here while we bring us back to port.” as the captain and his first mate leave you hear the distinctive ‘clink’ sound of a lock. Looking at the door you realize that there is no latch on the inside to easily unlock the door.
You see the shadows from under the door move away. But, a few moments later, you see the presence of someone standing outside of the door.
Zalona figures they can unlock the door at their leisure, but for now it is good for them to be quarantined... and if the captain actually tries to kill them, they likely have to open the door first, which will hopefully at least give them a chance.
Anyone else have healing spells left, or should we use the cure potions we found on the ship? Arn still looks pretty hurt.
"I've got nothing, and the potions were made to be used. Heal up, and let's rest." Helgar said, fatigue clear in her voice.
At his dismissal, she will shake her head, "Oh no, I'm not done," she will voice with a little sass, respectful though, as though it were a habit more than her trying to be disrespectful. "I'm going to tell you everything seen from start to finish. You need to write this down in your log and keep it in mind." She then looks to the side and then back to the Captain. "That thing we saw was a shapeshifter. It was humanoid, then it became a manta ray as you witnessed. If it can do that, it could very well come on board at some point and take the form of your crew. How would we know differently? Call me crazy, but I was thinking about the events we saw. Each one indicated that there was battle yes, but over time, almost like something infiltrated them, killed people in their beds and the like. I don't want that to happen to your crew. I'll be casting spells to detect magic periodically through the ship, but also I think it would be wise if you instituted a safe word among your crew, or occasionally ask them the random personal question to make sure they are who they say they are. Something of that kind...Maybe I'm being paranoid, but I think speed and safety will secure us from this tragedy and will make sure it doesn't happen to us too."
There is a look of worry on her face, and if the captain agrees to stay for a little bit longer, she will stay behind for a bit and tell the captain -everything- that they experienced. She, of course, will gallantly tell of her heroism in the most positive light. At the finishing of her tale, she will allow them to leave, and with her coins...
To Zalona, she shrugs and speaks up, "I am plum exhausted, but perhaps I can do something if I focus for a while. We haven't had a moment's peace, but here I should be able to do something...maybe..."
When they finally leave, she looks to Helgar.
"What do you mean they looked at the child like they recognized it? Like, in a friendly way? Or as in like a..."why did you survive" kind of way?"
The captain pauses before leaving; “I will take what you said to heart. I will have my crew in pairs and report anything seen. I will make sure we rush back to port.” tapping his breast pocket; “It’s up to Miss Vilutar Pakkanen if you get these back.”
The two of them leave and you hear the distinctive ‘clink’ sound of a lock. Looking at the door you realize that there is no latch on the inside to easily unlock the door.
You see the shadows from under the door move away. But, a few moments later, you see the presence of someone standing outside of the door.
Rhaedlaf still holds the child but he is no longer whimpering but resting his head on the mages chest, almost as if listening to the rhythmic thumping of Rhaedlaf’s heart beating.
Still laying on the floor Arn lets out a groan; “Well, that be the hardest fight I’ve been in.” *cough*cough* “Might take time off and live on the coin we found and earned.” He says as he rolls over holding his side.
Rhaedlaf says a brief arcane incantation. Suddenly in the palm of his hands a small multi-colored ball winks into existence. He begins to float it around his hand, and towards the child. The child giggles as the ball touches him and turns into a fine dust that dissipates. Rhaedlaf continues to play with the boy.
After sometime the child gets up and while standing beside Rhaedlaf starts observing the party.
Seeing the boy watching them, Zalona says
Why are you watching us, young one?
The child stairs as Zalona deep in thought when he finally opens his mouth and begins speaking.
“So seiap ol sin sea. Fleem flumsin tosa hwul. So flen ol failing. Too se im slocksi sal sclon. Co iai tleeth sa pte ca hwou sa.”
His voice is powerful but soft, melodic and alien, peaceful but somehow intimidating. It’s both terrifying and soothing at the same time.
As he finishes he opens his cloak to reveal a satchel. Unbuckling it he holds it out, as if he is giving a gift.
Within this satchel you find an Ephod. This silver vestment is set with a circle of nine semiprecious gemstones surrounding a raised, silver hemisphere. An ephod is worn on your torso, covering your chest.
Zalona doesn't understand what the boy is saying, but she doesn't see him as a threat.
I'm sorry, I don't understand she says.
When the boy offers her something, she smiles and accepts the satchel that he holds out, but when she sees what is inside it, she worries that this is is the dangerous thing that the journal talked about. It looks beautiful though, so without touching it, she casts detect magic and tries to identify it.
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Helgar didn't recognize the language, but it was clear to her that the child didn't speak common. "A nice reward from the lad. Shouldn't leave him destitute, though." She said. "Wonder what language that is? Mayhaps someone on this ship can speak it. Sailors often pick these things up on their journeys."
"What in the nine hells is that...that's not normal..."
She considers what could cause her to feel so afraid that her bones are rattling? Perhaps it was something to do with the cold, but she doesn't feel like that ephod is normal. His creepy voice doesn't help her much either.
"Maybe that's why they locked him in a closet? Hmm...Either he is an oracle, he doesn't understand our language, or he has aphasia?" In any case, she turns to view him fully as she presses her hair with her new scarf to better dry it off. Perhaps it will help her warm up and make sure that this odd feeling is nothing more than cool air.
"Boy, we can't understand you. Now, if you can understand me, I want you to nod your head yes." Smiling, she approaches. "Are you a cat?" If he answers no by shaking his head, she will ask, "Are you a boy?"
If he answers with a nod of the head, then she will know they are onto something. They can play 20 questions to get to the bottom of why he has this item, if it was the item that was taken from the hold of the ship that the other crew thought was cursed, and then maybe she can assume that this item possibly could be what drew the Brykolakas in?
The item radiates a faint aura of Necromancy magic.
As you study this item you discover that this items is of the gods. It heightens the connection between you and your deity, strengthening the power of how you channel that energy.
You believe that is the holy relic that was described in the journal.
The child looks at Nempura as she speaks to him, but you are unsure if he understands what is being said. But, as Helgar speaks up he walks up to her and points to her holy symbol and in the same language and manner of speaking he says; “Abarin” he smiles and continues; “Op sito pomhwoom iai hwum cetha. Braal iai un floththlo. El im hwo iack ipo pomhwoom ca shouck co so pte. op si cet sal un iap.”
Zalona says
This is something that strengthens the connection between a cleric and their deity...
She looks at Helgar.
... but I also think that it is the holy relic that the journal was talking about, so I'm not sure how safe it is. Want to take a look? I'd avoid touching it until we know if it is evil or not. I can tell what it does, but other than a faint aura of necromancy, I can't really tell if there is anything else going on.
You know that Ephods are worn by the high priest of any of Ashlarians' deities. They would typically have either the symbol, colors, or anything related to that specific deity. This ephod, on the other hand, has no distinctive markings aligning it to a deity.
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"It's an ephod. They're worn by high priests...but this one is odd. It doesn't have any distinctive markings aligning it to a deity. That's any right. I won't touch it, nor will I use it." She said. "Mayhaps I'm too cautious, but after what we saw, I'd rather be cautious than undead. I think that when we reach land, it should be taken to a priest far more powerful than I."
"Yeah...a creepy deity, I'm sure." she replies to Zalona
The dark-skinned bard ponders why the child would have this relic.
"So, what do we know? We know that a crate was opened, potentially this was taken out of it from its intended course. Somehow, this little boy got ahold of it. At some point, that villain got aboard the ship and began killing people. At some point later, people knew they weren't going to make it and set course for land at the mouth of the bay instead of into the city. The ship crashed into the shore and tore asunder. The last we saw, dead people were massed in that last room, and in there, they died from this disease."
She now paces.
"What if whatever god this belongs to drew the Brykolakas to them? No...that's guessing. Gosh child, I wish you could speak, and not in some strange language..."
A furrowed brow comes over her face. There was an emphasis on a word the boy said.
"Braal? Can you draw Braal?" She will get a piece of parchment from the captain's desk and an inkpen and ink to see if he will draw. With a slender finger, she points to the paper and draws a squiggle line. "Braal?" she asks again, emphasizing her desire for him to draw it.
"Oh wait, Braal is a deity. Hmm. This," she asks, pointing to the ephod, "belongs to Braal?"
Hearing that the ephod might be associated with Braal, Zalona is more uneasy still, closing up the satchel after Nempura makes it clear what she is talking about.
At the mention of Braal, Arn seems to quickly sit up and grasp his weapon; "Where be the evil foe!" He struggles to sit up, but finds himself leaning against the wall. Saying a quick word to the Forge Father, Arn lowers his weapon. "That boy be no evil. Nor does the pretty cloth and jewels." Finding himself on his feet, Arn stays standing... leaning against the wall.
The child continues speaking to all in the room; "thlep so scot ou pteth so shoockee hwennunm ca soonm braal al scen so flutflack si fleem." as he moves to open the satchel again and try to take out the ephod.
Zalona is relieved that the boy and the ephod aren't evil, but isn't sure what the boy is trying to do, so she's still nervous, but she lets the satchel go when the boy tries to open it and take it out.
The boy suddenly and quickly moves back towards Rhaedlaf as seconds later you hear the door unlock and in strolls Captain Knut and Eevi.
The Captain places the journal on the table and places a finger on a specific spot and looks up; "It looks like we might have a bit of a hiccup. Seems like they had found some kind of holy relic, but no description of what it might be. Any chance the six of your found it?" he then looks to the boy; "Or maybe you know something about it being that you came from the ship?"
Eevi seems to be lost in though but clearly frustrated.
Nempura doesn't understand the relevance of something but does understand Arn's outburst. She reacts by standing back away from him a bit more. Who knows if he has gone crazy from his old wounds? He should feel better now. She rests a bit easier when he casts a spell and declares the child is not evil. With the detection of magic and evil going, it is clear there is nothing sinister going on except what is inherently within the item itself.
In a strange stroke of insight, Nempura judges that the Captain and First Mate have entered in too quickly for having a truthful purpose, or maybe she's unnaturally on edge for once. She wonders if they are trying to conceal something. Perhaps they want this ephod for sinister purposes? Perhaps they intend to harm all of Nempura's party? Perhaps it's valuable?
At the captain's questions, she answers quickly as she stands in front of the child protectively, "He doesn't speak the common tongue it seems. Go easy on him if you would, sir. He has been through an ordeal. Dead bodies...everywhere...it was gruesome." She gestures to the journal to deflect from his questions for a mere moment, "What do you mean by a hiccup? Were we supposed to retrieve something other than the logbooks? Because that isn't what was agreed upon." She then looks to Eevi directly, as though her eyes were the dagger finding the weakened link, "Clearly, there is more to this than you have revealed..." There is almost a growl in her voice toward Eevi. In a normal circumstance, it would be insubordination to be angry at a first mate, but they don't work for the ship, were given lacking information, and almost died. It's reasonable to Nempura.
Zalona is also a little doubtful as to the captain and first mate's intentions
but she can't really tell whether they have truly murderous or evil intentions or not, so she just goes along with Nempura's lead.
Zalona says
We're trying to talk to him, but we haven't understood anything he's said so far. Still working on it, but it is going to take time.
She moves the boy and his satchel as far from the open door as possible, and tries starting in with some basic vocabulary, taking some things out of her pack, pointing at them and saying the word, pointing at herself and saying her name, and then pointing at the boy to see if he will participate in the process. If she can get him to say his word for himself and for each thing, she might be able to start some rudimentary communication.
The captain rounds the room to sit behind his desk, in his chair. Once seated he opens the journal; “I don’t know what they got themselves into, but it seems that things went sideways from the moment they acquired the item. I have no interest in it. My job is almost done and I will be paid in full. I know that there might be more in it if the relic was retrieved…”
You get the sense that he is telling the truth. His job is almost finished and he will be getting his coin.
As far as value of the ephod goes… you are unsure. Holy relics are priceless to the followers of the deity, worth the material it is made from to common folk, worth being destroyed by followers of opposing deities.
“Truth is, we are going straight to Miss Vilutar Pakkanen’s private warehouse and you will have the opportunity to receive your final payment and ask your questions of her.” He goes back to studying the journal.
Eevi walks up to Zalona and the child, not trying to get between the two, crouches down and begins speaking several different languages. All sounding very similar. The child doesn’t respond to anything Eevi said.
Eevi turns to the Captain; “I think that The Professor would know how to get through to the child and figure out what it saw.” Pausing, she turns Zalona; “Unless you can figure it out before we arrive.”
The captain smiles and nods. Looking the six of you over; “You say that we have clearly withheld information from you. That may be true, but it is different than you think. The truth is that we have been hired much like you. The only different is that I didn’t want to send my crew on that ship without knowing what happened. So I hired you…” he shrugs; “I have to look after mine.”