Seeing the fear on Hama's face and noticing the crew member in the room, I quickly adjust and draw attention away from Hama.
"Look, Danny. He's still alive. Kythaela, could you cast Cure Wounds on the little guy? And perhaps Speak with Animals?"
Careful not to get too close to the dirty animal, I try to take command of the situation. Curing the rat should calm Danny. Now to figure out what happened here and if this crew member can be trusted.
"Can someone please tell me what happened here?"
I move forward and extend a hand to the crew member (Zero).
"I've seen you around the ship but I don't think I've had the pleasure. My name is Lysander Salvathor, I am one of the passengers escorting the dwarf."
"Oh!" Kythaela gives a jerky nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I-I can do that." She kneels, a soft blue light enveloping her wooden hand, and she casts two spells--one to heal the rat, and one to talk to him.
"Hey," she says gently to the rat, relaxing a little herself. Animals are easier than people. "Are you feeling better now?"
Zero sighed as Lysander walked closer to him. Not that he had any hopes that his plan of hiding the situation would work, but he didn't have a good feeling about how the situation was going to end.
He looked at Lysander's hand, surprised by the gesture. He looked like a noble? Zero wasn't sure, but he was definitely someone important. So why was he so friendly toward a simple crew member?
After some more moments of hesitation, he took the hand.
"A pleasure to meet you sir. For any necessity, feel free to call for me, I will try my best to be of service. I respond to the name of Zero."
After finishing his introduction, which he hoped was formal enough to not cause anger in the possible-noble, he took a small step back.
After proposing a group discussion to address the current chaos, Norstaer immediately turns his attention to Snok, concerned about the kobold's rat bite.
"Let me see your wound, Snok," Norstaer says gently, kneeling to inspect the injury on Snok's wrist. He quickly cleans it with a cloth dampened with water from his canteen and wraps it securely.
"Try to keep this clean and avoid using this hand until it's better," he advises while ensuring the bandage is snug but not too tight. Giving Snok's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, he adds, "If it feels worse or you notice anything odd, tell me right away."
As soon as Kythaela heals the rat, Gonzo begins to squirm in Danny's arms. The halflings face lights up at and he looks up at Kythaela in awe. "Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye. The way that arrow went into him, I thought he was done for." He hugs Gonzo even tighter and the rat squirms even more, enough for Danny to lose his grip on it. It drops to the floor and scurries into the crates to join Rizzo.
At the question to the rats from the druid, there's a series of loud squeaks from underneath the crates. "No want hurt. Want food. Hungry. Food. Hungry. Man give food. Give food now."
Rizzo appears, sniffing cautiously and sits near Zero's feet, waiting expectantly, nose and tail twitching. Danny gets down on his hands and knees, and tickles the rat under its chin. "See. Them mice are soft as anything when they got food in 'em. They just get hungry." He sits upright and regards Zero with some trepidation. "Ye ain't gonna tell the cap'n are ye? He'll kill me if he finds out about 'em." He brightens a little and looks round the assembled group. "Could one of ye keep 'em in yer cabin until we get too Havdir? Then I'll get 'em off ship, I promise."
"The pleasure is all mine, Zero. A shame we haven't been introduced sooner with only a few days left of our journey. How long have you been in the employ of Captain Marrow? Do you know him well?"
I take a step back from the rat near Zero's feet but offer a friendly smile to Zero, to show it's the rat not he that I want distance from.
After proposing a group discussion to address the current chaos, Norstaer immediately turns his attention to Snok, concerned about the kobold's rat bite.
"Let me see your wound, Snok," Norstaer says gently, kneeling to inspect the injury on Snok's wrist. He quickly cleans it with a cloth dampened with water from his canteen and wraps it securely.
"Try to keep this clean and avoid using this hand until it's better," he advises while ensuring the bandage is snug but not too tight. Giving Snok's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, he adds, "If it feels worse or you notice anything odd, tell me right away."
Snok winces as Norstaer’s cloth glides on his hand. He manages to keep his composure while Norstaer wraps the bandage around his hand. “Thanks to elf-man. This one promises to try not to use hand his as much as he can.”
Zero noticed the reaction of Lysander to the rat and decide to try to use the little thing as a shield during the interaction. Nothing personal against the man, but he liked to maintain contact with other people at minimum. So he picked it up, but to his dismain it struggled against his hug. To avoid any more scratches than necessary he let it go, watching sadly as it went to hide under the crates.
'Guess I can't escape... '
He turned his attention back to Lysander. "Some months, not enough to know him well. After he hired me we barely interacted. Why?"
I see right through Zero's attempt to create distance between us and take note of the interaction. I'm glad the rat ran off.
"I've noticed an unreasonable aggression in his interactions with me. When I was trying to resolve an issue with sweet Coralaine's charter, he barked at me. When I asked about it being in his cabin, like she said, he threatened to have me thrown overboard, even after I offered to pay for her. I've never heard of a Captain refusing coin, especially coin he is owed. He's hiding something and I want to know what."
I'm hoping the earnestness and kindness in my face and my acknowledgement of my attempts to help Coralaine, someone everyone likes onboard, will help Zero see I mean well and get him to help. I speak loud enough for my friends to hear as well.
"Yeah, he didn't seem exactly the friendly type, that much was clear to me as well. I didn't pay him too much attention but, for now, aren't those just guesses?"
Zero's reply was probably colder than he intended. While he could understand why Lysander had his doubts, was it really worth to join a witch hunt against his boss? Based on what, him being weird? People like that just existed. Zero himself could also easily be called shady himself, he was spying the people who came down there after all. He was in no place to judge his boss, not without something more than a client coming with his own agenda.
"How about we first take care of the two problems here? Someone has to take them in and that one" said Zero pointing to the direction where his failed-shield went to hide "didn't look like it liked being with me"
'Not that I can blame either of them for not liking me'
Danny watches as the rat disappears amongst the crates again and gets back down on his knees. "I can carry 'em to wherever. Have to be one at a time though. Just need to keep 'em fed, is all." He looks between Zero and Lysander, eyes rimmed red.
"Look, none of us want any trouble here. I think we can all can get what we want here. I can tell that you're not truly fulfilled as a crew member, Zero. Danny is only concerned about the rats. My friends and I want information and smooth passage to Havdir."
I gesture to each person as I reference them. I look back at Zero.
"My team will agree to house the rats. I will offer you, Zero, a spot on this team, a chance to hone those skills of yours that are wasted aboard this ship, and perhaps get you some new gear as well. All I ask is that you guys help me and my friends get into Captain Marrow's cabin. I just want to verify he doesn't have the charter. You have my word I won't take anything else. You must know who I am. I have no need to steal. Help me help poor Coralaine."
'So I will just trade one problem for the other ugh?... Well, it's not like planned to stay here longer than necessary anyway. At least with a rich one I shouldn't have to worry about money. Or having to talk to people myself. Still...'
Zero sighted. Mentioning Coralaine was a low bow from the noble.
"I reject. For now at least. But I will tell you this: I haven't been around that specific area much but I can think of a couple of times when the road to enter the cabin would be free. If you want, I can try to cause a distraction" said Zero, with his eyes lingering where the rats are hiding "or stand at guard in case someone comes. Show me you can actually use this group to your advantage, and I will be willing to follow you. That's the best offer I can offer you"
Despite his gut feeling, he decided to test Lysander. He wasn't going to follow a stranger, much less a noble, just because they asked nicely. If he was a coward, he would show his true self sooner rather than later when put in such a situation.
Hearing Norstaer's comment about dealing with the rats, and Danny and... even trying to understand her situation, Hama was a little less leery but still very much on edge. She nestled against the boxes hoping perhaps with the commotion with rats and Danny they might forget about her. Norstaer's care and comforting of the small kobold was promising. Though hearing the two, Lysander and Zero, discus the Captain 's aggressions....well that didn't bode well for her stowaway self. With Lysander making a direct comment about his lack of need to steal in order to buy trust, didn't bode well for her thief self.
Norstaer, seeing the development of the situation, says “Lysander, my friend, I’m concerned there’s more to uncover about our mysterious employer and other secrets aboard. I propose we split our efforts—some of us could explore lesser-known parts of the ship and perhaps talk or vist the cabin of Vrormir, while others see what can find in the captain cabin, and we must not forget the situation here. There might be something that could explain much of the unrest we’re witnessing.” Then he says “Snok, with your stealth skills, you could be invaluable in this exploration, you too Kythaela”. Addressing to Hama, adds “You could remain here for now if you prefer, we can try to get some food and water”.
The halfling pauses in his attempt to persuade the rats to come to him. "I ain't gotta key for the Cap'n's cabin." He takes a deep breath. "I get it off him when I go in, but he usually comes with me when I go in; ain't one for letting folks in by themselves." His face scrunches up a little. "Keeps the key on himself all the time too. Round his neck, it is." He stands upright. "I can ask for ye, like I'm gonna go in and clean the place, but he's likely gonna want to come with me." He brightens a little. "But if ye can get in somehow, I'm happy to show you around."
He shoots a suspicious look at Zero, then returns his attention to Lysander. "In return for helping me with Gonzo and Rizzo."
I purse my lips in concentration and think. Brushing a hand through my golden brown hair I turn back to Danny.
"Danny, do you think you can get the key from him and tell him you want to clean? Then one of us could distract the captain so that he doesn't insist on coming with you."
"I could," the halfling admits, "but he's still gonna want to be there, even if he gets distracted." He makes a bit of a face. "Probably better to go in and the Cap'n not knowin'. Safer, like."
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Seeing the fear on Hama's face and noticing the crew member in the room, I quickly adjust and draw attention away from Hama.
"Look, Danny. He's still alive. Kythaela, could you cast Cure Wounds on the little guy? And perhaps Speak with Animals?"
Careful not to get too close to the dirty animal, I try to take command of the situation. Curing the rat should calm Danny. Now to figure out what happened here and if this crew member can be trusted.
"Can someone please tell me what happened here?"
I move forward and extend a hand to the crew member (Zero).
"I've seen you around the ship but I don't think I've had the pleasure. My name is Lysander Salvathor, I am one of the passengers escorting the dwarf."
"Oh!" Kythaela gives a jerky nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I-I can do that." She kneels, a soft blue light enveloping her wooden hand, and she casts two spells--one to heal the rat, and one to talk to him.
"Hey," she says gently to the rat, relaxing a little herself. Animals are easier than people. "Are you feeling better now?"
Zero sighed as Lysander walked closer to him. Not that he had any hopes that his plan of hiding the situation would work, but he didn't have a good feeling about how the situation was going to end.
He looked at Lysander's hand, surprised by the gesture. He looked like a noble? Zero wasn't sure, but he was definitely someone important. So why was he so friendly toward a simple crew member?
After some more moments of hesitation, he took the hand.
"A pleasure to meet you sir. For any necessity, feel free to call for me, I will try my best to be of service. I respond to the name of Zero."
After finishing his introduction, which he hoped was formal enough to not cause anger in the possible-noble, he took a small step back.
After proposing a group discussion to address the current chaos, Norstaer immediately turns his attention to Snok, concerned about the kobold's rat bite.
"Let me see your wound, Snok," Norstaer says gently, kneeling to inspect the injury on Snok's wrist. He quickly cleans it with a cloth dampened with water from his canteen and wraps it securely.
"Try to keep this clean and avoid using this hand until it's better," he advises while ensuring the bandage is snug but not too tight. Giving Snok's shoulder a reassuring squeeze, he adds, "If it feels worse or you notice anything odd, tell me right away."
As soon as Kythaela heals the rat, Gonzo begins to squirm in Danny's arms. The halflings face lights up at and he looks up at Kythaela in awe. "Thank ye, thank ye, thank ye. The way that arrow went into him, I thought he was done for." He hugs Gonzo even tighter and the rat squirms even more, enough for Danny to lose his grip on it. It drops to the floor and scurries into the crates to join Rizzo.
At the question to the rats from the druid, there's a series of loud squeaks from underneath the crates. "No want hurt. Want food. Hungry. Food. Hungry. Man give food. Give food now."
Rizzo appears, sniffing cautiously and sits near Zero's feet, waiting expectantly, nose and tail twitching. Danny gets down on his hands and knees, and tickles the rat under its chin. "See. Them mice are soft as anything when they got food in 'em. They just get hungry." He sits upright and regards Zero with some trepidation. "Ye ain't gonna tell the cap'n are ye? He'll kill me if he finds out about 'em." He brightens a little and looks round the assembled group. "Could one of ye keep 'em in yer cabin until we get too Havdir? Then I'll get 'em off ship, I promise."
Recognizing an opportunity, I turn back to Zero.
"The pleasure is all mine, Zero. A shame we haven't been introduced sooner with only a few days left of our journey. How long have you been in the employ of Captain Marrow? Do you know him well?"
I take a step back from the rat near Zero's feet but offer a friendly smile to Zero, to show it's the rat not he that I want distance from.
Snok winces as Norstaer’s cloth glides on his hand. He manages to keep his composure while Norstaer wraps the bandage around his hand. “Thanks to elf-man. This one promises to try not to use hand his as much as he can.”
Zero noticed the reaction of Lysander to the rat and decide to try to use the little thing as a shield during the interaction. Nothing personal against the man, but he liked to maintain contact with other people at minimum. So he picked it up, but to his dismain it struggled against his hug. To avoid any more scratches than necessary he let it go, watching sadly as it went to hide under the crates.
'Guess I can't escape... '
He turned his attention back to Lysander. "Some months, not enough to know him well. After he hired me we barely interacted. Why?"
He tried to sound as polite as he could.
I see right through Zero's attempt to create distance between us and take note of the interaction. I'm glad the rat ran off.
"I've noticed an unreasonable aggression in his interactions with me. When I was trying to resolve an issue with sweet Coralaine's charter, he barked at me. When I asked about it being in his cabin, like she said, he threatened to have me thrown overboard, even after I offered to pay for her. I've never heard of a Captain refusing coin, especially coin he is owed. He's hiding something and I want to know what."
I'm hoping the earnestness and kindness in my face and my acknowledgement of my attempts to help Coralaine, someone everyone likes onboard, will help Zero see I mean well and get him to help. I speak loud enough for my friends to hear as well.
"Yeah, he didn't seem exactly the friendly type, that much was clear to me as well. I didn't pay him too much attention but, for now, aren't those just guesses?"
Zero's reply was probably colder than he intended. While he could understand why Lysander had his doubts, was it really worth to join a witch hunt against his boss? Based on what, him being weird? People like that just existed. Zero himself could also easily be called shady himself, he was spying the people who came down there after all. He was in no place to judge his boss, not without something more than a client coming with his own agenda.
"How about we first take care of the two problems here? Someone has to take them in and that one" said Zero pointing to the direction where his failed-shield went to hide "didn't look like it liked being with me"
'Not that I can blame either of them for not liking me'
Danny watches as the rat disappears amongst the crates again and gets back down on his knees. "I can carry 'em to wherever. Have to be one at a time though. Just need to keep 'em fed, is all." He looks between Zero and Lysander, eyes rimmed red.
"Look, none of us want any trouble here. I think we can all can get what we want here. I can tell that you're not truly fulfilled as a crew member, Zero. Danny is only concerned about the rats. My friends and I want information and smooth passage to Havdir."
I gesture to each person as I reference them. I look back at Zero.
"My team will agree to house the rats. I will offer you, Zero, a spot on this team, a chance to hone those skills of yours that are wasted aboard this ship, and perhaps get you some new gear as well. All I ask is that you guys help me and my friends get into Captain Marrow's cabin. I just want to verify he doesn't have the charter. You have my word I won't take anything else. You must know who I am. I have no need to steal. Help me help poor Coralaine."
'So I will just trade one problem for the other ugh?... Well, it's not like planned to stay here longer than necessary anyway. At least with a rich one I shouldn't have to worry about money. Or having to talk to people myself. Still...'
Zero sighted. Mentioning Coralaine was a low bow from the noble.
"I reject. For now at least. But I will tell you this: I haven't been around that specific area much but I can think of a couple of times when the road to enter the cabin would be free. If you want, I can try to cause a distraction" said Zero, with his eyes lingering where the rats are hiding "or stand at guard in case someone comes. Show me you can actually use this group to your advantage, and I will be willing to follow you. That's the best offer I can offer you"
Despite his gut feeling, he decided to test Lysander. He wasn't going to follow a stranger, much less a noble, just because they asked nicely. If he was a coward, he would show his true self sooner rather than later when put in such a situation.
I narrow my lavender eyes, measuring the man before me, looking him up and down. I straighten then turn to Danny.
"Danny, my boy. What say you? We'll keep the rats safe and won't tell the captain if you help us get into his cabin. I know you have access."
Hearing Norstaer's comment about dealing with the rats, and Danny and... even trying to understand her situation, Hama was a little less leery but still very much on edge. She nestled against the boxes hoping perhaps with the commotion with rats and Danny they might forget about her. Norstaer's care and comforting of the small kobold was promising. Though hearing the two, Lysander and Zero, discus the Captain 's aggressions....well that didn't bode well for her stowaway self. With Lysander making a direct comment about his lack of need to steal in order to buy trust, didn't bode well for her thief self.
Norstaer, seeing the development of the situation, says “Lysander, my friend, I’m concerned there’s more to uncover about our mysterious employer and other secrets aboard. I propose we split our efforts—some of us could explore lesser-known parts of the ship and perhaps talk or vist the cabin of Vrormir, while others see what can find in the captain cabin, and we must not forget the situation here. There might be something that could explain much of the unrest we’re witnessing.” Then he says “Snok, with your stealth skills, you could be invaluable in this exploration, you too Kythaela”. Addressing to Hama, adds “You could remain here for now if you prefer, we can try to get some food and water”.
Kythaela's eyes widen. "I--what--me?! Wh-what can I do?"
The halfling pauses in his attempt to persuade the rats to come to him. "I ain't gotta key for the Cap'n's cabin." He takes a deep breath. "I get it off him when I go in, but he usually comes with me when I go in; ain't one for letting folks in by themselves." His face scrunches up a little. "Keeps the key on himself all the time too. Round his neck, it is." He stands upright. "I can ask for ye, like I'm gonna go in and clean the place, but he's likely gonna want to come with me." He brightens a little. "But if ye can get in somehow, I'm happy to show you around."
He shoots a suspicious look at Zero, then returns his attention to Lysander. "In return for helping me with Gonzo and Rizzo."
I purse my lips in concentration and think. Brushing a hand through my golden brown hair I turn back to Danny.
"Danny, do you think you can get the key from him and tell him you want to clean? Then one of us could distract the captain so that he doesn't insist on coming with you."
"I could," the halfling admits, "but he's still gonna want to be there, even if he gets distracted." He makes a bit of a face. "Probably better to go in and the Cap'n not knowin'. Safer, like."