Swamped

You're too weary from your journey to argue. You could barely lift a weapon right now. You hide below deck and slip into an empty barrel.

Before long, you hear the sounds of fighting from up above. You can barely tell what's going on; you hear metal clashing against metal, boots stomping, and then, suddenly, five loud splashes in quick succession.

A few moments later, you hear the sergeant calling out.

"Marshall! All's clear. Bring us some rope, we've got a prisoner here."

You attempt to climb out, but as you do you knock the barrel over and it starts rolling into a crate. Fortunately, it's a crate with a pile of rope hanging over it, so you can at least take care of that.

You climb out of the cargo hold. One of the knights takes the rope from you and rushes over to the sergeant, who seems to have her hands full keeping a tall man in purple armor in a headlock.

You can't help but notice the other knight lying on his back, panting heavily. You walk over to him.

"Need any help?"

"Got knocked down," he gasps. You can see a few cuts on his face and a few spots where his armor has taken some heavy hits, but he seems to be having more trouble with exhaustion than with his injuries. You help him up and lead him to the bench.

Then you head over to the sergeant. She's got the prisoner tied to the mast, which she's leaning on heavily herself.

"A raiding party of six," she mutters, glaring at the prisoner. "You Marshguards rarely send more than four at a time. So what was so important about this shipment that you decided you needed more, I wonder?"

The Marshguard doesn't say anything, but he glimpses in your direction for a few moments. Were they after you?

"Well, I'm sure we'll hear more from you once we reach the base," the sergeant grumbles. She turns to you. "Marshall, I'll need you to keep an eye on this fool while I drive the boat." She points to a filthy spear lying on the deck. "You haven't been issued a weapon yet, so I suggest you hold onto the prisoner's mudpike in case you need it."

You lift the spear. You don't really know much about fighting with one, but at least it's light. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

The knight helps the sergeant over to the wheel, and before long the ship starts moving again. You're left with little to do except wait, and suffer the prisoner's glares.

You consider talking to him, if only because you have nothing else to do. But what would you even say?