Swamped

For a moment, you consider showing the kid the note, but the damn thing frightens you too much now. What if the gods think the kid's complicit in whatever the old man was doing, and do the same thing to him? You'd be better off knocking him out in that case.

In fact, you reach for the note just to prevent the kid from accidentally setting eyes on it. But you find your hand going limp as you touch it. What in the hells is this thing?

You pull your hand away, and decide to go for a bluff.

"You did a good job, he's just got very important things to think about right now," you say. It might even be true for all you know. "Now, I need a tool to help me get one of these bars loose. I'm thinking of breaking the wood around it. Can you find me something?"

But the kid is just standing there, looking terrified.

Hmm. Your best guess is that the kid is confused about your authority level, but not about this wizard's. So the kid can't be sure you have the rank to be making assurances.

If you could persuade the kid that you're at least as important in the hierarchy as the old man here, then you might be able to get somewhere. But how could you do that?