Swamped

Rider is certainly capable of handling himself, probably even in a ridiculous situation like this. And, well, if he thought he needed help he wouldn't have sent you off on an errand.

On the other hand, letting Rider handle things his way is prone to causing problems. So maybe you shouldn't leave him on his own too long. Maybe you'll just get Marshall to come along and help; Long's injured and his approach is too similar to Rider's anyhow.

Mostly you're just hoping you don't have to deal with any other weird surprises. You climb the ladder and start heading for the cells.

The walk is, for once, uneventful. It's almost putting you on edge.

When you arrive, you see that Shume is still paralyzed, and the quiet kid is still bowed down. Marshall just seems to be staring at them both.

"Nothing's really happened, other than all the shaking," Marshall says. "Is Captain Long all right?"

"He's awake, and resting," you say. "Ash seems to have been hit by the same thing this wizard was, though. And I found Rider, but he's gotten into a fight. He told me to give you this."

You hand over the book. Marshall stares at it.

And then, very suddenly, the quiet kid rushes over and holds up the other book to Marshall. Marshall takes it, tentatively, and the kid starts bowing.

Well, that was unexpected. Now what?