Swamped

"Grab the signal light and point it into the water. Just move it all around."

You do, but you're not really sure why. Despite not looking your way, the scout seems to grasp your confusion and starts explaining.

"It's all well and good to hit the one on the deck, but once the crew starts fighting in full-force, there's too much chance I hit one of us instead. So it's more useful for me to try and find any more that might be lurking in the water. The light reflects off their eyes, and..."

He pauses and tosses another javelin.

"...that lets me catch 'em by surprise. If they take a hit in the water, that usually just scares 'em off."

"So why's it so hard to fight them off when they reach the deck?"

"Beats me. Best guess I've got is they don't run fast, so they figure they've got better chances if they stand their ground."

You steal a quick glance at the beast. Those enormous flippers certainly don't look very good for moving on land.

"But how do they climb onto the ship so fast, then?"

"They cling, I think. Works better for moving up than on flat ground. Not that I'm an expert on that, mind." He tosses off another javelin. "It'd be real handy if we had that ward ready, you know."

Wiz doesn't say anything. But you get the sense, looking at him, that something's going wrong.

Then, suddenly, you feel everything shake.

"It's going for the mast!" someone shouts. "Stop it, quick! The wizard's up there!"

"It's too close for me to get any good hits in," the scout grumbles, glancing down. "Everything I can reach is too well-protected. Don't suppose you've got any ideas, Chip?"