Swamped

You're just about to ask when a particularly large sailor - even bigger than Lex - steps over to you.

"You got an invitation?" he asks, almost as an accusation.

"An invitation? To what? I'm here to talk with the cook," you say.

"So you're not here for Lou's birthday party, then? In that case, get out. The cook's going to be real busy for a little while anyhow."

He shoves the two of you out the door without waiting for any further answer.

"The hells was that about?" Lex asks. "And how's Lou got this many people for a party, he barely has any friends."

You signal him to be quiet, and lead him down another corridor. One where not so many sailors are passing by.

"I don't think this is an actual birthday party," you say. "I think that's just a cover story. This is actually some sort of meeting, and they don't want anyone around they can't trust. The invitations are how they know who's in the group and who's not."

Lex frowns.

"A meeting about what, though? Are they planning a mutiny?"

"Maybe, but the galley seems a strangely public place to be doing that. It'd be hard to tell the captain to leave just because he hasn't got an invitation, after all."

Lex thinks for a bit.

"It's not so weird if they're just about to act. Gathering their forces together before striking. In that case, it doesn't matter if the captain comes barging in, because then they've got him."

"That's a point. They didn't seem particularly hurried, though. Or armed, for that matter."

"Yeah, but now I'm real worried about whatever it is they're doing in there. Plus we can't really talk to the cook if they won't let us in. So maybe we should try to find out what's going on."

He raises a good point. But how can you go about that?