Swamped

The moment you leave, someone shuts the door behind you. And you can't make out anything clearly when you hold your ear to it. They must have built it thick precisely to avoid nosy sailors listening in.

You could try opening it just a crack, but Resk is no doubt watching for that. Seems like the sort of thing he'd do.

But maybe they didn't think beyond the obvious options. You start glancing around.

And then you spot a seam between two portions of wall. You hold your ear to it.

You mostly hear footsteps. Like someone pacing around. But you can hear the voices just a little bit better. It's quiet, but you can make out words if you put in an effort.

"I've told you before, Resk. Nual insists we press onwards." You remember Nual is god of the oceans, but you need to keep your attention on the conversation right now. You can think about what it all means later.

"This is different, sir. Nual can protect us from the ocean. Not from cannonballs."

"Nual can also stop protecting us from the ocean if we turn back. Anyhow, we don't even know if the pirates will stop attacking us if we do turn around." You think that's Bertha, but it's too quiet to be sure.

"Well, right now, we're slowly losing to the pirates while we've got several other problems going on. So unless Nual can offer more guidance than 'keep going', I'm inclined to take my chances with the ocean. We've got a wizard, after all."

Suddenly, everything goes completely silent for a moment. That's strange.

But just as suddenly, someone speaks again, and says something very surprising.