Swamped

Praise be to Nual!

You're a bit confused at first. It should be difficult for him to accidentally send a message to you, and you're not all that religious.

Did something happen? you settle on asking.

Sorry. Was about to tell you something, but then I saw the strange wind, or whatever it is, block an incoming cannonball. It might be on our side?

"Praise be to Nual!" the captain suddenly says. "He has heard our prayers and sent aid."

"Much as I appreciate the help, I do wonder if we did anything to persuade him to intervene," you reply. You think it would be good to check in on Resk. Maybe you can see this possible divine intervention for yourself.

"All I can say for sure is that he is pleased. Most likely our service to him has not gone unnoticed."

Where are you, Resk? I want to take a look for myself.

Two levels down from the bridge. We found some unconscious cultists here earlier. Don't know if it's at all related.

Right. I think I'm done here. I'll be down soon.

"Well, I'll be sure to thank him for the help," you tell the captain. "I don't think there's much more we can get out of that message right now, so I'll go check in on Mr. Resk."

"Nual be with you," the captain says. "And tell Bertha to come back here. She's bound to be nearby."

It's strange. The captain didn't say a word about the message after Resk's prayer passed to you. And this intervention seems very sudden, not to mention it would have been nice to have earlier.

On the other hand, you can be sure that Nual had a hand in it. There's no fooling the Captain about that. Which leaves you stuck wondering what a god is thinking. That's never a place you like to be. They're far too idiosyncratic for that.

You head down two levels and spot Resk. You ask him if whatever he saw is still around.

He directs your attention to the window, where you see some kind of colorful streak flowing through the air, knocking cannonballs back at the pirate ship. And you can't sense any ether from it, which means it could well be divine in origin.

But you notice something else. Something strange.