Swamped

Well, it would probably help if you had some idea how she was going to leave. Your first thought is that she might use flight magic, which wouldn't require her to cast it on the mask itself. But then you remember that the whole boat is being magically pulled down. That would interfere, and even if she were the original caster, it would take a while to dismiss the spell. Time she probably would prefer not to use if possible.

In that case, the easiest option would be for the pirate ship to provide a route for her. She should be able to contact the pirates, if she's working with them.

What's more, you doubt that she planned to take the mask. She probably discovered it by chance and is looking to learn what she can from it. Which would mean that anything the pirates do would be hastily-planned.

Donnie's being held hostage magically, you tell Resk. The warden did it. She's trying to escape with something and doesn't intend to release the spell until she's safely off the ship. But her options are limited.

Resk soon replies, clearly confused.

What do you mean, limited? She's got magic, right?

You'll have to clarify, you suppose. While keeping it simple, for his sake.

She can't use it on the object she's taken, and the spell pulling the ship down would interfere too much with a personal flight spell. I think the pirates are going to try to give her a path.

The next reply is a little slow. Perhaps something came up on his end, or perhaps Resk has realized something.

Oh, now things make a little sense. Was wondering what they were trying to do.

He seems more collected. In fact, now you're the one with questions.

What do you mean? What are the pirates doing? you ask him.

He responds promptly this time.

They stopped firing their cannons and changed course. We thought they were trying to board, but the approach is all wrong. Makes more sense if they're just going to give her a path and then leave. Though it seems the tides aren't favoring them, they keep getting pushed away. Guess Nual doesn't approve.

So. Maybe you were right after all.

In that case, I think it would be best if we made things easier for them. Let her get her escape route, and then she can see for herself what Nual thinks.

There's a pause on the other end.

Not really sure what you're getting at, but I guess we don't have a lot of options if there's a hostage. So how do we give her that escape route, then?