Swamped

Morale isn't really a problem you're equipped for. Luckily, you have a direct line to someone who understands it better than you.

Mr. Resk, I'm afraid I let something slip about your ghost ship to some of the crew. I need to do a little damage control.

You can almost hear him sighing deeply, despite the fact the link doesn't really allow for that.

Well, you have a plan for it, don't you? You told me you did. So bring them in on it. Keep them busy and let them see it's under control, or as under control as it's going to be. Not much more you can do than that.

"And I was on my way to get ready for that, so I'd best get to the quartermaster." you continue, as quickly as you can. "I'll need someone to carry a barrel of fire powder for me. And I'll need the gunners to be informed that it's going to be more potent than usual, so they can take whatever precautions they need. As for you, Ms. Colleen, you really should get some rest."

She just stares at you for a bit. Finally, she settles on "Well, what do I do about this chicken?"

You hand it off to another sailor.

"I'll be examining that if we ever get another calm moment again. Take care of it for me until then."

Defeated, she walks back, just as two sailors approach you. One's big and burly, the other's thin and scrawny. You think you could probably beat him in an arm-wrestling contest, and you're hardly in the best of shape yourself.

"What're you plannin' on doing to the fire powder?" the thin sailor asks. "That stuff's pretty dangerous, you know."

"I'm going to make it burn faster with magic," you reply. "Easier than making a fireball myself that's big enough to burn up a whole ship."

"Hmm. So you're adding an accelerant, basically. Now, magic's not my specialty, but the principle's the same. Only question I have is, how strong is it going to be?"

"I can strengthen it once it's in motion, but I need to do some preparations first. So it will be slightly more reactive."

He nods.

"Yeah, okay. I'll round up the experienced artillery crew, then. Best not to take chances. Harold, you can handle the barrel, right?"

"Yup," says the larger sailor. "Let's go."

"Now, I'm going to stop by and make sure you know what you're doing, Wiz," the thin sailor says. "Just because you know magic doesn't mean you know powders."

You don't argue the point. The whole idea is to calm them down, after all. And time is short. You continue to the quartermaster's, with Harold following behind. He doesn't say a word the whole time.

Until, that is, you draw near the quartermaster's. Then he surprises you when he suddenly shouts something.