Swamped

"Kelp!"

You're a bit confused for a moment, but then you see what he's talking about - a strand of kelp sitting in front of the door.

"How did that get there?" you ask, baffled.

"No clue," Harold says. He remains not much of a conversationalist.

"Well, there's not much we can do besides picking it up. Wouldn't want someone slipping on it."

You pick up the kelp and, not really having a place to put it, sling it around your shoulder. Then you go in. The quartermaster is flipping through a book and making notes. Probably keeping track of stock.

"Quartermaster, I need a barrel of fire powder. It's very important," you say.

"We don't keep the fire powder here," she says. "Too dangerous. If a barrel were to go off, it could destroy a month's supply of stores." She glances up from her book. "Why's there kelp on your shoulder?"

"I didn't have another place to put it. It was just outside the door."

"Give it here. I'll check if our friend the botanist wants it, and if she doesn't, I'll just toss it overboard. Anyhow, we keep the fire powder in its own storeroom, next to the armory."

"I don't know where the armory is. Never had occasion to go there."

"I do," says Harold. He really keeps surprising you.

"Who are you?" the quartermaster asks. Seems he was so quiet that, despite his size, she didn't notice him.

"His name is Harold. He volunteered to carry the barrel for me."

"Now hang on there," the quartermaster says. "I have to let Wiz get a barrel because he's technically an officer. You, on the other hand, aren't, so you need my express permission to touch a barrel. Can you prove you're fit to handle fire powder?"

Technically. You can hear the resentment when she says it.

"Done it before," Harold says. You don't think he's going to be very persuasive at the rate he talks.

"On land or at sea? The motion of the ship makes a difference."

"Done both."

She seems even more frustrated.

"Could you give me some details on that?"

He looks thoughtful for a moment, then answers.