Swamped

The only thing you can think of that might calm Mr. Resk is giving him a job to do. And, as it turns out, you have a job that needs doing.

Mr. Resk! The cannon crew is incapacitated! I'm going to have to fire the cannons myself!

Your only response is another silent scream. That and some more mumblings from whatever's trying to sound like your mother.

Mr. Resk! I've never used one of these cannons before! Tell me what to do!

The screaming slowly fades.

First thing you do... first thing... is make sure it's properly aimed. You said... you were using fire powder, right? We load that into... into a wooden shell. Much lighter than a cannonball... arcs a lot lower. Gotta be just a little bit higher than... higher than... what you're shooting at.

The nearest cannon looks like it's already aimed. Some of the others aren't. You crawl to the cannon.

I think this one's already in position. I just need to fire it.

There's a chain. Pull it back, hold it for about a second, and release. He seems to be gathering himself. That'll launch the ammo. With a powder shell, you definitely want maximum force, so it's sure to ignite on impact. 'Course, that means it's even more important to hit.

Well, right now you're just going to hope the woman nearby clutching her head in pain got those calculations right. You pull on the chain, do a quick count, and launch.

You watch the powder shell fly through the air, and for the first time, you actually see the target.

And it's terrifying. You knew the stories said it looked like a derelict, but that's selling short just how damaged it is. There's a huge crack on the front of the hull, the prow has broken off, and the back of the ship is missing entirely. The sails are so rotted they look like they're going to fall off, and there are inside-out bugs crawling over the whole mess.

And the mast isn't even connected to the ship. It's floating above it.

But you're not sensing any ether, just the same strange stagnancy you felt before. You also don't see any crew, ghosts or otherwise.

Then the powder shell hits, and the ship starts burning. Then the voice that sounds like your mother starts wailing, crying out.

That's probably a sign the fire is working. But not fast enough - the ship's still charging forward. You need to fire more shells. But if you fire them on your own...

A grebling walks up to you.

"You doin' okay, Wiz? Somethin' weird is going on with the humans."

You hear another screech.

"You aren't hearing any strange sounds, are you?" you ask.

"Well, I got this weird echo in my head that sounds like a seahawk. What, is that not just me?"

So it is magic after all. Spells are usually tailored to work on either humans or greblings. Though that doesn't explain the bird sounds, or why yours have stopped...

...no, they haven't. They're just quieter. Maybe that's the reason why you've still got some degree of autonomy.

"Are the other greblings all right?" you ask. "I need as many sailors as possible to work the cannons before that ship hits us!"

The grebling salutes, and raises his hands to his mouth. You don't hear anything as he does.

"Sent out the call. I'll get to aiming the ones that ain't already. You fire that one." He points to another cannon that already seems to be in position. You walk over, and fire it. Then you head to the next.

But someone's grabbed your leg, and someone else has grabbed your arms. Both are yelling incoherently. It seems that the voices have gotten bad enough for the other sailors that they're actively trying to stop you.

You need to do something about that.