Hey, pirates! Recently, we have started a Halloween themed quest and you did a great job participating in it. Now it's time to face the consequences of your actions. If you've missed the start don't worry, you can join now! ___ You slowly approach the crowd of sailors around the rescued man as a sense of foreboding sets in. There's no way to press through to the captain. You spot a familiar face nearby, an old friend made over many a shift together on watch. "There's a wrecked ship somewhere overboard, all around us in pieces. We're right next to where she ended." The news start spreading from man to man, getting louder and louder, and soon enough it reaches the command. Second mate Fuhrer_51[RUS], leaning over the man, says it first: "Was there an engagement?" The poor soul's eyes are speechless and full of terror. With nothing on hand but his own good judgment, the sailor decides to make up his mind. "A ship musta been wrecked nearby. Prolly more than one," he says, turning to address the captain. "Not to sound like a coward, cap'n, but our ship, she ain't prepared for a fight like this." Fortune favors the brave, but better to be wary than dead. All the more so with the ship loaded to the brim. And as always, taking a bad risk is bound to cost you your load, your ship, and even your life. "Ho! Helmsman!" the captain yells. "Swing 'er round!" A sense of release cuts through the tension. As all hands get ready, the men take the rescued soul away for some food and warmth. You overhear the captain grumbling as you follow the guest out with your eyes: "Can't be taking no risks right now, afraid." Slowly the ship starts to crawl through the thick, billowing fog, without a sound save for the splashing waves and creaking rigging. The quiet chatter of the crew drowns in the thick air. With visibility measuring in a few feet, even the slowest possible pace makes for a treacherous traverse. You glance at the captain, a tall, mighty mast of a man who has spent his entire life at sea, and wait for him to order the sails taken in until the fog clears. But then you see him anxiously fidgeting with one of the keys scattered across the deck. His eyes dim and brow furrowed, it's clear that the man has been hollowed by anxiety far deeper than any sailor so well experienced ought ever feel. Then, suddenly, there's a loud strike against the broadside. Unthinkably, the captain, a man of unparalleled mettle, startles before your eyes and rushes toward the sound, struggling to temper his own haste. The crew, utterly astonished, are confronted by an enormous tree, roots and all, floating placidly atop the waves. It could not, should not be here. Even a cabin boy fresh into his second season on this route would know well enough: a full day's sail separates this point from the nearest island. "What the devil?" sputters a surprised voice on your left. "Maybe it was a storm?" another follows hesitantly. "There was no storm," comes the captain's grim reply. It occurs to you that he began to understand a thing or two about your bizarre predicament. His eyes, broody and dim just a moment ago, are slowly starting to clear, but the utter despair forming on his face instead stuns you. "Keep up the pace!" comes his voice, loud and booming, a tone as empty and distant as the woe in his eyes. "Too dangerous, cap'n," says the chief mate, watching the waves. "There's like to be, aha, yet more debris and trouble oerboard." "Indeed there is." The mast of a man suddenly shrugs, focusing his gaze on you, and follows it up suddenly with a dejected smile. "This shan't be your last traverse. Go pay that barmy a visit, see if he's talking any sense now." The captain is captain, and orders are orders. And yet, as your feet lead you into the holds, his strange words and actions keep spinning in your head. And as you keep pondering, the atmosphere of quiet danger grows more and more uneasy. It takes you a while to come back from your thoughts to the quiet, long, whistling sound, not unlike the sound strong winds make as they blow through a crack in the boards. You don't just hear it, you FEEL it, and it's coming from the lower holds, where the goods are kept. 1. Follow the captain's orders and go see the rescued man 2. Climb down for a brief moment to see where that sound is coming from.