Skitter, scratch, scratch.
There was that noise again. Jhiv had been hearing it sporadically for the last fifteen minutes.
“Damned rats.” he muttered under his breath.
He continued searching the containment deck for the source of the sound. It had to be rats, didn’t it? The Piddock had been fully submerged for the last three days. With as far out to sea as she still was there was no way that anyone (or anything for that matter) could have tracked the ship. Even if they did, for what purpose? There was just that Yuan-ti girl and her entourage, they were all that attracted attention.
Thump.
Jhiv looked up from the desk he was searching.
Thump.
From where he was he could just make out a strange light coming from one of the intake cells. Before he had a chance to react the light blazed intensely, filling the deck with brilliant orange light. A hissing sound accompanied the light. Shielding his eyes, Jhiv moved closer with his dagger drawn.
After a moment the blinding light faded and Jhiv looked into the containment cell. Inside the cell was a water elemental, which was normal. Inside the water elemental burned what looked like liquid flame, this was not as normal. Outside the containment field Jhiv noticed that there were footsteps, large monstrous ones that were melted into the floor leading to the staircase.
It was at that moment that Jhiv rang the alarm.