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Caduceus eases himself into his hammock, trying to relax his grip on the ropes. He still isn't used to the swaying, no matter how long they'd been at sea, and now that Avantika's insisted they head for Darktow, and then to the wreck of Fjord's old ship, it seems like everyone is in a big hurry to get there. Everyone's anxiety seems to have soaked into the wood of the ship, which is a sensation Caduceus hasn't felt since leaving the Savalier Wood.
He's just managed to close his eyes when his ears twitch. There's a sensation of pressure releasing inside his ears, and then Pumat Sol is speaking to him.
"Hey, there, the boss told us what happened."
One of the duplicates, then. Caduceus has to admit that he's a little surprised, since the original had been the one to answer his Sending. Then again, he'd been thinking of the original when he'd cast the spell.
"I hope I didn't offend you," the Pumat says sheepishly. "You're really striking, if you don't mind my saying so."
The sensation is still in his ears, but Caduceus can feel the twenty-five word limit has been met, and now the second Pumat is waiting for his reply. He must've counted his words before he'd started the Sending.
That's a good idea, actually.
Caduceus settles into his hammock with a smile, keeping his voice low so as to not wake Fjord. "None taken. It's nice. It's not a compliment I get, so that makes it more special."
He suddenly remembers that he can't just keep chattering, so he counts on his fingers.
He's just used... sixteen words. He has seven left. That's not bad.
He thinks for a moment, and the words to fill the limit come to him easily. "Thank you. It means a lot."
The spell finishes, and Caduceus smiles, only to find the spell activate again a few minutes later.
"Hey, there, it's Pumat Three," the soothing drawl chirps. "We're taking turns using Sending, if you don't mind."
Caduceus blinked. So, are there going to be three Sending spells? Or four?
"When the boss told us what happened, we got kinda curious," The third Pumat finishes.
"You're a lot more efficient than Jester, I'll be honest," Caduceus replies without thinking, then pauses to count on his fingers again. He has fifteen words left, and he's struck by how many words that is, like an entire conversation is still at his fingertips, so to speak. He has to remind himself to be careful with what he says.
Caduceus gets a brilliant idea, and starts counting backwards. When he's satisfied, he nods to himself, and says, "Do you guys plan out what you're going to say? What were you curious about?"
The next Sending comes a minute later.
"We didn't mind hearing from you--" The third duplicate begins without preamble. "-- We don't usually hear from adventuring types all that often -- but, respectfully, we're not someone people reach out to."
"That's fair," Caduceus murmurs. "We're... in the middle of something that's gotten me thinking a lot." He frowns at how vague he's being, but he doesn't want to risk wasting words on what might be the last Sending this evening. "And I ended up thinking of you. Thank you for listening."
The spell ends, and Caduceus sighs gently.
He drifts off to a dreamless sleep when he doesn't get another Sending.
***
Caduceus finds himself praying for the Wild Mother to grant him the use of a Sending spell that morning. He tells himself that Jester's used it before, and he might end up getting separated from the group.
The fact that they're still a few days from reaching Darktow is something he quietly ignores.
"Gotta admit we're a bit flattered that we're somebody you think of when you're having trouble," one of the Pumats begins without preamble. "You doing okay? We know adventuring's pretty dangerous."
Caduceus hesitates before he answers, freeing a hand to unfold fingers as he goes. "We're still alive, even if some of my companions insist on some really bad ideas." He sighs and adds, "There's been a few close shaves, though."
"I can imagine," the next Pumat replies. "But are you doing okay? Respectfully, you've got friends with you, and you're reaching out to a shopkeeper in Zadash."
It wasn't something that Caduceus hadn't already thought himself throughout the day, staring at the endless ocean, wishing that he could hear the Wild Mother's voice.
He opens his mouth to speak, and then stops himself. He counts on his fingers, and tries to mentally edit before he sighs again. He's going to need to find a piece of parchment or something if he's going to make the most of these Sendings.
"I haven't been able to hear my goddess since we got on the ocean," Caduceus admits slowly, counting on his fingers. "I feel... lost, and I don't know what to do."
He stares at his unfolded fingers, and sighs heavily.
"Respectfully, we don't know how to help you with your goddess, we're not really religious types," the next Sending comes apologetically, "But we hope you can hear her soon."
"Thank you," Caduceus says. "Hearing you say that helps, really. I know she hasn't left me, but it's new, and it's scary."
He looks down at his lightly closed fingers. Five words left.
"How's the business been going?" he asks.
Then he remembers he's gotten three Sendings from Pumat Sol, and sighs a little. He could wait until the next night, if this keeps up, but he still has a Sending of his own. He traces a symbol in the air, touches the holy symbol at his throat, and thinks of one of the Pumat duplicates smiling at him.
"Sorry, I forgot you couldn't respond," Caduceus murmurs when he feels the spell take effect. "Everything's been a bit crazy here on the ocean. It'd be nice to hear about things on dry land."
"Oh, well, the war's still on in the east," the Pumat responds, his voice a combination of dry and faintly annoyed. "It's good for business, but Prime's been wearing himself out. It's hard to replenish the stock."
***
Caduceus learns quite a few things from the three duplicates. (It's always the duplicates because ever since that first Sending, Pumat Prime has never sent a Sending of his own.)
The duplicate who'd been created first, who tends to think of himself as Second, is the one who openly admired him when the Mighty Nein were in the shop. He gets nervous about paying compliments because he doesn't want to cause offense, but he has a wonder to him that makes him sincere.
Three, as he tends to think of himself, is the one who usually runs the errands to pick up and deliver orders. He's just as personable as the others, but he falls back to the respectful shopkeeper tone when he doesn't know how to respond to something Caduceus has said, but gladly picks up any conversational thread that happens to be lying around.
The last Pumat has a dry tone, and is the one who generally keeps an eye on Prime and the others. It's from him that Caduceus learns that Prime has been getting a significant increase in orders from the Cerberus Assembly, presumably for the war effort. And also that Prime likes Caduceus's pink hair as well, but he's too awkward to say as much.
Prime, Caduceus learns through hints and comments from the others, likes enchanting magic items as a way to relieve stress. But with the war going on, and even more soldiers being sent to the front lines to replace the thousands that have been killed already, what was once a source of active meditation has become something he can't indulge in. The customers want quick, easy enchanted items -- arrows, bolts, potions of invisibility or healing -- instead of the longer projects that allow Prime to lose himself in his work. Their stock is disappearing as quickly as the four Pumat Sols can make it, which is good for their ledgers. But Prime is relying more and more on his duplicates to handle orders that he previously would've handled alone.
Caduceus listens with a sympathetic ear, wishing he could do more.
Just as they're returning to Nicodranas, having barely escaped Avantika's clutches and a second temple miraculously still standing, Caduceus and the rest of the Nein are in the common room of the Lavish Chateau, eating and drinking and generally feeling invincible and absolutely paranoid that the moment they look over their shoulder, they'll find Avantika at their throats.
Caduceus can tell at a glance that Fjord is trying not to be disappointed that he didn't learn more about his old captain, that Sabien got away. Caleb (and Nott, by extension) are terrified at the thought of Avantika having survived and still at large somewhere on the high seas. Jester is thrilled to see her mother again, even if she and the rest of the Nein know that they'll have to leave soon. Beau is upset that Yasha is gone again, but it seems that their barbarian friend has a habit of doing this. Jester was able to confirm that Yasha had survived the ordeal, but was following another vision from the Storm Lord.
They're battered, weary from the number of spells they had to use and the amount of running they did in order to escape, but they're alive. They had arrived in town much later in the evening to see Jester's mother before she took a customer for the evening. But the food and drink helps while they recover from their ordeal.
So, it's a bit of a surprise when the Sending comes early.
Caduceus knows right away from the clipped message that it's from the fourth Pumat. "Working around the clock. Can't memorize anymore Sendings. Conserve your resources. Stay safe. Don't drown. Hope you can hear your goddess soon. We'll miss you."
Caduceus's eyes go unfocused as he listens, and while he can feels some pairs of eyes on him from the others, he doesn't pay it much mind. He pulls out the piece of parchment from his pocket, as well as the ink and quill that Caleb loaned him a few nights ago, and thinks about what to say.
"Whatcha writing?" Jester asks, leaning forward in order to try to read Caduceus's untidy scrawl upside-down.
Caduceus shakes his head, holding up a finger to tell her to wait. The pressure is still released from his ears, and the spell is still active. If he responds to Jester, he'll answer the fourth Pumat as well.
"Caduceus?" Fjord asks, his usually pleasant tone gaining a bit of an edge.
Caduceus keeps the finger held up. He's having trouble concentrating with the sudden air of tension at the table, and he doesn't want to keep the fourth Pumat waiting.
"I understand," Caduceus begins, making a tick mark for each word. "Make sure you and the others get some rest." Five and five and one is... eleven.
"Not sure where we're headed next--" Another six. "But I'll let you know." Five, which leaves... three.
"Sleep well, everyone."
The pressure returns to his ears, and Caduceus looks up to find five pairs of eyes trained on him.
"Who was that?" Caleb asks, taking a casual sip of ale that's anything but.
Caduceus frowns. "Pumat Sol. Or, well, one of his duplicates."
No one is expecting that response. The baffled surprise is palpable.
"Pumat Sol? You mean that guy in Zadash with the three copies?" Beau asks, frowning and confused. "How were you talking to him?"
"A Sending!" Jester says excitedly. "I didn't know you knew Sending, Caduceus!"
Caduceus shrugs. "I ask for it every once in a while."
Nott polishes off the last few shrimp from her plate before looking at Caduceus with shrewd, yellow eyes. "You sounded really friendly with him. I thought you two didn't really know each other."
Caduceus takes a sip of water. "We haven't had a lot of time to talk to each other, but he's nice."
"Oh, man, yeah!" Jester says through a hasty mouth of food. "Sending is great, but you only get twenty-five words to say things with!"
Caleb trades a look with Nott, and eyes Caduceus again.
Caduceus looks at Caleb steadily. The man might be paranoid, but he's had reason to be, just from looking at him. Caleb is worried about Caduceus talking to a shop owner in Zadash, though there's any number of reasons why that could be. Maybe it's because of the Empire's rules on acceptable gods to worship, which don't include the Wild Mother. Maybe it's something else.
All Caduceus can pick up on is that Caleb is very worried about him talking to Pumat Sol, and their wizard has no qualms about speaking up. Caduceus wonders if he'll bring it up at the table, or if he'll speak to Caduceus in private.
"So," Fjord drawls, finishing the last bite of his food and easing back in his chair, yellow eyes trained on Caduceus as well. "How long have you and Pumat been talking?"
Caduceus eyes Fjord in return. The half-orc is worried too, but not to the extent that Caleb is. It could be that their recent experience with Avantika has made them a little jumpy, which Caduceus can't really blame them for.
But the suspicion around this one shopkeeper is making Caduceus more curious about what's going on.
"Since we got off Urukaxl, I think." Caduceus frowns, trying to remember, and then nods. "Yeah. I remember because it was when you were coming back from speaking with Avantika privately."
Fjord's eyes widen in panic, but Jester is immediately jumping in, demanding to know what happened, what was discussed, why didn't she know about this, and a few other things that Caduceus admittedly isn't listening to. He gets up from his chair, leaves a few gold on the table for the food, and heads in the general direction of the rooms they were directed to earlier that evening.
As Caduceus lays back in his too-short bed, he finds himself wishing that he thought to memorize a Sending himself. He's glad that he hadn't, though, because he'd needed all of the spells he had to keep Beau and Fjord conscious during their escape.
Just before he loses himself more thoroughly in his thoughts, he hears a light knock on his door.
He gets up, knowing that Fjord would've just used his own key, and finds Caleb standing nervously on the other side, face pulled into a stern frown.
"Mister Caleb," Caduceus murmurs, stepping back to allow the man in. He eases the door shut, but doesn't lock it. Caleb doesn't do well when he doesn't have an escape route.
"Herr Clay," Caleb replies, turning on his heel and looking up at him. His entire body is tense with nervousness, but his voice is steady.
"You're worried about my talking to Pumat Sol," Caduceus says. "Why?"
Caleb does something between a twitch and a flinch, but keeps eye contact with him. "He belongs to a part of the Empire that could... cause trouble for us. Especially if they found out what we've been doing in the Menagerie Coast." He shuffles where he stands, still frowning. "We've also been growing in power as well, which could make us very attractive for conscription if they decide they want to control us."
Caduceus sighs, because really. "I know I complained about you all being a bunch of gossips when we were talking about Jamedi, but the only things Pumat and I have discussed are how I've been dealing with being out on the ocean, and how he needs to get more rest because he's overworked."
Caleb looks startled at that. "Overworked?"
"It's the war effort," Caduceus offers. "More people have been needing things from him, so he and the duplicates are having to work around the clock."
Caleb frowns, his thoughts turning inward. "Ja, that would make sense. Whatever the Cerberus Assembly does, they will want to use Pumat's abilities as well." He looks back up at Caduceus.
Caduceus raises an eyebrow, pretty sure he has an idea of what Caleb wants to ask. "The duplicates have said that Prime's been getting more orders, but I don't know what they are. Tonight's the first night that I've only gotten one Sending instead of the usual three."
"Three?" Caleb looks surprised again. He was expecting one Sending. Or possibly four. Caduceus isn't quite sure.
"It's just the duplicates," Caduceus responds. "I think Prime's discomfort around people might extend to someone he might want to be friends with."
Auburn eyebrows lift over curious blue eyes. "Only friends?"
It's the first time Caduceus has ever heard Caleb sound coy. "You're thinking there's something more."
Caleb's stern expression cracks to reveal a rare, beautiful smile. "If a man told me that I brighten the room, I would be very curious about that man's intentions."
Caduceus looks at him for a long moment, and wonders if this is what Caleb was like when he was younger. Before something broke him. Before he decided to wear that damage like a set of chains.
"I see," Caduceus murmurs. "I'm guessing you have no further objections?"
The smile fades from Caleb's face, revealing that his pain never left. "Nein," he replies quickly. "Only... I worry that you might get attached to Pumat, and we might find ourselves on opposite sides one day."
Caduceus nods slowly. They've been doing a number of things that are probably not in the Empire's best interests. And with Pumat connected to the Cerberus Assembly as he is... Caduceus can understand.
"We'll have to cross that bridge when we get to it," Caduceus murmurs. "But thank you for your concern."
Caleb nods once, his awkwardness returning, and he makes a beeline for the door with a quick, "Gute Nacht," trailing after him.
Caduceus returns to bed, curls his legs until all of him fits, and tries to sleep.