I was actually considering a small axe or hatchet (forgot to mention it in my last post) but it might be too cumbersome so a knife might be better.
Being invisible (he hopes to everyone down here) Japik swims inside the ship towards the area where he saw the smaller crates earlier when he was in dolphin form. He swims carefully and uses his hands to feel what is in front of him as the sight is obscure. He is looking for one of the smaller intact crates that he will be able to carry and swim with. When he finds one he will bring it out to the net and tie it inside it. If there are room for more than one crate in the net he will go back in for more.
He will be wary of any motions in the water inside the ship as well as small light sources that may look like eyes in the dark. If he notices anything he will freeze and stop whatever he is doing, if possible just holding on to something to help stand still.
(Axes are not good weapons/tools underwater, as they need to be swung in order to perform effectively and which the resistance of the water slows down. A sharp knife is much preferable for a versatile tool/weapon, while spears and tridents make good thrusting weapons.)
(Also, invisibility is a bit less effective detect underwater, since moving in water creates eddies that can be felt, and it raises sand or other particles. So while you remain immobile you don't stand much chance of being detected, those chances rise quite a bit when you move. And, as usual for Veil of Invisibility, your shadow is visible.)
As Japik moves through the hole to enter the cargo hold, he notices his own shadow moving on the opposite wall. Heart pounding, he quickly moves out of the light, hopefully before his presence is noticed by the beast. He waits for a few moments as his eyes adjust to the contrasting light condition inside the ship -- the sliver of sunlight brightly illuminating a small patch, while the rest lies in deep shadows. His entrance has created a small current, bringing floating particles inside, but they soon begin settling down. Here and there, a small fish swims though the light, causing the occasional glitter in the dim hold.
Scanning the inside of the ship for movement -- and small crates to bring out -- the Bjornaer sees nothing more than a small crab scuttling amongst the debris. The area near the hole only has broken urns and other large containers, but he remembers seeing some small crates near the spot where he was attacked by the creature. It is about eight paces aft of his current position.
(True about axes and I'm also aware of the effect movement in the water creates. What would the effect be if he casts Wizard's Sidestep when he already is invisible? None I guess since the eddies is created by the real Japik nevertheless and since there is no vision of him to be sidestepped it will just be a waste.)
Japik slowly moves towards the aft where he saw smaller crates yesterday. He tries to hold on to things along the way, like the inside wall of the ship, if possible, to be a little more stable in his movements.
Of course he is trying to be very alert on anything resembling the creature he saw. If possible he holds the knife in his hand while moving.
(As you can guess, Wizard's Sidestep is completely useless if you are already invisible -- there is no image to move and the spell doesn't affect water.)
His slow advance prevents too much debris from being disturbed by his passage and there is plenty of grabbing opportunities to help him along -- ropes securing cargo, larger crates and urns, as well as the ship's structure itself.
Still, tension mounts as he approaches the narrow spot where the creature brushed against him. The crates there have been greatly disturbed, as if the creature had been trapped and struggled to get out. No sign of the creature itself, but there is a body floating in there, snagged by a rope and with its back to Japik.
Japik stops for a moment in a dark place where he can hold on to something that feels stable, then he prepares to spont an effect without fatigue. He creates an image of a dolphin looking as much like himself as possible but he won't put intricate details into it. It will move as Japik concentrates and it will start at the hole where Japik himself entered and then swim inside along the opposite side of the ship as where Japik is hiding anmd towards the area where the creature was attacking him the day before. The dolphin will act like Japik would himself, that is searching the crates with his nose. The reason for this is to see if he can lure out the creature if it is there.
(Creo Imaginem effect with 2 senses (vision and sound, trying to emulate the sound of a dolphin swimming through water) is base 2. Moving with concentration is +2 so final level is 4 which should be enough for Japik to spont without fatigue. Cr +8, Im +9, Sta +4 for a total of +21. Remember he can cast without sound and gestures, but there will be a laughter at the end of the effect because of Japik's spell sigil.)
(You are missing a few magnitudes in there. Range would be what? Voice? You'd have to speak in order to use that range and it would still be limited to about 5 paces as per the House Rules. Sight range would add 3 magnitudes. Then there's the complexity of a moving image, which as per the CrIm guidelines adds 2 magnitudes, which are separate from the 2 magnitudes for Concentration duration. So, by my calculation, the spell would be level 15 at Touch range or level 25 at Sight range. It is essentialle the Phantasmal Animal spell, with a few adjustments.)
Of course I missed the range part. I did find it a bit too easy and I was trying to remember the CrIm guidelines from my head after reading it yesterday evening. So just forget about this it will be too risky to perform at this stage. He needs to formalize such a spell for later though as that is the kind of stuff he should be good at. What about creating a sudden sound at sight range, would that be Base 1 +3 levels for range and that's it? If I'm right, he will make it like a dolphin chatter coming from the hole for however long is possible without increasing level for duration. The point is to see if there is any sort of reaction within the ship.
(I'm guessing he wants to do this without fatigue, so no rolling and no chance of botching.)
Japik concentrates and silently gathers magical energies to him, projecting them towards the open sea visible through the gaping hole. Loud chittering erupts from that position, as if a dolphin was there calling out to others. This lasts a moment or two.
The magus turns to see if any reaction occurs in the ship, but time passes without any sign of movement.
Waiting a few more minutes but then he continues and moves slowly towards where the small crates are. He tries to find one that seems solid and easy enough to lift with one hand/arm and then start swimming with it towards the hole, this time going for speed (as speedy as swimming with the crate allows) rather than stealth.
Any sign of the creature means he will drop the crate he is working on and tries to get away from the beast as fast as possible.
The act of grabbing one of the smaller crates disturbs the floating body, causing it to turn and exposing a vision of horror. The sailor's chest has been savaged and cracked open, exposing his innards. At least, part of them, as there seems to be something missing in there.
But the dead man's face is intact and strangely empty of pain.
Japik stops in horror at the sight of the savaged sailor for a few moments before regaining his senses. He looks around in the darkness again before continuing. He pushes the body away from him as gently as possible with the thought that he died quickly at least. Then he commences with his work on the crates.
As he works on freeing crates from the jumble, Japik gets to thinking about the nearby body. He suspects that the sailor died by drowning and that his body was later set upon, probably by the beast he disturbed. He shudders to think of how it may have cracked the sailor's ribs with its teeth. Most animals rather go for the abdomen, which is much softer.
These dark thoughts keep Japik looking over his shoulder as he works, in case the creature returns.
Freeing cargo from the hold is an exhausting task. After a few hours of work, Japik starts feeling the effects of fatigue. By that time, he has freed a dozen of the smaller crates, putting them into the net a few at a time to be hauled up to the Baltrum. Most of the cargo, unfortunately, is in containers too heavy to be lifted by a single man.
A dozen is a good number and Japik doesn't want to stay down here for too long even if he is almost always an optimist and thinks most trouble and challenges can be overcome. The memory of the creature from yesterday and it's way of consumating the intestines of the drowned sailor has made him a little less interested in trying to get everything he can up from the ship's cargo. Plus he is really tired and need to rest.
So when the net is secured he swims back up to the surface and tells the crew to start haul up the rope and the net. Japik stays in the water until the net and it's content is hauled onto the Baltrum. And still looking around in the water for anything resembling a beast with tentacles.
(Not exactly replace them, but they do impair them somewhat. They would quickly become dry and painful if he stays out of the water for too long. I felt there had to be a balancing factor to a much lower-level MuCo spell as opposed to the usual Lungs of the Fish. As for dispelling that effect, well, simply turn to a dolphin. That was what the discussion of heartbeast vs MuCo effects was all about.)
(For the invisibility, however, you'd need PeVi indeed. That would use Enravelling the Fabric of Imaginem at Touch range -- the invisibility effect is not you so you too to "touch" it. The PeVi must exceed 20 with level + 3 magnitudes + stress die (no botch), so a level 4 PeVi should be enough if the stress die is good. But you can easily cast a level 5, which would make it a certainty.)
Then he changes to dolphin form and sponts a level 5 Enravelling the Fabric of Imaginem to drop the invisibility. Finally going back to human form and climbs back into the ship.
"That was a nice swim and well done with the cargo lads. Let's head back home now and get some well-deserved rest." he says to the crew as he lays down on some blankets in the fore-end of the ship. Then staying silent for some time processing the images of the savaged sailor and the creature from yesterday in his mind.
One of the crewmen, young Stanislawj, passes you some dried fish, cheese and watered ale to have lunch upon. Meanwhile, the crew prepares the boat for departure -- securing the retrieved cargo, raising anchor and unfurling sail.
The afternoon is windy and the temperature drops a notrthern cloud formation moves towards your position. Trond warns that there may be a small spell of rain and bad weather about to hit the Baltrum as it makes its way towards Helgelund. Nothing major, he thinkns, but the sailing may get shoppy.
It is only then that Japik realizes that he never visited the captain's cabin in the drowned ship.
Japik thanks Stanislawj for the food and ale and eats it eagerly.
He curses himself when he realizes that he forgot to check the captain's cabin and is about to rise to go and tell Trond that they have to go back, but then the memories of the mutilated ribcage on the dead sailor holds him back.
Ah we can come back later, he thinks to himself but still swearing over the circumstances that led to this.
The Baltrum is indeed hit by some heavy rain on its way back, but otherwise the voyage proves to be uneventful. The next day, the ship and its crew is back in Meden's port. After unloading the rescued cargo and bringing it to the warehouse, it is time to investigate the content of the crates.
Some proves to be disappointing -- spices which were not properly packed to be submerged into salt water, for example. Another part is composed of items that they may be able to sell, Trond tells him -- scents and perfumes from the East packed into small bottles, for example. Trond isn't sure exactly how much he'll get out of these, as that's not his specialty, but he'll inquire. (This will eventually translate into about 5 pounds of silver.)
A few of the crates are of more interest to Japik. These contain glassware. Although some has broken inside, either during the sinking of the ship or the recovery, there is still enough in there to supplement some of the items for an Hermetic laboratory. In fact, some of the equipment looks suspiciously specialized for such purpose.