After getting to know each other, the three decided to talk about the tadpole in their head. There was worry on their faces, as they knew what was going to happen to them if they failed to find a cure.

Tavain was the only one who had no idea about it, being a Arctic dwarf he was, but showed his concern about the issue as well.

"Alright, we need to find the person who can take out the tadpole from her skull without any ill effects. And also help others who are in the similar circumstances. Am I getting it right?" Tavain asked.

Dergel and Shadowheart nodded at him.

The plan was to gather all the capable survivors of the ship, find anyone who could remove this headache, and go to their own way. It sounded good on paper, but they did not know how?

The first thing they needed were allies. The survivors.

So they planned to stick together, in case they were attacked. The area was unknown to them, so it was natural to assume that they might run into someone beyond their weight. Together, they had better chances to survive and find the cure.

"So, where should we go first?" Shadowheart asked.

"That's a good question. What about you, Tavain? Do you have any place to look into? Anyone who can help us?" Dergel asked the dwarf monk.

Tavain hummed at his question and rubbed his braided beard. He said, "Look, most of my brethren live in the polar regions and we hardly talk with each other. My people are very secluded from the rest of the world. And I doubt they have any means to remove this uninvited guest from our heads."

He apologised for his lack of support. There was hardly anything he could do here.

As the follower of the Way of the Astral Self, he was more or less detached from the world. For him, the world was nothing but an illusion. He just recently joined in the worldly matters in order to broaden his perception. And what he got in return was a tadpole, who would turn him into a squid monster in the near future.

'How great.' He mentally mocked at his predicament.

"Did you say something, Tavain?" Shadowheart asked to him.

Tavain blinked. "No, I just thought about my current situation. Wai-don't tell me you can hear my thoughts?!"

"Ho! I heard that too." Dergel confirmed his sentence.

"Wait a minute, are you saying that we have a telepathic bond between us?" Shadowheart dared to confirm her doubts.

'If you are hearing my words, then it seems so.' Dergel mentally replied and much to the shock of other too, they could hear him.

"Wow, this sounds really amazing." Tavain exclaimed in fascination. He had been training for years into his Monk arts, and he knew that telepathy did existed in this path. He was just surprised about how easily he could do it.

"It will be really helpful to communicate among us in case we are hiding from others." Dergel commented.

'And the lack of privacy is also there. We may not be able to hide our secrets from others as well.' Shadowheart broke the excitement right away with her last comment.

That worked for her as the dragonborn and dwarf were aware of what it could mean.

"You are right. We should not use telepathy too much. Better safe than sorry." Tavain nodded at her logic.

Dergel affirmed nervously.

They decided to first check the nautiloid to find any survivors. And then, to travel around for any useful information about their state.

Dergel was a paladin, so he could be the frontliner. Shodowheart was a cleric, so she would be helpful for healing. While Tavain decided to act as a vanguard. He was also quite good in this stuff, so he chose to check for any living person in the ship.

There were many corpses in the ship, some belonged to unlucky survivors who were once used as the experimental material. They also fought against some Intellect Devourers, found some money and weapons, probably those of the dead survivors. Walking on their way, they found a corpse — a head to be specific — of a mindflayer. Despite the lack of facial expressions, it seemed to be in a lot of pain before being killed.

Someone came here before them and killed the mindflayer in the most brutal way. Its eyes were bulging out, like it suffered a lot.

"I don't know whether I should feel sorry for him or not." Shadowheart commented at the brutal desecration of their kidnapper's corpse.

"Hmph. He got what he deserved the most. I don't think there are any survivors in this ship. Lets find outside." Dergel said. The two nodded at his words but, before they could leave this place, they heard a voice in their head.

'You are quite right. He deserved what he did to you all.' A feminine voice echoed in their head.

Dergel and Tavain stared at Shadowheart, who shook her in rejection, "It was not me."

"Actually, that was me." This time, the voice was not telepathic.

From the roof, a dark-haired woman descended in front of them. By looks alone, she seemed to be in her late teens, thus younger than the two. Yet, she carried a very collected exterior and her symmetrical face made her like an art crafted by the hands of gods. She was just that beautiful.

"The name is Nabe, a fellow adventurer, in case you are wondering about my allegiance." Nabe introduced herself.

The three stared at her and for a moment forgot to introduce themselves. Tavain noticed it first and introduced himself.

"Nice to meet you, young one. My name is Tavain Polaris, a Monk of the Astral Self monastery. This half-elf is Shadowheart and the reptilian faced giant is Dergel."

Dergel shrugged off at the way he was introduced. He would think over it later. They had gotten someone who seemed to be good in magic. He did not why, but Nabe seemed to be not caring about their names.

Shadowheart went near to her and asked, "Are you someone from around here? Is there any settlement near us? We will be indebted to you if you show us the way." She begged for her assistance.

Fortunately, luck was on their side. Nabe nodded at her and said, "While I am new to this land, I will surely help you."

Tavain quirked his eyebrow, "New to this land?"

The black-haired girl affirmed, "Yes. I have been plucked away from my home into this land by the forces unknown to me. I was searching my way back to home, but then I saw this... tentacled-ship and decided to help the innocents. But somehow, the ship teleported away and then, I found myself here."

"Ah, so you are just as lost as us? Great." Dergel commented. It surprised him that he suddenly acted very cold to her.

Tavain and Shadowheart glared at his comment, which he did not seem to care.

"Lost or not, she is suffering the same fate as us. Don't listen him, Nabe. We are searching for the cure as well. Can you use telepathy as well?" Shadowheart asked with a concerned tone.

Nabe gave a nod.

"Good. Let's party up and search for the cure together." The cleric invited her into the group without suspecting her.

Nabe smiled, not at her proposal, but at the news Intellect Devourer told her, 'I have finshed taking over the village at your commands, my lady.'

The party was going to find a massive surprise soon.