A couple of things:
Reminder that we are in free posting mode now. The Judge won't be providing narrative summaries. The Judge is currently playing Lu Heng Bo. Xu's man will help any PCs who are working to figure out the way forward, based on his knowledge of the situation --
which isn't all knowing, e.g., he doesn't know about the hatch that Travis discovered. The highbinder knows some things that the PCs don't, e.g., he knows the essence of Mr. Xu's plan to move the women once in the boat, but he can't know whether any lawmen, fishermen or other citizens came to the cave-explosion site or whether Xu and his boat will be at the appointed place at this time. Therefore, the PCs need to lead the way forward -- which the PCs have started, the Judge is simply endeavoring to be clear about that.
The results of the Fort Save against hearing loss:
- Cole 13 total (25%)
- Travis 12 total (25%)
- ENS 21 total (10%)
- Jake 15 total (25%)
- JEB 26 total (10%)
- Art 20 total (10%)
For now, the temporary hearing loss is still making speech impossible. To facilitate game-play, the Judge will state that this condition will persist for several minutes before any of the men regain any degree of normal hearing. The PCs must continue the process of communicating non-verbally on order to continue their mission to rescue the captives. As of now, the Judge views that mission as incomplete.