It takes a little time for Pendrake and Midias to get organised for their rescue attempt. With rope in hand, they sprint along the quayside. Pendrake's greater speed allows Midias to let some pay out as they run.
The surefooted guardsman has managed to pull the fellow hanging from the ring back safely onto his feet and together the two stare out to sea agitatedly. Like Midias, they doubt their ability to swim, and for now they're at a loss as to what to do. There's still no sign of the men in the sea, and they've likely already been swept out as far as Ngikhnit was.
Pendrake dives from the wharf at a run, splashing headlong into the swirling water twenty feet out, still trailing the rope. With powerful strokes, he heads further out, ducking beneath the surface, but it's impossible to see anything. All he can do is grope blindly around, and hope that his man is nearby and doing the same. But his hands meet nothing but empty water.
He can feel the rip current pulling at him, and must decide what to do next.[sblock=OOG]By good fortune, Pendrake's Jump and Swim checks would put him 25 feet out or so, while the guards have been swept out about 30 feet, so there's a chance that he's adjacent to one, in some orientation or other.
How to do this? Um. Under the invisibility rules, both men can grope blindly into two adjacent squares as a standard action. Neither can see the other, but neither is trying to avoid - quite the opposite - so the miss chance won't apply.
I figure the guard is panicked and unaware of the rescue attempt, so is grabbing randomly into any of 8 adjacent squares, while Pendrake knows what he's doing, so chooses from only 5 squares, ignoring those behind him.
So, the guard has a 1 in 8 chance to encounter Pendrake, then a 1 in 7, while Pendrake has first a 1 in 5, then a 1 in 4. 55% chance of success, I believe.
Unfortunately, luck
wasn't with them.
Now that he's out here, Pendrake can keep relative positions with the guard just by letting himself be carried out, so can try again - but in another round, he'll be 45 feet out and right at the effective limit of the rope. If he swims further out, he might swim into the guard's actual square, but he'll have to let go of the rope.
It's also possible that either of the guards will succeed on a Swim check and surface, of course, in which case someone will spot them.
Clear?[/sblock]