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seawater sloshing about inside, but the instrument still worked.
    Gruum eyed the ship and the island further through the spyglass. It seemed to him that he could still see the sparkle and shimmer of the wind spirits from time to time, as if they winked at him. Gruum stepped up to the prow at Therian’s side. “I’m surprised such experienced men would run aground in broad daylight.”
    Therian turned him a half-smile. “The wind-spirits are without guidance, but are still chained to serve the ship. They have gone mad, and have driven the Innsmouth hither and yon. Now that it has run aground, the crewmen are probably more petulant and insufferable than usual.”
    “Couldn’t they steer away?”
    “A strong enough wind will break a rudder or render it useless.”
    “They should have brought down the sails then,” suggested Gruum.
    “Yes. But I doubt there were many volunteers for the job of climbing the rigging and facing irate spirits,” said Therian with a dark chuckle.
    Gruum looked at the ship and the island with uncertainty. “Perhaps we should just sail on and head to our destination, milord?”
    Therian shook his head. “I can accept the loss of honor and even their rudeness at putting me off their ship. But I’ll not lose Seeker and Succor so easily.”
    Gruum rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Only the two of us, half-armed and in broad daylight… do you think we can take the whole crew, sire?”
    Therian stood silent for a time. Then slowly, he nodded. “Yes. If we must. This makeshift vessel will soon return to its rightful place at the bottom of the sea in any case. Notice the freeboard. We are half-sunk even now as the power of my spell fades.”
    Gruum looked over the side and saw with alarm that Therian was right. In fact, if anything, they looked to be three-quarters sunk. “Are we just going to walk up there and demand they return your swords?”
    “Certainly not. Give me your saber. You will bear your dagger. It will have to do. We will have to pull around to the lee of the island and head into the forest there. We will need fresh water and food… or at least, you will.”
    Gruum made no arguments. They were sinking, and he could tell that arguing would be useless in any case. He would have to trust to his master’s prowess once again. He handed over his saber and tucked his broad-bladed dagger into his belt. He did not relish facing that crowd of angry cutthroats again, with a weapon that was less than a foot in length. They would be desperate now, driven perhaps more mad by the spirits Therian had left behind to swarm over their vessel. They would see the once beneficial spell had turned into a curse, and they knew with certainty who had laid this curse upon the Innsmouth .
    Out of sight of the other ship, Therian brought his derelict around the island to float in a lagoon on the far side. Both men jumped overboard and Gruum found himself soaked and floundering again. At least this time he was able to wade out of the water onto solid land.
    Therian stood upon the white sands and faced the sinking derelict from the deeps. He made dismissive gesture. The ship reacted as if stricken. It drifted away, to the deeper end of the lagoon, then quickly took on a fatal dose of water. The nameless dead vessel listed to one side, then rolled over slowly and sank. Gruum stared into the clear, light blue waters. He could still see the dark hulk of the wreck down there. He shivered, despite the growing heat of the day.
    Gruum turned to find Therian striding up the beach toward the cool, green gloom of the forest. He hurried to catch up. Once they entered the forest, Gruum was stricken by how different the growths were here. The plants were brighter green and had leaves of great length and breadth. They waved like a thousand scarves in the beach breezes that never seemed to pause.
    As they walked into the interior, Gruum tasted many fruits and found most of them palatable. They found a stream and drank their