The alarm had sounded early on that fateful morning-- a deep tolling bell rung in earnest at the rear of the ship, which raised us swiftly from sleep and brought almost the entire crew up on deck with us. A sea-mist lay directly in front of the ship... not a light gossamer mist which might be cleared by the breeze, but a heavy dark fog-- easily a mile high and several miles wide, stretching from one side of the horizon to the other. Captain Banuka had appeared to be shaken and concerned, but he would not relate to us exactly why. He simply stood there alongside the wheelhouse, barking orders to have the crew turn the ship this way and that, in an attempt to find a way around the sinister mist. Their efforts were in vain however as the fog had seemed to move in on us quickly, enveloping the ship from all sides. What little wind there had been dropped, and we found ourselves suddenly adrift in the forbidding gloom with practically no visibility whatsoever.

We still cannot tell you how long the ship lingered in the oppressive vaporous cloud. It may have been two days or more, we saw no daylight to tell us otherwise. The captain had his men take constant depth readings on both sides of the ship, as the visibility in front of us was just a few scant yards, and a dangerous and rocky shoreline could appear before us at any moment. Until finally, when all our hopes of finding land were beginning to ebb away, the fog began to clear and a shoreline could be seen in the distance. But it was unlike any shoreline that we both had ever seen... an island of total mystery, featuring a tall central mountain with steep heavily forested slopes. It became obvious to Duncan and I that the crew did not seem happy with the situation, and they began to murmur uneasily under their breath to each other, until sharp words by their captain put an end to their grumbling.

The ship anchored within a small cove, with a narrow curved beach and thick forest all around it. Two boats were made ready and set sail for shore, the first containing a group of ten men who would explore the immediate area, and a smaller group who accompanied ourselves, the captain and his first mate. The first group went off into the forest and left us to wait on the beach for their return; a welcoming fire having been lit on the sands to warm our hearts and spirits. Several hours passed without further sign of the exploratory group, so a further four men were sent into the forest to find them. None of that group were ever seen again either.

Panic had begun to overwhelm the remaining crew, and the captain had to threaten them with their lives to keep them in line. Duncan and I were fearful too, as it became obvious that Banuka was beginning to blame us for our plight, and he might take action against us. Worse still, we feared that he might abandon us to this accursed place. But all our fears were suddenly realised when a series of banshee cries came out of the forest, swiftly followed by over a hundred ghost-like warriors, each one with fire in their eyes. Before we could even take a step to flee, they poured down across the beach and were on us... my eyes went dark, and I remembered no more.