They did not leave the coast of Moniacka until two days later, after each member of the crew had been given two leaves in town. Li had chosen to remain onboard the ship during his second leave, much to Aricka's disappointment. Li had been surprised to see that Ardlac had also remained behind.

The Gryphon sailed away from the rainy island as the morning fog began to clear, guided by a harbor pilot who knew the reefs and shoals around them, even in a fog. Li stood at the rail and watched the strange island with its strange town of dreamers and covered streets fall away from them.

"One day this island will be wealthy enough for a lighthouse," Garstin commented.

Li turned to see him leaning against the rail to his right. "It isn't wealthy enough now?"

Garstin shrugged. "Might be. Ain't worth a lighthouse unless trade picks up. There's just a few of us who come here, but more every year as the stories of the place get around. Think they usually cater to their own fisherman from other parts of the island. Word's gotten out to their merchants, those they got, that we are coming here. Seems the town grows by the year." He nodded to Li's bracelet. "Been to see the Dreamers. They help you with your problem?" He quickly held up a hand. "Don't need to tell me what it is, just asking if they helped. We've all been to them a time or two."

Li nodded. "They did."

And the session with Xeliact truly had helped him. He still hurt for Ash and longed for him to be alive once more, but his mind no longer dwelled on those final terrible moments of finding him dead. Now his dreams were sweeter, though still painful when he woke alone. Or worse, woke beside Ardlac and knew the man breathing softly beside him was not Ash.

"Good," Garstin said with a nod. "Comfort is a hard thing to come by here. Unless you have a friend for a partner."

He gave Li a sad look that suggested he knew there was no friendship between him and Ardlac. Li did not suppose there ever would be. The thought made him strangely lonely, which he didn't understand. He truly had no desire for Ardlac as a friend, or anything more, but the thought that he had lost out on someone else being partnered with him who could be those things hurt. So many on the Gryphon had comforting arrangements and the knowledge that he would not, despite the assurance of Xeliact, was painful. Perhaps someday, were he truly to heal enough, someone other than Ardlac might bring him some comfort. He knew some of the partners on board were not intimate and found what intimacy they needed with others. Perhaps even Garstin and his partner, a rather less talkative but not unkind man named Jayce, would welcome him.

That, however, was too far in the future to truly bear considering. In truth, he'd likely be dead or off the ship by the time he felt healed enough from the loss of Ash to open his heart again.

Li was still on deck with Garstin, watching the island vanish into the mist, when a lookout cried out from the rigging an hour later. "Ship ahead!"

Captain Mond stepped onto the quarterdeck with a spyglass and appeared rather puzzled. "It's the Seawalker. Looks like she's listing and lost the wind. The crew has abandoned ship. Make for her."

As they drew closer, it became clear that something was wrong. There were small boats in the water around the ship, and it appeared the crew was rowing away from it, but the boats were making no progress toward the distant island.

When they were close enough, the crew of the Gryphon began calling out to the crew of the stranded Seawalker. There came no answers, and no boats changed course toward them. In fact, they seemed at drift in the current, not moving with the rowing of the oars.

Ardlac came up on Li's other side, gazing intently toward the boats, then at the Seawalker. "I don't like this," he muttered.

Garstin started to say something to him, then stopped and looked away.

The wind shifted, and the smell of putrid flesh wafted over them, making several on the Gryphon gag, including Li. He held his sleeve over his nose.

A boat thumped against the side of the Gryphon. Li looked down as the six men on it slumped against each other, oars dropping into the sea.

Ardlac spun away from the rail to face the quarterdeck, crying out, "Captain!" as he did so.

"Full sail!" Mond commanded.

Sailors rushed to obey. The ship lurched and groaned as Mond added his grip to the helm, turning the rudder sharply away toward open sea.

More cries came from the lookouts and Li turned to see a great, blood-red ship with black sails begin to materialize from the fog and mist.

"All hands!" Captain Mond bellowed. "Away, away, away!"

Ardlac pounded his fist on the rail. "Why am I so utterly and confoundedly useless?" he cried, though it was drowned out to all but those closest to him by the frantic commotion on deck. He then moved quickly away to assist with the sails.

"What is it?" Li demanded, grabbing Garstin's arm as he turned away.

He looked grim. "Necromancers from Dyrai. A ship that size is too great for us to fight. There's at least a hundred of them on board, plus the usual ship's crew." He pulled Li toward the masts. "We're running for our lives, and our souls."