3. Moving in a Moving Thing

The men grab you, Ned, and Conseil. You are roughly pulled into the vessel. The panel closes above as you crawl down a ladder. You are led into a room so black that you can’t see even the faintest light.

“Confound it!” shouts Ned. “These people may as well be cannibals for all the kindness they show us. But they won’t eat me without a fight!”

“Calm down,” says Conseil. “Let’s wait and see what happens. We’re not hurt.”

But Ned won’t be calmed. He threatens to use his knife on the next person who comes through the door. You want to tell him not to make things worse, but part of you thinks he may have the right idea.

While Ned fumes, you and Conseil feel around the walls for doors or windows. You find none.

After several moments, the room’s dense darkness is replaced by extreme light—the same intense brightness that lit up the sea around the submarine. Though it’s painful at first, your eyes slowly adjust. You see that the light is coming from a large half-globe embedded in the room’s ceiling.

“At last, we can see,” cries Ned. He stands with his knife as if he’s ready to fight.

“We’re still in the dark about where we are,” you say.

“Have patience,” says Conseil.

You hear a metallic scraping, and a door opens into your cell. Two men walk through. One is short and muscular with black hair and a thick moustache. The other is taller with pale skin and sharp, dark eyes. Both wear caps made of sea otter fur, seal skin boots, and strange-textured clothes. Both appear ready to do you and your friends harm.

Ned seems ready to spring. He takes a few steps forward, knife in hand. Part of you wants to fight along with him; you don’t trust these strange sailors who attacked your ship. But another part wants to see what the men have to say. What will you choose to do?