The few ships and smaller vessels in the little harbour were ablaze, and many of them were but a few short minutes away from sinking beneath the waves.
As the Ruby got ever closer, something else became apparent. Something strange and out of place. People were milling about.
Now this might, on first appearances, seem to be a normal, everyday occurrence on a thriving island community such as Astra, but it was how they were milling about that caused alarm.
Every single one of them was wandering about aimlessly, shuffling from place to place, seemingly without any purpose at all. A couple even walked off the harbour wall straight into the water, where they flapped and struggled like trapped and frightened animals.
“First-mate,” said Orangebeard. “Get a boat down there and pick those peopl
