Egbert awakened with a start. What had been a slight rocking motion earlier was suddenly an erratic rising and falling, each cycle of which ended with a hard jerk. The noise from outside the cabin had changed as well, from the sound of wind whistling through the masts and the sound of distant thunder to a brutal howling punctuated by sharp loud cracks and booms like so many small explosions.

Soon all nine occupants of the cabin were wide awake and trying to determine what was going on. Salto was the first to speak.

"We  been lifted off'n da rocks, we're floatin' free, up an' down the swells."

"And it sounds like we're in the middle of a storm," Zian said, gripping an interior rail tightly to keep his balance.

"Oi'm going to take a look," Wilbur announced. He slowly worked his way to the cabin door, paw over paw on the rail. He held on with his right paw and tried opening the door with his left. He got it halfway open and the wind blew it forcefully shut. It took him three tries fighting the wind before the mole made it out the door. Egbert rushed up behind him and held tightly on to his nephew's belt.

The wind was blowing horizontally. The rain hit Wilbur from every direction, defying all logic. It tasted salty, mixing with the spray of the waves pounding the sides of the Crimson Rose. The deck was sporadically illuminated by bursts of lightning which shot through the clouds like fiery spider webs.

Wilbur's eyes ached from the wind and salt water and he could see nothing beyond the deck of the ship. He motioned to Egbert, who quickly pulled him back into the comparative safety of the cabin.

"Well??" Gella asked anxiously.

Wilbur wiped the water from his eyes.
"Da good news is dat da ship seems sound and da waves don't seem big enough to swamp us. Da bad news is Oi can't see where we are or which doirection we're going. We're just going to have to wait out da storm."

Everyone was silent for a while. Winky was turning a pallid color, "I feels sick, dis rocking ain't helpin' neither," he said weakly.

"Buck up, pal," Groggs said soothingly. "I ain't feelin' that great myself. Stoats is particularly sensitive beasts ya know," he concluded, trying to manage a smile.

Egbert smiled, "Oi guess Oi'm a stoat then, 'cause Oi'm not all that chipper moiself," he paused, "Oi recommend we batten down and troi to roide this storm out as best we can."

Hours past and the storm raged on. Everyone on board with the exception of Wilbur became increasingly nauseous as the Crimson Rose rode the rollercoaster of swells and swung to and fro in the unrelenting winds. Moans filled the cabin and every once in while one of the sufferers would run to a porthole and thrust their head out to relieve themselves. Minutes seemed like hours. Then, as suddenly as it had started, the storm ceased.

"Praise Targas," Egbert said weakly, "Oi was ready to jump into the sea."

"You and me both," Zian smiled. A ray of sun shone into the cabin. Zian thrust his artificial paw in its path and smiled more broadly, then turned to Salto.

"You've got yourself a fine ship, my friend. She took good care of us."

Salto stood up on wobbly legs.
"She sure did, and I'm gonna return the favor. I guess I'm gonna need to tour her and see if she leakin' anywhere," he said heading to the door. Wilbur joined him.

"Oi'll go with you," he turned to the remaining creatures, still sprawled on the floor, "Oi suggest dat you get up and walk around, it'll make you feel better. Groggs, when your stomach settles, Oi think you should rustle up some chow."

Groggs smiled broadly, relieved that the ordeal was over, "Aye-aye, cap'n."

Egbert grinned.
"Moi nephew the poirate captain, Oi have to think of a good poirate name for you."

Wilbur was embarrassed.
"It's Salto's ship, Oi'm just a guest," he said meekly.

Salto slapped Wilbur on the back.
"Your wrong about dat, Wilbur mate. It's our house when it ain't movin', but I got no problem wid it bein' your ship when it's floatin'. You know what youse is doin', me and my guys are landlubbers."

"Oi'll teach you Salto, den you'll be the captain."

"Fair enough, me hearty, but till den she's yours.... Captain Blacksnout!"

Egbert broke out in laughter.
"Perfect!" He turned to his friends, "Oi am proud to present to you, Captain Blacksnout, terror of the hoigh seas."

Everyone cheered and even Wilbur couldn't help himself grinning.
"Oi loike da name Salto, it's a good poirate name," he became serious, "now lets check out da damage."

Wilbur and Salto had barely left the cabin when they burst back through the door in a state of nervous agitation.

"Dere's something really wrong out dere," Wilbur announced nervously. He threw open the door.

The sun shone in brightly and it took a moment for everyone's eyes to adjust. When they saw what he was referring to, their jaws dropped in amazement. They stared out of the cabin over the stern of the boat toward the storm they had just escaped.

It was as though a glass wall extended from the seas to the heavens, holding not only the fury of the storm back, but the clouds, rain and mist as well. In front of the wall, where they were, it was windless and sunny, gulls glided lazily above their ship, and the Crimson Rose bobbed gently on a flat and placid ocean. Beyond the wall, it was coal-black, clouds swirled and lightning flashed, it was like looking into a fishbowl.

"How is that possible?" Gella asked in awe. Everyone stepped outside.

"Wadever it is, it saved us from da storm, bless Targas!" Groggs exclaimed.

"How'd we get trew dat?" Winky asked in confusion.

A deep uneasiness filled Egbert, a dread. As everyone stared aft, over the back of the boat at the trapped storm, he turned forward and his worst fears were confirmed. It was not the storm which was trapped, it was them, it was not like looking into a fishbowl, it was like looking out.

There, ahead of the ship, perhaps a mile off, a great mass of land rose out of the sea, dark and ominous. Xenoth! The forbidden land from which none return and they were drifting in its direction, slowly, calmly, and inexorably. They were trapped.