Other than the splintered masts and the cracked hull, she looked serviceable, and much of her crewincluding Amreehad survived the descent. Shang-Li also happily noted that Moonwhisper sat on one of the remaining yards. Somehow the owl had managed to remain with the ship and hadn’t gotten lost in the swirling waters. When Shang-Li briefly touched the owl’s mind, he discovered the fear and confusion within Moonwhisper. As best as he could, Shang-Li comforted Moonwhisper and left him perched there. Several bodies lay in a heap in a clearing a short distance away. The clearing had been made by the ship as it caromed through the forest. Most of the dead were Nine Golden Swords warriors, but some of them belonged to Swallow’s crew. The bodies jerked and moved as they lay there and Shang-Li had at first thought some of them might yet live. Then he spotted the tentacled creatures burrowing through the tangled limbs and bloody torsos. “Foul creatures,” Iados snarled as he stood on Swallow’s prow and gazed down at Shang-Li.
