Lighting flickered in the sky as Dweezel frantically searched for a way out of the boat, remembering his fathers words. "Should we ever start to sink, and you're in the lower decks, find your way out. If you stay, you'll be sucked under with the boat." "Find my way out, find my way out..." he thought over and over. "Aha!" A porthole had popped open with the force of the waves and Dweezel could easily slip out. Rain pummeled him from above as he drew on the last of his strength to swim away from the rapidly sinking vessel, and just when he thought he was going to have to give in, the firm roundness of a dorsal fin filled his hand. "Dolphins." he thought, and barely managed to pull himself up onto the slippery back of his savior. "Mommy...daddy.." Turning his head, Dweezel saw many more sleek bodies swimming along behind them, none had passengers. "You only one?" a high-pitched voice asked.

"What?"

"You only one on ship?" It took a second to realize that the voice was coming from a dolphin near him.

"No, my mom and dad....and my sister!" he wailed, overwhelming sadness filling his heart. "We find, you go with Ally. Don't be sad, we find!!" The voice faded off as his "ride" swam swiftly away from the squall. "They'll find them, they will." Dweezel murmured and gripped the dorsal fin tighter.

"Shells, what happened to him?"

"I dunno, I found 'im on the beach, some 'o them shipfish were prac'tally screamin' until I showed up 'en brought 'im here."

"They aren't called shipfish anymore, dimglow. They're dolphins."

"Whatever, alls I know is they was shoutin' somethin' like 'Medic! Medic!' What is a medic anyways?"

"Wh..." Dweezel opened his eyes and winced at the brightness. "He's wakin' up." a voice said. "Hello? Are you alright? Do you want a healer?" The other voice was softer, and sounded worried. It all came back to him in an instant when he heard the far-off sound of waves, and Dweezel sat up. "Where's my mom?" "I dunno kid, I'm goin' back up to the hold 'n callin' a healer. Don't you leave." An older looking man rose up and started up some stone steps, into a heavily wooded area. "What's your name?" Behind him, a girl that looked to be the same age as the man squatted. "Where's my mom, and my dad?" he asked frantically and stood to search the beach.

It wasn't there. Dweezel was in a clearing totally surrounded by trees. "Impossible.." he breathed. The dolphins had brought him all the way to the Southern Continent! His head spun and he sat down hard on the grass, feeling like he was going to throw up. "What's your name?" the girl insisted again. "Dw..Dweezel." he murmured.

"Dweezel? My name is Hannah...what happened to you?"

"My dad...our ship...we were caught in a storm, the dolphins saved me..."

"The dolphins saved you? Did your ship sink?"

"Would I bloody be here if my ship hadn't sunk!?" he shouted, unable to find a way to let the anguish inside of him out. Sobbing, Dweezel leapt up and ran into the forest. "Dweezel! Come back!" Hannah shouted, but he didn't listen. He just ran.

Later Hannah and another man found Dweezel and brought him back to their home. He was fed and washed and put to bed by Hannah, and the next morning he stumbled numbly into the kitchen. "An' he arises." a gruff voice said. It came from a middle-aged man sitting at a crude wooden table, eating oatmeal. "Who are you?" Dweezel asked. "I'm Judoc, an' this is Paramon." He gestured to the man who'd been with Hannah the other night. "You've met Hannah." She waved sheepishly. "Where am I?"

"You're on the Southern Continent, and from the looks of ye, I'd say ye've come a long way." Tiredly, Dweezel sat down in a chair at the table, Hannah hurrying to fix him some oatmeal. "Did you find anyone else on the beach?" he asked hopefully. Judoc shook his head. "Nope, ye were the only one." "Oh.." He stared at the bowl of steaming food before him. "Eat boy, ye've had a tough night I'd say." "I'm not hungry." It was true, Dweezel felt nothing at this moment, no pain, no anger, sadness...nothing. He kind of hoped it would stay that way. "I'll make ye eat if ye won't yerself." Judoc rumbled. "Soon I'll be puttin' ye to work, since we save ye and all." "Work?" Dweezel looked at the portly man.

"Yes, work. I run a runner farm here boy, an' someone's gotta take care of 'em. That'd be ye, Paramon and Hannah." he said, pointing at each in turn with is spoon. "Paramon'll start ye on light stuff 'til you're back up to strength." Rising, Judoc placed his bowl in the sink and gestured for Paramon to follow him. "Make sure he eats." he said to Hannah before leaving. "Is he your father?" he asked her. "No, he found Paramon and I, just like he found you. He makes us work here." "And you never left?" She sighed and turned to Dweezel. "No one leaves, if you do he'll kill you, and believe me he'll do it." Dweezel resigned himself to be stuck at this place for a long time, but silently promised his parents and sister that he would find them.