The tides brought me back to Saltmarsh, though not without their cost. I can still feel the weight of the Drowned Mother’s curse pulling at my soul, a reminder that my time is running out. The memories are fragmented—one moment I was sealing my fate, the next, aboard Captain Erin Coldwater’s ship, fending off an attack from the blasted Sea Princes.

Saltmarsh hasn’t changed much. The council still squabbles over loyalties and traditions, while greater threats brew on the horizon. Ellander Fireborn has called a meeting to address the return of the Sea Princes, but that isn’t my concern right now. My curse is a death sentence, and I won’t sit idly by while it claims me.

There may be a way out of this. Gellen Primewater, an old friend, could have the answers I need. He has the means to dig into the kind of arcane and maritime secrets that might reveal a way to sever my bond to the Drowned Mother. But Gellen’s help comes with a price—I’ll have to tread carefully.

The others in this town may have their uses, too. Ellander knows of pirates and their dealings, while Lankus Curret has his ear to the ground and might catch whispers of strange happenings. If Saltmarsh hides the key to my survival, I’ll find it. I have no choice.

The curse is a storm gathering on the horizon. If I can’t break it, I’ll drown in its depths—just another soul claimed by the sea.