"Setting out to explore the remote Outlands of Crutonia are the brave and multifarious crew of the H.M.S. Gwaniimander, under the command of Captain Quenterindy Quirk--a leader whose confidence exceeds his competence by several lengths of his own bushy tail. Quirk's voyage of discovery is quickly plunged into disaster and mystery, as the expedition encounters carniverous giants, an unstable sorceress, and a valley of indestructible creatures. With the crew decimated, the ship destroyed, and a malign force plotting worse fortune, can Quirk and his compatriots hold together their royal mission?"--Book jacket.