In this chapter, we learn that the captain of the ship that is supposed to take them to the "dragon manor" has decided to go through the "tian shan" maze instead. The ship's captain, who we learn is called "Crocco," is all, "Gee, it's a really bad idea to risk your life for nothing more than a little piece of meat . ." He's worried about the safety of his crew, but he's also worried about what the heck they're going to do if they don't make it through the maze safely. They're about to run out of food when the road is closed, and they've got no choice but to go down to "the orlop" .