Arkold awakens, still on the island he was sent to earlier, but his comrades are gone. He vaguely recalls a battle with the corsairs in their floating clam-ships, and finds evidence of that battle. While he tries to find supplies, a Siren surfaces, and tries to drag the dead planktoids into the water. She is silent and acts as if she barely even acknowledges Arkold's presence, dumbly performing his tasks, despite his threats, and even when he strikes her across the face. Half of her face is beautiful, but the right side is horribly scarred, as is part of her body, and she seems to hardly notice another blow.

Arkold comes up with a crazy plan, to get inside one of the dead planktoids, and use it as an air bag, since they seem to hold some air. He speeds up the Siren's task by dragging the husks into the water, then gets inside one of the planktoid husks, and holds onto the cable that the Siren uses to tow the corpses. He hangs on for dear life for the long ride, as the oxygen level in the husk continues to drop. At last, he finds himself taken to the home of the Sirens, and, in a panic, lets go of the cord and tries to escape as Sirens close in. He passes out.

He doesn't drown, however, and comes to in a suboceanic cavern with a large oxygen pocket in it – supplied by unknown means. He meets the lord of the Sirens, who only introduces him as a "Triton", and who claims to have the largest harem of any of the Tritons, and thus considers himself "king". He questions Arkold, and determines that Arkold does not approve of "splicing" … and thus gives Arkold a chance to live, if he will serve the Sirens in their war against the Abyssinian Mariners and the Off-World Legion. Arkold doesn't seem to have much choice, so he goes along with it. He is promised a supply of his "special powder", and "females of his species", and is given the scarred Siren, Raneah, as his personal slave. He is told that he may kill her if she displeases him.

The Triton and the Sirens leave, with Arkold stranded on a rock shelf in the cavern chamber, which now serves as his living quarters. He speaks with Raneah briefly, hypothesizing that she might be the same Siren he hit with a harpoon back during his first day on Ashtoreth. She agrees with him. Arkold does his best to get comfortable on the rock slab, pondering how he might earn the trust of the Triton.