From the back cover:
"When you were small, your elders warned you that the Sea witches would come and take you away if you were bad. As you grew older, you heard a thousand different voices curse the pirates and slavers of the Sea. Your fellows told scary tales of carnivorous plants, the dreaded Mesgegra vampire-demon, and islands of beautiful amazons waiting for lost males.
On the coast below you sprawls one of the port cities on the Sea of Mystery. As you traveled here, you heard of the desert Yajna tribes and their raiding of the Iderian coast; of the Sardur raiders and their attacks upon Merchant ships; but this has not daunted you. You've always felt the lure of the ocean; now you can realize a dream. You shoulder your bag and march towards the port... to tak ea ship on the Sea of Mystery."