Harry takes a deep breath. "Our ships were trapped in the ice for two winters. We were supposed to be provisioned for that long, perhaps longer, but our stores of tinned food were contaminated—the tins poorly made and the food rotting and the lead solder poisoning us all. Scurvy set in as well. In the end we abandoned ship and attempted to walk to safety."

He takes a drink, and it's clear that his hands are trembling a little. "All the while there was a creature on the ice, stalking us."