When I woke, it was to the gentle swaying of my hammock and the soft muttering from the top deck. It took me a few moments to realize where I was. The ship's voice had nagged me to sleep but was luckily gone now, and I was almost afraid to move out of fear of having it start again. It had told me it wanted to know what I was and where I came from.
How it knew I wasn't an actual Grablon was beyond me, but I kept my eyes closed and pretended to sleep.
It had been ages since I could sleep in. I contemplated getting up. After a moment, I decided against it. It had been such a long time since I had no real immediate reason to do anything.
I knew there wasn't a lot I could do while waiting for the ship to reach Orlion. I had decided to spend the time practicing with my ax, my wood carving, and seeing if I could get some more spells out of someone here. It had occurred to me that I should just copy the gestures if someone showed me and practice them.
I had a few slots left for spells, and I definitely wanted some kind of ranged spell, preferably something easy to cast and with a lot of power.
For now though, lying warm and snug, my mind drifted to Eliandra. I noticed how easy it was to think of her like that. Having seen what was happening on earth had helped with that. Somehow the idea that we would all go back to our happy carefree lives of before seemed unlikely. At least, not on earth. That meant I needed to find a way to get Eliandra free of Flowheart's influence if I wanted to have any chance of getting back together with her.
I wonder if the Flowheart paladins are still at Orlion, I thought. I hoped they were. Rathica had said the next time I saw Eliandra would be different. That had to mean she would either be free of Flowheart or at least a little free… right?
I continued lying and pondering for half an hour more before getting too antsy to stay lying down. With a deep breath, I opened my eyes and slung my legs out of the hammock. Looking around, I saw that the previously filled cabin was now empty. The hammocks had been hung on one hook, freeing up more space than I had anticipated there to be when I arrived the previous evening.
Light streamed in through the triangular crystal porthole, colored green by the crystal.
I sat silently, expecting the ship to begin talking right away, but nothing happened. Perhaps it was busy with whatever ships did… shipping? Shippering? I grinned and shook my head. Who cared? At least my mind was quiet for the time being.
Standing on the deck, I was slightly dizzy for a moment as my body moved but at the same time seemed to determine it was actually standing still. It passed quickly, and I stepped out of the cabin and navigated my way through the narrow hallways that led back to the deck. I needed some fresh air and to slake my curiosity about how the ship was moving. And move it did. I could feel the waves slam into the prow of the ship while the ship bobbed up and down.
Climbing up, I stuck my head out to a brilliantly blue sky and high sun. It was late, the end of the morning, meaning I had slept longer than I had thought. A soft humming came from behind me, and turning around, I gasped.
A massive glowing sail hung behind me, green and partially translucent. It was taut and stretched out as if the edges were bound to some invisible rigging. A dozen figures sat on the crossbeam, seeming undisturbed by the ships bobbing and swaying. Their hands were always moving, repeating almost the same pattern all the time. Below, at the prow stood and sat more people, also casting spells.
Climbing up, I looked at the water. It was dark with an ominous red tint to it and pink foam-tipped the waves. I couldn't see the bottom, but seeing the water stream along the hull at a rapid speed, I did know we were going fast. Very fast.
Impressive, isn't it!
The ship's voice sounded slightly strained, but at the same time even smugger than before, as if it actually said, Impressive, aren't I?
Yes. Can you tell me where the captain is? I was looking around but couldn't spot her anywhere.
She is below, obscuring our passing, so the demons don't find us. Just wait till the afternoon break. She will come back up then.
Wait...below? Did he mean below as in the water or below in the ship?
Two hours later, I sat at the front of the ship, looking out across the water in boredom and wondering if I should use my Gills spell for the first time and do some fishing. At least that would give me something to do. I had tried practicing my ax work, but after almost slamming the blade into the deck, the ship had warned me if I tried again, I would be tossed overboard. Sadly, I wondered how I could have forgotten to bring the wood I had chopped from Barry, leaving me with nothing to practice my woodcarving on. A bubbling came from the water to my left.
A head covered with matted dark hair, bloodred water dripping from it, popped up and moved to the side of the ship. I barely recognized the captain, and when she climbed aboard, I blinked and quickly averted my gaze. She was completely naked, glistening wet, her skin tainted with a reddish hue.
The massive translucent sail winked out without a sound, and the sailors began chatting happily, moving towards the cabin at the back of the ship. The captain rinsed herself with a stained towel before putting pants and top on. Then she turned to me with a dangerous glitter in her eyes.
"If you damage Foul Breath with that tool of war, I'll not just toss you overboard. I'll cut off your feet before I do. Do we understand each other?"
"Yes. Crystal. Now, what exactly am I supposed to do on this ship for... how long would the trip take again?" I asked, ignoring the angry glares she was casting my way.
The captain frowned for a bit before answering bruskly.
"The trip will take a bit longer than normal. If the coloring of the sea wasn't obvious, there are far more demons roaming around than is normal."
She moved to the railing and glared at the water with a hateful gaze. "We will do half-speed traveling from now on, or I won't have the energy to cover our passing. A week, perhaps more until we reach Orlion. And that's if the weather holds and the attacks stay at a minimum."
Attacks?
The sailors in the cabin were starting to kick up a racket, laughing and roaring as they seemed to be having some kind of party.
"So, who exactly is going to attack us?" I asked when the captain didn't elaborate.
She whirled around, her eyes gleaming dangerously. "Are you trying to make fun of me?"
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I blinked and shook my head.
"Fine," she snarled. "I'll humor you. Demons. That's what's going to attack us. Demons!"
Something on my face must have shown her I wasn't joking because after a second she sniffed, and turned to gaze back out into the water. "Where the hell did you grow up... doesn't even know about Demons," she grumbled.
Bored and not hungry enough to want to sit with the roaring sailors, I moved beside her, looking at the gently lapping dark red waves. Pink foam drifted away from the hull, while the tips of the crests were partially translucent. It reminded me of someone shaking a glass of wine.
"Something is going on…they are more active than they have been in decades. The last time it was this bad was when those idiotic followers of Cinderage and Preyatar battled over some ruin..." the captain said softly.
Unsure what to reply, I kept my mouth closed, wondering if she would elaborate.
After a few minutes, in the lull of the roaring laughter of the seamen, the captain spoke again.
"The mages in Telerin said it was because of the number of casualties. All that death drew them... but if that's the case, why are there even more now?"
So death draws Demons? I thought, looking at the dark sea. I couldn't see anything below, but I was starting to get a bad feeling. Were there masses of monsters below, ready to tear us apart?
As if on cue, a shiver ran through the hull. The captain's twitching fingers froze, and a hush fell across the ship. A second later, another shiver ran through the hull, stronger this time.
I'm being attacked! DO SOMETHING!
A massive mental scream tore through my mind, and I heard the captain groan and hang limply across the railing. She began sliding down, and I quickly grabbed her, putting her on the deck beside me. Her eyes were rolling in their sockets, but her fingers, all twenty, were moving at a speed hard to fathom even for me.
"Stay with me! What do I do?" I asked, shaking her right when another shudder pushed the ship sideways.
Don't distract her, fool! Eriah is doing her utmost to keep these two bastards from tearing my hull apart! Get down there and stop them!
Get down there? Are you crazy?! I shouted back in my mind. The prospect of heading below the surface of the bloodred sea was as appealing to me as being shaved with an ax.
I heard splashes behind me, and I turned just in time to see three bare-chested grablons with long spears jump across the railing, followed by another set of splashes. They disappeared immediately, only some bubbles heading to the surface.
You are supposed to be powerful, right? Then do something! Those six won't stand a chance on their own! An onset of panic was obvious in the ship's voice. It won't be safe aboard the deck if Eriah falls!
I can't see anything underwater, I screamed back just when an object shot back out of the water, sailed through the air, and slammed into the side of the ship. It was one of the grablon warriors, his neck at a strange angle and a massive bleeding wound on his chest. Long, thin slash marks ran from the hole and curved around his back.
"Dammit!"
Looking around, I tried coming up with a plan that didn't involve going into the water as the ship kept screaming for me to hurry.
After a few moments, I cursed and stripped my armor, leaving only my new undergarment on.
Fucking hell, I get new armor, but at the first sign of trouble, I have to take it off?
I growled angrily, moving my fingers to cast Gills. I hadn't actually used the spell before, but I couldn't care about that. I'd need any advantage I could get.
When I finished, I felt an odd sensation on my neck below my ears. It started with a tingle, then the sense of a new, unusual body part spread through my mind. It came combined with instincts on how to use it, and I contracted my gills, causing them to pulsate and widen, expelling some air that had come from my nose before.
Great, at least that should help a bit, I thought, taking a final look at the captain before walking to the side of the ship. Three silent shapes were bobbing with their faces down—another two guards joined the first.
Dammit, how am I even going to make any difference, I thought, sitting on the railing. Looking down, I felt a small surge of fear quickly expelled by a rush of battle hunger. I hesitated for a moment, then let the battle hunger flow through me, wiping away my inhibitions.
I let myself slide forward, a moment of falling, and then I slammed feet first into the water, instinctively closing my eyes. As I sank down, I suddenly realized the folly of my idea. How was I going to fight with my ax? I needed a spear or harpoon.
Then I was distracted by the liquid around me. It was warm, much warmer than I had thought, and thicker than it should be. An innate sense of revulsion made me want to get right out. I opened my eyes and looked around while my gills began taking in the water. I tasted something vile and repulsive, but my gills immediately began filtering it out, propelling out wafts of thick red fluid. Although it left a lingering taste, I could feel the air continue to flow into my lungs, an odd feeling. Everything was blurry, but I saw two massive shadows move far below the ship and smaller ones closer, darting around. Loud thuds and scrapes caused my ears to ring.
Dammit, how can I give you protection if you jump in without warning me! the ship's voice howled, and a moment later, I felt something push against the barrier around my mind.
Grant me access to your mindscape, or I can't help you!
I resisted for a moment, then relented a little. A foreign mind slithered through the crack I left open, and a second later, my eyes began itching. Suddenly everything around me turned clear as day, and my muscles tensed as I now clearly saw two tentacled monsters snarl and bite at each other, creating massive surges in the water. Each of them looked like a cross between a frog and a squid, with massive limbs holding them still in the water while the tentacles growing from their backs struck at each other. Horns grew above their red, bulbous eyes, and two fangs in their upper jaw angled outwards.
Above them, five meters below me, four more grablons with spears were stabbing at dozens of squid-like things. Smaller than the massive things below, they were still three meters long. With black, rubbery skin and three massive yellow eyes, they swished around with eight crooked and barbed squid tentacles. One of them shot forward, tentacles outstretched, bubbles coming from the top of its head. Between the tentacles, I glimpsed a circular opening lined with teeth, then it wrapped itself around one of the Grablons.
Two other Grablons swam forward, stabbing at the demonic squid and causing black ichor to spray from the puncture wounds, quickly diluting in the water.
A pressure wave shoved me backward, and looking down, I saw one of the monster's tentacles flail backward in a bid to stay closer to the other one. The tip struck one of the smaller demons, and it shot up and away like a cannonball, drawing a trail of air bubbles through the water until it shot through the surface and arched away.
They aren't actively attacking us; we are just in the crossfire! I thought, more to myself than anything else.
That's because Eriah is masking our presence! Do something, or they will destroy us! If that tentacle hits me a few more times, the hull will crack!
So? What the hell do you expect of me? I shot back, looking at the two whale-sized, tentacled monsters below me.
Aren't you some Prime of a new Deity? Call her for help!
Suddenly it occurred to me. That was why the captain had been willing to take me aboard. It was why the ship had urged me into the water. Not because it thought I could actually help, but because it anticipated me calling for help from Rathica! How could I not have seen it?
She won't just come and help me! I snarled, angry and slightly annoyed that I had somehow missed the implication. I wasn't really sure she wouldn't help. It was just a hunch based on her previous warning. Not that I really thought she would ignore my pleas if I did call her in dire need. She hadn't yet…
There wasn't any immediate response, then a hiss permeated my mind.
That's just great! That means we're doomed because Eriah will be out cold in a moment.
Foul Breath had scarcely spoken when a shiver ran through the water, and it felt as if a small current that I hadn't consciously noticed was switched off. A sudden silence came through the water, and the two massive monsters below me slowly turned their yellow slit, red orbs to us.
Oh shit...