Day 3 of Midwinter, Nightfall
At Sea, Straits of Segais
Annwn
I had to pull Fern from the dead sailor she was curled around protectively. She told me later he had been the true captain of the ship. That struck me, for some reason. Maybe she had been right about how we passengers treated people on the ship. I hadn’t even learned his name.
She pressed her face against my shoulder and ugly cried for a few minutes. Her left hand was numb and difficult to move. I hurt all over, and though I couldn’t see it in the darkness of the hold, my arms felt slippery from the blood slowly dripping from my face.
In the brief moments we spent in the hull trying to calm ourselves, I was sure I could feel Fern's eyes on me, particularly my hands. What a spectacle that must have been, with my glowing hands! Frankly, I still couldn’t believe I could actually work magic. Eventually, we ascended both sets of stairs to the upper deck. It was quiet there. We stood side by side, my hands still glowing a pale blue, Fern brandishing a metal sword that I hoped was some form of iron. Steel counts as iron, right?
We came up under the bridge, facing the back of the ship. It was completely quiet. I could see three bodies from my vantage point. They were Tadg’s men, but I couldn’t identify which, since they had shifted out of their disguised forms. The wind had picked back up and the ship was adrift, having no pilot and no navigator.
Fern touched my sleeve. “Come with me.” She pointed to the massive wheel that turned the ship. “We can’t let the ship drift in these waters.”
I nodded and followed her to the helm. I scanned the ship from our elevated position near the bow and saw the body of the first sailor, the one that had screamed at the coming of the Bánánach. He, too, had greyed flesh.
“Where is everyone?” I asked.
“Let’s hope they didn’t go for a swim.” Fern looked out at the dark water, her face grim.
The door to the captain’s quarters near the stern opened, Tadg and Fí stepping forth. Behind them came Morias and another of Tadg’s soldiers. Was this all that remained of living souls on The Stern Beauty?
I looked back at Fern in shock. She stared into my eyes, then reached out to gently touch my face. “That looks bad. We should clean the wounds before it gets infected.”
“I’m okay.” I reached up to hold her hand in both of my own. She gave me a sad smile, understanding my gesture, then nodded.
Fí was the first to reach me. She flew directly into my chest and wrapped her arms tightly around me. “You didn’t die, you big stupid, wonderful…” She stopped mid-sentence, but remained wrapped around me.
Feeling a bit woozy, I steadied myself on the railing, and squeezed her back. Morias stepped around Fí and hugged me, too, making a Bren sandwich. A single laugh escaped Fern’s lips seeing us like that.
“Búachaill,” she said to herself, but Fí heard her. The fairy pulled her head out from under Morias’ robes and looked at Fern.
“That’s a good one, lady. I like it.”
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Morias released me and also looked in Fern’s direction. “It appears you have a new surname.”
I just nodded. I had no idea what it meant, but it didn’t seem important in the moment. I just slid down the railing and sat there, at the helm, with Fern by my side. The others walked the ship and brought the bodies of the former crew to the upper deck.
My face hurt, but it was my heart that ached most of all. Fortunately, I was distracted momentarily by the voice of the Dagda:
Name: Bren Búachaill
Race: Undetermined
Current Power Rank - Level 3
Current Progression Status:
Physical Progression +2
(currently bound by Power Rank Level)
Mental Progression +1
(currently bound by Power Rank Level)
Spiritual Progression +2
(currently bound by Power Rank Level)
You have been gifted with the following boon:
Energy Surge has evolved into Control Energy
One magic item is in your possession.
You have acquired:
The Rings of Identification
Two relics are in your possession.
You have acquired:
The Stones of Destiny
Relic abilities unlocked:
Shrink/Enlarge- Stones of Destiny
Return to Sender- Stones of Destiny
Telekinesis- Stones of Destiny
By the time the voice ceased, Morias had arrived back at my side to clean my wounds with a strange golden liquid. He met my eyes as he finished. “We need your help to build a pyre on the ship.”.
“We’re going to burn the bodies?” I paused for effect. “On a wooden ship?”
“We can’t wait,” Fí said, coming up to check on me. “Those things will be drinking blood before the sun comes up.”
“What, are they gonna become zombies or something?” I slowly and painfully got to my feet.
“More like vampires,” Morias corrected. “They go by different names in different places. Sometimes they are the Dearg Due.”
Tadg approached us. “‘Abhartach’ is how I know them. I’m glad to see you are not among their ranks, Bren Búachaill.”
“You, too.” I clasped his hand. “I see you heard the new name already. What’s it mean, anyway?”
“Protector,” Tadg replied.
I hung my head. “Doesn’t feel right.”
“Doesn’t have to. A man doesn’t pick his own epithet.”
“Never had an epithet before.”
“If you had, it would have been, ‘pain in the arse,’” Morias said, stuffing the vial of golden liquid back in his robe.
There was laughter from those close by, including me. It felt like a sort of nervous laughter, one that maybe we needed to share to clear out the utter shock and horror we were all feeling.
We spent the next several hours building a pyre and then carefully burning the corpses of the fallen. During that time, the survivors told me about the creature that attacked us.
I didn’t follow everything they said, but from what I could understand the Bánánach were usually only seen after a large battle. These spirits of the dead were on their way to a place called Uffern, the land of the dead. It seemed that nobody could recall the last time a Bánánach was seen out in the open like this. It troubled Morias.
It was the middle of the night when Morias and Tadg spoke on behalf of the soldiers and the sailors. Fern came down from the bridge as well to pay her respects for the fallen sailors.
After both had honored their dead, Tadg turned to Fern. His expression was apologetic. “When we rented this vessel, I had no idea the danger that stood before us.”
Fern nodded to him and he continued. “I will have you know that I would have addressed the situation that happened…”
She held up a hand to stop him. “There is nothing to be done about that now. Besides, it turned out I had someone watching out for me.” She glanced in my direction.
“Are you kidding me?” I chuckled. “I was trying to protect him!”
Tadg smiled before turning serious again. He looked back to Fern. “It’s your ship now, Captain. Can you still see us safely to Gorias?”
Fern’s looked thoughtful for a brief moment, then she turned and walked back to the helm. “No one sleeps tonight,” she announced in a firm voice. “If we push on through the night, we should get to Gorias just after dawn.”
She began shouting names and assigning duties. Tadg gave a formal salute to her, then turned to me. “We have a long night ahead of us, Bren Búachaill. Let’s you and I start over.”
“Yes.” I clapped my hand on his shoulder. “Now tell me more about the Fomorians.”