Chapter 3

Pathogenik

We were held hostage. The King Cyladon observed us for days on end. Everyone was on edge. The tension was exacerbated by adventurers who couldn’t contain themselves and decided to use magic. They were quickly incapacitated by the powerful crew and then imprisoned for the remainder of our voyage.

Fights had broken out but the captain and his crew had managed to keep things barely under control. O’Kallan had nearly collapsed from exhaustion and we’d surfaced with the monster still balled around us, blocking both sun and wind. We floated on water that was as still as an untouched mountain lake. Our horizon was the body of the monster. Its slowly blinking eye replaced what would have been our moon. If we were drifting off course, no one could tell.

We had enough food to last us quite some time. Breakfast was served early and I sat myself with a bowl of fish soup and bread above deck. Jack found me and I was surprised to find him in a talkative mood.

“Morning Tosin,” Jack said as he sat down beside me with a bowl of fish soup and bread in his hands.

“Morning,” I said. “When did you wake?”

“A moment ago. How long have you been up?”

“At least an hour.”

“Anything new?”

I gestured to the dark sky and the half open eye of the King Cyladon. “Nothing new. I'm hoping we can get some daylight again like yesterday.”

The monster was coiled around us with hundreds of layers, which was what blocked the sun. Yesterday had been the first day where enough of its moving body had parted through the layers to let in a gash of sunlight. It was a brief moment of hope that everyone above deck had reveled in.

“Do you still think we’ll make it out of this alive?” Jack said.

“It hasn’t attacked yet,” I said.

“I wonder why. I spoke with O’Kallan for a few minutes earlier. He said that this wasn’t unusual behavior for King Cyladons.”

“Is that good or bad?”

“He said that it's a good sign.”

“Why the frown, then? You don’t believe him?”

“They’ve already had a bit of trouble taming passengers, right? The last thing they’d want to do is tell us we’re all doomed and cause a panic.”

“So you think he’s lying? Do you think we’re in trouble?”

“He may not be lying, but I don’t think he’s being completely honest.”

“Do you think it matters? We’re powerless against that thing.”

Our fish soup was different today. There was a bit more lemon and herbs and the broth had a tomato base. I thought I tasted a bit of barley in there as well. There were mushrooms and caramelized onions too. Best soup so far on this voyage. The bread was different too. It wasn’t as light and fluffy. It was a bit more dense. There was evidence of other grains as well which made it a bit hardier and tastier.

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After another good slurp, Jack brought out a glass flask from his inventory. He pulled the cork, took a swig and handed the bottle to me without looking. I smelled liquor the moment I took it.

“What’s this?” I said.

“Island liquor,” Jack said.

I took a small swig and my entire face puckered. The alcohol bit with a vengeance. It went down kicking. I could barely handle it. Jack saw that and chuckled.

“There’s something we could do,” Jack said after I passed the flask back to him.

“About the monster?”

“Yea, there’s something I could do.”

“You? How?”

“I have a…unique class,” Jack said slowly and quietly. He leaned toward me and whispered so softly, I had to scavenge the words from thin air to hear what he was saying. Instead of questioning him, I simply looked at him. “I’m rather opposite from you, Tosin. Which is odd that I’ve taken a liking to you.”

“What’s your class?” I whispered.

“Pathogenik. I infect living or dead bodies and…animate them.”

“You raise the dead?”

“Freshly dead, or preserved dead. I can’t raise skeletons like other dark classes can.”

“What about the living? How do you infect them?”

“I have spells that do the work. If we’re talking about a human, it takes about a minute until they are completely infected.”

“What happens to them when they’re infected?”

“They’re mine to control.”

“For how long?”

“As long as their body survives the infection.”

Jack’s class was essentially a zombie class. There were several different zombie classes and not one of them was respected. Trading posts denied access to those in zombie classes so Jack had a bit of trouble getting started when he first became an adventurer. He’d even been jailed once and refused to go into detail about that. The bottom line was that one of the zombie classes was an absolute horror which no person should ever have. Since Jack was part of one of the lesser zombie classes, he didn’t have to worry too much about infections spreading, or being hunted down.

“So you’re saying your class can help us get out of this situation?”

“That’s what I’m saying. It’s risky. Extremely risky. I would have to infect the King Cyladon. After that, it’s just a matter of waiting.”

“How long?”

“Days. A month even because of its size. The problem is what happens between now and then. If the monster knows it's being attacked from the inside out, it could exact vengeance on us. It could also go mad during the infection and lash out in a panic, destroying us all.”

“That is a huge risk. That’s something we should talk with the captain about.”

Jack leaned in and put an arm around my shoulders.

“That’s something we’re not going to do. There’s no chance the captain is going to be ok with that. You want to know what’ll happen if I even disclose my class? I’m going to be isolated in a cell for the rest of the voyage.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“I’ve gone through this many times, healer.”

“You can’t just risk everyone’s lives on your own.”

“Tosin. We’re not making a decision right now. We’re simply talking. I’m putting a little bit of trust in you right now. I’m expecting a little trust back. I won’t do anything unless it’s a last resort.”

“Is that what you were doing with the eel? Trying to infect the monster?”

“No, I was using the eel to scout the sea for me. It perished, probably from the click the monster made. It was so loud that the eel probably succumbed to death instantly. We have to ask ourselves: At what point do we start to consider using my spells and abilities as a last resort to save our lives?”

“I still think we should involve the captain and O’Kallan if it comes to that.”

“We might not get a chance to do anything after we talk to them. I’m a threat, Tosin. I might be the last chance we have at survival if the monster doesn’t leave us alone.”

“You could equally bring about our demise,” I said.