Greggan

The sounds coming from the deck were terrifying. Unearthly wails and screams could be heard overhead as the two little boys retreated to cower in the corner below deck amongst onions and turnips. They could not hear Ertimus, his voice was being muffled by the screams, Banshees or wraiths perhaps, Greggan wasn't sure but whatever it was had his companion wetting himself, he could feel the warm liquid pooling against his hip. Greggan meant to move but he found himself too scared to move.

The deck above was loud with movements and screams as bright beams of light shone through the base boards of the decks. The room lit with slivers of light noth white and black giving everything the shimmer of the water at night. The wails of whatever was above deck had become less than before, and seemed to die down more by the second. Greggan had to strain but he could hear Ertimus's voice, he seemed to be chanting some sort of incantation into the wind.

Greggan wished he could see what was going on but his own piss filled breeches reminded him why he needed to be down below. Whatever it was was not physical, Greggan was certain of that, whatever the thing was Ertimus was winning against it, or so it sounded anyway.

The lights started to dim back to the daylight and the creams nd wails stopped. The deck was quiet except for the sounds of two bodies hitting the wood of the deck with a loud thump. They waited in their corner behind the onions and turnips until the morning sun became the afternoon sun, their legs had grown sore and their backs ached. Neither had closed their eyes, they felt as though that had been holding their breaths even too afraid to make a sound just in case.

Their stomachs growled and the ship swayed back and forth, Greggan realized no one was steering the ship and jumped to his feet towards the stairs as fast as he could. He sprinted up the steps skipping as many in between as he could, missing his footing in his haste he managed to scrape his ankle gathering a few splinters along the way. The scrape was furthest from his mind as he came to the deck itself, He found Ertimus unconscious his sword laying free a few feet from his outstretched hand.

"he still breathes." Greggan saw as he let out a sigh of relief, then he looked around for Avery who had not been as luck. Ertimus's Daemon had taken the form of an ape and was steering the ship away from the rocks and other hazards that would have sent them to their doom. "Daemons are dreadfully useful things." He wished he had one himself, but he was born a commonfok, a low born one at that. His eyes darted across the ship looking for Avery but he didn't find him. "Where's Avery?" the daemon looked solemnly at him, "I;m afraid he's gone, it's probably best if I wait for Ertimus to explain. I can steer the ship, you should change those filthy clothes and care for Ertimus."

He had forgotten that he had been sitting in his own pee for the last few hours and someone elses for a bit longer. He did as he was bid, he was still shaken and the Daemon felt as good a leader as any right now. "Flick!" Greggan had started calling his companion flick along with the other since he could never remember his name, it may have been because no one on the ship ever called him by his name. He was brave for his age though, and followed orders well, though he couldn't hold his urine when he slept and apparently when he was afraid as well.

Mouse came running, piss stained breeches and big puffy eyes swollen from crying nose red and raw from rubbing the snot away. "Is he ok?" the boy wasn't much younger than Greggan, he may have been freshly turned five a few months weeks before he had been taken by the slavers that took him. Greggan put his hand on Ertimus's chest, he cold feel a his heartbeating strong, " aye, he still breathes, he must just be sleeping." Greggan tried to sound like Ertimus, a leader, though he just felt awkward.

He hadn't a clue as to what to do with the boy either, Him and Flick were unable to move him from where he lay and the night was hastily approaching and the air was growing colder. "Flick go get as many clean sack from below as you can, we need to make sure the cold doesn't get to him while he rests." The blasted cold, Greggan hated the cold but he would weather it for Ertimus.

Flick came back, his arms full of old sacks, they piled them over him the best they could leaving him in a large itchy brown cocoon that covered him up leaving just his long black hair showing. Mouse sat down next to the sleeping Ertimus whispering so only they could hear. A child's folly but Mouse was only just older than a babe and still had a babies understanding of some things. Ertimus left him to it and decided to go to the helm once more to talk to the daemon who had changed his shape once more to a copy of Ertimus.

It was a shadow version much like the rest of his forms had been. they were solid enough but the forms were still dark and iridescent like you would think a living shadow would be. "Ertimus?" he fooled for a second before coming to his senses "That's a useful Daemon trick." He said trying to play like he really wasn't fooled.

"I wanted to not scare the little one, a giant ape may frighten the boy right off the edge." The daemon said with a puzzled look on Ertimus's face, "Should I choose something else?"

Truthfully the daemon looked more like Ertimus's ghost, more unsettling than an ape or another animal. "He may confuse you for a spirit, he really doesn't quite understand what you are, maybe be an animal with a bit more peaceful nature." He wanted to say more cute than a giant gold back ape but he didn't want to be seen as just a kid, right now he was the oldest coherent person aboard the ship.

" Do you know where we are?" Greggan didn't recognize the shoals or banks, the daemon version of Ertimus smiled " We missed the last port but we are still rounding the continent and heading south east along the coast. The next port if I remember correctly is the port city of Oakley. They're governed by the Magelord house of Oakleaf. They're an old family, loyal to the magestrate, I don't know if they're friends but they definitely are not enemies. at least not yet."

"These Lords, common and mage are confusing. I thought all mages stuck together." He knew the realm was at war but he wasn't really sure who was on what side. He just thought the Magestrate had taken control of everything. "I wish it were so, no just like with the common lords who had control of the world the Magelords too fight for power. The magestrate holds most of its power up North, almost none of the southern mages hold them no fealty. Even their children remain free of the magestrate, Ertimus was and still is schooled by private mages. Politics of it all is quite confusing if you ask me."

It was confusing, he had always thought the magestrate was the magical government to which all mages adhered. "Thank goodness i'm just a lowborn common folk. Everyone with a title commands me." Greggan smiled at the bear, "if i had to choose i would rather be the ruler over the ruled."

"In deed you would, i would rather be the boot over the ant myself." The Daemon peered with his dark eyes that looked like the night sky, sparkling with what looked like small stars, " How would you propose to become the boot if you could?" He asked Greggan, the tone of his voice told he was curious to see the heart of this boy, was his lust for power like every other man common or otherwise or was he maybe the rare few.

" Well when i lived in the rats den I noticed the rats would move in groups, so did the fleas." scratching his head as he thought of them.

"The rats would be in small groups rummaging through the garbage. There was this one fat rat that was much bigger than the rest and he would often bully the others to get the good bit of garbage to eat. This went on for a few weeks, I would often watch them from the small window in the room where I slept." Greggan hadn't thought of the Brothel in some time, it felt like so long ago since he had been in his mothers arms, he running her fingers through is hair as he slept, her little prince, her pet name for him.

" One night I watched as the smaller rats all came together, they hid in the shadows and waited for the big rat to come check out the days garbage, and he did. He had grown fat and slow by this point, he was large but he didn't have the stamina or ease in movement as the smaller rats had. He also didn't have near their numbers. I watched as hundreds of rats swarmed him tearing at him, him squealing and shrieking. Then the night went quiet and I saw them carry off parts of him into the darkness." Greggan rubbed his arms with his hands as the chill of the night started to creep upon them once more, cooling faster and colder than it did the night before.

"And like the rats Greggan, the magelords too will swarm to take power from the magestrate. Men need a king to follow or they consume themselves trying to become one. You watch there will not be peace until one house rules them all. Even the magestrate has a king, though they give him a different name and disguise his motives and deeds as the will of the collective." His brain felt numb and his attention was being tested.

"Eventually someone will win that I'm sure of, but which side will it be I do not know." The Daemon turned his attention back to the sea and horizon, the sun filled the sky will beautiful colors painted across the sky that reflected across the sea. The cold winds blew strong throwing the blanket of vegetable sacks off Ertimus, he laid shivering but still in a deep sleep. "You'll have to move him down below, be careful with him, don't break his neck i'm sure he'd like to not die in his sleep."

Greggan took the command of the daemon and gathered Flick from his game of turnip marbles below deck. Ertimus was larger than the two boys so they struggled to get him to move even a few inches. "Daemon! he's too heavy for us. I don't think we can do it.": Flick was strong for his age but very quiet. His dark skin and hair were unusual for the west, they tended to live in Aerios and the towns surrounding it as they came from the deadlands from the east to trade.

As most ports Aerios was not short of brothels and taverns, the darkmen would leave children behind when they made their way back home. Arhidtown's house Magus was obsessed with pure bloodlines in Thre'a and would sell children they didn't deem pure to the slavers and sell-sword companies. Aerios covetted magic and innovations and welcomed most races into their gates and would make alliances with any who swore them Fealty. House Holstin also wed their children to the children of magelords to try and add magic to their family bloodlines, something the house Magus just wouldn't do, "muddying the blood" since most Magelords are lowborns given lordships based on their power and how many mages their houses had to their names, some high born common houses became magelord houses as they started to birth more mages or as they married their children to mages themselves.

"Greggan come take the helm while I move him then, keep us pointed straight ahead i won't be gone below long." The daemon in is bear form jumped from captains deck to the main deck and shifted into an ape and scooped his master up like a baby and carried him below deck.

Greggan stood holding the wheel of the ship nervously as they sailed, the wind smacked his face and stung his eyes unrelenting, he feared he would turn the wheel to far and they'de hit rocks or be run aground. He held the hemp in his small hands, fighting to hold it as steady as his little hands could. "Not a bad helmsman if i do say so." The Daemon had taken the form of a cat and had rept quietly on Greggan as he focused on his task. " I'll take back the helm, you can go below deck and sleep, Flick is already asleep, laid down next to Ertimus."

"hope Ertimus doesn't mind waking up in a puddle of pee" Greggan thought to himself as he handed the wheel back over to the now shifted Daemon who was sporting his bear form once again.

"Goodnight Daemon." Greggan said as he descended down the steps to the main deck, " my name is Eos." The daemon spat back, "Goodnight Eos." he said as he disappeared down the steps to the stores below deck.

Morning came without the sun, as large grey storm clouds darkened the sky, the sea had grown rougher tossing the ship to and fro like a child tosses a ball. The waves spilled water onto the deck as they attempted to sink the ship or send a distracted sailor overboard to the icy water to become food for the inhabitants.

Rain began to drop sparsely at first, speckling the wood of the deck with small spots but before long the rain became more fierce making even the store below deck wet and uncomfortable. Greggan tucked himself into a corner under the stairs in an attempt to keep dry and warm, he was less wet than if he was topside but more wet than he would have liked. His pants were rubbing him raw in between his legs and the wind managed to break through the cracks in between the wood that made up the walls sending salty rushes of cold air to chill him and Flick.

Ertimus had not awakened still, stirring more than had since the day before but incapacitated none the less. He wished Ertimus would wake up and use his magic to get them out of the storm. Ertimus snored slightly and shifted to his sides as he slept.

Thunder began to boom like symbols from a great orchestra outside followed by violent flashes of lightning that moved like snakes through the sky landing somewhere off in the distance wreaking havoc no doubt. Greggan wondered if they always hit somewhere in the deadlands, the cursed continent to the east. Once a great land, full of great game and precious metals and gems and its people prosperous and powerful in magic.

A story his mother would tell him, the land the gods cursed. Zyan the dead continent, its once great jungles and forests all died and withered leaving behind a great desert. Its lakes dried and its mountains hollow, it's people scattered to small pockets of living green land or sold into slavery scattered. The great game of the continent disappeared leaving the most dangerous or ones will too little meat on their bones to be worth the effort. The dead lands began a lush jungle filled continent with large fresh lakes filled with the sweetest waters. The great kings grew vain and began to fight each other for more power and ultimately starting a war that spread like the plague on the continent itself. One king, Alumand, made a deal with a God from another world for the power to win the war and become the grand emperor.

He was given the soul of a being not of this world and wa granted power that compared even to the great titans, he used his power to destroy his enemies removing whole races from the continent. The great emperor constructed a throne made from the petrified bodies of the kings he had slain gloating over his victory feasting on his enemies harvests and taking to large orgies with their queens, sending them to the great brothels of his cities when he was done with them. The God from another world had come to collect his payment fo the power he had bestowed on Alumand, who had now grown conceded and believed himself to be a God as well and did not take demands from anyone.

Furious the God cursed Alumand stripping im of his power and his potency and cursing his kingdom to rot and become a vast dessert. Greggan always hated the story because everyone else there was punished for what their conqueror had done, he didn't feel it fair. "That's the way of Gods my prince, they are all powerful and we are just mortals, we bend to their will.:

Greggan missed his mother more so than he had in months, her face had started to drift from memory, but her smell, or her eyes, he could remember those but not exactly her features beyond that. He had almost forgotten the circumstances to what brought him on the ship in the first place. Time had always seemed funny to Greggan, how it would move fast when you were having fun but move dreadfully slow when it was boring, it wasn't boring right now though, no, the waters had grown even more dangerous tossing their little boat amongst the waves, Eos grunting in rain in the form of a great ape as he struggled to hold the ship stead and keep her from running aground.

"I hate water, i hate water, i hate water!" Greggan caught himself yelling as the boat tipped to one side throwing him into a wall on the opposite site before tipping ot the otherside sending him into a pile of potato filled sacks. " We need to make port! travel by land." Greggan didn't really hae anyone to talk to, flick had curled up in the corner crying and Ertimus was still sleeping as soundly as a babe.

Greggan began to panic after the ship tipped again, he stared at the snoring Ertimus and walked over to him, he felt his leg pull back as if on its own and he felt as he drove it deep into his side with a kick using all his strength.

"AAAAAAAAAARGH!"

Ertimus scremed in pain as the air left this lungs, his eyes jolted open searching frantically for his assailant. "What ya do that fer!" Ertimus stared at the Greggan anger in his eyes and his fist balled in hope he would get to swing them. " You're asleep while there's a storm on us looking to sink this ship, aren't you the captian? Go captain before your ruddy Daemon catches a rick and we sink!"

Ertimus scrabbled to his feat forgetting to sheath his sword as he sprinted up the steps to the deck above, "Don't worry boys, just a little rain." he yelled back as lightning lit the sky like a torch then went black as if it were blown out like a candle.

"I really hate the sea, why do we have to be in the sea." Greggan never wished to be a sailor nor fishermen, he preferred solid ground beneath his feet. He dreamed of battling orcs and protecting kings not running from elves and sea monsters and fighting great storms.