It was surprisingly simple to find passage to Spain. There were plenty of merchant vessels, all going to different places. Douxie got lucky that one of the smaller ones was heading to Spain in the next few weeks, after making a stop in France Douxie wasn't much of a sailor, but the ship was understaffed enough that the captain was willing to let Douxie join them until they got to Spain just as long as he carried his own weight around the ship.

Archie wanted Douxie to barter with the captain. The dragon thought that working on a ship for several weeks was worth more than just passage on a ship, but Douxie didn't want to push his luck. Getting some coins would be nice, but not at the cost of the captain going back on their deal. Douxie could always make more money in France and Spain. Perhaps they would enjoy his music as much as the Irish had. And if Douxie sang for the crew, which he was planning on doing, maybe word of his music would spread out even further. That would be incredible in and of itself, and well worth the work that Douxie would need to be doing on the ship.

Douxie was disappointed, but not completely surprised, when he was given the job of cabin boy. He didn't know what it was about how he looked, but apparently when people looked at him they saw somebody who was well-suited for mopping and being bossed around. Much of his apprenticeship with Merlin required cleaning up after him. Douxie was learning to tolerate sweeping, but it was still far less glamorous and fun than he would like.

Archie was more than satisfied with the work he was assigned on the ship. They just wanted him to hunt any stray mice and rodents that made their way onto the ship. Archie would have done it anyway.

They did their respective tasks for the first few days of travel, but then they accidentally found another task that they excelled at. Douxie had been sleeping at the bow of the ship while Archie had snuck out to stretch his wings and go flying. Neither of them had stopped to consider the way that Douxie's magic might react.

Douxie's magic had a tendency to present itself sometimes when he was dreaming. It was rarely bad enough that it would attract unwanted attention, but it was still there. When Archie was in his dragon form he brought out more of his own magic. Archie had been a dragon since they'd formed a proper familial bond, and Douxie had certainly slept, but it hadn't happened at the same time yet.

Archie's dragon magic wormed its way through their bond, and because Douxie's mind was unprotected from magical influence, the dragon's magical aura slipped right into his dreams.

The young wizard's dream showed him exactly what Archie was seeing and feeling. He'd had dreams of flying before, but it had never felt quite like this. The feeling of air beneath his wings was absolutely incredible and addicting. It felt like something he was born to do. It didn't matter that Douxie himself didn't have much control of the flying, it was still nice.

Douxie didn't realize that he was seeing through Archie's eyes until he caught sight of the choppy waters ahead. The winds were calm and still though, which meant that the waves were coming from under the water. Douxie could feel the magical aura under the water, though he wasn't usually very good at sensing magic. If he wanted to sense the presence of magic it took a lot of concentration and magic on his part. In his dream though, it felt completely natural and instinctive.

Something was under the water. He heard Archie's voice in his head. "A sea creature" Douxie felt a sudden jerk in his stomach as he suddenly changed directions in his flying. "I have to warn the others." Douxie felt a surge of panic as he suddenly woke up, breathing heavily as though he'd just had a nightmare. An echo of Archie's voice echoed in his head.

"I have to warn the others." Douxie muttered to himself. He staggered to his feet, stumbling a bit as he tried to get his bearings. His dream self, small and winged, had felt so natural that he almost felt like he didn't quite fit in his own skin. Douxie pushed the feeling aside and made his way to the wheel of the ship, which the captain was currently manning.

"Captain," Douxie said urgently. "We're getting close to the nest of a sea creature. We have to change course a bit."

The captain gave Douxie a curious look. "Impossible. We consulted the maps numerous times. We shouldn't be within half a day's reach of sea monsters."

Douxie felt a rush of annoyance. He knew what he was talking about. He was tired of being dismissed. "Unless those maps are magical, they won't be able to track the migration patterns of these creatures. They go where they want, and I'm telling you, one is up ahead and if we don't steer clear of it we'll never make it to France."

The captain frowned. He looked dubious, but at least he wasn't completely dismissing him. "How do you know the sea monster is there?"

Douxie rubbed his hand over his bracer. He couldn't exactly say that he'd had a dream and heard his cat's voice in his head, but Douxie could tell at least some version of the truth. "I saw it in the distance." Douxie said. "The waters are rough, but the winds are calm, which means that there's something under the surface stirring things up."

The captain still looked unconvinced. "I'll see for myself." The captain gestured for another crew member to take the wheel. The captain followed Douxie to the bow of the ship. They looked out over the water, and for an alarming minute everything looked like it was just fine, and Douxie was worried that they were still too far from the creature to see signs of it.

Douxie relaxed when they saw a massive splash, even from this distance. Whatever had caused it was big, and even the most skilled of sailors wouldn't want to try to figure out just what it was. The captain looked back towards the crew member at the wheel.

"Bring us hard to port." The captain shouted. "We haven't come out here to fight a massive beast." He turned back to Douxie. "You've got sharp eyes, lad. Keep your sights on the water, give the word if you see anything else out there."

"Yes, sir." Douxie said. He leaned against the railing and narrowed his eyes, keeping them glued on the horizon. Sea creatures could live in large packs, or they were so massive that their territories could take up everything in sight. Douxie needed to make sure that they didn't slip out of reach of one creature only to land themselves in the grip of another.

It wasn't long before Archie flew his way onto the ship. He was small and careful enough that he was able to slip onboard without being noticed. Archie jumped onto Douxie's shoulders and joined him to look out over the water.

"Douxie, the ship has come too close to the nest of a sea serpent." Archie said quietly. Douxie nodded.

"I know." The wizard said. "I saw it in my dream. I already convinced the captain to change direction."

"A dream?" Archie tilted his head at him. "Since when do you have prophetic dreams?"

"I don't." Douxie said. He remembered how it felt to fly, and the way he had heard Archie's voice in his head. "I think I saw it through your eyes."

Archie hummed thoughtfully and nuzzled against him. "Come to think of it, I thought I'd felt your magic while flying." Archie adjusted his position, turning himself around. Douxie had never understood how he could be so balanced while standing on Douxie's shoulders. "This must be because of our new connection. One of these days we're going to have to figure out just what powers come with our bond."

Archie glanced over their shoulders while Douxie kept his eyes on the water. "Of course, we'll have to wait until we have some privacy." Archie said. "You should avoid using magic while we're near superstitious sailors. There's nowhere to run to, and it would be far too easy for them to throw you overboard as a sacrifice to the beasts of the sea."

Douxie chuckled. "Yeah, you're probably right." Archie was always right about this kind of thing."

Douxie spent the rest of the day watching the seas. When he finally went to sleep Archie would fly out again to keep an eye out for sea creatures for him. Douxie slept for just a few hours before he awoke. He was a light sleeper, unable to fully relax when he wasn't completely safe. Being surrounded by sailors on a rocking ship made it hard to rest for more than a little bit at a time, but even a small amount of sleep was better than nothing.

As soon as Douxie woke up he was given the job of lookout once again. It was mundane work, but Douxie was glad for it. At least he didn't have to sweep or mop anymore. Douxie, with Archie's help, kept an eye out for trouble. They did this for several days until they docked in France.

Douxie quickly got off the ship and out of the way of the merchants. He knew that they would be in France for about a week, so the merchants could sell their wares, make their trades, and pick up their new merchandise.

Douxie knew better than to wander too far, as he didn't know exactly when the ship would leave for France and if he wasn't around when they were ready then they wouldn't hesitate to leave without him. He knew that he had at least a little bit of time to wander and explore. He'd heard some wonderful things about France, and he wanted to see some of it for himself.

Archie, happy to have his feet back on the ground, didn't want to travel anywhere. He stayed curled up below the decks of the ship, guarding their bags, while Douxie took his lute and went out to look for some inspiration.

It was odd just how different the countryside of France was from the cliffs of England and wetlands of Ireland. There were a lot of wheat fields and plains. It was also a lot sunnier than it was in either England or Ireland. It was bright and the warmth felt nice on his skin.

Douxie strolled casually through the fields, watching the farmers as they worked. He'd always been fascinated with people who could do physical labor like this. Douxie had never been suited for that kind of thing.

As Douxie walked he heard the farmers talk urgently to each other. He couldn't understand French, so he didn't know exactly what they were talking about, but they sounded scared. Douxie was all too familiar with this tone. It was the angry, terrified, prone to lashing out tone that people used when they talked about magical creatures that they didn't understand.

Curious and concerned, Douxie subtly stepped closer to them, listening carefully for a word that he might recognize. Through the language barrier Douxie was about to catch two words that he recognized. Monstre and horreur. It sounded similar to monster and horror, which practically confirmed Douxie's suspicions.

Douxie had no idea just what kind of monster was around here, but he was worried. He saw the farmers gesturing to the nearby forests. What if there was a clan of trolls living in the woods, just like there were back in Camelot? They were probably trying to just live their own lives in peace, and the humans were anxiously thinking the worst of them?

And if the supposed monster in the woods truly was dangerous, somebody needed to deal with them, and that somebody shouldn't be the humans. Mortals would just get themselves killed if they tried to deal with magical creatures that they didn't understand.

Douxie may just be a wizard in training, but he was still better suited to dealing with magical creatures than any normal mortal was. So Douxie took a deep breath, spun his bracelet so the ruins on it could let him use one of his few attack spells he had under his belt, and made his way into the forest.

Despite the fact that he was out there to hunt for a monster of some sort, Douxie was quite relaxed in his walking. He saw no signs of something dangerous. He could almost pretend that he was going for an easy walk just for the fun of it.

Douxie walked for about an hour until he heard a sound that made him stop. It was the neighing of a horse. That didn't belong this far in the forest.

Douxie looked around in confusion, looking for the source of the sound. His breath got caught in his throat when he saw a beautiful, pure white horse staring at him.

"Well, look at you." Douxie smiled at the horse. He slowly approached it. The horse lowered its head, allowing Douxie to stroke its mane. "You're absolutely beautiful." The horse reared its head back proudly. It was a wonderful creature, and Douxie just knew that Archie would immediately hate it.

Just for the irony of it, Douxie decided to mentally name the horse after Archie's favorite type of fish.

"What are you doing all the way out here, Roach?" Douxie asked. He didn't often see horses walking around forests, they were more of field animals than anything, but its location was nowhere near the oddest thing about it. The horse was wearing a saddle and bridle. This wasn't a wild animal, it belonged to somebody.

"Where's your master?" Douxie asked. He looked around, trying to catch sight of an injured or lost noble. Such a beautiful and healthy looking horse wearing gear that fit so perfectly could only belong to somebody in a higher social standing.

Douxie couldn't see anything, and he couldn't hear anything either. He wasn't going to give up that easily though. Douxie grabbed Roach's reins. "Come on, let's go find your master." The horse didn't resist Douxie's guidance. It happily followed him without complaint.

The woods were getting darker as the sun began to sink lower into the sky. It would be night in just over an hour, and as he was in the forest it would get dark a lot sooner than that. Douxie wouldn't have a lot of time to look for the horse's owner, but he could search for at least a little bit.

Douxie did his best to look, and he even tried tracking, which wasn't a skill that came naturally to him, but he couldn't find anything. He couldn't even see any signs that someone had walked through these woods all day. He didn't want to give up on someone who might be injured, but the woods were just getting darker and more difficult to traverse.

"I think we need to call it a night," Douxie said sadly. Roach huffed irritably and pulled back against Douxie as he tried to turn around and make his way towards the town. Douxie was planning on just returning tomorrow morning to continue his search, along with Archie, who was a much better tracker than he was.

The horse didn't like this idea. It almost seemed to be trying to pull out of Douxie's grip, but when the boy let go of the reins Roach neighed and nudged Douxie. It was trying to push him deeper into the woods. It seemed desperate.

"I can't continue on," Douxie said. "It's getting late." The horse didn't seem to want to leave though, and Douxie didn't want to abandon such a beautiful creature to be devoured by wild animals. "Mate, what do you want me to do?"

Roach perked up slightly. It nudged Douxie and gestured deeper into the woods, which looked far too dark, even at this time of evening. Douxie had a bad feeling about continuing on and travelling in the woods at night, but the horse was so insistent. Douxie didn't want to let it down.

"Alright, you know what? We'll give it five more minutes," Douxie said. Roach looked very pleased with itself. It threw its head back and gestured to the saddle on its back. Douxie stared at the horse for a small moment before he smiled and climbed onto the saddle. The horse seemed to have an idea of where it wanted to go, so Douxie decided it would be best if he just let it take the lead.

It was later than he felt comfortable with, and he wanted to get out of this forest, but surely just a few more minutes couldn't hurt.