Gwydion sat awoke in the dark and listened to the mice whisper to each other. "I heard the pirates talking about bringing a CAT on board!"
"No! Don't scare me like that!" exclaimed the other mouse.
The first retorted, "I mean it! They said there's getting to be too many mice on this ship. We need to call a mouse counsel and decide what to do about this situation!"
Gwydion wondered why the mice here were so smart. Was the ship like the mountain some how? But he knew that these thoughts were just a way of avoiding the real issues. He felt grimy, and longed for his small wash room back at the Keep. Why had he ever thought this was good idea? He should have just tried to find someone in the castle and told them what he knew. Sighing, he ate some more of the bread and cheese, half surprised the mice hadn't tried to eat it while he was asleep.
Gwydion climbed on the crates but didn't climb the ladder. In the distance he could hear the pirates grumbling.
"How'd he get from thar t' thar?"
"I be thinkin' he swum."
"But he be a right lazy bastard."
"He di'n't fly, thar be aye."
"WATCH T' RIGGIN' LAD!"
"I'll be thanking t' trip be over. All these new sprogs…"
"Well we will only an hour or so t' t' beach. Stash the loot and then give t' wench and babe to the dragon and we can go."
"If she be yelling like a harpy at me again…"
"Aye, I hear ya. But we don't be wanting a dragon after us for taken his grub."
So the maid and prince were still on board! And by the sounds of it, the pirates were now going to give the maid (and maybe the baby) to the dragon. Carefully Gwydion climbed the ladder. He had to find his things. If it was true, he only had an hour to find a solution. The only room he hadn't checked was the Captains. He peeked in, and seeing the empty room, sneaked in. On one side wall was the Captain's desk. The desk top was very neat, holding only writing implements. Curiously, Gwydion opened a drawer or two. There was nothing of interest among the charts and logbooks. He flipped through the logbooks, but they were dull and uninteresting, not like the journals he had read from Manannnan's study.
Gwydion looked with interest at the chart tacked to the wall. It traced the route the ship was now sailing. It started at Daventry, crossing a wide ocean, and arriving at a small island, Jambalaya Island. The middle of the island had a mountain range, and a town called Jambalaya Town marked in the north but the south was all beach. An 'X' had been marked at the arrival point. Against the other wall rested the captains bunk with a large chest at its foot. The Captain's bunk had been very neatly made. Gwydion looked it over carefully, but found nothing of interest. The chest at the foot of the Captain's bunk was closed. Gwydion opened the chest to find all his things, his belt, rucksack and cloak with range of clothes, a few pouches and bits of silverware. He took his things and checked them over, and left the rest alone. He doubted the captain had come by it legally, but it wasn't his place to take it. Maybe it had been paid for it, and that would make him a thief instead. He didn't want to live down to what the Dursley's had thought of him, never mind what Medusa would say.
Gwydion briefly considered using the Amber now, just going home and forgetting about all of this. But as soon as he thought that guilt settled heavy and thick in his heart. He had to at least try.
The question was what to do now. He didn't know how to swim, so jumping overboard was out. He also didn't know where the maid and prince where on the ship, as he hadn't seen them the night before. In the dark he had been mistaken for a member of the crew, but he didn't think that would work in the daylight. So Gwydion decided to wait, maybe he would hear something that would help. Crouched in the shadow of the stairs up to the top deck, Gwydion spent the next hour listening to the crew. Mostly they worked silently, with the occasionally shout or warning. Sometimes they told crude jokes which had Gwydion blushing, if he understood it at all.
He did learn that the maid had still demanded passage, despite the pirates not being paid, and had finally told them why. The pirates, a superstitious bunch, had refused to cross a dragon, and they decided to feed the maid to the dragon anyway. The maid had protested, loudly. She had then tried to bargain with the Prince, but none of the pirates had believed that the baby was the prince, and thought instead it was the maid's bastard. That she had tried to basically sell the boy had not endeared her to the pirates at all. They had locked both up in the forward berth, wherever that was. Mostly because Gwydion's body was in the hold. It was then that Gwydion realised the pirates thought him dead, that the sleeping draft had been too much.
Well that explains why no one had thought to feed him. Now he was sure he didn't want to be found, the pirate might just kill him this time.
"Land Ahoy!"
"Get the boat ready lad!"
"Drop anchor!"
"Trim that sail! Get to it!"
Right, now was the moment. If they had a boat, he could use that maybe. But he couldn't take on all the pirates, now they were all awake.
All awake…
That's it! He still had the sleeping draft with him. And his was powder, which, as long as he didn't breath in, a puff in the face would send any pirate he meet to sleep. While he was thinking, he heard the distinct splash of a something large hitting the water.
"Good riddance!" One of the pirates shouted. The rest laughed.
He had missed his chance! He had to do something. But he didn't wanted to get hurt. He had no idea how many pirates where out there. But it was now or later, he would still need to face them. Now, with some rowing to shore had to be better then later when they were all here. Screwing all his courage together, and refusing to think more about it, Gwydion pulled the pot of sleeping draft out and ran up the stairs. The first pirate got a handful in his face and only had time for a started yelp before collapsing into sleep. There was only two other crew on the deck, and both went down just as fast, one he got as he was turning to see what was happening, and the other he threw the handful at from across the deck. Gwydion swayed a little, blinking in surprise.
That was surprisingly easy.
He had taken only 4 steps or so from the top of the stairs, and when he turned to look, the bright sun afforded little illumination into the dark pit. The ship had anchored just offshore of a small beach to the east. In every other direct the ocean seemed to be endless, nothing but deep, blue water. The ocean was calm and untroubled. Above him, a sea bird called, its squawk harsh in the still artificial quiet of the ship.
Making his way down to the lower deck, he found it had no railing. Propped up against the wall a pirate he had thrown the power at was fast asleep. If people are meant look more innocent when asleep, it certainly wasn't true with this one! The life of a seaman had definitely taken its toll on the grizzled old sea dog. His skin was brown and cracked from years in the salty air and he stooped from countless swabbings of countless decks. His clothes were none too clean, either. On one hip the old seaman had a sharp cutlass. Gwydion hesitated nearby. A small boat was already on the shore, the other pirates nowhere in sight. An even smaller second row boat was hooked up on the side, ready to be lowered into the water. The rigging and wench took a moment to figure out, before he was ready to be lowered into the water. Using all his strength, he slowly lowered the boat down. It swayed gently in the surf. Using the oars, he navigated into shore. He was glad he didn't swim in when the boat was butted at one stage by a large shadow in the water, its fin sharp and comically shark-like. Whatever that had been he did not want to be eaten by it.
When the water was only knee deep on him, and the oars scraped the bottom with each stroke, Gwydion climbed out and pulled the boat as far uptake beach as he could. It wasn't anywhere near as high as the other boat, but he hoped it would be fine. He really didn't want to anger the pirates more then necessary, after all he still had to get back with the prince somehow, and the amber would only take one person. The breeze off the sea was surprisingly nice, the sea spray quiet refusing.
Nothing like a little salt air to perk up one's spirits, Gwydion thought. All things being equal, he might have enjoyed the ocean voyage… if his accommodations had not been slightly less than satisfactory.
Gwydion followed the tracks in the sand, up the beach. At the dune line they spilt, one going down a path winding its way through the thick vegetation, the other along the beach. Gwydion followed the second with his eyes, only to see two pirates digging above the high tide line. He was frozen in shock. As quietly as possible, he pulled the pot of sleeping draught and crept up the beach. The sand was surprisingly helpful in muffling his steps. Both pirates were too involved in filling a large hole to notice the boy. Only three steps behind them, Gwydion shouted, "Hey!" while throwing the powder toward them.
Both turned quickly, getting a face full of the spell, and instantly falling over in sleep. Gwydion looked in the hole to find a large chest. He bit his lip. If the pirates were burying the chest, they clearly didn't need it. But Gwydion remembered Medusa talking about how poor Llewdor was, and how they couldn't protect the kingdom and all the people in it because of that. Well it was unlikely that the pirates would listen to him ask for a way home anyway, especially after he had put everyone to sleep.
The chest was heavy and awkward to maneuver into his rucksack, but he managed. After doing so, he quickly filled the hole in. If he was lucky, the pirates might think the chest was still buried.
After that Gwydion quickly backtracked up the beach and started to follow the path instead. He was at the foot of a high, snowy mountain range. The shrubbery was scant here, growing only between boulders. The ground was strewn with large boulders. A cliff loomed before him with a tricky path winding its way up the steep face. The narrow path winding up the steep cliff looked precarious and confusing. How did the maid carrying a baby climb this? Gwydion thought to himself looking upward and seeing the mountain range looming toward the beautiful blue sky. Carefully, Gwydion started edge up the path. The thin path ran along the top of a steep ridge, seeming to advance forever upward. A few meters above the beach, the lush topical jungle thinned into a more evergreen forest interspaced with low bushes. Unable to help himself, Gwydion glanced over the edge to see the steep cliff below him. The drop was sudden and looked very deadly. Gwydion kept one hand firmly on the stone wall.
Eventually, Gwydion reached the heights of the mountain range and snow and ice surrounded him. It was bitterly cold, and Gwydion was thankful for his thick cloak. A path, through the snow, lead onward. Plants and trees were scarce in the snowy reaches of the mountains, and he could see no sign of the pirates, maid or dragon. The deep-blue sky contrasted sharply with the brilliant white mountain peaks, and Gwydion had to admit, even while puzzled and annoyed, it was a beautiful sight. At one point the runoff from melting snows fed a tiny stream cascading down through the jumble of stones, and Gwydion paused to drink the clear clean water. Finally, with the sun now high over head, Gwydion reached the summit. The path lead into a cave, and nervously, Gwydion looked around. Surely by now he should have caught up? And if not, why weren't the pirates on the way back? He crept into the snowy cave, it was very large with thick icicles hanging from its entrance. Inside was very very dark.
Cautiously, Gwydion edged forward, until his toe felt the edge of a step. After a number of twists and lots of stairs, a single glowing crystal was a relief. Dim illumination showed each small landing. In the distance from the upward stairs, he could hear the murmur of what may have been voices. Making his way upwards, he soon emerged into another cave, this one had much more light filtering from the opening opposite him.
"Did you see her face when we tied her up?"
Gwydion almost stumbled backwards when he heard the voice moving towards him. The was loud laughter at the comment. He realised he had caught up to the pirates, and they were on their way back. Quickly he checked his belt. The pot of sleeping powder was almost empty, and he might need it for the dragon. While looking, he hesitated over the invisibly vial. Was it foggy enough? The cave was damp and humid, and he didn't have a lot of option. Tipping the vial up he watched it slowly, ever so slowly, drip down, catching it in his moth as he move to one side, pressing as close to the wall as possible. In his other hand he held the last handful of sleep powder. Just as the dancing lights of a torch bounced off the caves wall, he felt the tingle he was come to associate with magic. He held up one hand and was relived to see it simmering, almost invisible. As long as he held still, the pirates wouldn't see able to see him.
"It's just a pity the boy was so small. Can't be having such a burden on board."
Just then four large men rounded the end of the cave, and quickly moved past Gwydion. His handful of powder would be no good against all of them, and he didn't like his chances in a fight. He stood as still and thought as small as he could. It took only moments for the pirates to past by him, and as their voices dimmed, he ran out of the cave. Looking around, Gwydion could see clouds surrounding the small bit of land like a white, cottony sea. It gave him an the odd feeling of floating upon a endless ocean, despite the strange heat he could feel. The ground was moist from the constant presence of clouds. Charred stumps of trees somewhat spoiled the scene.
Gwydion crept forward. The maid was tied to a wooden pole in the open space. At her feet was the prince.
"Come back here! How dear you leave me!" The maid screamed. Her voice was whiny and painful. He was surprised that the baby was still quiet. The was a roar, and the dragon landed in the small space. It was massive, as big as the Keep, its large green bulk covered in thick scales. Its wings folded carefully down, while its three heads hissed and snapped at each other. Gwydion couldn't make out any actually words.
"Don't eat me! Eat the baby, eat the baby!" The maid was hysterical, but Gwydion looked on in horror as she still managed to kick the small bundle at her feet towards the dragon. The baby let out a loud long cry. Gwydion, panicking, threw to powder he still had in his hand at the dragon, which unfortunately was facing away and didn't even notice. However the maid did and screamed in his direction, "Help me! Untie me!"
The three heads of the dragon all dived for the baby at the same time, butting against each other and giving Gwydion precious seconds. He had the potion to make something larger, but that wouldn't help. The potion to fly, but again, not helpful. No sleep powder or shrinking solution left. Turning the dragon invisible would only make things worse. The small knife somewhere in his rucksack, which unless the dragon had a weak spot conveniently close to the ground. With no other choice, he pulled the storm brew from his belt. He could only hope it wouldn't hit him or the baby (he cared less about the maid after she had kicked the prince). Shouting, "Brew of storms, churn it up!" he flung the uncapped vial in the air, creating a graceful arch of potion. Instantly, a large black cloud formed over head, and forked deadly lighting bolts stabbed at the dragon, the ground, the already blacked trees. The booms and light flashes seemed directly out of a horror movie, and Gwydion simply curled up into a small a ball as possible. Seconds later, as suddenly as it had began, the storm cleared.
The dragon lay twitching on the ground, its hide dotted with numerous burn marks. The silence rang in Gwydion's ears, the after vision of bolts obscuring his sight.
As if to wake him, the high, loud cry of a baby sounded. Gwydion jumped forward, around the dragon, to see the prince resting on the ground between its dead forelegs. The bulk of the dragon must have protected him. The maid was not as lucky. Her body, burnt and limp, hung from the pole. Gwydion shuddered and avoided looking at her. She was clearly dead.
He picked up the baby. How did one comfort a baby? He had certainly never gotten any comfort from the Dursley's, and Manannan wasn't one to comfort anyone. Remembering Medusa, Gwydion soothed, "There, There. Shhh, Shhh, you're fine." A large screaming mouth made up most of its face, the tuffs of black hair contrasting sharply with the red skin. If this was normal he didn't understand the appeal of babies at all. He put the baby back down, and opened his rucksack. The baby clung to his leg, now mostly whimpering rather then screaming, pressing (but not really wiping) its snotty nose against his leggings. Taking the water skin, he drank greedily, before using some to wash the last of sleep powder off his hands. He then encouraged the baby to drink, now it was mostly hiccuping and quiet. He used a bit of the blanket the baby had been wrapped in to wipe its face, before dropping the dirty rag to one side.
Gwydion finally looked at the maid. Sure, she had been a nasty women, but he couldn't just leave her here. He pulled out everything including the thick blanket Medusa had given him and the knife. After cutting the ropes holding up the maids body, he rolled her in the blanket and then tied it up using the rope scraps. He deliberately tried not to think about anything. He then pushed the whole thing back into the rucksack. Then he looked at the dragon. It didn't deserve to die either. It hadn't seemed intelligent in the brief moments he had seen, and it had tried to eat the baby, but maybe it had been hungry and it wasn't like it could buy a cow or pig, it didn't have any money. Starting at the tail, he dragged the dragon into his rucksack as well, it's opening impossibly pulling in the dragon a hundred times its size. Then the pirates chest, the roll of silk, the ham, the now half empty water skin, the pouch with 20 gold coins, and the knife on top. Gwydion ate some of the bread and put some aside for the baby. The baby, by this stage, had fallen back to sleep. Gwydion himself felt hollow. It might have been to save someone, but he had killed two beings. If he hadn't used all the sleep powder on the pirates, or if he had been smarter or quicker, he might have been able to save everyone. Distantly, he wanted to curl up and weep, but the little prince wasn't safe yet, and they had to get back to Daventry. He couldn't go back down to the beach with the pirates, especially not with the baby.
He remembered the town which had been on the pirates map. It was his only hope of getting the prince home. But how was he to get there? He checked his belt. All he had left was some invisibility potion, some enlarging potion, the jar with the spider, which Gwydion blinked at a few times before putting back, the amber stone, and the flying potion, and the three healing potions from Medusa.
He realised the obvious choice was to use the flying potion and to fly north carrying the baby. The only problem was he had no idea how long the potion would last, and if it failed while he was midair he would kill both of them. But he didn't really have a choice, and he knew he wasn't thinking clearly.
Picking up the baby, he took a big gulp of the potion and immediately felt lighter. A few steps forward and then he pushed off the ground, causing him to fly up as if he weighted nothing at all. Clutching the baby to his chest he tried to direct the flight, by a mix of wishing it so and sort of pushing off the air around him. He fell forwarded, and was unable to hold in the pleased whoop of delight.
Aiming northwards, or at least away from where he could see the ship now he was above the clouds, Gwydion flew.
The wind tugged at his hair playfully, the clouds were like the sea spray, a refreshing coolness against his skin. The dragons land didn't just fall away like a cliff, but hung suspended in the air, held by only a thin strip of mountain, like a flat lollipop on a stick. Because he could, he cycled once around before heading northward, stay low to the ground just in case. The prince, awoken from Gwydion's happy glee, tucked his head against the older boys neck, clearly not enjoying it as much as Gwydion. The north side was even steeper then the south, and looked almost impossible to climb. It had taken him all morning to climb the mountain, but took only about five minutes to fly down. Skimming over the tree tops, Gwydion laughed, everything else forgotten for now. He was tempted to try looping and diving, but the little prince's fierce grip around his neck dissuaded him.
Much too soon for Gwydion's liking, he spotted a few roofs above the jungle. He slowed down and started to look for a place to land. He doubted the people of the village would appreciate him flying in. As if in agreement, the air started to feel heavier, or maybe he was heavier and the air was the same. Thinking it was a warning that the potion was running out, he dropped down between the trees, it would be a short walk from here.
The prince was defiantly happier back on the ground, but refused to let go of Gwydion, not that Gwydion could blame the little guy. In the last two days he had been kidnapped, held prisoner, almost sold, kicked and almost eaten by a dragon. And quietly, Gwydion was glad to have the heat of another body and against him, the little puffs of breath to remind him why he was here.
It was a short walk to the village. Once there, he hailed the first person he saw, a old women. "Hello!"
"Hello young man." The old women was bent with age, skin like leather, hands thin and spider like. She wore a wide brimmed straw hat, shading her face from the strong sun. Her face was dominated by a large hooked nose, but despite that she had a friendly appearance.
"I was hoping for a trip to Daventry for myself and my brother." He tried not to fidget as he lied.
"Mmm, you can ask at the docks, but the I know the Berner sisters are trading that way tomorrow, you can find them in the tavern."
"Thank you ma'am."
Gwydion decided to try the docks first. He wanted to be away from here as soon as possible, no only so he himself could go home, but also in case the pirates came looking for him. He didn't think they would, after all, he was meant to be dead, but they had seen him, and unless they thought he was a ghost they might come for pay back. The docks were empty of people except two old men fishing off the end of the pier. A stately ship was anchored just off shore, its side proclaiming it 'The Lady Rose'. After an annoying amount of small talk, the old men told him that most of the boats were out fishing and wouldn't be back until tonight, but as it was the high season most wouldn't be willing to travel to Daventry, a four day round trip, when there was still fish to catch. They also directed Gwydion to the Berner sisters. Gwydion thanked the men, and went to the tavern.
The tavern was open and airy, with a large balcony, and a few outdoor seats and tables. Two surprisingly slender women were sitting in the shaded area, piles of paper between them, arguing loudly. Both were blonde, the kind of colour which came from hours in the sun. They had naturally dark skin, a deep brown colour which seemed almost tinted purple in the light. Now he looked closer, the one had a faint vertical scar running the length of her face from left eyebrow to chin. The other sister was slightly taller and broader.
The scared one argued, "Traveling west will just end up taking more time then we can get from the ports there."
"This season, yes, but it is all about repeat custom."
"When have we every done more then broken even on the west? Not for the last 3 years!"
"So it will have an upswing soon!"
Gwydion, trying to head off an even bigger fight said, "Excuse me?"
Both women turned to face the boy, their vivid purple eyes taking in his high quality cloak and toddler in arms. The taller one straighten and said, "Yes?"
"I heard you are sailing to Daventry in the morning?"
"What's it to you?"
"I want to go to Daventry."
The scared one cut in, "Six gold pieces. Each."
Gwydion was pretty sure that was way too much. He tried, "Six gold for both of us."
"Eight for both, and you have to help on deck."
"Six for both of us, and I can help cook."
"What, and have you poison us? Eight for both and you stay below decks and out of the way."
That still seemed really high but, "Done."
"We leave at first light tomorrow. The ship is the Lady Rose. I'm Captain Berner, this is my sister who you will refer to as Sarge. You pay half now, half at Daventry."
Carefully, Gwydion fished out the pouch and counted the coins into the women's hand. After that, he went into the tavern. The tavern in Port Bruce didn't have rooms, but this place was much larger. Gwydion really wanted a bath, and the prince could do with a wash too. He was pretty sure it was wearing a nappy that needed changing. There was a serving man, rather then women, who Gwydion asked about rooms. There were rooms each of which had running water from a natural spring, and it included a meal for one gold piece. Gwydion also requested a wake up call, unsure if once he got to sleep he would wake early enough for the ship.
He headed upstairs, meeting a women on the way. She was a buxom brunet with a low cut dress but strict demeanour. On seeing the little Prince, her whole attitude changed, and she cooed at the boy. She smiled at Gwydion and asked if he needed anything.
"Um, you wouldn't have some nappies would you?"
"I can find some. My boys all grown up, and off to sea. Not like this little one, being so good for his brother. I'll bring up some food for you too, now off and wash."
"Yes, ma'am."
Gwydion did just that, washing both the baby and himself in a large bath in the room. He was happy to see taps of hot and cold water, even if the water was a little salty in taste. The little prince had fun splashing in the water, and said, "Bath! Bath! Splash! Splash!"
The lady came back when Gwydion was drying the boy down, just in time with clean nappies, which she then helped him put on, before dressing him in some of her sons old clothes. Gwydion then happily ate a full meal of fish and chips, and gave the prince a mash of tropical fruits he seemed to enjoy. He then tucked them both into bed, and waited for tomorrow.