Bars. The old bastard had put his own son behind bars. Daedalus cursed his father's name. "Be careful what you wish for, son of Arvad." The prince froze up. He looked about to see Inglathor, lord of the castle and close friend to his father, standing with his hands on his hips. He scurried to the darkness in the corner of his cell.

"Always a scared little runt, you've been. Just like your father." The prince lunged at the bars, making a loud noise that echoed through the cavernous dungeon. "Your line is stubbornly predictable. It's honestly defeating. I almost didn't come." "What do you want, Inglathor!"

The nobleman looked into the eyes of the fortunate son. "So far, you've proven to be remarkably similar to the king in almost every respect." The prince skulked. "I'm nothing like him." Inglathor shook his head. "You're everything I knew in the man for 25 years." He said. "But you can be different." "There is but one change he needed make, one singular decision that would've made everything your father is into a hero of men." The prince had wide eyes and open ears. "He could've listened to me."

Daedalus sat down. "Well, tell me what you will, old man. I hardly think some advice will make a difference at this point. He's stripped me of every friend and every joy that I had, and thrown me in prison." "You're the son of the king! The same blood that carried eternity's fire back from the pits of Angmar flows through your veins. You have everything you need." The prince scoffed. "To do what? Sail 500 miles away and amass an army?" "More or less, yes. I'll provide you with a ship and a small crew. The rest, I trust, is in your blood."

"Why would you do such a thing for me?" Asked the prince. The nobleman sighed. "There is evil stirring in the world, and I can see it in your father, in our kingdom. I believe evil forces have their hands around this throne. And you, with your youth and your zeal, are the only one who can lead our people against it. But his eye is ever watchful here. He will move mountains just to stifle you. The only way to plot against him is to get far enough away that he can no longer hope to reach you."

"I don't know how to thank you for this, Inglathor." Said the prince, as the lord began undoing the lock. "I don't know why you think you should, son of Arvad. Tis a terrible responsibility I have laid at your feet."

That night, under cover of darkness, the prince made his way back down to the winery. He hid behind the statue in the cutout as the two guards went past, but when he entered the cellar he did not turn the lamp on. He had been through there many times before, and knew the layout well. He made his way cautiously along, feeling and remembering, until he reached the wine case at the back. He pulled it slowly open, and brought it as closed as he could behind him.

He made his way down the icy tunnel, until he reached the stream. There, he turned left to go through the invisible doorway, and popped out onto the grassy hill leading to the shore. In the distance someways was a good-sized sloop with four men on it and all it's lamps put out. The prince ran as fast as he could to get on board before any patrol boats came around.

When he'd climbed into the boat, the sail immediately came down. There was a favorable wind that night, and soon they were flying fast as they could to the south. One of the patrol boats spotted them, and sent up flares. They simply kept going as fast and as straight as they could until they reached open ocean. There'd be questions, no doubt. But for now, the prince was finally free.

The Crow groaned to life as it began drifting away from the port. The dwarves and many of the northmen were grouped up round the bowsprit, chanting and singing. There, the little green bard sat, playing shanties on his viola. The northmen stamped in time:

We'll all go down to Forochel,

Where the ice and the vikings dwell!

We'll strip the crown right off the king,

Then again this song we'll sing!

Many of the northmen loved and screamed that chorus, thus these were the only lyrics one could actually make out over all the stamping and cheering. Soon, however the crowd began to hush back to front. As catnap brought the music down and eventually stopped playing, only one dwarven voice (And set of feet) could be heard from the middle of the crowd.

And then we'll build,

And then we'll drink,

And then we'll… get…

Poor Murin trailed off as he, too realized what was going on. The captain had made his way through the group, and more than half of it had already dispersed. "Sorry, lads." He said. "I need that bard." The remaining group started groaning and whining as they all went their separate ways about the ship. Catnap, still holding his instrument and bow, looked up at the stern commander. "What is it?" He asked. The warlord did not say anything. He simply led the way as he brought the wizard down to the lower decks.

Catnap had not been to the lower decks yet. He was aware of some things they used the lower decks on ships for, but nothing that would have filled him with a sense of ease at being ushered down there. Soon, they'd reached a thick wooden door with a great metal deadbolt. The captain produced a jangly set of keys and inserted one.

The bolt opened with a mighty CHUNK! And the pair entered. Before them was a long table covered in maps and surrounded by all the cleanest and most well-dressed men aboard the ship. "And who is this, now? You run off on the meeting just to bring an outsider back with you?" Said an old man, whose face had long ago wrinkled into a permanent frown. The captain pulled the wizard along and stood him next to his chair as he sat down.

"Gentlemen." He said. "This is catnap." The wizard was very uncomfortable. "He is everything ye're not. He is pure, untainted by whatever blackness corrupts ye's blood." The group looked bewildered. "Now, at his expense, I've had ta bring him into this den of filth, ta give me the strength not to kill some of ye right here an' now." He looked directly at the old man. His eyes were fierce and angry.

"Are you serious?" Said the old man, offended. "I am more serious in my conjecture than ye've ever been about anythin' in yer miserable life, Luther." The old man stood up. "I don't- WE don't have to take this. This meeting is adjourned." The rest of the table started to rise and gather their things. A hatchet flew into the door like a bullet, narrowly missing some of the officers and imbedding in the door. BANG! The whole room went silent. "Sit down." He directed that at the old man, but the entire room quickly obliged.

Gilvard looked to his wizard. "Play some music please, lad." He said. "Somethin' ta ease the spirit." Catnap nodded and began to serenade the group with a romantic sonata. "Listen." Said the warlord, turning to address his officers. "Our dwarven friend tells me of a secret passageway through th' blue mountains." He pointed to it on the map. "It connects th' river on one side, through the mountain, an' back out into th' ocean on the other side, see. We'll save maybe a week that way, an' keep clear of pesky northern trade routes. Ye see?"

Old man Luther sighed. "And suppose this dwarven fellow has given you the runaround?" The remark stirred the group and they were soon murmuring amongst themselves. Gilvard was mad. "Do you think me so weak that a dwarven hired hand will feed me a lie I'm sure ta find out? Maybe if he'da brought this ta ye instead, then I could believe it!"

Then the wheelman spoke out. "Sailing up the luhn is going to be difficult." He said. "We may give up the voyage for it." This stirred the room even more. Soon everyone was trying to speak out of turn. 'You know what, I'm tired of the disrespect around here!' Came a voice from the table.

Soon the entire room was in an uproar. Gilvard pounded the table. The old contrarian looked like he was going to throw a chair, or have a heart attack. All the other well-dressed men about the table were either yelling or beginning to physicalize their anger. Catnap knew what he had to do, but it really annoyed him having to be the one to do it. "Hey!" He called over the commotion, but they could barely even hear his tiny voice. All of a sudden, his shadow eclipsed the torches about the wall and a dread hung over his booming voice. "HALT."

Everyone stopped. They looked at the twink standing innocently in the corner. "How'd yew do that?" Someone asked. "Do what? Look, I was thinking, why don't you just talk to the dwarf? I mean, surely if he's lying to you his story wouldn't hold up to scrutiny." Everyone murmured peacefully about the suggestion. The captain smiled at the little mediator.

Soon the dwarf named Durin II was in the conference room. The old man had described all the events preceding with excessive detail. "...So for the benefit of the authority, please describe the passageway, and your affiliation with the passageway." Heads turned. The dwarf was half asleep by this point. He jolted to life with a snort. "I'm sorry, that guy is really boring." Gilvard laughed. 'He is!' "Anyway, I have many family and friends in the Blue Mountains. They have not only created a passageway large enough for this very ship, but they have also the provisions to allow us to resupply, refuel, and recuperate while the ship is completely invisible to the outside!" The officers seemed to like this, if the murmuring was any indication.

There was a great bump. On the waves everything had constantly been moving about, but this was more than large enough to get their attention in spite. "What was that?" Said catnap. "We've probably just made it into the open ocean where the waves are bigger. It's no big deal." Said the old man. There was another bump. Smaller than the first, but not by much. "No," Said the captain. "We'd made it into open ocean almost an hour ago!"

The entire group rushed to the door. As soon as it was open they could hear wind howling and men screaming. They were in the midst of a great storm on the high sea. The captain quickly disappeared into the fray. The rest of the officers started immediately for their sections. Catnap didn't have a section, so he wasn't entirely sure what to do about the storm. He knew of a couple spells that might help, but felt like he'd already got too close in the meeting earlier.

Soon though, he was given charge as Durin II ran up to him with an extra bucket. "We've got ta empty the water from the bow!" He yelled over the rain as one of the buckets was thrust into the wizard's hands. "Follow me!" The two tiny figures made their way treacherously along the rocking boat. As soon as they started down the steps, catnap could see the floor of water almost halfway up the stairs.

"How is there so much?!" Yelled the wizard. "There must be a hole somewhere!" Answered the dwarf. "Just start dumping buckets, catnap! I'll find it!" Before catnap could process everything Durin's shiny head disappeared underneath the water. The wizard quickly filled his bucket and ran up the steps.

Stepping out into the air, the little mariner was immediately sprayed head to toe with freezing cold water. His feet slipped on the wet planks as he stumbled his way over to the right side and dumped his bucket. As he did, the ship rocked to the right, and the wizard's face was less than a foot from the waves. He almost stumbled over, but was caught by the old quartermaster, who also had a bucket. "Yew got to be more careful than that, mate!" Catnap nodded at his elder lifeline. "Thank-" "No time for that, master. Do the same for anyone!" Then he gestured to the steps as he dumped his own bucket.

The captain was faring no better. He went station to station, trying to direct and lend a hand wherever needed. But the entire ship needed him, so no matter where he went something was sure to be going wrong on the other side of the boat. He made his way to the wheelman. "Ye've no idea how to take a storm, ye bastard! Go INTO the waves! Not around them!" The wheelman was shaking. "Sorry c-captain! Its j-just… r-r-really co-cold." The warlord sighed and threw his own coat around the poor sailor.

Catnap hurried back to the bow. Still no sign of the dwarf on the surface, and the water seemed higher. He sensed trouble immediately. Jumping into the water, he found the dwarf passed out next to a plug he'd fabricated for a gash in the hull. He quickly swam over and pulled the dwarf out. The quartermaster was filling his bucket when the pair surfaced. "Bloody hell, what were yew doin' down there?" The wizard was frantic. "Go dump your bucket!" The old man noticed the unconscious dwarf. "Is he-" "Just go!" Yelled the wizard. "I'll take care of him."

"Don't you die on me, you bastard." He said. He placed his hands on the dwarf's chest, and they began to glow blue. The wizard began whispering an incantation as quickly as he could form the words in his mouth. "Cheb cín nen Ulu nin hedir, a on hon chwest!" Water came spewing out from the dwarf's mouth and he began to hack and cough.

The pair laid out puffing. The quartermaster returned to fill another bucket. He looked at the dwarf to see if his chest was moving. As soon as he could tell both were still alive, he had them on their feet in an instant. "Good of yew to survive, mates. But the bow's still got water." He gave the pair a shove to get them going and set off to dump his bucket. The dwarf looked at catnap. "You saved my life." He said. "Don't mention it." The wizard replied as he filled his bucket. "But what did y-" "No literally, don't mention it." He started up the steps. "To anyone." The dwarf scratched his head.

The worst of the storm had seemed to pass. They had seemingly sailed straight through the very heart of a fairly massive cell moving towards the coastline, but the Crow held her own. She'd seen far worse things than most men aboard had ever. The captain made his way about, shivering. The next time Cynac the quartermaster poked out to dump a bucket, he stopped him. "Take over command for me, please lad." The old man dumped his bucket and looked about. "Seems conditions have improved." The warlord nodded. "Where is the little bard?" Cynac gestured to the steps leading to the bow, and soon the wizard had popped up in similar fashion, holding his own bucket.

The pair smiled when they saw each other. When the wizard had dumped his bucket, the warlord made no hesitation picking him up and carrying him along to the captain's quarters. The dwarf popped up not long after and, much to his dismay, realized he was the only one left bucketing water.

Gilvard set his muse down and shut the door behind him. He drew curtains on all the windows and pulled out a privacy screen from the wall. "Ye got a change of clothes, lad?" He asked as he stepped behind it. "Ye might get sick stayin' soaked like that." Catnap was quite soaked, but truth be told, he would've been fine to stay like that. He was more worried about the furniture and the carpet than anything else. "Yeah I just have them over here…" He said, moving to obscure his silhouette. He produced his wand, and with a flourish and a FLOOF! He dried and changed the color of his cloak and hat.

The captain emerged from the privacy curtain with dry clothes. "Well that was fast." Catnap looked around awkwardly. "I dress light." The captain sneezed. "You alright there?" Asked the wizard. "Oh, it's nothin'. Jus' needa cuppa tea is all." He sneezed again. Every time he sneezed, catnap's arm burned.

"What!?" Cried the king. "Find him!" He was furious. His face was red. General Kimov, decorated war hero and leader of the security division was knelt at his feet. He would soon face brutal punishment for letting the prince escape. "He was last seen by the scouts sailing south!" The king planned many a punishment for the young defector. "Take the Katya, Nina, and the Mascha! I want my son returned to my kingdom!" "Thy will be done my lord!" Cried the noblemen.

The three great brigantines of the northern kingdom groaned and rattled to life for the first time in ages gone by. They were full-staffed, with some of the castle's best generals aboard each. They had 24 guns apiece, and they tore across the water with their impressive 19-sail arrays. At the helm of the Mascha was commander Hann, a longtime bitter enemy of Gilvard the small. He had won many awards in the course of his battles with the warlord.

The ships tore past the scouts. They split off into a fork, with the Nina on the left, the Katya on the right, and the Mascha down the center. They were to send up flares if they found anything. Some of the crew aboard the Katya began to sing.

Wayward men upon the waves,

The deep blue sea calls us to pray.

For when we rest upon the ground,

There's folks to hearken to the sound

Of the bells that-

"Alright, alright! Enough of that!" Cried captain Finnwick. "I need not remind yew lads, that music is still illegal in the northern kingdom. Committed a capital offense with that verse already, yew hav." The crew groaned. "Why don't yew bugger off, old man. We're not in the northern kingdom anymore!" The crewmen started to cheer him on. The captain drew his sword and held it to the speaker's neck. Everyone hushed. "While you're aboard the Katya you are in sovereign territory of king Arvad III of Forochel. And while in sovereign territory of the king, you're subject to all the protections, privileges, and restrictions the king hath decreed." There was a penetrating silence as the captain returned his blade to it's sheath. Most of the crew just stared at him.

The sun had finally come out again. The sea stretched out magnificently before the wizard as he laid on the bowsprit, plucking lightly at his viola. He still didn't know what exactly it was about the figurehead that made him so happy, but this was definitely his favorite part of the ship. He came up with a delightful little piece for the plucked strings. He was going to write it down, but one of the dwarves, Thorn, seemed to be looking for him. "Bard?" Said he. Catnap sighed.

"What can I do for ya?" The dwarf looked left to right, and said low: "I hear you're somethin' of a medicine man." The wizard rubbed his temple. "Reports may have been exaggerated." "What should I do about this?" Thorn held his lips apart, revealing two teeth turning brown. "Burin tells me it could be some kind of omen!" He said, after finally letting go.

"That's not-" The wizard gagged. "That's so disgusting… Look, I can tell you what that is but only if you swear you're not going to tell everyone I'm a medicine man. I'm not a medicine man!" The dwarf seemed to look through him. "Then wha-" "I'm a bard!" He yelled, holding up his instrument. "I'm a- I don't… even really know. But not a doctor!"

The pair stared at each other awkwardly for a moment. "So what i-" "You have scurvy. There is a massive bucket of lemons in the hold specifically for preventing exactly what is happening to you. Go eat some." The dwarf bowed quickly and ran off down the steps. Catnap looked out over the sea. He couldn't believe how many miles he'd gone without wondering what the hell he was doing.

"What the hell are you doing?" Yelled the old man. "We must turn back if you're sick! We're not even halfway to the next stop, and the next nearest port would still be further!" Gilvard's fist pounded the table. Despite his weakness it still came down with tremendous force and shocked the room. "Ye think me weak? Ye think I should run and hide back at Eryn Vorn from a cold? I think not. We will continue on." The captain's eyes were sunken. He had cracked lips and pale skin.

The old man threw his hands up in frustration. "You're incredible! You've always been mad, but this is a step too far. If you do not listen to me, to us!" He gestured at the others in the room, many of who nodded in agreement. "You are going to die. We must turn back!" The captain stood up. "No. There is only one thing I need."

Catnap had never been up in the crow's nest before. Carved into the mast just above the end of the ladder were the words 'Crow's crow's nest!' and a crude representation of a smiling face. The view was dramatic from up there. He would've believed he found a new favorite part of the ship if not for the nagging paranoia of slipping on the wet planks of wood and tumbling over the side when the ship rocked.

As soon as the ship rocked, Lorn the dwarf popped his head up the ladder. "Mr. Bard?" Catnap nearly jumped clean over the railing. "Please!" He said, grasping onto the wood with a death grip. "Where do you people keep coming from!" The dwarf giggled. "Oh- right! The captain requests your presence!" "The captain?"