Serev's Story

Chapter 1

Tad didn't like to be woken up by a bucket of cold seawater thrown on him. That may seem obvious, but until it happened, he had never really considered it. Of course, being woken up that way is usually an indication that things were not quite right, especially for the eldest son of a wealthy merchant. Tad sputtered and jerked upright in shock, shaking his head to get the water out of his eyes. He could feel wood under his deck and heard harsh laughter all around. When he could finally see, he realized he was on a ship, this wasn't good. He knew what that meant.

He scrambled to his feet and raced for the side of the ship, his stomach churning. He barely acknowledged the others on the deck, also soaked by water, nor the sailors howling at their discomfort. He barely made it to the gunwale before his guts let loose a torrent of vomit over the side. What little he has eaten last night, mixed with the great quantity he had drunk poured from him to the water below.

Far below, he realized. His mind could barely register the surprise he felt as his abdomen convulsed in spasm after spasm.

They were flying. Or, well, the ship was. What the hell had happened?

His stomach lurched a few more times before he sagged to his knees in exhaustion. Harsh commands behind him made him turn to see what was happening back where he had been awoken. A group of wet men and women lay or crawled on the deck, yells and kicks aimed their way. "Get up scum! On your feet!" came the bellowed command, though Tad couldn't tell from where it came with all the other yelling. As the others staggered to their feet, he noticed his friend Chisolm was there as well. Stumbling over to him, his feet still not steady, he helped him to his feet.

"What the hell is happening?" he gasped.

"I have no idea, where are we?" Chisolm mumbled. "I can barely see!"

"We're on a ship, and it is flying." Tad whispered.

"Huh?" came the unbelieving reply.

"No talking! Shut your yaps and get on your feet worms!" the imposing voice yelled again. A short and stocky man with a broad brimmed hat came forward, looking over the poor lot of humanity that stood cowering and dripping on the deck. Tad looked around and noticed that the crew was a motley sort, all armed with a variety of deadly looking weapons. Swords and spears gave way to harpoons and nets. One tall fallow near the edge of the deck had a huge hook almost as tall as he was, with a cruel barb on the end. He never wanted to get into a fight with any of them. Actually, other than a few childhood scuffles, he'd never been in a fight, and had never held a weapon larger than a knife.

"Welcome to the Ravenfeather!" the short man continued, "I'm Captain Lynch. Settle down, and things will be easier."

"Where the hell are we, and where are you taking us!" exclaimed Chisolm, always the belligerent one.

"And who are you?" Lynch asked in a soft voice.

"I'm Chisolm, my father is the dock master in Cannit, and if you want to keep docking there you better let us go!" Tad sidled away from his friend, he didn't see any way this would end well for Chisolm and as much as he liked his friend, he didn't want to be caught in the wake of it.

"Chisolm? No, that isn't your name." Lynch stated striding up to him.

"Ye-" Chisolm was interrupted by a slap that knocked him back a step.

"Your name is worm." Lynch stated flatly. "All of you are now named worm" his gaze slid over all of them, as the group look amongst themselves in fear. Tab felt like he wanted to throw up again, this wasn't how his life was supposed to go.

"What do you want with us?" a young girl spoke up, her voice shaking with fear, and her eyes staring at the deck. Tad recognized her, she was a serving girl at the tavern they had been drinking at the night before, though he couldn't remember her name.