Lost, Gained, Found

Something in the Forest

"Now, I don't know if you know this, but fire feels fear."

Everyone looks at the lanterns curiously, someone even shouts "BOO!" at the fireplace. There's a low chuckle from the crowd that fills the alehouse and surrounds the storyteller. There's no room to move, but I shove my way through, ducking under arms, squeezing my small frame between bodies, and ignoring the dirty looks from the patrons. It's nothing I'm not used to

"The lantern's flame flickered with anxiety beside me, fearing the worst after the first low rumbling roar that came from under us, someplace in the sea," said a loud voice in the centre of the crowd. He gives a deep guttural growl that fills the room. I can feel the suspense filling the rest of the space in this tiny pub. No one makes a sound, no one dares move. Not even to lift their drink to their lips. I mutter my 'excuse me's while slipping through the crowd of captivated sculptures. I only want to see my friend speak his tales.

"We're all staring out into the dead night, waiting. We were sitting ducks you see, no wind that night. But a storm was coming. Sky was gorgeous though, clear as anything and filled with light."

Eventually I made myself to the near the front, except for the ring around the speaker that was filled with crew members and the women they had spent a pretty penny on for the night, or women who were hoping they would. The speaker, who is known as Scrat, was stood on his stool with one bare foot on the table. Ol' Joe hasn't told him to respect the house yet, or one of the maids, because they're either lodged nearer the bar or stuck in a corner someplace. He hates the fishermen because they usually bring in a fight, but they bring in good money. There's no way for me to get into the inner circle, so I sit behind the crewmates and watch the deckhand from below, between wooden and human legs. They reek of fish guts and sweat. With all that water around them, they still can't manage a bath or clean clothes. I sit down on the floor, watching the speaker between the legs of the patrons.

"There were another roar," he makes this strange strangled screeching sound and contorts his face, standing hunched over and folding his fingers in a way unnatural to humans. Some swear he's part hag, but hags can't have children. The light of the fire dancing and quavers on his face and arms. He almost looks like the monster. My heart races, getting excited now while others look almost fearful. "But this time, it's below us," he says as he points and looks down at his feet. "The ship starts to sway gently and Skips, the captain," he gestures towards the bar where an orc sat, not at all paying attention to the story being told until the crowd parts and the eyes are on him.

He scowls at his deckhand. "Are yeh telling another one of yeh stories, boy? What teh fuck did I say? The boy pissed himself when teh fucking monster slithered to shore. It was a octopus, nothing else."

Scrat wilts, defeated, and the crowd starts to depart, some people mutter about going to Will's alehouse down the road because it's too packed in here. A voice in the crowd shouts how the captain ruined it. As everyone disperses, I get kicked in the side and someone falls on top of me. He lands hard and I cry out. Something clatters and clangs loudly on the floor a little ways off from us. "Fucks sake!" He gets up and grabs me by my wet collar. He yanks me in the air with ease. I smile at the scrunched face of the village blacksmith.

"You! You owe me a drink." My shirt digs into my armpits and I fear that he'll rip my only shirt. Sheepishly, I dig into my pockets and pull out one iron coin. He snatches it off me, drops me onto the ground and storms off.

"Are you okay?" asks the deckhand. I nod. "Here, come sit with us." He pulls me towards his table and gives me his seat. I'm more forced on it, but I'm grateful for a chair rather than the floor. Someone hands over a rag and I start patting myself dry. The ale of the patron drenches me. Dismas will probably explain that I'm using his money for the right things, nor believe me when I say that I had not been drinking.