Neytopia › Part 2: Noon › Chapter 15

Across the Middle Sea

The raven brought the giant into the city at midnight. He stole a sail from an abandoned ship and covered the giant with it. The giant walked on four feet to look like an elephant and thus fool the drunken sailors. Soon they boarded the ship and sailed away from the continent that had caused them both so much pain, headed for a continent that promised a new life.

The raven was exhausted from the journey across the desert, so he fell asleep at the ship. The sailors, intrigued by the raven’s cargo, took the opportunity to cut a hole and peep inside to see what the sail covered.

Immediately they began plotting.

They had sold stolen creatures from other smugglers before. Once the captain learned what the cargo was, he instructed the sailors to tie the raven’s hands and feet and throw him into the ocean. What they didn’t realize was that the raven wasn’t wrapped up in bandages because he had some disease, but because he was also some kind of monster.

The icy cold waters woke the raven up. At first he was disoriented, freezing and gasping for air. He burst out of the wraps and ropes that bound him and swam to the surface. He saw the ship sailing away from him and understood what was going on.

He was fucking furious.

It was a moonless night so the only light came from the few oil lanterns on the ship. When the raven flew back to the ship, all candles went out. The sailors and captain saw a black figure illumined only by the occasional thunder. They realized it had emerged from the sea and believed it was an ancient god that had risen from hell and now came for their souls. They fell to their knees and prayed for mercy.

The raven cut off their heads or fed them to the storm so they would freeze and drown. But he left the captain alive, who begged for his life and promised him riches. The raven held down the captain. He plucked the captain’s only eye and broke both his legs, but left him alive.

The storm exploded in size, as though it had feasted on the sacrificed sailors. The waves grew tall as mountains, the strong wind ripped the sails. Unable to command the ship, the raven and giant were left at the will of the elements, which crushed the ship. The giant clung to the largest part of the vessel, which kept him afloat. The raven stood on top of the giant to stay out of the cold waters. The raven could have flown away, but he refused to leave the giant behind. They carried with them the broken captain in a smaller chunk of the ship.

Finally they reached the shore and passed out from exhaustion. The next morning they built a campfire to warm themselves and ate some fruit. The raven looked at the giant smiling,

You know where we are, right?

The giant smiled and said,

We made it. We’re in the northern continent.

The city is a few weeks away from here. The worst is over now.

Hmm. Or was it?