This is a nightmare. A terrible nightmare. All of it. It seemed unreal, looking into Sacae’s now fake looking eyes. Seconds ago, they were beaming with hatred, rage, and murderous intent. But now, they seemed to not even reflect the morning light of Kolob that was coming into the room.


    Klintock dropped to his knees, holding his hand, and groaned, seeming to finally feel the pain. Keokin walked slowly into the room holding his arm, staring at the now lifeless body of Sacae. Flint roused Jael, she looked around the room somewhat dazed, then she fixed on me, panic in her eyes as she saw the sword sticking out of me.


    I seemed to suddenly realize it was there as well. Strange, very strange. Ow. That doesn’t feel… ow! I shakily held up my hand, waving off her worry.


    “Them...you got…gotta check… on them.” I pointed to the group. She looked conflicted, glancing between me and everyone else, then nodded and rushed off to help rouse Leola. Klintock looked up at me, nodded and did the same, pulling Sable and Lánn to their feet. Sable started running out of the room, but Keokin held up his hand, stopping her.


    “Wait, there’s still fighting upstairs. We need to wait for Zanataz.”


    “But look!” She pointed to me “We need Lanaea! I need to go!” Keokin shook his head.


    “It won’t do much good if whatever they’re fighting up there kills you first. We have Leola, Jael’s waking her up and she’ll keep us stable. She''s trained for this. Have a little faith. Wake up Céírde instead.” Sable glanced at me, then to the other injured group members, then groaned in frustration and nodded, running over to wake Céírde, lightly tapping her face.


    Keokin stepped into the room and closed the door crouching beside me, holding his twisted arm. “You’re not bleeding too much on the outside, hopefully you’re doing alright on the inside. How do you feel?” I thought about it.


    “Fi...” I coughed. Something about talking seemed to hurt and make me feel like I was going to throw up. I gave Keokin a shaky thumbs up, wiggled my shaky ring and middle finger, and pointed to Klintock. Get his fingers. Keokin nodded and moved, stepping over Sacae’s body and bent to pick up both of Klintock’s fingers. I let my head sag and tried to breathe as slowly as possible.


    Did all of that really just happen? I looked at Sacae’s body. His dead empty face, then to Morean’s. It still didn’t seem real. It couldn’t be. I looked at the group, Leola sitting up and holding her head, Klintock helped Sable pick up Céírde, then Lánn balled up some cloth for Klintock’s vacant fingers to try and staunch the bleeding. Jael hugged Flint and thanked him for pulling her aside. I felt a tickle on my belly and looked down to see a steady stream of blood coming from the wound.


    It was strange, looking at the sword in my stomach, I could see it, but...Ow! Only now was I beginning to feel it, and it was painful, with every tiny shift I could feel it move inside me, activating damaged nerves and possibly damaging new ones. I could even feel the weight of the sword pushing down into the wound, and the muscles flexing, clamping down on the blade. I did my best to stay still, but my hands were too shaky. I couldn’t help but groan through gritted teeth.


    “Get my pack! Sable throw it to me! Jael bring yours!” Leola yelled, catching her pack from Sable as she stumbled over to me, shaking her head slightly. Not me, Klintock, his fingers! I held up a shaky hand to wave her away.


    “Klinto...Klintock. Hand.”


    “Shh. Let me work.” Leola urged. She assessed my wound, pulling out the vial of concentrate from Jael’s pack and taking a deep breath, squinting as she held her head for a moment. “Ok, Croí, this is going to hurt. I need to pull the sword out, but your muscles are clamping onto it, trying to keep you from bleeding out. I need to pull it out and shove some concentrate in to start the healing, but I need to get it in deep so it can push out the internal bleeding, otherwise you’ll keep that blood in you and it’ll cause problems. The concentrate should fix any severed intestines. You ready?”


    She seemed to be talking to me, as well as talking herself through the process at the same time. I took several shallow breaths, then nodded. Leola passed me a thick piece of leather to bite on. “Bite down on this.” I bit down and she turned to Jael. “Take this with both hands and pull hard when I tell you. Try to keep it as straight as possible.” Jael nodded and grabbed the sword handle. I groaned as it wiggled inside me. Leola pulled out a thick needled syringe and dipped it in the concentrate then nodded to Jael.


    It didn’t come out fast, but it came out. I bit down hard onto the leather, as my muffled scream moved through the room. Leola immediately shoved the syringe into the wound and injected the red liquid. I groaned as I felt the burning sensation of the concentrate slowly moving around my stomach, and blood started gushing more and more from the wound as the concentrate pushed it out. Leola handed the syringe and bottle of concentrate to Jael. “He needs maybe one more shot, just a little at a time. Wait for the burning to stop, that means you need more.” I fell to my side, unable to keep myself upright, groaning and shaking with pain and discomfort.


    She hesitated, not wanting to leave, then glanced at the others and nodded to both of us, grabbed the second vial of concentrate and stood. She stumbled, holding her head and almost fell, but made her way to Klintock. She took his fingers from Keokin.


    I watched her realign them, checking to make sure where they fit back together and marking them with a small cut from a tool in her bag. Once satisfied, she used another tool to put a small amount of concentrate on one severed finger and slowly positioned it in place. Klintock flinched and squinted for several seconds as Leola kept his hand and finger aligned. She let go thirty seconds later and the finger stayed on. She grabbed the second finger and repeated the process.


    I could feel the burning stopping in my stomach and looked down, it didn’t look like the healing had reached my abdomen yet, but already I felt better, still in a lot of pain, but it was something I could at least deal with. I took the syringe from Jael with a shaky hand and nodded towards the door. She understood, hesitantly grabbing a hatchet from Sacae’s body and a knife from the floor. I stuck the syringe in the wound, wincing and pushed the plunger down gently, letting out some of the liquid, feeling the same burning sensation.


    I looked up to see Leola let go of Klintock’s hand then reach into her pack, pulling out several splints and some gauze. She made sure the wounds on his hand were healed before she splinted both fingers together, making sure they weren’t too tight, but were wrapped well enough that Klintock wouldn’t be able to bend them easily. She nodded to him, patting his shoulder then turned her attention to Keokin’s wrist.


    Keokin had pushed it and pulled it while it was numb, hoping all the bones had fallen back into place. Leola checked it, decently satisfied with his work. Feeling around the damaged area, she was able to determine most of what broke and how. She had Flint and Sable hold him steady as she pulled and twisted the bones back into place. He bit down hard on the roll of leather Leola had put in his mouth. Once done, she splinted his arm and slung it over his shoulder.


    “Unfortunately, I’m not Lanaea, I don’t know exactly how to fix this, but I’ve got it started.” She closed her eyes and groaned as she held her head for a moment. Céírde was doing the same. We’re stable for a moment looks like, but we need Lanaea. Leola’s injured; head injury might be affecting her thinking. I looked down to see a slight red glow from the concentrate beginning to fade nearly a quarter inch into my stomach. The bleeding hadn’t stopped, but it was good enough that I could move around without terrible pain.


    I listened carefully to the sounds above deck. The fighting seemed to have subsided. Maybe the fighting’s over. No way to tell what they were fighting or who won. But we need to get Lanaea in here to help Leola. If nothing else, we need to let them know we’ve been attacked. I stood and moved over to the corner and pulled my hatchet from the wall, heading to the door.


    “Wait Croí. We need to stay here till Cairen arrives.” Keokin said. I nodded.


    “Yeah, but it sounds like the fighting has stopped, or slowed at least. If they won, they need to know we need help. If they lost, we need to know what to expect.”


    “But what if the enemy just doesn’t know we’re down here? You could alert them to our presence. Besides, your stomach isn’t fully healed.” Leola challenged.


    “If whatever it was managed to beat the crew, we don’t stand a chance and they’ll find us eventually anyways. Better to know that sooner than later. My stomach’s good enough, at least to go above deck for a moment, thanks to you, but we need Lanaea.” I turned and walked over to the door, taking a last glance at Keokin and Leola. Keokin looked frustrated but nodded in agreement. Leola looked annoyed but went about making sure everyone else was alright.


    I opened the door slightly, peeking into the galley. There was nothing there. Nodding to Jael, I left the room, feeling the pain of my open wound as I moved towards the stairs. I could hear talking at the top, even a laugh. I peeked up to see a humanoid figure. I kept still and stared at them.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    If they’re Cianían, we should be alright. The figure turned slightly, and I saw the two points on their ear. I breathed a small sigh of relief but had a thought. What if Sacae being loose wasn’t an accident? What if he had help? This could be a mutiny. I decided to creep up the stairs as quietly as I could, hoping to see Cairen or Edorin. Instead, I heard Lanaea yelling orders to someone.


    “It’s in the first drawer down on the dresser to the left of the first bed! Get at least two handfuls!”


    “Yes ma’am.” I heard footsteps and Danith appeared at the top of the stairs. He looked down, surprised to see me, then his eyes trailed to my hand on my stomach and the blood trail leading down my shirt and pants. “Croí?!” He turned and tapped the man at the top of the stairs. “Get Lanaea over here!” I shook my head.


    “We need Lanaea down there. Sacae attacked the group. We’re alive but he killed Morean.” Danith and the other crewman’s eyes went wide, then a shock of pain went through Danith’s.


    “Ok, come up here and see Lanaea. I’ll go check on your group.” He ran down the stairs and I pushed above deck.


    I looked for Lanaea but couldn’t ignore all the carnage. Looking around, I could see dozens of bodies, body parts, and blood all over the deck. I fought against my stomach to keep myself from vomiting.


    Several crewmen were looking over the dozens of dead for things that could be useful, then stripping the clothes from those with fancy uniforms, before tossing them in a pile on one side of the deck. Others were washing off the blood, pushing it into the ocean. I quickly turned away.


    I had to find Edorin, or Lanaea, or Cairen, anybody to help the group.


    To my right, I could see Lanaea working on someone. I couldn’t see who it was, but I started moving towards her. When I got close, I noticed two bodies lying side by side next to her, Cianíans. I didn’t know either of them by name. I’d seen them around, seen them laughing and smiling at the tournaments, but I’d never asked their names. I felt sad knowing that I would never get the chance. Lanaea turned and shouted.


    “Where is my shite Danith?!” She was working on Cairen. He had a slash on his upper torso, and two stabs in his stomach that she was applying concentrate to. He looked like he was in pain, and the wounds looked much deeper than mine had been but at least he was alive. Her face turned to shock as she saw me. “Croí? By Dían’s mercy!” I held up my hands.


    “I’m alright. Don’t worry. How’s he?” I motioned to Cairen. He chuckled as a small stream of blood dribbled from his mouth. Lanaea looked stunned.


    “He’s uh... He’ll be fine if I get some gauze and disinfectant!” She shouted towards the stairs. “Then he needs some concentrate to heal him up. What happened? Where’s the rest of the group?” She moved my shirt aside, looking at the wound, then checked the rest of me quickly, her long red leather gloves spattered with blood.


    “Sacae attacked us.”


    “Sacae?! Where is he?” Edorin asked as he walked up to the side of us, purple vanishing from his angry eyes as he was looking downstairs. Footsteps came running up and Danith emerged, holding gauze and disinfectant.


    “He’s dead. So is Morean.” I answered. “But when he’s alright.” I pointed to Cairen while addressing Lanaea. “We could use some help.” She nodded, sighed, and accepted the supplies from Danith. Danith turned to Edorin, whose eyes had softened.


    “It’s true sir, Sacae escaped and killed Morean. No Ager casualties, by Aebhsean’s grace, but they got banged up.” Edorin nodded to Danith and pointed downstairs.


    “Get down there. Let them know they’re safe now, then I want you figuring out how in the Other Sacae got free.” Edorin ordered. Danith ran below deck.


    I refocused on the bodies surrounding us. They looked human. Some were dressed in fine blue and gold uniforms, most stained with blood or missing limbs. Others were dressed haphazardly with strange torn clothing or rags. All their faces were gaunt and dry looking. Their lips were shriveled so much that they revealed their discolored teeth and gums. Their eyes were wide open and terrifying. They had strange lesions all over their skin. Some of them looking like small red mushrooms.


    Who are these people? What’s wrong with them? What’s going on? I thought, feeling dazed, keeping my eyes on the deck of the ship to avoid any more of the terrifying bodies.


    I sighed and rubbed my stomach. It felt strange, off somehow. My body felt tingly, mostly my lips for some reason. I felt Edorin’s hand on my shoulder. I glanced up at him.


    “It’s alright now Croí, breathe.” At first, I was confused, but then I noticed I’d been hyperventilating. When did that start? I took two deep breaths, shaking my head and looking at Edorin’s chest, then his face.


    “Captain Edorin sir?” I asked. Edorin looked down at me, his eyes again turning from purple to blue.


    “What is it Croí?”


    “What’s going on? Why did they attack us? Who were they?” I asked, glancing down at a nearby body. Edorin took a deep breath and sighed.


    “A mistake. When we came even with the smaller ship, The Glory.” He pointed over to a smaller ship really close to the stern of the Pony. It was a dark color with white sails. Very simple looking, with no extra designs, or accents of color aside from the three men slumped over the railing with arrows in their chests.


    Edorin continued. “The sails on The Wonder were damaged. They said they had been attacked by pirates and were left stranded, needing aid.”


    His eyes turned purple again as he looked to another crewman on The Wonder. The crewman glanced over at Edorin, saluted with a small nod, and rushed off. “When I talked to the Captain of The Glory, Tellis didn’t pick up any lies. But with the Captain of The Wonder, I wasn’t getting anything coherent from him. Just pure intensity. Hate, fear, sadness, joy, just for a moment, then it cleared. I should have recognized it sooner. But the Captain of The Glory was fresh, I didn’t see the eyes until it was too late.”


    Edorin looked annoyed for a moment, pointing to one of the bodies. “Those weird looking mushrooms, see them?” He asked.


    “Yeah.” I said simply.


    “They’re called Lobhadh Aigne (Luh-vedg Ae-g-nuh). They grow on the Trial Islands.” The Islands?! I looked down at the small mushrooms growing from the face of a wide-eyed man. All the way out here? “They breathed in the spores of Lobhadh. Within a day, it changed their brains. Small things at first; a twitch, or a giggle during a serious moment. Eventually, they’re nothing like who they used to be. It doesn’t kill them, it takes over. Some, like their Captains, become cunning and are able to act normal enough to close the distance. Then the others come into play. Feral, strong, depraved, and fearless. They’re formidable, even for the likes of us.”


    I was terrified. This is a small taste of what is waiting for us on the Island. I gulped. I need to talk to Céírde and Flint about these things. Find out if there’s any kind of cure. I don’t want to end up like… I looked over at the man. His skin was covered in open wounds, sores, and lesions, with Lobhadh sprouting from his skin in patches.


    “Wait, you said spores…” I said, worried. Edorin held up his hand to interrupt me.


    “We’ve checked them already. Any Lobhadh mature enough to bear spores was thrown overboard almost as soon as the fighting stopped. Lanaea will be mixing up potions for the crew later.”


    “Cures?” I asked. Edorin shook his head.


    “There isn’t one that we know of, but concentrate can help your body get rid of it. There are potions to slow its spread while the body deals with it.” No cure?... Gods…


    “We lost Landae (Lawn-day) and Hanaes (Hawn-ae-sh).” Edorin said with a small pause as he pointed downstairs. “And Morean, unfortunately. They were excellent crewmen.” He sighed. “Besides that, with all that blood in the water, we’re going to be attracting a feeding frenzy soon.”


    “On the other hand…” Cairen started, interrupted by a wince of pain as Lanaea injected more concentrate and wiped him again with disinfectant. “We get… a wee peek… at any loot… aboard the other ships.”


    “Great. Now shut up you jolly idiot.” Lanaea warned.


    “Aye miss.” Cairen said, miming tipping a hat to her. Edorin looked over the two dead crewmen. He took a long deep breath, a momentary expression of sadness flickering on his face, then turned to me.


    “We could...We could use Sable, if she’s not hurt.” I thought back on the fight, I couldn’t remember her being injured too seriously.


    “She should be fine.” I said.


    “I’ll be the judge of that.” Lanaea interjected. “I’ll head down there as soon as I’m done with this big baby.” Cairen laughed then groaned, glaring at Lanaea playfully. Edorin grabbed my shoulder and led me to the door.


    “Go wait with the others. Come up after Lanaea clears you and check in with me. Tell Keokin I would like a report when he’s cleared.” I walked back down into the room. Leola immediately pulled me over and started checking on my wounds, satisfied that the cuts on my face from Sacae’s punches were nothing serious. She pulled off my shirt to check the stab wound.


    I looked over to find Sable sitting with Lánn in the corner, who was leaning on Sable’s shoulder, crying. Sable was holding her and rubbing her back gently, eyes seeming glazed over with shock. Keokin was talking with William in the other corner. Flint was comforting Jael near the door. Klintock was out in the galley where he had dragged the two bodies and was cleaning the blood off the weapons with Céírde. I looked over to William. What happened to him? He’s like a completely different person.


    “It might be best not to use concentrate for the rest of this. Lanaea knows what to… uh…” Leola held her head, breathing. “She knows what to do.” I grabbed her shoulder.


    “Are you ok?” She started shaking her head then winced.


    “No. I think I have a concussion or something. Head hurts so much.” She glanced over at where Sacae’s body used to be, then turned away, breathing heavily.


    “But Leola.” I spoke quieter. “Are you ok?” Her bottom lip quivered for a second and she pursed her lips to stop it.


    “I’ll be fine, I just need something to do or focus on.”


    “Lanaea will be here in a moment, until then we still have cleanup and healing to do. When that’s all done then we can evaluate our mental states.” Keokin interjected. I nodded, patting Leola on the shoulder as I went out into the galley to retrieve and clean my weapons.


    Admittedly, I was curious about William. It was strange to see him like this. Crying, sitting balled up in a corner. Like he was terrified. Granted Sacae was terrifying, and I couldn’t move for a good portion of the fight, but he claimed to have been a fighter all his life, so this shouldn’t have bothered him. There must have been something else going on with him. Klintock handed me a hatchet and knife.


    “Thanks. How’s the hand?” I asked. He shrugged.


    “No big deal really. Occasional twinges of pain but Leola said that’s good, means the nerves are lining up so I should still have some feeling in them. How’s your stomach?” He seemed unphased. Most everyone else was crying, shaking with fear, or wearing a blank face, but he was acting like nothing had happened, maybe even happier than he was before.


    “It’s… good, I guess. I’m gonna wait for Lanaea to do the last bit of healing.” I looked over at Céírde, she looked exhausted, then suddenly her eyes widened, and she bent over, throwing up onto the floor. She fell backwards to a sitting position, groaning as she held her head. “Are you alright?” I asked standing over her. She looked at me, looking tired and confused.


    “Everything. It’s all. Lot is.” She groaned, then focused on what she was trying to say. “Everything… is… spinning. So… tired.” Leola sat down against the door frame.


    “You too? I keep forgetting where we are.” Forgetting where we are? Are they ok? What do I do? I heard footsteps and turned to see Lanaea.