Sebastian POV

  The centurion Sebastian is seasick. The storm is rough, throwing the ship around like a toy boat. He travelled a day by cart to the White Harbour and bought passage there to the metropolis. This ship is bringing a cargo full of whale oil. It should only take two more days to arrive.

  He grins to himself thinking of how spooked the maggoty crew was to let fifteen bodies stay in their hull. As if the dead are a danger.

  The captain seemed to be cut from a different cloth. The way the captain’s blue eyes peered into Sebastian's soul reminded him of general Valerius.

  Sebastian pukes in the bucket again, he can barely keep anything in. Especially the stinking fish this crew eats. The ship keeps going side to side, side to side. Driving Sebastian to madness. He laughs to himself wondering why he thought this trip would be a breeze. He should’ve risked land travel. Surely bandits are no match for an experienced centurion.

  He sighs and looks at the scroll that Valerius entrusted him with. He can’t believe she gave him such a vital piece of papyrus. It was so important it couldn’t be sent by pigeon or by any ordinary messenger. One of her most trusted centurions had to, and she chose him of all people. Him.

  He'll keep that seal intact even if it costs him his life!

  Sebastian hears knocking on the door, it’s the captain. This sweet man gave Sebastian the guest quarters. Usually reserved for nobility. Every ship had to have such a quarter, it’s mandated by the senate.

  He hears the captain's noble voice, “Centurion Sebastian, is everything alright in there? The cook is serving our evening meal and you have neglected to join me. One would expect a soldier to be more mindful,”

  Sebastian could hear the amusement in the captain’s voice. Sebastian responds, “Y-yes, well uhm I have never been on a ship before, I think I am seasick.”

  The captain snickered, “Yes, that seems painfully obvious. Come up to the deck. You’ll only get sicker if you cower from the sea,”

  he could hear the captain scratch his fingers, a tick the captain doesn’t seem to be aware of.

  The captain continues, “If you stand at the bow of the ship and anticipate the waves your sea sickness might subside.”

  Sebastian sighs and hoists himself up from the ground. He opens the door, and follows the captain above deck. Exposing himself to the ongoing storm. The smell of the salty sea fills his nose and seawater is sprayed onto his face as he stumbles his way across the deck. The crew of thirteen is hurriedly working on the ship to stay on course. Some are working harder than others. But none get to have dinner at such a time. That is reserved for the captain and his guest.

  Sebastian feels the urge to puke again, he groans and clumsily grabs the railing of the ship to puke overboard.

  He peers into the dark waters below and sees four yellow eyes staring back. The size of fists. All the colour drains from his face.

  He runs from the railing screaming, “Monster! Monster in the water! Ring the bell!”

  The crewmembers turn pale when they hear the bell ringing. Some run, some hide, and a few grab weapons to stand and fight.

  But a moment passes, and then another. Everyone holds their breath. A sigh of relief can be heard on deck.

  Some laugh at the centurion for seeing things that aren’t there. Sebastian is baffled, and begins swearing up and down that he saw what he saw. The crew returns to work, putting their weapons back down.

  In the meantime the second in command passes by, he’s retrieving something for the captain. He’s an old friend of the captain and a damn good sailor.

  He laughs and walks towards the captain’s quarters. Tossing a keychain up in the air and catching it with his other hand.

  Sebastian stubbornly walks up the stairs to the quarterdeck where the helmsman is steering the ship.

  The helmsman screams over the loud storm, “You know! It’s better to be on edge than to relax! If oil wasn’t so damn valuable none of us would risk our lives! Surprised you did!”

  Sebastian grumbles to himself and then says, “Yeah well, I hadn’t known sea creatures were such a threat until the ship departed. The captain failed to mention that!”

  The helmsman looks puzzled, “what??”

  Sebastian looks irritated, “I SAID-“

  The helmsman laughs, “I’m not deaf you idiot! You blame the captain for your stupidity? Take some blame you spineless land rat! Do you live under a rock??”

  Sebastian fumes and gets in the helmsman face to give him an earful when below on the deck a huge crustacean climbs up the side of the ship.

  In the blink of an eye, the second in command is gobbled up whole, Keychain and all.

  Another crewmember is mangled by the monsters’ pincers. Sebastian can hear the helmsman shout out, “ASTAKOS! Starboard near the mainmast!”

  The helmsman grabs the rope attached to the clapper in the bell. He rings the bell as hard as he can.

  A crewmember near the bow of the ship hurriedly winches his heavy crossbow trying to get it ready to fire at the huge monstrosity. The creature charges at the brave man, seemingly understanding the contraption. Does it know it can pierce armor?

  The creature tramples the man under its weight, the sound of snapping bones can be heard across the ship.

  Sebastian’s sea sickness is gone, he wonders how they’re going to kill this thing. It looks unbeatable.

  He turned in his weapons and equipment at the captain’s request, even if he did have his bronze sword, he’s not sure if he could do any significant damage. All he can do is watch.

  Four crew members climb the nets to escape the monster. One of them throws their last remaining whaler spear at the crustacean. It screeches at them; the spear bounces off its hard shell without a scratch.

  The crustacean reaches for one of the closest crewmembers and grabs her foot with its pincers, it seems this poor woman didn’t climb high enough. With its other claw, it breaks open the metal hatch to the hull and disappears into it, taking a alive hostage with it. Whom screams as they are being dragged down into the dark. Everyone holds their breath. Anxious, anticipating the creature to come back up. But it did not.

  Ten minutes or so later, the crew is gathered under the fore castle.

  “I believe this to be the only fair way,” The captain said.

  Standing beside the captain is Sebastian holding out a bundle of straws the cowardly crewmembers were meant to pick from. But no one stepped forward. No one dared to go first. The captain looked at the crew. His piercing blue eyes scanning them up and down.

  His eyes finally rest on Imbellis. The cabins boy. A frail, small, and weak little boy. The captain then tilted his head towards Sebastian and the straws, “Imbellis. You go first.”

  Imbellis trembled, his eyes tearing up, “Y-yes sir. Certainly.”

  He inches forward with shaky hands. The poor boy picks a straw. . . ten centimetres long. He sighs with relief, and sits back down.

  Then an older woman steps forward.

  The captain nods, “Thank you madam Vluchtig, you set a good example.”

  Sebastian hears a hint of nobility in the captains voice. An accent belonging in the metropolis.

  Madam Vluchtig is steady, her eyes cold. She stares directly at the captain as she picks a straw. . . nine centimetres long. She steps back silently.

  The ship's boards creak as the biggest and bulkiest crewmember steps forward, pushing aside Imbellis and two other crewmembers.

  He saunters forward, towering over both the captain and Sebastian. The crewmember grins, a sly smile plastered on his face. Sebastian thinks he looks a little bit like a donkey in the dark, but he’s human in the lamplight.

  The captain stares at him with a frown. The bulky crewmember sighs loudly letting his hand hover over the straws. He takes a second, then another, and another.

  Outside the forecastle the storm rages on. Everyone can hear the dripping water hit the deck. They are huddled around in open forecastle.

  The ship is two days removed from the coast and found a nearby sandbank to anchor. They can hardly continue without planning a course of action with this. . . creature in the hull.

  Sebastian wonders if the monster would eat the bodies he was meant to deliver. Surely crustaceans don’t eat mummified corpses?

  The captain looks annoyed, “Mr Cimball. Please pick your straw. We do not have all day.”

  Mr Cimball smiles. He’s missing a couple teeth, he grabs a straw. Four centimetres. Shit. That could be the shortest.

  His expression doesn’t change. He turns around towards the crew, throwing the straw to the ground., “Well then, now that we’ve picked a leader. I’ll choose who goes into the hull.”

  The captain protests, “Mr Cimball, have some honour. Of anyone here, you are most likely to survive the-”

  Mr Cimball grabs the captain by the neck and throws him out of the forecastle towards the gaping hatch, his head peters over the edge.

  The crew hesitate for a moment, but the dice are cast. They’ve mutinied. They now advance as one with Mr Cimball in the lead.

  Sebastian resides in the background, too cowardly to intervene. He feels sicker at the moment. The captain concedes and speaks, “Very well! Enough, enough. You needn’t manhandle me further,”

  he stands up and straightens his jacket, “I go willingly. Not through the hatch but through the staircase. And give me a spear. You wouldn’t let a poor old man go defenceless, would you?”

  Mr Cimball grins. The crew parts way, letting the captain walk across to the deck towards the narrow canted double doors near the foredeck. The crew observes, semi-circling the captain. Ready to grab him if he dares turn tail and run.

  But without recourse, the captain goes in. One of the whalers tosses a spear at the captains’ feet and they swiftly shut the doors behind him.

  The captain sighs in pitch-black darkness, “Wonderful.”

  The captain descends the stairs, emerging through the narrow stairwell. He looks out through the darkness unable to spot the ginormous crustacean. The hull is not that big, filled to the brim with barrels of whale oil and a cart of bodies.

  He hears click-clacking in the darkness.

  Rows of side-stacked barrels, some left open, form a labyrinth along the outer walls. Upright barrels, secured to posts, flank the wide, blood-smeared space beneath the hatch. The captain sees a decapitated foot.

  From under a raised platform at the aft end, a sinister silhouette began to emerge, casting a foreboding shadow across the moonlit hull. The captain backpedals, reflexively throwing the spear. The rusty implement bounces off the charging monster's flat face as its jaws gnash.

  The captain runs back up the stairwell as the creature slams into the opening. Wood splinters and the bottom four steps disintegrate as the creature desperately tries to grab the captain. But its huge form is unable to breach the tight staircase.

  The creature recedes, one of its pinchers extends out of its body and the captain can see the woman that was abducted. She desperately sucks in air while choking on seawater. She is missing her lower half, severed from the ribs down.

  The crustacean hoists her onto its antennules near its flat face, the woman shrieks. The captain swallows a lump, horrified by this display.

  “C-captain. Safe me. It’s so cold. It’s so cold. Please don’t let it make me cold again. I can feel it inside me.”

  “Miss Frigidus. I-” The captain is at a loss for words. He can’t help her. It would take a miracle for her to walk away from this alive.

  This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

  The crustacean’s antennules slither through her neck, they sink in her flesh. Puppeteering her face. Her voice warps, and the crustacean breathes in causing a guttural noise to bellow out of the woman, “Land, take me. Take me.”

  “I- don’t. . . With all due respect—”

  He can see her jaw dislodge and her eyes pop out, little tentacles writhe in her sockets. The puppet continues, “We go, now. Now. Small time.”

  The body spasms for a moment, and the neck snaps. The crustacean now fully controls the woman.

  The flabbergasted captain leans forward, speaking to himself, “You’ve gone mad. Haven’t you? The years have finally caught up to you.”

  “Realm of men, islands. Go.”

  “I’m not sure I understand. The archipelago is close by. It’s on route to the metropolis, but-”

  “Aarchipel-” The creature breathes in, the captain sees the woman’s chest crack and contort- “Agooooo. Yessss.”

  The captain stands on the stairs; his brow furrowed in concern as he faces the peculiar creature before him. The Astakos, its eyes glazed with hunger, repeats its disjointed chant about the Archipelago. The captain shakes his head, trying to make sense of the situation.

  "The islands. It's just..." he trailed off, his thoughts scattered like leaves in the wind. He glanced towards the fore, contemplating his next move.

  "Will take some... convincing," the captain finally muttered, uncertainty creeping into his voice.

  The creature interrupted his thoughts with a sudden declaration of hunger.

  "Hungry," it declared, its voice echoing with a bone-chilling undertone of the woman it’s puppeteering.

  The captain's eyes widened in realization. "Oh."

  he gasped, his mind racing to comprehend the gravity of their situation.

  "Me eat. Meat," the creature continued, its words dripping with a primal desire.

  The captain felt a chill run down his spine as he grappled with the implications of the creature's words. "Oh my," he whispered, his voice barely audible above the sound of the sea.

  "Me eat meat," the monster repeated, its gaze fixed on him with unsettling intensity, the creature's four yellow eyes peering from the dark.

  The captain scratched nervously at his fingers, his mind whirling with fear. He knew he had to tread carefully if he wanted to survive this encounter.

  "You and I... we'll need to come to an agreement," he declared, his voice trembling slightly as he held out his hands in a gesture of surrender.

  In the dimly lit hold of the ship, he cautiously approached the fidgety, clicking Astakos. His heart pounded in his chest as he stepped into the scant moonlight seeping through the broken hatch above. His senses are on high alert.

  "Most importantly, I'm the one who can keep this ship on a straight keel," The captain began, his voice firm despite the tremor of fear that lingered within him, "me... you need alive. Unconsumed. Understand? Otherwise, you get nowhere. You'll end up drifting in circles."

  The drooling creatures’ eyes bobbed up and down in what he interpreted as a nod of agreement.

  "Good," the captain continued, his confidence growing as he pressed forward. "Now... at the moment, there's something you possess which I require."

  Above deck Sebastian hears the crew speak about the captain, they all mutter and moan. Complaining that he doesn’t share the bounty of oil fairly. Complaining that the risk of death is too great, that they do all the work while he gets to walk away with the coin. All because he owns the ship.

  Sebastian pulls back from the conversation. He thinks to himself, Mr Cimball seems very happy with himself. The idiot. Don’t they understand they’ve doomed themselves to outlaws if word gets out they send their very own captain to his death? Of course, they’d try to silence each other. . . they’d silence me. I’m most likely to report their crime. By the gods why did the captain need to lock my weapon away?! How do I get out of this alive. At least the storm has stopped.

  In the hull the creature emerges from the aft end. Illuminated by the moonlight, its feeding appendages unfurled like the petals of a deadly flower.

  The captain watches in horrified fascination; his forearm pressed firmly against his mouth to stifle any involuntary gasps. The monstrous creature heaved; its grotesque form illuminated by the faint glow of the moon.

  Suddenly, with a gut-wrenching expulsion, the crustacean disgorged a large ball of sand and seashell fragments. Within this grotesque mass lay shreds of clothing and pieces of human bone, a macabre testament to the creature's insatiable hunger. The captain recoiled in horror, his stomach churning at the sight before him.

  As the crustacean slowly backed away, the captain felt a mixture of revulsion and morbid curiosity compel him forward. With trembling hands, he dug into the heap of detritus, his fingers brushing against the cold, lifeless remnants of a dear friend of the captain. The second in command.

  A portion of the pile crumbled beneath his touch, revealing a shining object nestled within. With a mixture of trepidation and grim determination, the captain extracted the object from its sandy tomb. It was a large, brass key, glinting softly in the moonlight as if mocking the darkness that surrounded them. He wondered where the rest of the keychain and keys is. It mattered not.

  Above deck Mr Cimball stands arms crossed. The mortified crew all watch Imbellis whom has his ears pressed to the double doors. Imbellis lifts his ear from the door, shaking his head. As he shrugs to the crew, three knocks are heard, startling all.

  The crew share astonished looks. Mr Cimball grins.

  Five loud knocks are heard.

  Mr Cimball removes the plank they put through the door handles, he steps back.

  One door is pushed open, and the captain emerges, “Thank you, dear.” The captain nods casually to them, walking past them, across the deck. Confidence exudes from the captains demeaner. They all stare, dumbfounded. In disbelief. The captain whistles to himself, trying to remain nonchalant. His pace quickens towards the aft deck.

  Mr Cimball realises what he is doing and launches himself forward, the deck creaks as he gains speed. He yells to the others to capture the captain.

  Sebastian doesn’t understand, but he wants to protect the captain, so he runs after the captain, meaning to stand in between him and Mr Cimball.

  Sebastian outperformers the slow and out of shape Mr Cimball.

  It angers the behemoth so he grabs Sebastian by the shoulder and shoves him towards the railing. Sebastians ribs slam against the side and he tumbles over the edge. He catches himself on the railing hanging by his fingertips, holding on for dear life. His shoes quickly fill with seawater.

  By the time he’s climbed back aboard the entire crew is gathered in the captains’ quarters. Sebastian can hear the captain's voice, “I negotiated with it. . . As you now must negotiate with me.”

  Sebastian hurries over the deck to see the crew at a distance from the captain. He’s holding a candle to a ceramic jug. This jug looks old and the lid is taken off. Sebastian can see the captain grabbed this thing from the locker that contains all the other weapons, including Sebastian's sword and shield.

  Mr Cimball booms out, “I swear to you. If you use that. . .I’ll make sure you burn first. You are nuts old man.”

  He takes a step forward.

  The captain retorts, “One more step and I’ll ignite the Thallasíon. If you are in need of a reminder. this sea fire can only be extinguished by sand. Our wooden ship, in addition to the whale oil. Will be set ablaze and explode.” The captains piercing blue eyes contort, “now listen!”

  The crew settles down, Mr Cimball grunts while the captain continues, “I’m in no mood to repeat myself, so listen well. The thing speaks-”

  Miss Vluchtig interrupts, “Ain’t possible.”

  “-Which I haven’t the patience to explain beyond saying it wants passage to the nearest island. The archipelago.”

  One crewmember leaning in the doorframe speaks up. Her name is Maril, “You had a conversation with a crustacean?”

  "Go yourself and ask, if you care to. It's hungry again. Were I you though, I'd place your trust in me, if you wish to survive."

  The crew's reactions were varied, ranging from disbelief to resignation. The captains’ words hung heavy in the air, a reminder of the grim reality they faced.

  Sebastian stuttered in disbelief, "Y-you said it was. . "

  Imbellis snorts, “said its hungry.”

  Mr Cimball voiced his scepticism, "We saw that monstrosity do as it pleased. You'd have us believe you're the one to go up against it?"

  The captain’s response was measured, his resolve unyielding. "Thank you again for the unsolicited opinions, Mr Cimball. As a matter of fact, if we do transport it in the hope that it will spare our lives, we still have nothing substantial to feed it. Unless it craves whale oil. And since it actually seems to have acquired a taste for...”

  The captain trails off, “well...” He sighs, “I probably shouldn't have implied we might all live through this."

  The tension among the crew reached a breaking point, with voices raised in protest and fists clenched in anger. Maril spits on the floor, and stares the captain down.

  Mr Cimball points at Sebastian, “what about him, then? We don’t need him. He’s no sailor. He’s sick anyways.”

  Imbellis agrees, “Yeah fuckin’ hate em. Nothing but loyal dogs.”

  Sebastian moves forward, and Imbellis immediately cowers behind Mr Cimball who straps up his sleeves.

  Sebastian bites down on his cheek and looks up at Mr Cimball, “Fight me then, man to man. Sword to sword.”

  Mr Cimball laughs, “Who said anything about a sword?” His rough hands raise to the sides of his face in balled fists, “Let’s fight like nature intended.”

  The captain's voice cuts through the atmosphere, “Enough! We reside together in this misfortune.”

  Miss Vluchtig says, “Which puts us right back where we started, doesn’t it?”

  The crewmember Maril coughs, “Yes well except for uhh,” she jerks her head at the captain and the jug of sea fire, “an important distinction.”

  The captain holds up the jug, “Resorted to against any further dissolution of chain of command. But you are correct, Miss Vluchtig. We find ourselves again with a grim and terrible choice before us,” he slowly lifts the candle away from the jug, “or... or has it already been made?”

  As the crew absorbs this, realizing the captain's meaning... Everyone looks to the as-yet-uncomprehending Mr Cimball.

  A minute later Sebastian and two other crewmembers drag Mr Cimball across the deck. The hulking man puts up quite the fight. But with some effort, they throw him down the hatch. The crew quickly retreats. No one dares to linger by the hatch, except for the captain. With the jug and candle in hand, he leans down to peer in.

  Mr Cimball’s pleas of help and mercy, become cries, which then turn to screams. The captain quietly mutters to himself, “The larger the meal, the more time in between. One would hope.”

  He grimaces as flesh-tearing and bone-crunching noises can be heard from the hull. He averts his gaze, closing his eyes, but opens one eye to take a last peek.

  The captain takes Sebastian aside and arms him with his bronze sword and ordinary shield, “I have need of you. I cannot trust my crew. But you are a man of honour, a man of valour. We are strangers you and I, but that fact rings true for us both. Protect me. And I will make sure you survive this.”

  Sebastian hesitates, but nods, “Of course. The chain of command must remain unsullied.”

  The captain lingers on Sebastian's response. His piercing eyes dissecting Sebastian to his soul, “Yes. You mentioned you were transporting fallen soldiers. Why the sealed scroll? Why not an ordinary one? What makes these soldiers special? Why weren’t they buried at the Bronze Shield.”

  Sebastian stammers, “That is classified sir, my general entrusted me with this secret.”

  The captain smiles, his eyes gleaming as if having solved a puzzle, “ah, I see. That makes sense.”

  The captain is lost in thought. Muttering to himself.

  “What makes sense sir?” Sebastian begins walking back to the captain’s quarters, where the crew is waiting.

  “Mhm? Oh, not to worry. Just the ramblings of an old man,” He pats Sebastian’s shoulder, “Now let’s get some things straight with the crew, shall we?”

  The captain meanders through the quarters, Sebastian in tow. The crew eye them both suspiciously. They notice Sebastian's sword and give each other looks.

  The captain unfurls a map and places it on the navigation table. His index finger travels over the parchment until it reaches the archipelago next to the metropolis, “here, the Archipelago, heavily populated. As you all well know.”

  The captain lets his eyes travel across the crew, only eight remain of the original thirteen, excluding Sebastian, “this is where it wants to be taken.”

  Maril speaks, “Sounds good.”

  Then Miss Vluchtig, “Sounds like a plan.”

  Imbellis speaks as well, “The sooner we get there, the better.”

  The captain regards them with a furrowed brow.

  A crewmember who has remained silent for the most part speaks up now, it’s the helmsman Sebastian spoke to, “With the wind in our backs, it’s another day and a half.”

  The captain says, “Except, to allow this Astakos ashore would mean unleashing it on unsuspecting citizenry.”

  The crew murmurs, “Yeah, well. . .”

  “uh huh.”

  Maril looks around, “it’s not like any of us have kin there, am I right? Those rich fucks.”

  Miss Vluchtig and the helmsman nod, “They’ve always been kind of-” the helmsman finishes her sentence, “-snobby.”

  Maril says, “They’d as soon spit on you as a nod. Pricks.”

  Imbellis tilts his chin, acting tough, “happened to me! Twice!”

  The captain sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose, “Nevertheless. I propose a different possibility. These nameless islands, further on,” His finger travels down the map, past the metropolis and the nearby Archipelago to a grouping of small islands, “the islands are deserted. We may be able to take the monster there without it realizing it. This would, however, require additional travel. And, yes, while the farther we go the more likely we may perish... this course of action offers a chance at sparing countless innocent lives”.

  He sees that the crew is lost in thought. The captain continues, “We could also try to enter the metropolis ports. Their ballistae and heavy crossbowmen can make short work of the Astakos. But I’m positive they’d hang us all for endangering the lives of the capital. Even in a controlled environment.”

  The captain looks to his crew and is met with crickets as they all stare back at him, “I sense the slightest reluctance amongst the ranks. Fine. Let's see here...”

  He walks to the captain’s desk and grabs a few folds of papyrus. He says, “We will put it to a vote. Each of you shall have equal voice.”

  The captain begins tearing the paper into rough squares, “It will be a secret ballot, with no one knowing any other persons choice. I want you to privately mark and fold your ballots, then return them to me.”

  He then begins handing out the irregular ballots,

  “A circle means you vote to sail beyond the peopled shores, despite the risk. X is a vote for a shorter voyage to the Archipelago. X means you fulfil the creature’s wish.”

  The grim crew, accepting ballots, cast sidelong glances. The captain sees their looks and adds something on top, “I implore you: let conscience be your guide.”

  Sebastian swallows a lump in his throat. And marks his choice in the ballot, and he quickly folds it. Not wanting to show the others his choice.

  An ornate wooden box sits open on the navigation table as folded ballots are tossed in, one after another, till... all the votes are in.

  The lid is slammed shut.