It was probably a vain hope but it was all he had while carried along on Jenny's back. Vain or not, it was certainly a hell of a lot better than thinking about what would happen to him once he was among the folks he had once thought were more interested in his well-being than his family was.
Once they arrived in the piss-soaked city, it felt like it was almost impossible to not wonder what would happen to him. Death, of course, but there would surely be a little more to it than that—most likely some more creative form that he would have to endure for days before he finally succumbed. He'd heard stories about mages who could make a painful death last for days by healing the victim's lethal injuries and repeating the process endlessly. He had been told that wasn't quite how healing magic worked but the stories were still there.
"Is something on your mind?"
Brahgen almost jumped and the ropes around his wrists dug painfully into his skin.
It was the leader of the group, a man the others called Samor. The dwarf thought he looked about the most normal and he carried himself like a man of standing or perhaps a nobleman. He wore a medallion with a pair of panthers cast in bronze around his neck and kept his hand close to the sword he carried on his hip.
Interestingly enough, he was very proud of his long, golden hair and he carried a brush and used it to groom his locks on a regular basis. The fact that he was so vain said something about him, but Brahgen couldn't think of what it could possibly be.
How close he was also showed that he wore some kind of perfume, likely to keep the smells of the city away from him.
"My imminent demise and how painful it might be," the youth answered finally once it was clear that Samor didn’t intend to move away.
The swordsman tilted his head and smirked. "How odd. I never pegged you for a self-centered little shit, although it does not surprise me. Dwarves have that nature bred into them."
"What is your problem?" he asked. "Did a dwarf fuck your mother? Is that why you have so much resentment toward us? Do you feel a little insecure about such a small character hefting a larger cock than whatever your cuckold of a father blessed you with?"
Samor chuckled and shook his head. "No, I thought about how you might be in a situation where you realize you are at fault for the death of your comrade. While all you see before you might have my actions as their cause, you know in your heart of hearts that your tiny shoulders bear some of it as well."
Brahgen nodded. "So…insecurity over cock size it is, then. We could simply establish this once and for all. You whip yours out and I do the same and we'll know that you have the larger endowment. Unless, of course, you doubt that you would come away from such a contest without the scorn of your men. I imagine shame and scorn is the kind of thing you kill folk over. But I will no doubt die regardless, and if you did it sooner rather than later, I would thank you for it."
The man smirked and ruffled his hair. "You do have a mouth on you, little dwarf. I might simply choose to take your tongue out instead of killing you outright. That might leave you less time to drown your guilt with rabid ramblings. Perhaps it might also give you more time to pray to a human god who won’t ever listen to you."
He wandered away and Brahgen spat reflexively at the man's back. It fell a little short but his point was made. He didn't need any help to feel guilt over Skharr's death and he had already told himself repeatedly what the man had to say—and in a more creative fashion than the vain piece of gilded shit could devise.
It didn't help much, of course, but being able to lash out at someone other than himself was certainly a pleasant distraction.
The dwarf froze when he noticed a sudden shift in the people around him. A bell rang on the massive ship and suddenly, all the sailors jumped into action, picked crates up, and began to carry them on board. It was large enough that even horses were loaded, including poor Jenny. About a dozen of them were led carefully along a special plank into the lower deck of the vessel.
He narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, unsure if he was seeing things or if that was truly Horse following the other animals aboard.
It looked like the stallion, at least. He recognized all the same markings on his forehead and back, although he appeared to be missing most of the saddlebags that Skharr generally saddled him with. Perhaps they'd gone back and taken him? No, that didn't seem possible. The beast seemed intelligent and attached enough to the barbarian that he wouldn't simply accept being horse-napped.
"Come on, dwarf. It’s time to die," one of the mercenaries stated before he flung the dwarf over his shoulder again and carried him on board like he was another piece of cargo.
But, oddly enough, a hint of hope was buried in the depths of his mind and he had a feeling it wasn't false.
Chapter Sixteen
Hiding in the hold of the ship had not been a simple affair. He was mostly helped by the fact that nobody expected anyone to be stupid enough to stow away on a pirate ship.
Getting Horse into the pen of creatures that would be transported aboard the Redress had been the easiest part of his plan to accomplish. He’d simply walked the beast in with his packs. No one had questioned someone bringing his horse in like they would have questioned him taking a horse away.
Once that was done, he was forced to carry his packs as he slipped into the water a few hundred paces away from the ship. He came in from beneath the vessel and found a window into the hold that allowed the livestock to breathe and have some light. It could be closed from the inside in case there were storms and opened again if their archers wanted a safer place to loose their arrows from in case of a battle on the open water.
Skharr pushed his packs inside while he hung from the side of the boat. He dragged himself carefully aboard, slipped belowdecks without being seen, and stowed away in the hold mere moments before the bell from above announced that they would raise anchor soon.
Boots and bare feet pattered above him and soon, the horses were guided into the hold as well. He remained as motionless as possible in his dark corner while more cargo was packed into the hold to further hide him from prying eyes. None of the crew was interested in searching the area and all were in too much of a hurry to have everything stacked and secured.
All he needed to do was make sure that Horse was loaded along with the other beasts before he settled into his corner and remained hidden.
It was an uncomfortably small haven, and he knew he would battle through aches and pains before too long. The itchy nature of the damp hay that covered the decking was also an issue but he was on the ship. Soon, there were no more tasks belowdecks and it wasn't long before bells rang again. He couldn't make out what was shouted but it was safe to assume they were calls to raise the anchors since the ship began to move soon after.
It was a gentle movement at first, but Skharr could tell when they reached the open water since the ship rolled more.
It was a massive vessel, the kind that wasn't as easily affected by waves in the manner of the smaller craft, but he knew that Brahgen would have issues with how the ship moved as well.
He knew it for a fact too as he could hear the dwarf complaining on the other side of the hold. It wasn't quite as bad as the smaller vessel they'd been on, but he supposed his companion’s stomach didn't care. There were none of the tell-tale sounds that said he would be sick, but it was only a matter of time.