Sineater

Two red hounds jumped onboard.

They had short hair and were large enough that I could ride one of them. Not that I would try, they had glowing black eyes and teeth that were sharp enough they could slice into Garm’s thick skin and with jaws strong enough to crush iron, they were terrifying enough without taking into account that they could breathe fire. I’d heard some sailors marvel that the elves were using hellhounds like mere dogs, but on this planet, the unwanted of the universe were banished. The naturalized citizens considered such things to be normal, though that didn’t mean we didn’t know how dangerous such things were.

“You’re using those things?” Garm shook his head. “Have things really degraded this far under your command?”

“I have brought order to the city guards after the mess you left them in!” Frustration filled Galaden’ voice.

I sipped on the tea as the hounds howled and ran below deck.

“It seems that your treachery is about to be uncovered!” Galaden motioned at the guards. “Bring me the contraband.”

“You keep your hands off of my wyvern steaks!” Phlek took off after the hounds. “Those are for Ogna!”

I chuckled as I watched the green pig-faced biped run into the cabin.

“You’ve found our contraband alright!” Garm’s belly jiggled as he laughed. “The Elves don’t like those holy meals.” His laugh seemed to put us all at ease.

While I knew that Phlek would have a fit if the hounds ate the ingredients for his holy meal that were set aside for the upcoming Ogre holiday, I also knew that the contraband that we were carrying was stored under the containers those sacred ingredients were in.

We didn’t deal in things as destructive as fairy dust, but there were items that the Elves deemed illegal that the other races considered everyday items. Garm was one of the smugglers that brought such items into the city. I tried not to seem worried and the nervous shiver I wasn’t able to suppress was masked by my dip in the icy waters.

Garm didn’t seem the least bit concerned, so I focused on my tea.

“Find anything yet?” Garm sat down next to me and shook his head. “Damn fool is still sore about the investigation.” He leaned forward. “It’s been nearly twenty years Galaden! Give it a rest already!”

The golden Elf strutted out of the cabin with blood up to his shoulders on both arms. I could tell that he was trying to look dignified, but that was hard to do with all the blood covering him.

“It doesn’t matter if it's twenty or two-hundred.” The haughty captain glared at the rest of the crew with his golden eyes. “I will find the proof. It’s out there and we both know it.”

The guard captain swirled his right arm in the air, throwing blood spatter everywhere. “This place is clean…” He looked at his hands, then at the doorway of the cabin where the Ogre cook was glaring at him. “Let’s go.”

I was glad when the screaming hounds were led off of the ship. Everyone seemed relieved as well. Now that we’d been cleared, Most of us could go ashore and enjoy some of the comforts that only the land could provide.

“Did he mess up your meat?” Garm looked sympathetic as he turned to our cook.

“Only polluted them with his hands as he scraped around in the barrel.” The Ogre sighed. “You’ve got to find a better method of moving things. I’m getting tired of tasting Elf on my meals.”

The rest of the crew joined in the nervous laughter. In a place where sticking with your race was an unwritten law, there wasn't one of us who shared a race with another. This boat was the last stop for all of us and if we lost the ship, there wasn’t anywhere else we could go.

“Galaden has been doing this for twenty years and it wouldn’t matter if we were carrying a hold full of puppies. He’d still want to check through your steaks.” Garm laughed. “He thinks the blood makes him look like an Alpha!”

Even Phlek started laughing at that quip.

Once the laughing died down. Storbek clapped his hands. “Back to work you lazy dogs! We’ve got a lot to unload and not one of you is going to feel dirt under you until we've got the wagons loaded!”

The captain clapped me on the back and took away his coat. “Get changed and get back out here.” The Dwarf nodded at Vin. “We’ve got a delivery to make.”