Free Amulet of Souls (The Sentinels of Wizgrad Book 1) by Pegs Hampton Page B

the vessel. Iris guessed he was the captain.
    "Good day Captain. My companion and I are seeking a voyage to Alphaport. We have coin and will not disturb your crew" Iris asked in as polite a manner as she could muster.
    The large burly man looked down at Iris with a look of disgust "I wunt ave sumin like you on my ship ever! Shove off!" the man said with a growled expression.
    Iris was taken aback by the blunt rudeness, but she did not respond and instead turned around and left. They went along the harbour and asked each captain, in turn, only to get the same response. Iris kept up hope, and she approached the last boat on the dock.
    "I wunt be takin you anywhere lass, be gone!" the captain had said before Iris had a chance to open her mouth.
    "But this is the last...."
    "No one wants your kind ere lassy," the captain said. Disheartened, Iris and Zelkith returned along the harbour.
    "Well, that's the last one, how are we supposed to get to Alphaport now?" Iris said to Zelkith.
    "Alphaport did you say?" said a stranger from behind them. Iris and Zelkith turned to see a bearded man, he wore a ragged shirt and trousers, with a strong aroma of alcohol.
    "I be going to Alphaport matey, ye can come eboard if ye wishes," the man said with a slur. He had several silver teeth in place of missing ones. He seemed very untrustworthy, but they had no one else that would take them.
    "What’s the catch?" Iris said bluntly, fed up with the way people had treated her here.
    "Nothing at all me beautiful lady," he said, he continued to mumble under his breath.
    "What do you mean, more or less?" Zelkith snarled at the man. Zelkith could hear much more than most others, and heard what the man said clearly. He pushed the drunken pirate against the wall with his front paws.
    "I... I..." the drunken pirate stuttered, the fear was clear in his eyes.
    "Zelkith what are you doing?" Iris questioned.
    "I don't trust him!" Zelkith snarled.
    "We have no choice, get down off him." Zelkith reluctantly got down.
    "Now what do you mean, more or less?" Iris asked sternly.
    "I err...Lost most of me crew ya see..." the drunken pirate said ashamed of himself.
    "...lost?" Iris asked.
    "All but one of me crew abandoned me for another captain, more promise of treasure ya see."
    "I get it now..." Zelkith said, "you want us to man the ship?"
    "I guess ye could say that...An eye for an eye as they say."
    They agreed to help on the deck of the ship for a one way trip to Alphaport. The drunken pirate led them away from the harbour and onto a rickety mooring on a nearby beach.
    Tied to the mooring was a single wooden ship, most likely a fishing boat and it was small enough for just a few people to maintain over the little portion of the sea. The three of them stepped into the tiny boat which swayed unevenly on the water.
    The boat was worn and was hardly seaworthy, it had a small private cabin under the decks. The door to the cabin swung open, and a small thin Gnome stepped out. He looked wealthy and was well groomed, a cutlass to his side held in a golden plated scabbard.
    "I got a crew me lad!" the drunken pirate said excitedly.
    "A girl and a dog. This is not a crew, go and find someone useful" the Gnome said arrogantly.
    "They shall see us to Alphaport me lad, they are more than capable."
    "For the last time, I'm not me lad !" the Gnome argued frustrated. Everyone stood there silent for a few moments.
    "Well off you go, get to work! I want this wreck in Alphaport sometime this year!" the Gnome ordered. The Gnome then went back into his cabin and slammed the door.
    The drunken pirate got to work, he started to pull a series of ropes and winches. Iris and Zelkith just watched, as they did not know what to do. The drunken pirate instructed Iris and Zelkith on tasks they could do and after a short while the boat started to sail.
    Iris let go of one of the ropes suddenly and ran to the edge of the boat. She leant her head over the boat and was violently sick.
    "Would seem