"Itch!" said Erik while the little girl poured a wet cloth over his wounds. The whole cave appeared silent. Like everyone had gone away. When she had finished tending to his wounds, Erik got up and looked at her. She looked at him with tender, puppy eyes, which, especially considering her inhuman status, was something surprising. Erik hugged her and went away.

The air became cold and heavy "Erik, those little acts of 'humanity' will cost your life, you know?" the decaying raven head had appeared once again beside him "You will die"

"We all do, raven, it's the how and why that changes"

Erik left the hug and began looting the cave in search of some good fur and clothes. In a room, placed on a skin on the ground, there were some clothes and armour that he did recognize. There were of the guards of the Cordosa, there were bloodstained.

By the time he had finished equipping the armour, the whole cavern had begun to wake up. Soon he saw many warriors come to fight him, this time way more prepared. This time he wouldn't fight.

Running like a wild animal, despite his injured stamina and health. The whole forest appeared to have been one huge swat of green dark. He had learned this in his early days as a raider. When to look around and be aware, and when to run like hell with one aim. Once he got enough far, he made the point of the situation: he needed a campfire, water and food. And fast.

He began scrolling through the empty coast, looking for animals and firewood. When on the horizon, he saw a dark ship with strange decorations not far from there. Demons? Probably.

It took him a few minutes to see that the black ship was looting the wreck of another, bigger ship. The Cordosa. Making out shapes at this distance was quite hard, but he was certain that those weren’t human shapes.

“Foul magic” this is what Gywen meant. A prepared ambush? Maybe they stroke a deal? No, demons don’t tend to have that level of cooperation.

All his plans thrown up again, and again, and again. Someone enjoyed particularly tricking him and making him miserable. So miserable, he wished he could embrace the fire, become warm, soft and lay down. But that voice in his kept him striving and survive for some reason. For some reason, something inside him still clung to the hope of redemption. If he survived that empty wasteland, he needed a ship, and fast. That black ship was a ship.

As he approached the ship, he had the sensation of being followed. When he turned there was nothing, still the sensation remained. “Show yourself!”

“Oh, what a rudeness,” said a voice from behind him, “we demons are supposed to be friends” the creature reminded Erik too much of a raven to make him feel comfortable.

“Are you part of that crew?”

“Yes. Are you seeking employment? We lost quite a few evil souls when we assaulted the ship.”

“Assau-you manage to crack the ship!?!”

“We had only to hide a small, tiny, minuscule, very sharp and strong iceberg to make the wood crack. Quite the magicians, have we.”

Erik heard footsteps behind him “Oh Erik, my dear friend!” when he turned a humanoid squid with jewels and gold all around him was coming towards Erik “I heard that a possessed demon was coming here. Didn’t think it was you.” Seeing the face of the demon merchant made Erik uneasy.

It had happened a few years back, he was in a similar situation. He offered him a job: assault ships. When he assaulted the ship and slaughtered a few men, he realized something. The merchant had withdrawn information, this was a trading ship with civilians on it. He later explained to him that their job was to be corsairs, assaulting enemy trading routes and ships. In exchange, they would get gold, protection and privilege. Despite the excellent pay, Erik worked only four months there. Being in the company of other demons, especially feral ones, wasn’t doing any good to his quest. They kept repeating that he should syntheses, a gentle way of saying fuse, with his demon and eat more. So when the day came, and it came for everyone, he had a better place in hell. All delusions, for them lowly and possesed demons, hell would be a pit of suffering and torment without hope. All knew about this, but each one had their own delusions and ways not to face the truth. Some stroke deals for good homes, hoping that deals would actually hold in hell, and not turning out to be tricks. Other prayed to the greater demons, hoping that they would be gentle and not eat them. Still others harboured a hope of redemption, a means to lift the curse. Erik was one of those.

"You see this book? This book is worth more than all the gold and supply that miserable ship had. Hell, this was worth three, five, hell even twenty of those ships?" he said swinging a dark leather-bound book around. “Let me show you something," he opened up the book, scrolled through the pages and begun chanting. The book became bright for a second, and a black flame appeared over the merchant's head. Then it descended in him, for a few seconds all his wounds and scars were gone.”

"This book, this book will change anything. There is anything ranging from weapons to the nature of the universe. Including a way to break curses! Once we will print those in the order of thousands, nothing will stop us!"

Erik looked at him with dubious eyes, he had already seen this scene.

------------

The crew was the heartless bunch he had used to know, common among demons. Some face he recognized from his past adventures. “Hey Erik, still not fused?” one of them said, “always the stubborn bastard, and then we have to treat those wounds!” he lay down and let the doctors do their job. The doctor of the ship was a fused demon with the aspect of an eagle.

“Have you found survivors?”

“No. Tirthlex, that heartless merchant, had bribed most of them.”

“So they are all dead?”

“No. A few managed to escape”

“Where?”

“I don’t know. They wouldn’t survive long in this climate.”

The journey started in the frozen valleys and glaciers, and the temperature began to rise. He felt weak from his injuries, but now he could fight. A few hours later, when dinner came, Tirthlex began to drink like a barrel. Evermore confident in his success, he started screaming at the four winds about his book.

"Oh, my dear! This book" he said caressing it "this book is the key to contact the true gods, the old gods. The gods of the earth, sea and wind and fire." he laughed, "nothing like those dragons and knights from the south."

​” Are you sure that book is what you think it is? Don’t you remember the castle Helksvile incident?”

Erik skipped a beat when he heard that name.

“This is different! This is not an artifact! Those are words. Words that can be reproduced. Imagine, an army of warlocks and necromancers possessed by demons!”

Erik as usual ate his ratio and didn’t make any comment. He never felt comfortable eating with demons. Especially when there were eating humans. A good chunk of time went by, he was eating his dinner in silence while his mind wandered, when the chef announced a special dish.

Erik's eyes widened as he recognized the dish. The hat and clothes made it even too oblivious, poor Iliac. His face was so distorted right now. He got up and vomited on the curtain. This was more than he can take, “Erik calm down! You are in no position to fight.” the raven said in his mind, “Take control, let's go berserk”

“Erik, you can’t murder him now, not even in a fairy fight would you win.”

The cold wind flew on Erik's face as he returned to dinner

"You had to do that?" he said to the merchant "I always do that" he answered him "we need to keep doing this to survive. It's only right for us to kill humans and eat them. Do you understand?"

Erik shook his head, "I don't"

"Too bad"

​The merchant opened his mouth and tried to bite him, but Erik responded with a quick axe to the head.

“Calm down!” a few of the demons kept them separated, “Remember the rules. No fight over dinner or on the ship.” Erik felt strange, It might have been the chilling wind rushing down through his bones. It might have been the voice inside his head. Or, far more probably, it was the injuries. But all those were distractions.

He had done it again, he had entered that mental state to which he had promised never to return again. He wanted blood and vengeance now.

Of the cold wind and swirling sea, Erik didn’t care much. The work and fatigue didn’t drain his body. All his thoughts were on one thing: kill Tirthlex as soon as possible.

All his suffering, worries and anxieties concentrate on that man. He not only became the reason why Iliac died, not only the reason why he was there in that wasteland. But also the reason why his crew had died, and his life was so miserable. A decade of torment concentrated on one man and one aim.

On one such occasion, when they landed to break some ice, they were attacked by wolves. Many retreated, fearing for injuries, Erik didn’t. He cut down one after the other, before realizing he was surrounded.

Blood was rushing to his forehead, sweet warm blood that crystallized as it came out of his head.

"We are dead" said the voice inside him, "we are dying" he replied.

"Was it worth it?"

Erik didn’t reply. When death touches one so close does he experience a sense of transcendence. It wasn't dead or the idea of soon leaving life that gave such an experience. It was primordial. Something deep in the bones that responded when the fear of death was so close. All habitual thoughts and patterns go away. And one, for a few minutes at least, finds a sense of liberation from his previous life. Erik head was filled with remorse.

The wolves begun to scatter, as black fire washed down the horde of wolves like a titanic wave.

“Erik! I know that you are eager to earn your pay, but please refrain from such acts.” it was Tirthlex, he had used magic to save him.

"Erik,” said the raven “we need a hobby, when we find a cure we need to find a hobby"

"That is true. For now, let's survive" he needed to find a place to rest and wash.