The Curse of Thir
Chapter 1

With a grunt and a heave Bonifacio removed himself from his horse. His journey had been long, tiresome and a waste of time. “Tha’ stupid king. He ought to get his head looked at,” he grumbled to himself and hoisted his rug sack over his shoulders, “if tha’ lout really believes our alliance will last then he is sure- Hello.... what’s this?” His brow wrinkled in confusion and stared down at a wet bundle wiggling about. “Is this some kind of new worm?” He bent down slowly and poked at it with his jagged nails. It wriggled more enthusiastically and let out a small squeak. His laugh echoing the booming thunder over head, he poked it once more and it repeated its squeak. His cruel face tainted green and full of scars, smiled. Scooping the soaking bundle up with one arm, he kicked open the door and strode in. A surprised silence greeted him as his men’s eyes looked up from their evening meal. They gapped at him, the faces a mixture of daft to cruel, found his smugness offensive, though they would never voice their thoughts. The door slammed shut behind him. “Ai, Bonifacio!! What you got there! Present from that local peasant king?” Bonifacio roared his laughter, “HA! Tha’ king don’ even deserve tha’ title,” He dropped the rug sack and it plopped soundlessly on the marble floor. “I don’ know what this is, all I know is tha’ it wriggles an’ squeaks when poked.” Their heads bobbed expectantly. “So you gonna poke it again then?”

“Maybe I will, but I wan’ ta know wha’ it is first...” He grabbed a corner carefully and opened the soggy cover up. “I bet my steak it’s an old bread worm,” The bets and guesses ran through the hall till the entire blanket was removed. “What is it then! Can’t see a damned thing over Aaraos’ head! Thing is as big as a wagon wheel.”

“Ya, what he lacks in body height he makes up with his melon.” Roars’ of laughter erupted, “Big Melon head!”

“Move you Dreag forehead Aaraos! I want to see what’s in that bundle.” Aaraos, although second in command next to Bonifacio, received verbal abuse on a regular basis from the scrappy lot around him. It always got to him in some form, either he got angry, or he got extremely angry and did something stupid, but not now. His attention was fixed on the pale bundle of flesh in his commanders arms. It was quivering from the cold, and attempted to complain, which instead turned into a torrent of tiny sneezes.

“O’ my Dreag. It’s a baby....” Everybody crowded around to see. Fierce Ogre, demonic looking creatures known as the Dreagnance, all crowded closely together to stare at a tiny bundle of pink squishy flesh. The silence was a one in a million occasion never to be repeated again. Then it was over and a violent surge of questions flooded the dinning hall. “Where’d you get it?”

“Can I have it?”

“Who’d be dumb enough to give that to you?”

“Are you going soft Boni?”

“Is it one of ours?”

“Nah it’s to pale. Must be Human... Who’d you steal it from Boni?”

“Must be a runt, it’s tiny. Is it a runt? Can I eat it?”

“SHUT YER YAPS!!!” Bonifacios’ voice bellowed above their questions. “I did not steal it! You lot are as daft as an earthworm and twice as slow as a snail. Ya can’t have it, ya can eat it but I don’ think it wise, it’s not human and its not ours.” The baby shifted and almost fell, but Aaraos caught it uncomfortably, and held it awkwardly in his arms. A voice from the back piped up. “How’d you know its not human, looks it. It being all pale and small.” Large faces leaned in closer to view Aaraos arms. He felt uneasy being gazed at so he turned his attention to the pale thing. Its quivering had stopped and it had seemingly fallen asleep. It defiantly looked human at first glance, but its ears were oddly shaped, more deer like than human. Its skin was too soft, but the spine area was hard and cold and there, just at the top of its head were two knobs of hard grey/yellow bone. Defiantly not one of those human babies.

“So what are we gonna do with it then Boni?”

“ Ya and why can’t we eat it!”

The questions were repeated by the mindless lot surrounding him. “I don’ care what ya do with it really, eat it if you want. Nobody wanted it, as they left it outside in the rain on our steps. Ya know them humans, don’ like no creatures like us or it.” The baby sighed for effect, “Ya can keep it, drop it at a human village or kill it. Don’ matter to me.” With that Bonifacio grabbed his rug sack and shoved his way through to his room, mumbling curses at his men.

Aaraos stood in the centre with the pale baby, lost for words and confused. The Dreag hoard around him jostled to gawk at the baby and give their suggestions. “HEY! I’ll kill it for you!! But I might eat it; it looks soft like baby lamb. I like lamb.”

“I give you my meat for a week if we can take it to a human village. Then we knock on their doors and ask if they lost it. They’ll get so scared. Love scaring them. So scared of everything they are.” This suggestion got a few laughs and a couple of slaps on the back.

“I can’t give you the baby Han, Boni said we shouldn’t eat it and you know he doesn’t like it when you eat humans, you always end up getting sick and you chuck everything up. Then I have to clean it.”

“Fine then, I’ll just kill it.”

“No.”

“So we get to take it to the village then?”

“No.”

“What then Aaraos? What you gonna do with it?”

Aaraos smiled, “I’m gonna keep it.” This statement received grumbles and a few of them sauntered off to continue their evening meal. “Why in the name of Inferno would you do that?”

“Your big head going spongy or something? Where’s it going to stay? What’s it going to do? You going send her to get raised by the UnderDreag?”

Aaraos grinned to himself and ignored them. He sat down at the table and gazed at the sleeping baby. He finally had someone who would learn to respect and fear him. Someone he could command. He knew he’d have to care for it for some time, but he knew that the wait would be worth the while. Perhaps when she was older she could bare his child. His day was going so much better.