Navigator Turin felt afraid. The green and black olgog pirates locked him and 9 others in the belly of the small cargo ship. The sailors heard tales of olgog vampyrs and the horrors they visit on their victims. A falling mast knocked him unconscious others parlayed to save themselves. Often crewmen of a captured ship could parlay and offer to enlist. Stories abounded of Olgog pirates, most of the time the storyteller darkly noted said the olgogs didn’t honor such parlay. Olgog Vampyrs never did.
He felt the ship slow, the sounds of waves echoing. We must have arrived he thought. What seemed like an eternity later the hatch to the cargo area an Olgog with blackened eyes and green fur streaked threw the hatch open and back pointed to the captives from the opening. “You all come here. It be time for Mama to inspect you.”
The crew moved like zombies accepting in silent resignation their fate. The handling was not the beating the sailors expected as the olgogs led them into the large chamber of the main cave. In the torch light Turin saw a pile of their equipment and artifacts. Probably to be split up later after they have gnawed on our bones he thought.
An olgog in a worn and tilted top hat directed the 10 to stand in a circle. Turin noticed he wore a string of fetishes, dried ears, claws, patches of green fur. After they were standing facing each other the olgog said in broken earther, “Eenie mon, Minie mon…” The next man broke down crying knowing he would be chosen for a dark fate.
The tall lanky olgog with the fetishes was cut off when heard the sound of something large landing in the next chamber. More olgogs streamed in, most carrying bodies of their fallen comrades. The newcomers took no notice of the earthers and quickly laid out the bodies. Then all heard a loud female voice echo, “Quickly now, we repair the Fraytur later. Get in da Chamber!”
The olgogs gathered round the circle whispering to each other. “What this be?” Mama Rapigog asked staring at the gathered earthers as she walked in dressed in dragonscale mail.
Ka’Lur the olgog with eyes like coals replied, “Mama most of dem offered parlay. I didn’t know what to do. If they be from da tribes I see if they join da family. But…” He trailed off.
Mama Rapigog nodded. It was unheard of of course. Olgogs especially Bruskti accepting earthers into their groups. She looked to the 7 corpses spread lined up. They had precious little time before they rose as blood drinking vampires, uncontrollable in their blood lust. If that happened the family would have to put them down or restrain them and feed them till they learned to control their ways. Neither idea sat well with her.
The ritual to revive them though was taxing. To revive this many the family would become weak and feeble, unable to do much for the next week at least.
Her mind repeated it was unheard of to allow hairless into any tribe. Then she tossed the thought out, it was unheard of for the kidnapped daughter of an Auf to become Bruskti and willingly lead them. Plenty of unheard of things were being heard these days.
“You all hairless, you parlay, you choose to join the Bruskti and stay alive instead of die at sea. I honor da parlay, but only if you help da family. Prove this is no trick.” She walked to the bodies and took out a pewter cup and a stone knife waving it in front of the earthers who turned to face her.
“This blade it be older than memory. It knows tings that the night only whispers. It say family is blood not birth. It calls for dat blood, it tells da blood to stay true.” She cut her hand in one swift motion letting some blood pour into the cup. “You do dis and you can never turn against da family. Your blood will boil at da thought. At the same time you become family and no one in da family can do anyting to betray you.”
She held out the knife hilt first to Turin. His palms began to sweat. The 9 men and women standing by him looked to him to make a choice. Death or this pact. He barely knew the family as Mama Rapigog called it, but any life was better than no life. He took the knife warily and cut his hand biting his lip to keep from crying out in pain. He watched the blood dribble into the cup Mama Rapigog held below it. He passed the knife and looked at his hand, the cut had already sealed. The other pirates followed suit some stoically, some fearfully, one even said a prayer before joining them. Whatever their fate the captives, it was tied to the family now.
The other olgogs started chanting ina language that defied being heard. Something old and half remembered. Turin heard his voice join in, even though he didn’t will it to, as the knife went from Olgog to olgog each spilling blood into the cup.
After the blade and cup completed their rounds Mama Rapigog went to each corpse pouring some of the liquid into each ones mouth. Each time she did Turin felt a wave of weakness pass through him. The olgogs responded the same way. Still he couldn’t stop the chant he didn’t know.
In unison the dead Vampyrs bolted straight up drawing a desperate breath. The chanting stopped and cheers went up. Turin felt a strange sense of elation through the weakness. Maybe being Bruskti wasn’t so bad after all.
The 7 quickly rejoined the ranks of the other Olgogs. Some holding loved ones and children others hugging brothers. Mama rapigog cleared her throat. “These hairless be family now. Anyone insults or injures dem they insult or injure da family. Now we get to know them and we feast on the kag. Babi take some tings we teefed and get rum.” She ordered.
The olgogs closed in asking a thousand cheerful questions of each of the new family while helping them sort out their gear. Nothing was taken, all was returned Turin saw with shock. The complete lack of animosity toward them shocked him. Even captured crew that the captain allowed to join his ship faced a watchful eye against treachery. Then again he didn’t feel like betraying them, they kept him alive when they could have left hm for the nightmares, and that was worth something.
