Enzo’s heart raced as he ran through a thick and disorienting forest, he knew treasure was near and for some reason the rest of his crew was nowhere to be seen but he couldn’t remember where they had gone. Something was chasing him, he could hear it running just behind him when suddenly he tripped and became inexplicably entangled in thick ivy vines that wrapped themselves around him. As much as he struggled the ivy only tightened around him until he could barely breath. Then the beast that had been chasing him leapt upon him, a savage panther whose teeth and claws ripped and tore the flesh from his body. 

Enzo awoke with a stifled gasp covered in cold sweat and out of breath. He’d been having that same dream for weeks and it was driving him well past exhaustion. He hadn’t had a descent night’s sleep, he woke up barely able to catch his breath, and with his entire body in pain as if it had been real. He was far too awake now to go back to sleep so he got up and wandered the ship’s deck, restless and shaken. Starring out onto the vast open sea calmed his nerves, as did the sound of rolling waves, and the smell of salty ocean air. He took slow deep breaths until he was able to fully relax again. He turned from the bow of the ship and headed back to the crew’s quarters when a raven dropped a scroll at his feet before the bird flew off. Enzo picked up the scroll and briefly looked at it, unable to read he couldn’t make much sense of it so he placed it in his pocket until morning. 

Enzo failed to get much sleep the rest of the night and was up bright and early that morning. He quickly remembered the strange piece of paper the raven had delivered to him during the night and headed to the galley. The ship’s cook was a grizzled old man, called Old Man Johnny by the crew on account of him being the oldest man on the boat, pirate nicknames usually weren’t too clever, and he was one of the few been on board that could read. A much younger Old Man Johnny had been a tutor for some noble family but due to some bad luck he ended up on a less than reputable vessel living a pirate’s life. Enzo looked to Johnny like a second father and trusted the man more than other aboard The Harlot’s Kiss. Enzo showed Johnny the letter and after hearing its message he further explained to the old man the reoccurring nightmare’s he been having as well.  

“Zeus’s tangled beard boy! Have you not studied the gods at all?” Johnny asked him. Enzo rolled his eyes and shook his head; he’d never put much faith in the actual existence of the gods. “Panthers and ivy, sacred symbols of the god Dionysus, he is speaking to you in your dreams. You have been called by the gods, can’t be a coincidence that we are due to dock near here almost a months time.”

“Can’t say I’ve ever need much convincing to spend my shore time in a tavern but what could the gods possibly want with me.” Enzo asked, the whole thing was so strange although it wasn’t the first strange occurrence as of late. A few weeks ago, he’d gotten into a fist fight with another member of the crew and after the exchange of only a couple blows the man had a bizarre case amnesia. Enzo would’ve sworn he hadn’t hit the man that hard but the amnesia lasted several hours. Not long after that he and some of his fellow sailors had almost been arrested by some guards in Eredel only to have them come down with a sudden case of amnesia as well. “Some weird stuff has been happening lately, you think it could be connect?’ He asked as he thought about the past few months, any explanation other than him losing his mind did sound preferable. 

“Aye, lad, I’d say ‘tis.” Old Man Johnny said with a nod. 

May, 15th

Enzo sat in the far corner of the tavern, his back against a wall and his eyeline towards the door. He was several flagons of wine into things and a small group of fellow patrons had joined his table. Enzo freely spent his ill-gotten gains on his temporary friends as they all cheerfully sang sea-shanties and traded exaggerated stories. He figured he might as well enjoy his time in at The Silver Crow while he waited for his answers.  He continued to drink wine, occasionally pouring out some libations to the floor and shouting ‘for Dionysus’ figuring he might as well celebrate the god and maybe he’d actually get a decent night’s sleep for once if he sacrificed enough to the god. At this point Enzo would give anything to make his nightmares stop.