“We’re screwed if they catch us,” Fenrir says. “We might need to cut the line. Dragging that tree is killing our speed.”

“Trust me, wolf boy, ya don’t want to get rid of that. If I can pull off what I’m thinkin’, our baby here is goin’ to be gettin’ a nice upgrade,” Tabitha replies.

“We have to survive first, and I don’t see—”

“Fen!” Cassiel shouts.

Fenrir rushes to the bow of the ship where Cassiel is.

A line of ships has gathered and is crossing The Shoebill.

Or rather, they are crossing the longship.

Two of the ships in the line open up just enough space for The Shoebill to sail through while the rest of the ships in the line aim their cannons at the longship. Fenrir even spots The Steel Tiger in the line with Alexander’s annoyingly-cocky smile.

For now, he’s an ally.

“Fire!” Jax shouts aboard his ship in the center of the line.

The cannons of each vessel all fire on the longship, blanketing it in a volley of over twenty shots at once.

Most of the shots miss. However, a few are lucky and assist in wearing out the longship’s ability to repair itself as well as take out another one of its crew.

“Come on, Captain Wolf! We’ve got ya!” Jax shouts while beckoning for The Shoebill to sail through the opening in the line.

“What’re you giggling about?” Cassiel asks Serra.

“This is epic,” Serra answers. “They’re epicness giggles.”

Fenrir looks back at the two girls with a huge ear-to-ear smile. “I know, right?! Olly! Take us through!” he shouts back to the stern.

While passing through the line, Jax sees a familiar face and shouts over to them. “I knew you weren’t goin’ to be goin’ down so easily!” he shouts at Morven.

“I’ve got a wolf to thank for that!” Morven shouts back.

“Only the three of ya make it?”

Morven somberly nods.

Jax returns his attention to the longship which is now breaking course to turn away. “Keep firin’ until you’re out of ammo!” he commands the line.

As soon as The Shoebill and its towed trophy make it past the line, Jax’s ship and the one in front of it both move closer to seal the gap in the line.

Several more volleys are shot toward the longship.

Unfortunately, the angling, distance, and speed of the longship prevent most of the shots from hitting it, and the few that do hardly inflict any damage – certainly none that will last.

Even after the longship has been scared off, the line stays in formation and keeps their cannons aimed at it in case it tries getting close again.

The Shoebill stops next to Jax’s The Weeping Tit.

“Thanks for the assist. Don’t know if we would’ve lived without your help,” Fenrir thanks Jax.

“No problem, Captain Wolf. We saw you charge and take on those bastards by yourself, and ya even helped out Morven’s lot, so ya made friends with almost every fisherman in this city today,” Jax says. “Here’s a gift to show our appreciation.”

Jin, Jax’s fellow fisherman, hands a barrel over the sides of the ships to Fenrir. Inside of it are dozens and dozens of fish flopping around trying to jump out. “You sure? This is… probably five times what we’ve already got,” Fenrir says. “What about yourselves?”

Jax points to several more filled barrels on their ship. “We’ve got plenty to make it into the next round. More importantly, we’re goin’ to need ya there with us. Tomorrow – in-game tomorrow at noon, meet me at my ship.”

Fenrir nods. “Got it. Thanks for all the help and the fish, seriously.”

“Don’t worry about it. Ya earned it all. That was some great sailin’ back there. Everybody would normally hate ya for usin’ those flamin’ shots ya used, but nobody is goin’ to judge ya for usin’ them on those bastards. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders to think of preparin’ them for those bastards.”

“Yeah, we knew our enemy was going to be almost impossible to take down without those shots,” Fenrir says. Sure, the two men might be referring to completely different enemies, but Jax doesn’t need to know that.

Cassiel is the one staring at him for sneakily avoiding clarifying the truth.

“Olly! Come up here,” Fenrir shouts for his deer-trap-boy of a helmsman.

“You called?” Oleander asks.

Fenrir wraps an arm around Oleander’s shoulders and pulls him close, giving him a few pats on the head with his other hand. Oleander has a large, dumb grin on his face during it. “This is the guy responsible for pulling off my plan. Couldn’t have done it without his awesome steering, and Tabs over there was a huge help as well,” Fenrir praises them, pointing at Tabitha now.

Jax looks grim when he sees Tabitha. “You… brought the Orange-Haired Siren onto your crew?” he asks.

“That’s a nickname for her I haven’t heard before.”

Tabitha looks over at him with a thumbs-up and cheeky grin.

“Aye. She lures captains with promises of boostin’ their ships and makin’ them the best possible, then they always sink after somethin’ of hers breaks down,” Jax explains. “She’s lured many ships to their graves.”

“Oi! It wasn’t my toys that’d break down, it was their ships! It ain’t my fault if their ships couldn’t handle my genius,” Tabitha explains.

“Well, this ship wouldn’t have been able to save Morven and them without her. She built our engine, the stuff to manage the sails, and that ballista you see up at the front,” Fenrir defends her.

“That so?” Jax asks. “Well, I’m not goin’ to doubt your word, so,” he looks at Tabitha, “thanks for helping out today, Tabitha Strism. I’ll make sure that the others hear about your help today.”

Tabitha shows the rare blush and scratches her cheek. “It’s nothin’,” she says.

“Hah! Even the Orange-Haired Siren has her girly moments!”

“Oi! I ain’t havin’ no girly moment!” she shouts and stomps her feet.

“Alright, alright. Ya ain’t havin’ no girly moment. Now,” Jax looks at Fenrir, “I suggest ya go ahead and return to the piers. Take it easy, get some more fishin’ in, and wait until the round is over. We’re goin’ to make sure that those bastards don’t even think about comin’ back over here.”

“Got it,” Fenrir says, finally letting go of Oleander. “Thanks again for everything.”

The Shoebill heads back to their usual spot at the piers.

“Hey, Orange-Haired Siren, what’re you planning on doing with that tree anyways?” Fenrir asks.

“Oi. Call me that again and I’m sneakin’ a bomb into the next thing you eat,” Tabitha says.

“You… you can make bombs?”

Tabitha smirks.

“Alright, alright. Tabs, what’re you planning on doing with that tree?”

“You’ll see.”

…

“Looks like a wolf needs to learn its place,” Ull says, trying his best to retain a calm composure but Blackstache and Rachel can see it cracking.

“Gotta admit, what ‘e did was pretty damn impressive. Didn’t think he’d be able ta pull any o’ that off. Gave yer champs a good fight and helped out Morven’s lot,” Blackstache replies.

“That he did. He has even made off with one of Yggdrasil’s branches. I will have my men down there to collect it from him once the round is over.”

“What’re ya talkin’ about? Anythin’ goes in the first round. If somebody wants ta steal part of another’s ship, they can. Yer champs stole a bunch o’ catches, killed some NPCs, and sunk dozens o' ships on ‘er own. If part of their mast got stolen, ‘at’s their own problem. Ya interfere and yer goin’ ta start some major problems.”

“I do not think you understand, Blackstache. Every one of my fleet is made of branches from Yggdrasil herself. To steal one of her branches not only makes that wolf dangerous, but the act itself is greatly disrespectful. To not recover that will be a slap in the face to all of those whom have earned the right to own one of her branches. There will be many issues if it is not recovered.”

“Yer not tha one understandin’ here. Anything goes in the first round. We’re pirates ‘ere. We may have a lot o’ rules in tha city, but durin’ tha tournament, anything goes.”

“So, you expect me and mine to allow somebody as disrespectful as him to own one of my nation’s most prized possessions? You are supporting him stealing from me?”

“I’m supportin’ tha rules of tha tournament, and ‘at’s ‘at.”

Ull turns to look at Blackstache but sees Rachel standing between them instead, her hand on the hilt of her blade as electricity begins sparking off of it.

“Very well, Blackstache, very well. If you wish to support the actions of a thief stealing what belongs to me, then we will just have to take it back during the next round. I am sure both his crew and my champions will proceed on to it, and I doubt he is patient enough to wait until after the tournament is over to make use of his prize,” Ull says, getting up from the cushions that he has been kneeling on with his four cervine legs.

…

An hour later and the dome around the water disintegrates.

Less than one hundred out of the nearly two thousand ships that participated in the tournament are left floating.

Debris and bodies float on most of the water.

Only twenty of the surviving crews make it to the next round, and of them are: The Shoebill, The Weeping Tit, The Steel Tiger, and Ull’s champions.

Serra and Cassiel hug Fenrir in a moment of satisfied accomplishment. Morven and his two surviving crewmembers limp off of The Shoebill and go to spend time with those whom they came close to never seeing again. Corwin and Oleander head off for a secret meeting someplace dark and private, and Tabitha starts barking orders at Bonekraka to go and get the parts that she needs to get The Shoebill back in top condition.

Rock shakily walks up to Fenrir, sits in front of him, and whines.

Fenrir bends down to pick Rock up and give her some love.

Almost the entire first round for Rock was spent clinging onto the mast trying not to get flung off the ship.

She requires many belly rubs and headpats.