Footsteps thunked up and down the deck of HMZS Fulmar as Tyrus and Quinn sparred. Sweat burned Quinn’s eyes as he darted around the mast and thrust his sword at Tyrus. Tyrus blocked it with his buckler and returned the parry. The dance continued until Quinn put up his sword and with what little breath remained in his lungs called, “Yield.”

Tyrus’s final blow bounced off of his buckler. “Sorry mate, couldn’t stop in time.”

Quinn nodded as he sheathed his sword. “Yeah, sure.”

“Think we’ll see any?” Tyrus asked as he jabbed the air over the water with his sword, before he too admitted his body needed a brief reprieve and sheathed it.

With his back against the mast, Quinn rested his hands on his knees and looked out over the water. The mound of land that marked the Kingdom of Razadak was barely visible on the horizon. In fact, Quinn wasn’t entirely sure he could see it, or if he was looking at a mirage. “Nah man. They know better than to mess with us.”

One of the crew walked over to the two lords with cups and towels. Before taking a drink, Quinn mopped his face with the proffered towel. Straightening, he glanced over at Tyrus. A scowl darkened the other man’s face and he stalked to the edge of the ship and rested his arms on the rail.

Quinn thumbed the token dangling from his belt that marked him as one who had slain a merfolk and joined Tyrus. He too scowled as he recalled the battle that earned him that mark and the scars that went with it. “Are you that eager to encounter those monsters?” he asked as he rested on the rail.

Tyrus grunted, but out of the corner of his eye, Quinn noted that the other man’s hand went to his belt where there was no token. “Those beasts deserve no less than to be mounted on walls like the fish they are.”

Quinn glanced passed his friend and looked aft. Dolphins played in the wake. He frowned. Two of the grey fins twirling in the waves lacked a dorsal fin. He clapped one hand on Tyrus’s shoulder and pointed with the other. “I hope you’ve rested enough Tyrus. You might get your chance. Here come two of those creatures now.”

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Tyrus paled as he snapped back away from the rail. Quinn drew his own sword and watched the other man. Tyrus breathed heavily and seemed to steel himself as he drew his own sword.

“You could still run and hide,” Quinn said flatly.

Anger blazed in Tyrus’s eyes. “No. I will fight.” He looked like the caged panther the Rigel’s had received as a gift as he prowled back to the rail. “Let’s let them start something. That way no one can get mad at us for engaging with them.”

Quinn nodded. “Walk with me to the stern. We’ll let them know they’ve been spotted and see what they do with that.”

As they walked down the deck, Tyrus picked up a fishing net and smirked. “Let’s show them the net. See if they can be baited.”

With a low chuckle, Quinn helped Tyrus casually drape the net over the back of the ship.

The two mermen dove once more with the dolphins before flipping onto their backs to stare up at the men on the ship. “Are you threatening us, fools?” asked the one on the right. Quinn noted that he had two blue stripes running down his otherwise black hair. The other had hair the colour of blood.

“Threatening you? We’re just enjoying the sights and the sea breeze,” said Tyrus. He gestured to himself and Quinn. “Maybe we’ll do a little fishing later.”

“Fishing! How dare you threaten us. This is our sea.”

“Your sea,” scoffed Quinn. “The surface belongs to us.” He lifted up the token from his hip so that it flickered in the sunlight. “Your kind is not welcome here anymore.”

The two mermen snarled and produced thick conical pieces of stone from the pouches strung across their backs and stabbed them into the wood to climb up the side of the ship. Before Quinn and Tyrus had a chance to drop the net onto the merfolk a third merman jumped out of the water and grabbed his fellow creatures and yanked them below the surface.

Boots thudded across the wood towards them. “What’s going on?” asked Garrick. He rested his harpoon on the side of the ship and leaned over the edge to stare at the water.

Quinn glanced in the water. The three murky forms of the mermen were still visible beneath the surface. One of the merfolk’s daggers was still embedded in the side of the ship.

Garrick grinned. “They attacked us. Well, what are you waiting for? Let’s return the favor.” He picked up his harpoon and launched it at one of the blurry forms.