"and then, WHOOSH!" Autumn spread her arms wide in emphasis, "and when he landed, it felt like the whole world was shaking. Then he spoke, and it was like an explosion that didn't stop! I got dizzy, some people even passed out."
"That must have been what got me," Iris said, "I remember the first gust of wind, then it got dark again and the ground shook so hard it hurt, and then I woke up."
"You must have been right under it!" Autumn said, "I bet you were closer than anyone."
"That's something, right?" Titus said.
"Yeah," Iris replied, still dejected she hadn't actually seen it.
None of them were eager to spend another night in the forest, and they had each completed their respective quests before the Matriarch expedition, so their journey back to the city had been swift and steady. They stuck to established trade routes as much as possible, taking only sparing detours through the forest. For much of the way, Eli flew on Glimmer's back, Victoria rode the wind in mist form, and Iris blipped along happily with what was becoming a decent well of mana. Meanwhile, Titus and Autumn put their long distance athleticism to the test, jogging most of the way. Now, as they approached the city gates down the main, muddy thoroughfare, they slowed to walk together as a group and converse.
"I think we're in for a treat," Victoria said, momentarily lapsing into her remote aura vision.
"Oh yeah?" Eli asked over his shoulder, then he stopped as the bay came into view between the trees.
Iris blipped up beside him, and Autumn closed the short gap with a jog. Through a gap in the trunks, the Giantrock Bay glistened. The waters were discolored and littered with debris, and the Shark Titan's ship stood tall above the waves. Anchored in the bay just off shore, the ship's true size was put on grand display. It had several rows of canons, and multiple rows of port holes above them. Five huge masts towered hundreds of feet above the deck, and a giant black flag depicting a shark's open maw flapped proudly in the wind.
The lower rear of the ship was folded open like a drawbridge, allowing the waters of the lake to flow into it. Massive metal chains marked with glowing runes were wrapped around a silvery-blue mass. Unseen gears turned within, ratcheting the chains and dragging the captive Hydra into the ship.
"Whoa," Iris and Autumn said in unison.
"So that's where the Shark Titan's gonna put it," Eli said, "I've been wondering about that."
"Me too," Victoria said, stepping up beside him, "I still don't understand what he plans to do now, though."
"When I was reading about the Shark Titan in old newspapers," Iris said, "I read that he's made a big name for himself in the Shining Blue Sea. Maybe he's taking the Hydra back with him?"
Eli shook his head, "I've seen maps, there's no rivers big enough for that ship. The Great White would take him about half way, but there's some narrow passages and it splits into hundreds of smaller rivers when it reaches the southeastern swamps."
"Well how'd the ship get here in the first place?" Autumn asked, clearly doubting Eli's knowledge.
"It looks like it was made from redwood," Eli said, "I guess it was built here."
"That's his vacation ship then?" Titus asked with a look of surprise.
"I guess," Eli shrugged.
"You won't find many titans who aren't disgustingly rich," Victoria said, "power buys money."
After a observing for a while longer, they moved on, taking the branching path off the main road that led down between and under redwood roots to the Giantrock City Docks and the Underbelly beyond. As the path deposited them on the docks, they got a clearer view of the waters. The debris scattered throughout the water was the remains of the battle, a destroyed dock littered the nearby waters with splintered wood, and there were floating scraps of armor and clothes dotted between massive floating chunks of hydra. One neck had washed ashore and had clearly been harvested for meat and scales, exposing the slender skeletal structure within. At one end, the gaping, lifeless hydra maw lay still as bugs swarmed around its eyes. Large swathes of water were stained red or blue, mixing at the borders into a dark, tainted purple. On the beach were rows of bodies draped in cloth, and a small, organized group of adventurers and city officials who seemed to be facilitating the identification and retrieval of remains by the party members of the fallen.
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The smell was sickening, like the dredges of the lake had mixed with the bloody soil of a battlefield massacre. The party pinched their noses or covered their faces with their clothes as they traveled down the docks, only daring to breathe deeply when they reached the damp, tight boardwalks of the Underbelly, where the air was dominated by the characteristic pungent smell of mildew and sweat mixed with fresh cooking food at street vendor stalls.
"I never thought I'd be happy to smell this place," Titus remarked.
"I'll be happy when I'm clean," Iris groaned, self conscious of walking by so many people in her current state.
They were far from the only adventurers to have returned, but the Underbelly was much less crowded than it had been in the days leading up to the beginning of the Hunt. Street vendors still peddled their meals, seemingly oblivious to the massacre just beyond. A few vendors had makeshift signs proudly announcing they were serving fresh hydra meat. Autumn nudged Iris and gently slapped Titus on the arm, jerking her head towards one of the vendors selling Hydra on a Stick.
"Hey, we're gonna stop for a bite to eat," Iris called out to Eli and Victoria.
"What are you doing?" Autumn hissed.
"Alright," Eli waved over his shoulder without looking back, "see you at the tavern."
Autumn stopped and tilted her head at Eli as he walked away.
"See, that wasn't that hard," Iris said, clapping Autumn on the shoulder as she led the way to the vendor.
"When did he lighten up?" Autumn asked, chasing after Iris and Titus, "did I miss something?"
"He's as tired as the rest of us," Titus said as they took a place in line, "he probably figures we can't get into too much trouble here, compared to what we've been through."
"Pfft," Autumn retorted, "I think it's her fault. She broke Eli."
"Me?" Iris said, turning around and gasping in mock offense.
"Yeah you," Autumn poked her on the shoulder with an exaggerated frown, "he's thought you died so many times he's gotten used to it! Next he'll be letting us stay up late and eat sweets after dark!"
"Oh nooooo," Iris mocked, waggling her hangs dramatically.
"She's got a point though," Titus said, "I think your antics really have started to wear him down."
"Antics?" Iris asked, this time with a hint of genuine offense.
"Next!" The vendor shouted.
The three adventurers stepped up to the tiny stall.
"Three hydra sticks, please!" Autumn said, plopping a few coins on the counter.
The vendor swiped the coins and grabbed three skewers from the grill behind him. As he handed them out, he looked Iris up and down with a rude expression, "you smell like shit."
Autumn and Titus stifled laughs.
"Thanks, I know," Iris said with an aggressively fake smile, roughly taking the hydra stick from him, "I've kinda been through a lot."
"It shows," the vendor said, "next!"
"Do I really smell that bad?" Iris asked as they were shuffled away by the next group in line.
"Oh yeah," Autumn said through a mouthful of charred hydra, "you smell as bad as you look, and you look like--"
"I get it," Iris interrupted, "dibs on first shower then."
Autumn shrugged.
"No complaints here," Titus said.
Iris bit into the hydra meat, instantly moaning when the taste hit her tongue, "this is fantastic, it's like chicken."
"It's better than chicken," Autumn said, "wait for it."
"Wait for wh- ah, AH!" Iris spat out the bite she was chewing and stuck out her tongue, ineffectually waving on it with her hand, "why is it spicy?!"
Autumn laughed, seemingly impervious to the heat, "it's the best part!"
"It's horrible!" Iris said, tears welling in her eyes.
"It's a little hot," Titus acknowledged, clearly trying to hold back his reaction to it.
Iris nibbled a few more small bites of the hydra meat, because it did actually taste pretty good before the spiciness hit, but eventually she gave up and offered the remainder to Autumn, who happily accepted. Not long after, they arrived at the Flopping Fish, which looked wholly unchanged from the last time they were there.
Iris was first through the door, eager to finally get clean and comfortably relax for the first time in what felt like ages. She spotted Victoria lounging in a chair at one of the tables, her head was draped over the back of the chair and her eyes were closed.
"Where's Eli?" Iris asked.
"Shower," Victoria responded simply.
"So that's why he let us stop!" Autumn exclaimed.
"That bitch," Iris hissed.