"I think he killed somebody," Autumn said.

"Nah, he definitely led a mutiny," Titus countered.

The party was on their way to the giant's bathhouse, where the hydra -- and apparently Gerald the golden fish -- was currently being housed. Autumn's expertise had been requested to assist in capturing the fish, and the others had agreed to tag along out of boredom and curiosity. It was a long walk down the vast hallways of the mountain, and felt not unlike trekking across a flat and desolate wasteland. They traveled along one of the walls, staying well clear of the middle where lumbering giants occasionally passed by.

"You guys aren't imaginative enough," Iris said, "you gotta think big. My guess is that he was involved in a messy love triangle that ultimately culminated an unfortunate death of his would-be lover. It wasn't his fault, but it looks like it was, so he's been on the run ever since."

"If that's the case," Eli said, "then the lover is definitely still alive somehow, and will make a dramatic reappearance when it matters most."

Victoria squinted at Eli, "that sounds suspiciously like the ending to a romance story."

The pair seemed to have settled their argument in the hours that had passed since that morning, or at least seemed to be ignoring it.

Eli shrugged, "maybe I should write one."

Autumn honed in on the subtle accusation like a predator smelling blood, "aren't there usually romance stories in the backs of those magazines you like?"

"Now I think about it," Eli said casually, "I think there are."

"So the truth comes out!" Autumn pointed a finger at him, "he pretends to read magazines for the practical information in the front, but it's really all about the romance in the back!"

Eli shrugged, "even if that were true, there's nothing wrong with liking romance--"

"I bet he prefers the werewolf stories," Victoria said.

"I do not!" Eli quickly snapped, his voice echoing off the distant wall of the hallway.

"People write romance about werewolves?" Iris asked.

"Oh yeah," Autumns emphasized, "tons of it. You wouldn't believe the kind of stuff people like Eli are into--"

"Can we get back to Gerald?" Eli pleaded.

"Absolutely not--" Autumn began.

"I'll bet you ten gold it wasn't murder," he interrupted.

"Deal!" she shouted.

After nearly an hour of travel, the party finally reached the bathhouse. It took another five minutes of walking just to reach the edge of the pool, let alone the far end where the captain, first mate and quartermaster were barely more than dots in the distance. They kept a wide birth between themselves and the murky water, wary of the hydra lurking somewhere within.

When they finally approached the captain, he turned and welcomed Autumn with a mirthful voice, "What do you have for us, chef?"

The bottomless bag at Iris's waist loosened and stretched open, and a pair of tentacles rose out of the void holding a lidded metal pot, which they handed to Autumn. She took the pot and walked up to the captain, removing the lid to reveal the wafting steam of a hot soup.

"I call it miscellaneous soup," Autumn said, "to be honest, it's usually made with whatever undesirable scraps I have left from other meals. In this case there's some chimera gristle, a little bit of elk fat, and a whole lot of rabbit organs."

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

"Sounds like stuff a hydra would eat," Meredith said skeptically.

"Yes," Autumn acknowledged, "but that's where my secret weapon comes in -- spices. Most people don't know it, but snakes hate spices because they have such strong senses of smell. Hydras are kind of like a bunch of snakes attached to the same body, so I'm betting it'll hate them too. I've loaded these leftovers with as much spice as I can spare, but not so much that it wouldn't be appetizing to a desperate and hungry man turned into a fish."

"She's right," the captain said, "hydras have a stronger nose than sharks -- and quite a few of them, too. Very smart."

Autumn beamed with pride as she handed the pot of soup off to the quartermaster.

Titus nudged Iris with an elbow and leaned over slightly to whisper to her, "leftovers?" is that what she's been feeding us?"

"I-- I think so," Iris hesitated, her face stricken with horror.

"Uh, captain--" Autumn said warily, "permission to ask a question?"

"Granted," the captain said, suspicious of her uncharacteristic caution.

"What exactly did Gerald do to deserve all this?"

Meredith glanced at the Shark Titan with concern as the cheer left his face. He turned to face the water and stepped up to the very edge before speaking.

"There was once a ship called the Gale's Embrace," he spoke without emotion, "she was a sister ship of the Gaping Maw in the Spiral Fleet. Gerald's selfish actions resulted in her destruction and the death of most of her crew."

"Was there murder?" she asked, "like, intentionally?"

"Intentions don't matter at sea," he said gravely, "only consequences.”

“What about a love triangle?” Iris asked bravely.

“No more questions. Luo, pour the soup."

Luo seemed happy for the subject to change, and quickly stepped up beside the captain to pour the soup into the water. Before the last of the chunks had splashed into the pool, the hydra roared.

"Step back!" The captain ordered.

Luo quickly threw the last of the soup out of the bucket and joined the others in retreating far from the water's edge. Only the captain remained, eyeing the hulking shadow which quickly raced across the pool. When the hydra grew near to the soup, the hydra roared again and quickly diverted course to swing back around and return to the deeper end. The captain turned his attention to the chunks of soup floating in the water.

"He won't come if you're standing there," Meredith called out.

"Yes he will," the captain replied, "he's arrogant enough."

Several moments passed while nothing happened -- and then the captain saw a chunk of meat that had drifted away from the edge bob below water and disappear. With near instantaneous movement, he leaned forward and kicked off the edge into a dive which transitioned directly into a full speed swim.

From the surface, the others saw nothing after that until the captain erupted from the water on the far side of the pool a few moments later. He angled his jaw upwards, opened it wide and reached in with a single hand to withdraw the fat golden fish from behind his teeth -- all but unscathed besides a single torn fin. The captain didn't bother to close his mouth again before erupting into booming laughter as he held up a desperately flopping Gerald by his tailfin.

"You're mine again, you worthless son of a--"

"Captain!" Meredith shouted, but the Shark Titan had already noticed the shadow racing towards him.

He leapt six feet into the air and two dozen feet away from the water in a single swift movement, narrowly dodging a hydra head as its wide open jaws slammed into the marble floor like a snake trying to bite a wall. He landed and immediately leapt again as another set of jaws slammed down, and again to dodge the third. The Hydra heads quickly slinked back to the water, but lingered above the surface to furiously hiss in his direction before finally disappearing back into the pool.

He turned to look at Gerald, "you conniving coward!"

Gerald continued desperately convulsing in a vain attempt to escape.

"Meredith!" he shouted across the pool, "this bastard tried to set me up!"

Meredith sighed and placed a hand over her face and didn’t bother to speak loud enough for him to hear, "I tried to tell him that might happen."

Autumn and the party were soon dismissed by Meredith, with the explanation that the chef's services were no longer needed. On the walk back, the argument about Gerald's story soon picked up again.

"You heard the captain! A whole crew died!" Autumn insisted.

"Most of a crew," Eli corrected, "and he clearly dodged your question about intent because it was an accident. Accidents can't be murder."

"Bullshit! He dodged the question because he couldn't stomach to admit the depths of Gerald's atrocities!"

"He eats people, Autumn!" Eli was damn near pleading for her to hear his point, "why would he get sick at the topic of murder?"

Autumn snarled -- and Iris was pretty sure she even growled a little -- but she had no retort. Finally, she released an angry sigh and grumbled her response, "this isn't over, werewolf fucker."

"I don't fuck werewolves!" Eli's shocked and exasperated shout rung out down the halls.