"You were mugged?!" Eli nearly shouted.

"It was only attempted!" Iris defended, "they didn't even have knives!"

"You still could have been hurt! I don't want you going off alone anymore.

"You can't do that!" Iris insisted.

They were gathered around a table in the tavern, eating fish sandwiches they'd picked up from a small place in the Underbelly. Autumn and Titus kept their eyes on their food or the table, while Victoria observed Iris with a respecting smirk.

"You actually can't, you know," Victoria said to Eli, "she's not a child, you can't ground her."

"She's level 5," Eli countered.

"Yeah," Iris said, "and an adult. And clearly I can handle myself."

Eli sighed, propping his forehead up on his hand, "these aren't monsters, Iris, they're people. Monsters are dangerous but people are a whole different thing. What if those guys are in a gang? What if they come back for round two, and actually do bring knives this time?"

"Then I'll embarrass them again, take their knives and sell them at a shop."

"Hell yeah!" Autumn said, half-way pumping a fist in the air.

Titus leaned over towards Eli, but didn't bother to actually whisper, "I don't think you're winning this one, boss."

Eli sighed again. Before he spoke they were interrupted by a knock at the tavern's door.

"I'll get it!" Iris nearly jumped from her seat, happy for an escape.

She blipped across the tavern, opened the door, and curtly screamed. She stepped backwards, then turned and blipped twice back to the table. "It's the shark guy," she said hurriedly, "I'll, uh, be in the kitchen." She blipped out of sight.

A large silhouette blocked the faint torchlight from outside. His shoulders were broader than the opening, and his beady eyes hovered just below the top of the doorframe. Eli rose sharply from his seat, then froze. The others didn't move.

The Shark Titan ducked and twisted through the doorway, gently closing the door behind him. He shrugged off his long royal blue captain's coat and hung it on a hook near the door, then made his way to the bar. Now bare chested, the scattered candle light of the tavern cast shadows over the scars that covered his body. He pushed two stools together to accommodate his size, and sat down.

After a moment of silence, he looked over his shoulder at the stunned adventurers and spoke in a deep, gravely voice, "the bar is open, right?"

No one wanted to be the one to tell the superpowered bodybuilder with a shark head he couldn't have a drink, but Eli didn't want to ignore him, either.

"None of us work here," Eli said, "sir."

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The Titan stood and leaned forward over the counter, reaching clear across the gap and grabbing a bottle of dark liquor from the back shelf with one hand, while dropping a few gold coins on the counter with his other. He popped the cork with his razer teeth, turned his head back, and poured the liquor into his open maw. He glanced at the bottle with admiration before placing it on the bar in front of him.

"I'm here to see the proprietor," he said without turning around.

"He's, uh," Eli stammered, "I actually don't know if he's here." None of them had actually seen the Fish Wizard since not long after they'd brought him the golden fish. Eli looked hopefully at the others, "does anyone know where the door to his quarters is?"

"There's a hatch in the kitchen floor," Autumn suggested, "usually surrounded in puddles."

"Uh, Iris," Eli called out, "can you knock on the hatch back there? See if the Fish Wizard's in his... basement?"

Iris was between two supply racks near the back of the kitchen, watching the Titan through the shelves and service window. She would normally be excited to meet a Titan, each one of them was a legendary adventurer in their own right, but she would have liked time to prepare herself before being face to face with a musclebound shark pirate in a dark, empty tavern.

She looked at the wooden hatch on the floor between the shelves, tucked away and almost out of sight from most of the kitchen. It was reinforced with steel bands that created obnoxious tripping hazards. "Found it," she called out.

She knelt down and knocked on the hatch. No response. She knocked again, still no response. She moved to lift open the hatch, but it popped open before she could. She stared blankly at the sight before her. The Fish Wizard was submerged up to his neck in dark, uneasy water just a few feet below the hatch, and he was peering up at her angrily.

"Our deal was you leave me alone!"

"Do you..." she trailed off, "is your bedroom underwater?"

"What do you want?"

"I want to hear all about how that works," she said, "but more importantly, there's a shark man here to see you."

Worry fell over the wizard's face, "I'll be right out."

Iris walked to the kitchen doorway, then blipped across the tavern to the table. The shark titan glanced in her direction, but didn't acknowledge her. After a few angry grunts and a slamming hatch, a soaking wet Fish Wizard trudged out of the kitchen, leaving a trail of puddles behind him. Eli gave Iris a concerned, questioning look and jerked his head towards the wizard. She shrugged.

"Clements!" The Fish Wizard exclaimed with mock joy, spreading his dripping arms wide in a welcoming gesture, "what brings you to my very much closed establishment?"

"It's just Clement," the Shark Titan responded, "Captain Clement, to you. I want Gerald."

"Ah," the Fish Wizard responded awkwardly, "no."

"By Code of the Sea, he must stand trial for his crimes aboard The Gale's Embrace. As Captain --"

"We're not at sea, Clements," the wizard interrupted, "we're... at lake. There's no code of the lake. If there was, I would've wrote it, and the first rule would be 'get fucked and get outta my tavern.'"

The wizard turned towards the kitchen to leave, but froze when the Shark Titan rocketed to his feet, slammed his hands on the bar and bared his rows of teeth. The Fish Wizard held out his hand towards the kitchen, where the hatch could be heard popping open and slamming closed again. His staff - waterlogged and dripping -- flew into his hand.

"We're doing it here, then?" The Fish Wizard asked with a dangerous look.

The Shark Titan let out of a slow breath that rumbled in his throat like a growl.

"No," he spoke lowly, "but the day approaches."

The Shark Titan swiveled his head towards the others, who were all sitting petrified at their table. He spoke through a toothy grin, "I apologize for my behavior, you've been most accommodating." His eyes stopped on Autumn when he recognized her, then he nodded at her. Confused and intimidated, she nodded back. He turned to leave, stomping slowly across the tavern and snatching his coat from the hook.

"I swear to the gods, Clement," the Fish Wizard called after him, "one day I'll mount your head in this tavern!"

He stopped and spoke in a quiet tone, "you'd best make good on that promise soon, wizard, before it's me you're swearing to."

He slammed the door behind him, and the Fish Wizard let out a strained breath.

"Who's Gerald?" Autumn asked.