Adan sipped slowly on the root beer, eyes darting around the inn.The air was thick with the smell of unwashed bodies and something far more rancid, and the space thrummed with conspiring murmurs. Across the sticky floorboards, rats brazenly scampered between the feet of the patrons, not ashamed to make themselves known.

Adan’s warped table was surrounded by a sea of grim-faced pirates, their eyes glinting with distrust in his direction. At his side, Ivy sat quietly, methodically wrapping long bandages around her hands and up to the elbow. Her focus was absolute, preparing for the duel looming ahead. Adan couldn’t tell if she had bandaged to improve her sword grip or to protect her knuckles. He wasn’t sure how she would prefer to end Ray, by merciful fists or unforgiving iron. Of what he felt sure was she’d win. He’d seen her training with Riko and her power was not only unquestionable, but unmatched.

Returning his attention to the room, Adan’s eyes narrowed as he spotted a newcomer whispering to Korath, one of the island’s most influential figures and one of Ray’s captains. Korath was a hulking man, a leader among the misfits that populated this decaying outpost. As the newcomer spoke in hushed tones, Korath’s frown deepened, his expression growing more severe with each passing moment.

Once the messenger departed, Korath approached the table, his hands raised in a gesture of peace, signalling to Adan’s men that he meant no harm. The tension in the room was palpable, every muscle on both sides coiled and ready to spring.

“I heard the girl is indeed the King of the Blue’s protégé,” Korath rumbled, his voice low but carrying a weight of certainty.

“Told ya,” Adan raised his glass in a silent gesture of agreement. Korath gestured for permission to sit, and with a nod from the Kraken captain, he proceed.

“We’ve heard the rumours about the Indri,” Korath mumbled as he leaned forward. “That the King was back and had taken her place as a Finger from her. But we didn’t know it was Riko’s plan. Neither had any idea about her. The King’s reputation isn’t one of sharing, ye’know?”

Before Adan could respond, a man burst through the door, his face flushed with urgency as he rushed over to them. “The Ray is ready. He demands, as challenged, the weapon of choice.”

Adan’s stomach knotted with unease. He knew Ray wouldn’t choose swords. He was well aware of Ivy’s expertise with blades. His anxiety deepened as he prayed it wouldn’t be firearms. “Which is?” he asked, the words heavy on his tongue.

“Ray has chosen a short spear.”

Ivy stood immediately, her movements purposeful as she made her way outside. Adan raised to follow, but a hand on his forearm stopped him. Korath’s grip was firm, his expression earnest. “Adan, me and the rest of the cap’ns are already in. We’re all tired of rotting here. Not a single one backs the Stingray. Why waste time in a duel? Let’s just go.”

“It’s personal.”

Together, they followed Ivy out of the inn, a large crowd trailing behind them. Kraken men mixed with Ray’s thugs. The lines between the factions blurred as more joined the procession to the main square. All together as a whole crew. In truth, Adan mused, there was never much difference between Ray’s scum and his own. So the mix felt natural, like they were meant to be.

In the square, Ray awaited them, dressed in a tattered, old outfit reinforced with layers of leather: a clear advantage over Ivy’s simple attire. She wore a plain shirt, a sash tied tight around her waist to offer minimal protection to her lower abdomen, and basic pants. She was handed a harpoon; the metal rusted and the wood rotting, a stark contrast to Ray’s weapon: a long, gleaming blade with a sturdy handle. A piece so valuable it could feed the entire island for a month.

A smug smile played on Ray’s lips as he bounced on his feet, warming up for the fight. Ivy stepped forward, but before she could advance, Korath halted her with a shout. “Girl, don’t let him mess with yer head like last time. You strike for the kill, or he will.”

As Ivy moved to the center of a broad circle made of men, Adan filled with doubts. He had seen her fight many times and knew her strength and skill well. But Ray, despite his pompous demeanour, had been a Finger for many years, and that was proof enough of his ruthlessness. “What happened last time?” he asked.

“The Ray threatened a little girl, and Ivy gave herself up.” Korath snapped his teeth in frustration. “Big mistake, if you ask me.”

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“Well, she has a heart,” Adan said softly. “Passion, compassion. But she’s resilient and brave. You’ll see.”

“That’s the problem, mate,” Korath said. “If she wants to lead bastards like us, she needs to be one as well.”

Adan sighed. In the centre of the square, Ivy and Ray faced each other, their spears pointing at each other. A heavy silence fell over the crowd, something extremely rare for that type of confrontation.

“I’d have let him kill the little girl, then let him pay dearly for it. Dearly,” Adan murmured. “And all my mates would’ve done the same. You and your mates too. And of all of us, scum of the seas, the King would have done even worse. But here’s the thing: we all have this evil in us. If there’s something we do all share, it’s that. And we don’t need more. We also have the expertise of Riko and the fame of the King. But we lack a bit of what this girl can give us. We’ll take it when we can. That’s her role in all of this.”

“And what is that? Softness?”

The spears clashed with a resounding crack, the two fighters circling each other with lethal precision. Feet shuffled, blades swayed, the air filled with the sound of metal against metal.

“A reminder, from time to time, that we are still humans,” Adan replied.

The duel was fierce, a brutal dance of skill and strength. Ivy and Ray were evenly matched, neither giving an inch as they dodged and struck with equal ferocity. But as the fight wore on, a subtle difference emerged. Ivy, despite the relentless pace, did not tire. Her movements remained sharp, her breath steady. Ray, on the other hand, slowed. Sweat beaded on his forehead, his breathing grew laboured. His strikes became less precise, his defence faltering. Not much later, to the sounds of metal cutting the air, joined gasps and goals to keep a strength fading at each move.

The crowd watched with unbroken attention, the outcome hanging in the balance as the two warriors fought on, neither willing to concede.

Ray faltered, his movements growing sluggish as the duel wore on. His steps lacked the speed they had earlier, his strikes losing their precision. He stepped backward, his confidence disappearing with each passing second. He took a defensive tactic, waiting for a mistake she’d not conceded. Instead, she pressed to an advantage he’d never recover from.

She stroked with a deadly grace, her movements swift and unrelenting. With a deft combination of a slash to the side and a frontal thrust aimed at his face, she drove him back. Ray’s footing slipped, his leg buckling beneath him as he stumbled and fell to one knee.

Not giving him a moment, Ivy struck his weapon with a calculated slash. The short spear flew from Ray’s grasp, spinning through the air before clattering uselessly to the ground several feet away.

Defeated, Ray collapsed fully to his knees, his chest heaving as he raised his hands in surrender. The fight was over. The onlookers, amused instead of disappointed at the sight of their once-mighty leader brought low. Ivy stood tall and looked down at Ray. The moment of victory could have been one of mockery, of boasting. Instead, she remained impassive.

“She needs to kill him,” Korath said. “Or the Ray will return and claim what he thinks is his.”

The defeated Finger of piracy, eyes wide with fear, pleaded, his voice trembling as he tried to bargain for his life. He attempted to muster some semblance of charm, flashing a desperate smile, his words dripping with false sincerity as he promised anything that might spare him. But Ivy’s eyes were cold, unyielding and in that moment, Adan realised Ray knew much better than him about what was crossing Ivy’s mind.

Without a word, she drove her boot into his face, the force of the blow sending Ray sprawling onto his back. The impact silenced him, his charm shattered along with his composure. He tried to scramble away, but Ivy was relentless. She stepped forward, her boot pinning his arm to the ground. With a swift, brutal motion, she thrust her spear down onto his wrist, the blade severing flesh and joint clean. Ray screamed in agony, his body convulsing at the sudden loss of his hand. He rolled on the ground, clutching the forearm.

Ivy watched with a chilling detachment, circling around the crippled like a predator waiting for a wounded prey to perish. As Ray halted his whining and crawling, Ivy made her last move. She approached with a deliberate calm, raising her spear high before bringing it down with a long, clean slice across the back of his feet, severing the tendon right above the talon.

Ray’s scream reached a fever pitch, a yell which even Adan, used to many hellish sounds, found disturbing.

Ray thrashed on the ground, a convulsing ball of blood and tears. The man who had once commanded respect had been falling out of grace for a long, tedious time, Adan thought. And he’d just witnessed the end of the deep well.

Satisfied, Ivy tossed her spear aside, her eyes never leaving Ray as she moved her hands in the language of those who can’t speak words.

“What’s she saying?” asked the former captain of the Stingray, and now a member of Adan’s fleet.

Adan answered without taking his eyes off Ivy. “She told him to disappear and bother no one else. If she has to return, she’ll cripple his other foot and cut off his other hand. And if that doesn’t stop him from misbehaving, she’ll cut off the part of him he values most.”

“That so?” Korath chortled, his laughter dark and humourless. “Well, that’s a big hearty outcome, init? I think she’ll fit just fine amongst the scum we are.”