The morning sea was calm when Tigi’s ship departed from the docks of Felaris.
Large ropes were untied from thick wooden posts while sailors shouted to one another across the deck.
The sails unfurled steadily overhead and caught the wind with a loud snap.
Slowly, the ship pulled away from the harbor while smaller vessels moved aside to clear its path.
This time the atmosphere aboard felt different.
The ogre children were gone.
No curious questions or laughter.
No Kijaga nearly falling over the rails trying to look at fish.
Only the crew remained aboard alongside the captured pirate vice captain locked beneath the ship inside the head where waste barrels and refuse were kept.
Nobody on the crew particularly cared if he was comfortable.
Dren leaned against the rail near the helm while watching the waters ahead.
“You know,” he said after a while, “we could’ve just handed the prisoner over to the Spartan military back in port.”
Tigi kept both hands resting calmly against the wheel.
“We could have.”
“Then why didn’t we?”
The captain’s eyes stayed forward.
“Because Spartan claims responsibility over these waters.”
Dren scratched the side of his beard.
“Still doesn’t explain why we personally need to bring him all the way there.”
“It does to me.”
The wind shifted slightly as the ship continued cutting through the sea.
Tigi finally glanced toward him.
“Spartan governs trade from their shores all the way to the forests near ogre territory.
Six thousand miles of sea routes, merchants, travelers, fishing vessels, transport ships.
They collect taxes for protection.
If pirates grow bold enough to attack this close to Felaris, then somebody in Spartan needs to answer for it.”
Dren folded his arms.
“And you think the emperor himself should hear it.”
“Yes.”
“That’s insane.”
Tigi shrugged lightly.
“Maybe.”
Dren stared at him for a moment before laughing under his breath.
“You know most people spend their lives trying not to attract the attention of the Spartan emperor.”
“Most people aren’t sea captains.”
Before Dren could answer, a thunderous voice exploded from above.
“SAIL HO ON THE STARBOARD BOW!”
Every crew member on deck immediately looked upward.
Ragnar stood high within the crow’s nest with one hand gripping the wooden frame beside him.
The massive sailor rarely spoke loudly unless something serious was happening.
Tigi narrowed his eyes toward the distant horizon.
At first they looked like black specks against the water.
Then the shapes became clearer.
Ships.
Large ones and too many.
The skeleton flags confirmed everything.
Pirates.
And they were moving fast.
Very fast.
Dren counted quietly under his breath before swearing.
The crew immediately moved into position without needing further orders.
Weapons were pulled from racks.
Sail lines tightened.
Some men loaded crossbows while others checked blades and pistols.
The atmosphere changed instantly.
Nobody panicked.
But nobody smiled either.
Tigi looked over the approaching fleet calmly before speaking.
“Bring me the prisoner.”
Dren blinked once.
“Now?”
“Now.”
Without another word he disappeared below deck.
The ship creaked loudly as it shifted against the waves.
Across the water the pirate vessels continued closing the distance with terrifying speed.
Then Dren returned dragging the chained vice captain behind him.
Jack looked terrible.
Dirty, bruised, humiliated.
The smell alone nearly made some crew members step back.
Tigi walked toward him slowly.
“Your captain came a long way for you,” he said calmly.
Jack spat near his boots.
“When Mike catches you, he’ll feed your bones to the fish.”
Tigi smiled faintly.
Then he looked toward his crew.
“Keelhaul him.”
Several sailors smirked immediately.
A few burst into loud laughter.
Even Dren paused for a second before realizing Tigi was serious.
Jack’s expression changed instantly.
“WAIT—!”
Nobody listened.
The crew moved quickly, tying heavy rope around his body while he struggled violently.
Tigi pulled a blade from his belt and crouched near him.
Then calmly slit both of Jack’s ankles.
The pirate screamed immediately.
Blood poured onto the deck.
Dren stared for a moment before looking back toward Tigi.
Sometimes he genuinely forgot the captain had another side to him.
Tigi laughed with his crew, joked with children, and treated his people fairly.
But when someone threatened his ship…
That warmth disappeared fast.
Jack was thrown overboard moments later.
The rope tightened sharply and dragged him beneath the ship as screams echoed through the water.
The barnacle-covered hull shredded skin and flesh while the crew watched silently.
Ahead of them, the pirate ships had seen everything.
At the front vessel stood an enormous man with dark braided hair hanging down his shoulders.
Gold rings decorated his beard while thick veins bulged visibly across his forehead.
Cut-Throat Mike.
“Go faster.”
One pirate near the helm hesitated.
“Captain—”
Mike grabbed the man by the arm hard enough to make him cry out.
“I SAID GO FASTER NOW!”
“Yes captain!”
The pirate stumbled away immediately before muttering quietly to another crewman.
“But we already are…”
Back aboard Tigi’s ship, Dren watched the approaching fleet nervously.
“You’re taunting them.”
“A little.”
“That’s not helping.”
Tigi kept watching the sea.
“This isn’t about taunting.”
Dren frowned slightly.
Tigi finally nodded toward the water behind them.
“I know these routes better than most people know their own homes.”
The captain then raised his voice sharply.
“Cut the rope.”
One sailor immediately obeyed.
The line snapped free.
Dren looked confused.
“Why let him go now?”
Tigi rested one arm against the helm.
“Just watch.”
The ocean current slowly carried Jack’s battered body away from their ship and toward the incoming pirate fleet.
Blood spread through the water behind him while he weakly screamed for help.
“CAPTAIN!”
Cut-Throat Mike stepped forward instantly.
“Get him back!”
Several smaller boats were lowered immediately into the water.
Pirates climbed aboard and began rowing toward their vice captain as fast as possible.
Then the sea changed.
At first it looked like the water beneath them had darkened.
Then the shadows expanded.
And expanded.
And kept expanding.
The smaller rescue boats slowed first.
Not willingly.
The pirates inside had noticed it too.
Something massive was moving underneath them.
The surface of the ocean bulged upward slightly.
Then higher.
Then higher still.
A shadow stretched beneath every ship present, so enormous that the pirate vessels suddenly looked tiny in comparison.
Even Ragnar slowly lowered his weapon while staring downward from the crow’s nest.
Nobody spoke.
Nobody moved.
The water beneath the vice captain suddenly began rising.
keelhauling involves tying a captive to a rope, throwing them overboard, and dragging them underneath the ship across its barnacle-covered hull.
damn Tigi ><