115 Vol. 2 pt. 52 Patch 9.0: Confrontations and Revelations (1/2)
The pier that The Shoebill is docked at overflows with players and NPCs alike wishing to congratulate the crew on their victory. Some of them just want to get an up-close look at the ship that brought them to winning the tournament.
Cassiel, Serra, Corwin, and Rock all seem bothered by the sudden surge of popularity. Corwin places himself behind Oleander as if to hide despite being much taller while the other three more or less all try to squeeze behind Fenrir.
This sort of popularity is no big deal to Fenrir, Oleander, and Bonekraka. They are used to having in-game popularity, and while Fenrir doesn't want to get popular again, he can at least handle it when he is.
While Tabitha may not be used to this sort of reception, it doesn't stop her from proudly standing next to her ballista and taking in all of the awed cheers.
Fenrir worries about what Alexander may be plotting, but for now, it's time to relax and enjoy their victory. Even Nell agrees with him as he can sense how happy he is and responds with her own elated feelings. They may not be able to exchange thoughts nor words, but with what day it is and how happy he is, she knows that it could only mean one thing.
…
”Well, I wasn't expecting that,” Ull says while Liz runs her hands through the hair aback his head.
”How the hell did he pull that off? Nobody ever tried working with the serpents before, and I'm pretty sure they would've killed anybody who tried,” Blackstache says.
Ull looks down at his flagship. ”I have a theory. Seems like more happened than I thought during her latest little breakout.”
Liz notices Ull tensing his fists and stiffening shoulders, so she rests her chin on his left shoulder to rub the side of her head against his own as her fingers gently wrap around his hands. ”Remember what you said about taking it easy,” she whispers into his ear.
”I know you don't like him, but try not to frown too much when you give him his reward,” Blackstache tells Ull.
”I am supposed to give them the reward I brought, aren't I?” Ull says and sighs. ”There is going to be no shortage of drama in rewarding him after stealing a branch and killing my champions. I don't suppose you could make sure my room is stocked with alcohol? I'm really, really not looking forward to the comments and subscriber loss I get from this.”
”Don't worry about that. Who cares if you lose a few subscribers? Between your streaming and the company paying you, I doubt that you're going to lose more than enough to buy a few burgers. Besides, it's the viewers who stay with you through the good and bad that matter the most.”
”I'm a vegetarian, so I suppose that would be alright.”
”In that case, you won't lose more than enough to buy a few… I don't know, what do you hippies eat? Kale chips?” Blackstache asks while his hands idly twirl his mustache.
Ull looks ready to give an in-depth answer about the diet of a vegetarian but gets interrupted by Rachel returning to the room.
Behind her are four men chained by their necks to each other and getting dragged along the floor. Each one of them is bloodied and bruised.
”They were found hiding by the cannons. My men reported a few patches of disturbed dirt and found these men buried with breathing tubes. As for how they were able to get into position in the first place, we found the corpses of several guards and emptied bottles of rum with them,” Rachel explains.
Ull raises an eyebrow and looks at Blackstache whom looks embarrassed from his second failure at security. ”Well, at least we got them—” Blackstache realizes he's still talking normally. Now that they are around regular players again, he switches back into his pirate accent. Liz also resumes her act of being an obedient slave girl by standing next to Ull with her head bowed at all times. ”Alright, ya bastards, the hell did ya think ya were doin' over there?”
None of the men answer nor even look up at him.
”I bet you're happy that you gave in to my demands for heightened security. The last thing we needed was for our city's defenses to be turned against us, again, and the four batteries that they were found at are all capable of shooting into the city,” Rachel says.
”Are you four the same who commandeered that first cannon?” Ull asks.
Only Rachel knows the truth about who hijacked the cannon during the second round. She has yet to tell Blackstache that it was none other than their old guild leader.
The chained man in front shakes his head.
”Do you know who did?” Ull asks.
Another refusal.
”Then tell us, who do you work for and what was your purpose?”
”We'll get tha information outta 'em,” Blackstache says. ”Unless yer feelin' up ta doin' what ya did ta yer boy who jumped tha wolf to these bastards. Bet that'd make 'em talk quickly.”
”My viewers seem to be in a bad mood, so I am sure they would love to watch some more punishment. Would you mind if I handle them?” Ull asks.
Appreciative of being informed that Ull has resumed streaming, Blackstache nods and tells Rachel to hand the chain over to Ull. ”Let us know if ya find anythin' out,” Blackstache says.