“How are the new garments, do they fit?” Watson asked.

“They’re decent,” Bergmann said. “Can take some getting used to.”

“I never thought I’d say this but now I know what its like to wear garments for nearly a century,” Watson said. “The other sealskin skirts should be preserved somewhere. I don’t know where though. Will need to bring that up with the Vicegerent at some point soon. I’m surprised your irons are still almost usable and intact.”

“They were trapped in ice for a very long time,” Allen said. “I suppose the ice in the Arctic has more to it than I once thought.”

That alone would get anyone interested in investigating them, Watson said. “Eat up while you can. We won’t be taking food from here. So whatever we hunt and forage out in the Oceans will be ours to feast on. We better get really good at it.”

“Watson,” Allen said. “You may not seem to notice this, but Bergmann and I truly thank you for helping us out.”

“Don’t hold your breath,” Watson said. “I’m only doing this to settle a long-debated matter. I want my own peace more than she wnats hers, and you want yours. I’d rather get this over with.”

“That’s fine then,” Bergmann said.

“I went and talked to my own hunting brigade,” Haddock said as he stormed right into the house. He panted and stared down onto the floor. “Seems the brigade is on board. Some of them are reluctant, but will comply. We have our forces already.”

“Do they know to meet us at the harbor?”

“They will,” Haddock said. “They’ve only been told to prepare their irons. Seems most of them are ready.”

“They barely hunt with their harpoons anyways; might as well put them to good use,” Watson said. “Finally Haddock, you’re getting in on some action.”

“Or so I’m told,” Haddock said. “Are those new garments for those two?”

“They are,” Bergmann said. “A century wears out your own clothes like no others.”

“Interesting, suits you well,” Haddock said.

“I checked on the Striders, and found three of them we will be taking,” Watson said. “When we head for the harbor, we’ll dismount them and be on our way. I hope you, and they, are ready.”

“We will be,” Haddock said. “But also, I have something for you.”

Haddock went away from the house and loaded into Watson’s home an assortment of armor. Many pieces of them, one by one, Haddock dropped onto the ground. From breastplates. To leg pieces. To chestplaces. And much more. Watson looked at the armor and tried to piece it all together. “Why are you handing me the armor of a Commandant?”

“You called for this expedition,” Haddock said. “You are the one to lead it. It’s only befitting that you reinstate yourself. They won’t listen to a Commandant who merely listens to a retired Commandant. They will want an example to follow.”

“Haddock is right on this one,” Allen said. “If the hunters find a Commandant is merely taking orders from a commonfolk, though no ordinary one at that, it will only raise alarms and questions.”

“And what will they say of you?” Watson asked. “They already know you are their Commandant. If you suddenly change your mind.”

“Easily fixed,” Haddock said. “Two Commandants for the brigade.”

“Two?!” Watson asked. “Wow.”

“Watson, I know how much you say you aren’t a Commandant anymore. But I know you’re craving for this return. This is your chance now. Why not just take it.”

“Alright alright alright,” Watson insisted. “Hand over the abyssal armor, I’ll wear it when the time is ready.”

“The hunters have been told to regroup by the harbor at your command,” Haddock insisted. “I convinced them that the Vicegerent already approved for the expedition, and none of them will bother to reach him for an audience.”

“Better that kind of lie than nothing at all,” Watson said. “Fine then. We need to make final preparations. Really, they are the least preparing we’ve ever done for an expedition. But it will do. Get yourself ready and rest easy. We leave in a week.”

When Haddock departed the house, Watson went and checked out his own irons. He examined the blades again to see if he could use them. “Can’t afford to take any of these for repair now,” Watson noted. “Will have to just use them as is. At least they’re good.”

From the silence that loomed over the street of Tridention near their right, more chattering ensued. Watson went outside to try and follow the sound, only to find Haddock still trapped between a crowd of people staring out in the front of the street. He jostled between people, until he couldn’t anymore. And when that failed, Haddock pushed himself against the seafloor and swam away from the throng straying right in front of them.

Watson went to his home, and found the unthinkable. A crowd of commonfolk stood in front of his house. “Commandant Watson,” someone said. “Is it true what I’m hearing? You’re housing two people who have lived nearly two-hundred years?”

“Mind your own abyssal business, you lowlives,” Watson said. “They are not open to taking requests.”

“We just want to know, how is it possible? Those two are the stuff of legend now, it seems,” the civilian said. “Who are those two?”

Oh Lord Wayne, this is not looking good at all, Watson insisted. “Nobody dare enter my house or come near it, you understand me?! We don’t have time for this!”

The crowds became more insistent, chanting out demands and cries to talk to both Bergmann and Allen. Watson found it hard to believe they were reaching that level of celebrity status. It was not the kind of attention he was craving at his home. Watson went back home and grabbed his irons. “Watson, they’re mere civilians. What in the Waters are you doing?”

“I don’t care. Nobody dares infringe on my house. I need to keep the two of you away from the public eye,” Watson said. “If anyone else finds out, our expedition is compromised!”

Watson grabbed his irons and prepared to mount a defense, when two hunters, clad in sturgeon armor and donning their harpoons, descended the street and stood right in front of his home. They were so well stood in place, that they even barred Watson from leaving his home. They formed a barricade between him and the crowds.

“Everyone please now, you heard him,” the hunters insisted. “Back off. Everyone. Now!”

The crowd had no choice but to oblige. In a matter of moments, they fleeted across both sides of the street. Scurrying away like schools of fish. The hunters then turned back to the others. “Watson,” the hunter said.

“I know you,” he said.

“And I you,’ the hunter said. “In a way, I owe you for resolving the scuffles with Jane.”

“Is this what you call returning a favor?” Watson asked. “Far too kind. Even for a sentry of Whitehall.”

“They really are who they say they are, aren’t they?” the hunter insisted. “They need their own housing and accomodation. I’m sure they already had it if they were hunters before.”

“They do, they’re just staying with me,” Watson said. “It’s fine, don’t worry.”

“Merely a suggestion,” the hunter said. “I never took you to be someone wanting attention.”

“It’s because I’m not,” Watson said.

“If you want to veer the crowds of Tridention away from you, maybe you should reconsider,” the hunter suggested. “Until then, you will only receive the brunt of it. May I speak with them real quick?”

“By all means,” Watson insisted.

The hunter entered Watson’s home and checked their insides. Harpoons. Garments. Rations. All were noticed in Watson’s house. “Excuse me, little one,” the hunter said to Pisces. “She seems fond of your harpoons. I hope she knows to tend them with care.”

“She does,” Watson gruntingly admitted.

“You two must be Bergmann and Allen, am I not mistaken?” the hunter asked.

“Correct,” he said.

“Are you two alright? I’ve heard quite the stories about you,” the hunter said. “Long trip back home, aren’t you?”

“It was, but we’re fine,” Bergmann said. “Watson has been absolutely phenomenal in helping us out. We owe him alot.”

“I’m sure you do,” the hunter said. “Just so the two of you know, while the Vicegerent might not seem to admit much, but the Vicegerent and Tridention are forever indebted to your service as hunters. Even if its from a long time ago. The two of you are history living in the flesh now, and that is not something to be taken lightly. I hope you two understand this.”

“We do,” Allen said. “It’s much appreciated, but really it’s unwarranted. We simply are doing our job, and will continue to do so.”

“You’ve already done it, far more than I could comprehend,” the hunter said. “Surprised you’re all so fit and agile,”

“A few hundred years are only that. Time.” Bergmann said. “Time may wear you down, but you can beat it. We’ve learned to do that. Even in the harsh unforgiving cold, it stays the same no matter how much time passes. It makes no difference. Same as us.”

“Admirable,” the hunter said. “Simply let me know if the two of you need absolutely anything at all, I will do the best I can to be of service,” the hunter said. “Tridention needs more people like you now. Perhaps now more than ever.”

“Many thanks, but we’re fine,” Allen insisted.

“Very well,” the hunter noted. He then turned away and left the house.

Once the hunter left the house, Watson sighed majorly from relief. “I was about to slap my irons against that fool,” Watson admitted.

“The hunter was suspicious,” Bergmann said. “Perhaps he thought you were holding us captive in your own house.”

“People actually think that nowadays?” Watson asked. “We truly are lost.”

“We have to leave alot sooner than a week, then,” Allen insisted. “Now the crowds know about us. Now the hunter knows too. We are in their line of attention.”

“For simply surviving the ice of the Arctic, the two of you have become famous. What a surprise.” Watson said. “In all my years of hunting large creatures, whales, and other feats, nobody batted an eye. And I’m thankful for that, truly. But I have a feeling that hunter is going to come back again.”

“So do I,” Allen noted.

“Then we need to make haste,” Watson said. “I’ll inform Haddock to get the brigade ready in three days, and meet us by the harbor. Everyone else must ready themselves. Your irons are still good, surprisingly, so you will use them.”

“Understood,” Allen said.

“No one. And I literally mean no one, must see us leaving the city. So we will leave at the very late hours. The water will be dark, and we might not have much guidance. We must be on constant vigilance the whole time. I hope you two are aware of this.”

“We are,”

“Good,” Watson said. “Ready your irons then, brothers. We have a rescue mission to attend to.”

Bergmann and Allen feasted on what was left of the rations while Watson sharpened his irons with his whetstone. “Pisces,” Watson said. “I need you to come with me. And grab the spare harpoons.”

“You want me to grab the spare harpoons?” Pisces asked.

“Yes, just do as I say,” Watson said.

Pisces leapt off from the floor, reached out for the other two harpoons lying on the right side of the house, then went to Watson with each iron in their hand. “Do you still remember how to use them?” Watson asked.

Pisces nodded in excitement.

“Shorten them,” Watson said.

Pisces noticed how long the actual harpoons were. But that was because they were extended. A part of the harpoon could actually get shoved right into the other, so it would appear as though they had shrunk. Pisces then checked her irons, shook them a bit, and the upper portion of the extended iron pushed itself right into the other. Pisces then swung the irons around playfully, toying around with the flues and their shortened shafts, before sheathing them right behind her. “Good, we’re heading outside the city walls for a moment then,”

Watson swam right out of the house, and Pisces followed suit. Together, they went beyond the city walls, and out into the open. Pisces stared right at him as they were right next to tall golden wall.

Watson then unsheathed a harpoon and pointed it right at his daughter. It did not touch a part of her skin. “Come at me,” Watson insisted.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes, now come at me!” Watson insisted again.

Pisces unsheathed one harpoon, then the other. With the irons pointed at Watson, Pisces charged. Then she tried to attack Watson. With actual harpoon blades. Squarely right at him in the face.

Watson waited until Pisces charged him slowly. Watson decided to be even bolder, and sheath his own harpoons back against him. Then he spread his hands as Pisces swam right towards him. He could clearly see the irons coming his way. Much quicker than he expected. And at any split second, it would have made direct contact right against him.

Pisces swung one iron and tried to aim it for Watson’s face. But Watson dodged it. A tip of the flue scraped against his cheek, leaving a streak of blood to ebb out of the water. Watson then grabbed the irons from right underneath the blade, and spun Pisces around. The brunt of Watson’s strength carried Pisces, along with the harpoons, away from him and pushing her aside. But the cut had already been done.

As Pisces was propelled away from him. Watson rubbed his hand against the cut on his cheek. He felt the opening on his skin, and the blood that flowed. He knew a hit had been made. Watson smiled.

Pisces then charged again with her irons. One blow after another, Watson dodged. Watson avoided one hit, then the other. And the flurry kept coming right at him. Watson then swam away, but Pisces tried to fire the irons right at him. Watson stretched himself horizontally, dodging both harpoon hits. The irons flung from Pisces’ irons and hurled out into the waters right behind him.

But Watson saw the lines linking the irons to their shafts. He watched them stretch out as much as they could, and it wasn’t long before the irons themselves would pull back.

The harpoon lines contracted in mid-water. Watson caught a whiff of that and quickly dived down to the hardground, glueing himself to the floor with his limbs. The sound of hurling iron being pulled and yanked back echoed right above him. And as he looked upward, the irons were being pulled back, being called to return to the shafts from where they were propelled. Pisces then re-assembled her harpoons, and charged right towards Watson.

Quickly getting off the ground, Watson countered Pisces assault by grabbing both harpoons, one on each hand, and yanking both of them off of her grip. The harpoons were tossed aside, then Watson drew out on harpoon. Pisces tried to attack him again, but Watson simply pinned her to the ground, then with his one iron, aimed the flue’s tips right at her neck.

Watson breathed heavily, and heaved, as the iron was right in front of Pisces’ face. Pisces stared at the blades with a cold, stern gaze. Watson watched Pisces react to the fact that a harpoon iron was right at her face. He saw no fear, no hesitation, no change either. Pisces simply closed her eyes and accepted her fate.

Watson pulled back on his harpoon, sheathing it back again. Then he offered her a hand. Pisces looked at the hand with admiration, grabbing onto it and pulling herself back up off the ground. “I’m impressed,” Watson said. “You’ve been practicing.”

“I had enough time to while you were gone over the years,” Pisces explained. “I still have much to learn.”

“Be careful what you wish for,” Watson insisted. “Because surely enough, you will get it.”

Pisces then rushed up to her father and embraced him with a deep and warm hug. “What made you change your mind?”

“The unwanted attention we were getting,” Watson said. “Any moment now, they will come for Bergmann and Allen. They will also come for me. And perhaps you. I don’t want you to be a part of any of this. So I have no choice. You understand me?”

Pisces did not say anything, but simply smothered her cheeks against his chest and made it crystal clear what her stance was on this.

“This expedition is already cursed,” Watson explained. “Now that you’re coming along with me, everyone will notice and suspicion will arouse. It will only be a matter of time before they find out, and who knows what will happen then.”

“I’ll handle myself just fine,”

“You might be trained in the art of hunting and using harpoons, but you’re no hunter,” Watson warned. “These hunters are veterans. Trained in the art of combat, killing, and flaying for many years. You won’t best them. And you are not hear to attack anyone. Do you understand?”

Pisces nodded.

“You will stay close to me at all times,” Watson noted. “You will not go hunting unless I explicitly tell you you can. And even if you do, you will be hunting with me. I can’t allow anything to happen to you. If the expedition has to fail in order for me to ensure your protection, then so be it.”

“Why train me in this art then?” Pisces asked.

“I knew I wouldn’t be around all the time to protect you,” Watson said. “When things got dire with your mother, I wanted to make sure you would be safe even in my absence. The nature of my duties as a Commandant, forced me to stay away from home almost all my life. Trouble never ceases to find me, for some reason. So I trained you in the arts, over many years. These waters are treacherous, and the only way to survive is by defending yourself. You should expect those with you to help you at all times, but you should not trust them. Not your own hunters in the brigade. Not the calm waters. Not anyone or anything. Do you understand me?”

Pisces lightly nodded.

“I hope this expedition goes well and ends soon,” Watson said. “Maybe the Vicegerent was right not to get involved in the Arctic himself. But I’ve already meade a promise to Jane, and a man’s word has to be good when you reach the positions of power that I reached.”

“You can still turn your back on all this,” Pisces said.

“I do that and people will haunt Bergmann and Allen in the city for the rest of their days,” Watson said. “Might just be they already will. If we undeniably settle this matter, then the city can go back to peace. I only hope that it can for now.

I’ve hunted many things in my lifetime. But this expedition, might just be the most endearing, and dire one, of my hunting career so far. And it came at the absolute worst time. I doubt one could prepare for such a thing.”

“Why did mother leave?” Pisces asked.

Watson fell silent on that question, but mustered the courage to answer back. “The harsh realities of hunting got the best of her, and she couldn’t handle the responsibilities,” Watson said. “It was all dumped on me now. I had to bare the burden. And it was a heavy one. But I bore it with honor. As any good man should.

I hope that one day, after all of this is over, you will find someone similar to that. Because that is the way of the hunting life. Hunter’s honor.”

“I can think of no more honorable hunter than you,” Pisces said. “And I doubt I ever will.”

Watson cradled Pisces in his embrace and they sat by the Tridention wall, isolated from the rest of the world and staring out into the open water. “Will anything come for us from out there?” Pisces asked.

“The waters are far more peaceful than anyone can imagine now,” Watson said. “And that’s a good thing for us.”

“How so?”

“We can be here now,” Watson said. “But also, leaving the city will be much easier, if done right. Are you ready for this expedition?”

“I think so,” Pisces said.

“You’ll pick up on things quickly,” Watson said. “Every new recruit tries to prepare as much as they could, but the expedition’s realities get to them sooner or later. You’ll have to take the punches and roll along with it. It’ll be fine.”

“The hunters will say something because I’m a girl on a hunting brigade,” Pisces said.

“I will shut them up,” Watson said. “They will have no choice but to accept it. At this point, all bets are off.”

Watson and Pisces spent some time cradling by the wall of the city overlooking the darker waters, mentally preparing for the grueling expedition to come. Once his assurance was satisfied, Watson was left more comfortable with the prospect of his daughter accompanying him on the hunting expedition.

Now he needed to ensure that everything worked according to plan. Or else.