The sailing ship by the fishery was more ancient than the building. With the hull worn down and covered in barnacles, Alexander was worried if the ship would remain intact when they crossed over to it. The ship was attached to the fishery by a series of ropes tied to the poles that held the building up as well as to the boardwalk. A walkway leads up to the ship with a single door leading to a cabin. Alexander couldn't believe that Gaedren would be on the ship and watched Indigo silently walk across the walkway.

"Do you think that this is a good idea?" Alexander asked. "I'm not sure if Gaedren is hiding in this ship."

"I think the same," Indigo nodded as he looked over the edge. "Yet, it appears as though there's a lower part to the fishery. We'll have to climb down the ship to reach another boardwalk."

"We could climb down the slope of the hill and swim to the boardwalk," Viera suggested. "It wouldn't be quick or clean but there's no telling what traps that Gaedren has set on that ship."

"It wouldn't be too wise of an idea to set traps on this ship," Indigo shook his head while walking across the deck of the ship. "They would-"

Indigo gasped out loud when the floor gave out from under him. Alexander rushed over to help him but was surprised to see that the masked man was able to grab onto the edge of the newly-formed hole. The warrior grabbed his companion by the hand and helped him back onto the deck, which creaked with the extended weight on it. The rest of the group piled onto the ship, and as of now, the floor remained beneath their feet.

"What was that about no traps?" Viera said with a smirk.

"Not a trap," Indigo defended with a quick chuckle. "It's just the ship."

"Maybe the ship is the trap," Viera pointed out.

"Perhaps so," Indigo nodded. "Unless any of us want to jump down, I suggest we go through the cabin. There should be a way to the hold from there."

"A sound idea," Alexander said. "Anything to get off this ship."

Falenas was already at the cabin door and opened it. Alexander stepped inside after the elf and noticed how musty the air was. Cobwebs were on the wall and the floor was cluttered with blankets, cushions, and straw. Alexander made his way towards a set of stairs that led down when Falenas gasped. A small spider had jumped up on his shoulder, and while the warrior rushed to aid his companion, the elf proved to be quicker. He pulled his dagger out and stabbed the spider in a careful manner to not injure himself. When the others came to his side, he held the spider on the dagger for everyone to see.

"Drain spider," Falenas explained. "Not too dangerous but they do have a minor poison. Judging by the webs, I assume that there's more in the hold."

"Then we should be careful," Indigo said. "We don't want to be poisoned before our fight with Gaedren."

"I concur," Falenas nodded. "Stay up here. I'll let you know when it's safe."

"You're not seriously going to go down by yourself, are you?" Alexander asked in surprise.

"I am."

"I'm not letting you go down below," Viera stepped forward to the stairs.

"Please, I have the perfect tool to eliminate the spiders," Falenas said and took out one of his makeshift bombs. "I wouldn't want you caught in the crossfire."

"Wouldn't that set the ship on fire?" Indigo asked, alarmed.

"You missed my explanation but the short answer is no," Falenas answered and walked towards the stairs.

Alexander sighed. "If you get into any trouble, call out for us."

"I would but I don't plan on getting into trouble."

Falenas strolled down the stairs alone, torch in one hand and bomb in the other. Alexander's eyes adjusted as best as they could to the darkness, and while he couldn't make out details, could see the silhouettes of his companions and the stairs that curve downward. Although he had his doubts on letting Falenas go down below, he knew that convincing the elf to accept help wouldn't be easy. Alexander kept an open ear by the stairs, listening for any signs of trouble. Even if he wasn't going to be there at the start of the fight, he would be ready to help if called for.

Alexander heard a sharp gasp from Falenas below, followed by the small cracking and explosion of his bomb. "The hold is clear!"

Slowly, the group made their way down the stairs. Falenas' torch lit up the ship's hold, which mostly had stacks of barrels and crates. The hold smelled of mildew from puddles gathered from the river outside and of smoke from the aftermath of Falenas' bombs. Four spiders were curled up on the floor, unmoving with smoke rising from their bodies. The elf looked at his work and coughed into his arm. When he stepped out to meet the rest of his companions, his movement was wobbly.

"Are you okay, Falenas?" Viera asked with concern.

"A few of them managed to get a few bites on me," Falenas waved his hand dismissively. "Nothing I can't handle."

"You just said that they were poisonous!" Indigo gasped.

"I said they had a minor poison," Falenas reminded the group. "I am in no mortal dangerMy muscles strain more than they do but I can still throw a bomb just as well. Better that I suffer from their poison than one of our capable warriors."

"You didn't have to sacrifice your wellbeing for us," Viera said and bowed her head.

"Where's the door?" Takota asked with a frown.

If what Indigo said was true, the hold would have a way to lead the lower side of the fishery. Yet, even with the torch lighting up the ship's interior, no one could see any sign of a door. Alexander trusted Indigo's insight and glanced around the hold for clues of a way out. After several moments of silence, he caught sight of dust pushed away from one part of the wall. Gaedren relied not only on spiders to act as guardians but went out of his way to install a secret door in an ancient ship.

"Here it is," Alexander walked over to the wall and after a few seconds of tapping along the wall, found a good hold to pull the hidden door.

"Well spotted," Indigo complimented. "Let's press on. I feel that we are finally cornering Gaedren."

The group pressed on, leaving the ship through the hidden door and stepping out onto a boardwalk under the night sky. Alexander used his shield to push through rusted chains and tattered ropes hanging from the fishery that were in their way. He led the way over to the hill the fishery was built against to face a door that led to the lower portion of the fishery. The rest of his companions were ready for what waited behind the door, but when Alexander tried the door, he felt the door handle stop.

"It's locked," Alexander groaned.

"Could we bash down the door?" Viera suggested.

"Please, step aside," Indigo reached into his pockets. "I can handle this."

Alexander took a step to the side to make room for Indigo. The masked man approached the door and took out a lockpick from his sleeve. He knelt down by the door and went to work on the door's lock. It came as no surprise to Alexander to see that Indigo knew how to pick locks. After several seconds, the door clicked open and the group quickly stepped into a room lit up by braziers before they lost the element of surprise.

The group found themselves in a chilled room that smelled of river water due to the large opening in the middle of the floor. Alexander was disturbed to see two pairs of rusty manacles placed to be hanging over the pit. Wooden pilings emerged from the floor to support the upper floor of the fishery above. On the other side of the chamber was a collection of old loot: cracked goblets, unpolished silverware, chipped plates, damaged weapons and armor, and other treasures scattered along with cabinets and lockboxes. Three tables were set up among the pile of so-called treasure and a wooden door can be seen on the opposite side of the chamber.

Everyone's eyes settled on the man that sat at the tables. Even if they hadn't set out to kill the man, he looked to be in his final years. He was a scrawny man, bald with yellow eyes, with a face that dropped low due to wrinkles. The old man wore gray padded armor over his clothes and had a dagger holstered to his belt. He stood up from his seat and grabbed a loaded hand crossbow he kept on the table. Although Alexander never met him personally, there was no denying that they had finally found Gaedren Lamm.

"I was wondering what that ruckus upstairs was," Gaedren sighed and glared at the group. "Do you really think that this is how I'm going to go out?"

"You have nowhere left to run," Indigo told the man as his companions spread out to cut his way of escape. "You're all alone."

"Are you sure?"

"We killed Hookshanks and Giggles," Alexander told him. "You don't have any thugs left to hide behind."

Gaedren nodded and narrowed his eyes at Alexander. "You look familiar. Have we met?"

"You kidnapped my daughter," Alexander said, unable to contain his anger.

"The new girl," Gaedren chuckled. "Once I'm done with you, I'll be sure to feed her to Gobblegut."

Gaedren motioned his hand towards the opening in the middle of the floor. Alexander glanced briefly, and among the dark river water, he saw movement. A few seconds later, he realized that Gobblegut was an alligator kept in the pool, and realized what the manacles were for. His knuckles over the pommel of his flail turned white from gripping his weapon too hard.

"You'll die tonight, bastard," Alexander declared. "For all of the children you've killed, including Zellara's son."

"Zellara?" Gaedren blinked in surprise. "She sent you here, didn't she? I remember her with her beautiful eyes and silky hair. I couldn't bear to feed her to Gobblegut, so I kept her in the next room. Do you want to see her?"

"What are you talking about?" Indigo asked. "Zellara isn't here. We just saw her."

"He's stalling for time," Falenas commented. "Takota, shoot him already."

"Not yet," Takota said, keeping a nocked arrow aimed at the old criminal. "He has something planned."

Gaedren's eyes shifted over to the elf. "You never struck me as a violent man, Falenas. It's almost a surprise to see you among my attempted killers."

"You'd be surprise at what one can do with the right ingredients," Falenas said and tossed a bomb up in his hand. "I'm putting an end to your shiver business for good."

"Or are you taking it over?" Gaedren asked. "You certainly have the mind for it. I'd keep an eye on your masked friend though. He strikes me as someone who would want to take over my criminal enterprise as well."

"Quit trying to turn us against each other," Viera threatened.

Gaedren let out a gasp then smiled cruelly. "I always knew that you would come back to me, Viera."

"What does he mean by that?" Indigo asked, glancing suspiciously at Viera.

"Now's not the time," Alexander told Indigo. "It's like Viera said. He's trying to break us apart."

"You didn't tell them that you worked for me," Gaedren directed at Viera in a taunting tone. "You did a great job luring them back to me."

"I never worked for you," Viera said, her tone growing harsh. "I was a child when you took me! The day I was able to escape from your clutches remains the greatest day of my life! Yet, I cannot escape the nightmares. Maybe once I bring you to justice, they'll go away."

"Or perhaps your death will end them," Gaedren shrugged. "It matters little. You've been replaced."

"Drop your weapons!"

Alexander turned to the voice that came from the door he and his companions came in and gasped. A man with short blond hair in a red coat had snuck up behind the group. He held an ornate metal rod in one hand and kept his other hand firmly on his captive, Silana. Next to him was a rough-looking dog that growled at the intruders, but per the whistle of the man, held back on attacking. Alexander regretted leaving his daughter behind by herself. He quickly walked towards her but the man's glare had him stop in his tracks.

"Dad!" Silana called out.

"Not another step!" the new arrival demanded. "This wand will burn her with acid if you do. Drop your weapons!"

"You've killed Hookshanks and Giggles, but at the end of the day, I can always rely on Yargin," Gaedren chuckled. "Do as he says."

Alexander lowered his weapons, as did Viera and Indigo, yet Falenas shook his head. "If we surrender now, we die."

"I can't let him harm Silana," Alexander told the elf.

"Then you're going to have to fight because he just threatened her," Falenas reminded him. "I didn't come this far just to be fed to an alligator after we surrender."

"Put the bow down," Gaedren said toward Takota, who still had his bow aimed at the old man.

"No."

"Takota, don't let your revenge blind you," Viera said with a soft tone. "Would you really risk a child's life so you can kill Gaedren?"

Takota remained silent, focusing entirely on Gaedren.

"Wait," Indigo said, although he turned towards Yargin instead of Gaedren. "I know you."

Yargin raised an eyebrow. "You do?"

"We've met before," Indigo nodded. "Don't you remember my voice?"

"I don't," Yargin scowled. "Stop wasting my time."

"Seriously, we've met before."

"Where are you going with this, Indigo?" Alexander asked.

"I don't know an Indigo," Yargin slowly shook his head.

"That's an alias," Indigo said. "Here. Maybe seeing my face will remind you so that I can escape the fate of my companions you have in your grasp."

Indigo reached for his scarf and pulled it down from his face to over his neck. Gaedren shrugged, content to let his foe continue with what he's doing and perhaps wanted to know who he was dealing with as well. Alexander, curious as to the man's identity, glanced towards him as well. The warrior didn't recognize his companion, who was cleanly shaved beneath his mask. Likewise, Yargin blinked in confusion and shook his head.

"I am confident that I don't know you!" Yargin declared. "You've wasted- GRAH!"

Silana stepped on Yargin's foot as hard as she could and the man gasped in pain. He loosened his grip on the girl just enough for her to pull free. Alexander realized that Indigo was the distraction, and that by having Yargin focus on him, he gave Silana a chance to escape. He even hinted that she needed to escape from the criminal's grasp during this. Yargin pointed his wand towards Silana and conjured acid from it, although his aim was off and it hit the floor.

Takota let his arrow fly free, but Gaedren, knowing how this would play out, moved out of the way and let the arrow embed itself in the wall. He fired his crossbow not at Takota but at Gobblegut. The alligator roared in pain and started to swim faster in its pool all while his master reloaded his crossbow.

"Eat 'em up, Gobblegut!" Gaedren growled. "Kill them, Yargin!"

"Get the girl, Bloo!" Yargin commanded his dog.

"Silana, get behind me and close your eyes!" Alexander called out.

"Fight on, my friends!" Indigo said and pulled his scarf back over his face.

Indigo let out a gasp when Gobblegut tried to jump out of the hole, but thankfully, the alligator wasn't able to bite him. He and Viera went after Gaedren, cutting off the criminal's escape, who quickly reloaded his crossbow. When he turned to fire at Indigo, Takota fired an arrow into the elderly man's shoulder, and the crossbow bolt missed as a result. Alexander had faith in his companions and decided that he needed to focus on protecting his daughter from Yargin and his dog.

Falenas threw his bomb at Yargin, setting him aflame briefly as Bloo barks in pain from the spreading fire that singed his fur. This was enough of a distraction for Silana to get behind her father, who took a protective stance. Bloo, obedient to his command, trotted forward and tried to viciously bite through the warrior in his way. Alexander took a step back from the sharp fangs, and hoping Silana followed the second half of his instructions, swung down at the dog. Bloo yelped as the metal spike hit his head and plopped down onto the ground. Alexander regretted killing the dog briefly but knew that he had to protect Silana.

"Still keep your eyes closed," Alexander told Silana in a reassuring tone. "We're almost safe."

"Okay," was all Silana said as she trembled in place.

Alexander focused on Yargin next, not intending to let the man go after ordering an attack on a child. The thug was focused on Falenas, although he missed with the conjured acid blast from his wand. The elf reached into his backpack for another bomb, but after a moment of hesitation, went for the dagger on his belt. Alexander was shocked to see his companion charge Yargin wildly, managing to land a glancing swipe across his face. Falenas grinned to himself, although in his eagerness, he failed to see Yargin take out a dagger from his sleeve.

"Falenas!" Alexander called out.

Although Alexander ran after his companion, he was too slow. Yargin stabbed Falenas, his blade sinking in his chest. The elf yelled in pain, and although his legs wobbled, remained standing. Alexander struck Yargin down with his flail coming down on the criminal's skull.

"That hurts more than I expected it too!" Falenas exclaimed. "It's going to sting when I take it out too, isn't it?"

"If you take it out, you'll bleed out!" Alexander warned his friend.

"Fortunately, I've prepared a healing extract for this very scenario," Falenas said and laughed, only to start groaning. "Oh it hurts so much."

Alexander sighed. "If you're not dying, we should help the others."

While that was the plan, when the two turned to face Gaedren, they quickly realized that their companions didn't need help. While the criminal was able to escape from Indigo and Viera by ducking and moving under the latter's longsword, he was clutching his bleeding neck. He made it a few steps away from the two when he remembered the archer. Takota moved to block his path, still aiming his arrow. Gaedren looked around the room, and with Viera and Indigo behind him and Gobblegut nearly jumping up to bite him, realized that he was finished for. When he turned back to face Takota in defiance, his eyes went wide.

"I remember those eyes," Gaedren said, then bursted out into laughter. "Don't think you're special. You're not the only child I've made an orphan. Go ahead and let that arrow fly loose. My death will not bring you any peace, nor will it bring back your fallen parents. You are nothing once-"
Takota silenced Gaedren permanently, his arrow striking the criminal through the eye and ending his life.

A silence fell over the group after Gaedren collapsed onto the ground. Gobblegut grew tired of trying to swim out of the hole and lurked in the water. Alexander let out a sigh of relief and rushed over to his daughter, holding her tight in his arms. Falenas slowly walked over to the cabinets on the other side of the room, seemingly starting to loot Gaedren's belongings. Viera and Indigo focused on Takota, who holstered his bow and walked over to the corpse of the man he killed. The archer looked coldly at Gaedren in a silent manner.

"Gaedren murdered your parents," Viera muttered quietly. "I can't imagine the pain you've been through."

"I've grown numb to the pain," Takota shook his head. "Korvosa never returned my parents to our people. They were denied their proper funeral. Gaedren Lamm will not be remembered."
Takota pushed Gaedren with his foot towards the hole. Alexander kept Silana's head pressed to his shoulder so she didn't see what happened, even if they weren't at an angle to see what happened in the water. He knew that Gobblegut feasted on his master's remains based on how Indigo and Viera looked away with looks of horror. Takota didn't take his eyes off the scene, as if he needed to see that Gaedren was gone for good.

Then, everyone's attention was drawn to the sound of Falenas' bomb and turned to see a cabinet on fire.

"That takes care of that," Falenas said, clapping his hands.

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Indigo gasped.

"That was Gaedren's cache of shiver," Falenas informed the group. "Now it's up in flames."

"I thought that you didn't have another bomb," Alexander said. "You ran up to Yargin with a knife and got stabbed for it when you had another bomb."

"It was my last bomb and I needed a way to burn the shiver," Falenas shrugged.

"You could have dumped it in the water," Indigo pointed out.

"Now how would I burn shiver with water?" Falenas asked, although he tapped his chin. "Although that does give me an idea…"

"We should really get that dagger out of you," Viera said, stepping forward. "I can heal you."

"Save your healing for someone who needs it," Falenas said and reached into his backpack. "I prepared a healing extract. I'll take care of that and then we can loot the building."

"Loot?" Alexander questioned. "I have to get Silana home!"

"You may want to stay," Indigo suggested. "Gaedren likely has some gold stashed somewhere, maybe other valuables. You can take your cut to make up for the events that took place tonight."

"Keep Silana with you," Viera added. "I doubt Gaedren has anyone else but we wouldn't want to take that risk again."

Falenas removed the dagger with a grunt, then downed the healing extract. "I can feel that injury mending already. Takota, grab that wand Yargin used for me. The two of us will go through the rest of the upper level in case we missed anything. I imagine the valuables are down here for you all to find."

"Sounds like a plan," Indigo nodded, watching Takota leave the edge of the pit to follow instructions.

Alexander set Silana down after a moment of hesitation. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, right?"

Silana shook her head. "He just grabbed me. That's all. "

"Just hold my hand," Alexander told her. "We're almost ready to go home."

Falenas and Takota led the way back upstairs, leaving the rest of the group to search Gaedren's den. Indigo suggested ignoring the cabinets and debris in favor of searching past the door. Viera opened it to reveal Gaedren's bedchamber, a foul-smelling room that had similar "treasure" to where they first found the criminal. At the foot of the wooden bed was a strongbox with a thick ledger on top of it. Flies flew around a hatbox on top of a dresser. Alexander wasn't much for looting bedrooms but was surprised that even a man like Gaedren could stay in this room. He stayed back for a moment while his two companions stepped inside.

"Silana, stand outside the door for me," Alexander said after a moment of hesitation. "And don't go near that ledge, okay?"

"Okay," Silana said, looking down at the ground.

Alexander stepped into the room and noticed that while Viera approached the hatbox, Indigo was skimming through the pages of the book on top of the strongbox. "Is that important?"

"Given that it's written in a code, I believe so," Indigo answered. "It could even be a record of the crimes that Gaedren has committed. Even though he's dead, I'm sure the Korvosan Guard would very much like a translated copy for their records."

"And do you think you can break the code?" Alexander questioned.

"Give me time, and we'll see," Indigo said and closed the ledger.

Viera gasped loudly and took a step back from the hatbox she opened. "This has to be some sort of trick!"

"What's wrong, Viera?" Indigo asked with a hint of concern in his voice.

"There's a head in the box," Viera said, her face growing pale. "Not just any head, but I'm confident that it's Zellara's head."

"That's impossible," Alexander exclaimed. "I don't believe for a moment that Gaedren could have killed her and come back here without us noticing."

"That's not the end of it," Viera took a hesitant step toward the hatbox to look down at it. "The head's rotting with decay. She's been dead for weeks. I think that might be her harrow deck below her head too."

"How can this be?" Alexander said quietly.

"We're not going to find any answers here," Indigo sighed. "Give me a moment to pick the lock on his strongbox. We'll leave afterwards and head to her house along with Falenas and Takota."

"I guess I should at least grab the harrow deck just in case something is amiss," Viera said.

While Indigo knelt by the strongbox with his lockpicks in hand and Viera slowly reached into the hatbox, Alexander stood in shock. Murdering Gaedren out of revenge was a lot to take for him already. Now, the same woman who sent the group on their path is supposedly dead. Although he didn't take a look at the hatbox to see if it was Zellara's head, he trusted Viera enough to know that she likely was telling the truth. Alexander slowly made his way out of the bedchamber, rejoining Silana. The young girl looked up to him with wide eyes. He wasn't sure how life would go back to normal for the two of them after today.

"Is everything okay?" Silana asked. "Are we going home?"

"I… we're going home in just a few minutes, Silana," Alexander patted his daughter on the shoulder. "We're going to leave this night behind us. Do you think you can do that?"

Silana nodded. "I think so."

"Good," Alexander said, forcing a smile.

The door leading to the boardwalk and Falenas stepped in with a look of shock. "We need to leave now!"

"What's wrong?" Alexander asked, stepping forward. "Is there trouble? Does Gaedren have more thugs waiting for us?"

"Nothing like that," Falenas shook his head, looking more nervous than he did when he was stabbed. "The streets are on fire. It's the people of the city themselves that set the flames."

"Why would they do something like this?" Alexander gasped.

Falenas took two deep breaths to calm himself, then answered with four words. "The king is dead."

A/N: Sorry it took me a little bit to get this chapter up or if the writing isn't too great. I suffered from a cold this past week and haven't been able to focus as much as I want to. I'm feeling a lot better though now.

NaNoWriMo is nearing the halfway point, and thanks to the sudden illness, I've fallen behind. While I am at 13500+ words now, I need to write around 10000 words today to successfully catch up. I doubt that I will be able to do that given how much it is, but that's alright. The point of today (a day I have off work) is to write as much as I can to close the gap. I believe that it is still possible for me to finish on time even if I don't catch up today.

I'm hoping to have another chapter or two up today, and now that things are picking up with the story, I expect for the writing to pick up as well.

Until next time.