Finnigan landed with a thud. Every bone in his body broke at once. But the monster stood. He was the strongest in the world, and nothing could stop him anymore. The crowd amassed in a circle around Finnigan. The monster smiled. Kill. Murder. Destroy.

The dragons landed on the rickety old docks of Carnil Coast, and were met with angry mobs of people. Until Finnigan started cutting his way through the crowd. For some reason, the monster felt himself following the small boy and the girl with the dragons. Why? They were mere humans with a similar affliction? He had never showed interest in anything but death before then.

He made his way through crowds to the docks and then joined the crew in the middle. Finnigan was covered in blood. And he loved it.

Arve was first to board the ship. He was so small that no one paid him any mind. He crossed through the crowds unseen due to his ridiculously short height. He yelled for the others to find their way over.

The crowds weren't just there for the dragons. They were there to collect the bounty on Emma’s head. A bounty the king authorized. The people closed in with deadly intent. The dragons would make good prices on the open market, and Emelia Vandleheart was worth quite the golden reward. Finnigan was all that stood in the way of that.

The dragons attempted to take off. Flapping their wings in fear as the people aimed weapons at them. But the dock shook and quivered at the weight. If they took off, everyone standing there would be shark bait. The dragons couldn’t risk hurting Emma. They loved Emma. She was helping them.

“Finnigan! Hey, Finnigan! Get on the boat, will ya? I’ve got places to be!” The monster growled, but seemingly obeyed. The sliced a path violently toward the boat’s entrance, and helped Emma and the dragons up into the ship. The wood creaked under the new weight.

A knife cut Finnigan in the stomach, but he made short work of the offender by slicing his head off. Emma lets out a shriek of fear as she ran onto the boat. She knew that person. She bought bread from that baker when she visited the Coastal town. And that monster. That monster beheaded him.

“No! Stop!” She screamed, hopelessly. “Please, don’t kill anyone!”

The Coastal people paused at her scream. But it quickly broke down into chaos once again. Finnigan’s eyes were black as night, but they were cast in some kind of shame. Finn screamed again. He yelled to his friends a warning. Don’t trust the monster. Never trust the monster.

The monster boarded the boat and sheathed the sword. Finn’s body collapsed. The strings of the puppeteer disappeared, and the lines upon his skin subsided. Emma ran to his side, but Finn was out cold.

Arve ripped up the anchor as he prepared to leave. People with knives and swords started running up the ramp and into Arve’s ship. Arve pulled out his own sword and fought the people back. He recognized the harbormaster down on the docks trying to dissuade the people from fighting. Talking was no longer part of the question.

“Emma! Open the sails. Grab the wheel!” Arve caught a sword a little too close to his face and retaliated with a jab toward the man’s stomach. Arve stepped back onto Finn’s back when the man took another strong swing at his head. He wasn’t really trying to win. He was just trying to distract the others while Emma took the ship out to sea. Once they were off the dock, it would be safe to dispose of the man in the water.

The sails catch the wind and the boat surges forward. Arve jabs and the man trips over the railing of the old boat. The ship groans, but holds the new weight of the dragons. The ramp slips off the boat and into the water. Arve grumbles. Arven will never let that one go.

Once out of the harbor, Arve let his guard down. They were safe, for now.

“You have to bring me back.” Emma had since relinquished the wheel to Arve and was now staring at her home country from afar. The railing rocked from her weight. Her cheeks were still wet from the tears she had cried for her people.

“Sorry, but no can do. It’s way too dangerous right now. Wait a bit.”

“I have to go back! That’s my kingdom!” Emma screamed as she jabbed a finger in the direction of the coastal town. Finn still lay unconscious on the deck of the ship. No one had bothered to move him.

A seagull landed on the rickety railing with a scroll in its mouth. A paper scroll in a seagull’s beak was the normal way of communication in Carnil and other coastal areas. Emma aggressively ripped the scroll out of the bird’s beak. She untied the red ribbon and read the small note.

“Emilia. I cannot have a cursed soul to take the kingdom. Wherever you have gone, do not return. Signed, King Menina Vandleheart IV.”