© 2026 – J.B. Norman, published by Emona Literary Services
“She has a bucket,” Skadi notes as she, Kat, and Dunstana once again dare the halls of the Piratesburg. “Why does she have a bucket?”
The infamous island fortress has been home to a band of renegade pirates who have been a thorn in the city of the Porthaven authorities for years now. Despite their previous successful raid on the Piratesburg, the pirates themselves can continue to be a bother to Porthaven, necessitating another daring raid.
Skadi has suggested burning their ships. Dunstana wants to draw funny moustaches on all their paintings. For her part, Kat would rather plunder the treasury of the Piratesburg. And not just because that means she can pocket said plunderings herself…
Dragging along a bucket filled with some sort of black goo Skadi doesn’t want to think too much about, Dunstana glances over her shoulder.
“I’ve been studying the Way of to Octopus,” she says – as if it’s the most obvious, least stupid, thing in the world.
“Yeah,” Kat sighs. “I don’t know, either.”
“Last time, you were a Viking,” Skadi notes.
Dunstana shrugs. “There’s no rule that an octopus can’t be a Viking. Or that a Viking can’t be an octopus.”
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