Miles away from Hammer Bay a lone ship made its way toward the mainland. The sea was calm and had a soothing effect on Nathan and his companions; all save one, and an unexpected one at that. No sooner than the Genoshan coast had disappeared into the darkness, Domino discovered a stowaway. A stowaway named Jubilation Lee. Always wanting to visit the continent, the young thief had decided to tag along when she heard Lebeau was headed there.

            A lengthy debate ensued on what to do with the girl. Turning around was out of the question. Sam suggested throwing her overboard, though Nathan was fairly sure he was kidding. They eventually decided to keep her around until they reached land, then drop off at the first "colleague" of Lebeau they could find.

            Night soon gave way to dawn and the groups of adventurers busied themselves with preparations for the next leg of the voyage. Nathan and Lebeau poured over maps, discerning a safe yet quick journey to the Eye of Agamotto. The entire western portion of the continent was controlled by a loose confederation of trade provinces. The two closest provinces were Baxter and Worthington, both strong allies of Nathan's family.

            "We'll be safer in the water than on land, so we should head up the coast a bit, up toward Worthington," said Nathan.

            Lebeau nodded in agreement at the prince's assessment. "Aye, but we should come to port south of Worthington manor. If the enemy is as widespread as you fear, they'll be watching the docks of every city in the Confederation."

            Nathan squinted at the map. "I don't see a place where we'll be able to do that, though."

            Lebeau laughed heartily. "Master Xavier wanted me to come along because I have certain resources, young prince. You may not have noticed, but our captain is also a prudent businessman. I'm sure he knows a secluded location that will fit our needs nicely." A smugglers cove is what he meant. Nathan had noticed. Their captain, Benjamin Grimm, was a massive thing of a sailor. Grimm had been a captain in the Baxter navy, but years on the water had taught him that it was far more profitable to trade with the Latverians than it was to attack them. A trade embargo between Latveria and the Confederation made doing business tricky, not to mention illegal, but Grimm was experienced, cunning, and well connected. And at the moment, seemingly roaring drunk.

            "So I says to Namor," he was telling Jubilation, "I says 'I don't care if you are king, or Imperious Rex, as the arrogant ass likes to call himself, where was I?"

            "You didn't care if he was king," Jubilation eagerly cued. She loved a good story. It didn't matter to her that Namor was a fictional character. He was a legend used to scare sailors: a vengeful ruler of an undersea kingdom, bent on terrorizing land dwellers who invaded his precious waters.

            "Right," Grimm continued, "I didn't care if he was king or not, I said 'You move that sea serpent of yours or I'll be clobberin' the both of ya from here to the Yancy Strait.' We tussled awhile, but eventually we came to a mutual agreement, and I think a real respect for each other." The sailor sat back in his chair, obviously pleased with his tale, and took a swig of some thick oily liquid.

            Lebeau looked over from the table where he and Nathan had been strategizing. "You tellin' fish stories again Grimm?" he asked. The oversized sea captain spluttered, spitting out his drink, his facing contorting to a crimson mask of rage.

            "You callin' me a liar?"

            Lebeau laughed his thick, smoky laugh. "'Course not. Just don't tell the one about the time you thwarted Baron Zemo's plot to poison the Stanley river. That one's boring in addition to being false!" Lebeau coolly ducked the large iron cup Grimm proceeded to throw at him. It missed Lebeau, sailed clear across the deck and hit Sam Guthrie right between the eyes. There was a collective wince, followed by uproarious laughter by a certain small thief girl.  She was still laughing straight up to the point Sam had picked her up, tossed her over his shoulder and dangled her over the edge of the ship. The laughing turned to whining, then begging, and when he eventually put her back on the ship's deck, became sulking. Then, in a startling turn of events, Jubilation stayed quiet the rest of the day and into the night.

            "I think you hurt her feelings," Nathan told him that night.

            "That girl has no feelings. The only thing to get hurt today was my skull." There was a small but noticeable bump on the young man's forehead.

            "Nonetheless, you should apologize. She's just a kid, and you're making her feel unwanted."

            "Nathan?"

            "Yes?"

            "Do YOU want her here?"

            "Well no, but that's beside the point. Now go make nice. I'm going to try and get some sleep. We make for land early tomorrow morning." Nathan patted his friend on the shoulder and retired for the evening. He attempted to rest, but Nathan Summers' dreams that night were full of fire and destruction.