Battle With The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up

Fitzroy and the crew of the Jolly Roger set sail from the Island of Pirates in late January, with a goal of entering the Bay of Whispers under cover of night on the morning of February 2.

Pan’s crew, once alerted by Ingvar that the game was afoot, opted to fly instead—with the help of Tinker Bell’s pixie dust, of course. This should have allowed them to arrive in the City far before the Jolly Roger, but they did not anticipate how much flying would take out of the normally flightless Sobek. And so, Pan’s crew arrived just an hour or so before Fitzroy’s crew did.

Pan and Sobek positioned themselves at the legendary Saltgate—Pan atop it and Sobek in the water beneath it—while Tinker Bell flew to the Crimson Keep to alert King Malik and his palace guard.

The battle took place on the docks along the Bay of Whispers and then, eventually, aboard the Jolly Roger. Though the hoodwinked halfling and several members of Fitzroy’s crew did make a run for Stone Square—still hoping the steal the Sword—they were chased off by King Malik and the palace guard.

It was an unseasonably warm winter’s day and the battle was fought under a mostly cloudless sky.

When James Fitzroy caught sight of Pan and Sobek standing guard at the Saltgate, he cursed his fortunes but did not panic. He did not open fire, as an unseasoned leader might have done, for he knew that the use of his cannons would ruin an element of surprise he had left. Instead, Fitzroy gathered his crew and split them in two. The hoodwinked halfling hopped aboard a rowboat, accompanied by the fastest and the stealthiest men on board. Meanwhile, Fitzroy and his two best fighters—Patrick Smee and Elavaris Galaeron—made ready to leap aboard the dock and keep Pan and Sobek distracted.

From atop and below the Saltgate, Pan and Sobek surveyed their enemy to see what they would do. When the Jolly Roger did not open fire, they opted to let it pass and make anchor. Sobek convinced Pan that they stood a better chance of holding off Fitzroy’s crew in close combat, and the younger man agreed.

As soon as the Jolly Roger was within leaping distance of the dock, they dropped anchor and dropped the rowboat into the water. Pan saw this, and for a moment the brash kid thought to send Sobek after the row boat and take on the rest of the crew himself. But cooler, more crocodilian heads prevailed, and Sobek convinced Pan that Tinker Bell and the city’s own defense forces could take care of the row boat.

And so, Fitzroy, Galaeron, and Smee leapt into battle against Pan and Sobek.

Despite the numbers being in Fitzroy’s favor, not one of his three could take on Sobek single-handed. They tried, and it didn’t work. And so, for much of the battle, while Pan toyed with Smee, Sobek battled Fitzroy and Galaeron. And the battle might’ve continued this way, a nigh-endless stalemate, if not for the return of tiny Tinker Bell.

Seeing that Peter was fine on his own, Tink focused her attention on distracting Galaeron. With blast after blast of faerie fire, she robbed Fitzroy of his right-hand woman and left the captain the face the crocodile alone.

Pan’s posse drove Fitzroy’s crew back toward the Jolly Roger, Tink even managing to send a reeling Galaeron stumbling into the water. And it was then, as Galaeron pulled herself out of the bay, that the battle entered its final, decisive phase.

It was on the deck of the ship that Pan, bored by his battle with Smee, saw an opportunity out of the corner of his eye. Fitzroy’s right hand was within swiping distance of Pan’s dagger, and this made the boy laugh. Tinker Bell had already robbed Fitzroy of his metaphorical right hand. Now Pan could rob the salty old seadog of his literal right hand, too. And so, Peter Pan slashed.

Fitzroy yelped in pain, then screamed in anger at Pan. “Bad form, Peter. BAD! FORM!”

Peter laughed as he switched places with Sobek, as Sobek took the fight to Smee. Then Peter picked up Fitzroy’s severed hand and said, “You think that was bad form, you old goat? Watch this! Hey, Sobek,” Peter cried out to his compatriot.

Sobek, standing over a cowering Smee, looked over his shoulder at Peter.

“Hungry?” Peter asked.

Sobek licked his lips and opened his mouth. And when Peter tossed Fitzroy’s hand at the crocodile, the beast swallowed it whole.

James Fitzroy, now absolutely livid, stood and charged at Peter Pan. He made ready to run the boy through. But before he could do so, Tinker Bell slashed a tiny hand through the air and tore a hole in the Veil of the World. The next moment, Fitzroy tumbled through the glowing orange hole and disappeared. The moment after that, perhaps sensing their cause was lost without the captain, Patrick Smee and Elavaris Galaeron leapt overboard.

Peter Pan and Tinker Bell thought to give chase, but Sobek convinced them to let the others go. He pointed to a row boat in the distance, one being pelted with arrows from the shore. “We won the day,” Sobek told his teammates. “They don’t have the sword.”

Pan nodded as Smee and Galaeron climbed aboard the row boat. Then he looked around at the ship he stood upon, as if confused by where it had come from. “Is this our ship?” he asked Tinker Bell.

And when Tinker Bell nodded, Sobek did not correct her. After all, the old crocodile thought, it was theirs now.