Cael marveled at how quickly the kraken—whose name was Bubbles, from Citskii's words—healed. Only a few days had passed since Cael blinded the beast, and now it had both eyes and all the tentacles back. It had given Cael wary looks when he climbed on top of it, but it obeyed its merfolk masters well.
The kraken's massive head floated like a small island above water, and was bustling with people. Sceerk, Citskii and a dozen more merfolk warriors and shamans sat on their tails; Tarek, Niko and Myrna tried to find more comfortable ways to stay on the kraken's slick skin; and Pietro, the only translator to human tongue available.
Now that they all settled in, they were on their way towards the harbor for the grand appearance. That was Cael's idea—to come in a way that won't let merfolks' demands be ignored.