Octavius wasn't sure what to do now. Ceres seemed to still be going strong, said something about being alive and kicking after twenty. That was a lot of alcohol, and he wasn't sure such a thing was possible for him at this point. He'd gotten this far, beaten everyone else, and things were looking good. But he still had to get past Ceres, and she was looking a lot better off than he felt. She declared that there was no shame in losing, but the warlord didn't see it that way. He couldn't see any situation where losing was acceptable. How were people to respect him if he lost? He couldn't lead by example if he wasn't the best. The pirate mustered all of his strength and kept going, determined not to lose. "I..." he found his beer-addled mind was having trouble thinking, but he had no problem focusing on victory. "Nod, gunna... Loose." he managed to declare, wondering how he was going to power through another six or so tankards full of ale.

It didn't matter what the woman said, she wasn't going to convince the captain to give in. Being a pirate lord meant being a formidable warrior, a shrewd negotiator, and an indomitable drinker. The first two were easy enough, having come back with a little practice. But Captain Cuttlam found his liver wasn't quite as eager to jump back into the fray. That didn't stop him from forcing it to, but it did mean that the process was a bit less pleasant than it could have been. Surprisingly, though, he kept his feet better than expected, and managed to keep up with his competitor, despite her obviously superior drinking ability. That was probably only because she was downing them so quickly, though, pumping all of the alcohol into her system, and moving on before it could really start to react. Once it really hit her, Octavius was sure she would drop like a rock, leaving him standing alone as the victor. It was just a matter of using his supposedly-superior endurance. This contest was going to turn into a long game pretty quickly, he figured, since he couldn't quit. [I]Just hold on...[/i] he told himself. [i]She can't drink forever![/i] he managed to convince himself that she wasn't cheating, and that Ceres would have to give out first. If she was cheating, he supposed he could always see if the mariner was right the first time...