[IC] The great pirate era. (Sanquin/Sarpedon)

[sanquin]

"I'll take the first shift then." Ceres replied. She didn't feel like having to wake up in the middle of the night, so might as well get it done as soon as possible. 2 hours should be easy enough to bridge since there was still plenty of booze to entertain her during that time. Not only that, but it was a good moment to spend on her physical training as well. Something she had only now decided she should do. For now her devil fruit abilities made her pretty much immortal if she saw the attack coming. But if life had taught her anything by now, it was that you shouldn't rely on just your weapon. No matter how powerful, it always had a weakness.

So as everyone headed to their hammocks, Ceres instead brought a bottle of rum and a 40 pound bag of some kind spice to top deck, deciding that it was a good starting weight for someone that hadn't done any strength training before, apart from the usual 'training' you got while being in the crew of a ship. Then, during her two hour shift she alternated between bench-pressing the bag and taking a break with the bottle of rum. Once her shift was over everything was put back where it belonged. Ceres then went into the kitchen, crawled into her hammock, and quickly passed out.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius wasted no time in heading to bed. He went to sleep almost immediately, and he didn't wake up until someone banged on his door in the wee hours of the morning. "Your watch, Captain." someone said as they poked their head around the door. Captain Cuttlam looked up and nodded slowly, easing himself from his hammock with a groan as the man who'd woken him disappeared. "That was a terrible idea." he groaned to himself, before heading for his clothes, and then the deck. Shotgun in one hand, he sat on the stairs to the poop deck and took up his watch. He wasn't concerned about anything since they were in what could be considered a safe haven, and if this place was suddenly to become unsafe, there was a man who could turn into a giant dog-monster-thing, who was also the best shotgunner the world had ever seen, on top of being a world-class pirate. If there was anything he couldn't do, it wasn't pertinent when it came to things related to his day job.

And thanks to his very particular set of skills, the warlord had no problem obnoxiously ringing the bell when he decided it was close enough to wake up time for his liking. He rattled the offensively loud bronze bell for all he was worth, giving the ship a good thirty seconds worth of alarm before he chuckled to himself, and headed to the other end of the vessel, wondering what he was going to do now. They needed to get their ship repaired, and they needed a navigator. They weren't going to catch the Simurgh without repairs, and he wasn't convinced they would get anywhere without a navigator. He supposed the local tavern would be the only place to start, at least for a moment, but he wouldn't be surprised if his first mate already had a scheme of her own to spin. He supposed he might as well let her take over, if that was the case, though he was loathe to admit that a woman could do anything better than him...

[sanquin]

Ceres almost fell out of her hammock when a bell started to sound quite loudly. It was still pretty early, but apparently the captain figured it was time to wake up. She grumbled a little, deciding she might as well get out now that she was awake. And what better way to start the day than with cup of rum. That wasn't her only job though. As the ship's cook she would have to start making dinner right away. She was used to getting up early and doing so, just not after a few hours of night watch... Still feeling a little groggy the woman started on breakfast. This morning would be something really simple. Bread with cheese or ham, leftover potatoes from the previous day, fruit, and a tankard of either ale or water. Normally things would be a lot more fancy, but she didn't have the time or the energy right then to do so.

After about half an hour the woman emerged from the kitchen, holding two large and one small plate with food on them. She put the large ones down in the middle of the deck. "Come and get your breakfast!" She shouted simply, before walking over to the captain with the smaller plate. She had of course picked out the best parts for him, hoping that he wouldn't just inhale in like last time. Everyone liked at least a little appreciation for their work. "So what now captain. We going ashore? Anything in particular we should be doing there?" She asked, still sounding a bit groggy. "

[Sarpedon]

Octavius was smiling when Ceres appeared. She found him at the helm, bearing a plate of food just for him, it appeared. He smiled wider when the plate was indeed offered to him, and he started eating as his first mate asked him questions. She wanted to know what was going on. He spoke around a mouthful of food, carefully maintaining a very specific level of food in his mouth the whole time. He had just enough of a mouthful that he could speak without spraying, but not so little that it almost felt like there was no point in trying. Whether or not the woman could understand him, he didn't care. He was hungry, and she'd brought him food. He was grateful, of course, but the questions were her own fault.

"Some of us have to go ashore, I guess. We've got to find us a decent navigator, and probably a helmsman too. Someone who can actually steer a fucking ship." he agreed to her first inquiry. "We also need to get this mess cleaned up." he gestured to the damage caused by the Powder Keg. "And we need some new cannons, and... I dunno, maybe someone who actually knows how to play an instrument. Might as well have something to entertain us, right? I had to ban any kind of sharp-implement throwing on my last ship after four people died, so..." he chuckled at the thought, remembering the way the last straw had violently beaten the camel's back into submission. A cutlass, hurled from the mainmast toward the helm, in a hail Mary for all of the proverbial marbles, sliced neatly through a man's throat on its way to the target. Had the man been a pirate, it wouldn't have been a huge deal. The freshly dead man had been a prisoner, however, and even though the hurled sword had hit the target, the thrower saw no return for his investment, his winnings instead being collected by the captain, and distributed in lieu of the prisoner's ransom.

Pushing that strangely humours and unhelpful thought away, he considered their current situation. He looked up at the sky and then sighed again, shaking his head. "Give everyone the day off, and pick two to stay behind as sentries, they can have the day off tomorrow. We'll start sorting this mess out tomorrow..." he sighed, suddenly feeling like a long day of drinking and relaxation was in order. Piracy seemed to be a lot harder than he remembered it...

[sanquin]

"Aye-aye, captain." Ceres replied, looking around the ship to pick two guys to guard the ship for the day. Her first choice was Ace. Anyone daring to try and raid the ship would be met with a swift death if he was on guard. So she went over to him on the other side of the ship and asked. "Yo Ace. We'll be staying here for two days and need some guards. Since half the crew is incompetent, I'll ask you. First or second day guard duty?" The man looked up, then closed his eyes as he had them previously. "I'll take today then." He spoke shortly. Ceres nodded, then found a second crew mate. One of the cronies should be enough, since Ace could probably handle any assailants by himself. Even if they came with a dozen or so.

"Take the day off men! We're staying here for a while!" The woman shouted, making sure everyone could hear. Once that was done she headed to the rowing boat at the back of the ship, along with a few others it seemed. Though she would wait until Cuttlam was ready as well. He was the captain after all. Once everyone was in the rowing boat, and it was lowered, Ceres offered to steer it to shore. She had to train her powers more. Make them second nature. And what better way to to do than starting off with simple things like making a small boat move. She had succeeded with the entire ship as well after all, even if only barely and in a very rough manner.

Once ashore Ceres immediately headed for the small inn. She wanted to know what kind of folk they were dealing with on this island first, and inns were the best place to gather information most of the time. That or stand keepers at the local market. Inside of the inn it was as she had expected. A dozen or two pirates and thugs, and an old looking man running the place. "A pint of ale, barkeep." She spoke as she arrived at the counter, sitting down on one of the stools. "I'm guessing the marines have a large base on this island, judging by where your pub is at?" The man looked at her, frowned a little, but then went to pouring her her drink. "What's a young brat like you doin' 'ere?" The man asked, ignoring her question. Ceres grinned a little bit, pointing behind her. "I'm on his crew. I'm guessing you know who he is..." People of this guy's age usually knew most of the infamous pirates. So she doubted he wouldn't know about the Shotgun Preacher.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius wasted no time in hopping in the longboat to head to shore, and he was about to start casting himself off when people finally managed to make their way to the vessel, everyone who hadn't been picked for guard duty piling into the boat to get to shore. And lucky for everyone aboard aside from the captain, Ceres was kind enough to take them to shore with her power over the water around them, rather than making the lowest on the totem pole row them there. The trip was quick, and the group was soon disembarking and heading their separate ways. For most of them, though, "separate ways" meant everyone piled into the nearest tavern and tried not to scrap over seating. Captain Cuttlam brought up the rear, and noticed a thumb jabbed in his direction, his first mate already seated and speaking of him.

In a show of good faith, he unloaded his scattergun before taking his own seat at the bar, which seemed to relax the innkeeper. Once he had his drink, though, the pirate lord began quietly attempting to reload the weapon without anyone noticing, drinking with one hand and trying not to drop shotshells with the other. He thought he was being largely successful, but he supposed time and strange looks would tell. For the moment, he focused on finding his happy place, something that required at least four more pints. Sitting mostly quietly, the warlord wondered what he was going to do. He knew he had put such things off for the next day, but he couldn't afford to sit here and drink all day and not concern himself with the goings on around him. Mostly because he didn't have enough money to drink all day. With that in mind, he decided after his next four drinks, he was going to have to find something else to do to blow off steam and maybe sort his life out before his first mate took over and started up another one of those crazy pirate gangs consisting entirely of drugged up women crazier than a shark riding a horse...

[sanquin]

(Just to make things clear; This world isn't entirely historically accurate in terms of technology. Things like early electricity and fairly advanced metal crafting for ships exist in this world, for instance.)

The barkeep noticed that Octavius almost immediately started loading his gun again. He frowned a little, but let it be. The man was clearly not there to fight. Or at least not at the moment. And a gun wouldn't have much use against him anyway. In fact, he wasn't sure as he had never fought Octavius in the past, but he was sure he could still subdue the man and his crew if needed.

Once the drinks for Octavius were poured he turned to Ceres again. "There's not just a large base on this island, missy. It's also a marine captain's home base. A official no pirate coming here generally wants to mess with." Ceres motioned for another beer to be poured as she thought about the information. Captains usually had jurisdiction over several islands, and all of them were on par with at least her and Ace, if not stronger. That combined with probably a few hundred men under him, and it seemed pretty much impossible to take him on and win. Indeed a very good reason for pirates on the island to keep a low profile. Now she just hoped Octavius didn't get himself into trouble. They needed time to find people for the missing spots in their crew, and she didn't feel like testing their luck against the marines here.

After a while two lights turned on, aimed at the only place in the small bar that didn't have tables or chairs on it. And from the front door entered a man with an instrument. Most people turned their heads to the man and clapped as the man walked to the open space. "Hm, so this is the musician they have..." Ceres mused, glancing back to look for herself. "Don't we still need a musician?" Maybe they could ask him to come. It was unlikely, but if he was good then it was always worth a shot.

(The musician's your guy, so I'll let you do the describing.)

[Sarpedon]

((so why are they ripping around in a dinky sailboat when they could have an ironclad steamship with like robots and stuff? :P))

Octavius snorted when the bartender told the tale of the Marine officer in charge of the island. He'd never thought much of officers in general, considering that most of them were in charge purely because they'd had enough money and education to buy themselves a commission. A few of them were smart enough to enlist first, and learn how to actually do their job, and they turned out to be formidable opponents, but those were few and far between, so he figured he would be safe, since the chances of this particular man being of any quality were relatively low. That being said, he was probably in charge of a fair number of Marines, so even in a worst case scenario, sheer numbers would likely quash any attempts to stir up trouble. He supposed he might rally the pirates to his name and try to instigate a coup of some kind, but without a faster ship and a quality crew, he was hesitant to risk not being able to get away. While his old warmongering self urged him to "stick it to the man" in the most violent and spectacular fashion possible, he still owed Ceres a ship, which meant he had no guarantee of escape, fast or otherwise.

And then his attention was dragged bodily from his thoughts, back to his first mate, who demanded that he pay attention to whichever poor sap the innkeeper had suckered into providing entertainment for the evening. However when the water-wielding woman asked if they needed a musician, the pirate lord took a second look at the lute-totting lunatic on stage and grinned. The man broke into a solo as the captain stood up and snapped his fingers, getting the performer to look up. Recognition lit up behind his eyes like a gas fire and the tune of his song changed immediately. Octavius grinned as he recognized the first several bars to his old favourite shanty. This one was about his exploits when he was still the undisputed king of pirates.

"This one goes out to the legend drinking among us." the bard mentioned before he started in to singing, drawing attention to the fact that Captain Cuttlam was alive and well, and still committing all kinds of barbaric crimes. The man on stage singing away was dressed rather nondescriptly, a sad result of the time spent not on Octavius' crew. A problem the warlord was hoping to rectify in short order. For the moment, though, he leaned over to fill in his first mate. "That's Luther. He's supposed to be on the Simurgh, last I heard... I don't know if that's good or bad..." he offered. "And we no longer need a musician." he added with a smile. Cyrus would be glad to have his shipmate back, and Octavius was certainly excited to have some decent music available once more. Lucky for Ceres, Luther was also a relatively progressive thinker, a surprising trait for a mostly-reformed Slaver of the Blackblood Coast. His background was normally easy to identify considering his rounded features were so dark they almost looked purple, however his normally-revealing penchant for gold chains and armbands had been given up in the interest of continuing to eat and sleep in a real bed. Indeed, it seemed that even the falx he insisted on carrying was gone, though his favourite khukri was still strapped scout-style to the small of his back.

Octavius hated to see his old friend so poverty-stricken, and was determined to have the man weighed down with gold once more, wielding whatever kind of insanity-inspired blade he desired. Indeed, he'd have the man a lute made of solid gold if he could. For the moment, though, he was left to listen to how good he'd been at pirating, enjoying a musical tale of how he'd slaughtered a whole ship full of marines with a single flick of his daemonic wrist, the canine monster devouring its way across the entire deck before a shot could be fired. It hadn't actually happened that way, but he liked this version better, so he demanded more alcohol and focused on the performance, pushing his concerns aside for the moment...

[sanquin]

"So you know him huh...well that makes things easier." Ceres mused, giving the musician a second look. He didn't look like anything special. Not someone able to survive the grand line as a a pirate. But then again he had been on Cuttlam's crew before. So at the very least he was above the average thug. Plus it wasn't like she looked like someone that could survive that dangerous sea either. Looks could be deceiving.

After listening to the first song Ceres stood, putting a bit of money on the counter. "I'm going into town. I need to buy a few things, and I doubt anyone here has what I need." She spoke, heading towards the door. She needed some heavy weights to train with. As 'whatever happened to be laying on the ship' didn't cut it when doing strength training.

The city was actually very easy to find. There was a small, mostly hidden road leading from the bandit town to the main city, which ended at the edge of the forest a few hundred meters away from the city gates. It was easy enough to pretend to be some countryside child that came to visit the big city for her. As annoying as her younger looks were, they did have their advantages. One being that other adults rarely suspected her of being a thief or pirate at first glance. Now came the hard part though. Finding the right place to buy weights at like a blacksmith.

(Thinking of how to work in the character I want to put in the navigator spot... Any idea's?)

[Sarpedon]

Octavius smiled as he watched Ceres give the man another look. Clearly she hadn't seen the man in action. That was understandable, considering the two hadn't even met properly yet. The song ended, and the woman said something about going to buy things. She disappeared out the door in a hurry, purpose blazing in her wake. The captain left her, and demanded another drink, thinking he would continue to enjoy the show. However the man demanded a break, despite the crowd, and wandered over to the bar, where he nimbly plucked the fresh tankard from his former captain's fingers, gesturing that the bartender should pour another for the man.

"Are you still alive then? Or back to haunt me?" the man asked with a chuckle, before taking a swig of his ale.

"I haven't decided yet." Captain Cuttlamn replied with a grin, "How've you been. Not well obviously." he waved at his old friend's appearance with a frown, and then eagerly accepted his new drink.

"Not well at all... After you got locked up, no one else seemed to think I was worth hiring. I got stranded here at some point, and I've been trying to keep things together with whatever I can make here and in town... It looks like the winds of fortune are shifting again, though brother. Who was that woman?" the man was grinning now, enjoying his beer and obviously enthusiastic about returning to piracy.

"That's Ceres... She can... Control the ocean, I guess... She's insane, and while technically she's the first mate, I think she's supposed to be in charge." the warlord didn't look pleased as he spoke about his latest friend.

"You take orders from a woman?" Luther raised an eyebrow and started to take a step back.

"I take orders from no one." Octavius growled back, snorting as the darker man started to chuckle.

"I knew that, skip, relax. Let's get out of here, eh? There are nicer places to see, and to stay, I'd imagine. We should find something to pillage before we leave, yeah?" At the very least, the crew would have one more competent member amongst them when it departed. The two finished their drinks, Octavius paid for them, and then Luther led the way out to a chorus of disappointed tavern-goers, many of whom prepared to depart when they realized the entertainment wasn't coming back...

((maybe they navigate their way into Ceres' way and she's all like "bitch" and then the navigator's all like "bitch, WHAT?!" and then... Yeah, no, no ideas XD))

[sanquin]

Ceres walked around for an hour, but still wasn't a single step closer to finding what she was looking for. Mostly because she had been lost for the past 50 minutes or so. She was currently standing in front of the marine base. Quite a huge one at that. Several times larger than the one she and Octavius had escaped from. That's when she noticed that someone was watching her. Just out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a female figure turning and running away the moment she looked at her. Ceres frowned and quickly dashed into the direction of the one that had been tailing her. If anyone was to do the tailing, it would be her.

Some people took note of her suddenly starting to run through the crowd of course, but they chalked it up to a teenager just being a teenager. Once again her appearance coming in handy. Several alleys and streets later, and the woman slowed down. So Ceres did the same. Using her water, she lifted herself up onto one of the rooftops, and continued to tail the mysterious stranger. Black hair, and a sense for elegant fashion. But that was all Ceres could determine at this point.

Eventually the woman entered a building in the docks district. Something that only made her look even more suspicious. "Someone from my past? Can't be...I've not been to this island in many years, and back then I was a marine." She thought to herself, trying to figure out why anyone would want to keep an eye on her. But for now, she at least knew where she could find this woman. So it was time to inform the captain. As maybe they weren't after her specifically, but after anyone from Octavius' new crew. Wanted posters spread to all islands very fast these days, so it was possible that a bounty had already been released on Octavius or her. Or even both.

[Sarpedon]

Luther and Octavius had been on a sort of partially-guided tour of the area while Ceres was out wandering. And while she'd been remaining committed to her shenanigans the newly reacquainted pirates had turned their tour into a pub crawl, sharing a couple of drinks at every alcohol-serving establishment they could find. The two were drunk in a hurry, and having a ball. Most of the people in their way didn't get to enjoy such a good time, but they were enjoying themselves too much to care. Unfortunately, not everyone they bowled over was willing to put up with the injustice, and it didn't take very long for the two of them to find themselves in a good old-fashioned brawl.

Too drunk to remember to use his magical powers, but sober enough to fight like the monster inside him, the warlord easily held his own against the various sailors and deckhands that wanted to vent their outrage. Luther had a little more trouble, at least until he remembered that he was travelling with someone who used to be one of the most feared pirates in the world. With that in mind, he redirected his own attackers into the path of Captain Cuttlam, only to watch them drop like all the rest, the pirate lord's fists flew like lightning. Drunken, disoriented and confused lightning, but lightning nonetheless. And even intoxicated as he was, wild haymakers seemed to do him just fine as the half dozen or so men he was fighting went down one after another. The last couple backed off when they realized that this night wasn't going to go their way, and the pirates thought that they might return to their tavern crawl, heading off toward the nearest bar.

By the time they finished their next drink, Octavius and Luther were jovial once more. Immersed in their cheerful reminiscing, it was clear that anything productive that might have been planned, or even considered, for the evening, wasn't about to happen. The two stuck to revelling in their drunkenness and generally disturbing those around them, the thought of doing anything other than rejoicing was repulsive by this point, so they ran from their responsibilities even as they ran from one drinking establishment to the next, ensuring that anyone who might want to interrupt their merriment would have a hell of a time doing so, at the very least...

[sanquin]

For the fifth time Ceres entered an alley that didn't look familiar to her at all. So once again, she was completely lost. With a slight sigh the woman kept on walking, as, what else could she do? Though just as she exited the alley, she heard a rather familiar voice coming from some distance away. It could only be the captain, considering the deeper voice that accompanied him. And considering how loud they were. Now once again with purpose, the woman headed into their direction. Octavius didn't sound like he wanted to hear any bad news at this time, but she still felt it was a good idea to tell him. This threat didn't seem immediate, but at the very least he should know what was going on.

So after another 5 minutes of following the two loud voices, Ceres finally found herself in front of a bar. The captain did say that today would be a day off, and apparently he himself was all to eager to take full advantage of that fact. Once inside the two were easy to spot. They were sitting right at the bar, demanding drinks. She smirked, deciding figuring that it may not even be useful to talk to him in the state he was in right now. But still she stepped towards him. "Cap'n, quick update I figured you'd want to hear." She spoke as she arrived next to him, just loud enough for only the two of them to hear. "Someone was keeping an eye on me. Nothing serious yet, but something to keep in mind." The woman was tempted to order a drink as well. But considering how Octavius didn't much like her presence so far, she decided against that. Plenty of other bars to find, going by how much the duo already had to drink.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius laughed when he heard someone referring to him as "Cap'n" and turned to find a woman addressing him, telling him that someone was watching her. He laughed harder, not entirely sure what she was talking about. "And a drink for the lady!" he bellowed at the tavernkeeper, before correcting himself. "Make it two! She doesn't look merry enough!" the warlord added, not quite as loud. Then he noticed that his first mate was trying to escape, though his drunken brain hadn't really pointed out to him that this woman who'd bothered him was actually part of his crew. All he knew was that he knew this woman, and she seemed familiar enough that he figured she couldn't be all bad. So he reached out drunkenly to grab her arm, nearly took out a waitress in the process, and realized he could only hope he'd actually gotten hold of the woman, he was drunk enough that processing things was getting harder by the moment.

Then drinks appeared in front of him, and Captain Cuttlam cheered again. He slurred his demands that the woman stay and drink, wondering if she was available, and wondering if he should wonder that out loud. Life was a lot easier when viewed through the amber haze of some good ale. Luther chimed in to encourage Ceres as well. He wasn't quite as drunk as Octavius, having gotten a good deal of practice in while he was here, but the man fully supported his captain, even if he made some strange decisions sometimes. A man that could turn into a monster at will was bound to be a little eccentric, if only because it was hard to find people to hang out with once they knew the sorts of things he could do. So if the pirate lord seemed a little worse for wear, the musician didn't care, they were having too much fun drinking, and now they aimed that fun directly at the water-manipulating woman who'd thought someone following her around was something to be concerned about...

[sanquin]

Clearly Ceres' words didn't get through to the captain at all. Which wasn't too much of a surprise considering how he was acting. He had probably gone to most of the bars on this island already, and ordered several drinks at each at the very least. Though when she wanted to leave, Octavius promptly ordered two drinks for her. Which was...odd to say the least. So far the man had shown her nothing but distrust and general annoyance, yet now he was ordering her drinks? She smirked a little. No true pirate would pass up on free drinks after all, right? Especially not a pirate like her. "Well, if you insist." She spoke eagerly, taking a seat beside the captain. The two were so loud that no one else seemed to want to sit next to them anyway.

Two drinks soon arrived in front of her. And like the self-proclaimed champion of alcohol she was, she downed the first one in a matter of seconds. The woman then grabbed the second one and started drinking from it in large gulps. "I be guessin' it's because of the booze, but sure I'll join ya." She spoke with a slight smile. Might as well enjoy the good times with the captain while they lasted. Luckily she also had her own money, though, as only two drinks really wouldn't cut it for her.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius hadn't really noticed Ceres' initial reluctance, though it had been so temporary, he'd have thought nothing of it regardless. It didn't take much to twist her rubber arm, and the pirate lord returned to his rejoicing as his first mate started enjoying herself properly. She said something about booze and joining in, and the captain laughed. He finished his drink, and then checked on his companions. Luther was doing well, of course, and he was pleased to see that his first mate was looking a good deal more merry now as well. He waited until she finished her second drink, and then turned to his old friend, raising an eyebrow and grinning obnoxiously as the other man laughed, nodding at the unspoken question.

"Onward! Excelsior!" he slurred, getting up and trying hard not to fall over. The bartender sighed, not sure if he was glad the crazy man was leaving, or disappointed that he hadn't bought more drinks. Either way, the problem was sorting itself out, as Captain Cuttlam was determined to lead his trio to their final destination, the inn he planned on staying the night in. Assuming there was night left to sleep away when they got there of course. He wasn't going to go straight to bed, either. With Ceres having only just joined them, his drunken brain was determined to do more merrymaking to ensure everyone got their fill before anyone got to go to bed. Assuming he didn't pass out beforehand.

"C'mon! There's more merrymaking!" he shouted, though the words didn't come out as clearly as they had in his head. Luther wasn't far behind the warlord, obviously having a good time, and eager to disturb a new group of people, though neither of the two seemed like they would be terribly upset if the woman who'd just showed up didn't want to join them. Mostly because they weren't likely to even realize she was gone before it was too late. Anyone who couldn't keep up didn't deserve to be as merry as them anyway...

[sanquin]

The woman that had followed her wasn't anywhere in sight yet, and hell hadn't broken loose either. So at the very least they would be in the clear for now. So Ceres decided to use this time to hopefully become a little more friendly with the captain. Or rather, him with her. If they were going to be sharing a ship for the next foreseeable future, it would benefit them all if they could get along after all. "We goin' already? There better be more drinks where we're goin'~" She spoke as she followed the captain and Luther out of the bar. Bar hopping wasn't perfect, since that didn't give her any chance to beat a few people in a drinking contest or some such. But then again, Octavius seemed to be paying, so who was she to complain? Free drinks beat a contest or two any time.

The woman cheered when Octavius promised more drinks where they were going, and with a slight grin followed behind. Soon they arrived at an inn of some kind. Something quite different from a bar, but then again inns had plenty of beer and ale as well. Ceres decided to step inside first, and immediately addressed the bartender with a loud voice. "Three beer for the captain and us two! None of that cheap ale, I want the good stuff for once!" Beer was more expensive, so ale was the go-to drink for most. But considering Octavius' previous reputation and her skills as a thief, money probably wouldn't be too much of a problem any more soon enough. The bartender was all too eager to sell his more expensive drinks, of course, so he didn't even frown at the two loud and rude men right behind the girl. As long as they didn't start destroying the place, the other customers would just have to bear with it until Octavius and Luther went to bed.

[Sarpedon]

Octavius was a little surprised when Ceres barged into the inn demanding the finest alcoholic beverages on tap. Of course, that didn't stop him and Luther from cheering when the more expensive brews were set down in front of them. A thunderous high-five resounded between the freshly reunited pair, and the captain then immediately set to downing his drink. He'd been drinking the less expensive ales at every establishment thus far, however, and was a little surprised by the sudden quality change. That only spurred him on to further levels of determination, however. If the drinks here were this good, he supposed he might as well enjoy more of them.

Of course, distractions abounded for the drunken warlord, and when the smell of frying potatoes wafted out from the kitchen, another objective manifested itself. And of course, like magic, the bartender was right there waiting when the pirate finally had his words together. "I want whatever that smell is!" he declared. "That smell for everyone!" he raised his drink to the room, and while the idea of fried potatoes didn't agree with everyone, free food was not something to be declined. A ragged cheer went up and everyone drank to the idea of someone else buying them some food. The innkeeper sighed and disappeared back into the kitchen to see if they even had enough potatoes to attempt such a venture, before returning just in time for Octavius to demand more drinks for himself and his drinking companions.

This time he attempted to high-five both of his companions at the arrival of their drinks, but missed when suddenly and erratically swinging for where he assumed Ceres' hand would appear, and his open palm smashed into the bar like a sledgehammer. He felt no pain, and lucky for all involved, the bar remained undamaged. The innkeeper was beginning to wonder if this man was worth the trouble...

[sanquin]

The trio kept on drinking for a while longer, but after that Ceres was done for the moment. Not because she was drunk, but because she still wanted to look for some shops. Something that had been interrupted earlier. "I'll see ya later cap'n." She spoke as she stood up. "I still have some more things to do. Have fun." Hopefully not too much fun, or he would have the marines on his ass before he knew it. But so far he didn't seem to cause too much trouble.

Luckily this time the woman didn't need to find her way, as the inn was on the exact same street as several shops. So it only took her a few minutes to find the right one. A pawn shop that had all kinds of trinkets. And they also had a set of halters in stock. 25 kilo's for each weight coming to a total of 50. A nice start for someone like her, whom severely lacked in upper body strength. She had the shopkeep put them aside for the moment as she continued browsing the place. After all, you never knew what you would find in shops like this.

(I feel bad for giving such a short post after making you wait for 9 days... ^^;; But I guess that's what happens in the less active parts of the rp.)

[Sarpedon]

Octavius was thrilled when the fried potatoes arrived, though they were not exactly something to write home about. Every table got a plate, and while the innkeeper had obviously been less than thrilled when so much food was ordered, he was obviously more than happy to take the captain's money. The pirate also took the liberty of ordering another round to go with his food, and carried on merry-making. At least until Ceres, who obviously wasn't merry enough, took off citing "more things to do". He barely noticed her disappearance, however, and continued to enjoy himself as if she had never been there to begin with.

The two pirates continued with their drunken, half-told stories, knocking back drinks until the bartender finally cut the both of them off, declaring that they either had to leave, or go to bed. The warlord, not being accustomed to dealing with such a reaction from the person in charge of liquor distribution, and being too drunk to process complicated thoughts in a timely and sensible manner, took a staggering step back from the bar, raised an eyebrow at the innkeeper, and then looked like he was going to try and order another drink. That got him a stern finger pointed toward the stairs, and a firm order to put himself to bed. Confused, and suddenly tired, Captain Cuttlam decided that it was probably a good idea to go to bed, and began stumbling that way. He did managed to not fall over, at least, though the stairs proved to be a much greater challenge.

It took some time, but the drunk pirate lord did eventually make his way to bed. Having surmounted the stairs, the last obstacle was figuring out which room was his. They were all locked, so he pulled out his key and tried just over half of them before being rewarded with the "click" of a lock turning over. He managed to get inside without even stumbling, but locking the door behind him was a much greater challenge. When he finally did manage it, Octavius turned to his bed, and did his best to get there without falling over. His drunkenness finally overcame his ability to remain upright, however, and he was left to pull himself up into bed from the floor. And then, somewhere during the process of undressing, he passed out. Still half-dressed, he wasn't going to wake up any time soon without some outside help...