As she approached, Markus had a table all to himself. Dried blood on the floor and his scuffed knuckles was a telltale sign of it having been 'won' rather than found. On the table, he had laid out a map of the Sea. Seeing as he was now announcing himself openly as a Captain, he wasn't going to sneakily plan his routes. Any man dare take a long gander at the map would find nothing out of the ordinary, and any man who claimed such would regret it. 

His study of the known Sea was interrupted by the clacking of boots and the jingling of coins. Markus looked up and saw Calliope in an all new wardrobe, with money [i]and[/i] a new sword. He somehow wasn't surprised. She managed to look stunning in whatever outfit she was wearing. No wonder she had conquered all of Calaverde. Smart and beautiful was a dangerous combination. He slipped the coins back into the bag and rolled the map up. "Let me guess, you learned how to duel with a rapier?" he asked, smirking. "Ships are close quarters, and we might be hacking through some jungle. There's a reason Cutlasses are popular." Not that he didn't value the deadliness of the long rapier. It was a favorite of the more southern, romance countries of the mainland. 

"Oh, I'll leave the land development for you." She said imperiously, smirking back at him. 

A lovely but undeniably common born woman strode up with the stew and the ale, placing some in front of Calliope, and then another pair before Markus. "Here you go." she said, fluttering her lashes and eyeing Markus. The swordsman didn't seem to notice more than giving a polite smile and a wink. She shimmied off girlishly, and Markus began his meal. He'd cleaned himself up a bit, having been to the bath houses. Nothing fancy, but even a quick wash gave him a striking, rakish quality. 

Before they could speak, the smell of dead fish would catch Calliope's nose, and it would only grow stronger until the newcomer made his way to the table. 

It was the most bizarre, insane looking Dwarf one would ever see. He was squat and muscled, as most Dwarfs were. But he had a look in his eyes that spoke of a near broken sanity and a lack of self preservation, though there was an intelligence there as well. His upper body was unclad, exposing a barrel chest covered in blue woad tattoos, and his head was shaved save for a single, thick and short mohawk and a broad, greasy beard. The most odd thing about him, however, was the fact that his left arm was missing past the elbow. Instead, he had a bronze cap on it that looked screwed on, as if he could unscrew it and attach other things on it. 

"So, here I am. We going tae talk business or shall I go elsewhere?" he demanded of Markus. A moment later, he glanced at Calliope. "Who's the woman?" 

"She's my first mate, and the ships wizard. Calliope, this is an old friend of mine, Sketti Hammerhand. Who I'm recruiting to the crew, and perhaps a few of his friends..." Markus fished a small handful of Royals (Gold coins) out of the sack and handed it to the Dwarf. Sketti lifted a coin in the air and produced a small telescope, muttering to himself. "Aye, that'll about do it. Meet me tonight at the closed down tavern on Burgundy street, and ye'll have yer crew." He said, and stomped off. The smell departed with him. 

Markus fanned his hand a bit. "He might seem repugnant, but he's the best engineer and gunsmith on the Sea of Swords. He'd make a good quartermaster." 

He finished up his meal, and downed most of his ale. The sun had since dipped down a bit, though it was still up, light in the windows. Markus produced a few of the daggers he had taken from the ship. They had some time to kill, he noticed. The crowd inside the tavern had calmed down and grown slightly more introverted, most people sitting in large groups, leaving the middle of the tavern relatively open ended. On the far end of the place was a target. 

Markus gestured Calliope to follow him, and as she approached he flipped one of the daggers, catching it by the hilt. "Do you know how to throw one?" he asked her. "On boring nights at sea I'd practice. It's pretty easy. Here, stick your finger out." Calliope raised an eyebrow, but did so. He placed the dagger sideways upon her finger, to see where the point of balance was. "Whenever you're about to throw one, always grab it by the lighter side. If the blade is heavier, throw with the hilt, and vice versa." 

He took one and turned to the target, flipping the blade until he caught the hilt, and launching the blade accurately. He hit the greater target, and the knife was only an inch away from the center. 
[@Penny]