Ulta fast ^D8 FTW!
Chapter 7: Madness Ensues
Ivan walked into the first tavern they saw, Jack following directly behind him. Once in, Ivan saw a sight he’d never seen before; what appeared to be a chorus of pirates in the corner was swerving around in place, rum in hand. On the other end was a spot reserved for those quiet ones that look around the building the whole time, there eyes being their greatest weapon. On the second floor balcony, he could see a line of women standing across, glaring at the passerby. And finally, in the center of the tavern, was a large table undoubtedly used for special occasions.
“What do you say we split up?” Jack said, edging closer to Ivan. “We may be able to get more information that way.”
Ivan bit his lip and tried to come up with his best response. He didn’t want to sound like he wasn’t ready, but at the same time he wanted to fit in. “No, we’re not splitting up… if anything you’ll watch me from afar.” He said. “How about you go over there and make sure I don’t get killed. And if things get out of hand, you’ll step in.”
“And how will I know if it goes too far?”
“Probably once they threaten to kill me.”
Jack sighed and looked towards a table positioned in what appeared to be a landmark spot. “How about those guys? They appear to be the talkative type.”
“Them? Well… ok, I’ll try.” Ivan said as he walked closer to the table.
The table had one spot open. The other spots were occupied by sailors who weren’t very fond of shirts by the looks of them. Ivan regained his focus and took a seat on the empty chair, making sure Jack kept an inconspicuous watch from afar.
“Aye, Thomas, do you see this fellow who decided to join us?” One of the men said as he noticed Ivan taking a seat. “Do you know him?”
The man Thomas, whom was undoubtedly the person the man was addressing, turned around to look towards Ivan. He had a scar cut across his right cheek, and many other imperfections to boot.
“No James, it’s not anybody we know of, beat him up if you’d like.” Thomas said, snapping his fingers.
Ivan was about to get up from his table in surprise as he saw the intent in the sailors eyes.
’What? Already?’ He thought, desperation overcoming him.
“Ahahaha!” Thomas laughed. “That’s the funniest thing I’ve seen all day! The look! The look in your eyes! It’s priceless. “He said, still laughing. “Ah, I can tell you’re not from around here, are you boy?”
“No, I’m straight from England in fact, but… I don’t like to talk about what happened.” Ivan said, trying to lead the sailors deeper into the conversation.
“It can’t hurt you if you share it boy,” Thomas said. “Trust me, everyone here has a past they’re not proud of.” He said, turning his attention towards one of the men at the table. “Take Daniel here, he’s come all the way from Spain to start a new life here. Recently he’s been hiding from the navy, so we’ve been keeping him safe here.”
“I’m sorry… safe from the navy?” Ivan asked.
“Yes, you see, Daniel’s pretty sloppy in his work,” Thomas said. “He hardly knows what it’s like to stay low.” He said, nudging Daniel. “Although I’m sure within another week or so, the navy will forget about him, and move onto the next bloke who decides piracy is a forthright job.”
Ivan began to show signs of uneasiness. He felt like breathing didn’t come natural, like his heart had just fallen asleep, like his mind wanted to black out right then and there. “Interesting, it’s not every day I see a fellow pirate.” He said, making Thomas laugh even harder, along with the others this time.
“You here that boys? It’s not every day he sees a pirate!” Thomas said, laughing hysterically. “Ah now I can tell you’re definitely new here.” He said. “I can tell you’ve got some potential kid, tell me, what’s your name?”
“Ivan, Ivan Hood.”
“Well then Ivan, how’d you be interested in assisting me against the navy oppression?” Howard asked, smiling.
‘Wow! I’m already asked to become a pirate! Should I be flattered or horrified?’ Ivan thought as he came up with a clever response he wouldn’t regret. “Actually, I came here in interest of finding a certain Marcus Reynard.” He said only to be met with complete silence.
“Did he just…” One of the men said, bordering either horror or amazement in his expression.
“Aye,” Thomas said as he got up from the table. “We’ll see if you can handle it.” He said walking towards the center table.
“W-What is he… what’s going on?” Ivan asked glancing all around, even at Jack who was completely clueless.
Thomas reached the center table, looked around, and then proceeded to leap up onto the table, making himself the center of attention. “Listen up everyone,” He said, drawing attention from almost everyone in the tavern. “This man here wishes to meet with none other than Marcus Reynard.” He said, sending an uproar of laughter throughout the populous. The laughter was so strong, even Jack was influenced by the state.
“Now as many of you know, meeting up with Reynard is serious business, however we’ve come to an agreement. If he can bring me a nice little naval officer uniform, we can further the thought of meeting Reynard.” He said, smiling at Ivan. “Preferably one covered in blood.”
With a quick thought about how the events might turn out, Ivan stepped up to the table. “Agreed Thomas. So long as I don’t have a strict time limit.” Ivan said, making everybody surrounding him wish they’d bought good seats for the play.
“Oh Ivan, you don’t have to worry about that. Anytime tomorrow would be acceptable.” Thomas said, only furthering the insanity. “I’ll be here almost all day tomorrow, but I can’t say the same about the next day.” He said, triggering the sweat in Ivan’s skin.
“Fine, I’ll bring you a nice coat tomorrow.” Ivan said walking towards the door. “Trust me; it’ll be red all over.” He said, motioning for Jack to follow him.
~~~~~~~~~~
“So, how much did you see?” Ivan asked Jack.
“Of what? The whole making a fool of yourself part? Or was it the impossibly quiet chatter going on with your little exchange?”
“I was hoping both.” Ivan said, yawning. “Anyways, I suggest we go get some rest for the night.” He said walking down the street.
“Where are you going?” Jack asked.
“Back to the navy outpost, what wrong with-
“Back to the outpost? Are you crazy?” Jack almost yelled, but remembered to keep his voice down. “What do you suggest pirates would think if they saw some new people walk into a navy outpost? Especially suspicious ones.”
“I… guess that wouldn’t work.” Ivan concluded. “So if not there, where may we go?”
“My best guess would be that place that Nathaniel suggested.” Jack said. “Unfortunately, we don’t have a bloody idea where that may be, and we’re not going to the navy shipment house anytime soon to figure out.”
“So…”
“Eh, follow me.” Jack said, as he began searching for a good place to spend the night.
It wasn’t too difficult finding an inn, but the main problem was he wanted a place that he could trust, someplace that wasn’t a living deathhouse. Most of the options were along the lines of “The Undead Resting Place” or the “Spirit’s Slumber”, all of which sounded like a pretty weird place to sleep.
“Found any good ones yet?” Ivan asked, only to have Jack silently tell him no with his head. “Well the least we can do in the meantime is figure out how we’re going to get a navy ja-
“That is something you should have figured out the moment it crossed your mind.” Jack said. “The solution is so simple yet it eludes you.”
“The solution?” Ivan said confused. “What solution?”
“ME!” Jack said as loudly as he could be while still being inconspicuous. “I’m the solution! You’re going to have let me get a jacket, bloody it up, dry it out, rip it up a little, and then return it, so we can go find Reynard!” He said, creating a silence between them.
“Whatever, let’s go find an inn.” Ivan said, walking closer towards the edge of town.
~~~~~~~~~~
After about fifteen minutes of searching, (which if you’d ask Ivan he’d probably say was at least an hour) the two finally came to a stop.
“Nathaniel, I wasn’t expecting you to be here.” Jack said, coming to a stop near the Bootlegger’s Inn.
“Well that’s highly unlikely, since this was the Inn I told you about.” Nathaniel said, making the two feel a stroke of luck.
“Well that’s convenient,” Ivan said. “It was impossible to tell which one it is without having a name to rely on.”
“Yeah, sorry for that,” Nathaniel said, scratching his head. “I was in a bit of a rush at the time you see.”
“Well that’s enough, I’m either going to go in, or fall asleep right here.” Jack said, his signs of fatigue easily showing.
“Really? You wouldn’t want to accompany me back to the outpost?” Nathaniel asked, disappointed.
“No, that’s fine, I think we’ll rest here for the night. Let’s just say we don’t want any pirates getting suspicions.” Jack said, almost slumping over.
“Well, I guess that’s your decision. Meet me tomorrow if you’d like, I’ll be at the outpost as usual.” Nathaniel said, waving to them.
“Oh don’t worry, we’ll make sure to be there,” Ivan said, making sure Nathaniel heard him. “Alright now, let’s get you to bed.” He said, almost lifting Jack off the ground.
~~~~~~~~~~
Any comments from teh loverz?
