"Annnothhherrrr… I neeeedmorreeeee."
Drummen tapped the mug at the tavern owner and watched as they filled it up. "This is the last one for you lad… Who broke your heart kid?"
Drummen cursed and fell off the chair and sat on the floor. He grabbed the bar with his hands and pulled himself up. He grabbed the mug and sat back down on the floor drinking. "Theemossstttttbeautiffullllwomannn I knnnowww."
"That sounds terrible. You're in the free cities. I'm sure you'll be able to find another one to take her place. Now get up and sit on a chair or get out…"
Drummen cursed and finished drinking from the mug before standing up. He wobbled as he stood and looked at the tavern owner with a scowl. "You knoowww. Lookingg for someone too replaceeeherrrissshimposibbbb. She had whipssss you know?"
"Whips? She sounds terrible if you ask me, but each to their own I guess."
"Brother… Are you in here? Brother!"
Drummen turned and smiled with open arms at Cliffhopper. "Broddder. I'm here… Come hugggbrodder." Drummen wobbled as he walked up to Cliffhopper and wrapped his arms around him before falling onto him.
"Sorry… I'll take him out of here for you. He's had a bad few days."
"Let's get you to bed… You stink. Maybe a bath first, then bed. You've been drinking for much too long."
"Shee left meeee… She threw me away like I was a pile of shitttt. Why?"
"Forget about her brother… Do you remember what you told me about in the desert? What about her?"
"Forget about her! Are you insane you hairy brute?"
Drummen looked around and saw he was outside the tavern being held up by Cliffhopper. He cursed and tried to take a step back. "Relax… I hear you brother. Come with me I'll take you to clean up and then we can drink something special. I promise you'll like it."
"Let'sssss goo then." Drummen pointed his finger down the street they were walking on and slowly took steps. He turned and looked at Cliffhopper with tears in his eyes. "Whyyyydidddsheee do that? Am I a bad personnn? Do you think I'm a bad person?"
"No, you're not a bad person… I think she did it to keep you safe.
"Safffeee. Fuck that… Sheeee did toooo piss mee off and too getttriddd of mee." Drummen tapped Cliffhopper on his chest with his finger.
"You really need to bathe… Come brother. Let's go."
Drummen felt Cliffhoper's hand on his shoulder pushing him. He sighed and allowed him to push him down the street. He looked around him and smiled at the passerbys. "Hey Cliffhopper. Whyyy are women likeeee that? They make you fallll for themmmm, and then rip your hearttt out and stand on it with theirrr pointttyyy shoes?" Drummen smiled. "Herrrr shhhhooeessspoinnntyy. I hadddd bruiseeee frommmm themmm for a loooongg timeee."
"We can talk about that after your bath… Come on. We're almost back."
Drummen nodded and looked at Cliffhopper. "Pityyyy you're nottt a woman… You're a good brotherrr. Thank youuuu."
"This girl really got to you didn't she?"
Drummen nodded. "She askeedddmeee to be a pirattteewithhhherrr. Alsooo you too."
"I'm sure she still wants… Maybe in her eyes you're not ready to be a pirate… What do pirates do anyway?"
Drummen stopped walking and looked around at the tavern they were in front of. He smiled and turned to Cliffhopper with a drunken look on his face. "Theyy… doo stuff…"
"Stuff… That sounds important."
Drummen nodded. "Yessssh. Very important and secret stufffff."
Drummen raised his finger to his mouth and blew. "Secrettt." Drummen stood up and wobbled while Cliffhopper was gagging on Drummen's breath.
"Cough... Cough... Brother... That's terrible..." Drummen wiped his mouth with the sleeve of his dirty and ripped shirt.
��I see… Well when we know what they do. I'm sure she'll let us join her crew."
Drummen smiled. "Do you think sooo? Will she?"
"I'm sure… Now let's get you inside and into bath and a cot."
Drummen raised his hands above his head. "Fine… Fine…"
Drummen walked into the tavern and climbed the steps. He stopped at a closed door and pointed to Cliffhopper. "This one?"
"No… Not that one… Over here. Hurry up you stink."
Drummen watched as Cliffhopper opened the door and he walked into the room holding the wall. Cliffhopper closed the door behind him. "Their will be some hot water coming shortly… Get in the bath."
Drummen nodded and started to remove his clothes and sat in the bath naked with his head hanging over the side staring at the wooden floor.
"Knock… Knock. Hot water is here."
He looked up as Cliffhopper opened the door and took the batterys from the staff member. Drummen heard the door close and smiled as Cliffhopper approached him with the batterys. "Here we go. Enjoy the bath. The bed is there. Have a rest after the bath, and then I'll tell you about what'll make us pirates."
Drummen nodded. "Don't forget the drink you told me about." Drummen turned the batterys on as hot water started to fill the bathtub.
"Hahaha… No, I haven't forgot. But you'll like what we're going to do."
Drummen picked up a sponge and started bathing himself in the water. He turned off the batterys and sat back in the bath looking at the ceiling smiling. He heard the door close. "Cliffhopper must of went to his room…" He looked back at the ceiling with tears in his eyes.
"I wonder what he has in mind… I hope he's right… I think a life as a pirate could be a lot of fun."
He sat in thought. "What do they do? What does it mean to be a pirate anyway?"
He stood up and shook his head to get the water out of his hair. He stepped out of the bath and dried himself. "It only hurts my brain to think about what they do… It's better to figure it out when there is more information."
He got dressed in fresh clothes and fell onto the cot instantly falling asleep.
"Chirp… Chirp…"
Drummen opened his eyes and stared at the birds chirping on the windowsill. He sat up and wiped his face. "How long have I been sleeping for?" He closed his eyes and cursed. "Too bright, and my head… I'm not drinking that much ever again."
He stood up and looked around him. "How did I get back in here? Was it Cliffhopper?"
He walked to the window and waved his hands shooing the birds away. He closed the window and sat on the cot cursing and shaking his head. "What did I do?"
"Knock… Knock."
"Stop knocking and just stop banging on the door!"
Drummen sat on the cot rubbing his eyes and head. He looked up as Cliffhopper walked in with a mug. "Here you go brother. This will help your head… We'll that's what people around here say that'll help."
Drummen held the mug in his hands and smelled its contents. "What is it? I've never smelled this before?"
"They call it coffee here. It's bitter, but it'll help."
Drummen nodded and took a sip from the mug. "It's hot…"
"Yes. You drink it hot. How does it taste?"
"It's bitter, but it seems to help." He put the mug down and rubbed his face. "So, what's this plan of yours?"
He watched as Cliffhopper pulled out a single piece of parchment. "We're going hunting… Treasure hunting…"
"Treasure hunting?"
"Yes. Apparently, there's a lot of items there that's worth a lot of coin. Also, pirates go treasure hunting."
"Do they? Do we get to keep the coin?"
"Sure. That's what pirates do, don't they?"
"Well we do need coin. How far away is it?"
"It's not that far at all. It is a ruin on one of the nearby islands. With all the coin we could buy our own vessel and find our own crew. How does that sound?"
Drummen took another sip from the mug and nodded with a smile on his face. "Let's do it… Then we can show everyone that we have what it takes to be pirates."
"Hahahaha… I knew you would like me plan."
"Where did you find the map anyway?"
"Ahhh about that… I sort of borrowed it from someone. I'll give it back to them when we get back."
"You stole it?"
"No, no, no. I didn't steal it. I borrowed it. I already said that. Forget about where it came from. I'll give it back to her after…" Drummen closed his eyes and shook his head.
"Her? Whose her?"
"They're female… That's how you call them yes?"
Drummen cursed and stood up walking towards Cliffhopper. "Does this have anything to do with a certain captain from a certain ship?"
"Ahh… No, no, no, no. Not at all. Maybe one of her crew, but nothing to do with any certain captain."
Drummen cursed and threw the mug against the wall causing it to shatter into tiny pieces.
"What am I going to do with you? We're trying to be free of that mess, and you bring us right back into the middle of it." Drummen cursed at Cliffhopper.
"Brother… There is something there that'll help us understand what the pirates are and what they do?"
Drummen looked at him in confusion. "What are you talking about. Spit it out."
"The place is an old fort where a large battle happened long ago. All it's weapons and treasure are still there. There is also the history of the lands there and the story of the formation of the pirates."
"So, if we go there, we'll not only make a lot of coin, we'll also learn about the pirates and what they really do?"
Drummen sat on the bed in thought. "This sounds like an initiation test to me. Lot��s of treasure that no one takes, as well as the history of the pirates…"
"Then we're going there?"
Drummen smiled and nodded at Cliffhopper. "Not only are we going there to learn about the pirates. We're also going to take every shiny piece of metal that we can find and make some coin."
"Ahh. With your skills brother I'm sure we'll be able to clean that place out without anyone knowing it was us. Me the muscle and you the ultimate thief around."
"Hahahaha."
Drummen laughed. "What do we need to prepare? Also how long will it take for us to get there?"
He watched as Cliffhopper looked over the map. "From what I can see it's a few days trek through the island and then we hop over to another island chain. With your ability we don't need large packs. Just to bring things for cooking food and to keep us warm at night."
Drummen nodded. "Then that's the plan. No one knows about what we can do." He rubbed his hands together. "This is going to be fun."
He looked at Cliffhopper with a serious look. "I remember you mentioning some delicious drink… Where is it?"
"Hahahaha… It's downstairs. When we go down to eat, we'll be able to enjoy it. I asked the tavern owner to look after it while you were sleeping."
Drummen walked to the door. "Well. Hurry up. I'm hungry and in need of a good drink."