After leaving the Silent Reaper at the docks, Michael and Gaya wandered through the sandy roads of Pirate Cove. Everywhere Michael turned, he could see tropical trees, buildings made of nothing but wood, broken fishing boards that were being used to shelter drunken pirates, and little children playing pirates. The island was pretty lively.
"I am Captain Red Beard, bow before me!"
"If you're Captain Red Beard, I'd be Captain Tanasha"
"Did you see the scary ship at the docks?"
"It's the Silent Reaper, my grandpa told me stories about it"
"Who's the captain?"
While Michael and Gaya were roaming the island, he heard children and grown men gossip about the Silent Reaper. Because the Silent Reaper appeared at the Pirate Cove nearly three decades ago, many stories about the ship turned into rumors. Only a handful of elderly citizens in their seventies had more information about the ship, its crew, and the curse.
As he was walking, his courage was raised by the light, which streams through the palm and coconut trees lighting up the beauties of the island, and stopped to smell the flowers and examine things, which he never thought existed.
"Cutlasses forged using the finest steel!"
"Rum barrels wholesale!"
"High-quality tobacco and sugar!"
Under the shade of tropical trees, merchants were shouting loudly to attract the attention of newly arrived pirates.
"Not a single food stall" Gaya sighed after searching the line of merchant stalls for something to eat.
"There's no clothing store either," Michael said. He wanted to change his clothes to blend with the natives yet wherever he looked, he couldn't find a clothing store or a place where he could buy some piraty clothes.
"Let's go to the tavern, I'm beat" Gaya was sweating as she was inside an oven. The lack of Arch energy in the atmosphere took a toll on her body.
To find the tavern, Michael didn't have to ask for direction, he only needed to follow the grown men.
Eventually, after following some men, they reached their destination.
"The burning candle" Michael read the signboard hanging above an old wooden door. From the outside, it looked lively, folksy, and enchanting. Softwood and well-crafted wooden beams make up most of the building's outer structure. It was near impossible to see through the dirty windows, but the sounds of dancing and singing from within could be felt outside.
As they entered the tavern through the well-crafted, wooden door, they were welcomed by amazing, but unknown scents and laughing voices.
The bartender, who was a middle-aged woman, was a little preoccupied with customers but still managed to welcome them with a wink.
It was as engaging inside as it was on the outside. Several walls supported the upper floor and the large candles attached to them. The walls were loaded with hundreds of small ship parts, all signed and most likely donated by fellow pirates.
The tavern itself was packed. Pirates seem to be the primary clientele here, which often led to exciting evenings. Several long tables were occupied by separate groups of pirates, all enjoying themselves, but they kept to themselves. Among the tables were Michael's crew who seemed to be losing their consciousness due to the rum they were chugging nonstop. Some were even dancing on the table while others were cheering from them by clapping and yelling.
The other, smaller tables were also occupied by people who were playing games and, judging by their laughter, were either telling jokes or great, perhaps embarrassing tales. Even most of the stools at the bar were occupied, though nobody seemed to mind more company.
Michael did hear tales about this tavern back on the ship, supposedly it was famous for something, but he couldn't remember what for. Though judging by the music and how many people were dancing, it must be the live band who just started playing.
"There are some empty chairs" Gaya pointed at the few empty chairs at the far end of the room as they walked towards the table to prepare for what would undoubtedly be a great morning.
In the heat of the moment, most of Michael's crew completely failed to notice him until Shorty whispered something into their ears. They all gave a quick glance at Michael before resuming what they were doing.
Few of the waitresses were still busy serving the other pirates. Michael and Gaya were not in a rush so they just waited for one of the waitresses to come to them.
"How long are we gonna stay on this island?"
"I have to make a few upgrades to our ship. Few days tops I think"
"She's not a whore Holman, let her go" the bartender's shout drew Michael's attention towards a waitress near Shorty's table. The waitress was trying to get herself free from the hold of a scar-faced pirate.
"She's a big girl, she can decide what she's gonna be tonight" the scar-faced pirate took out a pouch, pouring out gold coins on the table. By the look on the other pirates' faces, Michael could see that they were fortunate enough to plunder a rich merchant ship or two. Besides, among all the people in the tavern, these guys had shinier cutlasses and wore cleaner clothes.
"Look for someone else, Holman" the waitress freed herself from his grab by swatting his hand away. The golden hair waitress quickly rushed back into the kitchen leaving Holman and his crew behind.
"This place hasn't changed a bit" Suddenly Michael heard a familiar voice as he turned to see Gibson walking towards them. Compared to the man he met before, Gibson looked like a new person.
"It's really a wonder how a bath and a new set of clothes could do to a man" Gibson scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. Michael gestured at him to pull up the empty chair to their table.
"I'll get us something" Gaya left the table leaving Gibson and Michael behind. Gibson would have offered to get something but she didn't give him any time to offer his aid.
"Tell me about yourself, Gibson"
Michael noticed his hands were shaking as well as his eyes were checking the rum served by the waitresses. It was obvious he wanted a drink. Michael took his attention from the booze with the question.
"Well, I was serving under her majesty before losing my leg and becoming a pirate"
"Her Majesty?"
"The Empress of Awor Continent"
The Awor Continent was the largest in this world. It was larger than Elon and Ozer Continent combined. He knew little to nothing about Awor Continent except the fact that he had unfinished business to take care of in Awor.
"On a scale of one to ten, how powerful is Awor Continent?"
"Twenty or even thirty, Cap...David '' Gibson almost said his real name but quickly corrected himself.
"The scholars say there are multiple magical ley lines under the land of Awor. Hence, everyone and every kingdom are fucking powerful. Also, those snobby bastards are ridiculously rich"
"Seems like my kinda place. We'll go there in the future" Gibson was about to protest this idea of them visiting Awor Continent when his eyes widened in shock. He noticed Holman checking out Eli, the girl who killed a group of pirates like they were nothing. It took Michael a second to notice the change in Gibson's eyes.
Gibson slowly turned his gaze away from Holman to Lucifer but unlike he expected, the young man remained calm. Although the mask Gaya wore significantly reduced her beauty, her perfect hourglass structure, and her grace made her stand out in this crowd, especially when the tavern was lacking in ladies.
Michael knew he can neither stop every man who checks out Gaya nor cleanse the world of perverts. Therefore, he remained calm as it wasn't worth his time to start a fight just because he's staring at Gaya from her top to bottom.
Right at the moment, Michael noticed another set of eyes staring at Holman and Gaya. The figure was wearing a hood to cover his face, he wore what a typical pirate would wear except his boots looked military. Now that the figure attracted Michael's attention, he noticed the figure was sitting in front of glass bottles on the table before the bartender. For a normal person, it would raise no flags but for a highly trained assassin like Michael, it said many things about the figure.
Gibson heaved a sigh of relief when Gaya left the bar counter without giving Holman a chance to mess with her. The tavern was neutral ground and a place under the protection of the three great pirate captains. Fighting inside the tavern was forbidden, if anyone tried to start a fight, they would become the target of three captains. The last thing Gibson wanted was Lucifer to kill the three pirate captains and mess with the equilibrium of the Pirate world.
The figure quickly turned his gaze away from Holman as he pretended to take a sip from his mug but Michael saw him using the glass bottles in front of him to monitor everything around him. Using reflective surfaces to monitor the area was a classic trick used by spies and assassins.
Michael couldn't help but wonder what is a spy or an assassin doing in a tavern like this. Gaya placed a tray with three mugs filled with rum and three grilled salmon on the table before sitting beside Michael.
"It'd be weird if I ask for water to drink in this place, so just pretend to drink the rum," she said as her eyes looked at Gibson.
"Pretend, got it Eli" Gibson mumbled as he reached out to touch the grilled salmon because he thought one of the three plates of fish was his.
Plop!
When his hand were about to touch the fish, he was swatted away by Gaya,
"Don't even think about it" Gibson saw Lucifer chuckle while Eli began to dig into the grilled fishes.
"Fuck… it's bad yet I can't stop eating," she said, cleaning the fish to its bones.
While Gaya was stuffing her belly, Michael was calmly looking around the tavern, listening to all the conversations going around him.
"Who the fuck gave you this?!"
Yet again, Michael heard Holman's voice. This time, Holman's shout silenced the entire tavern. Every pair of eyes were on Holman as he trembled in anger.
"It was him," the waitress pointed her hand at none other than Michael himself. Michael was taken aback by surprise by the waitress's words.
Everyone in the tavern including Gibson and Gaya stared at Michael.
"You!" Holman gave a kick to the table in front of him as the table violently clashed with the wall. The sounds of plates and mugs scattering on the floor could be heard throughout the tavern.