“Hi again Valorie,” Caspian said, thinking for a moment. “It’s sure is something. I’ve never really gone to anything like this before. I'm a bit overwhelmed honestly.”

“Oh really, let me help you out then. Ay Bert, gimme two shots of the good stuff,” Valorie called out. “This’ll get you going, trust me.” She had a wicked smile on her face.

Bert placed two small glasses down, each barely big enough for a mouthful. With a practised hand, a murky amber liquid poured into each right up to the brim. Valorie pushed one towards him, grabbing her own. Taking a hesitant sniff, the sharp scent caused him to flinch. “What is this?”

“Hahaha, you’re better off not knowing trust me,” she said. “On three . One, two, three!”

Tipping back the shot, the foul liquid tore through his mouth. Instantly he wanted to gag. Resisting the urge, he tried to swallow it down as quickly as possible. Burning on its way down, Caspian felt his eyes start to water, saliva flooding his mouth. Taking deep breaths he tried to stay calm, looking towards Bert. Without even needing to ask, another glass of water was placed in front of him. Guzzling it down, he tried to wash the terrible taste from his tongue.

“Hahahaha, you’re a delight Caspian,” Valorie said laughing. Slapping his back she shook her head. “Get it down ya, that’s it.”

Coughing, he rubbed his eyes. “Valorie what the hell was that?” he demanded, the taste still burning his tongue. “That tasted like death itself!”

“Ya just had a taste of Ol’ Bert's secret brew. He makes it himself,” she said nodding. “Strongest stuff he's got.”

“Strong is an understatement. That stuff could strip rust. How can you even drink that?” he asked, whipping his tongue with a napkin. The flavour was persistent, the mere memory of the taste-making him gag.

“Ah, ya get used to it. We’re regulars here so it won’t be the last ya see of it. Ain’t that right Bert,” she said smiling.

“Good luck kid, all I can say,” Bert said shaking his head before going off to serve other patrons.

“Thanks for that,” Caspian said conflicted. “Um, sorry if this is too much, but what were you and Duke talking about earlier in the base? You seemed quite passionate.”

“Hmmmm, me and Duke?” Valorie said, tapping a finger on her face. “Oh right, we were discussing the route for the expedition. You heard that?”

“Ah sorry, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” he said shaking his hands. “You were quite loud though,” he said under his breath.

“Bit nosey are we?” she said chuckling. “Well I would be too in your position, so I can't blame ya. I won’t spill the beans, but I’ll give you a taste cause I’m so nice. We finally got some solid intel about the whereabouts of the Endeavor,” she whispered.

“What’s the Endeavor?” he asked, confused.

“Oh right, the Endeavor is a ship from before the cataclysm. A massive cargo ship to be precise. I’ve managed to narrow the search area down by tons, so Duke finally gave the green light. Who knows what we’ll find there,” she said her eyes lighting up. “Don’t tell anyone though. You didn’t hear that from me.”

“I won’t, but that sounds awesome. I can see why you’re so hyped up,” he said.

“I know right, and I have reason to believe it was transporting some precious cargo. I won’t say what, but if I’m right, it’ll be the biggest discovery New Broome’s ever had,” she said. “Remember not a word to anyone.” Putting a finger over her mouth, she nodded at him.

Miming zipping his mouth closed tight, he nodded back. “Not a word.”

Clapping her hands, Valorie disappeared back to the group, smacking Rich over the head for some reason. Looking closer at their unmarked bottle, he realised it was the same thing he’d just had a shot of. They seemed to have some sort of game going on involving it. His mouth filled with saliva at the thought of the drink, his stomach feeling unwell. Quickly shaking his head to dispel the images, he returned to his seat.

“You ok Caspian?” Victoria said, nursing a glass. “You’re flushed.”

“Huh, oh yeah I’m good,” he said. “Valorie just gave me a shot and it didn’t go down well. Tasted like poison.” Shaking his head, he smiled at her. “How about you? Having a good time.”

“Uh, I’m doing ok,” she murmured into her glass.

“Did I hear shots!?” Erika chimed in, leaning over Victoria. “Caspian, why didn’t you invite me.” Pouting, she took a long drink from her glass. “Ahhhh, that’s the good stuff. Way better than the stuff we have at home. Need a refill, Vicki?” Filling her own glass up, she reached over and did the same to Caspians.

“Um, no thanks,” Victoria said shaking her head.

“That’s still basically your first. Girl you gotta loosen up a lil, we’re celebratin,” Erika said. “Here this one’s sweeter, I promise you’ll like it.” Placing a new glass in front of her full of a light pink liquid, it seemed to dance in the light. “It’s watermelon flavour.”

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Victoria seemed to perk up at that, trading glasses. Taking a tiny sip, her eyes opened with surprise. “It’s so sweet!” she exclaimed. “It doesn’t taste bad at all.”

“Told ya,” Erika said, throwing back whatever was left in Victoria's cup.

Caspian couldn’t believe what he saw. The cup had been at least half full, and she downed it in one swift moment like it was nothing. “How did you do that?”

“Do what Cas? Do you mind if I call you Cas? Caspian’s just way too long,” Erika chirped smiling.

“Drink it that fast?”

“Oh that, haha. I’ve lots of practice drinking, this is nothing,” she said. Leaning towards Victoria, she motioned him forward as if she was going to share a secret. “Ma fam dabbles in brewing, so I’ve been a taste tester plenty of times. My brother makes some vile drinks, so this sweet little number goes down a treat.”

“That makes sense,” he thought nodding. Examining her out of the corner of his eye, he noticed how tanned her skin was. “Do you go topside a lot?” he asked, taking a sip of his drink.

“Of course? Oh that’s right you weren’t there this morning. We had a bit of a chat session about ourselves,” she said. “Shame you missed it, was the most I’ve heard out of Vicki.”

“Don’t be mean,” Victoria muttered, looking down.

“Oh you know I’m just teasing you, Vicki,” Erika said, tickling her side. Unable to stop her, giggling ensued as Victoria attempted to bat away her assailant hands. “Forgive me?”

“Okay, just don’t tickle me again. It’s embarrassing,” she said weakly, still smiling.

“Yes dear, I won’t,” Erika said, one hand over her heart. “Now back to what we were talking about. Where was I, oh right. Yeah my family lives topside, we own one of the biggest farms in the city,” she said proudly. “We’re very important.”

“Oh really, what’s that like? Sounds like a lot of responsibility to be handling, and supplying the city with so much food. Must be hard work,” Caspian said.

“Eh it’s not so bad,” Erika shrugged. “The hours are long, and it gets too hot to work a lot of the time. Apart from that, it’s pretty dope. I get to eat whatever I want basically, and spend time with my family. Not as cool as what Vicki gets to do though,” she said pouting.

“Huh, what does Victoria do? What you said sounded pretty interesting.”

“Go on Vicki, tell him,” she said poking her.

“Ahhh don’t do that Erika,” she cried, batting her hand away. Looking at Caspian, she started stumbling over her words. “I worked with animals,” she said quietly.

“How do you mean?” he asked.

“Um, my family owns a ranch with lots of animals, so I’d always be playing with them. That’s how my parents know Percy, he buys directly from them,” she stammered. “We have lots of camels.”

“No way, that's so cool Victoria. Tell me about it, how many camels do you have? What are they like, cause everything I’ve heard about them is that they’re mean animals. And they’ll bite your fingers off if you’re not careful.”

“Uh, um, uhhhh,” Victoria muttered, overwhelmed by his barrage of questions. “Don’t, don’t be mean about them. Camels are nice, you just have to treat them with respect,” she said. “They’ve never bitten anyone I know fingers off, people probably were telling you tall tales Caspian.”

“Oh uh, haha, I guess you’re right,” he said, feeling a bit awkward. “Sorry.”

“Ah, no I overreacted sorry. I just really like animals. People being mean to them annoys me,” she said.

“Fair enough, I promise to be nice to animals from now on ok? No more being mean,” he said smiling. Taking another mouthful of his drink, he looked back at Erika. Waving her towards him, she leant over. “What about Ivan and Kurt,” he whispered.

“Them, they didn’t say much. Both of em have been on expeditions with other teams before. Very quiet those too,” she said. “Barely said a word, quite rude if ya ask me.”

Sitting back, he watched as the two men quietly drank, talking in hushed tones. He wondered what they were talking about. “Probably just shooting the shit,” he thought. Everyone was enjoying themselves, the bar getting more lively now. Half of the cocktail jugs were empty, a testament to how fast everyone was drinking them. He felt a small buzz, the liquor going down easier now.

Refilling his glass, he took another sip. Chatting away with Erika, the world seemed to pause in the bar. Glasses were filled, and raucous laughter had. A warm fuzzy feeling filled Caspian, as his inhibitions fluttered away like leaves in the wind. Before he knew it, his glass was empty and in need of refilling. Before he knew it Erika had filled it up without him even asking,

“Thank you,” he said, swaying in his seat slightly. Putting the cup to his lips, the sour notes made his tongue tingle. Breathing deeply he sat there silently, just listening to the conversation ebb and flow around him. The dull soreness from his limbs had faded away, now a distant memory. The warm friendly environment washed over him, his body rocking back and forth. Off to the side, he thought he heard someone calling his name.

“Earth to Caspian, hellooooo,” Erika said, tapping him on the head. “You doin' ok Cas?”

As if awoken from a stupor, he felt the whole world sharpen. Trying to clear his mind, he shook his head and rubbed his eyes. It seemed to work somewhat, the fog receding. “Sorry, what was that Erika? I didn’t quite hear you.”

“I asked if you were ok. I think you’ve had a bit too much,” she said squinting at him. “Do you drink much usually?”

“Me? No not really, why?” he asked, fumbling over the words. Countless thoughts popped up in his mind, trying to escape his mouth. It took a lot of willpower to stop himself from saying something silly.

“Ya just don’t seem to be holding your drink very well,” she said. “Maybe you should ease up on it. Have a glass of water.”

“Wha nooo, I’m fine,” he said, waving her away. “I’m doing good.”

“Um, I agree with her Caspian. You’re flushed,” Victoria said. “Here have some of this.”

Grabbing the glass out of her hands, he gulped it down, the refreshing taste of water flushing his mouth of impurities. Sighing contently, he rubbed his face. “Thanks for that.”

“Mmm, you should take a break Cas, sober up a bit. You’ve been guzzling those down one after another,” Erika said.

“That might be best,” he said. His vision was swimming, and his legs felt weak. Breathing through his nose, he faintly heard something happening at the other end of the table. Sliding one eye open, he saw Rich chanting something.

“SPEECH SPEECH SPEECH!”

Duke smiled at that, holding his hands up. “Alright alright, put a sock in it Rich,” he said. Standing up he smiled at the group.