The crew were in the city.
The Eel’s Arm was the closest tavern to the port gate. There was a Golden Tavern just a little ways away, but that one was city run and had guards at the door and inside to ensure things ran smoothly. While the Eel’s Arm had burned down twice in my lifetime that I could remember.
The tavern was crowded when we walked in, but people made space for us. Having a Camadt by you would do that sort of thing. People made way for them, or people tried to fight them. There was something about being able to say that you’d taken down a Camadt that was a badge of honor or something. I couldn’t figure out why that was. Despite his bulk, Vin had never beat me whenever we wrestled.
“You fuzzy turd…” A drunk Dragonborn snorted fire as he stumbled up to throw a very weak punch. “I’d’ve beat you if I’d been in the war.”
I shook my head. The Camadt War had been over a thousand years ago. Only the long lived races or the strongest of mages could remember that time when the Camadt had tried to conquer the universe, but it was such a defining moment in our history that it was still talked about. And considering the Camadt colony was on an island in the middle of the ocean, not many people ever came across the four armed beings. Given Vin didn't look very muscular, many people saw him as an easy target.
They were very wrong.
The Dragonborn swung his fist and Vin caught it. He twisted the reptilian man around and wrapped him in a hug. In a few seconds the drunk was unconscious. The rest of the bar had started to quiet as they were expecting a drawn out fight. Now that it was over, most had gone back to what they'd been doing before they noticed the belligerent drunk.
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Another Dragonborn got up, but Storbek beat him to Vin.
“Friend! I'm sure if you'd like a contest of strength, we could arrange one over here.” The Minotaur motioned towards an empty table. He raised his voice as he did a small turn. “Who wants to bet against the Camadt in arm wrestling!”
Vin sighed and started walking towards the table. We’d learned a long time ago that this was the safest way to not end an evening bruised and bloody. Garm touched the Minotaurs arm to stop him from walking away.
“Make it quick and get back to the ship. We’ve got a load that needs to go out tonight.” My father kept his voice so low that I could barely hear him.
“The men aren't going to like that.” Storbek started looking around the tavern, putting his eyes on all the crew members.
“We’re taking a load of wyvern meat to the Ogre forests for Ogna. Got to be there before the celebration.” Garm bounced his eyebrows letting the first-mate know that there was more to that than he was saying. “Wrap this up quick. I’ve got another call to make.”
My father motioned for me to follow him and walked out of the tavern.
Vin already had his shirt off and was seated at a table. They’d be here for a little while until the patrons got bored of losing. Or they’d get a kick out of it and try to keep him there all night. I smiled at the thought. Vin loved to show off and this was the environment where he thrived.
I waved to my brother and walked out into the cool night air. It was winter and while we were closer to the equator than the north pole, it still got cold enough here for it to freeze occasionally.
“Where to next?” I looked around. The workday was over and now the nightlife was starting to come out. The port side of town was where the night life lived, so for a while, the deeper we went into the city, the busier it would be.
Garm looked around, then motioned for me to follow. His silence told me to do the same. I could feel my hands sweating as I thought about meeting the princess for the first time.