Looking for Pirates (Caramon Zero)

[Seayn]

Seayn had just arrived in Westport. He swung off his horse, leaving it with the stable boy and setting up arrangements for living quarters before he left the inn he had already decided he was staying at. He kept his hand on his sword and his eye on his leather pouches, not wanting any pickpockets to sneak up on him. His first stop had been to the docks, wanting to view the ships. He paid special attention to the amount of defenses that each one had... mainly cannons. He had always been curious as to what would draw people to the ocean, even he had to admit there was some majesty to the ocean but there was nothing that he saw that could justify wanting to spend the majority of your life upon it.

Seayn then proceeded to enter the seediest tavern in the port city. He took an inconspicuous corner in the shadows off to one side. His back was to the wall, better to avoid being pickpocketed still. His had a strong mug of ale, with some suspect foreign material floating in it, which was the only company he kept as he watched the comings and goings of the tavern. It wasn't the best way to figure out who was a pirate and who wasn't but it was a start and Seayn dearly wanted to find a pirate or two.

[Caramon Zero]

I find myself in Westport once again after having to give people back their money from the swindlers of the sea, and I decide it would be best to go to a tavern that was recommended to me by one of my crew, yet upon stepping through the door, I can see that my friend has very poor taste in taverns.

I walk up to the bar and order a Lon Lon Milk, earning me a few odd looks, and a couple of laughs, from some of the patrons sitting at the table near where I'm standing.

I take my drink and try to find a place to sit, but the only table not crowded is the one in the corner with a man in armor sitting at it, so I decide to see if he'd enjoy a bit of company.

Hello there, mind if I sit with you?
All the other tables are full of a pretty nasty lot, so you mind if we chat a bit?
Since you at least seem to be a bit more of noble character than these fellows judging from your appearance.[/i][/b][/size]

[Seayn]

Seayn was surprised that some man would have the nerve to walk into this bar and order Lon Lon Milk. Either he was foolish or he hadn't thought to help a hangover with the particularly potent milk. The young knight kept his face blank as he watched the man approach him. He couldn't quite tell what race he hailed from, the tanned skin and red hair making him seem Gerudo but that was a race of bandit females. Plus he didn't fit the description he had heard of the Gerudo King so that was out. Maybe he was some kind of man that wanted to emulate the Gerudo so he dyed his hair. He grunted, dismissing the thoughts as the man spoke to him. He kept silent for a moment, staring grimly at the newcomer.

"Have a seat then. My name is Seayn." For a moment he considered adding his title as Human Warden or even that of knight to himself yet he decided to forego such things, since it was unlikely to be someone desirable for pirates to talk to. He leaned back in his chair, finally taking the mug from the table to take a small drink. He grimaced slightly, obviously not happy with the taste yet continued to sip at it for a moment. "Lon Lon Milk... A bold choice." He spoke, keeping his eyes carefully on the man to judge his reaction.

[Caramon Zero]

I take the man up on his offer, and hook Dirge on my belt before setting my drink on the table and taking a seat.
Slowly tapping my fingers on the side of my bottle, I introduce myself.

My name's Caramon Zero, it's a pleasure to meet you, Sir Seayn.

I don't know why a man with such intricate armor as yours would be in a place like this, but you must have your reasons, so I won't press you, yet I will give a word of warning that there are quite a few ruffians about, but I suppose I've no reason to worry, since you seem pretty capable with a sword by the way you're gripping its hilt.[/b][/size][/color]

I pour some of the bottle into a small glass and lift my drink to my mouth.

Does your sword have a name, by any chance?[/b][/size][/color]

After asking my question, I take a swig of my drink, and my face curls in disgust as my eyes widen and water.

This stuff tastes horrible!
What'd they do to it?!

Don't tell me these fraggers put alcohol in their milk!
I can't drink alcohol![/b][/size][/color]

I squeeze the glass a bit, causing it to crack, as I wipe off my tongue on a cloth from my pocket with my other hand.

After a few seconds of this, I start to calm down and set my glass on the table, then I pocket the cloth before turning back to my compatriot.

I'm sorry for my outburst, it's just that alcohol breaks down the barriers that keep my old self sleeping in the back of my mind, and he gets angry when he's woken up out of the blue, so he trashes the place until he calms down and goes back to sleep, then I have to pay the owner to fix the place up again.

It's sad how much violence is caused by alcohol...[/b][/size][/color]

I look back at the glass and pour the remainder of its contents back into the bottle before setting it on the floor so I won't even consider taking another sip of the horrid drink.

After doing so, I turn my attention once again to the knight, and listen to what he had to say after regretting not having given him a chance to respond.

[Seayn]

Seayn could only wonder why someone would be so talkative in such a shady place. Perhaps it was to lure him into a false sense of comfort, either way. He didn't see any harm in answering the fellow's questions though. He opened his mouth, only to snap it into a grimace as the man went on a tangent about how alcohol awakened the beast and no one liked the beast when it was angry, or at least that was the gist of it the young knight got. He tapped the hilt of his sword as he waited for the chatty Caramon to allow him to talk. He could only chuckle and shake his head in amusement as the other man placed his apparently alcoholic milk on the floor. An interesting way to make a drink but he didn't think it was as bad as the other man made it out to be.

Seayn opened his mouth again, "I'm here... because of curiosity. And my sword is named Excalipur. Quite the blade. You couldn't even begin to imagine." He chuckled slightly, wondering how he had managed to find the most useless blade in existence. He looked down at the scabbard, examining it for a moment before looking back up at the other man. "Alcohol tends to be dangerous in large amounts." Seayn took a deep drink from the mug that he had at hand, only a faint look of disgust tinging his eyes as he did so. He set his drink down, his eyes roaming the rest of the room before returning to the newcomer to his table.

"Might I ask what you have come here for? And why aren't you worried about the ruffians? I'm well equipped for a fight, how about you?" Seayn asked, not actually wondering about his mundane equipment so much as something that might swing him above the rest in terms of ability.

[Caramon Zero]

I listen intently to the knight as he answers my question rather more politely that I expected after not allowing to give him a chance to speak until now.

My eyes brighten at the man's questions and I under my sword and gauntlet from my belt before gently setting them on the table in front of me.

Well, I have these, but they're just for self-defense, since I only take the offensive when someone needs my help.[/i][/b][/size]

I put my sword back into its sheath, and fasten my gauntlet to my arm, extending then retracting its blade to show it off, then I remove it and replace it on my belt.

I turn to look back at the other patrons of this shabby tavern and turn back to my acquaintance.

These "ruffians" are just some poor fellows who can't afford a good drink, and are getting cheated even for this low quality ale, so I wouldn't call them ruffians, just unfortunate souls who've barely enough money to live on, let alone get any pleasantries, so they have to settle on this shoddy stuff.[/i][/b][/size]

Annoyed at this point, I decide to give him an example as I point out a man I recognize that I hadn't noticed was in here earlier.

Over there, for instance, is a fisherman who does his best for his family and is having his weekly shot with what little he had left over after getting a weeks worth of food for his family.
So you see, most of the men here don't have enough money to even afford a decent drink, so why should they be coupled with thieves and-?[/i][/b][/size]

I stop myself from finishing my sentence and move back to his other question as to why I am even here as I stroke the back of head slowly before leaning back in my chair a bit.

Truthfully, I came here because a friend of mine said this was a great little place to visit.
Boy, was he wrong...
You'd think after helping the townsfolk, you'd be able to get a decent drink around here, y'know?[/i][/b][/size]

[Seayn]

Seayn's eyes didn't seem quite interested in Caramon's mundane items. Swords and gauntlets weren't very interesting, not something that would draw his attention normally. He shrugged, looking at the man. "I'm sorry for generalizing, I could have sworn that you used the word ruffian first, right? I must admit that I've never been in such an unfortunate predicament as these poor men, yet I believe most of them deserve their reputation as ruffians. I would not doubt that many of them would do things just for the rupees in your wallet, even though I would not like to make any assumptions." Seayn looked down at his gauntleted hand, beginning to tap for a moment before he froze, staring for a moment before slowly moving his hand to grab his mug.

"Unfortunately I must also disagree with your assessment of that fisherman. Think about it instead like this. That man, after buying the bare minimum amount of food for is now spending the only bit of money left on himself rather than his family. I have no doubt that his family could use every green rupee that they had yet here he is. Spending the last bit upon some cheap alcohol." Seayn took a large swig of the drink in his hand. He grunted at the taste, his distasteful expression seeming more natural even though it had started off being directed at the man.

The young knight took a glance at Caramon, although he didn't say anything about the last comment. He could only wonder what this man was doing here, what kind of company he kept to be told that this was a good place to drink, and how he could be so understanding when he lived in this city where more than a few people were stuck under the thumb of poverty.

[Caramon Zero]

I look at Seayn's expression before opening my mouth again, and realize that I may have just used that poor man as a poor analogy of the hard times this port city is facing despite it being what it is.
As I tap my finger on the hilt of my blade, I try to think of what to say and decide not to worry about it.

By the look on your face, I must've done something, since most people give Hybrids looks like that, but I don't really mind it anymore.
It's also the same look most people give the broken and downtrodden, which reminds me....
I'll be back over here in just a second.[/b][/size][/color]

I stand up and walk over to the man I'd pointed out, hand him a small pouch, and talk with him about something for a short time before walking back to my table with a look of accomplishment in my eyes and a big grin on my face.

Well, it looks like he can get his wife that birthday present after all.[/b][/size][/color]

Understanding that he may not understand what I did, I decide to explain myself to him.

You see, I enjoy helping people who need it most, and the only reason that he was drinking is that he couldn't afford to get his wife a birthday present with what little he had, so he decided to get a drink with what little he had to help him come up with something he could get for his wife next year, but, since I have way too much money on me to begin with from my cooking job, I decided to give him a little something to use to buy his wife a nice present, and a little extra for more things for his family...
I just hope it was enough...[/b][/size][/color]

[Seayn]

Seayn shook his head, chuckling at Caramon. "You have me all wrong, good sir. I have no qualm with you, nor the downtrodden. I have nothing but contempt for the selfish though. You see, despite the fact that he doesn't have enough money for the present he wanted to get his wife, no matter what he would have gotten her, I'm sure she would have been satisfied. Instead of selflessly spending the last bit of coin on something for her: a ribbon, some cloth, anything. He decided that he would drown his own sorrows in drink. A despicable habit to say the least." The knight shrugged, taking another large swig from his disgusting drink. He managed to keep his face blank this time though.

The noble shook his head, attempting to lock Caramon's eyes upon his own through sheer force of will. "Listen closely to me, good sir. Despite the fact that I doubt any cook in this town earns enough money to give it away, your plan is flawed. Have you not heard the saying that if you give a man fish, he'll have food for a day, teach a man to fish, he'll have food forever? You're giving men fish, not only that, many people will now depend upon your charity. They grow lazy and complacent since they know you will wantonly throw rupees at them. What you do is noble, yet not very well thought out. If you had really wanted to help him, buy him better fishing equipment, better supplies. That way, he still has to work for it but it is manageable. Protect people like him from ruffians like the others in this bar. Don't just hand them money and expect them to become self-sufficient after that." Seayn grunted, shaking his head. He was obviously down with his speeches for the day. He downed the rest of the mug before returning his gaze out to the crowd of men.

[Caramon Zero]

After hearing the young knight, I understand just what he means.
I come to the revelation that if I'm giving away money expecting people to buy what they need, I'm sorely mistaken.
I don't need to give them the money, I need to give them what they need to make more money.

Sir Seayn, you are far much wiser than your years, and I finally understand what I've been doing wrong.
Thank you for pointing that out to me.

On the note of my currency, though, I'm a traveling chef, so I tend to find rare herbs and spices for my dishes, but I only charge for what the ingredients I have to buy cost, and not charge what other chefs do.

I'm not one to keep too many rupees for myself, and only spend what I have to, despite many of the outrageous prices that some of the ingredients cost nowadays when you could just go somewhere and get it yourself with little to no trouble.
So all in all, I'm a rich man living a adventurer's life so that I can help others.
But for some reason it seems kind of hypocritical to me...
What do you think?[/b][/color]

[Seayn]

Seayn shrugged at the other young man, wondering if he deserved this praise. He had been taught many things growing up. He had been privileged to say the least yet he had always assumed that others would have closer to the same amount of knowledge as himself. Seayn finished off his mug as he pondered over this revelation. Perhaps this was one of the reasons that he was supposed to be one of the governing humans. He didn't think that Ryan nor Jin had formal educations like he had but he couldn't be sure.

"I've just had more training for upper class management. It's not something I've gained through experience, just something that somebody felt fit to make me understand before I came out to the world." Seayn grimaced at the pirate, still doubting that a chef, especially one without much of a reputation could make it with enough to give a purse of rupees to another man. "Regardless, I was here to do some surveillance on the bandits of the sea. As they harm merchant business, they tend to drive prices up occasionally so I'm here investigating. Would you perhaps know anything about pirates?" Seayn knew it was some what foolish to share his purpose with this man but he had no other leads.