DEAD MAN'S TAVERN II

[Lairde Guardn]

It is always blackest just before the dawn and that is when the longboat touched upon the shore.  Three cloaked figures moved off in different directions while another two took up residence on the dock not far from where they had tied up, and within view to witness the comings and goings of those on the Lobo.  

Sun broke over the horizon as the three moved quickly into the town, each on a mission heading directly toward an objective.  With the morning haze slowly burning away and the sky getting brighter as the sun rose higher in the sky, it illuminated the three young lassies, whom had pushed back the cowls of their cloaks as they sought out their destinations.  Early morning meant the town was also waking and the three were soon talking in whispers to some of the shop keepers and others before they regrouped at the town center near the fountain to share their findings.

"The Church be burned ta the ground", "and there be nae a convent on the Isle"....two of them reported quickly to the other..."then he be at the ship or the pub, we just need to find which pub now, remember what we be told, no one but him til we find out the Isle be safe.  

The three scattered apart again, each taking up a position at a different pub, sitting at a table and waiting for those staying in the rooms to wake up and come out for their breakfast.   They knew he would be fairly easy to recognize, it was them that worried if he would know who they were, they were older now, and it had been some years since they had last seen the Monk.  Lexi had picked the right pub to be in, while sisters Britanny and Breana waited in others.  They knew of all of Guardn's daughters, they were the most likely to be recognied by the Monk,

Two ships sat a good distance off shore and were just a speck to the naked eye,  few would recognize the silouette of the one ship, but many would recognize the outline of the warship HMS Valiant as they sat upon the horizon.

[Elinor Hakebourne]

Only mildly annoyed at Julian, but still wanting a diversion from thinking about him, Elinor set out to find Lil.

After exhausting several places, she started to think that Lil didn't want to be found at the particular moment, when she came across the ship's surgery. "Lil!" She exclaimed, her hand flying up to her mouth in shock. "What is going on here?"

"Nothing that need concern you," Duckie said evenly, not taking his eyes off his quarry. Elinor opened her mouth to respond, but, not finding adequate words, promptly closed it. Throwing her hands up in an "I give up" gesture, she decided to find solace out on the ship's deck...

Either something bad was going on, that I shouldn't know about, or something very good that I shouldn't know about, Elinor thought, shrugging to herself. All this personal drama makes me itch for us to sail again. Nothing like going on an adventure that almost gets us killed to spice things up...

[lilaney]

Duckie released Lil and they squared off.
Lil still panting from the sheer anger of the entire situation.
Duckie seemed calm, but, ridgid attempting to anticipate this she-cat's next move.

Lil could see it in his eyes that he was waiting for her to strike, a switch flipped in her head.
'never' she thought, never did she want to make this man build a defense against her.
those thoughts sent her anger flowing out of her and she simply wilted, all the fight going out and she simply sat on the deck.

Duckie watched her sink to the floor; it looked as if all the air had been let out and she had deflated.
Not daring to step towards her, he simply waited.

"I am sorry."
She whispered up at him. Her head was bowed with the humiliation of the situation.
"Never did I think I would make so wary of me that you would have to defend yourself from me.
That is why you put me away from you ins't it? I am no longer to be trusted."

Duckie was caught up short. 'Is that what she thinks of me?'
Too stunned to reply, and in this quiet Lil felt she had her answer, she calmly got up from the ground and left the surgery.
Her heart a cold lump of iron in her chest.

[lilaney]

A new Dawn, A new Day.

The wind whipped through the sails of the wooden maiden which sat upon a colbalt cushion.
It had been too long? A day in port seemed an eternity to those whose souls bled salt water.

The masts creaked and swayed to the song of the sea, which in Lil's mind was the best place
to sit and think. She had been doing a lot of thinking since they had set sail again.
Two weeks out of port and she still hadn't spoken to Duckie.
Embarrisment being the prime reason, and pure luck the secondary.

Martin had been able to scrounge some choice bits and with the addition of the pups aboard he
was finding great joy in feeding them his 'projects', and seeing their delight and begging for more.

Elinor seemed in good spirits these days, if she was troubled, she could have played drafts and won
against the most stalwart of straight-faces.

And the Captains... Ah, always a good place to look for interaction.

Lil's barefoot swung idly from the cross-beam in the rigging. She was well out of the way of Jack-monkeys that were doing
their jobs around her. Right now, the sun was warming her and the salt-wind was keeping her mind clean and clear of
disturbing thoughts.

"Oy! Git yer arse outta tha' riggin' and git down har and tend to yer bus'niss!"
Lil was more than happy to continue to ignore the passing comments of her crew, they knew what was up as well as she did.
But, how does one tell another human that you had to unmitigated gall to drop defenses and fall in love with them?
That, is a tricky subject indeed.

Turning her head into the wind, she gulped the fresh air and let the sun warm her and allow her mind to float far beyond the ship's sails.

[Elinor Hakebourne]

Lil was brought out of her thoughts by a persistent poking on her right shoulder. Turning her head, her eyes met Elinor's expectant ones, and though she was startled, she had enough sense not to let the intrusion into her personal space to cause her to let go of the rigging she held onto. "Elinor! How'd you get up here?" She asked, surprised to see her friend so high up, knowing well of Elinor's fear of heights.

"I climbed," Elinor replied, shrugging. "I think some of the crew didn't appreciate me using their backs and shoulders to leverage me up here, though. I'm definitely not as deft at climbing as you are, Lil." At the shout of one of the crew members below, Elinor glanced down, which was a very bad mistake. She gripped the rigging tighter, her knuckles turning white at the exertion. Taking a deep, steadying breath, she continued. "But I figured this would be the best way to get you to talk to me. We haven't had a decent conversation since I found you in the surgery with Duckie, and that was a fortnight ago!"

Mildly annoyed as she was at having her peace be broken, she couldn't help but smile at her friend's earnest answer. "I've had lots to think about, El," She replied, shifting her weight and turning towards her friend so they could have a conversation properly.

One of the crew, who had already started to climb the rigging, intent on getting to his post, but scowling at the pair of ladies who prevented him from passing, finally had enough, and cleared his throat to get their attention. Lil and Elinor looked down, and, both of them realizing that they were in the way, carefully climbed down (with Lil being far more graceful than Elinor), giving the man the space to get on with his duties.

Elinor went over to the edge of the ship, as much to get out of the way of the other crew members as to be able to get a proper look at the horizon. "I am glad we're sailing again. Too many days in port takes the 'sail' out of the sailor, don't you think?" Lil nodded, taking a place beside her friend, sharing Elinor's gaze upon the horizon.

In the early morning mist, Elinor thought she saw something in the distance. It didn't look like much, but it was definitely something, she thought. Whether something bad, or something good, only time will tell... "Do you see that?" Elinor asked Lil.

"See what?" Lil asked in return, looking at her friend strangely.

"Perhaps it was nothing," Elinor replied, frowning. After all, she thought, no sense making everyone nervous over something that probably wasn't there in the first place. It is not as if I can see it now...

[Welsh Wench]

Wench looked up at Lil sitting in the rigging. While that in itself was not disturbing, Lil's face reflected something. Something indiscernible.
"Lilaney? Are you alright?" she called from below.
Absentmindedly, Lil replied, "Hmmm? Oh. Yes. I am fine."
She looked out towards the horizon. She knew that every morning Lil would climb the rigging to get some salt air. It was good therapy and helped her think, she always said.

Wench stood below and gazed at her friend, her comrade who had been beside her and fought with her. If you could call it fighting. Squaring off against an undead ship and watching her former lover Daemon get blown up and reincarnated and into a zombie and running him through....

Wench shook her head as if to clear it. It was so much easier when she was a tavern wench. Of all the things, taking up with Daemon when he proposed taking the Knight Hammer.....'I must have my head examined.'
She frowned, "If you are sure you are alright, Lil....'

Lil continued to look out to see with a faraway look and not answering.
Wench got a look of determination and marched towards the quartermaster's cabin where Jack had bunked down, to his disappointment.
She didn't bother to knock on the door but kicked it open with her foot.
"OW OW OW!"

Jack looked up from where he was perusing his navigational charts.
"A low moan for different reasons would be----"
"Shut it, Jack. We have problems."
"What, we under attack?"
"No."
"Martin salt the soup too much?"
"No---"
"Amber is having puppies and Muir is the father?"
"Jack, if I have to slap you upside the head, I will."
He sighed and took out his bottle of rum.
"Something tells me I will need this."
"It's Lilaney."
He corked the bottle."Is she ill?"
"Not exactly..."
"What do you mean, not exactly?"

Wench put her hands on her hips. "I wish you would have better control over your crew."
"Honour, what the HELL are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Duckie. You know I adore him but I won't stand for one of my crew...."
"Has he been snotty to her?"
"No."
"Has he denied her access to his elixirs and medicine?"
"Of course not."
"Short-sheeted the bandages?"
"Don't be snide..."
"Then what did he do?"

Wench's face flamed. "He made her fall in love with him."

[Captain Jack Wolfe]

Jack held up his hand.  "Stop."
Wench's mouth fell open.  "I will not!"
"Yes, you will, until I sit down and pour myself a drink.  I have a feeling this is going to be a long, confusing conversation."
"Fine," huffed Wench.  "Pour me one while you're at it."
"But of course!  I never drink alone."
"You were drinking alone when I came in," she countered.
Jack shook his head and pointed to the bed where the ship's cat lay snoring quietly.  "He's in the room, so technically I'm not alone."
"You always seem to find a way to justify what you do."
"Yep!  It's a gift."  He settled into a chair and put his feet up on the table.  "Now, then, you were talking about something preposterous..."
Wench picked up her mug and shoved Jack's feet off the table before taking a seat for herself across from him.  "No, I was talking about your friend and crewman taking advantage of my crewman!  Crew-woman."  She waved her hand dismissively as she took a sip of rum.  "Whatever.  It's your fault.  Ooh, this is good."
"I'm still not tracking, I'm afraid.  Duckie took advantage of Lil?  OUR Duckie?"
"YOUR Duckie.  He's your crew."
"So the blended crew thing is out the window suddenly?"
"In this case, yes."
"One ship, one crew, love.  That's how it works.  You can't cherry-pick."
"And two captains?" she retorted.
"Two for the price of one.  We're still married, remember?" he said with a smirk.
"Don't remind me."

Jack swirled the rum in his mug.  "Fine.  We'll discuss that later.  Hopefully it will involve disturbing the cat."
Wench gave him a sour look and shook her head in the negative.
"Can't blame a bloke for trying.  But we're talking about Duckie, for crying out loud!  You say he manipulated Lil for his own ends?  That doesn't sound like him at all.  Sounds more like, like..."
"You, perhaps?"
"I was going to say Cade Jennings, but I didn't want to come across all snotty."
Wench could feel sudden warmth rush to her face, and she looked away from her husband.  "That wasn't fair."
"You're right, it wasn't," sighed Jack.  "I'm sorry, Honour.  I should never have said that."
"You... you just apologised?"
"Why the surprise?  I said something impulsive and foolish, and I'm sorry for doing it."
"It's just not like you to apologise for anything."
"Things change.  People change.  Now quit making a fuss, or I'll take it back and start saying awful things about your taste in shoes."
Wench looked self-consciously at her boots.  "And just what is wrong with my choice of footwear?"
"Not a thing," said Jack.  "But I'll admit to not paying much attention to your feet.  You have other charms far more interesting to me."
"Back to Duckie and Lil," said Wench, wishing to herself Jack couldn't make her blush so easily.

[lilaney]

The sway of the ship was always good to pull thoughts from their inner-most spaces
and lull them to drift to the fore of the mind.
Duckie watched the amber liquid in the bottle sway idlely back and forth with the pitch and roll of the ship.
Fingers laced casually together, his nose resting gently on the table they made, he watched the liquid.
back and forth, back and forth.
Pondering not much, and thinking all too deeply.

It had been two weeks now and not one word, much lest a bare sighting.
For such a small location in the world, she had been able to hide herself well.
Crewmen talked, but, where she was once one of their favored subjects, she had been de-throwned
and it was now back to the usual bawdy chats about the Captains.
Back and forth, back and forth
Duckie was a sensible kind, never driven much farther than logic would allow and certainly
the calmest of tempers in the maelstrom that was his beloved friends and shipmates.
He was certain of his feelings and thoughts, but, was she?
Back and forth, back and forth.
If he could talk with her, he was certain, this was all a misunderstanding; a simple complication that
was spurred by a want to keep her safe and her distrust of anything that could be considered a restraint of her movements.
He could be mad at her, but, he saw now that it was a foolish idea to try and cage her like a common budgie. This one was a rare parrot and never before had he seen a bird of that feather survive long in
captivity that was not of its own making.
Back and forth, back and forth.
realization dawned slowly, spreading its warming comfort of assurance as a plan formed in his head.
Where he was not one to enact a plan often, more to the point he was usually the one to soften the
damage that occured during and after; he felt this time, drastic measures must be undertaken.
The one slice of iron in the fae was that he was not certain of her feelings regarding him.
He had guessed and like any good scholar his guesses were usually good, but, this female could stump him. Best to get a confirmation before begining his scheme.
Before that, he could sit and ponder his plan; build it up in his head, all the steps required, leave no questioned unanswered. Should she care for him? He felt a flood of contentment at the thought, this scheme would work wonderfully and all would be well. Should she think otherwise, his heart skipped a beat, this whole thing could end in tears, of blood or salt, he could not quite lay bets on considering the source of his affection.
Either way, Duckie felt it was time to act; a fortnight to sit and stew was plenty of time, now, was the time for action.

[Hibernian]

"Lord, I wonder if it's possible to lie in bed long enough to avoid that which is coming and just pass directly to the beyond?"

"Yet, if I am here to learn and to serve, that will not be accomplished in bed, perhaps by others who shall remain unnamed pirates, but at least not by this monk."

"An offer; no, a compromise; no, as the devil learned in the desert one does not barter with You so I offer a prayer Lord; if I get up, you will send an angel to release the thumping from my head."

"There, I am up, any angels sent to capture thumps may now make their presence known."

Opening his eyes for the first time, no angels were visible, unless one counted the black dog lying on the floor in front of the door. Now that wee black doggie was no angel and while she was black, a wee doggie she was not. The monk's traveling companion weigh near 7 stone and had a tail long and hard enough to be worthy of cat of nines. That tail also proved to be the source of the thumping as it beat a tattoo upon the deck. "So Amber, you are sent to be my angel and remove the thumping from my head, at least He has a sense of humor. Thank the heavens for that else I am really in trouble."

A short while later, the monk and dog descended the stairs into the common room of the Le Cur Tavern. Brother Timothy noted it was near mid day already, very few patrons were at the tables and the Romani in the corner was avoiding his eyes. He also noted that there was a definite lack of officers and crew from the Lobo.

"Athena..."

[Hibernian]

"Well, they're not here. What I mean to say, is the ship has sailed. You see you and the Captain had been drinking all day and then a good part of the night, except you went to bed and he didn't. Then come the morning, when we got up and found him still down here drinking, it took the two of us, Wench and I that is, just to get him up and moving, but that only worked so well. So we got a few of the crew to lend a hand and suddenly word spread and then those few turned into a few more and before you know it one could say we had a parade."

"A parade is nice yet I do not see how that resulted in my being here and the Lobo being heaven knows where!"

"Oh no, you're right the parade was fantastic, I truly believe it was one of the best we have had on the island for years ....and I can also see by your face that this isn't really what you wanted to hear is it."

"Athena you darling gypsy, where.. is ..my ..ship?"

"But Brother the parade is part of the reason you're still here. Or actually the people who came down to the parade. You see it got very loud, then very busy and somewhat confusing, and then perhaps well there may have been some drinking."

"You may have been drinking?"

"Yes we may have been drinking, one thing lead to another and well Wench and I started talking about something that perhaps we shouldn't have been talking..."

" Athena..."

"Brother you know us gypsies and how we love maps and treasure, we may have been talking about El Dorado and the heart. Oh you know the heart, El Corazon del Diablo."

[lilaney]

There are some strong of will and others with the fortitude of soul to best the grandest of tests.
But, let it never be said that a sailor would willingly starve to prove a point.

And, it was to this specific mindset that Duckie planned to enact his scheme.

Where Lil was wise in her ability to avoid and deflect confrontation, she had minimal
control over the foodstuffs; thankfully, that was left to more proffesional hands than hers.
Duckie was not one for diguises, but, he had to admit they worked in a pinch.
The crew was amused with his plans to lay a lady-snare, and willingly involved themselves in the game.
Duckie the Dr. was now simply Drew, a common seaman.
He enjoyed the integration, though it took him a few days to adjust to the overtly scruffy look and the smell.
The name Drew was being used in the general scuttle-butt to amend the men to the feel of the name and
they highly enjoyed creating the sea-stories to build his grandiose reputation.
Ducky was charmed at all of the adventures his nom de plume had gotten up too; He had to admit the men knew their
game of story-telling well and he made a mental note to be more with them during happier times.
This night, he sat hunch-shouldered in between two sea-dogs,with his back to the door he simply waited.

Eventually, she would come.

There was a modest pall of silence in the hum among the men that usually occured when a female's presence was espied in the ranks. Duckie stiffened a bit, and then forced himself to relax.
There was more than just Lilaney aboard of the fairer sex.
He watched Julian a table over keenly to see his reaction, that would give him a good idea.
Julian's eyes flicked up from his meal, then flicked down.
"Not Elinor"
He watched some of the more romantic old-salts for a moment; no reaction.
"Not the Captain"
The numbers narrowed, Duckie decided to dare a glance.
A brief glimpse and his heart thumped.
"Yep, thar she blows"

He swallowed a small thrill of emotion, and simply waited.
So very soon, he would have resoloution.

[lilaney]

Duckie set ready to pounce.. when the world suddenly shifte hard to Starboard..
People, benches, plates, food, and plenty of swearing slid across the floor and while many seasoned sailors were able to brace soon after the sudden shift. Not everyone was lucky. Duckie ended up flipped up and over his bench, amid peals of feminine laughter.
Soon after the sharp right turn, the entire galley emptied back on deck.
If there is one ideal that will remain true throughout time, a sailor's curiosity must be sated.

Duckie, not being a sailor, assumed that the Captains must have had a rather decent excuse for almost dipping the bow into a proper curtsey even for Davy Jones.

With Lil, yet again hidden amongst the sprawl of curious Sailors, he quietly made his way back to his surgery to soak his thoughts in some well aged cure.

[Welsh Wench]

"What the hell....?"
The ship thumped and dipped, throwing Honour from the chair over to the bed where Jack had been lounging.
"Well, hello to you too!"
The ship buoyed to the opposite direction, Jack landing on top of Honour.
"You planned this!"
"Now, how can I control a ship when I am here with you?"
"You must have sent a signal to the helmsman! Turn right! Turn left! Hard!"
"As much as I love--and always have--having you under me---in a captain's way, of course!--I had nothing to do with this!"
"Yeah, I'll bet!"
He disentangled himself. "Your boots always did look good entwined with mine."
She stuck her tongue out at him.

Jack looked out the porthole window.
"Well, it looks like someone has a thing for El Lobo del Mar! Look!"
Honour peered out the porthole with Jack.
"What is it?"
"A humpback whale and she is trying to have a go with the old Sea Wolf."
The ship bumped once more and Honour and Jack landed on their bums.
"Do something! Don't you have a harpoon?"
"Are you crazy? Harpoon a poor fish---"
""Mammal"
"--whatever---for lusting after my ship? Just wait and it will be over before you know it."
Honour looked at her fingernails and murmured, "I've heard that before."
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Wait...what's this?"
"What?"
"This!" He reached into her bodice and pulled out a paper.
"What the hell? Honour, you've been snooping in my room!"
"Have not! I was merely looking for some reading material and--what do you mean, snooping? Pot, meet Kettle!"
"Well, I was in your room looking for your brownie recipe, if you must know the truth. The crew--a few of them--had a hankering for them."
"You may inform the crew that my apron and my culinary skills are---GIVE THAT BACK TO ME!"
Jack unfurled the paper and kept it out of her reach.
"What are you doing with this map of El Corazon del Diablo?"
She grabbed for it and he held it out of reach.
"It won't do you any good, Honour. The other half is gone."

A sweet smile graced Honour's face.
"Not necessarily. I happen to know where the other half is."
"You do?" He leaned towards her. "Where is it, my love?"
"Wouldn't you like to know, oh, light of my life?"
"Oh, look who is starting with the sweet talk now?"
Jack backed her against the wall and planted both hands on either side of her.
"Sweetheart, you just may have something I want."
"I'll bet you say that to all the strumpets."
"Oh, I wouldn't call you that."
With that, Honour brought her knee up to rack him but Jack was too quick and deftly moved to one side.
"Ah ah ah!"
"Bite me, Jack!"
"I thought you would never ask!"
She ducked down and slipped from his grasp.
"I just happen to have in my possession the right side of said map given to me---for safe keeping, mind you--by one Captain Rhys Morgan!
"Rhys gave you one half of the map?"
"Oh, my...do I stutter?"
"And where is said map now? Go fetch it! We can sail towards El Corazon by sunset!"
"I don't have it."
"Then where is it? Surely you must have it somewhere with all the stuff you carry around with you. I have never known you to be unprepared."
"When I left to go on my search for Captain Spleen, I had----wait! How did YOU end up with half of it?"
"Oh, that. Poor Spleen! He was losing very badly at cards. And he can't  hold his rum like he used to."
"So you won it in a card game?"
"Well, it was rightfully mine. After all, I...."
"Oh, ho! YOU lost it to HIM!"
"It was a long time ago!"
"And you've gotten better at reading marked decks, huh? Especially when you marked it?"

Jack just grinned at her.
"So now where is the map, my love?"
She leaned forward and whispered, "In a chest of drawers under your daughter's nappies!"

Just then the ship gave one last heave.
Honour landed on top of Jack.
"Game over," he whispered, as he lit his pipe. "And oh, so satisfying!"

[lilaney]

The winds blew clean and salty as the afternoon faded slowly into evening.
Aside from the momentary upset from nature, and one truly confused whale; routine barely ruffled from
its natural movements.
Lil sat quietly, away from bustle, away from confrontation. Hands kept busy splicing line, while her mind did the unthinkable.
It built up courage.

The salts watched her in apprehension, knowing an aggitated female is more taciturn than any near-sighted humpback.
When the marlinspike once held in her capable hands flew across the deck, they flinched and moved instinctively out of her path as she stormed towards the surgery.

In the cool dim of the surgery, a heart-hurt male sat staring moodily into an amber-filled crystal. His eyes seemed to be attempting to divine the future from the barrel-aged liquor.
He didn't even flinch when the surgery door slammed open; when he did move was not of his own volition as he was jerked away from the fine liquor and grabbed into a forced embrace.
Whether from surprise or awareness of the inevitable; it took him almost a full ten seconds to realize what he had been hoping for was happening.

Somehow while fully involved in what was before him; he also secured the door, blew out the lights, finished his drink and found what he was looking for: Happiness.

[Hibernian]

Throughout her life Athena had come to know many friars and monks who, when the cities and towns would have nothing to do with her people, cared for the hearts and souls of the Travelers. For the most part she remembered the brown robes as jolly round men who were often makers of beer or cheese, and always spoke of the goodness within the world.  Brother Timothy was struggling for control and when he finally spoke she was sure it was to be neither about beer nor cheese, in fact she wondered if it was too late to cry Mulligan and run for the safety of her bed to start all over!

"You and Wench spoke of the Corazon, how nice.  Was it over tea and crumpets, for heaven's sake Athena I need more than just you spoke of a place that has been driving men mad for the past, what how many years? Give me an idea of her plans at least, does she plan to venture on her own, with Captain Jack, does Jack even suspect this, or perhaps she's enlisted the St Olaf Girl's Choir to set the atmosphere for just the right moment to tell him about her impending death wish! "

"Well, I'm pretty sure she didn't mention anything about a choir. But we talk about the usual things, gold, riches, gold, boots, gold, Captain Jack, gold, map..."

"A map, Wench spoke of a map of the Corazon?"
The Romani girl took a step back away from the brown robed man, "actually not so much spoke of a map as we looked at a map."
"Are you telling me that she has a map to El Corazon del Diablo because that would be a very bad thing. Please tell me I misunderstood you, please tell there is no map."
"Oh no," the gypsy smiled finally having some good news, "she only had half a map."

"Well, bless your heart, isn't that nice, perhaps Wench will only get half mad or half dead. I'm sorry Athena that was cruel of me. But it is a point in our favor, half a map is no good, and what are the odds she'll ever find the other half. After all, things like treasure maps tend to be lost for eons all over the world. The bravest and smartest men of the past 100 years have looked for that map, how could one little blonde wench find a treasure that has been lost for ages and confounded the best pirates and treasure seekers of the world? She can't even park a boat much less find where to even start looking for the other half."

The Romani girl took another step backwards, "Unless she already knows the location of the other half of the map?" Without saying a word the monk sat down, leaning his elbows on the table he slowly lowered his head into his hands.

"I'm going to need a drink."