What is that question?!

“Of course I can. I can count too.”

Grigory made a weird barking sound.

“Really? A surprise here. Where did you learn?”

“At my hometown?”

“Why so unsure?” He heard a barking sound again. What the hell was that?… “The kitty said you were traumatized. What did he mean?”

The kitty?! This man had no fear. Or they were very, very close friends. Joe was sure that if he ever said that to Xander’s face, the broken skull would be the least of his worries.

“He knocked me out during a raid. Just hit me on the head with a pistol.”

“I see. How long were you out?”

“Five hours.”

There was that sound again. Was it laughing, or was it something else?

“You are tough. Or lucky. I saw him punch a head off once.”

While the tone in Grigory’s voice was the same, Joseph felt that the atmosphere has changed. It was a good time to ask one question he wanted since the beginning.

“Grigory, if you don’t mind me asking… who are you? Or, rather what kind of creature are you?”

Grigory closed his mouth shut. He stood there for a minute, before speaking again.

“...Again?”

“I didn’t mean anything bad, sorry. My memory has been knocked out of me, it seems since I can’t remember anything about this world. So, I’m just kinda… trying to learn.”

Grigory quietly growled. Then he started talking, very slowly.

“You call us mimics… You conquered us twenty years ago. Barely a citizen, you say.”

That brutally honest answer made Joe feel guilty, even though there was no way he could be involved with this.

“I am… sorry.”

The silence was thick enough to cut with a saber. Made even worse by a fact that Joe didn’t exactly know how to fix the situation.

“Your lack a spine. You need some willpower.”

“Huh?! What was that?!”

Right after he apologized, too! Joseph took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. Why would he say that out of nowhere in the first place?!

“Way better. We will talk later. Meet me near the shower, after noon.”

And so, Joseph was left alone in the middle of a giant room.

Continue exploring? Yes or no?

He had a lot of choices. He could go forward, to the far end of the Hold where he saw another door, leading to an unknown section of the ship; he could go up on the first level, check up on doctor Crunchy and his assistant, Pat; he could find Ralf and try to talk to him; he could explore the rest of the ship - Grigory mentioned a shower. He could use one for sure… Or he could find a secluded corner and train for a bit. Then there was his newfound interest in the story of the world, the books Ralf mentioned… And the test. He should not forget about the test - if Captain wakes up today, he might need to be ready with an answer.

The choices, the choices… What to do?

“Having problems?”

He honestly almost forgot this voice.

“Ailuros!”

“You remember me, how sweet~” The graceful black cat jumped on the closest barrel and lied down, stretching her paws.

“Seems like you are stuck. Want to share your worries with me?”

“I don’t want to feel like a burden…”

“Don’t we all?” She waved her tail. “Why not take a paw of help when someone is offering you one? Free of charge, too! For now… he-he-he…”

Joseph could only shake his head. He had to admit, that it was tempting. Still, he wanted to figure out some things on his own. On the other hand, having more allies and trustworthy companions among the crew could only be a good thing. He wasn’t losing anything (not like he had anything to lose, except his own life).

He told the naji about the test that Captain give him, then he admitted that he couldn’t decide what to do next.

“Hmm…” She scratched her ear. “When you have a task and see no way forward, or too many ways forward, what do you usually do?”

“Hah… usually I go back to the drawing board and try to come up with a new solution, or scramble a new one, based on what I had already done.”

That was his general strategy at work. If all else fails, go back to basics and try again. Unfortunately, he was missing deadlines more often than not, if the solution wasn’t working the first time, so he had to just fly by the seat of his pants just about always.

“So you go back to basics, right? Then why not do it again?”

“But what would the basics be in my situation?…”

Train? Or study? Study where? Roth and Captain have books, but Alchfrid was sleeping. That leaves the Good Doctor… Although there might be more books somewhere on the ship.

“Say, Ailuros… are there any books anywhere?”

The cat stood up, stretched, and took a pose of a statue.

“Mhm… Doctor and Captain have quite a collection. There are books in the Wardroom and crew quarters. Do you need something special, or-”

She suddenly started coughing mid-sentence.

“You alright?!”

The naji shivered and waved her paw.

“I’m fine, I’m fine… just a bit of dust, that’s all. Where were we? Right, the books! So, you need anything special?”

Joseph refused, shaking his head.

“Anything will do, I guess… Then it’s decided. I’m going back to basics. To the doctor, I mean.”

“He might be busy… but I think he’ll make some time for you if you just ask him for a book. He wouldn’t turn you down, I think.”

Joseph got up from the floor he was sitting on.

“Thank you, Ailuros. I’ll see you later.”

“That would be my words, Joseph. You wouldn’t find me even if you tried~”

And she vanished in front of his very eyes. Again.

Joe chuckled and went to the exit.

*****

“Air-ana, Airana, For why of Mad King gifts you’ve bragged…!”

The small bits of chaos, that were unleashed at the Crew Quarters, were quite an engaging sight. Two humans and one thin-man were holding a fourth human while forcing a cup of liquid into his hands and singing loudly. Their poor victim was actually quite happy to go with their whims, laughing along and crying.

“For your son, Rodger! Drink it all, you gotta get back to him strong and proper!”

One of them even pulled a small string instrument and started loudly blaring on the strings, surprisingly keeping up with the rhythm. Others joined him, singing a song about Airana and a Mad King. Joseph actually stopped nearby and leaned on the wall, listening. The story in the song was quite interesting, too - about a small village girl who asked a King for a blessing. Joseph would’ve liked to listen through to the end, but then he got a bit distracted by a huge pale man with horns, who was standing a bit further away from the singing group.

He did see this man before, he was very much sure. Joe decided that it couldn’t hurt to talk to him.

“Why not join them?”

The man slowly turned to him. He did remind Joe of vampires, what’s with the fangs in his mouth, being paler than a dead man and bald.

“Would you join any stranger in a bar?”

His voice was fairly deep. It was definitely the man from the room with cannons. The man he asked about the Hold.

“If I’m familiar with him, why not? These people are part of the crew, aren’t they?”

The “vampire” shrugged, completely unconvinced.

“I wouldn’t know. I work on cannons. I haven’t talked with these four much. Must be a part of the other crew.”

Joseph scratched his head. If the man didn’t want to socialize, then obviously, there wasn’t much he could do. But he could try something else.

“Do you want to drink?”

The man looked at Joe, unimpressed.

“You are like a blood-sucking bug. But yes, I do want a drink.”

The deal is a deal. Joseph walked into the room.

“Morning, lads! What’s the occasion?”

Four pairs of eyes turned their attention to him. Joe could see that they were still in very much a good shape - the drinking haven’t started in full yet, he guessed.

“This man’s here son had his fourth birthday! Right after we kicked those privateers' dicks, too! But whose you be, mate?”

“Name’s Joseph, I was picked up at the settlement raid. Nice to meet ya.”

One of them pointed a finger at him, laughing blaringly.

“Oi, I remember the one! Xander carried him like a sack, all bloody, with a bump as huge as Emperor’s crown!”

“Thought you were done for, be honest.” Another added, pouring a drink into a steel cup. “You looked real bad. And quartermaster’s reputation didn’t leave much for guessing. You musta have some huge bones if you are standing here so quickly.”

“Five hours out. Was quite a pain too, but I pulled through. But it’s not about me, it’s about the father here, right?”

A man in question lifted up a cup, with a beaming grin.

“Hey, we all here anyway, why not you too? Let’s drink for your recovery, mate!”

“Atta boy, Rodger! Drink up!”

All four of them cheered and downed their drinks.

The first sailor waved.

“Well, don’t just stand there! C’me here!”

“I have another guy here, but he is quite shy. Bring him?”

“Sure! The more the merrier, we have enough drinks to last for hours!!”

Joseph glanced behind a door frame. The pale man was still there, drilling him with his gaze.

“You coming?”

He sighed.

“Sure.”

*****

“Drink up! Drink up!”

The drink was actually quite good. It had an unusual taste - something between pear and orange, with a bitterness of alcohol added to it. It was also fairly strong - Joe only drank one cup, but could already feel warmness spreading through his body, making him very relaxed. He put his cup away, trying to keep his head focused. Luckily, his newfound drink buddies didn’t pay any attention to his movements, happily exchanging words and toasts between themselves. The pale man, after sitting awkwardly for several minutes, joined the conversation too.

“Well, I’ll be cursed. Chopped Granar’s head off with its claw? You are a damn champion, mate.”

“Thanks… yes, the beast still had a head out, so I had to run. Barely made it home that night, before even worse maneaters crawled out of their holes.”

“Shit your pants, didn’t ya? Don’t blame you, these creepy spawns made me lose my hair too once.”

“Ha! Duncan, you had no hair to begin with!”

Loud laughter erupted in the room. Joseph was quietly enjoying their banter, without saying much. He learned one thing out of the conversation - the pale man’s name was Irfan. He was a hunter from a remote corner of the Empire, before ending up on a ship. Irfan didn’t tell anything about how, or why he ended up with them, preferring to simply skip a question entirely. Nobody cared much, as his hunting stories were bloodier and more entertaining.

The thin man of the group also wasn’t quite enthusiastic about participating in dialogue, but he was happily chugging down the cup after cup of the alcoholic drink, joining in toasts and whatnot. Joseph didn’t know his name, but with the words and jokes being thrown around, he had no resolve to interrupt a flow.

Not enough Resolve for conversation check, heh…

Duncan, the bald calm man who was the soberest of them all besides Joseph, picked up a string instrument from the floor. Joseph had no idea what instrument it was, but it looked like a guitar, only somewhat smaller and more round in shape. It was kept in a pretty good shape, and when Duncan touched the strings, the sound that rang out was clean and pleasant.

“So, whatcha want, lads? Some blood, or some home?”

“'Airana' was great, mate, do it again!” Shouted Henry, the loud, bearded sailor, who accused Duncan of being bald earlier.

Rodger and thin man joined it, both nodding and cheering. Even Irfan, somewhat standoffish as he was, couldn’t help but smile a bit and agree with others.

“Well, if it’s what you want, you get that… So listen close stranger…"