"Come on, Jack. Tell us more!" begged Eliza, hugging him from behind.
"I can't Eliza… It's for the best of everyone. Trust me…" Jack sighed, a lot on his mind.
"Hmmm…" Maura set down a platter of ribs and a heaping bowl of mashed potatoes. "You're acting unusual…"
"Can you blame me?"
"No… But you're not acting that shocked either. I guess your double already knew so it wasn't a surprise, but I sense that you're up to something," reasoned Maura, sitting down beside Jack.
Eliza moved and sat on the other side as Daliea entered the courtyard and sat across from Jack.
"Daliea, don't do it. You could ruin everything."
Sighing, Daliea teetered her head back and forth. "I know… Palpo already warned me and forbid it…"
"Ah, come on! How else can we get it out of him?" Eliza jokingly whined.
Jack began to fill his plate with haste, beating his wives to the best cuts of meat. Between bits, Jack mentioned, "I'll need to visit your dad, Eliza… I want to know about weaponsmithing…"
"Oh? Want me to show you a thing or two?"
"Eliza… really?" Jack paused for a moment, struggling to believe whether she was completely joking or entirely serious.
"Nah! You're not ready for my level of work. Come beg for lessons after talking to Dad," teased Eliza, stealing a plump piece of rib from Jack's plate.
Maura mentioned, "Try the tavern. That's where they always meet up in the evenings."
"Thanks, Maura." Jack hurriedly scarfed down the rest and stood up. "And Daliea, I know you just want to help, but trust me this one time. Soon, I'll have to share my ideas but not before they're ready. Okay?"
"Okay… Then I look forward to then."
"I'll be back soon!"
With a wave of his hand, Jack blinked away in a flash of purple light. He reappeared just outside of the Leisure Tavern and took in a breath of fresh air. Confidently, Jack waltzed through the front doors and up to the bar. "Where's the oaf and his buddies at?"
"Booth forty-six," giggled Marisha. "Just knock on the door and tell them you've got this."
Without a second thought, Marisha reached below the counter and placed a barrel on the bar. The intricate label branded into the aromatic wood proved just how costly the keg of liquor was.
"This? Since when were you giving this stuff away?" asked Jack.
"It's to help Zariff. He's been depressed ever since Maura passed him in level and it's only been getting worse."
"And he won't admit it, right?" Jack sighed, shaking his head.
At the same time, the helmed swordsman walked in and joined Jack at the car without a word.
"Anything to drink?" asked Marisha.
"Don't mind him. I asked him to come so we'll be joining everyone in booth forty-six," Jack answered, picking up the barrel. "I'm sure we can cheer him up with this!"
Marisha smiled and attended to the next guest, letting Jack and the swordsman make their way toward the private booths. With one whistling and the other practically marching, they made an unusual pair. No one would ever believe they were the same person under the helmet.
Spotting the sign "46", Jack pounded on the door. "Open up, or the brundy's mine!"
Faster than Jack could start laughing, the door opened wide and Zariff pulled Jack into the room. Only when Zariff rushed to close the door did he notice the helmed swordsman stick his foot in the way. "Oh? Get inside already!"
Once the helmed man stepped in, the door was slammed shut and the barrel of brundy was christened with a round for the room. Argyle, Kaldor, Hurmot, Vixus, Tridon, and Tomas all held out their mugs for a fill. Of course, Zariff didn't fail to pass a mug to the mysterious man. "Come on! Don't be a pestro!"
To everyone's shock, the man began to laugh heartily, letting them all hear his voice for the first time. It was deeper than they had expected. But they also noticed a hint of faint white energy pass over the man.
"No illusions here!" barked Zariff, feeling his buzz after more than an hour of drinking.
"Sorry, it's either this or I leave," remarked the man. Defending his use of illusion magic, the man gripped his helmet and stored it away. Everyone was a bit surprised but their excitement fizzled out due to it being an illusion.
The man had dark brown skin and matching eyes. All sides of his head were shaved but the top of his head had tight, black dreads that ended in a decently long ponytail. At least the false voice matched the face.
"I only take it off when I drink because I can let loose!" laughed the man.
"And do you always use that face?" joked Zariff, unafraid of the deity while hammered.
"Naaah… I thought about using yours, but then I might break the glass when I look at it!"
The entire room burst into raging laughter, especially Zariff. They quickly ignored the illusory energy that constantly poured out of the man, which only made Jack laugh harder. When Zariff played around with the new guest and tried to put him in a headlock, the well-built, former branch head was amazed to find the roles reversed. Though the mystery man was well-sized in stature, his agility left everyone startled and laughing harder. After giving Zariff an electrified noogie, the man released Zariff with a roaring laugh.
"The name's Rynheart, but any drinking buddy can call me Ryn!"
"Then the next round's on you, Ryn!" chuckled Zariff, searching for a way to beat the man.
"Alright, then will this do?" While laughing as well, Ryn took out another barrel but the branding was in a completely foreign language that baffled the drunks in the room. "This is from my time as an ancient hero. I wonder if that counts as aging?"
"Only one way to find out!" Zariff helped himself, making sure to give his approval before passing it to the rest. When his eyes glittered in surprise, he almost spat out the liquor it was so good. "WHAT IS THIS!!!"
Ryn smiled while Jack took a whiff of the drink and laughed again. "It's a rare, custom flavor popular among ancient heroes. It's called, 'colada'."
"COLADA FOR EVERYONE!!!"
Zariff's roar kicked off the next round of drinks, which was mainly Zariff matching everyone's drink with his own.