The Dread End Bar #63

"Dread End Bar..." Ain said, frowning as she stopped before the entrance of a bar, reading the sign hanging over its door. "Pirates sure have a bizarre sense of humor... this is so stupid," She added, shaking her head at the bar's name.

"Well, I wouldn't call it stupid since they've kept the race a secret for so long..." I replied with a grin. "You couldn't find this place despite its name either..." I added with a shrug, walking past Ain as I headed for the bar's entrance.

"Fair enough..." Ain said with a sigh as she walked behind me. "So what's the plan?" She asked, putting her hand on my shoulder and stopping me before I passed through the swinging door.

"We go in, find out more details about the race, and gain entry if possible," I said as I stopped and turned to Ain. "Well, I would anyway, so let me do the talking," I added as I turned around and entered the bar, leaving the blue-haired woman no choice but to sigh and follow me.

Once inside, I scanned the area and smiled at the seedy atmosphere of the bar, what with the cracked gray walls, the feint lighting, the torn wanted posters, dusty tables, multiple broken chairs, and the tens of shady-looking individuals whispering to one another.

"This place reminds me of home..." I muttered to no one in particular as I walked toward the bartender, a spindly, tall man wearing a gray apron and a red shirt under it. "One bottle of rum for me and whatever my lady friend here wants..." I said as I sat down on a stool opposite the man and slid some cash notes toward him.

Ain followed suit, and the bartender turned to her. "Water will be fine," She said, and the man merely shrugged as he retrieved a bottle of rum from the shelves behind him before pouring her a cup of water.

I quickly opened the bottle and took a swing, barely resisting the urge to wince at the rancid taste of the diluted alcohol. "Say, brother... I heard there's a unique opportunity in this town for a man of fortune, such as myself, to make, well, a fortune..." I said, keeping my tone low as I looked at the bartender.

"You're a man of fortune...?" The bartender said with an unimpressed expression as he gave me a once over. "I haven't seen you in these parts before. You a newcomer?" He asked as he picked up a tankard and slowly cleaned it with a dry rag.

"Ah, well... I tend to keep a low profile, but yeah..." I said, maintaining my smile as I put my hand into my inner pocket, causing the bartender to raise an eyebrow and reach under the counter. "Relax..." I said with a chuckle as I retrieved my old wanted poster and slid it on the bar.

The bartender scoffed at my low bounty and waited for me to put away the wanted poster before he spoke. "You should give up and go away... with a bounty like that... the others will eat you for breakfast..." He said, shaking his head.

"As I've said... I like to keep a low profile..." I said, my tone growing colder as I unstrapped one of my revolvers and smacked it on the table, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and turn to me. "Now hurry up and spill the beans..." I added with a scowl.

"Very well... it's your funeral..." The bartender blankly said, not sounding the least bit intimated. "The entry fee is two 100 Beri coins..." He added, extending his hand toward me.

"That wasn't so hard now, was it?" I said, regaining my smile as I gave the bartender the two coins. "Lead the way, will you?" I asked as I got off the bar stool and gestured for Ain to do the same.

"It's through the door behind the bar counter..." The bartender said, and we nodded as we went around it. "The password is two 100 Beri coins... try not to die too early..." He added with a smirk as he watched me open the door and walk into what seemed to be a tunnel.

"Are you sure it was a wise idea to antagonize that bartender?" Ain asked, closing the door and picking up a lit lantern from the shelves beside the entrance. "He might try to get back at us now..." She added with a frown as she started walking behind me.

"I don't have the patience to coax information out of men... if it were a woman, it would have been a different story, though..." I said with a chuckle, prompting Ain to face Plam in exasperation. "Besides, allowing us entry into the race was likely his way of getting back at us..." I added, shrugging my shoulders.

"A small fry excuse of a pirate resorting to violence and threats when he doesn't get his way..." I said, smiling as I noticed a light at the end of the dark tunnel. "The best way to get back at us would be to let us participate and die at the hands of the other pirates..." I went on, prompting Ain to stop and give me a wide-eyed stare.

"It's all part of the act..." I added as I hastened my pace. "Come on, let's go and see what's at the end of this tunnel..." I concluded, to which Ain snapped out of her surprise and followed behind me.

It took several minutes of walking to reach the other end of the tunnel, a wooden door with a small window at the top, leaking the light we spotted earlier.

Once we were there, Ain took the lead and raised the lantern high as she approached the door, only to suddenly freeze as a dried-up, ghostly face suddenly appeared before her, made all the more horrifying by the lantern's light.

Scowling, the blue hair woman reached for the short sword on her hip, but I quickly held her wrist and stopped her. "It's just some old man. no need to get jumpy..." I said with a chuckle, prompting Ain to pause as she shined the lantern closer and sighed in relief as the remainder of the man's body revealed itself under the light.

"Welcome to the Dead End Bar, youngsters," The ghost-like old man said with a grin, unphased by our actions. "To enter, you need to show me the password..." He added, putting his hands behind his back.

"Sure thing," I said as I let go of Ain's hand and stepped past her. "Here you go, old fella," I said as I retrieved two 100 Beri coins and showed them to the man, smiling as I did.

"Aye, two 100 Beri coins indeed..." The man said with a satisfied nod as he stepped aside. "Go on in," He added as he opened the door and gestured for us to keep moving.

Once he opened the door, my ears picked up the sound of loud music, and the bright light caused me to squint and pause momentarily to get used to it, having spent the past several minutes in the dark.

I quickly adapted and walked through the door, followed by Ain, and what we saw inside caused us both to stop and gawk in astonishment. It was a large, brightly lit cave that looked like a plunging circular chasm of an inactive volcano.

It seemed to start at the top of the mountain at the center of Hannabal Island and bottom out at sea level, or so I assumed. The cave, or volcano chasmchasm, split into many walled-off circular floors, each bearing pirate flags of all shapes and sizes.

Every floor, from top to bottom, was teeming with men and women from all walks of life. There were pirates, thugs, bandits, smugglers, gamblers, and even regular folk enjoying their time as they drank, chatted, and played cards.

Those present weren't exclusively humans either, as I even spotted two giants at the bottom floor and more than a dozen fish-men on our floor going about their business.

"I heard that most people of Hannabal island were former pirates..." Ain muttered as she leaned over the floor's railing and looked around. "But to think they'd regularly host such an event for years with none the wiser...." She said without bothering to hide her surprise.

"And what do you know..." I said, rolling my eyes with a chuckle as I stood beside Ain. "Looks like the world government isn't as omniscient as they want everyone to believe..." I added as I shook my head, earning a frown from the blue-haired woman for my effort.

"Anyway... let's sit down and relax for a minute before we get to work..." I said, changing the subject as I turned around and scanned the floor, searching for an empty table.

...

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