A scuffle in the hold.

After several unrequited attempts to reach Captain Grim, the guys finally plucked up the courage to enter his cabin without an invitation. In the dusty and dark room there was a pungent smell of tobacco mixed with some kind of fetid alcohol, which caused their faces to curl, and Red had a gag reflex. Waving their arms to make it easier to spend time in this place, they took a few steps forward and saw a man sitting at a round table, who was apparently asleep, leaning on the back of a wooden chair. Coming closer to him, Klim slowly stretched out his hand to his shoulder to wake him up, however, before he could touch him, he abruptly raised his head and screamed.

- What are you doing here, you dish rats?! Didn't I tell you to look for a thief!

Grim abruptly jumped to his feet and began to swear loudly, but as soon as he saw the people who disturbed his sleep, he fell silent again. There were several empty bottles of unnamed alcohol on the table, according to which Klim concluded that the captain was drunk now, which meant that he needed to behave differently with him. Working in the tavern, he had already managed to fill his tongue in dealing with drunken customers, so without delay he stepped forward to prevent him from falling, and sat Greem back on the chair. Pouring the remains of one of the bottles into a glass, he pushed it closer to the captain.

– Captain Grim, we're just about the missing case of alcohol. To find the person responsible for the theft of your precious treasure, we need your permission for this investigation.

"My precious treasure, yes... so it is! Come on, man, find me this rat so I can nail him! Grabbing the glass, Grim gulped down the contents and loudly put it on the table, "If you do this, I will reward you.

– Reward?

– I have one thing that you should like. Find the thief and I'll give it to you.

Klim wanted to know what Grim was talking about, but decided to back off. Patting him on the back and thanking him, he turned to his comrades and pointed at the door with his eyes. When the guys were about to leave this disgusting room, Red stopped for some reason and looked at the drunk man at the table again. He was a little jealous that Klim was taking over all the conversations for the second time, so he also decided to help the investigation.

– Maybe you can give us the key to the ammunition compartment to speed up the investigation?

– Red, why... – Sven clicked, looking at his friend.

The guys quickly ran out of the captain's cabin so as not to get hit by the empty bottles flying at them. Running back to the far mast, they hid behind it, and when the screams from the door stopped, they returned to their cabin. After Sven's short lecture about Red no longer interfering with Klim's negotiations, they began to think over the next steps of the investigation in order to get the right key. If the captain and his quartermaster refused to cooperate, then there was one last option left to get him from one of the three sailors. It remains only to find them and somehow negotiate.

During lunch, the dining room was quite empty, only three drunken sailors occupied the last table to sleep off. The leftovers from breakfast didn't look too edible, so the guys, like the others, decided to skip the meal. Going out into the corridor, they headed for the deck without any specific purpose, but right at the very stairs Klim abruptly turned in the other direction, from where shouts and laughter were coming. It was a kind of recreation room where the sailors could relax and loaf around, gambling and drinking something. The size of the room resembled a dining room, only here the round tables were arranged randomly, and there were practically no chairs. Everyone was sitting either on the floor or on barrels, singing pirate songs.

– It stinks of sweat and booze, maybe we should get out of here? Why did you come here at all? – Sven spoke through his nose, because he clamped his hand over it. His reaction was natural, because this place is most repulsive with its atmosphere. The sight of a bunch of drunk men throwing up anywhere is not the most pleasant thing on this ship, but it is here that you can get the necessary information. A drunken tongue will play a cruel joke on them.

"If we want to find out who keeps the key to the compartment, we have a better chance of doing it here," Klim replied, examining the merry sailors.

- I understand! We can talk some drunk's teeth into telling us about the key! – As if having solved the riddle of the century, Shelly screamed, unclenching her nose, but quickly corrected her mistake, – But still let's deal with this faster. I can't stay here too long.

Going to the center of the room, simultaneously examining those present, Klim assessed their condition. We need a person who could still think soberly, but he was already drunk to process a large amount of information. Walking past two sailors clinging to each other, the guy drew attention to a man sitting on a barrel in the corner of the room. He laughed loudly, watching the fight, simultaneously emptying a bottle of rum. Unlike the other sailors, this one seemed lonely, which means he is unlikely to be able to cause problems.

- Good evening, mister. Can we ask you a couple of questions?

- What kind of questions? After taking a sip from the bottle, the man looked listlessly at the group of young adventurers.

- It concerns the incident on deck today. We are conducting an investigation to identify the thief of Captain Grim's box of alcohol. We need the key to the ammunition compartment, so we thought you might know who has it.

After a few seconds of unanswered silence, the man took another sip, then jumped off the barrel and headed to the table where three sailors were sitting watching the fight in the center of the room. When he told them something, their faces twisted with anger, but they did not take any further action until the duel was over. As soon as the fighters dispersed to the sides, someone abruptly pushed Sven in the back, from which he was forced to take a couple of steps forward so as not to fall. Klim didn't even have time to blink, as a large circle of sailors formed around him, who watched his comrade with a grin. An unexpected clap instantly stopped all conversations, and when silence fell in the room, a nasal voice sounded from the side.

- I was told here that you wanted to fight with one of the three main sailors, kid? Now I'm going to beat all your courage out of you! – A large man with a medical bandage on his head, which covered almost the entire left side of his face, stood in front of Sven. Crossing his arms over his chest, he furrowed his eyebrows, thereby showing that he is very angry at his opponent right now. It seems that the guy said something to him that made him so angry.

- What kind of nonsense is he talking?! What did that sailor say to him, and where did he go at all?! – Red tried to sort out the situation, looking around the satisfied faces in search of the man Klim was talking to. Suddenly, a familiar voice that belonged to this particular person rang out behind him.

- What do you say about your friend? He looks tough, but he's probably going to have a hard time against a Bull.

- What the hell are you doing here, man! Well, tell that bully to finish all this! – Red was really angry. Grabbing the sailor by the neck, he was preparing to strike, but abruptly stopped right in front of his face.

- Hey, hey, don't get so mad! If your friend wins, we can split the winning money in half! No, no, I'll give you all seventy percent! – The man immediately changed his face, as soon as the guy became enraged because of his actions.

- It's not about money! Our friend's health may suffer! – When Shelly started to panic, Red agreed with her and swung again to strike, but his fist stopped right in front of her face again, as soon as Sven intervened.

- I agree. If I win, you give us seventy percent of the winnings.

- Sven, what are you even thinking about?! He's not the old folks from the village, you can't handle him! Shelly started to scream, but then stopped as soon as she looked into her friend's eyes. Sven carefully threw his sword and shield aside his comrades and put his hands in front of him in the form of a block. He was indeed smaller than his opponent, but he was superior in spirit. Now the guy looked like a rock that would not break even in front of the most formidable opponent. Having assessed the mood of his opponent, the man smiled from the top of his mouth and cracked his neck, flexing his fists.

After a short whistle, which meant the beginning of the battle, the sailor abruptly moved forward, spreading his arms to the sides to grab Sven. His movements fully corresponded to the size of his body, so they seemed slow and clumsy, but his grip was equal to the strength of a large bear. In order not to be in a hopeless situation, the guy went to the side and quickly made a left-handed blow to the ribs, after which he took a couple of steps back and stood up again. Although he did not put all his strength into his blow, trying to make it as fast as possible, the man still showed signs of pain. Squinting his eyes, he showed his teeth accompanied by a characteristic grunt.

- He can! He will defeat the Bull! – Raising his hands, the culprit of what was happening shouted joyfully.

- Sven, please don't let yourself get hit. – Watching the intense fight, Shelly folded her hands into a lock and put them to her lips.

After the first unsuccessful attempt to grab his opponent, the man decided to act differently. He realized that Sven was deliberately staying away from him in order not to let himself be grabbed, but if he tried to hit him, the outcome would be completely different. With such intentions, the sailor nicknamed "Bull" again made a lunge towards the guy and, being a meter away from him, swung his right hand, but was stopped at the same second. Noticing the changes in the opponent's style, Sven made a direct kick to the abdomen with all his might, and when the man bent down because of the pain, he attacked him with a right hook. A wave of dissatisfied shouts went through the crowd surrounding the two people, when one of them grabbed his head, trying to stay on his feet.

"What is this?"

After Sven's crushing blow, a black key fell out of the Bull's pocket, which no one saw except Klim. Carefully making his way through the screaming sailors, he quietly picked it up and tucked it under his shirt, tucking it into his pants. Suddenly the noise abruptly stopped and, raising his head, the guy saw another sailor sneaking behind his comrade in the ring. He was ready to warn him, but out of nowhere, Red appeared and with lightning speed flew into the intruder with his feet, throwing him aside. Rising quickly to his feet, he grimaced angrily and clenched his fists.

- Why the hell did you let someone interfere in the fight, cretins?! Once you started this fight, so learn how to lose honestly! Where is your pirate pride or are you all just garbage rats here?!