Being back at home would delight most men, but for Jayce, it was bittersweet. He craved being back in Ejgora once more and yet, ever since he returned, a feeling of dread couldn't be shaken from his core. His uncle, whether he wished to comply with his wishes or not, was safely in the hands of the Academy. The interrogation would reveal his knowledge of the whereabouts of his brother and his pirate leader. From there, he suppose the next course would be to hunt them down and drag their sorry behinds back to this island. 

Could he actually do it? Damn his brother to a life sentence or even worse? 

To him, it would be no different than being a kinslayer, but there wasn't exactly another option. Vincent had doomed himself the moment he aligned with that infamous pirate queen and even worse, had laid in her bed and created a girl with their blood. The brothers' relationship was as rocky as most, but he didn't wish to spill his blood. That said, he had loyalties that couldn't be broken easily and he had a name to relieve honor towards. This dilemma was why he was at a late-night tavern, attempting to drink away any sorrows, doubts, and guilts he could possibly be feeling. He was sure Vincent needed to be punished for his crimes, that was for certain, but there was fear, and rightfully so for the sentence he would get. Bringing the mug of ale to his lips, the captain downed about half of it and slammed it down onto the bar. It was his sixth so far, and thanks to the dragon blood in him, he was prepared for the long haul until his body couldn't stomach it anymore. 

Nights in Egjora brought the people to every tavern's door for a drink and a show. Some nights it was a jester's act, sometimes a storyteller would spin a tale of heroes and battles while others bawled out their lovesongs and poetry. Tonight was a quiet night with a simple lute getting plucked to a calm song to lull the drinkers into a tranquil state. A tall man wearing a red tunic and an apron busies himself at the bar. He had just finished dealing with a difficult customer who insisted on starting a bar fight. He just tossed the bar-fighting man out of the open tavern window and returned to his station. Rhydian usually kept a drink count for each person within the tavern and one person had ordered six drinks already. Yet, the stranger seemed put together. There were many strange individuals in town so Rhydian could only assume the man had a gut of steel. The look in those eyes showed a heart struggling with something. It had been a slow night and there were fewer and fewer people hanging about so Rhydian moved over to the man and slide a drink menu towards him.

"Free drink for your thoughts?" Rhydian asked.

The menu had the average beers, tequilas, wines, vodka, vinegar, and cocktails but in addition, there were also specialized shots and unique drinks. The list included Midnight Ale, Demon's Blood, Pixie CIder, Shanty Shady, and many many more. Some like PIxie Cider or Shanty Shady had listed special effects for the more adventurous folk. One sip of Pixie Cider would leave the drinker seeing stars and sparkling trails behind everything that moves. A sip of the Shanty Shady allowed the drinker to see music as little musical notes hanging around in the air. Of course, the drinks could be made without the special effects but it made having drinks a bit more fun and a better distraction. Rhydian leaned on the counter as he cleaned up a beer mug with a clean rag.

"What do you say?" He asked with an easy-going smile.

He hadn’t really paid too much attention to the other patrons around him; then again, Jayce wasn’t really trying to attract attention himself. His mind was clouded by inner turmoil instead of the alcohol he freely consumed with little consequences. His gaze slowly rolled over to his fellow men, swearing at one point he might have overheard a rowdy guest being dealt with. Even in elegant Egjora, one could find bad intentions if sought hard enough.

Hopefully his men were behaving themselves, though he wouldn’t be surprised to hear of them getting caught up in brawls and drinking incidents. It had been months since they settled down on land, especially home again. His eyes caught sudden movement in front of him and then peeked at the menu as he overheard the barkeep. Jayce had no idea how long he’d been watched but a slight chuckle slipped from his lips, echoing a taste of his pain.

It didn’t take long before he made his decision.

“I’ll take the Demon’s Blood.” The captain then reached into his pockets and pulled out a small pouch of silver and slid it onto the bar towards the keeper. “And a few shots of tequila.” While he wasn’t a fan of expressing his demons, those of this man’s profession were experts of people and how they ticked. Typically it came with the job, at least that’s what he thought as he waited on his drinks.

“Tell me, sir. What would you do if you had to choose between duty and family? For me, it’s a double-edged sword… I have a job to do and yet it's my own blood that set the path to this. My younger brother, as a matter of fact. An officer that violated his oath and betrayed his allegiances for a pretty little pirate queen.”

With another chuckle, he shook his head. It was an audacity that Vincent would do this and shame their home and family name. “Do I deliver him towards his punishment, which is surely death, or do I…” His voice paused, unable to even dare to speak such words his mind had formed. Jayce recouped himself and took to the free drink once ready and downed nearly half of it. His fist clenched at the strength of the liquor but he allowed it to go down.

“My thoughts are in a vicious tug-of-war and have been since I’d learned of recent news involving the two of them”, he spat while making a face.

"You got it." Rhydian responded to the customer's request.

Normally he would go about some fancy entertaining way of making the drinks with a few flips or a bit of magic but this customer didn't seem to be in the mood for any of those theatrics. He just needed somebody to talk with. So Rhydian reached for the drink's ingredients and began mixing them together while listening to the man's worries. Throughout the entire conversation, he didn't make a single interruption.

The man's situation was difficult. The old duty vs family was a struggle many had faced, though this was far more intense. By the time the captain had finished his explanation, the drink was finished. Rhydian set out a cup of Demon's Blood and the shots of tequila. The demon's blood was a deep shade of red and had a strong spicey aroma. The shots of tequila were all lined up right behind, ready to ease the man's woes.

"I won't lie. That is rough." Rhydian said, taking a seat on the other side of the counter, "Is your work directly asking you to go after them? Not sayin that cause I think it's better to turn away from duty, don't get me wrong. But is it more responsible to send someone else on a job that won't tear them up as badly?"

Picking up another glass to clean up, he began continuing the conversation.

"From the other side of things, what's gonna happen to them if you aren't the one who catches them? Yeah, they might be put to death but at least they'll get to the trial or however the officers handle that kind of stuff. Can you guarantee that someone else isn't gonna do worse to them outta pure spite or malice?" Rhydian asked.

Rhydian quickly prepared one more shot of tequila, this time for himself. He had a long night and it was better to drink with somebody else than to drink alone.

"Either way, think about it from the terms of what you need to do. If you're trying to please somebody else, either family or society or anyone then it'll be harder to live with whatever decision you make. Do this for your own sake." Rhydian suggested.

Unfortunately, Rhydian knew he wasn't wise enough to come up with some clever solution himself. But at the very least he could point a few things out and listen. Perhaps the man would be able to find a solution that walked both grounds of duty and family. Rhydian enjoyed his own drink and then started cleaning down the counter, listening to the man's thoughts.