Zhoug was just finishing his seventh tankard of rum when he noticed the tavern had begun to clear out. His eyes had become slightly glazed over and a dazed expression had begun to wash over his face. His head bobbed slightly every time he took a glance around the room and as the tender began to fill another glass for him, Zhoug raised a hand to decline the gesture. He questioned whether he should get up and leave the tavern to go and deal with business at the palace, or whether to stay and sit on his rump inside the warm wooden building. The Admiral was about to slide off his bar stool, when his drunkenness impacted him head on. He felt himself stagger for a moment and quickly caught himself on the edge of the bar, digging sharp fingernails into the wooden edge of the makeshift bar table. He slid himself back up onto the stool and remained in his place, deciding against movement, at least for another moment or two. Besides, he figured if the King or his council needed his presence, they would know where to find him, as he preferred to stay close to the port in case of attack.
Zhoug found it slightly entertaining that every time he let his eyes wander around the room, the occupants would direct their attention back at one another or in a random direction to avoid eye contact. This was something he had gotten used to, but being inebriated at the current time he found this slightly more entertaining than usual. He needn't worry about paying for the drinks, as his wares, drink and food were paid for by the kingdom, as they had been since he first began sailing the seas of Ros'Kan. Finding himself stuck in place, as attempting to leave the stool only brought about strange movement, he reached down the bar toward a small bowl filled with bread slices, pulling it to himself. He began to chomp away on the bread, his bites slowly turning into nibbles, figuring the bread would help him regain control of at least his balance. He was also quite sure that he had spent far too much time within the confines of the tavern, hoping to shake off his wooziness before any authoritative figures found him, as they surely wouldn't be happy if he was unable to perform the tasks he was normally required to.
After a long minute of chewing away on the slices of bread, he pushed the now empty bowl toward the barkeep and motioned for him to refill it, glancing over his right shoulder at the door. So far the only people coming in and out had been common citizens and members of the military, most of which were either too respectful or too intelligent to disturb the Admiral, even in his visibly shaky state. After a long moment he removed his dagger from his waist and began examining it, after confirming that it didn't need sharpening he slipped it back into its sheath. His fingers tapping impatiently on the bar top, he began to nibble away at the now full bowl of bread sitting in front of him. No longer finding it necessary to look over his shoulder at the door he let himself relax, resting his elbow on the table and leaning into his palm, his eyes drifting half closed and half open. He wasn't so much sleepy as he was bored and this position often helped him to concentrate believe it or not, even when under the influence of such noxious liquids. The longer he remained in that position the quieter it seemed to get in the tavern, not because people were leaving but because Zhoug had begun to drift into a sort of day dream, recalling his previous days work. The ship they had boarded was granted mercy, as far as Ros'Kan was concerned anyway. The crew members of the foreign ship had been immediately beheaded on the deck of their own ship, in other words, granted mercy, it was more common for Zhoug to take prisoners and bring them to the king later on for his own personal use. However, these particular merchants had seemed to be of no specific royalty or importance, therefore they were useless to the kingdom and had been disposed of as such. Killing had become a way of life for Zhoug and each death he witnessed seemed only to strengthen his resolve and loyalty to his kingdom, which was one of the reasons he had attained the rank of Admiral.
