Bonus chapter [5] - 800 Power Stones
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At the beginning of the 18th century, London was a rapidly expanding global trading center, driven by the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of the British Empire. The city, with approximately 600,000 inhabitants, was becoming the largest in Europe, characterized by intense street activity and the expansion of new neighborhoods, mainly rebuilt after the Great Fire of 1666.
The city was thriving, not only in terms of population and economy, but also culturally, it became a hub for theater, literature, and art.
Unfortunately, everything has two sides, while the rich could have their afternoon tea, laughing and chatting with their friends and neighbors, there was a large mass of workers and areas of poverty.
Rigel arrived in a small boat, going up the River Thames and docking at East End. Unfortunately, at that time, the river was far from beautiful, instead, the unsanitary water, a result of the city's sewage being dumped into it, made it not only an unpleasant sight but also foul-smelling and full of disease.
East End was a working-class area outside the city walls. It became a hub for immigrants, including Huguenots, Irish, and Jews, characterized by port occupations, manufacturing, and gradually, high population density and poverty.
Rigel chose to dock at that point for a clear reason: the compass pointed there.
Rigel's request was very simple: to sell his items for a good price. He thought he would be sent to the upscale part of town, but no, he ended up in East End.
With Rigel were old Eliot and Toby, as well as Will, John, and Billy, he wanted to bring Clemens, although the man wasn't a native of London, he was still English, which could be useful.
However, in the 18th century, slavery had not yet been abolished, and Clemens' skin color could bring unforeseen problems. Although the man was a free individual, this was still not enough to prevent prejudice.
Most of his crew were the very definition of pirates, so he brought along William and the two older boys, John and Billy.
Elizabeth wanted to come, but such a beautiful woman walking through an area like that could bring even more trouble than taking Clemens, there were even some fights while they were in Tortuga because of her.
[A/N: Although I did some research for this information, I'm not a historian, so I can't say how accurate it is, at most, treat it as a difference between that world and ours.]
Rigel had to change again, much to his dismay, he would have stood out like a sore thumb if he had come in his standard clothes.
Noble clothes, a hat, and a gun at his waist, besides his age, were like asking to be robbed, so he had to go back to wearing his old rags. Well, this time he was a little better off, he had bought some clothes in Tortuga, although they weren't much better than rags, it was still an improvement.
With Will, John, and Billy in tow, he bid farewell to the old man and the child, handing him the money he had already promised the old man, so that he could pay his debts and get back on his feet, the problem ceased to be Rigel's.
"Thank you, Captain Rigel. You may be the smallest and strangest pirate I've ever seen, but you're a man of honor, no one can deny that." The old man thanked him one last time before they parted ways.
Rigel nodded briefly, not bothering to talk much with him, he had his own things to do. He wouldn't admit that he felt more empathy for the old man because he resembled the actor who played the Onion Knight in Game of Thrones.
Rigel followed the compass, he and his companions still attracted attention wherever they went, but at least no one tried to rob them, which was progress in his opinion.
The smell of the place was not much better than the Thames, if not worse, open sewers, pests like rats and cockroaches, poor hygiene, and a large population accumulation contributed to Rigel almost wanting to turn around and leave.
He thought pirates would be the worst thing he could see in this world, but he was wrong.
To avoid standing out, he didn't cover his nose, but his face was still a mask of irritation, he wasn't walking faster and faster, wanting to finish this quickly and leave.
Will also had a clear look of disgust, and even Billy and John took some time to adjust, so when Rigel increased the pace, no one complained, in fact, they just wanted to be able to walk faster.
Rigel walked through several alleys and lanes, finally arriving at a bar. Rigel went straight in, looking around. He noticed that the place wasn't crowded, it was still daylight. Instead, there were few people inside, including a man lying on the floor with a suspicious puddle beside him, clearly vomit.
Rigel took a deep breath, trying to contain his irritation, but breathing deeply only made him feel worse. He looked away and back at the compass. He was extremely shocked when the compass pointed directly at the drunkard in the puddle of vomit.
Rigel blinked, blinked again, tried to go around the drunkard, but the compass kept pointing back at him.
Rigel was resigned, with a sigh he pointed at John. "Go wake him up!"
John was shocked, wanting to shake his head but not daring to, his adventures with Rigel had taught him that if Rigel asks you to do something, you do it.
With a sad face, John sighed, went up to the drunk, under the gaze of the few occupants of the bar, the dirty bartender behind the counter and a middle-aged waitress with so much makeup that she looked like a clown, John kicked the man directly in the ribs, quickly backing away when the man groaned in pain, dragging his head even further in his vomit.
Rigel looked at John with strange eyes, just like Will and Billy. Is this his way of waking him up?
John just wanted to say that the request was vague, and as long as he was awake everything would be fine, right? In any case, he didn't want to touch that disgusting drunk.