“How’d this place get the name? Lyre of Hermes?” Krinny asked as she refilled Bernard’s cup with a wink. “I’ve heard stories, but it’s always hard to say what lore is true and what’s fashioned by the royally squiffed like Bernard here.” Her hands smoothed out her shiny black hair as she refastened it into a tight bun.

“I’ll drink you under the table, Miss Krinny.” Bernard laughed, clutching his round, shaking belly.

Krinny puckered her lips and blew a kiss. “You’d never stand a chance.”

Smitter leaned back in his chair and addressed us all. “Do you know the story of Hermes’ lyre?”

Krinny and the others shook their heads, but Bernard and Rylander exchanged a glance I couldn’t quite understand.

“Back when Hermes was just a babe, he left his cradle and set out on an adventure to steal the cattle of his half brother Apollo,” Smitter started. “Hermes soon found Apollo’s herd. One by one, he began to pull the hooves from the cows’ feet and reattach them backward. He did the same with his own sandals. Then he took the herd and hid them in a cave, leaving prints that seemingly led the opposite direction. Finally, he returned to his cave in Mount Cyllene in Arcadia. Apollo soon discovered that his flock was missing and began to search. The confusing tracks caused the god to despair.”

“Hermes sounds like a clodpate,” I interjected.

Rylander choked on his ale. “What else do you think of Hermes? Don’t be shy,” Rylander said between coughs.

Smitter’s face reddened, glaring at his captain. “You’re wicked, you know that, right?”

Rylander’s soft chuckle told me he enjoyed toying with Smitter, but I had no idea what inside joke was being played.

“What’s the rest of the story?” Lanard asked. He and Krinny leaned over the table toward Smitter, like two children riveted by a bedtime story.

“Apollo used his powers of prophecy to uncover the truth of the theft and stormed to Mount Cyllene where he found Hermes sleeping peacefully in his cradle. Enraged, Apollo grabbed the infant and took him to Mt. Olympus to be judged by their father Zeus.”

Krinny, Hannah, Lanard, and the twins’ eyes widened at the thought, but Rylander smiled with the knowing ease of someone who had heard the story a hundred times.

“Young Hermes at first denied everything, but in the end, he had to confess. Zeus found the story quite amusing, so he did not punish Hermes, only required him to return the flock.”

“That’s it?” Hannah asked. Her bosom bounced as she spoke. “You’d lose a hand on the captain’s ship if you stole from her.”

“Hermes is worse than a pirate,” I added.

“You could say Hermes was the first pirate,” Rylander said. He grinned, flashing his deep dimple.