Post by dreameater on Sept 23, 2012 1:25:39 GMT -5
Marcus finally pulled into the docks, huffing and panting, his awning-covered rowboat all but capsizing under the weight of the water inside. At one point, Marcus had simply grown tired of bailing water, and just rowed, hell bent for leather towards Raito Island. He had made wonderful time here; the sudden squall that all but capsized his pathetic rowboat blew him across half the West Blue in record time. In fact, were he not more terrified for his life than a Devil Fruit user during high tide for the entire nightmarish event, he would have marveled how he had literally flow across the waves, his awning/umbrella thing catching the wind like a wing. He desperately wanted to vomit. Too bad there wasn't anything left in his stomach.
As Marcus tied his boat to the dock, not that anyone would want to steal it, he looked up at the sky, trying to see just what time it was. The storm clouds passed, revealing a sky no more filled with light than previously. In fact, the only lights came from the town before him, Bright Village. "Night?! It's still night? That means the storm only lasted for a single...day...[/i]" He had crossed West Blue in about two days. He had previously thought it would have taken him a week. While he didn't exactly mind not rowing for five more days, he would be hard pressed to choose between that and... well, Marcus really didn't want to think about it anymore. On the bright side, he had seriously considered religion for the first time in his life back there. "First thing I do after this job is to buy a decent boat. One that preferably doesn't require a priest and a written will and testament before boarding." He growled.
As Marcus drunkenly walked towards the town, desperately trying to get his land legs back, he heard clinks, whirls, moans of despair, and the occasionally beating. "Ah, a casino." He mused dryly. a wonderful thought occurred to him. "Well, I'm here early anyway, no? I might as well enjoy myself, see if I can't get that sailboat of mine a bit earlier![/i]" Marcus immediately turned to his right, into the only casino not made of wood and slipshod craftsmanship.
It turns out he picked well. Everywhere he looked, he saw men in fancy suits, women in fancier dresses, and the house getting richer by the minute. It was quite obvious that the dealers were cheating like jackals, yet none of these idiots seemed to notice. Well. No medicine like your own to cure a disease. After getting chips, Marcus sat down at a craps table first, trying to hide his grin as the table master attempted to pass him loaded dice, the real things surreptitiously stuck up his sleeve. It was almost too easy. Marcus reached out for the dice the dealer handed him, ensuring the man had no time to just drop the loaded ones on him. During the handoff, Marcus stretched his fingers to the utmost, just grabbing the good pair. Then, with an incredible feat of dexterity, Marcus shuffled the dice around, flicking the loaded pair back into the man's suit sleeve. He never noticed. Marcus held the good pair with lucky eleven pointing up. With a flick of the wrist, the dice shot across the table, their orientation never switching. They tapped the back wall, just barely making the cut for a legal throw- but they still showed eleven. The dealer frowned at this turn of evens as Marcus called for a glass of wine. He loved this- always dancing on the edge, just managing to survive- and the looming threat of the thugs in black, who would like to 'congratulate' him on his luck. This was when Marcus felt most alive.
Marcus threw just a few more times before moving on, making sure to never stay in one place for too long. Just like a shark, no motion meant no life. He eventually ended up at a blackjack table before the men in suits came for him. Time to move- faster. Marcus excused himself, then quickly headed for the exit. He passed by the same waitress, a tanned woman whose fiery hair cascaded past her shoulders. Shrugging, Marcus decided to take a chance. "Ah, by the way. I never did quite get a name, Miss-?" Marcus trailed off, giving her a chance to respond. "Bellehart. Kaityln Bellhart." She quipped. Marcus smiled. "Well, Miss Bellhart, I'm feeling like a lucky man tonight, so I thought I might as well ask: would you mind spending the evening with me?" Kaitlyn looked over Marcus' shoulder and saw the suited men, and for a moment her expression hardened. Then she turned back to Marcus and was all smiles. "Why, I would love to, Mr. Umbra. Just let me clock out and I'll be right with you." Marcus smiled. "Wonderful. I'll cash out and meet you outside the entrance." "That'll give me a bit more time to decide what to do with these vagabonds." Marcus thought as watched Kaitlyn sashay away.
Marcus whistled to himself to pass the time, and almost didn't notice as Kaitlyn crept up from behind him. "Thank you for waiting, Marcus." Marcus turned around, and only 17 years of training kept his jaw from dropping. Her scarlet hair was complemented by the slinky blue dress that contoured to every curve. "My pleasure, especially for a lady as beautiful as yourself." He replied smoothly, his tongue on autopilot. Thank you, training. The two began to walk towards the docks when Kaitlyn spoke up. "You know, I think it was awfully brave of you, to challenge the casino like that. There's a reason why they're money printers." Marcus was busy watching the three thugs behind them using the windows of the businesses like mirrors, but he was clever enough to at least catch the tail end of her sentence. "Hmm? Then you were watching, little mouse?" She blushed gracefully at the recognition of her subterfuge. Marcus laughed and continued "I suppose I just like knocking pompous buffoons down a few notches. It does their pride- and my own- quite a bit of good." Kaitlyn giggled. "I suppose it does quite a bit of good for your wallet, too, with dexterity like that." Here Marcus decided to make a show of patting his pockets. "Ah! My wallet! I completely forgot it at the exchange table. Please wait for just a moment, my dear- I'll run and go get it."
Marcus quickly rounded the corner and bumped into the three thugs. "We've been waitin' fer ya, Mistah luck. We just wanted t' make sure ya weren't gettin' jumped on the way home." He grinned evilly, or at least what he thought was evilly. To Marcus it just looked like he had gas. "Yes yes, thank you. Let's just get this over with, shall we? I've got a beautiful young woman waiting for me, and I don't want to keep her waiting for very long." With that, he led the trio down a dark and narrow alley, the kind perfect for rapiers and not so perfect for everything else. While not quite used to the prey leading his own way to the beating, the thugs weren't going to object. Marcus slowed down just enough that the first heavy was behind him, and attacked. He spun around with a sweep kick, causing the man to stumble forward as he tried to regain his balance. Marcus' second leg was right behind the first, and introduced itself to the man's face, then went on to introduce him to the ground. By this time, Marcus had already drawn his rapier and held it out, pointed towards the second thug's heart. He charged, and Marcus easily sidestepped the cudgel as it ricocheted off a dumpster. Marcus didn't even have to do anything. The cudgel bounced back and slammed the poor idiot in the head, knocking him out. He fell like a tree in the forest, and most definitely made a sound. Heck, Marcus was expecting the earth to quake a bit. But now he was starting to wonder if he even needed to draw his blade. "This almost feels like bullying." He murmured, poking the man with his rapier, wondering if he was acting. Still, one more thug had to be dealt with, and he came running at Marcus with both fists swinging. Shaking his head, Marcus flipped his wrist, cutting the man's belt with the tip of his sword. The heavy waddled in his polka dot boxers, restrained by his fallen pants. As he attempted to pull them up, Marcus lashed out at the man's knee, breaking it and forcing him to the ground. The vagabond hit the ground, crying out in pain as his knee slammed into the earth. He coughed blood, which drew an askew glance from Marcus. But he shouldn't have worried, for the man got up, glared at Marcus with now-bloodshot eyes, and began to run on his broken knee. Something was wrong, a fact made all the more obvious as the pants around his ankles literally ripped from his new found strength. Marcus, not wanting to be caught by whoever could do that, ducked and spun around, slashing the man's calves deeply- to no effect. Frightened, Marcus looked for something- and found his answer in the dumpster. Once again the man charged headfirst, and this time Marcus stood before the dumpster. It felt like playing chicken with a train. At the last moment, Marcus danced out of the way, and the thug slammed into the dumpster like a maddened bull. Desperate to make sure, Marcus slammed the hood down on his head, knocking the berserker out. Dusting himself off and trying to catch his breath, Marcus walked out of the alley, sure that Kaitlyn would have noticed his absence by now.
As he turned the corner, who should Marcus run into but the lovely Miss Bellehart. He wrapped his arm around her as they collided, making sure she didn't fall. Holding her so close to him wasn't too bad a perk, either. "Well well well, Miss Bellehart. Am I that bad a date?" Marcus chuckled. She attempted to stammer out a response. "No, I- I just..." It was rather obvious that she suspected what had just happened to Marcus, but was rather confused why it hadn't happened. Still she looked relieved, so Marcus decided to take pity on her. "I found my wallet. Turns out it just fell from my pocket a block back. I guess everyone here thought it was Marine bait." She chuckled, leaning her head against Marcus' shoulder. "Oh. Good. Glad to see you didn't run into any trouble on the way." Marcus noticed how she put emphasis on her words. Best to ignore that. "Yes, marvellous, isn't it? Trouble seems to go out of its way to find me. I don't even do anything to get in its way, either!" He protested. Kaitlyn laughed as the two of them continued their walk.
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Marcus woke up with a stretch, yawning until he thought his jaw would fall off. He slowly got dressed, occasionally glancing up at the still sleeping Kaitlyn. It was rather ungentlemanly to leave without so much as a goodbye, but he had a job to do. He would have to satisfy his honor with a note. He quickly penned one down in his loopy calligraphy and left for town hall, thinking it enough of a hike to start early. Belting on his rapier, Marcus prepared himself for trouble and began the walk to Sparks Village.
As he arrived in the village, Marcus first noticed just how many people were coughing, sneezing, or showing some other sign of sickness. "Hmm. Must be flu season.[/i]" Marcus shrugged inwardly and didn't think much more of it as he ascended the steps to City Hall. Blowing by the secretary through sheer force of personality, Marcus made his way to the mayor's office. Knocking twice to announce his presence, Marcus opened the door and walked through. "Ah! You must be Mr. Umbra. I must say, you're quite early- we didn't expect you for another five days or so." Marcus shivered slightly at just the slight reminder of that hellish storm. "I was just about to give the job to this gentleman here, but since you're both here, I suppose two heads are better than one." The mayor cleared his throat, turned around to look out the window, and clasped his hands behind his back. Marcus recognized it as the stance that small men took whenever they wanted to seem powerful or imposing. He already had a distaste for the man, and he hadn't said 50 words yet.
"Recently, strange events have befallen Raito Island. All the animals in the forest have become incredibly aggressive, to the point where many of our craftsmen cannot venture out of the city for fear of attack. Furthermore, a woodsman returned from the jungle, delirious with a new kind of fever we have never seen before. It is contagious, but through what means we aren't sure. We have sent people into the forest to discover the source, but pirates have taken advantage of our moment of weakness and have set up base within the woods- searching for the legendary Raito treasure, no doubt." Marcus could all but feel the venom the man put in the word pirate. His ears also lit up at the mention of treasure. Perhaps he could find it before the others?
But like the hands of time, the old mayor continued, undaunted. "Your mission is to find the source of this disease and end it, as well as those pirates that would dare take advantage of the weak. Furthermore, if you are able to find an antidote, there may be a bonus." A DenDen Mushi on the man's desk rung, and he quickly picked it up. His face blanched as he listened to the voice, and he hung up just as quickly. The old man shooed the pair out. "Thank you for your help, and please be quick about it. If you don't mind, I have other urgent matters to attend to." And with that, the door closed on the pair.
"Hmph. 100 beli says he's on the take.[/i]" Marcus smirked inwardly as he turned to face his comrade. The most striking thing about the man was the hair that nearly reached to his waist. No, strike that. The most striking thing about the man were the hawk-like golden eyes he possessed. This was a man one was not likely to forget- or cross. Marcus decided to first bridge the gap. "Hello there. My name is Marcus Umbra. It's a pleasure to be working with you." Marcus stuck his hand out, staring the hawk-like man right in the eyes.
As Marcus tied his boat to the dock, not that anyone would want to steal it, he looked up at the sky, trying to see just what time it was. The storm clouds passed, revealing a sky no more filled with light than previously. In fact, the only lights came from the town before him, Bright Village. "Night?! It's still night? That means the storm only lasted for a single...day...[/i]" He had crossed West Blue in about two days. He had previously thought it would have taken him a week. While he didn't exactly mind not rowing for five more days, he would be hard pressed to choose between that and... well, Marcus really didn't want to think about it anymore. On the bright side, he had seriously considered religion for the first time in his life back there. "First thing I do after this job is to buy a decent boat. One that preferably doesn't require a priest and a written will and testament before boarding." He growled.
As Marcus drunkenly walked towards the town, desperately trying to get his land legs back, he heard clinks, whirls, moans of despair, and the occasionally beating. "Ah, a casino." He mused dryly. a wonderful thought occurred to him. "Well, I'm here early anyway, no? I might as well enjoy myself, see if I can't get that sailboat of mine a bit earlier![/i]" Marcus immediately turned to his right, into the only casino not made of wood and slipshod craftsmanship.
It turns out he picked well. Everywhere he looked, he saw men in fancy suits, women in fancier dresses, and the house getting richer by the minute. It was quite obvious that the dealers were cheating like jackals, yet none of these idiots seemed to notice. Well. No medicine like your own to cure a disease. After getting chips, Marcus sat down at a craps table first, trying to hide his grin as the table master attempted to pass him loaded dice, the real things surreptitiously stuck up his sleeve. It was almost too easy. Marcus reached out for the dice the dealer handed him, ensuring the man had no time to just drop the loaded ones on him. During the handoff, Marcus stretched his fingers to the utmost, just grabbing the good pair. Then, with an incredible feat of dexterity, Marcus shuffled the dice around, flicking the loaded pair back into the man's suit sleeve. He never noticed. Marcus held the good pair with lucky eleven pointing up. With a flick of the wrist, the dice shot across the table, their orientation never switching. They tapped the back wall, just barely making the cut for a legal throw- but they still showed eleven. The dealer frowned at this turn of evens as Marcus called for a glass of wine. He loved this- always dancing on the edge, just managing to survive- and the looming threat of the thugs in black, who would like to 'congratulate' him on his luck. This was when Marcus felt most alive.
Marcus threw just a few more times before moving on, making sure to never stay in one place for too long. Just like a shark, no motion meant no life. He eventually ended up at a blackjack table before the men in suits came for him. Time to move- faster. Marcus excused himself, then quickly headed for the exit. He passed by the same waitress, a tanned woman whose fiery hair cascaded past her shoulders. Shrugging, Marcus decided to take a chance. "Ah, by the way. I never did quite get a name, Miss-?" Marcus trailed off, giving her a chance to respond. "Bellehart. Kaityln Bellhart." She quipped. Marcus smiled. "Well, Miss Bellhart, I'm feeling like a lucky man tonight, so I thought I might as well ask: would you mind spending the evening with me?" Kaitlyn looked over Marcus' shoulder and saw the suited men, and for a moment her expression hardened. Then she turned back to Marcus and was all smiles. "Why, I would love to, Mr. Umbra. Just let me clock out and I'll be right with you." Marcus smiled. "Wonderful. I'll cash out and meet you outside the entrance." "That'll give me a bit more time to decide what to do with these vagabonds." Marcus thought as watched Kaitlyn sashay away.
Marcus whistled to himself to pass the time, and almost didn't notice as Kaitlyn crept up from behind him. "Thank you for waiting, Marcus." Marcus turned around, and only 17 years of training kept his jaw from dropping. Her scarlet hair was complemented by the slinky blue dress that contoured to every curve. "My pleasure, especially for a lady as beautiful as yourself." He replied smoothly, his tongue on autopilot. Thank you, training. The two began to walk towards the docks when Kaitlyn spoke up. "You know, I think it was awfully brave of you, to challenge the casino like that. There's a reason why they're money printers." Marcus was busy watching the three thugs behind them using the windows of the businesses like mirrors, but he was clever enough to at least catch the tail end of her sentence. "Hmm? Then you were watching, little mouse?" She blushed gracefully at the recognition of her subterfuge. Marcus laughed and continued "I suppose I just like knocking pompous buffoons down a few notches. It does their pride- and my own- quite a bit of good." Kaitlyn giggled. "I suppose it does quite a bit of good for your wallet, too, with dexterity like that." Here Marcus decided to make a show of patting his pockets. "Ah! My wallet! I completely forgot it at the exchange table. Please wait for just a moment, my dear- I'll run and go get it."
Marcus quickly rounded the corner and bumped into the three thugs. "We've been waitin' fer ya, Mistah luck. We just wanted t' make sure ya weren't gettin' jumped on the way home." He grinned evilly, or at least what he thought was evilly. To Marcus it just looked like he had gas. "Yes yes, thank you. Let's just get this over with, shall we? I've got a beautiful young woman waiting for me, and I don't want to keep her waiting for very long." With that, he led the trio down a dark and narrow alley, the kind perfect for rapiers and not so perfect for everything else. While not quite used to the prey leading his own way to the beating, the thugs weren't going to object. Marcus slowed down just enough that the first heavy was behind him, and attacked. He spun around with a sweep kick, causing the man to stumble forward as he tried to regain his balance. Marcus' second leg was right behind the first, and introduced itself to the man's face, then went on to introduce him to the ground. By this time, Marcus had already drawn his rapier and held it out, pointed towards the second thug's heart. He charged, and Marcus easily sidestepped the cudgel as it ricocheted off a dumpster. Marcus didn't even have to do anything. The cudgel bounced back and slammed the poor idiot in the head, knocking him out. He fell like a tree in the forest, and most definitely made a sound. Heck, Marcus was expecting the earth to quake a bit. But now he was starting to wonder if he even needed to draw his blade. "This almost feels like bullying." He murmured, poking the man with his rapier, wondering if he was acting. Still, one more thug had to be dealt with, and he came running at Marcus with both fists swinging. Shaking his head, Marcus flipped his wrist, cutting the man's belt with the tip of his sword. The heavy waddled in his polka dot boxers, restrained by his fallen pants. As he attempted to pull them up, Marcus lashed out at the man's knee, breaking it and forcing him to the ground. The vagabond hit the ground, crying out in pain as his knee slammed into the earth. He coughed blood, which drew an askew glance from Marcus. But he shouldn't have worried, for the man got up, glared at Marcus with now-bloodshot eyes, and began to run on his broken knee. Something was wrong, a fact made all the more obvious as the pants around his ankles literally ripped from his new found strength. Marcus, not wanting to be caught by whoever could do that, ducked and spun around, slashing the man's calves deeply- to no effect. Frightened, Marcus looked for something- and found his answer in the dumpster. Once again the man charged headfirst, and this time Marcus stood before the dumpster. It felt like playing chicken with a train. At the last moment, Marcus danced out of the way, and the thug slammed into the dumpster like a maddened bull. Desperate to make sure, Marcus slammed the hood down on his head, knocking the berserker out. Dusting himself off and trying to catch his breath, Marcus walked out of the alley, sure that Kaitlyn would have noticed his absence by now.
As he turned the corner, who should Marcus run into but the lovely Miss Bellehart. He wrapped his arm around her as they collided, making sure she didn't fall. Holding her so close to him wasn't too bad a perk, either. "Well well well, Miss Bellehart. Am I that bad a date?" Marcus chuckled. She attempted to stammer out a response. "No, I- I just..." It was rather obvious that she suspected what had just happened to Marcus, but was rather confused why it hadn't happened. Still she looked relieved, so Marcus decided to take pity on her. "I found my wallet. Turns out it just fell from my pocket a block back. I guess everyone here thought it was Marine bait." She chuckled, leaning her head against Marcus' shoulder. "Oh. Good. Glad to see you didn't run into any trouble on the way." Marcus noticed how she put emphasis on her words. Best to ignore that. "Yes, marvellous, isn't it? Trouble seems to go out of its way to find me. I don't even do anything to get in its way, either!" He protested. Kaitlyn laughed as the two of them continued their walk.
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Marcus woke up with a stretch, yawning until he thought his jaw would fall off. He slowly got dressed, occasionally glancing up at the still sleeping Kaitlyn. It was rather ungentlemanly to leave without so much as a goodbye, but he had a job to do. He would have to satisfy his honor with a note. He quickly penned one down in his loopy calligraphy and left for town hall, thinking it enough of a hike to start early. Belting on his rapier, Marcus prepared himself for trouble and began the walk to Sparks Village.
As he arrived in the village, Marcus first noticed just how many people were coughing, sneezing, or showing some other sign of sickness. "Hmm. Must be flu season.[/i]" Marcus shrugged inwardly and didn't think much more of it as he ascended the steps to City Hall. Blowing by the secretary through sheer force of personality, Marcus made his way to the mayor's office. Knocking twice to announce his presence, Marcus opened the door and walked through. "Ah! You must be Mr. Umbra. I must say, you're quite early- we didn't expect you for another five days or so." Marcus shivered slightly at just the slight reminder of that hellish storm. "I was just about to give the job to this gentleman here, but since you're both here, I suppose two heads are better than one." The mayor cleared his throat, turned around to look out the window, and clasped his hands behind his back. Marcus recognized it as the stance that small men took whenever they wanted to seem powerful or imposing. He already had a distaste for the man, and he hadn't said 50 words yet.
"Recently, strange events have befallen Raito Island. All the animals in the forest have become incredibly aggressive, to the point where many of our craftsmen cannot venture out of the city for fear of attack. Furthermore, a woodsman returned from the jungle, delirious with a new kind of fever we have never seen before. It is contagious, but through what means we aren't sure. We have sent people into the forest to discover the source, but pirates have taken advantage of our moment of weakness and have set up base within the woods- searching for the legendary Raito treasure, no doubt." Marcus could all but feel the venom the man put in the word pirate. His ears also lit up at the mention of treasure. Perhaps he could find it before the others?
But like the hands of time, the old mayor continued, undaunted. "Your mission is to find the source of this disease and end it, as well as those pirates that would dare take advantage of the weak. Furthermore, if you are able to find an antidote, there may be a bonus." A DenDen Mushi on the man's desk rung, and he quickly picked it up. His face blanched as he listened to the voice, and he hung up just as quickly. The old man shooed the pair out. "Thank you for your help, and please be quick about it. If you don't mind, I have other urgent matters to attend to." And with that, the door closed on the pair.
"Hmph. 100 beli says he's on the take.[/i]" Marcus smirked inwardly as he turned to face his comrade. The most striking thing about the man was the hair that nearly reached to his waist. No, strike that. The most striking thing about the man were the hawk-like golden eyes he possessed. This was a man one was not likely to forget- or cross. Marcus decided to first bridge the gap. "Hello there. My name is Marcus Umbra. It's a pleasure to be working with you." Marcus stuck his hand out, staring the hawk-like man right in the eyes.