Post by Mr. Moshypocrite McSlowbro on Mar 2, 2012 12:03:27 GMT -5
The merchant, true to his word, dropped Ruo off one of the larger nearby ports. Though Karate Island had not one of the giantblood's first choice, in especially since the original agreement was for him to be taken as far as Yeste, he did not feel slighted enough to warrant arguing. The short man (Well, that was an unfair comment. Most everyone outside the Bangira family was shorter than him) had seemed rather eager to be rid of his passenger. Something about taking up too much room. He didn't mind. There would be other ships.
He could have went ahead and looked into chartering another ride, but this was the first time he had ever gone to another island on his own, so he felt somewhat inclined to spend time exploring. After wading through the a sea of deckhands, loading and unloading their respective goods, he was finally able to reach the island proper.
The town itself was fairly large, and dominated by numerous large multi-tiered buildings, stylized with curved rooftops and intricate shingles. They seemed very much like castles to him, with the red arched doorways, and the golden lion-dogs at the foot of the stairways. He took a few pictures with his visual den-den mushi, his mother had charged him with making a scrapbook of the places he visited for her. The psychic snail creature was roughly the size of a beachball, a rather inconveniently-sized model for most, but it was perfect for someone as big as him. Its eyes flashed, and it made an odd "Ka-chanka" noise whenever he snapped a shot at something. The pictures printed out of its shell a few moments later, and he stored them in a safe pocket for later arrangement.
Wandering further into the town, he started to pick up on the local businesses. It seemed that even the smaller buildings echoed similar building principles as the castle he saw in the distance; even the humble food stalls would have a two or three floors too them. Such stalls seemed only to contain a sitting area and a kitchen on the first floor, so Ruo had to assume the other floors contained storage or living quarters. Initially, he was stuck pondering why they built up instead of out, as the latter was a great deal harder to manage, with the need for scaffolding and weight distribution and onsuch. Furthermore, it seemed every store had a large empty area, that was marked off with white markers, directly next to them. The ground there seemed trampled, showing regular use. Which led him to believe they built their establishments in such a manner as to be able to fit the vacant lot into their property. Why would something like that be so important?
He would find out, as he first attempted to purchase food on this odd island, that there was indeed a (debatable) good reason for this phenomenon. After examining the menu he was given, he quickly found that all the items were grossly overpriced. Ridiculously so. Buying a meal would have cost him as much as a week's worth of food. But next to every listed price, there was a small comment that said 'Or Challenge'. Unsure what exactly that entailed, he wasn't very keen on choosing the second option. But, on the other hand, he was hungry, and unwilling to spend the small fortune it would have taken to feed him. So, after ordering his meal, he told the man at the counter he was going to "challenge".
Which, long story short, is how Ruo ended up standing in the middle of the space next to the restaurant, which he now acknowledged as a ring, standing opposite a sweaty middle-aged man, who despite his flabby stomach, had arms looked like coiled rope. Furthermore, he appeared entirely prepared to engage him in mortal combat. Over a few plates of dumplings. He was confused. So very confused.
"Remember, no weapons. No kicks below the waist. No knees or elbows. And you are disqualified if you leave the ring! Now then, are the combatant's ready?" The man from the counter shouted. He seemed to have tied a white rope around his head, which apparently signified that he was the referee for this ordeal
Raising a large hand, the soft-spoken giant brought up a last second query, hoping that this was some sort of misunderstanding. "Um. Is this really necessary?"
"This is Karate Island! Of course it is necessary!" Well, can't really argue with that.
Throwing down his hand, the ref commanded. "Begin!" And then promptly scuttled out of the arena. His opponent let out a loud cry and charged him in some imitation of a wild bull.
He could have went ahead and looked into chartering another ride, but this was the first time he had ever gone to another island on his own, so he felt somewhat inclined to spend time exploring. After wading through the a sea of deckhands, loading and unloading their respective goods, he was finally able to reach the island proper.
The town itself was fairly large, and dominated by numerous large multi-tiered buildings, stylized with curved rooftops and intricate shingles. They seemed very much like castles to him, with the red arched doorways, and the golden lion-dogs at the foot of the stairways. He took a few pictures with his visual den-den mushi, his mother had charged him with making a scrapbook of the places he visited for her. The psychic snail creature was roughly the size of a beachball, a rather inconveniently-sized model for most, but it was perfect for someone as big as him. Its eyes flashed, and it made an odd "Ka-chanka" noise whenever he snapped a shot at something. The pictures printed out of its shell a few moments later, and he stored them in a safe pocket for later arrangement.
Wandering further into the town, he started to pick up on the local businesses. It seemed that even the smaller buildings echoed similar building principles as the castle he saw in the distance; even the humble food stalls would have a two or three floors too them. Such stalls seemed only to contain a sitting area and a kitchen on the first floor, so Ruo had to assume the other floors contained storage or living quarters. Initially, he was stuck pondering why they built up instead of out, as the latter was a great deal harder to manage, with the need for scaffolding and weight distribution and onsuch. Furthermore, it seemed every store had a large empty area, that was marked off with white markers, directly next to them. The ground there seemed trampled, showing regular use. Which led him to believe they built their establishments in such a manner as to be able to fit the vacant lot into their property. Why would something like that be so important?
He would find out, as he first attempted to purchase food on this odd island, that there was indeed a (debatable) good reason for this phenomenon. After examining the menu he was given, he quickly found that all the items were grossly overpriced. Ridiculously so. Buying a meal would have cost him as much as a week's worth of food. But next to every listed price, there was a small comment that said 'Or Challenge'. Unsure what exactly that entailed, he wasn't very keen on choosing the second option. But, on the other hand, he was hungry, and unwilling to spend the small fortune it would have taken to feed him. So, after ordering his meal, he told the man at the counter he was going to "challenge".
Which, long story short, is how Ruo ended up standing in the middle of the space next to the restaurant, which he now acknowledged as a ring, standing opposite a sweaty middle-aged man, who despite his flabby stomach, had arms looked like coiled rope. Furthermore, he appeared entirely prepared to engage him in mortal combat. Over a few plates of dumplings. He was confused. So very confused.
"Remember, no weapons. No kicks below the waist. No knees or elbows. And you are disqualified if you leave the ring! Now then, are the combatant's ready?" The man from the counter shouted. He seemed to have tied a white rope around his head, which apparently signified that he was the referee for this ordeal
Raising a large hand, the soft-spoken giant brought up a last second query, hoping that this was some sort of misunderstanding. "Um. Is this really necessary?"
"This is Karate Island! Of course it is necessary!" Well, can't really argue with that.
Throwing down his hand, the ref commanded. "Begin!" And then promptly scuttled out of the arena. His opponent let out a loud cry and charged him in some imitation of a wild bull.