Post by Deleted on Sept 30, 2015 2:57:50 GMT -5
Mission #37 ★
A bounty of only 20 Million might not seem like a lot but when the pirate is a fishman and he's currently occupying the Island of Zarzara with his crew (including his first mate worth 16 Million) it might just be a problem. Luckily he seems to be good natured and has offered to leave the Island and go back to the Grand Line if someone defeats him in combat! Of course, word of this has spread to the Marines as well and anyone to defeat him would instantly become more notorious in their eyes! Will you risk it to become well known in the South Blue?
A bounty of only 20 Million might not seem like a lot but when the pirate is a fishman and he's currently occupying the Island of Zarzara with his crew (including his first mate worth 16 Million) it might just be a problem. Luckily he seems to be good natured and has offered to leave the Island and go back to the Grand Line if someone defeats him in combat! Of course, word of this has spread to the Marines as well and anyone to defeat him would instantly become more notorious in their eyes! Will you risk it to become well known in the South Blue?
Quickly shedding the coolness of the night as the sun rose, the early morning air of Zarzara kingdom offered a welcomed chill to the normally oppressive heat of the desert. The oasis town of Waq Waq was lucky in its location, with its canals and proximity to the water, but it was still a hotter place than average. Not too many of the inhabitants seemed disturbed by the steadily rising temperature as they went about setting up their shops and starting their day—this was, after all, routine heat. For newcomers to the island however, used to cooler air, it wasn’t as comfortable.
"It... is positively sweltering here."
For the first time in a while, Illiana Voclain found herself actually questioning her style of dress wear, which was a shame because she had gone through the effort of adjusting her normal outfit for Zarzara Island's climate as she had read about it. She had chosen to find a balance between modesty and necessity, and wore a simple wrap dress of a cool bluish white that flowed down to her knees, held in place with a belt containing her trusty knives in their sheaths. Her arms were bare for once, milky pale arms offensively bright in the sunlight. That was alright, however—sun protection came in the form of an expansive shawl over her head and shoulders, light enough to provide shade and protection from the elements. Alas, her preparation and research had done little to make things more comfortable for her in practice—her forehead was already glistening with a minute layer of perspiration, and she wondered if the application of the average layer of make up had been wise. It had never had to stand up to an assault from body moisture back home in the considerably cooler atmosphere of Gestalt.
“Your majesty, is it too uncomfortable for you out here?” Behind her, the hulking suit of armor that was her faithful companion Gendarme spoke, his joints creaking irksomely as he leaned over her. Of course, he was a bit more resilient to the heat, but that hadn’t stopped him from requesting a thobe similar in color to Illiana’s dress. Illiana made a mental note to grease his joints at some point, casually reaching up behind her and placing a hand affectionately on the side of his helm.
“I’ll be fine, Gendarme. Please tone down the honorifics, though—I am not royalty… yet.” She said, looking up thoughtfully at the large building that stood before them. The Palace of the Princess was a site to behold, with its domed torrents and white-gold clay towers a stark contrast to what she remembered of Blake’s palace back home. The structure stood out against the gold of the sandy backdrop, the morning sunlight causing a brilliant gloriole around it as it rose. This was presumably the home of Princess Amina, the current ruler of the island. Illiana thought back to the things she had read about Zarzara’s formation, its relationship with the nearby Cuidadela Queendom, and the resulting political presence. ’I wonder—what kind of person might she be?'
“If you are hot, your majesty...” Gendarme spoke again, ignoring her pensiveness to dutifully provide for her as always. “Perhaps you can enter me?”
Illiana’s cheeks flushed at the abrupt lewdness of the comment. “Enter you? What do you mean—Gendarme?!” She turned in place to address him, only to be met with the site of the suit of armor holding his thobe open like a flashing streaker, showing an opened chest piece and hollowed interior save for his spine, wrapped in chain netting. He had placed Illiana’s bag on the ground. The hinges of his legs and chest had swung open, inviting her to presumably ‘wear’ him and come inside. If there was any way for a physically sexless suit of armor to be sexually inappropriate, it had to be this.
“What are you doing?” Illiana hissed, closing the distance between the two and aggressively pushing Gendarme’s chest shut. “People will see!” She chanced a look around at the crowds of people going about their morning routines, hoping none of them had noticed the hulking armor that had just exposed its disembodied nature. She wasn’t particularly in the mood for inquiries at the moment, and calling too much attention would probably do more to disrupt her intentions with this place.
“I just thought her majesty was hot. I am very cool within…” Gendarme said, stoically unperturbed by his liege’s response. Still, he complied, and his legs reformed themselves as they shut back up.
“That’s all very kind of you, Gendarme. I’ll consider it for later.” Illiana said, convinced that no one was going to be approaching them quite yet. She reached into her bag and pulled out a folder containing her notes. She shuffled through them as she continued. “Let’s just focus on who we came here to find. There are two people, one presumably easier to approach than the other. After all, Princess Amina won’t simply let us waltz up to her throne—I can’t exactly play the part of an unannounced envoy…”
“And who, again, is the other person?” Gendarme asked, pulling his clothes back over his head.
“He’s a pirate who has occupied this city with his crew.” Illiana responded, looking at the bounty poster in her hands, but obscuring it from Gendarme’s view. “He’s worth 20 million, and has been a concern for the Marines, Cuidadela and Zarzara…” She placed the poster away, looking up at her companion
“The ‘Sandfish Star’—Skink Delmar.”
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