BOUNTY: Hunting a Madman

[❰ Misha ❱]

It was a bright and sunny day in the Pirate's Market. For once, the atmosphere of the island seemed entirely different from the usual. Instead of the usual foul aromas you get from drunken pirates, the island instead was quite serene.

Decorations were hanging up all over the town, shopkeepers happily went about selling their merchandise and even seemed happier than usual to do so. The once omnipotent fear of a violent street brawl breaking out seemed to have vanished overnight.

What brought about this change?

The island was preparing for a celebration. Not just any celebration though, it was the proudest holiday of them all. A party that all planned would go from sundown to sunrise. The annual "Liberation" day party as they called it. The day when the island began as a Pirate haven under Mad Morgan and Vladimir, promoting the island's prosperity and hope that it would remain so for another year.

To many, this party couldn't have come any sooner. Some had spent months and some a year, stocking up for this very day. It was a festival of festivals, THE party of an island that never seemed to have enough of them.

To Daemon however, who'd just arrived on the island by a meager fishing boat, it looked as if the entire town had just suddenly lost their marbles. Everything he'd read about this island had led him to believe that it would be a marvelous place to hunt. A place where notorious pirates eagerly boasted of their bounties in hope of being feared by all nearby. A place where a bounty hunter could make a living if he was discrete enough.

The festivities approaching definitely threw him off his guard. He stood at the corner of a food shop, looking up and down the street and finding nothing that he was expecting. The once disorderly drunken pirates had seemingly transformed into well-behaved citizens. The once dilapidated buildings had been given a makeover. And finally, gone were the muddy and garbage-ridden streets that Daemon had heard so much about.

Still clad in his signature black coat, Daemon walked down the street, being careful to avoid the places where the women shopkeepers were thickest and sliding along the side whenever necessary so as to avoid any contact with them.

The plaza was just as alien as the rest of the island. Renewed and completely redone. Daemon looked around the streets, but finding nothing of what he'd been expecting.

[tyzen]

The day was much more beautiful than Tyzen had gotten accustomed to on the pirate's market. It was liberation day, which in reality just seemed like a necessary break from the violence and criminal activity that normally went on uninterrupted. In contrast to the celebratory mood of everyone else, Tyzen was physically beat up and mentally tired from searching for a bounty head relentlessly only to find that he had left the island a few days prior. The small amount of money he had left over was just enough to get enough alcohol to wash away his past few days of failure. After a while of aimless wandering he walked into a tavern that seemed less rowdy than most.

Tyzen set his sheathed katana on the counter of the tavern harder than intended before signaling for the bartender to bring him something to drink. A fairly attractive young woman with long red hair smiled and filled a wooden tankard full of rum before setting it before him. He chugged the rum in one swoop before wiping his mouth off. "Thank you. Another please." he requested.
The woman smiled again before reaching down and refilling his drink. "Good manners are rare these days among pirates. Just where might you be sailing from?" she questioned innocently before turning around and setting the drink back down.

Almost instinctively Tyzen gave her a look of suspicion that came whenever he was asked personal questions. He was suspicious of women, but this one seemed nice enough, and oddly soothing. "What makes you think I'm a pirate? And I'm from south blue, but you wouldn't know the island if I told you." he replied. Before hearing her response he took another chug out of the tankard.

"What else would you be? Don't tell me that pretty katana is just for fighting rodents." she mocked playfully.

A few moments passed before Tyzen let out a response. He felt the eyes of the dozen or so undesirable men and woman behind him in the room piercing through him. His instinct was always to tell the truth, but saying he was a bounty hunter in the room he was in would not lead to good results. "I'm a traveling swordsman. I sail from island to island learning from the best they have to offer." He stammered due to his lack of experience in deception. It might have just been the sudden bout of nerves that had struck him, but it also seemed to him that nearly everyone, from the pirates to the celebrating shop keepers, knew what he was. His left hand slowly crept towards the handle of his katana as the tension suddenly felt unbearable.

As soon as Tyzen made contact with his blade the bartender gently placed her hand over his and held him there before she leaned her head a few inches to the side of his. "Don't worry, I won't tell." she whispered into his ear. His nerves suddenly calmed and the tension was gone. Sensing this she lifted her hand and looked out towards the crowd that was still suspicious. "Free round of drinks on the traveling swordsman! Happy Liberation Day!" she announced to the near instant uproar of everyone in approval. A few of the patrons even started singing a drunken chant about him being a legendary warrior.

"I appreciate it." thanked Tyzen once the chatter had died down. "I'm Tyzen by the way."

"I'm Lana, and you Tyzen, do not need to thank me. The drinks are on you, remember?" She gladly pointed out.

[❰ Misha ❱]

Daemon strode carefully down the side of the streets, making sure to avoid any bypassing females and ignore any curious glances he received.

He shifted the strap on his back that housed the long naginata weapon he carried to dissuade onlookers. Some probably believed he was a dangerous pirate and he was more than happy to let them think so if it gave him some peace.

It was difficult to remain un-distracted since there were plenty of whimsical people and women wandering up and down the streets that sent chills up his spine. Daemon could feel the cold sweat running down his forehead and the unearthly panic was beginning to set in.

His vision was beginning to go blurry and was starting to feel a little dizzy. When he could take it no more, he slid through the crowd and practically jumped through the nearest doorway.

For a second, he stood in the doorway, trying to maintain his poise as his vision started to return to normal while the panic subsided. When his vision cleared, he was thankful that the first things he saw were tables full of "regular" men. There were a few serving girls taking orders around the joint, but there was a small enough population that Daemon noted to avoid.

He was just thankful now that he'd stepped into a bar with few things he had to worry about.

So he sat at the place where there was only one female: the head of the bar. He walked down the aisle, glancing at the backs of a few people facing away from him. There was a skimpily dressed woman at the end nearest to the door where he entered and a little further down there was a brown-skinned man wearing a red sleeveless shirt.

He took note of the man as he passed by him to the part of the bar where he wouldn't be served by the female bartender.

He made his way down a few seats farther where a middle-aged man was polishing a glass.

"What can I get you today?" he asked.

Daemon glanced around him for a second, making sure none of the girls were around him before picking up the menu. "Got any seafood dishes?" Daemon asked concisely to which the man nodded.

"We have some excellently cooked sea king as well as some lobster meat soup."

Daemon nodded, "I'll have the cooked sea king and a glass of red wine." Daemon put down the menu and then proceeded to remove the black jacket he'd elected to wear, despite the heat and set down the long naginata strung along his back onto the floor.

He sat in silence at the bar while he awaited his meal.

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OOC: I apologize for the lateness. I'm going to be moving houses soon so I've been pretty busy and pretty much forgot this for awhile. I'm going to be unavailable next week starting probably on the 27th too for a few days (most likely 4-5 days) since my internet and TV are both going to be disconnected.

[tyzen]

Sweat started rolling down Tyzen's forehead as he looked down at the money in his hand which barely covered the round of drinks Lana had ordered. The thought of slipping out of the building undetected had just entered his mind when a man with a black jacket and a naginata walked behind him to a nearby table. His weapon was unlike any he had ever seen, but even beyond that he seemed formidable in general. "You know that guy?" asked Tyzen as he nodded his head in the mans direction.

"Nope. Must be new around here. Why do you wanna know anyhow?" Lana suspiciously questioned.

"Just curious." he replied nonchalantly.

"I'm sure that's all it is. If you decide to explore this curiosity of yours please do it outside. We've had to do enough repairs this month and you don't look like you could afford it." she jested.

"Real funny. Speaking of me not being able to afford things, I'm gonna have to tap out before you have me doing dishes to pay for my tab. It was nice to meet you Lana." commented Tyzen while gently placing a stack of Beli on the counter before casually walking towards the entrance.

Lana smiled softly and picked up the stack of money before getting ready to put it away when she realized she never told Tyzen how much he owed for the round of drinks. Her mouth opened, preparing to yell his name, but he was gone. She angrily shifted through the money expecting to be shorted before she eventually realized he left the exact correct amount of money for everyone who was in the bar when the round was ordered. All she could do was stand there in amazement as she debated whether it was luck or he had actually been able to notice and account for every single person in the building in the short time he was there before he sat down and had his back turned.

Tyzen scanned the area for a good place to wait outside while the man was inside the tavern. He lied to Lana, and couldn't resist the possibility to catch a bounty due to his monetary situation. Part of him was torn over whether it was a good idea to engage an unknown enemy, but the other part of him was too excited to pass it up. Adrenaline had already started rushing through him as it always did before a confrontation. Not wanting to get himself too pumped, he found a nice seat on of a small fishing dock that was a couple dozen yards away from the entrance. The cold sea water felt great on his feet as they dangled a few feet underwater along with his sandals as he stared intently at the entrance of the building.