Post by flame08 on Jul 11, 2012 13:32:57 GMT -5
Made by Flame Edited by Flame
Name of Island:Inlet Grove Stop
Society:N/A
Size of Island:Small Island, about a third the size of the Sabaody Archipelago. There is a small piece of actual island surrounded by the Yarukiman Mangroves.
Location:First Island of the Reflection Route
Log Pose Time:Four Months
Climatic Type:Summer Island
Climate:Inlet Grove Stop is set in a very tropical climate. The air is very humid and in general can feel like walking in water. The temperature is an average of 23 degrees Celsius (73 degrees Fahrenheit), it is generally so warm that even on days when it rains the rain can feel warm. The island spends half of the year in the rainy season where it rains nearly every day for the majority of the day. Because the climate is not as steady the bubbles which Sabaody is famous for do not appear half as often.
Island Appearance:From any angle of approach Inlet Grove Stop will look like any other Yarukiman Mangrove (ie. Similar to Sabaody). It is a large body of mangrove with a green surface and high above the canopy of the mangroves. The water around the island is a blueish-green color, beneath it are coral reefs with a colorful menagerie of fish.
Flora and Fauna:Flora:
Inlet Grove Stop is dominated by the plant life known as the Yarukiman Mangrove Tree. They reach from the sea floor to hundreds of feet up in the sky. The trees are a lot shorter because of the presence of a plate of earth that’s a little higher than the island is set on. Upon the Yarukiman Mangroves there are no special types of flora, instead there is only what the people who live on the island bring.
Fauna:
Klarian Fish – A large marlin-like fish that lives in the coral reefs around the island. They are highly aggressive living solitarily in the waters. To some extent these fish are revered by the fishmen and merfolk who live under Inlet Grove Stop. For the people above water these fish are highly prized for their meat. Also the Klarian Fish’s skin is used to aid with coating ships for long journeys under water.
Water Basilisk – Residing in a cove hidden deep in the corals the water basilisk is a sea monster on par with the Sea Kings of the Calm Belt. It is a large serpentine creature which preys on the Klarian Fish who make their home around this creature. It is a dangerous enough creature that the sea people who also make their home under the island give it a lot of room. The creature’s breath has a minor paralytic gas which it is immune to. The creature has a crazy looking face that many people freeze upon seeing more out of stupefaction than fear. It is also known to attack people that prey on its prey the Klarian Fish.
Other - There is a large and diverse set of fish that live in the coral reefs that surround the island. Some are specific to coral reefs others are more generally residents of the Grand Line. Not much to say here.
Inhabitants:There are three primary races that live on the island. Humans live mainly above the sea surface. Below the surface both Merfolk and Fishmen live in the Coral Housing above the coral reefs. Some of the fishmen and merfolk live in the coral reefs but it is a much more dangerous place to live.
Prominent Organizations, Groups and Establishments:Inlet Grove Guild - The majority of coaters that work at Inlet Grove Stop are part of the Guild. The guild maintains certain requirement of quality, cost, etc. upon its members. It also protects its own from robbery, they even have their own set of enforcers to make sure payments go through. These enforcers are strong enough to face off with the majority of pirates than come through.
Underground Fish Market - The major port for the movement of black market goods through the frontal part of the Grand Line. It fronts itself as a place for the buying and selling of fish especially the Klarian Fish. They even run a slave market but its a much smaller enterprise than what is on Sabaody. It is not underground but instead inhabits a set of stores that act as a front for it. The marines are aware of its existence but due to their fragile presence on the island they do not interfere.
81st Marine Outpost - Without being a fully fledged base, the Marines keep a small contingent of marines on the island. They are not well stocked and get by barely by the skill of their members. It is led by Captain Jim Howie. They are equipped with a medium-sized Marine ship with a regular cannon gundeck.
Trends:Fashion
Because of the general humidity and temperature of Inlet Grove Stop in general clothing is very light. These generally consist of tunics and trousers made of extremely light material. Sometimes the trousers can be replaced with a sarong, which is a skirt that is worn by both men and women.
Politics
The de-facto authority of the island is the Ship Coaters Guild. They are not officially affiliated with the World Government. But they do allow the Marine Outpost to exist on the far end of the island as a show of good faith.
As the authority on the island they do not do much. They do not govern their people and generally allow a fairly care free work throughout the island. The members of the marine outpost act as a 'police force' even though they have no actual authority.
Industry
Inlet Grove Stop's main industry is ship coating. There are two sets of coaters anyone can go to, either a guild affiliated one or a non-guild one. Guild-affiliated coaters are more expensive but their quality is assured.
They also have a minor fishing industry, it is mainly focused on the Klarian Fish but also other fish. Technically, the black-market is also an industry which runs in Inlet Grove Stop but its not as well known.
Cuisine
Inlet Grove Stop specializes in seafood, specifically spicy sea food dishes. They use a variety of fishes especially the Klarian Fish. One of the most common dishes made by the residents of Inlet Grove Stop is curry. Most of the dishes made are not particularly complicated they tend to be commoner food fare. Vegetarian dishes are basically the seafood dishes without the seafood.
NPCS:-Captain Jim Howie-
Captain Jim Howie is the leader of the 81st Marine Outpost stationed on Inlet Grove Stop. He is a realistic man, he knows that his small group cannot affect overly much. So instead he picks his situations carefully and makes smart judgement calls generally. He does not enjoy using the ship under his command so it generally sits unused at the outpost's dock.
-Blake Howell-
Blake Howell is the president of the Inlet Grove Guild. He is a retired coater and leads the guild through his seniority and the respect he has cultivated. He is outwardly jolly and nice which helps to explain why he is generally liked by all on the island. Underneath he is a cunning man with a very good eye for character and generally good instincts. Through these he has maintained the island without it falling to either pirates, revolutionaries or marines.
-Claeys-
Claeys is one of the more well known non-guild coaters. He is more well known because he has ties to the Underground Fish Market. He works out of one of the fish shops that acts as a front for the market. This is partially because he enjoys fishing in his free time. He is a competent fighter with a harpoon. Claeys has all the looks necessary to charm his way through some of the more questionable situations he gets into.
Town(s)/Village(s)/City or Cities:Groves 1-5
Home of the majority of the fishing business on the island. Groves 1-5 are full of fish shops, including the main large market on Grove 3 which is the main base for the Underground Fish Market. Their are some residences in these groves as well but the folk here are unruly and a little lawless. The docks which face the sea are generally filled with ships who have hidden their true identity and purpose.
Groves 6-8
Similar to Groves 1-5, Groves 6-8 is the home to some of the blackmarket trade which goes on on the island. They are a little more subtle about it becomes of their proximity to the guild. The folk here seem nicer but are generally the same as those on Groves 1-5.
Groves 9-13
Mainly restaurants and shops, Groves 9-13 are the middle class in their function for the society of Inlet Grove Stop. It contains a lot of places that the coaters like to go to eat or spend breaks because of its proximity to the Guild headquarters.
Main Island
Home to what used to be the main government building for this island it has been taken over by the Inlet Grove Guild. Its massive building is used as the guild's headquarters while still governing the island. Most of the guild-affiliated coaters have offices in this building.
The Guild building also has a log pose trade center. Because of how long the it takes for a log pose to set, it is common on this island for people to keep log poses and just trade them to shorten the trip. Not all log poses in the trade center will have been completely set but they are most likely closer to being ready then people who just arrive.
Groves 14-16
Another shopping district, Groves 14-16, contain mainly groceries and other supplies for daily life as well as life on a ship. Things such as inns, furniture makers, grocery stores, and the like can be found all across these groves.
Groves 17-21
The main residential groves, Groves 17-21 have all sorts of living standards. Houses are on terraces formed by roots growing farther up and other roots connecting lower on the tree. The higher up the house the more prestigious the family living in it is generally the rule. While there are no nobles on the island, the truly rich ones are the ones who back the coating industry on the island. This is a pretty quiet area normally.
Groves 22-25
The main area where coating takes place, both guild-affiliated and non-guild-affiliated coaters work here though it is more more of the former than the latter. There are many docks in this area as well as places that store the special materials used for coating ships for their underwater journeys. Generally one will dock their ship elsewhere and then it will be moved to these Groves for coating once a deal has been made.
Grove 26
Grove 26, is a bit odd because it ended up growing not in direct contact with any of the other Yarukiman Mangroves with a small channel of water (easily swimmable) separating it from the rest of the island. Grove 26 is the home of the 81st Marine Outpost, it holds all the buildings whether they be residences, armories, comms rooms for the marines on the outpost. It also has a small dock just for the Marine's ship. There is a wooden ferry that crosses from Grove 26 to Grove 25 four times a day. (9 am, 12pm, 3pm and 6pm).
Coral Housing
Placed partway up the roots of the island but under the sea level are large pieces of coral that have been hollowed out to make homes for fishmen and merfolk who wish to live on the isle. There is no large air bubble that they use to have a normal living but each coral house has its own little bubble of air so that they may cook. The air bubbles need to be refilled and their is a small service that goes from house to house doing that biweekly.
Island Map:
Missions:Dangerous Fishing
You've been requested to obtain some Klarian Fish for Restaurant Sindira. Go to grove 16 and ask for a diving suit and get to it. Just be careful the Water Basilisk which makes its home in the waters is always on the prowl for those that would mess with its prey. Not to mention the Klarian Fish are already dangerous, with their fast speeds and marlin-like piked nose.
Test of Security
The Inlet Guild Grove is offering a reward to anyone who can steal one of the log poses out of the log post trade center in the Main Guild Headquarters. The Guild will be deploying multiple of their more combat capable coaters as well as some of the marines from the outpost. If you succeed will you come back and claim your reward or take the log pose which is already aimed at Blue Lagoon.
Island History:The islands beginning date hundreds of years ago to back when it was just a piece of earth coming out of the ground around which trees began to sprout. Slowly but surely this small set of Yarukiman Mangroves finding themselves within just the right environment flourished into the set of twenty six mangroves which currently make up the majority of the land mass of the 'island'. As coral grew upwards around the roots of the mangroves much of the sea life that now inhabit the seas below the island came to live there including the Water Basilisk.
As time passed the first settlers came to this island, they were slave traders mainly dealing in the trade of merfolk and fishmen. The island began as a place for the movement of such people, but as time went on and as more and more ships began to come through the island the coating industry formed. Many who passed from this island would get lost because the second island was underwater. As the coating business flourished and more reputable and honorable people started passing through (including the marines) much of the slave trade had to go into hiding.
The slave trade diminished as the coating business thrived, and slowly but surely the slave trade was pushed into the Groves 1-5 of the island. Until it all but disappeared when the marines decided to set down and create a base. Originally their base was built on the main land to act as a direct government for the island. In light of this the slave trade all but disappeared and the remnants would become an 'underground' black market.
As the slave trade all but disappeared, many of the merfolk and fishmen on the island had to be let go. With nowhere to go they went down, under the island and took up residence in the corals beneath the mangroves.
It would be much later as a corrupt marine came to power in the island that the island would revolt against its marine government with aid from pleas sent to the World Government. It was an embarrassment to the World Government who had to depose the leader of the base and hand control back over to the residents of Inlet Grove. The only other major group on the island ended up taking control, that was the Inlet Grove Guild. As a sign of good faith, the Inlet Grove Guild allowed the marines to set up an outpost on Grove 26.
Thus how the island is today.