Hey there gamers, today everyone's going to die.

[Smiley]

Trouble approaches! The White Bandit is coming!

So it was said. One of the miners charged with gathering building materials had arrived ahead of his coworkers, bringing terrible news. Not only was an outside in the island, it was supposedly an infamous bandit, one who had been gaining notoriety so rapidly that the bounty posters "had yet to even arrive". One that had mostly terrorized small, nameless towns in the Holy Remunum empire, leaving whole bunches of homeless, traumatized refugees for the bigger towns to accomodate. Violent, unforgiving and impossible to negotiate with.

Shit, he'd probably fit in just fine at Sedna Island, were he not as murderous as the reports had indicated.

The man continued to spread the news rather noisily, warning everyone he could get to, leading to the town itself to prepare for his arrival. They were more than armed enough, with a long family history of people prepared to deal with large beasts - be it bounties or whales. Unlike the other towns, they were big and strong enough to deal with such an invader. They knew that, any native knew that, it was no lie. To them, this was just a raid that would probably cause a bit of damage but end quickly enough.

And they are correct.

Though, with how unfriendly they are, who else would know? To Marshall, who really was approaching the town at his own slow pace, weighed down not by his armor but by the stupid cold that he so detested, dressed snugly on the inside and cloaked on the outside, Sedna Island was just another place with a good deal of money that would be easy to take down.

Maybe other people who were unfortunate enough to be passing by would think that they were defenseless too. It's not like the natives would easily tell a stranger about their defenses.

[Vio]

^{Penelope #1}

---

“Tch…!”

“No vacancies…”

“Get lost!”

And thus, Sedna had maintained its reputation — not as the coldest land, but as a country with some of the world’s coldest people. To welcome foreigners seemed almost taboo here and, although there were the odd exceptions, it was rather certain that this would not be one of them. Schwartz Penelope’s arrival that morning had made it very clear to her that she wasn’t welcome, though that had hardly deterred her from going about her business. Still, she had thus far been turned away thrice from stays that might have even considered housing travellers, not an actual inn in sight.

“Push comes to shove, I can just build myself a little cabin somewhere out of town,” she murmured to herself, walking back down the main street of town. Many eyes were cast her way, but not in the way she desired. No, these were cold glares at an unrecognisable face from a community so closely knit that even the slightest oddity stood out a mile. What they saw was a moderately sized young woman, jet of hair and teal of eye, dressed in a light grey hooded sweater and blue skinny jeans. A mauve scarf about her neck seemed about the only additional protection against the cold she wore — a choice she mildly regretted.

“Bandits! Bandits sighted approaching from the west!” came the yelling of a grizzled man in heavy wear as he hurriedly raced up the winding cobbles of First Street, prompting those he passed by to hasten their paces and return to their homes. Though only a few words were spoken, Penny got the gist — a monster of a man was approaching by land, matching the description of rumours that had been starting to spread across the seas of the North Blue.

Bandits…? Well, these people aren’t exactly friendly, but, Miss Schwartz considered, a hand placed upon the hilt of one of the two sabres at her side as her own pace turned from slow and unguided to brisk and purposeful. They’re still people — people I have to help…! Drive determined, it took just minutes for the girl to make her way to the southern side of the island, breaking to the west along the trail through the gnarled, grey woodlands where the mines and quarries were located.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope finds the hospitality of the people of Sedna lacking but, upon hearing of the approaching bandit, still decides to take on the challenge for the peoples’ sake!}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

"This cold can go suck shit.." A certain bandit muttered to himself, voice constantly muffled by both the large scarf that covered his mouth, the loud crunching of snow below his armored feet, the screaming of the men who ran away from him, the raging winds that carried the cold and the snow. They were not his targets, he had not even paid them any mind, though it seemed that they recognized him. In a certain way, Marshall respected it. It was strength in its own way, not of body, but of mind - being knowledgeable was power, after all.

Maybe it meant that he'd actually have to put in some effort to plunder that Sedna town, it's surely help the Tyrant warm up with the fun work-out that that'd be. Still, he hadn't seen anyone in a while, not since he scared off those workers, so intuition indicated that they were likely holed down in their town. No attempts at communication or negotiations before his arrival, so he was guessing that they would fight once he approached.

"That'll be tr--.. Hm?" So someone DID come for him! At a distance, still with harsh winds roaring through the snowy plains, it was hard to identify any faces, bodies, anything more than a vague sillhouette - but it seemed only one person. A weird way of sending terms of surrender, as they usually came in groups. Either that or this was really a challenge.
Actually, considering Sedna's lousy infamy with the rest of the North seas, it could actually be a challenge. Considering that above-zero possibility, Marshall was quick to arm himself with his favorite mace, held tightly in his right hand, his march having come to a full stop, awaiting the arrival of whoever was coming.

[Vio]

^{Penelope #2}

---

“The wind’s more welcoming than the townsfolk,” Penny murmured as she endured the chill rising from the coast, breeze faintly disturbing dry, fallen snow and the rough branches of the dark grey trees that stood about. By this point, she was starting to further regret her choice of attire, silently wishing for an additional layer of protection against the more wintry outlands. Sedna, fortunately, was merely a pitstop in her travels, her intent to leave sooner rather than later.

It was then that her eyes settled upon a lone figure — an entity whose aesthetic begged and borrowed from worldly folklore. A large being whose height was only made more and more obvious with every step she took, clad in a bleached suit of armour overlaid by thick furs to guard against the island’s harsher climes. How the crier had identified them as a bandit and not some sort of forest-dwelling beast the girl could not fathom, but lo and behold, the figure very much fit the bill.

She stopped. Waited.

“Huh… Well, you’re not what I was expecting,” Miss Schwartz stated, honest if perhaps a bit blunt as she thumbed the guard of one of her sabres, still sheathed. “No complaints from me though! Anyway, you finished standing there menacingly? Pretty sure bandits are supposed to raid places, not just stand in the cold contemplating poor life choices… No offence,” she continued, all the while analysing the goliath and paying mind to her immediate surroundings. Easily her height twice over and then some, he was most definitely alone; a sure sign that he had the strength to back up his perhaps brazen approach of Sedna.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope meets the bandit on the outskirts of town, analysing him.}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

They were now close enough, to the point where Marshall could see the girl facing him. Not someone that actually felt like a threat, in fact, it felt like a bit of an insult. Someone that small and frail-looking would never be able to whistand a proper smack of his mace and, besides, he heard that Sedna Island was full of people with Pirate-Hunting routes. People with roots like that wouldn't dare send out someone this unnassuming, even if she had a sharp tongue on her.

One of his huge arms raised towards her, pointing a finger directly at her, his voice finally making itself heard, those powerful lungs carrying his mighty voice wide and far -- specially in such an empty space.
"The people of Sedna did not ask you to help them. Why would you put yourself in danger for someone unrelated to you?" The cruel giant asked her, taking a few steps forward, his own soul thirsting for the excitement of battle or, at the very least, a satisfyingly loud kill.

The ground below him singed into vapors, the grass hidden beneath charreid into warm ashes in the middle of the snow. The air around him seemed to warm up, whipping up a small breeze around the area as cold met warmth, as giant faced the small.
From his armor, right in the middle of his chestplate, something began to grow out, taking its ivory white form into the shape of something that resembled a weapon. To him, the size of a claymore, with a blunt X-Shaped mace that could --and had-- crushed both stone and bone before, now in his right, dominant hand and ready to attack.

Before he did, though, he wanted to hear her answer. Her justification.

[Vio]

^{Penelope #3}

---

Voice booming from behind the ivory helm, the figure before her posed a query. An honest question, though why he cared was beyond Miss Schwartz as she held her ground, even as phalanges pointed to her — even as his bleached carapace morphed itself into the shape of an almighty weapon. If it had not been obvious before by the nature of his armour, it was now more than ever. Just like her, this bandit had partaken of the Devil’s Fruit.

^{“No, they didn’t,” Penny replied:
“But does that matter…?”}

Left hand grasped a yellow-wrapped hilt, drawing it from its mauve scabbard. Not once did she take her eyes off the Goliath, nor did she show any signs of fear. If anything, the almost cocky smile upon her face told tales of what kind of person she was — not enough to truly explain her reasoning, however. All the same, she continued to entertain the marauder in his question.

“Two reasons,” she said, raising her free hand, index and middle digit protruding to emphasise the number. “One, that’s what people should do — stand up for each other — and I stand up for the people. Two,” her grin widened somewhat, her grip upon her sabre adjusting as her would-be opponent’s bizarre ‘blade’ was raised into a ready grip, right hand still raised before her in a loose, open palm. “I can’t resist a challenge.”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope answers the bandit’s question, preparing herself for whatever may come next.}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

If one could see under his helmet, then it'd be seen as clear as a cloudless day, clearer than the purest of waters and the cleanest of glasses. More transparent than clean air itself, it was Marshall's face of absolute, unrestrained, unending and unquestionable contempt. Not once, but twice did he meet this type of despisable creature in less than a week, this.. altruistic creature that couldn't help but stick their nose where they shouldn't.

It actually earned a more emotional response out of him, a barely veiled rage that surfaced from him. "Stand up for the people who would gladly lay you down at my feet to save themselves - like any reasonable person does. You "altruistic" fools disgust me, self serving, suicidal fools who can't even be honest about their desires. Admit it, you only seek self satisfaction, o' one who "cannot resist a challenge". Pfeh."

His bubbling emotions finally aired out and released, he decided to go ahead and throw out the first attack, deciding that he wouldn't try to stretch out the fight for as long as he could to get more fun out of it. If she wanted a challenge, then he felt like challenging her to survive.

His left arm was raised, his hand open and pointed at her from a fair distance. From it, a mechanism seemingly loudly fired off, a three-fingered claw attached to a chain flying at great speed towards her. They moved autonomously, large enough to wrap around her entire torso. That they were trying to grab her was an obvious fact.

[Vio]

^{Penelope #4}

---

^{“You ‘altruistic’ fools disgust me,” he spat:
“Admit it. You only seek self-satisfaction…”}

“Looks like I hit a nerve,” Penny murmured, smile shifting into a little more neutral of an expression as the ivory infidel made his first move. Appropriate for it to be the one in white that acted first — less so for him to reveal his game strategy from the get go, so she mused. Still, he’d thrown his hand in rather literally as a bleached claw came careening directly at her. Already poised for action, the speed of the projectile was of little consequence as she flung herself to the side, effortlessly rolling back into a ready stance as she touched down.

“Neat trick,” she couldn’t help but quip, taking the opportunity to circle and close the gap before the flying claw retracted. Her approach was angular, unlike his own. Where the claw was perhaps the Lance in a game of shōgi, Miss Schwartz was very much moving akin to a Bishop, yet saw no reason to advance. Indeed, still mobile, she cut her approach at the edge of his perceived reach. Too close to be easily targeted by the claw, yet just out of reach of his melee weapon unless he pushed in; a calculated move on her part.

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope dodges the bandit’s initial attack, taking the opportunity to reposition herself just outside of his weapon’s reach.}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

Off to a good start by his standards, Marshall saw the claw whizz right past her as the girl stepped to the side as to avoid the claw's straight-shot. And to keep herself out of the claw's range, she also stepped towards him, careful to stay out of the range of his mace. A clear and accurate evaluation that he saw through quite quickly.

"I admit I underestimated you, tiny hypocrite." Forced to admit his mistake, the bandit decided to play a bit more seriously by turning his back towards Penny. As he was turning, a mechanism banged on the inside of his claw, the chain attached to the claw retracting even quicker than when it was shot out. Due to his turning movement, however, coupled with the sudden force applied to the heavy end of the chain as it was forcefully returned, it reeled in not in a straight line but a low, erratic and wide arc, one that would hit Penny for sure if she wasn't quick about her dodging!

Not to mention, should she be unfortunate enough to be hit by the retracting chain, physics would continue to be her enemy, the heavy claw going on an arc around her instead, wrapping her around in chains that, soon enough, would be tightened harshly due to the mechanism still retracting the chain.

[Vio]

^{Penelope #5}

---

Turning his back on me…? You’re supposed to face your opponent–?! Realisation hit her hard, though probably not as hard as the flying claw would have if she had been any slower on the uptake. Instead, Miss Schwartz was met with the chain that bound the projectile to its master, her movements not swift enough to completely warrant a perfect dodge. At the very least, she had managed to move in such a way as to avoid getting near enough split in two by the tether, but an awkward flip had resigned her to an entirely different fate.

“Ah– Crap,” was all Penny managed to mutter as she felt the weapon’s leash strike her thigh, somewhere above the knee, and knock her entirely off course. Twisting, erratic momentum failed to wrap her leg, but all the same had forced the swordswoman into a rough and tumble landing on the cold dirt. Far from the graceful landing she had intended, she had to forgo her grip upon her sabre, which landed a couple of feet off from her. A quick recovery and a roll to the side allowed her to scoop it up in her right hand, scrambling back to her feet in the process and poised to parry if needed.

“Huh,” she huffed, realising that her position was less than favourable. That clever trick of his — a move that Penelope had certainly not seen coming — had actually served to knock her into his main weapon’s effective reach. With fresh perspective, she could not help but jest: “You’re a big guy…”

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope realises what Marshall is doing, but doesn’t dodge it quite in time, placing her closer than she intended to get so early on.}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

A resounding success, considering that his first attack had missed, with the loud lashing of heavy chains striking the girl's thigh and sending her into an uncontrolled tumble, straight into the range of his skull-crushing mace! A beast of a weapon that could topple stone walls, that could turn someone's skeleton into dust! The girl was doing her best to quickly recover and grab her weapon again, something that did not escape his eyes.

"A light grip, easily broken. Speed fighter, as expected." He muttered to himself as the claw loudly docked back into his gauntlet, seamlessly fusing itself into his armor once again, massive body facing her yet again. With the way his right leg reared back a bit, he didn't care that he was telegraphing his next move, needing a bit more mental information on how she'd deal with an unfavorable situation.

"..For you." A moment of weakness on his ultra-serious facade, Marshall joined her in the jesting, just to cut the moment short by stomping his right foot forward, using the incredible strength of his leg to pull himself forward quite quickly. As he'd do so, his grip on his weapon shifted to hold the weapon horizontally, with a slight diagonal leaning towards the ground. As he moved forward, his body spun once rapidly, swinging the weapon harshly against Penelope. The advancement was intended to catch her on a possible roll/dodge, trying to cut off her avenues of escape.

[Vio]

^{Penelope #6}

---

Time to react was minimal, Miss Schwartz’s position far too compromising for her to be able to evade in a timely fashion — her opponent capitalising. The swing of that mace, no matter where she moved, was destined to strike her in some vicious capacity. There was no parrying this, either. But then, at the last possible second, she smirked. It seemed the challenger that had dared to approach was a worthy opponent, and so, her left hand raised as if to catch the incoming mace.

Pop! Neither the sound of breaking bones nor of snapping steel filled the air between them. Rather, an altogether very different scene and sound played out, as Penny’s hand simply phased through the ivory club, strange lines spreading throughout its structure as if it were a block of cheese being pushed through a cutter. And, where Marshall had once been swinging his weapon, he would instead find himself holding only a small portion of its original structure — a grip turned rather squared.

^{“Heh! Not bad at all,” she smirked:
“Made me play my trump card early!”}

Where once the bandit’s mace had been, now floated a number of cubes of differing sizes, perfectly ‘cut’ and suspended in the air about the young swordswoman. With little hesitation in her movements, the very same hand quickly swiped the air, fingers tapping three individual cubes crafted from the weapon’s core — the largest three she could readily have made. From still and floating, each suddenly shot forth at her touch, hurtling towards Marshall’s helm and upper body with speed and force.

SPOILER: Click to show

{

^{“Blockbuster!”}

}

_{Using a large cube extracted from an object, Penelope hurls it with force at a target to strike them.}

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope cannot dodge Marshall’s attack, so instead is forced to use her Mosaic technique to interrupt his weapon’s structure, turning it to cubes before launching a quick counterattack.}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

For a moment, there was something in him that was already laughing at her, expecting his inevitable victory, knowing just as well as the girl did that there was no way that, at her current level, she'd be able to dodge or block such a perfect swing. It was a part of him that Marshall hated with a burning passion, having learned through harsh lessons that, for as hipocritical as the "altruists" might be, they have a tendency to never stay down, not until their four limbs have been turned to literal mush. They also tend to have a trick up their sleeve, maybe several. The only time when one knows that they are out of tricks is when they get desperate, reaffirm their vapid values and "give it their all".

Right now, he was caught out by the girl's second trick, a devil fruit that clearly countered his. A small stumble on his side as his huge, thick and heavy mace became a whole lot lighter in his hands, the power he was putting behind the swing to balance himself out going completely out of whack. That small but crucial distraction left his armored face unprotected just as three heavy, solid bone blocks smashed into it. With their weight and the girl's ability, his massive armored body was actually airbound for a few moments, crashing hard into the snow below, cushioning his fall.

With a few grunts of discomfort, the man was quick to stagger himself back to his feet, his helmet falling partly into pieces, leaving but a bit of his head still covered, up to his left eye. The rest of his face, his nose, his other eye, his lips, his right cheek, it was all revealed - and by the expression on his face, the bandit was absolutely livid that his powers would be, in a way, hijacked and turned on their master.

Usually, bandits and pirates are people too poor or unsightly to do anything else with their lives. Sometimes both. With a life that usually brings not many spoils, not enough to afford luxuries at least, they are usually quite unclean to boot. All in all, one can't expect to find much in the realm of beauty in outlaws.
That man, though, Marshall, stuck out like a sore thumb, however. White hair that reached his shoulders, yet kept in wonderful, soft and wooly condition, a rather "strong" face, with high cheekbones and a solid chin, sharp eyes and full lips. Not to mention a skin so smooth and free of blemishes that it'd creep out the most self absorbed of princesses. Were it not for his currently bruised, slowly bleeding nose, some people would say that he's perfect.

Marshall carried himself that way. For better and for a LOT worse.
"Y-You..! Damn brat, you sullied my face!! My poor nose, aaahh.. my poor, poor noseee.. It'll take at least three days to look perfect again!" Slowly, bone was covering his head again, spreading over his body like some sort of parasite, once again protecting him. For his helmet's next design, Marshall made a mental note to strengthen his jaw and his nose. "Trangressions won't go unpunished."
To get his revenge, he let his chain free again, though he didn't launch it this time. Guessing that she had both a range limit on how far she could control her blocks, as well as that she needed to touch something with her hands to cube it, just like she did with her mace, he began swinging his chain around quite violently, much like a whip. Crashing against the floor, against rocks and against trees, it was soon raising quite the chaotic hell in the arena. So much so that, amidst a cloud of snow, the closed claw flew out of its cover, over her left shoulder. A sudden tug of the chains snapped them straight and the weight of the claw made it move around erratically, trying to hit at her back!

---

OOC

Note: Describing whip combat is way more difficult than I ever expected. If you don't understand something, DM me and I'll explain everything as best as I can!

[Vio]

^{Penelope #7}

---

Well, that was more effective that I thought, Miss Schwartz noted as she watched the goliath’s form crash down in the snow. It seemed her assault had done something, proven when he recovered and revealed a fractured helm and bloodied nose. Perhaps what she saw then was something else — something that continued to defy the expectations of banditry. Your average, every day mountain bandit wasn’t exactly expected to be handsome or gentlemanly or enormous. This one had two of the three going for him, at least.

^{“Y– You…! Damn brat,” he hissed:
“Transgressions won’t go unpunished.”}

“Says the guy transgressing…,” Penelope muttered, teal eyes focused upon him again as he began to thrash about with his tethered claw. Dust and snow and debris filled the air around him, partially obfuscating, but she had no intention of entering the cloud of her own accord. Her foe had other ideas, casting out the grappling hook once more with ferocity, forcing her to dodge as it sailed over her shoulder. Ivory chains snapped tight, the originator’s movements hidden by the veil.

SPOILER: Click to show

{

^{“Blockade!”}

}

_{Gathering deconstructed materials, Penelope quickly pieces together a shield or small wall with which to intercept an enemy attack, or otherwise uses larger blocks to parry or block an incoming attack.}

Hands reached out, brushing against a couple of blocks that remained from transfiguring the man’s mace, sending them flying into position. Sadly, she lacked the speed and reflexes to evade the attack — to properly mount a defence against such an unanticipated assault. Sure enough, the flying fist and its similarly bony blocks met in the air, the latter serving to do little more than slow the attack down. What Penny felt was the chained claw slam into her side, knocking her away into the snow.

I slowed it down, and it wasn’t exactly controlled in the first place, but he still hits hard… Landing softened by the packed white, though still a little rough, she exhaled shaky clouds of breath as she regained her balance. A few more blocks and she might have actually been able to stop the attack. Turning it to cubes was not an immediately viable option in such a short span of time. Well, I guess it’s time to turn this into a snowball fight, she silently mused, hand swiping through wintry powder before gently tapping each and every cube in quick succession. From where she had landed, at least a dozen cubes of snow suddenly flew in Marshall’s direction, aimed for the face…

---

SPOILER: Click to show

{Post Synposis:}
_{Penelope’s success is short lived when Marshall’s next attack comes at her unexpectedly, forcing her to use Blockade to slow the attack down and lessen the blow. Recovering, Penelope uses Mosaic upon the pile of snow she landed in, sending it at Marshall with Blockbuster.}

---

Schwartz Penelope | #e0b0ff
Marshall Marrow | #eeeeee
Miscellaneous [NPC] | #222222 | #555555 | #888888 | #bbbbbb

[Smiley]

The blocks she had were not much, that was something that Marshall instantly noticed after she shoddily slowed down his attack and yet, got knocked down hard to the floor. Another idea brewed in his mind, one that solidified itself once she insulted him by peltering his face with harmless snowballs, making him feel angrier and angrier by the moment. Not yet to cloud his judgement and force him into a reckless assault, he knew very well the consequences of losing oneself to rage could lead to - it was the only reason he ever managed to defeat Captain Johnathan.

"Annoying brat." With the chain going back to its place, Marshall simply raised yet another one of those giant maces, holding onto it tight, letting it slap the floor below him a few times, crushing the very earth beneath him in small spots where the falanges sunk themselves. Raising it yet again, he got into a proper position for a dash, his left hand raising itself to support his right shoulder, preparing for a swing that, if it hit her, it'd very well crush her own bones into dust. "Suffer!"

The furious bandit roared out, dashing directly into the girl, having refused to run for a while now. The truth of it was that, even though he was that tall and so heavily armored, Marshall's speed was way beyond normal measures, even in the snow that did nothing to slow down his pace. Not to mention that, whenever he performs "Decisive Charge", he puts even more strength into his legs, just to up his speed.

And yet, when he was to swing his mace down at the girl who he figured wouldn't dodge, he stopped midway. Abusing his height advantage, he didn't continue the swing of his mace, keeping it out of the reach of her hands.. and, instead, chose to put his speed into his let instead, swinging it as harshly as he could, straight towards her midsection: not that he was particularly good at kicking, not yet at least, but a kick's still a kick, specially from one as strong as he - not to mention that, even if the armro on his leg was destroyed into cubes, it'd do nothing to stop the muscled tree-trunk of a leg from crashing into her.