Chapter 3
Our Destination
"And... Done!" Luffy looked up proud at his work while everyone else would just look at it embarrassed. Luffy had taken the time to paint the Strawhat Jolly Roger over top of Laboon's scars, and suffice it to say, there was a reason they didn't use the first flag they made.
"This will be a sign of our promise to fight again! So don't bash your head against the wall and make it disappear by the time we come back, you hear!?"
*Buoohhh*
"Good!" Luffy smiles up at the whale satisfied with his work. Crocus just looks up appreciatively.
"You know, I got to say Luffy. This has been one of your better ideas," Maxwell crosses his arms as he looks up at Laboon.
"Of course! My ideas are always great! Shishishishi!"
"Was breaking the mast really necessary though? We need that to sail."
"...I have no idea what you're talking about," Luffy starts whistling trying to deny his involvement.
"You're still a bad liar, Luffy." Laboon dives back into the water, probably to got get his own lunch.
"AH!" They hear Nami scream from the picnic table.
"What? You're being so noisy," complains Luffy.
"What's the matter, my dear Nami!? If it's about the meal, then it's all ready~!" Sanji appears with a stack of dishes all over his person. He had prepared an elephant tuna he bought back at Loguetown and was serving it as lunch.
Usopp has followed him up the ladder on the cliff side. "Ugh... I'll take a brief break from the ship repairs and eat."
"Hey Usopp, where's Zoro at?" asked Maxwell.
Usopp scoffs, "No good sleepyhead's taking a nap on the ship. Who cares." He was still irritable from acting as a handyman, by himself.
"Alright," Maxwell turns to their navigator, "Now what seems to be the problem Nami?"
"The compass! It's broken! It's pointing all over the place!" Maxwell looks down as he takes a seat for lunch. He sees the needle spinning around in it's chamber.
"...Hmm... It appears you've came here without knowing anything," says Crocus. "I'm quite amazed. Did you come here just to throw your lives away? I've said before that common sense fails to uphold in this ocean. That compass isn't broken."
Nami looks up at Crocus, "Then is it the magnetic field?"
"Yes... There exists a geomagnetic anomaly across the Grand Line, due to many islands here being rich with various minerals. Not only that, the currents and winds here are as unpredictable as they can be. As a navigator you should well understand how terrifying that can be. If you venture out into this ocean without knowing anything, you'll die for sure."
"True... Without a reliable way to tell one's directions, it's all hopeless. I... had no idea."
"Wait... Oh yeah! Nami, I grabbed this back in Loguetown," Maxwell takes off the Log Pose on his wrist. "I didn't get a chance to give you this earlier. It's supposedly some sort of special compass meant for the Grand Line."
Crocus laughs, "Haha, good lad. That there is called a Log Pose. It's a compass that records magnetic fields. It's quite hard to get one of those outside the Grand Line."
"So that's what this is," Luffy brings out his own Log Pose.
Nami take the Log Pose form her crewmates, "Thank you Max. AND WHY THE HECK DO YOU HAVE ONE!?" Nami slugs Luffy. He wasn't really affected by it, but he still rubbed his head.
"Those two weirdos from earlier accidentally left it on our ship."
"Weirdos?"
"Ms. Wednesday and Mr. 9. They'll probably be back for that," Maxwell turns back to his fish. Luffy still complains about being hit on the head.
Nami puts one of them on her wrist, "So this is a Log Pose... There's no markings on it or anything..."
"The various islands across the Grand Line all have their own magnetic field surrounding them," Crocus explained. "So in short, you'll have to record the magnetic field interaction between any two islands before you can progress onto the next island."
"In this ocean where one can't use any normal means of path finding, this log pose represents the only reliable way for one to find his way. From this mountain, you'll choose one of seven magnetic fields to record, which'll lead you to different islands." Maxwell blinks as he listens to Crocus. He had no idea the Log Pose was that valuable. Now he knew why he was charged so much for it.
"But now matter which island you start with, the paths will all converge into one, eventually. And the name of the very last island one can reach in the Grand Line is Laugh Tale, the final stop in the Grand Line. The only ones who've confirmed it's existence in history is the Pirate King and his crew. It is an island of legends."
"Then does that mean One Piece is on that island!?" Usopp asks, getting excited.
"Who knows. Although that is the most likely theory, nobody has ever reached there to confirm it."
"Enough thinking," Luffy bites down on a fish spine and grins. "We can see for ourselves once we're there!" He finishes his food, Ah... Should we get going now? I'm finished eating and all."
"Did you just eat everything by yourself!?" demanded Sanji. He just realized all the elephant tuna was gone.
Maxwell held his plate in the air as he was still eating his fish, "This is why you don't Luffy alone with food." Luffy had taken everyone else's portions while they were listening to Crocus.
"Why you rubber crap head! That food was... was... FOR NAMI TO ENJOY!" Sanji kicks Luffy in the back of the head sending him over the cliff.
...
What he hadn't anticipated though, was by sending Luffy flying, he inadvertently broke the log pose Nami had been wearing.
"YOU TWO CAN JUST GO COOL YOUR HEADS DOWN IN THE SEA!" she kicks Sanji off the cliff too. Nami takes a breath and then sit back down as if nothing ever happened, "Luckily we have a spare."
Maxwell chuckles seeing Nami able to put the boys in their place. Normally he'd be worried seeing someone fall off a cliff, but this world has proven to exceed his former perceptions. That, he's finally not alone in trying to scold Luffy.
"Hey Max, think you can tell us more about your home?" Usopp asks Maxwell. He was relieved that they weren't going to die by getting lost. And so changed the subject.
"Hm?" He puts down his plate, "Alright... What would you like to know?"
"Ooh! Any strange animals from your home? There's got to be some unique ones," Nami suggests.
Maxwell hums, "Strange animals... I suppose one comes to mind."
Usopp leans on the table, "Let's here it!"
"Okay. There was a little critter back home called a nug. Imagine a hairless rabbit, with beady eyes, a moose like snout, and little human hands on each of it's limbs."
"What? No way. That sounds a little far fetched," Usopp challenges.
"Oh it's real alright." Maxwell thinks back to when he first left the Circle. Funny little thing had stuck it's head over a log right beside him when he sat down. "They could be found all over Thedas, though they prefer the warm, dark, damp places of the world. They'll eat just about anything too. They dig for worms and bugs, but they can even eat dirt and metals if pressed. People would race them at festivals and the like."
"Like turtles?"
"I suppose... Heard some Orlesian nobles likes keeping them as pets. Dwarves did it too, but mostly had them as a food resource."
"Hold up, dwarves!?" Usopp exclaims, "You mean like hammer swinging, bearded midgets, that make good weapons!?"
"You've heard of them?"
"Dude! They're a complete myth in all the blues!" Usopp lays his chin on the table, "Lucky... next thing you know, you'll say you had elves back home too."
"There were elves back in Thedas." "Oh come on!"
"Hey guys! Guess who we found!" Luffy and Sanji had come back, wet from their dip in the drink. However, two others had joined them, Mr. 9 and Ms. Wednesday.
Maxwell jumps out of his seat and prepares a fireball. Luffy however gets in front of him and throws his hand up, "Whoa! Max, chill! They're friendly. Well, at least this time." Maxwell looks at his captain for a moment and then relents, extinguishing the fire and sitting back down.
"Ah, I suppose we have inquire your entire crew," says Mr. 9. Both whalers had goosebumps with the way Maxwell was eyeing them.
Was it undeserved? Perhaps, but Maxwell knew better than to let his guard down before an enemy. Back in Thedas, you fought something until it was good and dead. Particularly for the Darkspawn, but the Templars he encountered in the wild hadn't allowed such leniency either. And this world had it's own dangers to deal with, given their profession.
"Zoro's taking a nap. He'll be fine. So what do you want?" asks Luffy. The captain joins everyone at the table and even sits on top of it as they turn their attention to the duo. The crew was on guard, even if they did come back with their captain.
The two whalers get on their knees and Mr. 9 bows respectfully, "I humbly request to hire your crew. We require transportation back to Whiskey Peek."
"Whiskey Peak? What's that?" Luffy tilts his head
"It's the name of our town," Maxwell notices the shifty yes in Mr. 9's nervous expression.
"So you want us to take you there because you lost your ship?" Nami leans in closer, looking Mr. 9 dead in the eye, "Don't you think that's asking a bit too much, Mr. 9? Especially considering you tried to kill the whale and all."
"Just who are you guys anyway?" asked Usopp.
"I'm a king." "Liar."
"Owowowow!" Nami had pinched and pulled Mr. 9's cheek as he tried to negotiate with the Strawhats. Soon enough though, he gets out of Nami's grip and both prostrate themselves before the crew. "We cannot say! But please! Take us back to our town and we swear we'll return the favour!"
"We'd really rather not keep hush-hush about everything," pleads Ms Wednesday, "but 'mystery' is our organization's motto. And so we absolutely cannot tell you anything more. Please help us out from the kindness of your hearts...!"
Crocus decided to add in his two cents to their conversation, "Don't listen to them. They're nothing but trouble." Maxwell had half a mind to agree with him and be done with it. But he decided to let Luffy and Nami handle it. Nami had more of a silver tongue then he ever would.
"Well... we accidentally broke our log pose, but do you still want a ride?"
"W-What!? You broke it!?" Mr. 9 takes a closer look at the device she was holding, "And isn't that ours!?"
"How dare you try to take advantage of our misfortune when you're just as misfortunate as we are!" screams Ms Wednesday.
"Oh right! I forgot to mention we have a spare," Nami shows off the other log pose.
They immediately go back to grovelling, "We beseech your kindness, madam..."
"Ok. They can come along if they want," says Luffy.
Both passengers had looked relieved until Maxwell spoke up, "I do warn you, however. You will be watched. Our captain is kind enough and tend to go with the flow, but I will not. Beware, that if I see any funny business while you are aboard our ship, you'll have they pleasure of dealing with me, personally. And then you'll have the choice of being deep-fried, barbecued, or put on thin ice. Understood?"
"Eek! Yes sir!" Both agents straighten and salute the mage.
"Oi, Max! You better not touch one single hair on—" "Oh put a sock in it, Sanji."
"...Yohohoho, Yo-hohoho..."
"Hm?" Maxwell turns his head, thinking he heard something.
"...Yohohoho, Yo-hohoho..."
Maxwell furrows his brow. He didn't see anyone singing.
"Something wrong, Max?" asked Luffy. He noticed his rather serious expression.
"..."
"...No. Just thought I heard something, that's all."
"Alright then," Everyone gathered on the Going Merry, which was fully repaired. Crocus could only watch them as they prepared to set sail, "Your log pose should have been recorded by now. Is it properly pointing towards the place on the map?"
"Yup! It's pointing towards Whiskey Peak," says Nami, she was looking at their log pose while holding a map in her hands.
"You sure about this kid?" Crocus was talking to Luffy, "Picking Whiskey Peak all just because of these ruffians... The only place you can choose which route to take is here, you know."
"It's fine. If I don't like the route, I can always sail once around and chose a different route."
"I see...," Crocus just grins at Luffy's plucky attitude. The agents were trying to hold back a laugh but flinch when they see Maxwell looking at them.
"Bye then, flower gramps." "Thanks for everything!"
"See ya then," he watches as the sails magically set into place and the Going Merry sets off.
"We're going now, Whale!" Luffy calls back to Laboon, who gives his own marine mammal farewell.
*BUOOOHHH!*
"Perhaps they're the pirates we've been waiting for... That captain has got quite a mysterious aura about him. Hmph, and that magician boy, he's certainly not from around here. What do you think, Roger...?"
"Yohohoho, Yo-hohoho..."