Chapter 9
The Puffing Tom
It has been about a week since the events on Long Ring Long Land. The Strawhat Pirates had stayed on the island for about 4 days before they decided it was safe to travel. They needed some time to recover after their encounter with Aokiji.
Robin and Luffy had been recovering healthily, thanks to Chopper. Luffy was demanding, but at least he kept to the bed. Robin just followed the doctors orders. She was an ideal patient, from what Maxwell had observed.
…It was also sort of awkward between them at the moment. The rest of the crew were fine, but the suspicion built between Robin, Maxwell, and Aokiji had them at a stand off. Worse, all of the suspicion had been subtle. A slight flinch at being touched. Close mouths when answering questions. Long silences. The fake smiles...
Nursing wasn't all the crew did though. While they were anchored, it allowed them to do some work around the ship. Usopp did a bunch of inspections and repairs on the Merry. He was going over everything, inside, outside, checking what he may have missed and making sure they were sea worthy. Nami occasionally joined him, she was taking inventory of everything they had in the hold. What they had, and what they needed, and what they would want come the next island. They still had to find a shipwright to check the Going Merry.
Chopper, when he wasn't paying attention to his patients, actually explored the grasslands. The little doctor was out and about collecting herbs and plants for his medicines and elixirs. Maxwell took over the medical care when he was around the ship.
And when he wasn't around, Maxwell trained. Zoro and Sanji of course joined him. They had to regularly check in with the rest of the crew, but they all wanted to become stronger. They constantly did all out spars. All three of them were attacking one another with kicks, swings, and slashes. Zoro made leaps and bounds with his swordsmanship. He made sure to practice more than just Santoryu. Sanji moved like a demon. His legs hit harder now, and they could now be coated with a layer of fire. As for Maxwell... Well, suffice it to say, he just became a lot more dangerous.
"Mm... The weather is nice today!" Nami stretched out in a beach chair. It was warm today, sunny even, perfect weather to bask in the sun. She was relaxing up on the prow deck. A fruity drink sat to the side on a coffee table, with ice cubes, fruit, and a straw inside.
"NAMI~" The navigator looked down to see Sanji rushing up the steps. When he arrived, he bowed, presenting a dish, "This is Potato Paille, my newest invention. Would you like to try some?"
Nami accepted the dish and took a bite. Paille was basically a smaller version of french fries. Only these fries were melded together into clumps and were still finger food, "Mm... Delicious!"
"I CAN DIE HAPPY!" Sanji yelled out to the sea.
"SHUT UP, BASTARD! I'M TRYING TO SLEEP!" Though it seems he may have woken up Zoro from his nap. He was leaning against the rails on the same deck.
"Yes, yes. I'm sorry for waking you up, Mr. Cactus." "WHAT WAS THAT, DARTBOARD!?" "D—! WHAT WAS THAT!?" "Dartboard Eyebrow." "WHAT!?"
"Ugh... Must you guys start arguing?" Maxwell had also been taking a nap. He was out of his armor, basking in the sun, while siting in a beach chair, with a news paper over his eyes. Actually everyone was out of their usual outfits and in casual clothing. Zoro and Sanji's yelling had just woken him up.
"LU~FFY! LU~FFY! LU~FFY!"
Maxwell lifted one end of the paper to look down at the main deck. Usopp and Chopper were cheering and clapping their hands, chanting Luffy's name. Then Luffy came out, "TA-DA~!" and the two crewmates started cheering louder.
Luffy pooped a bag of flour. He froze mid step as he was running and was making a ridiculous yelling expression on his face, "Ack! It's the frozen me!" The captain posed like he had become a cap-cicle again. In this pose he hoped on one leg, trying to keep the rest of his body still. Well, at least until he collided with the wall. Chopper and Usopp laughed so hard they were rolling around and banging the floor boards. Their captain did another pose on the ground, which only made them laugh harder.
Nami looked down, unimpressed, "Hmph... You know you almost died from that... How can you joke about it!?"
"Hahahaha. Did it look real!?" The captain dusted himself off. Usopp and Chopper had just enjoyed the performance. Then Luffy saw the plate in her hands, "Eh? Nami what are you eating!?"
"Paille. It's a potato dish."
"Potato?" Luffy jumped up to hang of the railing, "Hey, Sanji. I'm hungry too!"
"Is sleeping all you do around here!?" "I sleep whenever I want. Are you trying to pick a fight!?"
Maxwell sighed. They were still arguing. He understood a competitive rivalry, but Sanji and Zoro took it way too far. The mage was about to split them up, but then the cabin door opened.
"Robin!"
The archeologist stood in the door way, wearing a winter coat. It was a little odd for the weather, but not unwarranted. She had been frozen completely solid after all.
Chopper ran across the deck to look up at her, "Robin, how're you feeling? Do you feel any chills?"
She smiles back at Chopper, "I'm feeling a lot better... Thanks to you, Doctor." Chopper then starts dancing with a goofy smile.
"Oh... Being called a doctor doesn't make you happy, you jerk!" "You sure looks happy."
Robin and Maxwell's eyes meet for a moment but they were interrupted by Nami, "Okay. But don't push yourself. You should rest more. Even though you suffered the same injury, don't feel obligated to get up—" Nami then grabbed Luffy's cheek, turning his head, "—just because this guy is so lively."
Sanji then noticed Robin was up and about, and stopped arguing with Zoro, "Robin, I'll make you something warm. What would you like?"
"Um... May I have a cup of coffee?"
"OF COURSE~" Sanji rushes inside to make a fresh pot of joe.
Nami decides to follow him in, joining Robin as they head for the kitchen, "Sanji~ Don't forget to give everyone else a serving of paille!"
"YES, NAMI~!" Well, that solves the issue of lunch.
Maxwell sighs as he relaxes back into his chair. It seemed like now was a good time to relax as any. He takes a pinch of the paille he got from Sanji and munches on it. It had a nice crunch, especially as it crumbled in your mouth. Sanji made good food, as usual.
The mage looks up at the sky as he thought back to training, back on the island.
Maxwell had remastered his Spirit School spells. It had been a lot simpler starting from the basics. Magic always had it's risks, but he made it in record time. They were his most defensive spells. Of course, he hadn't tried using the Revival spell. It required a benevolent spirit to restore a person, and Maxwell doubted the manifestations of his fragmented mind counted as benevolent. Besides, he had no one to practice on. Even when Sanji and Zoro joined him, they refused to stay down. Maxwell never did get them to the point to where he could knock them out. Their stamina was incredible. Though, the new spells certainly spiced spiced things up.
Salem's branch of magic was effectively named, "The Way of the Rift Mage." It was a new and esoteric kind of magic, formed from studying the rifts in the Veil, back in Thedas. The Breach... the explosion back at the Temple of Sacred Ashes, had inspired it's creation. Apparently, the Mage's Collective was a real organization... Who knew?
The new magic was the practice of pulling on the raw, physical, substance of the Fade. Not just transforming mana and manipulating it into spells. It took old concepts, old spells, some of which Maxwell had thought unessessary, and made them new. It was the perfect school for this world, as this world had no Veil!
Salem had two spells for him to learn: the Stonefist, and the Veilstrike. The Stonefist was a conjuration spell, summoning a chest sized rock from the Fade, and firing it like a cannon. The technique wasn't to different from firing a Flashfire spell. As for the Veilstrike, that spell literally warped reality to bring it down on the enemy's head, like a caved in roof. Plus, the area of effect was large enough it could hit multiple opponents! It was certainly a useful branch of magic.
Maxwell didn't stop there though. Between the combat and the spells, Maxwell consulted Mineive on his next lesson. She had an important spell for Maxwell to learn, known as the Fade Cloak.
The Fade Cloak allowed for a brief period of invulnerability. Attacks and adversaries would go straight through him. Maxwell could effectively navigate a battlefield, fire back, and get out without any harm. The spell essentially turned Maxwell into a ghost... just like a Logia.
He learnt it, and he learnt it fast! That spell was an equalizer for Maxwell and made a perfect sparring partner for Zoro and Sanji. They all needed to learn how to fight these kind of opponents. Crocodile, Enel, and Aokiji had taught them that much. The Fade Cloak just made training that more intense.
Sadly, all of that training was on their last day of shore leave. They couldn't stay on the island indefinitely, and Robin and Luffy had gotten to the stage in their recovery to be considered seaworthy. So they packed up, made sure they had everything, and set sail for the next island. The three of them had stuck to their own training regimens ever since.
Maxwell jolts as he suddenly feels the Merry change course. The turning had nearly made him fall out of his chair, "The hell!?" It had not been subtle.
The mage looks down at the main deck to see Zoro, Luffy, Usopp, and Chopper at the oars, "Oi! What the big idea!? Why are we changing course!?" He was usually the one steering the ship.
"Ah! Max!" Luffy looks around at his first-mate, "We found this huge frog with scars all over his body! We have to catch him for barbecue, no matter what!"
Zoro and Chopper looked over at Luffy, "You're going to eat it!?"
Maxwell frowns at the captain, unimpressed, "Why the hell would we change direction for a frog? It's probably a seaking!"
"But it's a frog swimming the front stoke!" Luffy explains to the mage.
...
...
...
"Frog's doing the what-now?" Maxwell turns to the prow and looks around to look for a frog, and there he sees it. Dead ahead was a giant, free-style swimming, frog. It was big, brown, covered in warts, and seemed to be wearing a black wig. Or was it some some sort of frill? It did have a lot of scars though. Big, small, on every limb and torso. "Well, I'll be damned..."
The door to the cabin slammed opened, "MAX! WHY THE HELL ARE WE CHANGING COURSE!?"
Oh crap... Nami!
"Um—Uh..." Maxwell quickly looked around, wanting to be spared by the red-head's wrath. Then he sees something, "Sorry, Nami! I think I see land over there!"
"Really!? Cool! We can barbecue the frog there then!" Luffy cheers from the oars.
"Frog?" Nami takes out a pair of binoculars and scans the area, "...A lighthouse? Why is there a lighthouse in the middle of nowhere...? I wonder who lives there..."
"Did you find the island!?" Luffy calls up to her.
"No, it's just a lighthouse!" Nami looks down at her wrist, "And the log pose isn't even pointing to it..."
"But what about the frog? Tell me where it is!?"
Though it may not have been her main focus, she did see the frog. But, Nami had no intention of indulging Luffy's eccentricities today, "No way!"
"The frog is going in the direction of the light house." "First you wash the frog with white wine to remove the mucus. Then you coat it with flour and fry it." "Wait—Sanji! Robin!" "FULL SPEED AHEAD!" "Well, you heard the man! Captain's orders!" "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE!?"
*WOO~T!*
"Huh?" Sanji suddenly heard a loud high pitched sound, "Hey! Hold up everyone! Do you hear a strange noise...?
*WOO~T! WOO~T!*
Maxwell looks around too, "What in Andraste's—?"
*GEROH!* The frog suddenly leapt out of the water... It was wearing a loincloth.
"What in Thedas is—WHOA!"
The Going Merry then suddenly lurches as if she had had crashed into something... And the frog was somehow sitting on top of the water! "ALRIGHT! WHAT'S GOING ON NOW!?"
*Chachachacha—chachachachs!—* They had somehow perched on something running underneath a bridge Maxwell just noticed. They were at the lighthouse, and something was coming towards them!
Nami yelled at them all, "BACK! BACK! TURN 180 DEGREES!"
Whatever it was, it was big and made of metal. And Maxwell agreed with her, "MERRY!"
Maxwell energized the Going Merry, and the ship came to life. One of the oars punched at whatever they had been stranded on and turned them around, just as the iron monstrosity sailed by. They literally jumped away from a collision.
*WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTT!*
Maxwell looked in awe of what they had nearly crashed into. It was like some giant cylinder on wheels, attached to a carriage! Smoke bellowed from a high raising chimney on the top. A lamp and grate had been mounted on the front. And it seemed to be towing other carriages too! Stylish boxes with indoor curtains over the windows. What was this thing!?
Then Luffy noticed the frog. It was right in front of it! "HEY! FROG, GET OUT OF THERE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?"
*GEROH!* The frog seemed to roar, and tried to punch the machine, but ultimately was sent flying.
"AH! HE GOT HIT!" "WHAT IS THAT THING!? A SHIP!?"
*WWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOTTTTT! Chachachacha—chachachachs!— Ch-ch-cha! Ch-ch-cha...!*
Maxwell watched as the long... train of boxes kept going. It hadn't even stopped. The machine just kept on sailing into the distance.
"...That ship was blowing smoke..."
...
...
...
"Ah!" A new voice sounded from the cabin nearby, "It's terrible! Granny! Granny! Pirates!"
Maxwell snaps out of his dumbfounded awe as another voice called out, "What!? Really, Chimney!? Alright! Hold on!" The new voice was older, but both people were distinctly feminine.
Zoro snapped to attention, "Someone came out of the building...! She's going to call reinforcements—"
The old lady had grabbed a transponder snail, "Ah... HEY!? *Hiccup* Hm... What were you yelling about again? I forgot. *Burp*"
She was also drunk off her ass...
O O O
Maxwell and the others had decided to weigh anchor for the time being, offering food as a peace offering, "Oh~ Paille? Hm... This tastes great with rum." The two residents seemed harmless enough. The old lady was an easygoing drunk and Chimney, if that was her name, seemed to be of a happier disposition... But the two smiled way to much. It was like their smiles had been etched into their faces.
"Wow~ De-li-cious! I'm Chimney! This Gonbe, the Cat," it was a rabbit, and blue one at that, "And this is my granny, Kokoro!"
"I thought you were train robbers. Nagagaga!" Kokoro had brought out a stool to sit on, and she held a bottle in her hand. She didn't have white hair, but between the booze and the wrinkles, it was probably the smart idea.
Luffy, Maxwell, Usopp, and Nami were the ones to join them on the platform, "I'm Luffy. I'm going to be the Pirate King."
"Really!?" "Yup." "Hikakaka. You're funny..."
"Um... Chimney?" Nami addressed the little girl. She wasn't sure how cognizant Kokoro was, "That was a steam powered boat, right? But with that shape, how was it able to float...?"
Chimney grinned with all the exuberance of a child, "You never seen it before!? I guess you don't see that anywhere else in the world! That's a sea train. It's name is Puffing Tom."
"Puffing Tom?" Maxwell thought back to seeing that iron monstrosity... It could've looked like a "Tom."
Chimney took another bite of the paille, "Yeah! It's a steam-powered car that moves on the railroad in the sea."
"A railroad!?" Usopp could barely believe it. Maxwell was just confused by the word though. He never heard of it.
"Yeah! It's just beneath the surface of the water. The train moves from island to island everyday, transporting passengers between islands. Sometimes it transports mail and packages, too."
Luffy crouched down to look in the water, "Wow! There really is a railroad!" Maxwell also decided to look down. The waves distorted it, but to him, it just looked like a ladder laid down in the ocean. A very big, very LONG ladder. Where were the supports though? Was it like a bridge?
"Yes! And you sailed right onto the railroad! That was dangerous!"
Luffy just sighed disappointedly, "But no matter how you warn, the frog won't understand! Then you ram it flying! That was rude!"
"Frog—? Ah..." Chimney knew what Luffy was talking about, unfortunately, "His name is Yokozuna. He has been a nuisance for a long time! He likes to compete his strength with others, and he has been trying to beat the train... He won't die from a crash like that. He will come back again!"
"Compete!?" Luffy looked at her amazed, "Oh... So that's why he didn't run away! That's some very cool fighting spirit!"
"What!?" Chimney starts scolding the captain about Yokozuna, "He causes nothing but a headache! He broke the front of the train so many times already! Every time he tries it, he frightens the passengers too!"
"Is that so..." Luffy nods, "Okay! I won't eat him! I don't eat hardworking animals!"
"You shouldn't be eating frogs in the first place!" Nami scolded him. She did not want to know what Luffy did as a child.
Maxwell found it odd that Kokoro didn't seem as concerned. She just kept drinking with a smile on her face, "So... Where do you want to go? If you take the next train..." Kokoro took another swig of booze, "You can go to, 'The City of the Queen of Spring,' Sento Popura, 'The City of Cuisine,' Poochi, then there's Sun Faruto, 'The City of Carnivores.' All of them are very interesting places."
Kokoro then turned an eye on Maxwell, "...Though I would mind a handsome man taking me out for dinner. I could use some R&R..." She winked at him.
Maxwell shuddered, involuntarily. He might have like women, but Kokoro... Yikes...! If she was suggesting what Max though she was suggesting, then no. She was far to old for his tastes!
"EH!? CITY OF CUISINE!?" Luffy seemed to have ignored his first-mate's plight. Cuisine meant food, and there was a city of it.
Nami just slapped him upside the head, "Don't even think about it. We have a ship so we can't take the train. We have to follow the log pose.
"Oh?" This caught Kokoro's attention, "Where is your log pose pointing?"
Nami took a look at her wrist, "To the west."
Kokoro's eyes widened in approval, "Oh. Then you are going towards Water 7. The train you saw actually came from the Blue Station there! That place is true to it's nickname, 'The City of Water.' It is a city with the world's best shipyards! The ships that they make are trusted even by the World Government!"
Now this caught everyone's attention, "Ooh! So then there are some good shipwrights there, right!?"
"Nagagagaga! Not just good! That place is where you'll find the world's best carpenters!" This was good news!
"Usopp!" "Yeah!" The two friends smiled at each other.
Luffy then looks out to sea, "Alright! It's decided! We're going to go there... and get a shipwright to be our friend!"