Rough Outing
The landscape was beautiful, picturesque in its calm serenity. Going around the circular lawn was a cobbled path lined with trimmed and manicured shrubs and a rainbow collage of exotic flowers. Outside of the immediate lawn area, flower beds filled to the brim with the rare black lotus flowers decorated the area. The sprawling hills of the courtyard, enclosed by an intricately designed wrought iron fence, were also home to a number of common and uncommon species of trees. The one that dominated the sight line, though, was a gorgeous corkscrew hazel, its bare twigs hanging like well-maintained curls, so many crows gracing the sturdy branches that it almost looked to have lively black leaves.
Lying beyond the strangely dark aurora of controlled chaos that was the immaculate garden and just past the gate of polished steel rested a quaint, peaceful little town. The town was a maze of narrow winding streets, its design as complex as a heart locked in the grasp of a looming kraken. The inner streets were the veins, paved with dark red stones, while the glistening black roads surrounding them were the ominous tentacles. The people throughout representing the blood of the city itself. Even in the distance, the hearty cheers of drunkards and the almost melodic sounds of smiths' hammer strikes beating swords and breastplates into shape was the consistent, pounding cacophony that let you know the town was very much alive.
"What is it?" Baron Samedi spoke authoritatively without turning around, gazing out the window at the scenery surrounding his expansive castle.
"Baraqyal has returned with the item, sir?"
"Good. How did everything else go?"
"Tocar is dead, sir," Grendel answered evenly.
"Aah, that's a shame. Familial bonds are hard to break. What about Saiko?"
"He escaped. Tocar held off Baraqyal long enough for him to get away."
"Hmm. That boy really is sloppy when his mind's not into it."
"Should I send someone after Saiko, sir?"
"No, rumor of the incident will get around. The world will know he's no longer in my service. As of now, Saiko is a free agent. . . and a free target."
"Those ungrateful. . . How dare they throw us off the ship? We saved their sorry asses." Raine groused to the open air. Vega seemed to be meditating while Shaad listened calmly.
"They didn't throw us off. Cap Morgan gave us this ship so we could make it to the island faster. We'll have everything wrapped up by the time they get there."
"This isn't a ship," Raine scoffed, multiple complaints vying to be the first out. "This is all your fault." Shaad didn't see how that was true, but he simply let her continue. Since the marauders' attack, she hadn't spoken to him except to gripe, and it was easier to ignore her than try and figure out the problem. "If you hadn't been playing your stupid games -"
"I honestly don't know what you're talking about," Shaad remarked, his tone level even as a sly, subtle smirk graced his lips. The smirk only spread, ever so slightly, as Raine's frustration became evident in her eyes and the slight twitch of her mouth as she readied a response. "You know, if not for the violence, you'd almost be adorable when you pout like that." The off-the-wall statement further interrupted Raine's tirade and simultaneously stoked the navigator's ire to the point she had no immediate reply.
"It's your fault we're stuck on this stupid little boat," she finally huffed, crossing her arms over her chest before turning away, the low growl of her stomach intruding on what was supposed to be a tense silence. "And, his name's Morrigan; Captain Morgan is smoother. . . and without this bad aftertaste."
Shaad didn't get that last remark, but he let it go with a shrug. "I thought you'd be happier. You said you didn't trust Morrigan."
"I don't. Doesn't mean I wanna be stuck on this dinghy. Besides, you disagreed, right?"
"I had my doubts, and those doubts were confirmed. Morrigan may have a partnership with Uncle, but Dahl is Uncle's man on the inside." Raine raised a questioning eyebrow prompting Shaad to explain. "No one loyal to Uncle would call him Sir Meech; he's Lord Black. Then, after the skirmish with that pirate crew, I saw Dahl's arms. Amongst his tattoos, there's an M on his inside left forearm. I assume the B is on his right."
"You assume," Raine said with a tone best described as verbally rolling her eyes.
"Presume, then."
This time Raine did roll her eyes. "So where to?"
"We're still going to Illusory Forest. I'm interested in that shipment, and maybe we'll find somebody else to join the crew."
"A designer and a seamstress," Raine suggested half-jokingly.
"Or a marksman," Shaad yawned, laying back in the limited space.
It had been three days since Finn and his crew attacked the merchant ship. After Shaad defeated Finn and Vega struck down the first mate, Morrigan's crew forced a retreat of the raiding party, pushing many over the sides. The unforgiving depths greedily claimed their prize including the pirate ship and its captain.
It didn't take long afterwards for the crew of the merchant ship to have a long boat prepared for Shaad and his friends, Morrigan hastily seeing them off with a gift of a map, a compass, and a few small treats. He profusely claimed the issue to be time related in regards to the shipment Shaad was to recover, but his voice could barely maintain its usual smoothness and regality through the many webs he wove with his words. Neither Raine nor Shaad believed the complex lies. And, hidden behind an expressionless mask, Vega shared their suspicions. They'd seen the look in Shaad's eyes: the indescribable fury rampaging beneath the surface. They also saw how the merchant crew reacted: hesitantly, fearful of that chilling gaze being turned on them, of Shaad turning on them. But, the most telling sign? Darko Dahl, the ship's quartermaster, who would usually oversee such trivial matters, was nowhere in sight, no doubt the wounds to his pride stinging as much if not more than those from the battle.
Shaad inwardly smirked at that. Even as they were chauffeured onto the support vessel - a longboat big enough to fit all three with reasonable accommodation though it possessed only a straw covered single lodging and zero amenities - the young man found pleasure in being able to poke the tamed tiger one last time. Now, they were alone on the open sea. The boat was intended as a rowboat allowing a few sailors to reach land without docking the ship, but was equipped with a lone full mast at its center for emergencies. While not an emergency per se, with the winds as they were, Shaad and company were making good time. But, they may have needed to make better if Raine and Shaad were to be kept from one another's throat.
"If you're hungry, Vega and I have caught plenty of fish," Shaad offered with a smile.
True enough, there was a pile of fresh fish near the front of the boat, a wire mesh cage over them to prevent any from flopping overboard. Raine looked to the fish out of water with a frown before posing a single question.
"Whose gon' cook 'em?"
"I guess you," Shaad posited without missing a beat. "Not many options around." Raine didn't know how to cook, and Shaad knew that. Neither did him or Vega (to the best of anyone's knowledge). But, conversely to Raine, Shaad and Vega were proficient in hunting, foraging, and otherwise gathering food and were used to simply making do.
《《《 • • • 》》》
After almost a week, it was still more of the same. The decently sized boat cycled between periods of disgruntled silence and outright bickering as suddenly as a geyser might erupt. They'd come to a compromise on the issue of food, Shaad super heating his silver blade through sparks in order to cook and filet the fish simultaneously. But, like the hands of time they constantly found something new for their disagreements to touch upon. For Shaad, it was all in good fun. Their lone compromise gave him a modicum of control in the relationship, as it took a great deal of energy to perform the feat, and he used it to exact a measure of payback for her previously merciless teasing. For Raine, it was simply a matter of frustration. She was used to a certain level of comforts and getting what she wanted (from all but her father). And, neither standard was currently being met.
Though physically in the middle, Vega stayed out of their heated exchanges, always remaining silent and distant. If not for Shaad's constant one sided conversations and trying to get the masked man involved in issues with Raine, one reasonably could've forgotten about his presence or thought him a statue.
"Okay everyone, relax and get ready," Shaad ordered. "We'll need our strength. According to rumors, the Illusory Forest is quite fun." The trio was less than three days from their goal. Shaad and Vega had taken turns rowing whenever the favorable winds faded, and they were now in position to arrive almost a half week ahead of even the most ambitious projections. That meant more time to prepare and, for Shaad, more time to sleep. But, above all, in the time remaining before landfall, Shaad made a concerted effort to ease tensions between himself and Raine, going so far as to offer massages and present her with a fancifully laid out seafood platter. He'd had fun the last few days irking his uninhibited navigator but held no misconceptions that retaliation was far off once they reached land, in its myriad of pleasurable, and unpleasurable, forms.
《《《 • • • 》》》
Mmnnph! There was a groan from the front of the boat.
"I'm with ya, V," Shaad croaked, lifting himself up. Both he and Vega were drenched in seawater, contributing to the sluggishness with which he moved. He was checking his belongings when the door behind him flew open.
"Ugh. Useless; the both of you!"
"Well, excuse us, princess," Shaad instinctively responded.
He realized the mistake upon spotting the threatening glare being leveled at him. But, he was too weakened and too spent to feel like retracting the barb. So, instead, he doubled down.
"I'm sorry, queen," Shaad clarified rhetorically.
Instead of a more intense glare or a whack upside the head, though, the remark elicited a smirk from Raine's luscious lips. Whether that was because she admired the boldness he showed or took it as a bit of a compliment wasn't clear, but it didn't matter to Shaad. He could tell that the smile wasn't half as false as those of hers that said, 'I'm going to kill you. . . and enjoy it.'
Raine then turned back into the compact cabin she'd emerged from, grabbed her bag, and hopped off the boat onto the white sand beaches, making a beeline for the nearest town. She nabbed the fedora from Shaad's head to shield her from the beaming sun, shaking it dry before placing it on her head.
"That straw covered shack is more durable than it looks," Shaad muttered, peeling his eyes away from Raine's swaying backside to look at the boat's cabin. "Come on, Vega, we need to pull this boat onto shore."
And, by 'we', Shaad apparently meant just Vega as he collapsed onto his back on the toasty sand, closing his eyes and resting while the sun baked his exposed chest and splayed arms. It was understandable, if not entirely rude. They'd just barely made it out of a vicious storm, and the two of them were drained and on edge, though the muffled groan upon impact was probably the most reaction one could expect from Vega.
Raine had spotted the brewing storm just over the horizon. She would've ignored it for the most part, simply making a few minor course adjustments, but the dark, ominous clouds approached with a rare ferocity. There could be no ambling about. Aside from the island itself, the Illusory Forest was right in the middle of the roughest patch of waters in all of West Blue, at its worst being on par with the Grand Line according to some. In accordance with Raine's instructions, Vega took hold of the single sail, manually steering them away from the fast approaching, all enveloping darkness while Shaad grabbed the row paddles to give them an added boost of speed.
But, Raine kept her eyes locked on the darkening sky - lightning flashing erratically while thunder rumbled loudly, both steadily drawing nearer - for too long. Only realizing the trouble they were in when the boat suddenly jerked forward, dropping the navigator on her backside as it shot off like a rocket.
"You idiots," Raine screamed, pinching the bridge of her nose to try (in vain) and calm herself. "This is the fucking Styx Current!" That didn't mean anything to Shaad nor Vega, neither of whom was originally from the West Blue, and it showed on their faces (or at least Shaad's). "Its power is incomparable. Everything from a mermaid to an island whale would be helpless once inside!"
Raine released a frustrated groan as things went from bad to worse. The powerful current was far from straight. Windy and whip-like, it tossed the longboat to and fro like a child's toy, threatening to capsize the small vessel at every turn. Shaad and Vega wrestled against the water's might with all they had, but it was useless; the pull of the current would not be denied. Raine understood the futility of their efforts without trying.
"If we die, I'm going to kill you," she warned the pair, turning on her heel and slamming the cabin door shut behind her.
At breakneck speeds, their flimsy looking boat was thrust into the violent center of the storm. Bombarded by lightning all around them and thick raindrops hitting with the force of hail, things looked to be unable to get any worse. That is until they were carried into a natural minefield of sorts, jagged rocks jutting from the surface while even more lurked just beneath the surface like alligators. Shaad and Vega, seeing the sheer vanity of their efforts, still refused to give up, both too stubborn and prideful to be done in by Mother Nature no matter how many victims had previously fallen to her wrath. But, with the sea's wrath becoming even more violent combined with the unrelenting ferocity overhead, the combined efforts of even these unnaturally gifted youths still left them as little more than passive bystanders to the chaos around them. If not for the seemingly unnatural undulations of the water directly beneath them, prevailing wisdom would have had them done in long ago.
Yet somehow, even with everything against them, they still made it to the home of the Illusory Forest in one piece, the Styx Current, almost symbolically, spitting them out onto the serene eastern coast of the legendary island. All that was required of the crew at that point was for Shaad to cut two swaths through the water in order to obliterate the rocks in their path as they skipped along to a rough stop, an act that took most of his remaining energy after wasting much of it during the storm.
Now, resting in the heat of the sun, Shaad had a peaceful curve to his lips, the heat and humidity at perfect levels for the tropical scene. However, he was rudely ripped from his light nap by the full weight of the longboat landing directly on top of him. Feeling the back portion of the boat pinch down on his crossed leg, his other knee automatically shot up to keep it from continuing on to his privates. Instantly awakened, he wasted no time and held nothing back in throwing out a wicked elbow to knock the boat aside.
His strength easily punched a hole in the longboat's front end, but, more surprisingly, the cabin, which Shaad had just complimented on its surprising durability, broke apart almost immediately. A closer look, though, revealed that it was closer to the edge than Shaad originally thought anyway. Not just drenched on the outside or even something as basic as being soaked all the way through, rain had poured through the woven roof as if it weren't even there and saturated the wooden walls to the point structural integrity was nearly nonexistent. Despite that, of the floorboards that had been inside the cabin, one small spot (about the size of Raine in circumference) remained inexplicably dry.
That broken wood now holding no more use than driftwood, Shaad tossed it out of the way and beached the battered boat behind a few trees. Afterwards, Shaad and Vega ventured into town in search of Raine, Shaad taking the time to lodge a friendly complaint with his silent compatriot for dropping a boat on him.
In town, they found a bar that Shaad figured would be a good first place to check out or at least gather information at. As he reached for the door's handle, though, it swung out at him, a young man barely missing him as the man's body flew from inside. Shaad merely smirked, now confident that Raine was inside.
But, much to his surprise, Raine hadn't in fact been the cause. Instead, in the middle of the rather tame, half full bar, an older gentleman with a dirty apron tied over a white shirt and khaki pants stood with his fists clenched and raised. "I told you mongrels once to keep your hands off my daughters," the old man roared. "Anyone else need a reminder?"
The bar was quiet a moment before everyone turned back to their beer and conversation, ignoring the old man as well as the three young men across from him, a noticeable gap where the fourth had been.
"You old coot," one of the young men still staring down the old man yelled while drawing his fist back. "You'll pay for that!"
Shaad stopped the man's punch as he swung his arm forward. The man glared at Shaad over his shoulder, but his arm was immobile in Shaad's iron grip. Shaad ignored the look, tossing the young man into the wall where he subsequently fell onto the table of a packed corner booth, inciting a brawl that would soon encompass the entire bar.
Still, Shaad ignored the threatening looks of those immediately around him as he calmly stepped forward. "I'd like to speak with the bartender."
"You're lookin' at him." The old man's voice was gruff bordering on indignant, but Shaad loosed a wide smile.
"Great," he beamed. "I'd like a rum and coke. . . minus the rum. . . Vega, take care of these three, will ya. And, don't be too hard on 'em; they're just kids."