THE NIGHTMARE - FACET V
Maxwell approached the okama sitting by a table on the corner of the street. He was dressed up like fortuneteller, with folding robes and torquoise beads hanging decoratively around him. They were just outside another plaza in Maruchi, this time featuring a statue of a soldier riding a horse. "Ah, welcome! I take it you're here for the Maruchi Scavenge Challenge?"
"That's right," Maxwell replied, still remembering his conversation with Schneider.
"If we're going to have any way to find this little cult of yours, we're going to have to talk to Tarantula."
"Who?" Both Maxwell and Saga looked at Schneider, oddly. Maxwell had just finished writing the report he had to do for Karasu, while Saga had opened one eye after having a nap.
"Well, that's not his actual name," Schneider admitted. "His real name's Lytton—but basically he is the kingpin around these islands. Nothing goes in or out of this archipelago without him knowing."
"And how do you know him?" Saga stood up, now fully awake with his scabbard in hand.
The old pirate laughed though. "Haha! I ran a few jobs for him back in the day. Actually, my last score was what made him the boss in the first place! He's a bit of a stickler for protocol, but I'm sure he can see us!"
Maxwell and Saga looked at each other. Neither of them was as comfortable with the criminal element as they should be. But, Maxwell was aware there were times when you had to make compromises. "Alright. Where can we find him?"
Tarantula apparently had a sea side villa overlooking the eastern harbour, but they weren't going there. No, they were going to legitimate company, Eight-Legged Shipping Co.
On paper, Darrian Lytton was the head of a minor trading trading fleet, shipping foodstuffs and livestock across Paradise. He was a successful businessman, philanthropist, and even worked with a few charities in the archipelago.
Now, while Lytton was amenable to business meetings and trading ventures as a legitimate merchant, as Tarantula, he was a lot harder to have an audience with. He had connections to almost every gang in the archipelago, and just as much dirt. Lytton even had acquaintances with the noblity, and publicly appeared as a well-meaning businessman.
However, Schneider knew of a vice that most people didn't know about Lytton. The Treasure Wars!
Lytton was a rabid gambler, broker, and even black market merchant whenever the festival came around. He would regularly buy and sell information on competitors, trials, specifics, mechanics, memorabilia, and even the locations of Life Gem veins that even the public didn't know about.
What inspired him to have this business? …Well, he was never welcomed on any of the organization committees.
Maxwell had been taken aback when Schneider explained that to him. He might have understood a family grudge, or simple greed to exploit the games, but being ignored was not one of them. He held that standard of pettiness to blusterous lords, and the Orlesian nobility.
Lytton was spiting the councils by forego any rules set up for the festival. And he would sell his secrets to the highest bidder.
So, to gain an audience with him, Schneider's plan was to collect the pieces for the Maruchi Treasure Wars challenge. With a complete token, and cashing in a little favour from their old ventures, Schneider might be able to purchase whatever information Lytton had on the Children of Nightmare.
The official reached into his box and pulled out a token that looked like a finger. "Here you go. May I ask how many you've collected thus far?"
"This will be my second token," said Maxwell taking out a tablet. It appeared as a miniature mural of stained glass, featuring another hand with a psychic eye. Maxwell was beginning to think the locals took a little too much pride in their national symbols.
However, the mural was incomplete. Four slots were missing. The tablet was a base for the rest of the tokens, with five slots. Each token, when inserted, would fill in a slot the mural almost like a puzzle.
Maxwell, Saga, and Schneider had each received a square when they began the Treasure Wars. They all decided to find one station together, before they split up to cover more ground. They found one station in the market place, with a similar looking table and official. They only needed one tablet to complete the challenge. However, they unfortunately discovered that the tokens were not interchangeable. There was a locking mechanism in the tablet, and when you inserted a token you couldn't pry it out. It was way to flush with the sockets, and damaging the mural would make the tablet invalid for the competition.
Thankfully, Maxwell quickly put away the tablet, and accepted the new finger piece in his open palm. His missing hand was a good excuse for not inserting the token right away. "Thanks a lot!"
"Enjoy the games!" the okama waved as Maxwell walked away.
Maxwell turned at a corner and saw Saga leaning against a building. He was waiting for Maxwell. "You got the piece?"
"Yeah. How'd it go on your end?"
Saga smirked, pulling out another finger piece. "It happened. Probably used the same excuse you did." He had been exploring the residential district of this particular island, more specifically, the cathedral built there. They had all suspected local landmarks to be the locations of the distributors, and they had been correct.
Maxwell nodded, "So, shall we head to the docks?"
Saga twirled the puzzle piece back into his hand, "Yeah. That's where the old man said to go, anyway."
The warrior and the mage make their way through the streets, heading towards the waterline. If you looked out over the water, you could see the cobbled streets descend into the harbour. Brick and tiled roofs litter the hillside like canyons, and the masts of a hundred ships jutting like willow trees.
Maxwell took in the scenery, having never really appreciated the sights of an island. He was usually too busy running the logistics for their crew to really stop and smell the roses. Always running, always planning… It made him miss Luffy and the others even more.
"So…" Maxwell trailed beside Saga, "About last night—"
"I don't want to talk about it." Saga just kept on walking, eyes forward.
"Oh come on!" Maxwell jogged in front to get a better look at Saga, "You can't just tell a man you're planning to die and just leave it at that!"
Saga gritted his teeth, "Whatever I said while I was drunk—"
"Don't give me that bullshit!" Maxwell interrupted, scowling. "If you're even half the man who I think associated with Zoro, then I'll bet my bottom beli that your liver is like iron! And your brain: a bear trap!" Saga was acting more and more like Zoro than the mage appreciated. "You were fully cognizant when we met last night, so what the hell happened!?"
"…I have some unfinished business to attend to. Your contract, being one of them." Saga's voice was like cast iron, unyielding. "When I have all of my affairs in order, I am going to do what honour demands! And nothing you can say, or do, will change that!"
"So you're just going to give up," Maxwell stated, flatly. He hated trying to have this conversation. It reminded him all to clearly about how he felt when he realized he was no longer at the Temple of Sacred Ashes. It was like a constant pressure, baring down on Maxwell's shoulders, the weight of his failure. How all of his efforts had been for nothing! If he didn't have Luffy, who dragged him out of the brink his own self-pity, he wouldn't have known what he would have done. "What about your vow with Zoro? Did you conveniently forget it during your hangover?"
Saga grabbed him by the shirt, his taught face barely containing his sense of rage. "Whatever business I had with Zoro is between him and me, alone! Get that through your thick head!"
"Technically it's just stuffed. Quite dense I may add," Mordred chimed in from within Maxwell's parcel bag.
"NOT NOW MORDRED!" Both men barked, glancing down at the satchel.
"Aw~ Trouble in paradise?"
Maxwell and Saga both looked over to see a man, with a fish hook tattoo across his face. He was leaning against a building, smirking at them. He wore a yellow and black jump suit, with both his sleeves and leggings rolled up. The black boots he wore were scuffed from use and age, and the jacket itself was fraying. His broad rimmed black hat, covering his shaggy light brown hair, had holes in it, as if they were skewered by some sort of bladed instrument. And his tattoo ran horizontal across his left cheek bone, reaching all the way to his ear. He could have passed for some sort of vagabond, but his posture was clearly that of a fighter.
Saga pushed Maxwell away, releasing his grip on the mage's shirt. "What's it to you?" he asked the stranger.
The vagabond click his tongue, "Tch, you see I have a bit of a problem. 6 crewmates I had on my ship came home roughed up and beaten last night. Talked about a silver haired swordsmen in a red robe, and now my captain is mad."
Six people? Wait— "However, he's an arrogant son of bitch and won't lower himself to avenge scum like them. So, he had to cut them loose… But, he still can't let an insult like that slide, for the sake of his damn reputation, so he asked me to take care of it."
Both Maxwell and Saga look at each other, hands slowly going for their weapons. "Sounds like you don't like your captain very much…" Maxwell observed their potential opponent. The guy had no weapons on him, but he was lithe and spindly.
Shuraiya scoffed, then shrugged. "I'd sooner see that bastard dead then spend any more time on his ship. BUT, he has some dirt on me, and I can't do anything about it." He then stood up straight, loosing the smile on his face, "So… with that said, I'm afraid you're going to have to die."
Without warning, Shuraiya bolted forward like a viper. He came in low, sprinting towards Max and Saga. Saga drew Shichiseiken out from behind his back, the gems glowing slightly as the swordsman wielded it. Maxwell instead chose to roll out of the way, to give Saga some space. If the hitman went after either one of them, then neither of them would have to worry about getting in each other's way.
Shuraiya chose Saga first, cartwheeling into a flying kick. Saga blocked it, wielding his sword in a reverse grip while supporting the flat of his blade with his knee. However, he had to duck as Shuraiya spun like a top against the steel, and lashed out with another kick.
Maxwell took advantage of the moment Shuraiya jumped away from the sword. His summoned his his three foci and had them open fire on assailant. Like Sanji, he had no natural defences against Maxwell's arcane bolts… However, he was just as creative at dodging them!
Shuraiya spun and danced like a break dancer, alway shifting his centre of mass. Standing on his hands, elbows, and knees, never staying still! He spied Maxwell through the barrage. The bolts grazed him, stinging Shuraiya with burning heat, biting cold, and jolting electricity. However, he was starting to see a pattern. There was a gap!
The assassin bolted forward, ducking a weaving between spells. And Maxwell was starting to see it too! With his staff swinging as a focus, Maxwell couldn't unload as many arcane bolts as before!
Knowing he couldn't keep it up, Maxwell dropped his foci and slammed his hand down onto the street. A violet circle flashed on the ground before disappearing, and Shuraiya bared down on his with his fist cocked back.
Maxwell disappeared into mist, the Fade Step, billowing like a cloud as it sped away from Shuraiya's strike. The tile cracked beneath his fist, but only then did Shuraiya recognize it for what it was. A diversion.
Saga leapt at Shuraiya, sword thrusting towards the reluctant pirate. Shuraiya grasped the small crater he made, and flung the debris at the swordsman's eyes. It was very course, more pellets than any grains of sand, but it was enough to distract Saga for a brief moment.
With it, Shuraiya rolled with his momentum, spinning like a log, until he pushed up into a three point crouch.
Saga didn't let up though. The swordsman threw his Shichiseiken up into the air, and tucked in his limbs to spin. Flowing with the energy, Saga lashed out his arm grabbing the hilt, and chopped down on Shuraiya in an overarching slash.
Shuraiya leapt back, first pushing himself up, then springing with his legs. This wasn't going to be an easy fight. Yet, Shuraiya grinned. This was just how he liked it!
His excitement was cut off however, when a bolt of lightning grabbed onto his chest. "YAAARGH!" It was the mage's trap! Maxwell's Static Cage had activated as soon as Shuraiya past the boundary line! It was dragging him back to the epicentre, beneath the boiling ball of plasma floating above as it electrocuted him.
Saga, with a stone cold face, intercepted the pirate. Letting Shichiseiken pierce Shuraiya's stomach. Shuraiya gasped as he was impaled, colliding shoulder to shoulder with the swordsman.
Maxwell grimaced seeing Saga stab their foe. He should be used to this. Thedas had been a brutal world for those unprepared… Yet, Maxwell had not missed witnessing such violence. The cold detachment to it…
Shuraiya fell to the side, and Saga slid his sword out of Shuraiya's stomach as he fell. He was still alive, clutching at his wound like it would staunch the bleeding. "Dammit…!"
…Maxwell took pity on him. He remembered his captain's wish to never kill anyone. No one had the right to snuff out another's dream. Or tarnish another's treasure… So Maxwell wondered what was this guy's treasure.
"Hey, what's your name?" Maxwell approached Shuraiya placing a healing palm against his back.
"Grk…! What's it to you, you bastard—? ARGH!" Shuraiya gasped as he felt something twist in his lower back. Maxwell had intentionally stimulated a spasm in his muscles.
"My name is Maxwell Trevelyan," Maxwell kept talking like he hadn't done anything to him. "Now, the reason I'm healing you is because I don't want your death on my conscience. If my captain found out I intentionally let someone die just to get back to him, he wound never forgive me. So, I am going to ask you again. What is your name?"
Shuraiya stared out of the corner of his eye. He had heard of Maxwell Trevelyan. One of the infamous super-rookies who reached the end of Paradise this year! The Magister who sailed along with the Pirate Hunter Zoro, under the flag of Straw-Hat Luffy! He only didn't recognize him because of the lack of a beard!
"Grr…! Shuraiya… Shuraiya Bascud…!"
Maxwell kept on healing his back, "Well, Shuraiya… you are not going to be dying today. I can tell your a tough, scrappy bastard, and won't let a wound like this keep you down for long. That's why I'm not going to heal all of it."
"What—!?" Shuraiya looked up as the mage stood back. He had healed the exit wound, but Maxwell didn't treat the one on his stomach.
"If you keep pressure on that wound, you should have enough time to find a doctor. Besides, if I did fully heal you, I have no guarantee you won't try to stab us as soon as our backs are turned. So let me give you some advice: Don't follow us. Lay low, and if you really want to kill someone, fight that bastard of a captain you so desperately hate." Maxwell looked backwards towards Saga, "Gasparde, wasn't it?"
Saga shrugged. He had watched while Maxwell healed the man sent to kill him. He wasn't sure what to feel in that moment. Anger? Pity? Indifference? He wondered if he should have just finished the job after Shichiseiken had it's fill of blood. Yet, this mage was capable of treating the aftereffects of Shichiseiken's curse… Saga wondered, what else he could do?
Maxwell turned to leave, "See you around Shuraiya Bascud…" and walked off down the street.
Saga said nothing to him. He owed the man nothing. Shuraiya had tried to kill him afterall. He just followed Maxwell down the street, leaving the assassin to lick his wounds.
"Dammit…!" Shuraiya pulled himself towards the barrier of the street wall and sat with his back towards it. He still clutched his stomach, trying not to let himself bleed out.
Shuraiya wasn't sure whether lucky to be alive or not. The sword that silver haired bastard was wielding was unnatural. He felt like all of his strength was being bled out of him, the longer he had that sword in his gut. Yet, Maxwell "the Magister," Trevelyan had saved him.
The sorcerer had been correct in his conclusion, not healing him completely… Under better circumstances he probably would have done the same thing. He was still going to follow those bastards though. But now… He wondered if he could get them to fight Gasparde?
However, that just brought up more questions. What was the Magister doing in the Creamy Mist Archipelago? And who was the swordsman travelling with him? Because that certainly wasn't Roronoa Zoro!
And if he was here, where were the rest of the Straw-Hat Pirates?
O O O
"…There he is. Hey! Schneider!" Maxwell waved his hand, trying to catch the old man's attention. Saga only rolled his eyes, not really caring whether the old pirate saw them or not.
Buzz noticed them first, jumping off the crate and barking as he came racing towards them. Schneider only noticed when he realized Buzz was no longer sitting on the crate near him.
They were all in one of the more utilized sections of the harbour, full of planks and rope bridges. Platforms hammered into the cliff side held piles of crates, each waiting their cue for delivery. Fruits, vegetables, liquors, utilities—It just showed what how strong of a economy this archipelago had. But the foodstuffs wasn't why they were here.
No, they were here for the really noticeable giant warehouse sitting above the water, Eight-Legged Shipping Co. Above the building was a giant sign board, featuring the company's name in bold print and leg-wheel logo. The broad side of the warehouse was the office building, with four stories of windows. If you looked over, you could see the giant shutter door, where they would load and offload ships.
Workers were walking about, likely heading towards their next tasks. Some were large and burly, carrying rope or crates. Meanwhile others looked like regular men, carrying clipboards and manifestos. Hopefully, Lytton would be in today.
Maxwell greeted Buzz by patting his head and continued walking towards Schneider.
"You got the pieces?" Schneider asked, holding up his three slot filled tablet.
"We got them," Maxwell replied, handing Schneider his own token. "Had a little trouble on the way, but it wasn't anything we couldn't handle."
"Hm," Saga just grunted and tossed over his own token. He then sat against a crate while the others continued talking.
"Well, congrats then! Goes to show how strong cripples can be!" Schneider startered firing in the pieces into the tablet. "…That or they were just weak as shit."
"Oi!" Both limb-hampered individuals retorted. That Shuraiya guy wasn't weak, he just wasn't prepared!
"Ah, their we go!" Schneider held up the completed tablet, showing off the finished mosaic. Each piece had been opaque in colour, but on the tablet each had a coloured edge trailing into the palm held eye. "Now, let's show this to Lytton. Follow me, boys!"
Maxwell and Saga followed after the old pirate, heading towards the warehouse. They didn't go to the visitor's entrance though. Instead they headed to the lip of the docks and towards a checkpoint booth. There, Schneider knocked on the cage seven times, in a particular pattern.
The guard in the booth looked up from his newspaper, and looked at them all with a dower expression and raised eyebrow.
"Gooday, sir!" Schneider smiled, speaking into the den-den mushi transceiver, "We was wondering if Tarantula was in today?"
The guard glowered at them, but pressed a button. "…Do you have an appointment?" The transponder snail mimicked his face.
"No," Schneider quickly answered, "but I am here on business," and flashed the completed token to the guard. "Tell the Tarantula that Black Talon Schneider is here to see him, with associates."
The guard pursed his lips looking doubtful, but he pulled out a second den-den mushi. Max, Saga, Schneider, and Buzz couldn't here him inside the booth, but he was clearly talking to someone higher up. The snail said something that made the security guard pause and look at Schneider and Buzz, and if identifying their features. Maxwell smiled when the guard answered the snail with a definite "yes."
He continued listening to the snail for a bit longer, before ending the call and putting the snail away. Then the guard came out of the booth, and raised up the checkered boundary arm, "Follow me."
Schneider grinned to himself. He definitely had a spring in his step, swinging his cane around like a baton. He must have been really be excited about this meeting.
They followed the security guard around the bend, and into the warehouse itself. It was more like a giant boat shed though, then a storage unit.
A ship was weighed anchor in the port. The galleon wasn't anything special. It was a typical schooner with it's sails furled up. No extra decoration adorned it's edges. What was interesting though, was the cargo.
Livestock was being herded into holding pens by the company's crew. Sheep, goats, and cattle. Likely some herds that had been sold to a rancher somewhere on the island. But oddly enough, none of the animals had had horns. Not even rams in the sheep herd. Maxwell could see all of their horns had been sawed off. "Odd…"
*QQQUURAAAWK!*
Maxwell flinched back as he heard something caw in the bowels of the ship. It was an awful gut wrenching screech, like some giant bird started making a ruckus! But there was also distinctly mammalian to it, like the roar to a big cat. And Maxwell could distinctly hear something bash against metal inside the ship.
"Hey! Keep up!" The security guard called back to Max. He, Saga, Schneider, and Buzz were already walking up some stairs, ascending to the main office. "The boss doesn't like to be kept waiting!"
Maxwell looked back to the ship and saw several people racing into the cargo hold, but he decided to ignore it for now. He followed up the stairs, joining his companions up towards the head office.
"Oh don't tell me that feather-brain is stirring up another ruckus! I thought we had that thing sedated!" A man complained as he ran down the stairs, beside them. He had a long nose, wore a mustard collared jacket, and was accompanied by two other colourful characters. A lanky bull fighter, and a bulging martial artist.
"I told you those drugs wouldn't last long! Punching it would have been much more effective!" "Shut up, Hotdog!"
"Here we are," the security guard said as they reached a pair of double doors. He knocked, using a similar rhythem Schneider had used earlier. Their was a response to come in, and the guard opened the door.