[IC] One Piece: A Golden Age, A Dark Age - The Boozehound Chronicles

[Hillan]

Chester had gotten a few medical supplies from the villagers, as the Marines didn't give him any - maybe they didn't care, or maybe they just didn't have any to spare. Regardless, Chester didn't particularly care. He headed onboard the ship, a ship that looked less than stellar, but it certainly wasn't the worst vessel he had ever sailed. Lina would get her things in order, and the captain would follow suit, placing the crate of alcohol he was carrying in the cargo bay, getting a apple out of one of the bags he had carried with him, chewing the apple loudly as he walked onto the main deck, Lina, wearing the gold bracelet she found, stood there with a hopeful grin on her face, turning to Chester, she said but one word, a word full of hope and ambition.

"Well?"

The pirate smiled. "We set sail. We still have more than a few preparations before we can head to the Grandline. Wouldn't mind having a couple more crewmates." He mentioned, grabbing a bucket and filling it with seawater, and a piece of cloth, and tossing a wet cloth to Lina, he started wiping surfaces on the ship, while he walked towards the helm, directing the ship away form the Island of the Bear.

---

On the Island, a slow sob was heard from the beaten Bear-Bandit and his compatriot. They saw the ship sail off from the island, and soon fading into the Horizon. The fearsome bandit sat on his butt, tears welling in his eyes, as he let out a sobbing cry. His translator, and ventriloquist, Bjork sat next to him, patting him on the back, him also crying. The boat Chester and Lina were on was the same boat Tedbjorn had once arrived on the island in, as a cub, prisoner of pirates whom had been captured by Marines, some 15 years ago, Bjork being a villager whom had taken pity on the cub.

---

The two pirates had got the ship looking decent on the decks, spending equal amounts of time cleaning as they had navigating, chatting and trying to figure out where the hell they were. Chester had taken a break - his 15th to Lina's 5, as he leaned back on a chair against the mast, drinking a bottle of grog, the dried blood still on his face, he still hadn't bothered to change from the clothes Tedbjorn had torn - not that he had any clothes to share into, as such he had several tears in his shirt, blood stains all over him, the left shoulder of the grey shirt was now coated in the red hue of his blood. He wasn't complaining about the pain, so therefor, Lina hadn't tried to bandage him. It was shallow cuts, anyway.

He was thinking about taking a hot, relaxing bath - not that he could, sadly. His musing was interrupted by a loud explosion - cannonfire.

"Who's shooting?!" Chester shouted, as he was met with a slight giggle from the deck downstairs. "Dammit Lina! Almost made me spill my drink!" He shouted, stomping the floor - only for the floor to give way, sending Chester tumbling down into the cannon deck, the broken plank falling over him, hitting him in the face. "Son of a bitch!" Chester erupted as Lina let out a surprised yelp. "We gotta fix this ship.." He mentioned, as he got up, dusted himself off, and went upstairs to get tools to repair the hole in the deck.

Only to realize they only had rusted nails and more moldy planks. "God damn Ship, can't believe thi-" his cursing was interupted by more gunfire. "Lina! I SWEAR TO GOD!" He shouted, only for Lina to stand in the doorway "Wasn't me!" She shouted and Chester's eyes widened. Oh shit.

He went to get the map that was next to the helm, as well as the spying glass. He opened the map, they were right next to a major Island. Who'd be shooting at them here? Did someone take Lina's little misfire as a battle declaration? He looked around, seeing two ships in the horizon. Getting out the spying glass, he extended it - the glass so grimy that he couldn't see anything. "Son of a.." he turned the glass on the other end - the front lense was broken, too.

He couldnt' see any cannonballs coming his way, but he could still hear the gunfire - as if it was comming from right next to them.

It clicked for him. "Wind's on us." He said, looking up at the sails. "That's why we hear a distant battle a lot clearer. But, Lina, we should dock. We need supplies. Might have to sell some stuff." The captain said. "But you keep your paws off my booze." he said, setting the course for Kesrizu island, the big island's city could be seen from several hundred meters away.

[Pacifista]

Course redirected, the Breeze was blown away from the distant skirmish, which seemed to be winding down. Lina didn't have much room to pay it any mind though as the island came closer into view. She was honestly amazed: there were so many large buildings that made the half built Azure compound seem minuscule, and they seemed to stretch over half of the coast. But as they got closer, there was clearly only a portion of that coast which had a bustle to it. There were a number of other boats around, and as the Breeze, by far the least flashy, pulled in, the chatter from the town was quiet loud. More than a few eyes were on the battle.

As they lowered the gangplank, Lina stepped onto the dock, wearing a long hemmed light blue blouse and fitting white shorts that passed over her knees. Taking a look at the crowd, a few flags went off in her head as she saw a group of men in dim yellow suits running by. Mind ticking through a list, she remembered, "These guys...the Quartz Company?" Considering that Chester was still technically a member of the Azure Company, she wasn't sure what could happen.

As the crowd began to disperse, Lina froze up as she heard someone growl, "Pirates just rolling in a doing what they please. What the hell?" Taking another look at the ocean, she saw a pair of yellow sailed skiffs heading out, but it was really none of Lina's business.

Going back to Chester, her eyes looked down one of the roads into town, which was packed with what seemed like more people than the population of Melonberry. Lina's heart beat loudly with the both thrust to explore and an anxiety about the unknown. She asked, "Well, what now? It's not like we have a lot of money for any repairs." Eyes lingering on the marks Chester still hadn't cleaned off, she suggested, "A bath? Though that'd be splitting up, I guess." Her eyes wandered over the Breeze, which was looking even more worn down next to the other ships in the dock.

[Hillan]

Chester looked at Lina, then down at his clothes, then back at Lina. "I suppose I could do with some cleaning up. Need new clothes." He mentioned, grabbing a bottle of beer before walking the gangplank onto the harbor. He heard wheels spinning of a couple of carriages passing through the docks, loaded with goods, there were a lot of people walking these streets. Chester sniffed his armpit, before wrinkling his nose in disgust. "I certainly need a wash.." He mentioned, looking around. Where was there an inn or a hotel where they could wash up? Anywhere they could get away without having to pay too much? Chester had a few bills left - that he took from the Azure Company guys, but it was barely enough for food.

Chester looked around, seeing men wearing familiar coats, albeit in a different color. "Hey, are those?" He asked, Lina nodded. "... Should I beat them up?" He asked and Lina shook her head "Yeah, I suppose probably best not to."

He looked around, walking the street, when suddenly someone dragged him in the arm, it was an old man. "Hey, you!" The man said, his voice in half a whisper. "You look young and strong, are you a adventurer?" The old man asked, and Chester nodded. "Sort off, trader, actually." the pirate lied. "But you didn't have any cargo on your ship?" The old man asked and the 'trader' nodded. "Correct, no money, either."

"Perfect!"

"Not for me, it isn't"

"But for me it is! You want to do a bit of under-the-table work for me?"

"Depends on what kind of under-the-table we're talking about here.."

"Oh, nothing like that! Just doing a bit of chores around my shop, maybe help out the neighbours, too. The company demands such outrageous rates to help out with maintenance, but if I hire you and your, uh, friend, on the down-low, I'll escape the high-rates, and you'll get paid!" The old man explained and Chester nodded. "Uh-huh. Sounds like a deal, provided you throw in a meal of food and a shower for us each. Oh, and beds to sleep in." Chester bartered, and the old man gruffed. "For you, I could, but what use is the lady? She looks skinny and weak.."

Chester smiled. "You should be glad she didn't hear that, she might've burned down your shop if she did." He joked with a grin on his face.

[Pacifista]

"...Hey, where'd she go?" asked the geezer.

---

Urge to explore overpowering her anxiety, Lina was trying to keep her bearings in the crowd. Feeling claustrophobic, she was able to squeeze her way down some roads with less traffic, letting the sights and sounds of the city engross her. It reminded her of the festival and feast on Melonberry just the other day, but there didn't seem to be any occasion. Less drinking, for instance.

Heading down one street, windows began catching her eye, laden with goods placed to do exactly that. Lina found herself jumping from window to window gawking at fabulous dresses, fancy firearms, gleaming jewelry, ticking clocks, detailed antiques... She spent a bit too much time looking at one window with cookware, but for the first time she actually took a look at the prices, sobering her enthusiasm. 9800 beli for a skillet!? That made the Azure Company and their sugar prices seem almost fair. She had to get to the bottom of this.

Storming in...the store was actually pretty quiet on the inside. Lina immediately felt a little bad, muttering, "Excuse me," as she entered.

"May I help you young lady?" A man seemed to skid to a stop in front of her, his hair shaped like two handles as they curled away from the sides of his head.

Lina flinched, before beginning, "Ah, well..." Pointing to the window display, she said, "That stuff's pretty overpriced, don't you think?"

"Not in the least!" cheered the man, clapping his hands together. Grabbing a saucepan, he flipped it in his hands, insisting, "We have a personal blacksmith that takes care of our orders: these pans could pass as a suit of armor if you wore them the right way, ohohoho!"

Lina eye twitched, "Why would you need something like that?"

"Soup!"

"Just what kind of soup do you make!?"

"Over my lifetime? So much!" He mumbled, "It keeps for a while and it's easy to reheat, so..." Shaking his head, he spun the saucepan, chortling, "And when you have a pot that could very well outlast you, why buy ten 720 beli pans, when you can get this one for 6000 beli?" His face was stuck in his excited expression, but Lina was still unimpressed. Face falling, he made a jab with the saucepan. "Our cheaper stuff is over there."

A bit awkwardly, Lina went over to take a look, finding more normal cookware. She mumbled, "Not like I have much money in the first place..."

"Is that so?" came a woman's voice. Looking up, Lina saw a heavyset lady with her face caked in makeup, a bag of groceries in one hand and another resting on a rack of wooden stirring spoons. Putting a finger to her lip, she giggled, "I was just thinking a cute girl like you would be perfect. Would you be interested in a job?"

"E-eh? Er, I'm not sure..."

"Parents wouldn't allow it?" the woman sighed, noting, "I don't understand that mindset. This is Kesrizu..."

Not sure what the island had to do with it, Lina admitted, "Well, I'm kind new here, but I've only really worked as a cook and a...babysitter." She had almost added, 'bodyguard', which was the closet thing she could think of to that skillset. Despite her sword and rifle, the woman didn't seem to question it.

"Don't worry about that then. Those mafia types may be up to some nasty things, but it's pretty safe here. They say that 'spending money to get someone to do something' is the highest form of power, or something silly like that, but there's always people looking for workers! I'd bet that Kesrizu has the biggest job market in the North! Even if it is mostly under the table stuff. Lots of legal tape..."

"Ah, that sounds...good?" Lina replied. What could possibly go wrong?

[Hillan]

Chester would eventually find Lina - looking for her for a couple hours, only to find her in a bar, waiting tables. Chester smiled and grinned slyly as he made her bring him a beer - paying for said beer, of course, but making sure to be as coy as possible just to piss her off. The two talked and went over their plan, they would perform any jobs they could find, keep their noses out of trouble and get their hands on the supplies necessary for the Breeze. Chester would take it upon himself to get good planks and tools to repair all of the broken parts of the floors. Lina would buy food, and look into cannons, and they would both take to buying supplies, such as beds for their own quarters.

They would also fix the hammocks.

Chester and Lina took to performing odd-jobs over the next couple of days. Painting houses, rescuing lost kittens, chopping wood and carrying lumber, Chester ended up constructing several shelters in the run down parts of the island, as well as helping the old man who's beds and showers the two pirates were occupying, while earning money each day, he was working hard everyday, and drinking harder every night.

For three days they stayed, and each day the Breeze would look a shape better, of course, it was still far from perfect. Chester ended every night in a bar, the Stein's Cauldron, where he would take bets on drinking contests between himself and any of the other patrons, earning almost as much money from the bets as he did from his jobs. With the drinking and the betting the occasional barfight occurred, too.

As Chester drank countless men under the table, he heard murmors of some legendary drinker, and barbrawler whom lived on the island, but it was never more than rumors.

[Pacifista]

"Good work today!"

"Bye~" Lina waved, heading out of the bar, out of her uniform and into a long sleeved maroon shirt that kept her shoulders bare, a plain white skirt, and a matching sun hat. While it was waning on into late afternoon, Lina had some shopping to do. She already gotten a nice pair of beds, in case any women ended up joining in the future, their food stores were looking alright, but that rusty cannon wasn't going to do them any good. Chester had given her a bit of what he was earning (hand over fist in drinking contests, apparently), so now she should be able to make the sizable purchase. Remembering where she'd seen something earlier, she headed over to the weapon storefront she'd seen the day she'd arrived. Entering, her nose wrinkled at the smell of gunpowder before she found the buff looking sales clerk.

Lina asked casually, "Excuse me, I was hoping to buy a cannon, but I don't really know a lot about them..." W-why did Chester push this on her, again?

Thinking for a moment, the shopkeeper suggested, "I know a guy... Hold on. JEET!"

At his call, a less buff shopkeeper came from the backroom. He was ordered, "Take this little lady over to Penn and Ord's!" Lina smiled, and Jeet gave a shrug. Wordlessly, he headed out, seeming pretty lax as he led Lina out and about. As they traveled, as the sun continued to fall, the city seemed to get a bit...dreary, Worn down buildings seemed to be more common, and the crowd was less than jubilant.

Soon enough, Jeet guided her to another storefront, before leaving without word. Trying not to mind him too much, Lina stepped in.

"Excuse me..."

"What?"

Not appreciating the tone, Lina found the man who'd responded, his hair orange and a bit ratty, sporting a black eye. "I'm looking to get a cannon."

Letting out a low whistle, the man jumped onto the counter before hopping to the ground. He chortled, "Sounds good! Name's Penn. You know, you're not going to find better cannons anywhere else. For starters, the first one I'm going to show off may not have any braces, but when it starts rolling backwards due to the recoil, that's because of just how much power it packs!"

Not sure about that, Lina simply nodded. A good rifle had a lot of recoil, right? Lina's sure did and she was...not a bad...okay there was a reason she went into combat sword first.

[Hillan]

As Penn was trying to sell Lina a 'cannon', clearly realizing the young girl knew next to nothing about the weaponry, he was taking advantage of her lack of knowledge, two figures walked outside of the shop, one of them spoke loudly. "Hey, I think Penn's being a dick again!" one, gruff, clearly intoxicated voice shouted, loudly, Penn had a stern look on his face, he mouthed 'shit'. The door swung open, and in walked the alcoholized, white-haired swordsman, his wooden katana on his shoulder. "Penn! My maaaan!" The guy shouted.

"You selling cannons again!"

"Trying to, yes.."

"To a girl? PFF"

"... Isaac, what do you want?" The shopkeeper asked, as the swordsman clearly ignored him

"Hey, little lady! You want the biggest possible cannon, as big rounds as possible!" He said, waving in the air to indicate just how big cannons he meant. Only for him to get patted on the shoulder, by a man in a brow leather duster and a cowboy hat on his head, he had shoulder-length copper-colored hair, rough features on his face, and a three-point eyepatch over his left eye. He had a rifle slung over his shoulder - a much fancier one than Lina carried. She might also spot the shotgun holster on his right thigh, with the gold-studded stock of the double barrel sawed-off shotgun fitted inside. On his hip hung a revolver in a holster, and his belt was studded with bullets.

"Isaac, get the hell out of here. Don't you have gambling to do at the Cauldron?"

The white-haired man with the sword, Isaac nodded. "Guess I do, Jeko's probably waiting." The drunk said, as he scurried out.

"Sorry about him." Kuhn said, tilting his hat to the girl. "He's kind of an idiot. Too much booze."

"You want one of the ones with the bronze-plating, and the extra-hardened firing mechanisms. They're faster to load, less likely to misfire, not to mention having the greatest range and power of the selection of cannons in this town." the man said, as Penns' eyes widened and he got frustrated, started stomping on the counter. "Hey! KUHN! She doesn't need your elitist gunner tips! I know what's best for the lady!"

Kuhn glared at him, a hand on his left hip, as if he was reaching for his gun. "You really sure you do, Penn? I've seen you scam people plenty before. Don't make me report your scamming to Goldenrod. You're already late on this weeks payment. Give this girl the Quartz Discount, and I'll forget about your temper." The gunman, Kuhn threatened the shopkeeper, whom calmed down, seeing reason rather quickly. "And you best make sure to help her get it to her boat and set it up, too."

Kuhn then walked over to the counter, and picked up a box of bullets. "And these are mine." He said, putting a few bills on the counter. "Give me a shout if you ever need help with the guns." Kuhn said, to the girl, flashing a smile "Name's Kuhn, you'll find me in the barracks."

[Pacifista]

"Er, uh, thank you!" Lina said as Kuhn took his leave. Feeling a bit relieved, she was pretty lucky he'd strolled along.

Turning on Penn, Lina growled, "Well, how much?"

Penn swallowed, "Um, lets see...with the Quartz Discount-"

"I'll be showing the receipt to Kuhn, you know."

"I wasn't gunnu try nuthin'!" Penn moped, voice further degrading into panic as he yelled, "ORD! Get yer lard ass over here!"

---

Some minutes later, Lina smiled at her gains, the shiny new cannon stuck on the repaired cannon deck (though it was the flood above that had need more work). Figuring she'd have to find a place to dispose of the old rusted one, she wasn't quite done on the town yet. Since she didn't want to have to push around the heap of scrap alone anyway, she figured she should go see what Captain was up to...wait, if he was at Stein's Cauldron...

[Hillan]

Chester sat in the Cauldron, drinking, as usual. Taking bets, people certain that he wouldn't be able to stand undefeated for a third night in a row - 8 challengers in, the self proclaimed-trader showed no signs of slowing down. Sure, he seemed to get winded, but it was hard to tell with him, he was already drunk when he got in, reaking of booze, yet, he seemed to be able to go the whole night with a drink in his hand without ever toppling over - his alcohol prowess could probably only be matched by one man in town.

And that white-haired swordsman, the legendary drinker - Isaac Newgate, a notorious drinker, brawler and hired muscle, working for the Quartz Company as a freelancer, handing out as many asskickings as he's drank beers.

And that's quite a lot.

Isaac had been eyein the newbie - the one with the blonde hair and the blue eyes, the one who had a still not healed wound on his head, and bandaged shoulders. He had the apptitude of a warrior, yet he didn't don a weapon, Isaac, despite his wobbly vision could clearly tell that this guy was a warrior, a pirate, probably.

Pirate meant he had money, Isaac and his partner could increase their weekly earnings quite easily, by just challenging this guy to a bet.

[Pacifista]

"Hey hey hey, what're y'all doing? Pay attention, pay attention!" A voice cried out in the Cauldron's bar. The whispers shied down, and as one man went over to Chester, there was an underpinning of excitement.

Resting his arms on the bar, the man in his wavy, dark gray hair, brownish skin, a stained red long sleeved shirt, and straw colored shorts. A grin was plastered on his face as he said, "Sup pal! Name's Jeko. You can call me Jeko. Some call me Jack but they're all pricks. You're the one who's been drinking half this bar under the table, right? How about a round?" The bartender gave Jeko a look, prompting him to laugh, "Ah, you got me!"

From the other side of the room, Isaac moved, sitting on the far of the bar from Isaac. The bartender clicked his tongue. "You're gonna make me walk?"

"Get some help. Trust me, you're gonna want about a meter of clearance on both sides." As he called a couple of his serving girls, Jeko began, "Anyway, I heard your usual rate is 20,000 Beli. Well that's not enough for me and Isaac here. I like things to be interesting. Even if you don't have 200,000 beli on you, we'll figure out some way to get it from you, heeheehee."

"And one last thing! I like a little bit more depth. Strategy, you know?" Slinking off into the kitchen, he returned moments later with two plates of crackers arranged in squares, 5x5 each plate. He handed one to Chester and the other to Isaac, explaining, "Just a little something to take the edge off, if you're up to it, but now you have another thing to pace out." Sitting down in the middle, right between the two contestants, he said, "Well? Are you in or out?"

---

As she got a bit closer to the Cauldron, Lina couldn't help but notice an increase in energy. Was something going on?

[Hillan]

As the man approached Chester with a interesting offer, the Pirate couldn't help but agree. "That's fine, I've got the money. But, you guys seem awfully sure of yourself." Chester spoke, eying the crackers - as he looked at the crackers, Isaac held one in his hand, but he didn't eat it. "You know, call me a betting man, but I would put money on these crackers being poisoned, or something." Chester said.

"In fact, I would put two hundred thousand on these crackers being poisoned. If I eat these crackers, and still win the contest, without mr.scarecrow, over here eating one, you owe me just short of half a million." Chester proclaimed, much to Isaac's amusement. "You hear that Jeko? Kid's absolutely crazy!" The wooden-blade swordsman said with a laugh.

"Fine, we'll drink. Barmaid! Bring 10 rounds, for warm-up!" He shouted, as Chester munched down on two of the crackers.

[Hillan]

Chester and Isaac started drinking, one down the hatch - neither of them was phased, two, three, four, still not effect on either of them, they were both as drunk as they had been before they started. They finished the first plate of pints that the woman brought in, and Chester grinned at Isaac. "You know, I was expecting to feel those crackers more, maybe they weren't foul play." Chester mentioned as Isaac smiled "Yeah man! Of course there's no foul play, we're honest gamblers!" He chuckled, as he ordered in another dozen of drinks.

20 or so drinks later, drunk in less than half an hour, the two men were visibly rather drunk. Chester felt a cold sweat, woozy, tired. More drinks came in, and he drank another few glasses of grog, Isaac matching him for every step.

"S-Shots." Chester mentioned, as he hung his head. Isaac smiled, the plate of shots came in, and the two gulped down one shot after another, the crowd was now cheering on the two for each shot, Chester's hands were trembling, as he grabbed the last shot glass, he gulped it down, and Isaac did the same, but before Isaac could turn it over, Isaac felt his hand slip off of the table, and he collapsed.

"AND THE WINNER IS CHEESTEEEER!!" The Barmaiden shouted, holding up Chester's hand. Chester grinned, his face pale from all the alcohol - and the crackers, as he looked at Jeko. "P-Pay up, betting-boy."

[Pacifista]

Jeko's jaw hung over, his brow sweaty. Regret filled every pore of his face. Before he could stammer out a response, a tug pulled his head backwards. As he leaned backwards uncomfortably, Lina hissed, "Poisoned crackers!?"

Jeko muttered, "H-hey, it's not like you can prove it. He ate them all! And Isaac didn't eat one! Of course he was able to drink more!" He grunted as Lina pulled harder, before her fingers worked. Jeko's eyes widened as she uncorked a small bottle that came from his pocket and moved it towards his face. "Ahhhh!"

"PAY UP!"

"You think we have that much on me!? We don't carry money. Isaac doesn't lose!"

Propping him up, Lina kicked him in the rear, making Jeko stagger towards Isaac. Throwing the poison to the ground, she propped her fists on her hips, demanding, "Tomorrow morning. Chuck's house."

Jeko grumbled, and Lina turned, hoisting Chester up. "C'mon you." Thankful he was just conscious enough to hold on to her back, Lina headed to the door. As she arrived, Jeko nearly bumped into her, the two stuck with their drunk passengers.

Jeko blinked, "Who the hell is Chuck?"

Lina jabbed her finger, "Some old guy who lives that way! Just make sure we get it!"

Jeko grumbled, before dragging Isaac out of the Cauldron. As Lina headed out, turning, she muttered, "Now, let's get you some water. Lots and lots of water..."

---

"Idiots."

In a lavish office, a window overlooked the sea, Jeko and a slumping Isaac stood in front of a wide desk, circled to look not unlike the crescent moon reflecting on the dark night water. Fingers interlocked, head bald, spotted, and wrinkled, small glass spectacles over his eyes, a man in a yellow suit with a scarf split down the middle in black and white hanging on his shoulders.

"Huh, I thought you'd be more mad," Jeko noted.

"Of course I'm mad you idiot!" Picking up a pistol, he fired suddenly at Jeko, the bullet hitting him in the chest. Jeko cried out, writhing in pain. Isaac looked around, clearly dazed, but most of his efforts seemed to be in standing straight. He wasn't particularly successful.

"Half a million is nothing, but it's a stupid amount for you two idiots to lose in one evening! And those drinks come out of your winnings! Do you know how much you two drank today!?" Jeko shrugged. "Neither do I."

As if on cue, a suited Quartz Company goon entered, handing a receipt over, before moving to the corner of the room and waiting. Looking it over, an eye twitched. He raising a gun and fired at Jeko again. Putting it down, he looked down at a lit cigar lying in an ashtray, before angrily snuffing it out. "Can't even enjoy myself now..." Glancing out at the ocean, he gritted his teeth, before slamming his fist on the desk. "Between this and the damages done the other day in both property and trust by those pirates, I'm tearing my hair out!"

"Y-you ain't got none," Jeko said, before yelping again as he was shot once more.

Waving his hand, Chief Goldenrod ordered, "Get out of here. I'll figure out what to do about this tomorrow." Jeko smiled, brushing off his shirt, three crumpled bullets falling off. As they bounced to the ground, he grabbed Isaac, pulling him along.

Goldenrod leaned back into his chair, thinking for a few minutes, before he acknowledged the man in the corner. "You're still here?"

He nodded, before beginning, "Chief, about that scholar: he's begun avoiding us."

Raising an eyebrow, Goldenrod scratched his chin, nodding, "Is that so, eh?"

[Hillan]

Chester woke up, ears ringing, his head hurting and his stomach turning. He was hungover. And he didn't enjoy it. Not one bit. He got up from his bed, and like a Zombie, he made his way to the bathroom, dunking his head in the sink, he turned on the water, the cold water soothed his headache - soon replacing it with a freezing sensation. "Freaking bar.." He mumbled, drinking from the sink. He got dressed - in a tattered and sweaty long-sleeved shirt he had been wearing for the last five days.

Making his way downstairs, he looked at the shopkeeper who's house he and Lina had been staying at - he still hadn't learned his name. "Sup" Chester asked, his voice was dry and rough, like sandpaper. "You got water?" He followed up, and was handed a glass of water, which he chugged immediately, his skin was still dry, his lips likewise, and his eyes had hefty bags under them.

"Where's Lina?" He asked, as Lina patted him on the shoulder, and he scoffed. "More importantly, where's all the money I won us yesterday?" He asked again, feeling his stomach turning, he dashed to the bathroom - he had poison to barf.

[Pacifista]

Returning to the shop, Lina didn't have to go far before she caught the tones of Chester's innards hitting the toilet. "Oh, good, he's up," Lina noted before heading through the backroom to Chester. Peeking in, she reached into a tote bag she was carrying, plopping down a small bottle. "Anti-toxin. Hopefully it'll help a little. If you can keep it down..."

Giving Chester a few minutes, Lina sat down by the door. After Chester seemed to have calmed down a bit, Lina said, "I figured we could take the day off today. I already let my workplace know, and most of the other things we've been doing have been odd jobs." Clenching her fist, she hissed, "And those guys still haven't paid us! You." Leaning back against the wall, she suggested, "This isn't a bad town. I figure we could look around for those two guys, maybe enjoy ourselves a bit."

[Hillan]

Chester chomped down the anti-toxin pills, and immediately perked up, Lina had also brought him a beer, and he was back on his feet in one second flat "I FEEL AWESOME!" He shouted, as Lina punched him in the nose "LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" She had shouted, before leaving him alone, he felt ill again, he walked out a few moments later, Lina sitting outside the door. "Mornin'.." He said, finishing the beer, tossing it aside, the shopkeeper was quite annoyed with his littering, but they were now paying for their staying there, so it wasn't really anything the old man could do about it.

"Oh yeah, our money." Chester mentioned. Turning to Lina. "Hit the town, have a few drinks, try and find those two guys? Beat that Jerko-guy up for poisoning me, sneaky bastard." Chester said, spite in his voice."

"We should probably finish the ship up, too, I am tired of this place, I want to get rocked to sleep by the sea, that's the only real way for a pirate to sleep!" he exclaimed with a chuckle.

"Let's go" Chester exclaimed, still not having gotten dressed properly. "Hold on.. Lemme just go put something on first.." He said, awkwardly rubbing his cheek, before he vanished for a few minutes. He came back, wearing black slacks, the boots he 'acquired' from the Azure Company dude, a blue Long-sleeved T-shirt, a red sash and a necklace with five seaking teeth in it. Also a pair of sunglasses to hide his hangover.

"Now, let's go!" Chester commanded.

[Pacifista]

Lina gasped, "Y-you're paying attention to your clothes? Maybe you should rest a little longer..."

---

Moving on, the two got some breakfast at a little eatery before going around town. When it came to the ship, they were pretty good on supplies: the only thing they really needed was the repairs. Not that they hadn't gotten most of the materials, but Chester simply hadn't gotten around to making them. To remedy this, they were able to hire a carpenter to work on the ship for the day. He didn't even need to be paid up front: Chester had become a local legend overnight for overcoming the infamous tag team of Isaac and Jeko single handedly. Lina promised they pay him later.

Sadly, Kesrizu wasn't exactly the most tourist friendly town. Aside from some admittedly nice parks, most of their entertainment in the form of plays or gambling needed money, and Chester and Lina were a bit dry when it came to on hand funds. Well, Chester was, and Lina was doing her best to keep a tight grip on her wallet...but those tantalizing window displays...

---

Hands on a fresh pale (yellow) sun hat that went with her blouse and white, form fitting shorts, Lina was starting to get a bit hungry. Her and Chester moving around the outskirts of the nice part of town, poking around for Isaac or Jeko, Lina lit up as she saw a food stall sitting under a tall bridge. Though it seemed disused, leading to the danker areas of town, that whiff of baked sweet potatoes was catching her notice. Buzzing over, she didn't pay Chester any mind, even as there was a slight ruckus from high up on the bridge.

[Hillan]

Chester was rummaging around the town with Lina, looking for a place to eat - they heard that there was this one place that made really good seafood, they were gonna go for some Seamonkey sushi. The place was a few blocks to the east, Chester recalled. It was under the Rollout Bridge, past the 'Rodeotower' which was a tower where they had different floors of Rodeos on - pretty crazy stuff, Chester knew that Rodeo was a pretty big thing in the Grandline, but this was the only place in all of the North Blue where they held it, it was quite a tourist trap.

They went under the bridge, and as they emerged on the other side, Chester heard a whizzling sound above him, he looked up, his hand in front of his eyes to block the sun from blinding him, as he looked up, he saw a dark shape - the shape got closer, too quickly for him to figure out what was happening. The shape - turned out to be a briefcase, crashing into his forehead, sending the pirate to the ground.

"Sonofabitch!" Chester cried, holding his head, rubbing the spot that that had gotten hit. "Who's throwing rocks from bridges? Swear to god, I'mma bust his windpipe!" Chester yelled, agonized in pain. "Someone call a medic, I need anastetics, like alcohol!" He sat up, not rubbing his head anymore. "Actually, a drink would be nice."

[Pacifista]

Going up to Chester, she brushed his hair aside, spotting a lump on his forehead, before mumbling, "Oh hush. You'll be fine." Glancing down at the projectile, she lifted up the briefcase, turning it over in her hands. While the handle was in a normal place, the corners were both latched tightly. One was covered by a rubbery seal, but the other had clearly popped out. Poking at it, Lina mumbled, "Hmm..."

Another wooshing sound coming into audible range, Lina looked over just as a huge formed crashed into the ground, Lina hopping up in fright. The first thing that came to sight was a large dark purple coat with a ruffled trim over a black tank top and gray slacks. His boots left imprints in the ground where he landed, and he was tall: probably almost seven feet, his frame muscular. His hair was black and straight, going to his shoulders, and his skin was a pale brown. Brown eyes locked on the briefcase, he pointed a finger, requesting, "Hey...mind if I get that back?"

Lina handed it over wordlessly, and he nodded, glancing up to the bridge he'd dropped from. Looking over to Chester, he noted, "Oh, crap, did it hit you? My bad. I dropped it." Looking over the briefcase, he clicked his tongue, noting, "One of the seals is gone...should be fine." As if to test it, he brought his tough hands to either side, giving it a little pull.

The briefcase blew open, scattering a flurry of papers about. His mouth gaped open in horror as his eyes seemed to retreat into his skull, making him look gaunt as a faint groan escaped his lips, echoing into the day. His shaky hands reaching for the papers, a wind lightly blew, making him bellow, "H-help me pick them up! That case wasn't supposed to be opened!" A slightly stronger gust blew, a few papers moving over, making the man let out a squeal as he dropped down to collect them. Lina stooped down as well, eyes unable to help but go over the scribbles and notes, unable to make much of them. "Don't look at them!" The man whined.

[Hillan]

Chester hunched over, holding his head, while still cursing, softly. "Ow, ow, ow." He said, a singular tear in his eye. He rubbed his head quite furiously, and stopped once the man in the robe - the one who had thrown the briefcase on him arrived. Chester grabbed him by the collar.

"What's the big idea?! Trying to kill me with a briefcase?!" He shouted, the man explained and Chester let him go "Oh, yeah, that makes sense." Chester mentioned, the man opened the briefcase, and out flied papers - papers Lina and the man began collecting. Chester caught all that came close to him effortlessly, even going as far as to jump two meters into he air to collect two papers the wind had taken. Chester looked at the papers, despite the man's pleads not to do so. "Hey, these are just really rude drawings." The pirate mentioned. "Lina, this guy just draw dicks!" He laughed.

"They're not even very good drawings!" He continued laughing, forgetting all about his head trauma.