Pacifista

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

"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...

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

"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.

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

"...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?

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

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.

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

Quickly grabbing her things: clothes, plant pots, some food, Lian was a bit excited. A new ship could mean her very own room!

Seeing the villagers go after the food, she realized something. "One second," she said, putting her stuff down. Going up to one of the villagers, she took the melonberry he was struggling with and cracked it open with her melonberry spork. "These are from Melonberry Island: it's not very far from here...though you don't have many ships here, do you?"

Taking a bite, the villager froze, before tears began to well up in his eyes. Holding the fruit aloft, he cried to the heavens, "It's so goooood!" Smiling, Lina took one last look at the spork she'd had since childhood, and left it behind. She would not try melonberries again unless she returned home, or her trees matured, provided she could care for them.

Before going to get her things, Lina marched back to up Grif, her expression surly once again. "What are you doing!? Hunting around for treasure? Go arrest those bandits why don't you!" Grabbing the old map, she jabbed at one spot, growling, "They should be stuck here if you're fast enough!" Grif opened his mouth to retort, but his seagull nibbled his ear, silencing him, allowing Lina to go free. Picking up her salvaged stuff, she concluded, "Let's go."

---

Leaving the Marines with their freedom intact, the old lady led them around the coast, taking them to a smaller dock in another section of town, where the buildings seemed to be a bit worn down. However, there was indeed a ship, but it wasn't exactly grand. Seeming to stare into the distance was a bear shaped headpiece, one of its ears chipped off. While the bear headpiece was a more full, woody color, despite its damage, this was in contrast to the gray wood of the deck and the rest of the ship, which was splintery in some parts and uneven in others. A triangular sail was rigged to the headpiece and the main mast, two square sails folded on its front. The raised deck towards the rear of the ship had a smaller mast with yet another square sail and the steering wheel, two of its spokes missing. In faded carving on the side of the hull, the odd name 'Hinnon Breeze' could barely be read,

The were two entrances to the lower decks. One was a door on the main deck, leading to a dining room with one table and a few mismatched chairs in a layer of dust. The staircase there and the hatch both led the the main hallway, which branched into several rooms, including a kitchen near the stern. One large room was strung with hammocks, many with snapped strings, while another had a few plain, musty beds, but were otherwise serviceable.

There were a couple other spare rooms as well, and another stairwell which led down to the last deck, which had a storeroom (where Chester and Lina put what supplies they had, bathroom (complete with a firewood and pump operated bath! Except the pump was broken), and the rotary to raise and lower the anchor. There was also a small cannon deck, but it was poorly stocked, with one rusty cannon.

After giving it a look, the truth was the two had little choice. Giving them the thanks of Kappanai Island once again, she let the to their reward.

Taking off her hat and slipping on her new bracelet, Lina rested her hands on the Breeze's railing, looking out to sea. "Well?"

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

Waving a hand in front of her face, Lina insisted, "No way, that bear wasn't talking. It was a ruse."

Grinning, Lina hopped over to the chest, giggling, "But this isn't a ruse! It's so heavy." Jangling the rusted lock, Lina backed off before stabbing it with her sword, breaking it open. Grin wide, she almost squealed as she opened it.

Under the hood, she blinked as she saw a good number of tin and iron tools, ranging from tools to cooking supplies, all fairly beat up or broken. Eyes glossed over, Lina stared at the contents, blinking vapidly, her mind still working to process it. Reaching in, she began to dig through, tossing out a number of baubles. "I-It's gotta be under here! O-or there's a fake bottom!"

Chest emptied, Lina almost exploded in glee as the base popped up with a push in the right place. Throwing the wooden plank aside, she found... a rolled up piece of paper. Opening it...it was another treasure map. Of a different island. With more stupid riddles.

Don'tcrydon'tcrydon'tcrydon'tcry

Checking the chest again, she picked out an admittedly nice gold bracelet that was there in the bottom with some neat line patterns. Slipping it under her hat, she accepted her consolation prize mournfully.

---

"Where's the chest? You had one job!" Grif snarled as Lina stomped down the dock. His anger quickly paled as he saw hers though.

Reaching him, Lina practically shoved the new map into his mouth. As he spat it out, she hissed, "We found your stupid treasure, asshole, and guess what, it was another map. What kind of big stupid asshole doessomethinglikethat!?" While her voice cracked as her sanity seemed to wane, Grif gawked, having no idea how to respond to the teen girl in her sun hat.

"At least you got the greatest treasure of all: a friendship with...damn, Cheese, what happened to your face?"

Ignoring the Marine Lina stomped a bit further down the deck, spotting their ship, but it seemed smaller somehow. Taking a closer look, she saw that it was sinking. Most of the deck was underwater. "What happened to our boat!?"

Seeing a gash in the back of the Marine ship, she pieced together what had happened: when the Marine ship stopped, their smaller boat smacked into the back, getting a crack in it, which likely led to the flooding. She growled at the Marines, "Get our stuff off of there NOW!" While Lina cracked the whip, sending the Marines into a tizzy, Grif rubbed the bridge of his nose. What a mess...

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

Lina sighed in relief; she should have known Chester was more durable that that. Still, he was pretty messed up though.

Suddenly, one of the three remaining bandits feel away, bleeding. As he dropped to the ground, Lina retracting her sword, another cried, "What the hell kinda cheap shot was that!?" Lina stabbed him too. The last remaining one watched Lina in shock, before she turned and glared at him. He made the wise move to turn tail and run.

Stepping down from the treasure chest, the fight was a more fair two on two. Glancing at Tedbjorn and Chester, Bjork growled, "You two wait right there." Drawing his sword, he faced down Lina. As he made to charge, Lina raised her sword to block. As she parried his first few strikes, she wasn't surprised to see that he was better, but Lina still wasn't too-

"Grah!" Came a cry from behind her. Throwing an eye over her shoulder, she made to block, but there was nothing there. Instead, she reflexively dodged to the side, Bjork's blade nicking her ear and head. Lina drove the but of her hilt into his ribs, attempting to drive him back. It didn't phase him too much, but he backed off anyway, just enough to get room to strike but not enough for Lina to do the same.

Teetering off the the side, Lina blocked a few more blows, but Bjork was incessant. She flinched as she heard a whistling noise in one ear, than again in the other. At the same time, Bjork had made some stronger strikes, keeping Lina more on edge. Watching her footing, the whistling noises kept her checking her flank, while repelling Bjork was beginning to become more of a rhythm.

Blocking another strike, Lina stuck out her tongue as she back-stepped over the chest, landing neatly on the other side. Bjork growled, charging after, using the chest as a stepping stone, raising his sword to plunge it down on her. As another yell came from behind her, she didn't flinch, simply stepping to the side.

Bjork's eyes widened. The hole. Landing at its side, he hastily stopped his momentum, feet just barely keeping from tipping over. As his arms stretched out to the side to keep from falling, Lina gave an innocent giggle before poking him lightly in the back. Bjork cried out in pain, sword falling from his hands to the grass as he slipped into the pit, landing with a crash.

Crouching down at the side of the pit, Lina had a smug look as she watched Bjork try to recover. "Ted, Ted! I gotta watch Ted fight! It won't work otherwise!"

Lina grinned slyly. "Want me to narrate?"

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

Puckering her lips as she watched the rustling branches, Chester well out of sight, Lina turned back to see the bandits watching her. Feet starting to stepped, she turned and fled.

Some laughter burned at her back, but it stopped as Lina stopped down by the chest, grabbing it by a handle on the side. She made surprising headway, dragging it forward about a meter before starting to slow down, the laughter stopping. Her run came to a stop as the bandits began to pile onto the the treasure chest.

Glancing to see the bandits quite literally stacked onto each other, Lina let go, drawing her blade with a malicious smile on her face. Panicking, the four bandits scrambled away as Lina held her sword in two hands, stabbing it down, the tip jabbing into the wood. As they crawled away before standing up, drawing their weapons. Stepping up onto the chest, Lina kept her stance low, snarling, "It's mine!" Blinking, she corrected halfheartedly, "Ours." Lina growled, "Chester you better not have died!"

Lina jumped, back straight as the ground shook, the bear taking a step forwards. Lina paled, but she had more immediate problems. Thankful she wasn't very tall, she fended off the first sword strike, before dancing to parry another. Surrounded by four, it was almost like a game of whack-a-mole as she repelled their attacks. After a good few seconds of this, one thing was clear. Compared to the Azure Company...

"You guys suck," Lina spat. She wasn't even mad. The bandits growled, having clearly underestimated her. Before they could retaliate, Tedbjorn advanced another step, making Lina sweat a bit.

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

Longitude? Latitude? Lina decided to keep quiet rather than further reveal her navigational ignorance.

Running down the river, crossing a rickety bridge one at a time, and trekking through some woods, the two found themselves going up the incline of the previous cliff before taking a turn, though not before seeing a pair of cross shaped rock formations about where the cross was on the map. They were also surrounded by potholes and loose dirt, yet that was not where the coordinates pointed. It looked like Grif didn't even try. Lina gave a chuckle at his expense as she returned to the map.

As they got closer to a bend in the stream, the pair found an open spot in the trees, but the clearing was otherwise featureless. Checking around, Lina said, "It has to be around here." Glancing at the shovel, Lana patted Chester on the back, suggesting, "Get diggin'."

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

"He who reaches..." Lina repeated, thinking for a second. Looking up the cliff face, they were on the right path at least. Even though Chester didn't seem to know the answer to the riddle at all...or maybe he just didn't bother to tell Lina the answer.

Looking up the cliff, she tried to make out anything of note, but all she could see was a large patch of moss. Stooping down, she took the map off the ground near where the shovel had been left, trying to find some other clues. There was another scribble near where the cliff would have been saying, The geography is to be combined. The path, the river, the cliff, all crossed.

Unfurling the map a bit more, she saw something she hadn't really paid attention to before: in the margins, there were lines for a grid, though they didn't crisscross over the entire map. There was one that was clearly marked however. Tracing it down the page, it went from somewhere further north, through an area north of the cliff they were at, then back down the island. There was another set of margins on the other axis, but there was no mark.

Since the cliff wasn't even on the map, Lina called, "Climb up and check that moss patch! And, um, burn it away? Just get rid of it!" Looking back down at the map, she recalled what he had said the other day, chiding, "And don't fall into the water! Hammer."