ooc:

Ro watched with raised eyebrows at the banter between the two crewmates. It was a curious thing to Rokuju, they seemed to disagree with each other on something as important as their deal with herself and yet, the conversation was not heated at all. What’s more, the kid brought up an issue he had with his captain, about him eating too much. But the way they were acting and reacting to each other, they didn’t seem to be bothered much at all. Pirates had always been a rowdy and loose bunch, but usually a successful captain required firm command to keep his crew in check. Mutiny was something that happened when times were hard, when things just weren’t working out for the group in question. When this happened, pirates would look to remove their captain. The resulting environment was one of almost militaristic regime. What she saw in front of her was definitely not the case. It was almost like they were friends.

A large man stepped forward, introducing himself. Ro was about to answer when something had appeared at her feet. A man on one knee had grabbed her hand, calling her a ‘glowing goddess’. The corner of her mouth twitched. Tapping into a little of her devil fruit’s speed, she took her hand from his and tapped down on his fedora, sending the rim down over his eyes. More of a playful manner but enough to send a message. She didn’t mind the flirt much, it definitely wasn’t the worst she had seen from a sea outlaw. “My name is Elena Veil, it is lovely to meet you all. Thank you for letting me join you today.” She nodded politely, while subsiding the sparkle from her skin. “And I agree, I will take the 30 percent. You have a whole crew here to support.”

Alubarna. It made sense, this was the capital of the Alabastian Kingdom. If the country had been holding treasure, then naturally it would be there. However it did make it more difficult. As it was the centre of the island, there was a more formidable place compared to some isolated village. There wouldn’t be any waltzing in and taking what they liked, that was for sure. Ro took the map as it was handed to her, studying it and agreeing with the assessment. The faint markings did seem to point to the capital.

Junbei addressed her, bringing her attention back to the Songbird crew. She nodded, and followed them off to the outskirts of the town. Where they were led, was to a small duck stable. The brick red paint blistered off the walls in the heat and a small empty pen was fenced off around the back. The kid seemed to be quite enthusiastic to journey on these things, even if his captain wasn’t. Ro could hear the commotion behind her, talk of animals attacking another of the Sandy Island towns to the west of Katorea. It sounded like things were beginning to get under way. They should start moving, they did not want to be late for this particular date. Ro stepped forward, taking lead for the moment. She didn’t want to push the pirates, but time was of the essence, and there was no telling what would happen to this country come this time tomorrow. “I’ve come to know this country well, if you will allow me, I can show you the way to the capital.” She would step into the room and exchange a few words and a small roll of beli with the owner of the stables. After a moment, she would emerge with a set of duck reigns for each of the pirates. Showing them around to the back of the building, they met a rather lively pack of oversized ducks. While Ro knew of these birds, she had never considered riding them herself. The thought had not ever been that appealing to herself, but she agreed that this would be a good idea for a quick mode of transportation. A girl appeared from the stables, and showed the group how to saddle the ducks up and gave them each a small pack of feed. Each of the birds seemed to have it’s own personality and ‘pecking’ order as it were. They were allowed to pick whichever duck they wanted, but Ro noticed that the girl deliberately led Juju towards the largest and fluffiest duck. The Vinsmoke still was unsure if the poor duck would be able to cope.

At some point while everyone was getting ready to depart, Ro would quickly excuse herself for a moment, and popped in to the post office down the street. She asked for the manager, waiting for a grey haired man to emerge from the back. She left a message with him and left, skipping the pleasantries. The man was on her payroll and the message that she had given him was to contact the shipment of goods that was at this time, being hauled off to Alubarna. The message was to ask them to wait for a few hours and make room in their carriage for a group of stowaways. It was about as good of a cover as they would be able to get for a crew worth hundreds of millions in bounty. Ro would prove to them that she was worth her 30% split. Returning to the group, she would help out with whatever preparations were needed and then she would depart, leading the pirates through the desert - if they would take her lead. Although hey had rented quite a few ducks, if any others in the area wished to travel by duck, they would find that the same place still had a couple left. What’s more, they may find that Rokuju and the Songbird pirates would not be covering their tracks, leaving them easily followed.

It was a bit frightening at first, she didn’t have such a great time with animals, and being on such a beast that ran at breakneck speed was a bit out of her comfort zone. However the bird didn’t seem to mind, it probably helped that she was as light as a feather. Their path weaved through the dunes, taking time to avoid main paths so that they would not meet anyone while also avoiding the monsters beneath the sands. According to the stable girl, the bird’s name was called Papango and had an unusual colouration of being jet black with yellow eyes. The squad of swift ducks would make short work of the expansive desert. After a few hours, Ro would call for a stop in the shelter of a rocky outcrop, taking a much needed rest from the sun in the shade. The sun was beginning to descend down into its horizon bed. There she would explain her plan of smuggling the pirates into the city. Should they agree to her plan, Ro would begin moving again, taking them towards the rendezvous point that she had set up earlier.
By the time the cart came into view, the last light of day was projecting streaks of orange and pink across the sandy hills. She would inform the pirates that this was the place. The meeting place was hidden in a valley several miles from the capital city. Dismounting, Ro approached and greeted the cabby. “Never thought you were a duck enthusiast, ma’am. Thinking about joining the avian rodeo?” Ro let him get away with the comment while shooting him a glare. She did not share the same loose authority with her employees as Junbei did with his crew, but she needed him for this job.
“How is it looking?” She was referring to the security of the city borders and how easy it would be to slip inside. He sprouted a cheeky grin, glad that he had gotten away with his impudence.
“To be honest Miss, I haven’t seen the city so well fortified in my years of workin’ these jobs.”
“We need to get this lot into the foundry, do you think you can do it?” She motioned towards Junbei and his crew. Being such a roguelike character, the smuggler dude would have recognised the pirate.
“Jeez… What exactly are you getting yourself into Miss Veil?” Ro’s eyebrows lowered over her eyes. He should know better than to ask those sorts of questions.
“There’s a big payday in it for you, Conroy. Get ready, I want to leave in five.” His eyebrow raised when the topic changed to money. Ro had always done right by him in terms of salary, so he knew she was good for it. He jumped to it, calling over the pirate crew to his cart. There he would make room for the group to stow away in the front of the cart, and if they would enter, stack crates of weapons and ammunition up behind them so that they were hidden from view. Then, he would throw a canvas roof over the cart so that all inside was shielded from the sun and wind and, more importantly, prying eyes. Meanwhile, Ro would pat Papango, feeding and watering him. Then when they were all ready, she sent them off with a command to return to Katorea the way they came.

Passing the cart that would have the Songbirds in it, Ro would call out. “Everybody comfortable? Only a couple of hours to Alubarna.” Conroy had finished up reigning the pair of clydesdales up to the cart and sat up as the cart’s driver. Ro sat up by him in the passenger’s seat, not needing to hide herself from the marines nor the kingdom. It was a slow trip, the steady horses pulling the cart over the sand dune ridges and onto the desert highway. The tread on the cartwheels dug into the sand and ploughed through it, sending them on their way to the capital.

Night had fallen by the time they approached the southern wall. Riding nonchalantly up to the gate, Ro would notice the number of marines littering the southern gate. It really was well fortified. Hopefully this would not cause too much trouble for them. Conroy trotted the horses up to the gate and stopped, waiting for the men to come out and meet them. Rokuju hopped off the cart and went out to meet them. “This shipment of supplies is urgently needed by the military reserves, we must get these through as soon as possible.” She talked with loud authority, standing in front of the marines as interception. The marines looked like they were coming to turn them away, the way they brandished their weapons and approached as a group.
“The last supply cart was supposed to come in hours ago. You will not enter. Unload your goods and prepare to be searched.” They tried walking past her to get to the cart, but once again she stood in front of them. This was her ball field, she was confident she could get them past this.
“That was us. My name is Elena Veil of Veil Industries, go check your list for me.”
“No can do, even if you are on it, we couldn’t allow such a non-compliance.”
“No you listen to me, Marine!” Ro amped up the pressure. “I am a ranking officer of the court and have a royal decree to prepare this country for war. I will have you executed for defying me!” Ro pulled out the legitimate paperwork from her pocket and shoved it in the man’s face with enough force behind her palm to smash the marine’s nose. He shouted in surprise and recoiled, the marines brandishing their rifles at her. Thankfully her business here on Alabasta had given her the perfect cover story. While she may have exaggerated her influence just a tad, she was technically correct. Luckily there wasn't any high ranking marine here that could fob her claim off.

An older lady stepped out from the gatehouse on the side of the walls. “I’m afraid she is right, ensign. Miss Veil here has managed to secure herself quite the position of authority within these walls.” She walked forward and took the document from Ro’s hand. In the torchlight, she could see that this was one of the people that had been present in the palace that day. Judging from the respectless address, she did not particularly like the young blonde upstart. “See, that there is the royal seal. You can just make out the King’s signature there under your bloodstain.” She pointed out the document to the marine. The contact had caused a little blood to drip onto the royal decree. “Unfortunately I can’t let you arrest her or her cargo.” Politely and maybe even a little passive aggressively, she handed it back to Ro. The blonde girl nodded and walked back to the cart and joined a profusely sweating Mr Conroy.

The group would wait for the marines to retreat and eventually raise the metal gates so that they may pass underneath. The horses slowly clopped through the city underneath the navy sky, stars just beginning to come out of hiding. Conroy slowly drove them down a side street and into an inconspicuous warehouse that Ro used for her own business needs. After delivering them, he would take his leave, retiring to some secluded burrow. Ro would boot up the home security measures, making sure all the scanners were operational before setting up camp. Here they would have a chance to get a good night’s sleep.

And they would surely need it, for unbeknownst to them, tomorrow was the day that the Yonko was coming to town.

crafting:

Aint tryna be skipped so I will post around 10 am

Ro would have to admit it, after successfully making their way past the gatekeepers, a sense of thrill had been born inside her. This really was going to turn out to be another adventure, wasn’t it? After setting up camp in her warehouse, she had been confident that they could get a good night’s sleep here. After all, there were the security measures she had in place so that her produce would be looked after. Having no beds to sleep on, they may not have the best rest, but it would do. Before going to bed, Junbei had come to her and brought up the fact that she still had not divulged information about herself. He was smiling and from his words, he did not seem to mind so much. Ro would return his expression and make an honest statement. “If we get through this, I promise I’ll tell you everything.” It was not fair to keep asking Junbei and his crew to trust her when she was not being totally upfront with them. Naturally he had brought this up and Ro hoped that this would be enough for now. She no longer had any intention of deceiving the men, but it was hard to change her learned behavior. Trust was not something that came easily to her, and frankly, she was surprised that she was getting it back from the pirate. “There is one thing you should know, however. If things are going to get dangerous, then you should know this.” Ro would hold her hand out in front of her, morphing it into a shape of pure golden light and then back to flesh again. “I’ve eaten the Pika Pika no Mi, which may be of use.” Although there may have been hints here and there, she hadn’t revealed her powers to them yet. Hopefully her promise and showing her power would be enough for now.

“The plan? Well that would be to find the treasure!” The only clue that they had gained from the map was that it was somewhere here in the capital. She did not have any clear direction forward as of yet. “It’s late, let’s get some rest and then we can decide tomorrow.”

12:45

Ro had been awake now for a few hours, and was keeping careful watch of their surroundings. She had been mulling over what they should do next. They couldn’t just strut through the street, that would bring much too much attention. She was soon startled out of her thoughtful state by Junbei jumping up from his sleeping spot and alerting everyone to the incoming danger. Soon enough, in the minutes that would follow, loud smashing sounds and shouts and screams and thundering footsteps filled the air as the area around them was preparing for the impact of the imminent battle.

A beeping went off at her office station across the room to alert her that her sensors had been tripped. There was someone approaching the warehouse. Ro rushed to the office to gather info on the potential threat. “From the north-eastern direction.” She informed herself, and then ran up to the tinted windows to peer out. A small group of marines was coming up to the building entrance. The man in front banged on the door and piped up.
“In this state of emergency, we have come to seize all weapons and ammunitions. Open up immediately or face the consequences!” From the stripes on his shoulder, he looked like he was a commodore.
“Looks like they found out the shipment wasn’t delivered this morning.” It showed how desperate their situation was, that they were trying to take what they needed in this last minute scramble for preparation. Ro looked around the side street around the squad of marines to make sure the coast was clear before making her move. She walked over to about five metres in front of the door and turned to Junbei. “I’ll handle this.” she said with a wink. Then she took off, running full pelt at the door that separated her and the marines. Her body glowed with light and thin lasers were emitted forwards as she accelerated. The lasers criss crossed in front of her, penetrating the steel door and shredding it apart. Ro carried through, running through the squad of marines before any signs of recognition had adorned their faces. Her lasers were aimed at the necks of the men, clotheslining and decapitating them. By the time Ro stopped, each man’s body was separated from their heads. Debris from the door finally reached the ground, slow compared to the pace of her attack. The point of attack was planned as they now had half a dozen marine uniforms to choose from if they wanted a disguise, although that meant that they would have to pick them off the bodies of the murdered squad. They also had a commodore’s uniform that would help them move through the low ranking marine reserves without being called into battle.

Ro would return to her new acquaintances, checking that the coast was clear before turning back to the main task at hand. “We should be leaving as soon as possible. Gimme another look at that map, did it say anything about where exactly the treasure was located?” Ro would grab the map and unfurl it, the sounds of battle being masked by the ringing of the city clocktower in the background, to mark 1pm. As the first chime rung, new words rose up onto the map parchment. They read as followed:

Map wrote:

“It is high time the key was found,
To the bells, the path is bound.
The Angel’s Melody is the sound,
That will let you pass beneath the ground.”

They had been given a riddle to follow. Ro looked up in the direction of the central clock tower as the last bell was struck. There was only one place in the city could be called 'high time'. "I think I know where to go next..." Ro would share her idea and wait for Junbei to respond with how he wanted to proceed. Whichever way, she would follow.

crafting:

(So basically it is like the movie thing where there is a black screen then they skip scene. My crew and I took out the desert smugglers and took some of their desert clothing, camels, and food. If the skipped scene is a problem I will do a flAshback of it in my next post.)


The crew of Apollo was roaming through the desert slowly on the Camels. Walking through the sand on the back humps stored with water, he would say “Xena, how far is this kingdom from our current position.” There would be a pause of talking as the navigator would come to analyze the map. Looking up in front of him as he gripped the reins of the camel. He would let out a small yelp. “Don't tell me that is where the kingdom is.” said Apollo looking at the veil of sand moving around what seemed to be a large wall in a random and slow manner. It didn't look like a real sand storm.

“Unfortunately, that is our destination. The eastern entrance of Arabasta.” said Xena as she would begin folding up the map and thrusting it back into one of her many pockets.

Cocking his head to the side and squinting his eyes, trying to get a better picture. He would see multiple people in an area where a opening was to the kingdom. Maybe they were friends rather than foe.


Walking for about forty minutes or so. They would come to pass through the veil of sand, hopping off the camel backs, as the animals themselves turned around and went to roam the deserts. Shrugging his shoulders, Apollo would begin to fix his desert equipment. Tightening the ski mask like fixture on his face and putting the large hood over his head and forehead, hoping to shield the sand from hitting his face as it was falling downward vertically. Though, even through all og this. His top hat still managed to stay on. Walking through the storm of Sand. He would hear someone say something about a battery. Something he could barely hear.

Walking further through the sand. The entrance in almost clear view, he would see animal people. He heard the words crew, Yonko, and Raphael. All of the blood draining from his usually cheerful face as his heart would begin to pump blood even faster. Maybe this was a test from his mother. Giving him a treasure map knowing that many powerful crews would be after it. Even the Yonko Raphael.

Sighing, he would walk up to the group of people and realize that they were Minks. Being with his mom nearly his whole life. He had traveled to many places both far and wide. Even encountering the electricity baring minks. His body shuddering he would say “Hi people, I heard the words Raphael and crew. So I assume whatever is here in this kingdom is so important that he himself may come. So if you want I will help.” said Apollo as he eyed the fusion of animals and humans. Such a unique source of people. Maybe they were not from this world.

Eyeing them waiting for a move. He would see all of them blink only once and run towards him. Most of them grabbing him as he fell in the sand. His body being licked and rubbed. He felt violated. This was the things he hated about the minks. Their “Minkship”. Maybe it was their form of sex. Pushing his way through them with his immense strength. He would stand up and begin to eye one that looked like a sheep. She held a cleaver in her hand and would say “You may join our ranks. The battle for the Treasure of Davy Jones shall commence.” screamed the Sheep creature as she held her cleaver in the air and had began to rush into the city. Her fellow minks following behind her. Looking at the rest of his crew who had been bombarded by the Minks as well he would say “Well, we got an adventure alright.” nodding at them. He would rush behind the minks as well. His mind knowing it couldn't do much in battle due to his Devil Fruit powers.

Ro had just come in from dealing with the marine intrusion when she heard Junbei start up. She couldn’t tell exactly what he was doing, but from how his crew payed attention, it seemed like it was of importance. Ro would listen intently as Junbei reported back information about those that were surrounding their location. It seemed like some sort of sensory technique. Then a strange sound appeared from his mouth. She jerked up to hear the noise that was halfway between a shouted command and an animalistic growl. How was he able to make that sound? From the way he was phrasing his words, it didn’t seem like it was him talking. The voice would end with naming one of the four strongest pirates on the seas. One of the terrifying Yonko. Ro looked back and forth between the pirates, discerning the situation from their reactions. It really did look like a Yonko was coming. Well, that certainly made things a little more uncertain. Damn, she was hoping to stay out of the big leagues for now, but it looks like the big fish had come to her. Realistically, there was no way that she could take on such a foe but that didn’t mean she could not grab a few gold pieces and make a getaway. Disappearing was a specialty of hers, and if need be she could dissolve into the desert and out of harm’s way whenever she wanted. However the Songbirds did not really have that luxury. Ro had allied up with them and so she would fight alongside them. But now that a Yonko had been tossed into the mix, was she really prepared to stick her neck out for them in this regard? Surely she didn’t care enough about them to defy such a force. No, no. Something like that just didn’t make sense. After all, she couldn’t die until her goals had been accomplished. Regardless… She just could not see herself abandoning them. Ro’s resolve burned bright. They would just have to move faster, and with more care from now on.

Not a sight to be surprised at, all the commotion had whipped up a sandy fog that luckily was rolling across their path. Soon enough the group was beginning to make it’s way through the gritty cloud guided by Junbei’s proficient haki usage. Ro trusted him enough to give up her sight. He hadn’t let her down yet. Juju and Nico soon split off to follow their orders. It wasn’t long before they had reached the clock tower and entered. Junbei seemed to know what the map had meant by the Angel’s Lullaby. Another stroke of luck, their stars were beginning to align it seemed. He broke out in song, one that according to him, was a lullaby from the East Blue. His voice was simply amazing. Ro couldn’t help but stop and gawk, the melody carrying her off, and her eyelids started to droop regardless of the adrenaline filled moment. There was power in a voice so sweet, even if she wasn’t a connoisseur of the arts, she could recognise that much. This kid really was a bag of surprises. Well, what had she expected from a pirate that was named Songbird?

Once the song began to finish, the ground beneath Ro’s feet began to rumble, waking her from the trance. She would quickly hop out of the way, just in time to see a secret stairway to emerge from underneath the clocktower. Well now, it appeared they were getting somewhere.

resources:

crafting:

What an adventure. No sooner had Junbei finished his song, a passageway had opened up below them. A stone hatch rolled away to reveal a spiraling staircase which led into a half lit dungeon. Ro felt a tingling in her fingertips as she looked down into this new territory. How long had this place laid undiscovered? Would they be the first ones to set their eyes on the bounty that hid beneath? The potential riches were only half the attraction. Ro’s face erupted into a grin, looking up at the pair of pirates that were accompanying her. “Well, shall we?” As if she needed any encouragement. Like a kid in a candy shop, she began to clop down the stairs. Whether Junbei and Caprice followed, the passageway would begin to close after another minute. The stairs would weave around in a circle and open up into a passage about five metres below the street level. To call it a passage did it injustice. It was more like a massive hall than any small enclosed space. It stretched easily twenty metres across, fifty metres in length and three metres up. Large engraved stone columns held up the passage and were spaced about every five metres or so. Ro sharply inhaled as she peered into the dimness. It wasn’t clear where the small amount of light was coming from, but it was enough to see down here.

Then something caught her eye in the middle of the underground room. A small golden glint that made her heart skip a beat. She began to half run half skip towards the alluring trove. Could it be what everyone was here to find? Yes, as she approached, the huge heap of gold came into focus. Eyes like saucers, Ro would approach, slowing down now to a walk as she realised what was in front of her. Golden goblets and a dazzling array of jewels. A bounty of coins accompanied a wealth of valuable artifacts. Oh what lives these treasures must have lived, being lusted over by men for generations. From being pillaged from their original owners to ending up here, the forgotten vault of a dead man. Ro was overwhelmed in the moment, so much so that she didn’t notice the thin thread tripwire that spanned the gap between two columns. She felt a small pressure on her ankle, looking down she realised her mistake. But it was too late to go back now. Maybe she had missed some vital clue somewhere along the way. That wasn’t important now.

A huge crack appeared in the pillars to her left and right, loud smashing sounds accompanied them. Realising the danger, Ro jumped backwards with as much force as she could, throwing herself back just as the roof above the treasure pile caved in. Skidding to a stop, she watched the debris fall down on the treasure, letting in the harsh revealing light of day rain down on the hidden secret below. It would only take seconds for marines and civilians alike to come to the edge of the 15m diameter crater in the middle of the street to see what had just happened. Then chaos ensued. A full goldrush begun as dozens of souls used whatever they had around them, whether it be ladders or ropes to get down to the treasure. Fights over particular artifacts started as greed consumed people before Ro’s very own eyes. Those deep blue eyes would observe the chaos from the shadows unnoticed by the scurrying humans. How unsightly. More people began to come, trampling those below them. A mild regret filled her as she watched, realising that the same lust had almost taken a hold of herself.

Always being one to think ahead, Ro realised that this could become very dangerous very soon. After all, this was the main event. This was the reason everyone had turned up today. Soon the whole city would be looking down at this one place. Ro would then take a few moments to prepare the area. This is where her experience began to show. It was almost like she could sense it. The final act. The music was growing louder. She best prepare for the crescendo. The scarf went back up around her head, shading her face from anyone who would glance in her direction. She touched the slim plastic containers that hid the pistols on each wrist. Ro flicked a few dynamic capsules from her sleeves like marbles. Tossing half a dozen up around the perimeter of the hole outside and a few back around the stairs she had just come for good measure. She then flicked a few into the treasure pile. Nobody was really watching, they would be assuming that she was doing the same as them, looting what she could. If Junbei and Caprice were close by, she would give each of them one as well and briefly describe its purpose. Ro would make sure to stand on top of some of the debris so that she had a clear view of both the inside and outside. Her eyes flicked around the scene unfolding around her. What should their next move be? Maybe they should just walk away while they still could. With all this happening, she didn’t know that the Yonko was only a couple of minutes away at this point.

resources:

crafting: