Avice looked around for a moment, before starting off in a random direction. "I wonder if they have paint brushes here... Or even those fancy pencils!" She muttered, trying to figure out plans along the way.
"Off to buy some meds...now,what better place to have medical supplies than the Corps?" She smiled as she went over to the Corps Base which was actually not too far away. She beamed with confidence as she strolled through the front door. "Hello fine gentlemen,I am in dire need of medical supplies and knowing the amazing Corps crew who protect our fine city,I thought why not the Corps crew!?" What the Corps likes almost as much as money and women is when they're meeting they're "fans". "Well,it depends on what you got young Missy. We may be able to...bargain a little,especially with your amazing assets" a few men chuckled as a few of them stare at her chest. Well,they certainly fell for the bait. "Well, I might think about it...but i'm gonna need my supplies first." A few minutes of "convincing" passed and Sierra stormed out with a big bag of supplies. "Oi. Didn't that lady who just walked out look a lot like the one that killed Chief Captain Feist?" "YOUR SUCH a twit! There is no resemblance between her and that little red head girl that killed the chi-OH MY DEAR LORD WHAT HAVE WE DONE?! OUR PRIZE LITERALLY WALKED OUT ON US! Gather the most, we're gonna be swimming in it once we execute her!"
The door creaked as Natalia pushed it open. Two bulky, shaved man glared at her as she walked in. "He's expecting me," she said, and when they nodded, she moved past them, holding her breath against the smell of sweat and dried blood. She walked through a curtain made of dried god knows what, and in the center of the dimly lit room was a man, leaning back in his chair, picking his teeth with a slim dagger. He was dashing, with light blond hair and sky blue eyes. He may have looked innocent if it wasn't for what Natalia knew. Appearances, she remembered, were almost always deceiving. "Heh. Natalia. Long time no see." "Knox." Natalia responded sharply. He gestured to a seat across from him. She did not take it. A smirk appeared at the edge of his mouth, and he shook his head in amusement. "Why are you here, my dear?" "You know why. You have something I need back." "Ahh..." Knox reached into his front pocket and pulled out a locket. "You mean this?" Natalia looked at it hungrily, and Knox chuckled darkly. "Always the same, my little lark. What makes you think I'll give it to you?" "I suppose you wouldn't give it to me for old times sake?" she said flatly. He stared at her for a moment, surprised, and then threw his head back in laughter. "Old times sake? I think not." She sighed in annoyance. "You must have known this was a trap, right? You must have realized I would never give it back." He stood up, and walked over to her slowly. He traced a finger along her cheek, and her jaw tightened. "Get away from me," she said with revulsion. "Oh, my little lark," he said softly, "I should have never let you out of your cage." She acted swiftly. Jutting her elbow out, she hit him in the stomach, and, placing her hand on his chest, forcefully pushed him away. She kicked him back to get more room, and eyed him warily, pulling out her dagger. He spat blood, and looked up at her, grinning. "Oh, I forgot how good you were at this." * * * Jade watched Sierra leave the Corps building with a mixture of anger and disbelief. "Is she that stupid?" she asked Ellia, who just shook her head. "Natalia's going to be pissed," she replied, and together, they hurried over to Sierra.
Cobiah walked down the street, and walked up the marble steps of the extravagant Seatone Trading Post. He walked inside and was immediately greeted by a young clerk with a bright smile on her face. "Hello, welcome to the Seatone- Oh my, Mr. Cobiah, I didn't realise it was you! What can I assisst you with?" "I'm going to be dipping into your reserves a little, father's orders. Write this down - 3 barrels of citrus, enough disenfectant and bandages for the crew of a galleon, as well as gunpowder, cannonballs and whiskey. Here is my father's letter for verification." The clerk speedily jotted everything down and confirmed the notes authenticity. She handed the list to the stockeeper. "Drop it off at the docks, I can handle transportation to ship." Cobiah turned around and walked out, only to see Sierra brig pursued by Corpsmen. He drew his rapier, and stood between them and Sierra. He firmly grabbed Sierra's arm with his free hand, and yanked her towards him. He nudged her in the arm, signifying for her to play along. "Stop right there, officers. This woman stole property of the Seatone Corporation. I will take her in myself to deal with the punishment. And if you have any problems, I'm sure your CO would love to hear how you screwed up the trade agreement between the Corps and Seatone Corp." He nudged Sierra again, as if asking her to say something.
Jared eventually found his way to the library. He pushed one of the large, dual oak doors. With a creak, it opened and Jared walked in and began searching for the books he wanted. "Let's see..." He hummed to himself. "K... L... M.. Myths and legends; The seven seas. Perfect!" He picked the book off the shelf and walked over to another bookshelf and piced out a couple more books. Some about Gourmet recipes and one being a novel about a group of pirates looking for a sacred treasure called the "Single Piece". He thought it looked interesting. He payed for the books and left, only to see Cobiah and Sierra. "What happened?..." He asked himself. "Is that the Corps?" He hurried over to look but didn't present himself to them.
The Corpsmen shifted uncomfortably - the Seatone name was not one to mess around with, but they had their orders. "Mr... uh... Seatone, we respect your wish to capture this criminal for theft, but we have a much more severe crime in mind." He paused, still uncertain. "She murdered the Chief Captain Feist."
Jared put his books down and knelt down behind some barrels. He took a double take at the barrels. "What is it with me being around barrels?" He asked himself before listening to the commotion. "Did they just say... murdered... a Chief Captain?" He muttered. Many passers-by stared at him because he looked weird hiding behind a barrel and muttering to himself.
Meanwhile, Avice was completely oblivious to what was going on. She was observing the brushes of a nearby market and was stuck between two choices. After just shrugging it off and slyly hiding one up her sleeve and the other in her belt, she casually walked off from the market. She breathed a small sigh of relief after she in the safe zone.
(Oh my God, I love Avice.) Natalia and Knox circled the room wearily, both looking for an opening. "Come on, love," he said, laughing roughly. "Just return to me. It doesn't have to be this way." She didn't answer, she just glanced at his side. All those years ago, she doubted the wound had fully healed. He leapt forward, and slashed his knife at her. She felt the skin on her cheek split, and she gritted her teeth against the pain. With a grunt, she pushed him back, and twirled, launching her foot out and kicked his side. Her hit aimed true, and he howled as he fell. "Guards! Get her!" She bolted for the door just as the two men lumbered inside. She jumped, and the heel of her boot caught the first man's forehead, and she kicked down, essentially stepping on his head in midair, and knocked down the other one in the process. She kicked off of them seconds before hitting the ground, and took off, sprinting down the streets. She turned down an alleyway, and noticed the delicate designs. She grunted in satisfaction, took three steps back, and jumped towards the wall, digging her fingertips into the detailed stonework, and hauled herself over onto the roof. She stood up, and looked around. She saw the sea in the distance, and she cursed herself for ever leaving it. She took off in the direction of the docks.
"I'm well aware of what this fiend did. Perhaps some gold or silver in exchange for silence?" Cobiah gestured to an orange leather bag on his waist, and shook it. There were definitely coins in there. "Your choice, lads. The gold, or being chewed out by your Commanding Officer. I hear he's a real hard ass."
(That makes me happy, thanks!) Avice was humming a bit, admiring her new paint brushes. She looked up to notice a figure running across the tops of building. A puzzled looked crossed her face as she watched in confusion. After a moment she recognized who it was and began walking faster towards the dock and ship.
Natalia leapt over a gap between two buildings, and got to the edge of town. She peered over the edge of the roof, and saw a confrontation between Cobiah, Sierra, and Corps members. She groaned, but waited. Perhaps they could figure this out themselves. The two men shifted on their feet. It did indeed look like a large amount of gold, and they eyed it hungrily. "She.. will go to her prison, yes?" one said, still not totally convinced. The other one elbowed him in the gut, from fear that the treasure might miraculously disappear. "Fine," he said. "Glad to see she'll get what she deserves." They reached for the gold purse, looking at Cobiah expectantly.
"I will assure you she will get the punishment she deserves." Cobiah untied the knot keeping the pouch to his belt, and tossed it to the Corpsmen. "I'm glad we could settle this peacefully, gentlemen. Good day." He said, dragging Sierra away at swordpoint, only releasing her when the Corps were out of sight. "You're lucky gold and a little pressure can buy anyone of those dogs, or else you would have been in the stockades for sure. How did you get yourself into this predicament anyway?"
Natalia nodded in approval, and blinked sluggishly. She wasn't feeling well - that fight with Knox had given her cuts in various places, and they weren't gentle - but she stood up from the edge, and walked to the side that was leading into an other alley. They needed to hurry - Knox and his lackeys would pursue her if they knew where she was. She slid down a gutterpipe quietly, groaning as the cut on her belly had pressure on it, and left the dark alley behind her. She approached her crew with a hand on her side, holding the wound, and cleared her throat. "Glad to see we all had some fun. We should depart as soon as we can. Is everyone here?"
Avice jumped out of a crowd that had trapped her. "Aye ma'am!" She said, with a proud look on her face after she managed to get past the bystanders. Her happy expression dropped a bit after she saw Natalia holding her side. "... Uh, are you alright?"
Natalia grimaced, but there was a rather astonishing aura of joy surrounding her, one that had never been seen before by her crew. She swayed dangerously, but shook her head as if to clear it, and looked at her crew, and for the first time in a long time, she smiled. "I.. ran into some trouble," she admitted. She glanced up the street as loud yells and calls echoed down towards them. "But, we can worry about that later," she said hastily. "For now, let us flee!"
Jared had ended up falling asleep behind the barrels. Some kind residents were able to wake him though with a bucket of cold water and a nice send off of "Get out of here. We don't need any drunkies sleepin' here!". He noticed that everyone was gone and started heading back to the boat.
"I had the supplies I acquired rowed out to the boat. I hope you find them adequate. Also, Captain, I heard some chatter around the seedier parts of town. Apparently a port is opening up soon in the Dread Isles, a pirate haven apparently."
"That's..." Natalia grimaced, "That's wonderful. But I really do have to command that we move" She set off down the street, moving at a brisk pace despite her wound.
Avice followed, humming to herself happily despite the dreary situation. She gathered the sights of the place to remember.
