[Episode] Burning the Spiders Web

Quest:

Spider Miles, The city itself is one giant factory but as Kabe walks through the large  marketplace he can barely keep track of all the various foods and spices he smells around him. Compared to his home back in Mapleshire this bustling market full of food and busy looking people seemed very panicked and chaotic but somehow just a little bit familiar.

Unexpectedly, It wasn’t the occasional pickpocket of Spider Miles that caught his attention. A ways in the distance Kabe  could see a short looking old man standing in front of a large cart. About a dozen men stood around the front half of the cart, All of them wearing dark suits. As the knight walks towards the cart he can see that it holds various exotic looking fruits, with the most noticeable one being a large bluish green watermelon.

Kabe approaches the cart slowly, careful to not bump anything as he squeezes through the crowd of smaller people. By the time he is about 25 feet away he can feel the eyes of the suited men on him, The largest of the guards staring at him more intently than the others. The old man on top of the cart however was much more friendly in comparison. The man was small in stature, about 4’6” tall and looked surprisingly toned for his age. The old man cracks a smile and makes eye contact with Kabe, “Hey there son! I bet a large man like yourself needs to eat a lot of food, Why don’t you look around and see if you want to buy anything”

Kabe stayed silent for a moment before laughing, “Grororo, Alright I guess I can look around just a little” The guards that were gathered around the cart created an opening for the swordsman to take a look at the cart. Cygnus picks up the blue melon that caught his eye earlier and asks the man, “How much is this thing? I've never seen any fruit like this before”. The old man reaches into his pocket and puts on a pair of gold colored glasses before responding, “That is one of my favorite products! I brought these watermelons all the way from the South Blue. I can’t go lower than 8 million berries on one of those, They are very rare”.

Upon hearing the price Kabe is shocked and tries to put the watermelon back but unfortunately in his haste he hits the melon on the edge of the cart, Causing it to fall on the ground. Cygnus, immediately feeling dread and anxiety build up tries to apologize to the old man.

“Hey listen man that is my ba---”

And a second later Kabe feels immense pain in his stomach before he is sent catapulting into the shops of the neighboring merchants. As Kabe tries to collect himself he hears the sounds of screaming and people running from the area. Confused, He looks up and sees about half of the merchant's guards running towards him, With the other 6 men walking away with the old man. The knight thinks to himself, “It seems I won’t be able to talk my way out of this, Maybe I should back off and think of a plan”. That plan lasted a solid second before Kabe thought of a better idea, “Ah who am I kidding? There are only six of these guys, One of them has to be able to explain what just happened”.

After deciding to stand his ground against the grunts who are currently running towards him he draws one of his swords and takes a defensive stance.

Word Count:

As Cygnus stood on guard, waiting for the small group of men to attack, He heard an extremely loud cracking sound followed up by a set of lighter footsteps compared to the men directly in front of him. As the blue skinned woman stood next to him he noticed the tattoo on her forearm. While Cygnus had only been in the North Blue for a matter of weeks, everyone in the North knew of Brood X. Bach and the Primetime Pirates.

After hearing that the help he was receiving would not cost him any money he let out a small sigh of relief. The question about his swordsmanship made him realize he doesn’t even know what he is capable of. But as soon as he opened his eyes again the woman had already brought up the lasso again and was twirling it above her head.

In the short time between Erudites words to Cygnus and the second wave of attacks the young knight thought to himself about the opportunity that had just presented itself to him. For someone like Cygnus being a part of a large crew is a dream come true, Especially one where he is allowed to have as much fun as he wants.

The big man also thought of how wrong this entire situation had gone. Cygnus could not believe that he destroyed something that he cannot fix. If it had just been the cart he destroyed he could have built an improved one in an hour or so. But then again, maybe if he hadn’t destroyed the rare watermelon he would have never met a member of the Primetime Pirates.

In the final seconds before the attackers began to run at him again Cygnus stabbed his sabers into the ground and took off his short cloak, which he would then wrap around his waist, revealing his face and physique to anyone that was left in the vicinity. Cygnus wanted all of the men who inconvenienced him to remember exactly what he looked like. The knight would then pick up the sword to his right, holding it in a reverse grip as he prepared to throw it towards one of the three men that were focusing on him.

As he watched Erudite attack the two men his eyes could just barely make out the sudden movement. This display of speed gave Cygnus an idea and he readied himself to attack. As he threw the sword it traveled like a dart through the air despite being so large, It hit an attacker right above the knee causing him to fall over and let out a pained scream. When the other two men looked back for a second Cygnus picked up his second sword and sprinted towards his remaining two opponents. While running it was now apparent that Cygnus was going for the kill on most of the men.

Although the final attacker had just seen all of his coworkers completely outmatched he was still showing absolutely zero signs of backing down. All this did for Cygnus was make him even more excited, This must have been the man who was able to send him flying so far. Seeing that the final guard was approaching him unarmed The man sheathed his remaining sword and remained completely still, waiting for an attack.

When the man reached him mere seconds later Cygnus still did not move as the man yelled loudly and punched him. Immediately after being hit however, Cygnus’s entire mood changed. The once happy looking knight suddenly looked angry at first but then a look of sadness and disappointment was clearly visible in his eyes.

“You created all of that buildup for an attack like that?” Cygnus said with pure amazement, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.” Cygnus reared his arm back before punching the overdramatic man as hard as he could in the abdomen, a loud cracking sound could be heard as the man flew into the wooden cart, destroying it completely.

Cygnus caught his breath while walking over and recovering his first sword, which was still stuck in the first guards leg. As Cygnus took the sword out he unsuccessfully tried to whip the blood left on his blade. After a few swings the knight gave up and sheathed his sword before looking over at Erudite, “I don’t suppose it will be easy to identify these men from the other gangs in Spider Miles?”

While it would indeed be hard for someone like Cygnus to identify the gang there was a clear symbol found on the bands all of the members wore on their left legs.

Word Count:

Cygnus’s ears perked up as he listened intently to the Fishwoman, Was his temporary ally a member of the Fishman Tribe? The man had never seen one before so he could only theorize to himself. But right when the friendly knight thought to ask her for himself he remembered what had happened to the previous men who had angered her. Not to say that Cygnus was overly afraid of the women but after spending some time out of Mapleshire he had definitely become more cautious and wary of strangers.

As the young man got ready to set his sights on the marina he turned around a final time and spoke to the fishwoman, ”Thank you for all the help Erudite”. The knight would take a few more loud steps before turning around and remembering his manners, “Oh since I think you are trustworthy I should probably tell you my name”. Cygnus looked up to the sky and smiled to himself before continuing, “My name is Kabetogama, I am a warrior and shipwright from Mapleshire”. After the knight was finished speaking he would begin jogging down to the Marina.

While Cygnus made his way to the marina he could not help but wonder if any of the other members of Erudite’s crew were on the island, surely they all traveled in one big group like most pirate crews. Cygnus did not have too much time to spend wondering about the logistics of a pirate crew that he was not even apart of however, especially since he was still upset. It was unusual for the swordsman to hold grudges like this but after being suddenly attacked even after giving an apology he was at his limit.

The man did not even notice that he was at the marina until he stopped to smell the air. Cygnus kept his nose to the sky for a couple seconds as he discerned what exactly had caught his attention. The smell that had caught the knight by shock was in all actuality just a standard pastry shop. Due to how strong the smell of freshly baked food was to Cygnus it seemed likely that the establishment was right across from one of the docks that made up the large marina.

The man's stomach now growled, “I suppose a little snack never hurt anyone, I mean it’s not like that gang is going anywhere”. While the knight began to stomp over to the source of the food he saw another small group of men with the same emblem on their legs. One of the men turns around as Cygnus’s footsteps get louder, “Hey that's the fool who destroyed the boss’s fruit, let’s bring him back and get paid!” Cygnus almost didn’t even notice the three new attackers until they were right in front of him. The happy-go-lucky knight suddenly stopped as one of the men unsheathed a small knife, Snapping back to reality Cygnus picked him up as though he was a bag of garbage and began to absentmindedly swung the man around, hitting the remaining two goons in the process.

Cygnus smiled as he walked up to the entrance of the shop and looked for an open table, but unfortunately it had seemed that the place was absolutely packed with people. It seemed that everyone else in the area had the same idea as Cygnus and he was just a little late to the party.

Word Count:

The big man was only allowed to sulk for a moment, Cygnus heard footsteps slowly getting closer and as he looked up he saw the friendly fishwoman, Erudite. The knight listened surprisingly attentively, After all it was only natural that he should pay attention to someone that helped him out. When the woman mentioned that there was an open grill south of where they were the man's face formed into a very apparent smile.

More importantly, The swordsman had to concentrate heavily when Erudite gave the knight an offer. The deal seemed very fair to Cygnus, and in some ways appeared to even be a no brainer, which was convenient for the slower witted young man.
__________________________________________________________________________
Back on Mapleshire, Kabetogama had always been naturally talented at building things, whether it was weapons and armor or even small boats the knight had studied all of it closely before he attempted to sail in the New World. But after his near death experience after only two days of sailing the seas he took the first chance he could to leave and flee to the Blues. In a lot of ways the swordsman was more talented at creating than just mindlessly swinging his blade.

During the two weeks it took the merchant’s ship to reach the North Blue Cygnus was given the opportunity to learn more about ship building and maintenance. The old merchant’s head bodyguard had happened to be a former shipwright. With the resources Kabe had coupled with the fact that he was unable to leave the lower decks of the ship due to Marines escorting the merchant the warrior vastly increased his knowledge related to repairing large ships.

And the man's new skills did pay off. Following Kabe’s arrival in the North Blue the swordsman did make almost all of his money through selling equipment, be it weapons or small fishing vessels. In a way it was amusing to think that one of the few times his clumsiness showed itself would lead to him meeting some of the biggest names in the North Blue.
____________________________________________________________________________

Kabe looked up from the ground, making eye contact with his potential crewmate. The swordsman takes Erudite's hand, allowing himself to be helped back up to his feet. “Hmmm. I like your thinking, No one should ever make decisions on an empty stomach! Grororororo!”

After standing up fully, Cygnus looked back down at his new friend with an embarrassed smile on his face, "Uh you wouldn’t happen to know what way south is would you?”

Word Count:

The swordsman slowly got up to his feet and stretched, groaning dramatically before he followed Erudite towards the restaurant. Kabe had been traveling alone for far too long since he reached the North Blue. So the new friend was entirely welcome in his eyes.

The Mapleshire native rested his hands on his sabers while thinking of a response to the fishwoman’s question. “Hmm, I want a lot of things. But I want to fight strong guys and make a lot of money.”

The young man flashily unsheathed his blades and started twirling them around while he explained his answer. “I want to fight just ‘cause it’s fun. And I like having lots of money, it makes me feel safe, I don’t even want to spend any of it.”

Throughout the rest of the trip towards the outdoor grill, Kabe noticed that plenty of the members from the same gang were present in the area, but they had either not heard of the brawl that took place earlier, or they were just biding their time. Not that Kabe was the type to worry, if these small-time mooks were as embarrassingly weak as the ones from before then there was truly nothing to fret over.

Pyramid Dream, Spider Miles

A scrawny, rat-faced man anxiously stumbled his way through the side entrance of a well-known bar. The inside was dark, with a few old lanterns littered haphazardly across the wooden tables of the establishment's break room.

In the center of the room, a short old man sat at the head of one of the aforementioned tables. The boss was dressed in a strangely luxurious green suit for the region, given the brand comes from a semi-famous fashion designer in the Grand Line. The man was surrounded by large bodyguards dressed in similar, but cheaper designer garments.

The small, elderly man took a long puff of his cigar before holding it out, prompting one of his men to take it away from him. “You came back without the boy. Why?”

The scrawny grunt nervously shifted in place, not taking his eyes off of the bodyguards, “I swear boss, I sent a bunch of our men out but I haven’t heard back from any of them, I don’t know what else to do!”

Getting up from his seat, the boss dropped down to the ground and walked past the grunt. “Fine, I’ll take care of it.”

The door opened and closed again, leaving the grunt alone inside. Just before he was about to leave himself, he noticed a paper on the table. The grunt picked up the wanted poster and held it up to a nearby lamp.

Jim “Scheming Jimmy” Billiams | 4,700,000 Beli Bounty

Outdoor Grill, Spider Miles

Kabe let Erudite handle the talking until they were seated on the grill, when it was time for the pirates to order Kabe excitedly ordered a monstrous three burgers, all of which had so many added ingredients that a person would have to unhinge their jaw like a snake to even hope of taking a proper bite.

When Kabe was issued another question his head started to hurt even more than the last time. The swordsman was a “let your actions speak louder than your words” type of person. “Funny story, I tried to join the marines on the way to Spider Miles. But I got to this small marine base, and they were all a bunch of douchebags so I killed them.”

The knight shrugged and continued talking, “But I don’t mind the World Government all that much. If it wasn’t them it would just be a different, but similar group in charge of everyone anyways.”

Word Count:

"Brood" uses [Satō Kingyosō - HT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses [Satō Botan - LT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses UT on Boss 1

---

"Desmond" uses MT on Boss 1
"Desmond" uses UT on Boss 1

---

Boss 1 uses MT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses LT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses LT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses UT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses UT on "Desmond"

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Brood' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 13, 7, 12

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 5

--------------------------------

#3 'Reflex Check' : 1, 6, 4, 18, 10

ROUND 2

"Brood" uses [Rajikarukishirōsu - MT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses [Orokana Katō - LT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses [Seki Seki - LT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses UT on Boss 1

---

"Desmond" uses MT on Boss 1
"Desmond" uses UT on Boss 1

---

Boss 1 uses MT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses LT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses LT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses UT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses UT on "Desmond"

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Brood' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 5, 16, 15, 9

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 15, 10

--------------------------------

#3 'Reflex Check' : 12, 1, 14, 9, 14

ROUND 3 - "BROOD" WINS

"Brood" uses [Shīto-eh - MT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses [Furēbāpoppu - LT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses [Satō Himawari - LT] on Boss 1
"Brood" uses UT on Boss 1

---

"Desmond" uses MT on Boss 1
"Desmond" uses UT on Boss 1

---

Boss 1 uses HT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses LT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses LT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses UT on "Brood"
Boss 1 uses UT on "Desmond"

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Brood' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 5, 17, 9, 3

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 8, 16

--------------------------------

#3 'Reflex Check' : 4, 6, 9, 14, 2

Kabe uses Maple Blade: Sunset Stance on himself - HT
Kabe uses Freshwater: Penalty Kill on Jimmy - LT - Hit
Kabe uses UT on Jimmy - Hit

Jimmy uses LT on Kabe - Hit
Jimmy uses LT on Kabe - Hit
Jimmy uses LT on Kabe - Miss
Jimmy uses UT on Kabe - Miss

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Kabetogama' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 14, 6

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 14, 9, 7, 1

Round 2
Kabe uses Maple Blade: Crazed Charge on Jimmy - HT - Hit
Kabe uses Maple Blade: Dash Cut on Jimmy - LT - Hit
Kabe uses UT on Jimmy - Hit

Jimmy uses LT on Kabe - Miss
Jimmy uses LT on Kabe - Hit
Jimmy uses LT on Kabe - Hit
Jimmy uses UT on Kabe - Hit

Kabe wins!

COMBAT TRACKERS:

The member 'Kabetogama' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

#1 'Reflex Check' : 9, 16, 4

--------------------------------

#2 'Reflex Check' : 6, 17, 18, 10

“Hmmm, I wouldn’t say that I pick all my battles on purpose, but I haven’t backed down from any fights since I came to the North Blue. I couldn’t call myself a swordsman if I ran away from my problems!”

The blonde swordsman looked up and continued. “I bet I would have a little more luck if I didn’t just roll with the punches though. A good chunk of these conflicts are probably my fault, not that it matters if the other side is weaker than me. You know, sometimes it feels like my swords are the ones leading me to conflict! Grorororo!”

After answering Kabe continued eating his oversized burgers, only stopping to agree with Erudite when she mentioned how badly the fodder had been beaten. “I’ll say! Makes me wonder which one of them was able to even hit that hard in the first place. Only idiots start with their strongest attack unless they know it will get the job done! Grororororo!”

Kabe’s ears perked up when Ms. Erudite asked to see his blades. Shoving his mountain of food away, Kabe unsheathed the twin sabers and placed them on the table. “You can tell they are incomplete?” Kabe sat confused for a few moments while the fishwoman continued. “Haki… I think that is what some of the knights on my island told me to use…”

Kabe picked up his swords and inspected them during Erudite’s lesson on what exactly Haki was and how it worked. While it was a little confusing and hard for the young knight to wrap his head around, Kabe felt like he had the gist of what Haki was. But of course, experience was the best teacher, and the swordsman had a feeling he was going to test out this “Haki” very soon.

Smiling, Kabe looked at his swords. “But if Haki uses a person’s willpower. Then I will have to make a stronger weapon!”

---

Outside the Grill

“Boss!”

“Boss!”

“Boss, I know you can hear us!”

A group of suspicious-looking men tailed Scheming Jimmy, though the old gangster didn’t pay them any mind. If they weren’t of any help before then it would fall onto his shoulders, as usual. Steam began to pour out of Jimmy’s ears as he thought about his former status as an underboss of an actual crime family. To think that just a year ago the old man had it made and was living the easy life.

Oh well.

Jim Billiams knew that his rise to infamy was coming any day now. Once the scheming senior had enough men he would begin to start taking more territory, and he would be able to live out his golden years relatively peacefully again. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Jimmy’s shoulder. Spinning around, the wannabe crime boss jumped up and slapped the goon to the side, sending him flying through some poor souls' open window. His wrinkled face turned red as Jimmy faced the remaining thugs. “Since you all insist on being here! Surround this restaurant! That hungry bastard probably went here after he destroyed that Mane Grove Watermelon!”

The old men stood near the entrance as his men spread out. Looking down at his watch, sweat began to cascade down his face. “Why did this have to happen today of all days? I am going to be late if I don’t wrap this up.”

Word Count: