"Prepare to surface." Jean Bart announced through the speakers of the submarine, pressing buttons for pressure gauges and turning knobs for mechanical movements. Bepo helped reach the ones that he would have had to stand up to move. He could hear the vessel respond to the gadgets and soon the water was rushing down below the viewing window, the water getting clearer and brighter as they ascended. Suddenly, with a rush of water and a small bounce, the metal vessel broke the surface and there lay an island in sight.
Ortygia was fairly small, no wider than a mile or two across. From the looks of it, it was a summer or spring climate island. It had one large mountain, adorned in green foliage, that rose from the center of the island to a peak. Grabbing the intercom again, he turned it on momentarily.
"Approaching the island. Stand by for docking." A small port came into view, large enough to fit a dozen or so ships at the most. The mechanics and rigging crew could be heard running through the halls to prepare for docking.
Law gathered the men in front of the sub after docking. "We'll stay at a tavern tonight. A little time out of the submarine will do us good." He didn't mention the fact that the general morale from being cooped up inside the metal vessel and missing one of their crew was started to weigh on him as well. "We also need to stock up on supplies. Casper has several lists of things needed, he'll give you a job to do. Get them done quickly and meet back here."
The older cook distributed the papers and set off with the men to buy the necessary things. All that was left afterwards was Law and Bepo who needed to book several rooms at the inn.
The town was quite small, not surprising from the size of the whole island. What it lacked in size it made up for in culture. The town thrived; merchants were set up all around the port with tables filled with fish-which Bepo only reluctantly passed by-to colored tents selling fine jewelry. The noise level was much more than what Law would have expected. The people were just as rambunctious as his crew could be at a party with too much alcohol.
Several times their way was blocked by crowds of people passing by or running children. By the time they made it to the tavern, just a few hundred feet from the dock, Law was about ready to slice a few of the obnoxious children to pieces. Only the thought of a room with fresh air stopped him from causing havoc in the streets.
A rusty sign indicated that the 'Merchant's Corner Tavern and Inn' was open for business, creaking with every swing fro the wind. The captain and first mate stepped inside to the cooler interior of the building. Inside, a large fireplace took up most of one wall. There was wood in the pit but remained unlit. Tables and chairs littered the room. They all seemed either old and worn or greasy and unwashed. Tankards lined the bar, an ornately decorated counter with bright stained glass behind it caught the eye.
Being so early in the day, there were only a handful of people seated at the tables and bar. They looked up at the two new arrivals, staring only a little at the strange sight of a bear, but quickly going back to their food and drinks. Law wasn't surprised by this. Most people tended not to stick their noses in everyone's business. Especially a pirate's business.
Walking up to the bar where a busty woman cleaned tankards, Law leaned an elbow on the counter.
"Excuse me, but who do I talk to about getting rooms?" Without a word the woman-no, she couldn't have been more than 16, the girl gestured to a man behind another counter, tucked in the opposite corner by a set of ascending stairs. Thanking the girl with a nod, Law headed over towards the man.
"Are you the innkeeper?" Law inquired politely. The balding older gentleman glanced up from his books. Peering through his small glasses, he straightened up at the sight of the two pirates.
"Oh, yes indeed. My name is Herald, at your service. Now, how many rooms will you be taking?"
"Fifteen."
"I'm assuming these will all be doubles, yes?" Law nodded, watching as the man did calculations on a small bookkeeping paper. "I'm also assuming you'll be staying four nights?" He asked, indicating the four days it took for the log pose to set.
"You would be correct." Law stated. With a few more muttered numbers and scratches on the paper, the man looked up at the captain.
"Fifteen rooms for four nights will be 850 beli." Law narrowed his eyes.
"I like the sound of 600 much better." The man raised his eyebrows.
"Why, sir, this is a business! I can't go around offering deals like that to anybody who asks."
"I'm not asking. I'm demanding." Law leaned closer on the counter. Likewise, the man retreated an inch or two.
"I understand what you're saying but there's no way I could offer anything less than 800." Meanwhile, Bepo stood just behind his captain watching the haggle between the two men go on. He still carried Kikoku, prepared for anything that could happen.
"Surely 700 wouldn't break the bank."
"Hmm…" The man placed a finger on his chin, staring at the captain before clearing his throat. "How's about this? You take care of a problem for me and I'll give you those rooms for 700 beli." Law raised an eyebrow.
"What kind of problem?" The innkeeper pointed over towards the bar, specifically at one of the men knocking back a large tankard of beer.
"See that brute of a fella at the bar? That's Rick, our town drunk and, well, there've been rumors around that he's been beating his wife, Margaret. Margaret's a lovely woman and we'd hate to see something happen to her." He glanced at Law quickly. "The bastard cheated me out of 300 beli in a loaded game of dice, too."
"You wish for me to dispose of him?" Law asked, glancing at the man. The older man glanced back and forth, trying to look inconspicuous but failing miserably. It was a good thing the brute in question was too focused on his beer to care much about anything else.
"I just want him out of my bar for awhile, maybe even for good. Think you could do that?" Law smirked devilishly. Without another word, he turned and walked towards the bar.
Making his way over to the man, the bartender behind the counter took one glance at the knife in Law's hand and nonchalantly walked away. She obviously knew something was about to go down. Spotting a steak knife from a nearby table, Law snatched it up and held it down low by his leg.
"You must be Rick-ya." Law said, watching as the bigger man downed another swallow of beer before turning his way. The smell of alcohol hit him like a punch in the face, mixed with the stench of rotten teeth.
"Wha'dya wan'?" He grumbled, seeming to have a hard time focusing on the man standing in front of him. Law took in the scraggly beard and previously broken nose and decided that he didn't much care for this man. He was rather unsightly and overbearing.
"I regret to inform you that you are no longer wanted on the premises of this establishment. I'm to escort you out." He said, putting as many longer vocabulary words into his sentence as possible just to irritate the man. His foggy mind obviously was having a hard time understanding his message.
"Out?" He questioned angrily. With a nod and a smirk, Law watched with anticipation as the man stood up to his full height. The man definitely came to at least a head taller than himself, with a build much larger than his relatively small figure. "I'm gettin' kicked out?"
"That would be correct."
"The hell I am!" Rick snarled, raising his fists to punch him, but Law beat him to it.
"Room." He muttered, creating his sphere and slicing the knife through the air. The man's torso separated before he could bring his arms down and his upper half began floating upwards in the blue sphere.
"Wha' in the hell?" He hollered, flailing his arms around in the air uselessly. Law put down the knife and retracted his room. The man's two halves fell to the floor with two large clunks. He leaned down next to the man's face.
"Get out before I kill you." He whispered. Even with the alcohol fogging most of his reasoning skills, Rick seemed to understand the danger of the situation. With an unmanly whimper, he somehow dragged himself out of the bar with his arms, while his lower half just ran with his legs. He was out the door in minutes.
Turning back, Law approached the innkeeper once more. Herald looked pretty shocked, unable to close his mouth from the events that just occurred. He had expected some fistfight and a few kicks while the guy was down, not...this. Law's grin only widened.
"Now, about those rooms."
That night, the crew was divided into pair and given a room. Penguin and Shachi of course got one together. Liam refused to leave his friend alone in the submarine, which Law could understand. He himself had checked up on the mechanic several times that day just to make sure he was in stable condition.
It was quite late in the night before Bepo fell into a deep sleep, breathing easily as he curled up on the opposite bed. The bear had a strange way of sleeping: on his stomach with the jumpsuit half on. Once when Law had asked about it, he had replied that it just didn't feel right to take off his uniform.
Law lay awake, staring up at the ceiling with thoughts of Summer in his head. He'd gotten used to the fact that her image seemed to be what haunted his mind on a daily basis. But sometimes it terrified him just how much she had an effect on him. Some nights he couldn't get her voice and her face out of his head and he spent the entire night laying awake in his bed. He really needed some sleep…
All the papers in her file led to some strange discoveries. He had a fairly good guess as to where Viper was taking her, but he still needed more information. The only question was, how was he going to get it?
Most of what he needed could only be obtained by being a part of the underground, and gaining trust and connections took time. Too much time. Law wasn't about to spend years gathering that information. Summer would surely be dead long before then.
What other options did he have? The darkened room helped to clear his head and removed distractions. What other ways could he get into the underground networks? The only people who had access to them were the Yonko, spies for the World Government, Shichibukai…
And suddenly, he had his answer.
Arriving in: 25 days.
ns 15.158.61.6da2
