j8cob

Free Winds

@Verdaux I can help you out with that if you want, but aside from the commanding officers you can have pretty much free reign on the rest of the crew and the internal workings of the ship.

Free Winds

Had some further delays related to editing. Who knew I'd get a bunch of coding wrong when I write it in notepad first and translate to RPG later? Either way, IC is now up and ready for posting.

Expect things to go by at a decent pace in this introductory arc, though don't worry about being left behind unless you're very slow. If you're worried about it then bring it up to me.

Free Winds

ACT I

Bright Skies and Strong Storms

The rock bounced several times before rolling to a halt in the middle of the dirt road. Walking along the dirt trail next to Lake Krukow, the blonde teenager found some entertainment in kicking a small stone. The sun was high in the sky, though it wasn't exactly hot. It was never "hot" in Krukow. Nor was it ever really cold. The temperature fluctuation was minimal, no matter the season. It was just as boring as this dirt road. Aubrey gave another light kick, watching the pebble bounce across the road further. However, it came to a rest near something that at first looked like another rock.

As Aubrey drew near, he stopped and examined the small object. It was a wooden butterfly, slightly larger than the pebble next to it, with some kind of thin lace. A necklace of sorts. At first, it seemed plain odd. Then Aubrey's eyes widened. "An Aeva?" he thought aloud, bending over and picking it up. Holding it by the lace, he looked at the necklace intently for a moment. "Hey." The wooden object remained silent. "Helloooo?" Still silence. "If you're one of those Aevum I've heard about, you better not be messing with me..."

The staredown continued a moment longer before Aubrey let out a sigh. Shrugging his shoulders, he tossed the necklace into the nearby lake. "I bet someone thinks they're real funny..." With his hopes now crushed, Aubrey kicked the rock again. This time, it made a sharp turn to the left after the first bounce, landing right in the lake. Now mildly disappointed that there was no form of entertainment for the rest of his walk, he paused to watch the ripples along the lake surface. But as the ripples died out, he began to hear a rumbling sound. The water of the lake began vibrating, creating small ripples across the entire length. Confused, Aubrey turned around to face the source of the low rumble.

Frighteningly low in the sky, there was a large airship. Heading directly toward him. "Whoa..." As the large ship, an open-deck freighter by the looks of it, passed overhead Aubrey rotated to keep his eyes on it. "Don't see too many of those pass by... That jackass was flying really low..." Suddenly, an idea came to his mind as he watched the ship disappear over the trees. "I bet everyone in town saw that too!" The teenager broke into a brisk run, no longer caring about neither the stone nor totem that had his attention moments before. He had a story to tell his mother.

---

"Vladmir..." A tall man with black hair and obnoxiously large glasses stood in front of a desk. Behind it was the Krukow mayor, Vladmir Maximus. Not only was Vladmir tall, he was also wide. Though he was grey haired and wrinkled, with a trimmed grey beard to boot, his size came from muscle rather than fat. Intimidating to look at. Hilarious to listen to. "I know, I saw it too," a surprisingly high-pitched voice came from the big man. The assistant adjusted his glasses. "It would seem that the freight ship that passed dangerously low has landed on the north side of the island. It was likely an emergency landing. Should we send a search party or...?"

The older man let out a sigh. "We never have ships like that come through this region of the world. There are no major routes nearby. This is suspicious..." As the overly-large glasses seemed to keep slipping, the tall man had to adjust them again. "I do not believe that ship was Crucibellian, Vladmir." "Of course not. It was too old to be a Crucible freighter. But things like this... they are a bad sign..." There was an awkward silence around the mayor's office for a moment. "Alright. We'll send a search party. Gather some of my men from Maximus, just in case."

Before the assistant could even agree to the plan, the double doors to the room slammed open. "Vladmir!" Another young man, barely an adult, had barged in. The sudden burst enraged the mayor, and he jumped to his feet. Now standing at full height, he seemed even more intimidating. "What did I tell you about kno-" "Three Crucible ships have been spotted coming from the south-east!" There was a tense silence in the room. As angry as Vladmir looked a moment before, he now looked scared. With nobody saying anything, the newcomer decided to continue. "Two Magellan-class ships and an Interceptor-class. The Interceptor will be here any minute!"

The mayor shook his head a few times and his angry expression returned. He pointed at the bespectacled man, whom was frozen in fear. "Gather all of Maximus. We have more important matters than the other ship. Go around the town and try to get all the women and children to the north-west part of the island. We need to get them on the skiff to Kuiper, fast." The assistant snapped out of his daze. "But sir... the skiff won't fit all of them. If you're planning on confronting them, you still won't be able to buy them enough time."

A scowl formed on his face. "We have to try. But we can't have a panic... Ugh... Change of plans." The other two in the room seemed surprised by his sudden change in tone. "Gather all of Maximus. But we won't be fleeing. We have to disarm ourselves and take what's coming. This way, we won't lose as many lives..." The youngest spoke up again. "But Vladmir! You've heard the stories. These people aren't going to be nice, even if we do just roll over and give up. Your Rift Hunting guild is strong, and many of the men that work at the lumber mill are strong too. We can fight!"

"No, we can't. The Interceptor's crew alone will be too much for us. And those Magellans... Those are battleships. If we put up a fight... they will annihilate us..."

---

Aubrey closed the front door behind himself surprisingly gently, considering how excited he was. Rather carelessly in a rushed fashion, he threw his small backpack on the living room couch. Despite the fact that his mother was hardly able to get out of bed, the house was incredibly clean and tidy. Perhaps it was Aubrey that managed it. "Hey mom!" he called out, rushing down the hallway and taking a tight turn through an open bedroom door.

Laying in the bed, under the covers, was a black-haired woman. Though her eyes were closed and her skin was pale, as well as being on the thin side, she stirred. "A huge ship passed over the island a few minutes ago. I'd never seen such a big airship around here before," he told her, going down on his knees next to her bed. His mother's eyes opened, revealing they were brown. "I've never heard of it either," she responded, giving him a smile. Aubrey grinned a bit, before pulling something out of his pocket. "I got paid today." He held up his hand, showing her the thick wad of cash.

This caused her to chuckle. "That's good. But we have enough groceries for the week. I think you should hold onto that." This seemed to surprise Aubrey. "Are you sure? Can't think of anything else to get with it? Are you running low on your pills?" His mother shook her head slowly. "We're all set. Thanks to your hard work." A grin formed on Aubrey's face as he put the money back in his pocket. "Now why don't you go and find your friends. You deserve to have your fun for the day." Aubrey stood up to full height now. "Sheesh Mom. You still talk to me like I'm a little kid." This made his mother giggle a bit.

"You always will be my little boy. Now run along. Make sure you're home by suppertime, and don't get into any trouble. None of your friends need to know how much money you have." Aubrey chuckled, before nodding his head. "Love ya, Mom." He walked out of the bedroom now, and with her son gone the woman rested her head and closed her eyes again. Now with everything done for the day, Aubrey walked into the kitchen. Before heading out, he needed one thing. A pair of sunglasses rested on the dining table, and the teenager quickly snatched them. After checking his reflection on the back of a clean spoon, he determined he looked cool enough to wander around town.

With a grin on his face and money in his pocket, Aubrey headed out the front door. Upon closing it behind himself he took a look around. The town seemed too quiet and boring for his taste. Before he could even decide where to start searching for people he saw several Rift Hunters walk by. It was obvious who they were, as they wore the Maximus uniform. The teenager watched as they walked by. Though it wasn't uncommon to see them around, as they lived here, something seemed off. The two men seemed almost suspicious. Aubrey watched as they walked down the street and turned the corner, likely heading for the town hall. Their boss worked his day job there as the mayor after all. Despite the strangeness of that event Aubrey shook it off and the grin returned. Time to find some friends.

One Piece: Revolution(Closed)

Now's a good time to get swimming practice.

Oh wait.

Free Winds

Oh, well that was quick.

Sorry for the delay in starting the IC. Had a bit busy of a day today but the IC will be started tomorrow morning.

One Piece: Revolution(Closed)

He's gonna be eating the Salt-Salt fruit.

One Piece: Revolution(Closed)

Xerxes is going to be upset when he learns that dealing with Logia powers isn't that easy.

Free Winds

@DesperatePerson I understand, sometimes life doesn't work out so well and you have to put RPG on the sidelines. There will be opportunities to join in aside from just the first arc, don't worry. And I'll be glad to take you in when you can join.

@Leslie Hall Denied. Nah, just kidding she looks great. Go ahead and move her to the characters tab.

In the meantime, I'm going to update the NPC section and then get the IC started. Any who are working on their sheets will still have time to hop in so don't worry about being excluded for being slow.

One Piece: Revolution(Closed)

Church

At the captain's remark about whiskey, Church paused briefly and looked down at the apple in his hands. "I imagine it'd be pretty difficult to find a fruit vendor selling liquor," he commented, before taking one last bite from the apple. Now reduced to mostly just its core he casually tossed it over his shoulder. Much to the surprise of anyone watching, bar Sancho, it landed perfectly in a trash can on the other side of the tavern near the bar. "But you aren't wrong. That's why I came back here instead of just ditchin' ya."

Church rose to his feet after Sancho did, though instead of heading directly to the door he approached the bar first. "Whiskey, a whole bottle if you'd be so kind." After providing the cash to match the booze, the bartender simply handed him the bottle nervously. The tension in the town was affecting most everyone and the bartender was a bit bothered by the fact that Sancho and Church seemed immune to it. The exchange was brief so it took no effort for Church to catch back up with his captain after he stepped out the door. Once he was alongside Sancho he slowed his pace to match and opened his bottle. "Let's see... the Marines are surrounding a cafe a couple blocks away, the ones who set off the alarm seem to be inside, and Samehana is on the roof across the street..." Church began to report, before taking a swig of his liquor.

"Don't know why she is where she is, but there are Marines on the rooftops as well and one up there with her. Reckon we'll have to scare them off or do you think she can get away without redirecting the Marines to us? I'm perfectly fine with them arresting some other crew, not so fine with them bothering us." After another swig he wiped his mouth and screwed the cap back on the bottle and holding down at his side with his right hand as he rested his left arm on the two guns on his belt. "Having a low bounty going into the Grand Line will do us more favors than making too many scenes in public, after all. But I already got a feeling that the rest of us are going to have bounties after this..."

As the two casually approached the street that was presently host to both the Marines and the Red Hood pirates, Church let out a distinct and loud whistle. One that probably would go unnoticed over the commotion for most, but people who were less flustered would hear it. A signal for Samehana that Church and Sancho were on the scene. "Up there." Church pointed to the rooftop of the building across the street from the cafe that was being swarmed by Marines. Whether his captain continued walking down this street or not didn't matter as Church continued to walk casually, still holding the bottle of whiskey. Despite suspicious looks from several Marines and civilian stragglers, he moseyed on up to the ground next to the building Samehana and Ryuma were on. "Hey!" he called up. "Quit foolin' around and get down here! We've got shit to do! You can play with the Marines later!" Some of the people around gave him a strange look for this behavior, despite the fact it was obvious he was shouting to someone on that roof. It was more so how casual and uncaring he was in this situation. The epitome of calm among a chaotic scene where a battle was just minutes from breaking out.

One Piece: Revolution(Closed)

Church

"Listen, guy. I have been all around the world and I'm tellin' ya that nobody else is sellin' at this price. This is practically a robbery here." "I don't care if anyone else is giving them away for free! If you want an apple in Loguetown then you're paying the all thousand beli for it!" With a disappointed scowl, Church relented his argument and reached into his pants pocket. "Stiflin' son of a..." He pulled out a few bills of cash and set them on the stand, not even waiting for the man to count before grabbing one of the red apples from the nearest basket and walking away. He was positive that he was getting ripped off by the merchant, but ultimately he had cash to spare and it wouldn't keep him awake at night or anything.

The crew had split up an hour ago. Church had no idea what Samehana was up to, as she was a peculiar one, but he figured Sancho was trying to find a Log Pose. He'd been searching for one since they met several months ago, after all, and Loguetown was pretty much the last chance to get one. The grizzled gunslinger took a bite of his apple as a siren began to ring throughout the city. An early warning system for a pirate attack, most likely. "Don't reckon that's us... better get back to the tavern an' figure somethin' out. Sure the Marines will handle a few pirates just fine," Church spoke to himself, promptly taking another bite as he weaved around civilians that were scattering. The crowd was surprisingly calm about it, probably not the first drill they've had, but there was still an air of tension and fear among them. Church could detect it quite clearly, though he didn't feel the least bit anxious about the mysterious problem.

When he stepped back into the tavern, Sancho's designated meeting spot, he noticed right away that Samehana still hadn't arrived. Only Sancho was waiting at the table, already wielding a mug of beer. "I think there's a pirate crew in town," Church reported, taking a seat across from his captain. "Seems like a bit of a panic is startin' to go down. We might wanna find that Log Pose soon. I doubt the Marines will come for us but ya never know. It'd be a shame if we had to make a scene before we even reach the Grand Line." He took another big bite of his apple, taking the time to chew and swallow before speaking up again. "Should probably also make sure our lady friend ain't getting into trouble. I wouldn't put it past her to start searchin' for that other crew. Actually, now that I think about it, maybe she's the one who's got the town scared..."