Adventures of a Marine

Dayn took a deep breath of fresh air as he left the Marine base. He could hardly believe how he had just been promoted, but he as certainly not going to complain about it. Given free reign now, he could do just about whatever he wanted. He felt no hurry about getting to his newly assigned ship. He still needed supplies, and a map would probably help too, as he was not familiar with East Blue. Come to think of it, he did not even know much about the island he was on. He had a tiny idea of the geography, but he did not know where things in the city were, or anything really outside the city at all. Also, when he thought on it, he had never actually been alone in a long time, since before he entered the Marines.

Since he had joined the Marines, he had trained with others often. At Marineford, they trained daily. It was one of the things Dayn liked most when he had joined. It had always been his dream to become the strongest in the world, and he knew you could not just simply do so. Hard work and dedication were needed, and was one of the things they practiced at all times in the Marines. Dayn rose above his peers, being the first of his class to become a commissioned officer, when he obtained the rank of Ensign a couple weeks ago. Now, so soon he had already obtained another promotion, to Lieutenant.

With the new rank, he also had been granted freedom to do and go where he pleased, at least within East Blue. He was confident enough alone, at least in his own physical prowess. He was anxious to be on his way, though was slightly uneasy at the same time.

He did not need to leave yet. From what he remembered seeing, there as plenty of bounties to be done, beri to be earned, which Dayn could always use. He realized he was running very short of beri at the moment, so it appeared that would need to be his first order of business. After, he could get supplies, a compass and anything else he could think of he might need.

So, Dayn wandered around around the town, attempting to relocate the building that held the bounties. 'It should be somewhere around here', Dayn thought, and he was right, as he shortly found it. Not wasting time, Dayn entered the building, turning to the right, where the bounties were listed. Dayn took his time, looking through him, pretty surprised that most of the bounties specifically for this island were rather small, barely worth the time it would take to do them. There were others listed with high bounties, but they all seemed to be either abroad or on other islands.

Dayn noticed several of the people in the building were watching him. Maybe Marines here did not do bounties too often. But Dayn needed the beri. Dayn looked up, catching several of their eyes, but they looked away right after he did so, apparently avoiding his gaze for some reason. People sure did treat the Marines oddly here. Dayn expected someone to challenge him maybe, based on the behavior he had seen others in the town show him. He expected the mercenaries and bounty hunters to be even worse, but Dayn guessed they knew to respect the law, if for no other reason than the Marines paid them for doing the bounties.

Dayn looked through a second time, hoping he may have accidentally overlooked something decent, but was left disappointed. Nothing good, it seemed. Dayn sighed, and turned to walk away. He would probably have more luck of finding something valuable on the Trash Mountain, he had heard about in the city. Apparently a huge dump site for the people of the city to leave their garbage. One mans trash was another mans treasure, or so the saying went. But as a Marine, digging through a bunch of junk was beneath him..

Triple checking, Dayn noticed one of the bounties was for a bandit on the island, somewhere in the mountains. The bounty itself was small, normally he would not bother with much a measly bounty, but he did need the money. And aside from the bounty, Dayn had to hope they would have a stash of valuable objects too. It was the best chance, Dayn figured.

Dayn ripped the bounty off the board with a sigh. This was the best for now, not that that fact made Dayn any happier. Dayn showed the bounty to the official who seemed to be in charge, and set off to the exit. Maybe he would get lucky and find all the beri he needed at the bandit stronghold. He wondered how many people were in this bandit group, but overall was not too worried. It never hurt to be careful.

It would not hurt to have someone along, he supposed. Maybe if someone skilled came along, he might entice them into a deal. He only had one crowd control ability after all, and swords cut through him just like any other person. What were the chances of that, though? Someone randomly coming along, to help a Marine with something. He had not been met with a warm attitude from the populace thus far.

Dayn stood outside the bounty building, which he decided he would call it now since it did have a decent ring to it, considering his problem. He probably was overestimating the bandits anyway. If they were tough, they would have a higher bounty, most likely. But, Dayn had a slight feeling of unease. Shrugging it off, Dayn set off, toward the city entrance, intent to find the bandits and see what of value he could find.

Word Count: 970
Beri: 485

Dayn found himself at the entrance of the city before long. The Marines were busy, and Dayn did not really trust that he might find someone trustworthy to tag along, in case he was grossly outnumbered. If one was trustworthy, Dayn would have been happy to entice them to come along by granting them the bounty in exchange for whatever they found at the stronghold. It sounded good, but Dayn knew the bounty was small, at least he felt it was, and was hoping on finding something valuable to make this trip worthwhile anyway.

Looking out, into the 'wilderness' outside of the Goa Kingdom, Dayn was not met with a pleasant sight. This must be Trash Mountain. He could hardly believe this is where the townspeople would dump their trash. Right outside the city. There was a lot of island left to drop it further away, but apparently they were content to leave it right outside the city walls. Dayn figured many of them never went outside the city. It felt to him that this kind of thinking is what made the city people think they were superior to others, within their perfect little city. Dayn briefly wondered what they would all do in a crisis and had to leave their protective walls.

Dayn waded through the narrow 'clean' paths of Trash Mountain, though it was more of a step where there is not something disgusting to step in. Dayn saw people, here and there, living within this waste land. The poor undoubtedly had been kicked out of the city, treated as inferior beings due to the lack of wealth. Money was over estimated on this island. But this was not his problem. He was leaving the island, as soon as he got the funds to do so. He wondered why the ones here, on Trash Mountain, stayed. Surely after some time they could scrap up enough beri for a boat. Or at least something. This place was simply, miserable.

Dayn shook his head, trying to think of something else as he pressed on. The place reeked, though Dayn did his best to ignore it, focusing more on where he was placing his feet when he stepped. It was one thing to walk next to the junk, but to have it stuck on his shoe would be another matter all in itself. But, Dayn carried on, eager to find these bandits. It was somewhat odd how the bounty was specifically for one member, and it did not even say it was their leader or not. Usually bandits were grouped together for a bounty, unlike pirates, who individually were given bounties based on their threat. Of course, all pirates were wanted by the Marines, but they ones deemed not a threat were ignored for the most part. If the 'lesser' pirates were there, a Marine was expected to either kill them or bring them in to be executed, as it was just on the way, and would most likely save trouble later.

What felt like an hour later, Dayn found himself looking out into actual wilderness. The mountains in front of him, the forest to the north and another to the southeast. It all just looked.. so clean, compared to the dump site outside the city. Nature was so much better, in his opinion. The poor didn't even need to leave the island. Just move to a different area on the island. At least the was clean air, and nature always had plenty for a person to live on, normally. Especially in a forest, there would be enough to survive on, and probably be more comfortable anyway. But then again, they were not Dayn, and may lack the survival skills to live off the land when it was necessary.

Dayn wanted to go look into the forest, curious if people lived there, but his bounty was for a man in a bandit group in the mountains. Maybe someday, if he ever came back he would take a look around. It was not important, all in all. He had other things to do, and it was only curiosity. 'Priorities', Dayn thought to himself. He started off again, toward the mountains and his bounty. He had no idea where exactly the bandits would be. He half hoped they would ambush him if he came close, as it would save him time searching. The bandits shouldn't be afraid of one man, especially a Marine they would want to kill.

Lieutenant Dayn walked on, through the rocky terrain, keeping an eye to his surroundings. It was somewhat hot outside today, with his dark clothing, and the cloudless sky helped the sun bare down heavier than normal it seemed. 'How secluded were these bandits?', Dayn wondered. The thought directly after was, What did they steal? Who did they attack? It was not like they would simply be allowed to enter the city, and it was obvious no one cared for those outside the city. How had this man even gotten a bounty?

It did bother him slightly, but Dayn tried not to worry about it. The back story was not important for the bounties, and Dayn knew it was often better not to know. It only led to complications and moral inconvenience if you wanted the bounty.

Dayn searched the mountainside, hoping more and more as time passed that he found it quickly. A shine caught Dayn's eye suddenly. Dayn stopped, turning to search more carefully for whatever it was. It only took a moment before Dayn found it. What would this being doing out in the middle of nowhere? Dayn walked closer, becoming more sure as he neared the chest. It had a basic lock on the stone chest, the back half of the chest buried into a rock wall cliff. The color blended almost perfectly with the cliff, but the lock was much too shiny and gave it away.

Dayn looked around, searching for anyone nearby. Nothing moved and nothing unusual stood out. Dayn couldn't help but feel this was a trap. Who would leave a chest out in the open? The lock almost attracted attention, even if the chest itself blended in, it was too obvious. 'Maybe the owner was simply an idiot?' Dayn thought. He did not sense danger, but he still felt uneasy. Dayn walked closer, inspecting it closer, but he did not see anything out of the ordinary..

Dayn brought his weapon down upon the lock, smashing it off with a loud crack. Nothing happened. Dayn sighed out a breathe of relief. He was not sure what he was expecting, but it all looked clear. Dayn searched around again, but still did not sense anyone close. Looks like whatever was in the chest belonged to him. Dayn shrugged. Finders, keepers, after all. If you wanted to keep something, you didn't leave it lying about. Dayn bent down, snatching the broken lock off the hinge, and opened the chest.

-BOOM-

The next thing Dayn knew, he was on his back, and rocks were piling on top of his legs. Coughing horrendously, trying to regain his breath, Dayn tried to roll over. Falling back down, Dayn waited several minutes, trying to regain his senses. Breath came shortly thereafter, but it took several more minutes before he could think clearly. It did not help that a sharp never ending shriek was emitting from nearby, blasting his ears.

The taste of blood mixed with dirt as Dayn sat up, some small rocks rolling off his torso as he did so. He just sat there, is legs under several decent sized rocks. It was hard to focus through the screech in his ears. His breathing evened out, at least to the point he could control it somewhat, but is still came heavily. He reached out, lifting one of the rocks and tossed it aside. He lifted the next one, grunting with the effort of lifting them. It was an odd angle, and he had no leverage, but Dayn only had minor problems moving them to the side.

He looked down, checking the extent of the damage to his legs. There were several tears on his pants, and Dayn could see blood dribbling out. He was surprised at how little actual damage he seemed to have taken. Dayn gently bent his legs, testing how they worked.

He looked up suddenly as several men came sprinting at him. Dayn could still only hear screeching, but the drawn weapons showed their intent. Dust was still floating in the air and rocks scattered around his surroundings. Dayn struggled to his feet, preparing to meet the charge. He looked down for a second, trying to find his weapon, but he did not see it under the mass of rocks and dirt. Dayn cursed at himself for falling for the trap. He knew it and did it anyway. His thoughts were still slow, ears ringing, and he was not sure of the actual extent of the damage on his body. He deserved this, for doing something so foolish, he thought momentarily, but then gave into the fury of what would come next.

~~~~~~
Word Count: 1545
Total: 2515
Beri: 1258

His movement was still sluggish, and he could not see clearly. Dayn knew he was at a big disadvantage. He was even unarmed, not sure where his crescent bladed spear was exactly. It had to be close, but it would be buried under the rabble, and he did not have the time to be digging around, especially when he did not know where exactly it was. There was nearly a dozen men charging, though he was not positive he was seeing doubles of everyone. Either way, he was not in a condition to fight them in his current state.

With no other choice, Dayn turned and ran in the opposite direction, back the way he had come. He slipped momentarily on the loose footing, but got up and kept going. It felt like the men were breathing on his neck as he ran off. Not looking over his shoulder, focused completely on getting away, until he gained his wits at least. He felt his thoughts clearing slightly, though his ears were still screaming bloody murder.

Dayn stumbled, trying to slow as he narrowly avoided running headlong into a tree. He had been so focused on just running he had not noticed where he was running to. But the men behind did not stop, charging relentlessly onward toward their weakened prey.

Dayn turned, feeling that running through the forest would work to their advantage more than it would his. If he ran full out into a tree, it would only make things worse, if not straight out knock him unconscious. His head was only just now clearing to the point he could ignore the screech and complete his own thoughts. He took a deep breath, watching as the dozen men surrounded him. If only he had his weapon, this would not ever be that much of a big problem.

Still, he was much stronger than the average man. If he was careful to avoid a blade across his throat, he had a chance. He was going to be the strongest man alive, he could never hope to have accomplished that if he lost to some unknown thugs. He needed to win, live on, and become stronger yet. Dayn concentrated for a moment, mentally checking his body for what may be too injured to use in the fight.

He felt a sharp pain in his left leg, which was shaking slightly as he stood still. His ears were ringing loudly, he could not hear the men's footsteps as the circled around him. One of them was saying something, or at least his mouth was moving. Dayn looked from one to the next, try to judge any possible weaknesses they might have, as he usually did. He noticed almost right away every single one of them used a single sword. Dayn guessed they probably did not even use them much, the bomb trap would kill an average person, and they probably just picked the valuables off the corpse.

He had been foolish to underestimate the guile of these bandits. The chest had been too obvious. In a normal fight, they stood no chance, but he had put himself into this position. His own stupidity. Dayn cursed, though he was not even sure if it was aloud or not. He was not sure why they were waiting, but it suited him that they did. The more time that passed, the more clear headed he became, and that made him winning this fight more likely.


~~~~~~~~~
WC: 591
Total: 3106
Beri: 1553