Serious: Fires of war, frosts of silence (closed)

Several months ago

The row boat departed the snowy island, where a grand fight had just come to a close; The Desert Prince, Anubis managed to escape, St Joseph's whereabouts were unknown, the marines reorganising in orderly fashion. A grand stage in which the world's strongest players were to square off.

Silt, of course, had, nor wished to have, any part of it. A worm survived well in compost.

He had reached the island a few hours before, slithering ((not literally)) across the town of that island, towards the burning chapel at the town's centre, which had been struck afresh by St Joseph's one of many outbursts. He sneaked past civilians and soldiers alike, and rendered the odd 1 or 2 marine grunts that happened past him silent. And he'd made a quite clean affair of it all. When he reached the centre, he saw the chapel up close; there was fire and brimstone everywhere (and copious amounts of sand) he slipped in amidst the ensuing battle, and searched the wreckage. Fortune (or good timing) was on his side, for he found what he was looking for; a dusty old ceramic plate, with an unfamiliar letter of the hieroglyphic alphabet carved into it. Silt would have chuckled if it was not so sad.

Present time

The towns people had seen him once before

Now he knew war was raging, this proved to be his best chance; he had one piece ((NOT the ACTUAL One Piece)) of what he needed. If the powers of the world wished to fight their battles for their present's sake, by all means; Silt preferred it that way. Better for the eyes of the world to be staring into the blinding light, while other forces could act, work, out of sight.

The town of the island was brimming with activity, but not from the merriment of trade and business; rather, from whispers of fear of war. It had begun at Enies Lobby, and would threaten to spread outwards, and engulf the very earth itself, and all it's people. All were huddled in taverns, in homes, fearing the terror flashing for all the world to see.

A silent figure proceeded slowly towards the manor at the town's edge; no one, save weary local marine guards, were out on the streets or anywhere out doors. This was, after all, a minor Marine waypoint.

Local town guards walked by, and children were in fear. A town guard noticed the silent figure "Hey mister, you be careful, theres a war going on right now...."

The figure did not turn back; despite all the lamplight in the streets, the shadows cast were as prominent as the lanterns; all that could be discerned from the figure, was that his back could be seen, not his face; almost like an illusion, he walked permanently out of sight, deeper into the darkness, off the street, and into an alley.

The manor was a silent place; like the streets of the town, however, it's walls were patrolled by marines on night shift.

The marine soldier was tired, but glad he wasnt in the war. It scared him just thinking about it. He then heard something, he looked around but couldn't see anything.

The moon was obscure in the night sky, and that much was a good thing; otherwise, Silt could not slip behind the soldier while he looked behind him.

two marines were sharing a drink and discussing the war "You know what, i heard Anubis is a freaking demon, he eats people is what i heard!!" The other marine laughed "don't be ridiculous, he doesnt eat people, i heard he takes away all their blood when he touches someone, whats even worse, his army are quite feared through out the grandline....." The other marine drank up "What is the world coming to man? Will we even survive tommorow....."

one of the soldier's transponder snails rang. The snail echoed
"The east wall has not checked in yet. Investigate."

The marine soldier looked puzzled "Cheh, how come? maybe he has been drinking way too much again... i better go check..."

The marine soldier walked and checked the east side adn sees a marine on the floor "What the....."

The floored marine was drenched in alcohol, with a bottle in his hand.....it almost looked as if he had drank too much and passed out. Yet something didn't seem right.........

The soldier held his hand to his head "You idiot, you drank way too much...... sigh" He goes to the marines body and still had a weird feeling but pushed it aside, he knelt down to check the other marines condition.

A blur of movement swept past in a split second; the figure slipped past the investigating marine, and seemed to vanish into the shadows cast by the lantern post 3 feet away.

Silt had made it this far; while the government and all the major superpowers were at play, they believed their secrets were well kept, well shelved where no one could find them.

No one but Silt.

They hid the first at the snowy island; Silt had guessed that was one of the reasons the Marine Patrol stopped there...except none of the official high rank officers were told so. Only secret operatives were employed as part of the marine vessel's crew, assigned to retrieve the Sacred Tile. Silt had killed those operatives shortly before finding the artifact in the chapel.

Now he had located the second artifact. All he needed to do was find it, and all other artifacts.

Martello ha djust left the war, and now he had to come to this place, he got off his ship and ordered the marines to check the area

Gael slipped out of a local bookstore, a book in hand. He was disguised: his long hair hidden in a black bandanna, his robe stored in his bag. He was instead wearing a short sleeved and pants, white with twisting blue patterns coating the clothing like vines. He walked down the street, towards a manor. He had come here after Enies Lobby had fallen, looking for a deserted island. Obviously, he was not granted his wish. He had instead found that curious bookstore and purchased an extensive book of flora. He would rest here shortly, then continue on his way.

Silt was halfway across the yard and unbolting the basement door, when he heard a great number of footsteps from a fair distance away. Even though his mask covered his face, the hiss that sounded from behind it hinted displeasure.

"Got to hurry..." he muttered, flipping the double doors open and slipping down the dark stairs.

The marines patrolled the area, they reported back to MArtello who was talking to another marine" Rear Admiral, the island has been searched , we havent seen anything suspicious yet, but we have some reports of suspicious behavior" Martello sighed "Keep security tight and run by the sightings again, i want them to be sure this time...."

Gael kept going, ignoring the sounds of Marines scurrying about. He was tired, he wasn't called here, and he wouldn't put himself out. He just wasn't in the mood. He wanted to get shelter, read the book, and go to sleep. And were was better than the garden of a manor? He stepped lightly onto the grounds.

Two guards were chatting idly on the top floor of the manor; they stood in front of a pair of double doors at the end of a hallway. They barely noticed Silt moving towards them in the poor light.

Gael sat down near the entrance to the manor. No garden, but the soil was good. He grew some flowers to liven the place up a little, and followed it with trees. He opened the book, and he squinted in order to see the print in the poor lighting. He saw some very mundane things before he stumbled upon something amazing. He squinted to read it's name better. It was called IQ.

The Baron sat contently at his table, candle light flickering and casting shadows. He sighed, signing a document that was to approve a local research team's expedition to find extraordinary flora. He put his fountain pen down, and peered behind him, at the portrait that hung behind him. So long as 'that' was safe, he thought wearily, there shouldn't be any problems......

He turned, only to see the two doors leading into his office slam open with a loud bang, and two bloodied corpses almost flew at the floor with a thud and sizzle, remnants of acid boiling blood and smoking the carpet. The Baron stared at the floor, dumbstruck, for 3 seconds, then looked up.


And Silt was upon him.

The Baron's face grew pale. Silt just stood there, at the Baron's desk; the masked figure had blood on his sleeves. "I-I-i'll never g-give it t-too you." the baron stuttered. Many had been after his life, even though his treasures were worth almost nothing. All but one treasure.

Silt did not respond at first; his eyes were darting left and right, scanning every possible nook and cranny of the office. Where was it? It was supposed to be here. Then, he saw the small portrait behind the Baron and his desk, and looked into the baron's eyes.

The Baron knew what Silt was looking for. He began to reach for his pistol, holstered under his gown. He always carried one. "You," the Baron sneered, confidence returning, "have chosen the wrong noble to rob." He drew his pistol, and aimed to fire.

In that split second, Silt had flicked the Baron's fountain pen at him, where it hit him in the face. Gasping in surprise, he pulled the trigger and shot the ceiling while he flailed; at that second, Silt moved forward, drew a stone crux and impaled the Baron's throat with one hand, covering his mouth with his right. The Baron emmitted a gurgling sound, and died, blood pouring out of his throat and mouth.

The marines heard a shot from the manor, Martello looked up as soon as he heard it "LEts get going, everyone to the manor!!!"

Martello began dashing to the room where the baron was, he ordered the marines to circle the area as he climbed the stairs.He saw some dead marines on the floor.