Brawl Ghazla, the Island of Death

[Ziosa]

@Einsauer
will figure out colours and stuff for each character later
Actions
"Talking"
Thinking
"Technique Names"

An island sits in the quiet seas of a far-western part of the Grand Line. Not on any Log Pose route or close to any other large/major islands, it should be unknown as nobody visits it but it is actually quite well known in many circles; to the point there are many rumours and legends about it. Hardly anyone is willing to check these rumours in the modern day however, as there is one thing that is known for a fact; it is a place of death.

Ghazla Island was once the capital of a large empire hundreds of years ago, and was actually a powerful enough threat that the World Government itself actually left them alone for the most part. Starting off as just the one island, it eventually grew to control a good percentage of the entire Grand Line but mysteriously collapsed and fell to ruin over just a few years. Almost immediately rumours of a trove of advanced technology and treasure on the island started and many people went searching for it. After the list of people that went to Ghazla and was never heard of again became too long that even the World Government stopped sending people, only the strong or foolhardy still went and they stopped eventually. In the modern day the legends Ghazla are just below the City of Gold and the Emerald City in terms of renown, but are told very differently as most people know where it is and nobody wants to go there.

Going across the small waves near this forsaken place was not just 1 ship but 3. The two that was behind and almost neck and neck were very large and had Marine and a logo written on there sails, they were clearly chasing the boat in front. Various personnel were running across the decks of the World Gorvernment-affiliated ships, all hard at work seemingly trying to speed up so they can catch the vessel a fair distance ahead. Having no markings or flags, the small ship they were chasing was completely unremarkable and seemed quite non-threatening; and yet the Marines were firing bullets and cannonballs at it.

On the vessel known as the Sea Pixie nobody was panicking, as if being chased by Marines was a regular thing. The helmsman maneuvered the ship so it avoided most of the projectiles, the cannonballs landing in the water in front or to the side with a splash; a few got through as there was too many to avoid all of them. However hardly any of the iron spheres did actual damage as they were cut in half and destroyed before they reached the deck, a small figure running and jumping across the deck to slice them with a blade bigger than she was so fast she was a blur to anyone watching. Revolutionaries on their way back from a mission, they had been ambushed at sea by a blockade. The tiny Executive leading them had managed to sink and disable a few of the Marine battleships so they could get through but the rest had given chase. The remaining two still following was all that remained and clearly had very strong individuals on board as they had been able to avoid or counter any attacks that had been sent at them.

Jade Belle cuts another three projectiles that were the same size as she was and lands on the very back of her ship. Rolling her one shoulder to release a bit of tension as she had been defending/countering for several hours and just starting to think about sending another Air Slash, she is interrupted by a shout from the brave man that had stayed at the top of the mast as a lookout "Land on the starboard horizon!" The Executive and many other members of the crew look and are slowly able to see he is right when it comes into view after a few minutes.

Making a quick decision, the small girl orders the helmsman to head to it as they need to do something different as they probably will be hit eventually. Once the ship has been steered in that direction and a few of the crew have looked at the map to see what island it likely was, whispers start to go across the deck. Oblivious at first, the murmurs slowly got loud enough for Jade to tell something was wrong. She makes her way to a cluster of people, the Marine ships having stopped firing for now. "What's with the whispers and murmurs? I would have thought we had talked about everything by now as this chase has been very long"

Her crew look down at her with pale faces and wide eyes, moments later all saying basically the same thing "This is Ghazla, the island where everyone Dies" Jade had heard the name before, but she had been told and visited many islands since she had been in the Marines for years and the Revolutionaries even longer.

Tilting her head and shrugging she turns away to start walking off "Are you going to let an island scare you? It's just a place at the end of the day" She doesn't get very far before her crew come over and basically start to beg not to go anywhere near it, with a few trying to explain why. Having been part of many missions and leading many others, Jade had seen her comrades be scared and reluctant before but they still did their job as best they can even in this state. This was something different though, the small girl could see it on every person's face as she looked around. Even her second-in-command and the leaders of the subgroups that were currently with her had similar expressions. It was different from knowing they were about to fight a high-ranked Marine or a powerful pirate, different from liberating a well defended kingdom or defending a location that was on brink of being overrun. She didn't need to use her Observation Haki to figure out what it was; terror.

Knowing she was missing something but figuring they didn't have time to explain it to her or debate, she made another quick decision. The Sea Pixie would drop her off and then head away from Ghazla. The Marines would most definitely choose to go after her as she would be seen as a very big threat that needed to be taken out as quick as possible in their mind. Even if they went after her ship as well, they would have to send the strongest against her and her crew could deal with the remaining Marines.

 

[Einsauer]

Spoiler: Text Key

"Dialogue"
'Thought'
Narration

The lanky, grey legs of the disgraced pirate captain, Sweet Einsauer, trampled the stray branches and overgrown brush that had managed to invade through era-eroded cobble. She rubbed her freshly chapped skin, it felt as those the surrounding waves and air had acted as sandpaper against her skin. The fishwoman had shortly ago docked her glorified raft lazily on the shore in the area that seemed most approachable from the sea. The icy cold waters surrounding this mysterious island, Ghazla, seemed to cut sharp like blades. Roots of leafless trees crawling in and out of the bluffs had been sheared away, at least the sections that hung too close to the waterline.
Sweet looked out over the dark waters surrounding the aptly named Island of Death. Her cold, calculative eyes falling onto her small boat being assaulted by the waves. Perhaps she should've yanked it onto shore, the black-skulled jolly roger she had designed was flapping in the vile winds with unrivalled tenacity.

A strong gust off the sea smashed into Sweet's face, causing her to tuck her face from the wind's direction. As the wind carried through Ghazla, a death wail both guttural and shrill pierced outward in all directions- like a giant Aztec death whistle. Sweet pulled a dark hooded coat to herself tighter against the wind. "I guess they don't call it the Island of Death for no reason." She blandly remarked to herself whilst beginning back along the cobbled path deeper into Ghazla. She was lured by the rumors of great treasure, and this early in her attempt at resurgence in piracy... A boon like that going unharvested felt like such a waste to the jaded pirate.

She spit the taste of salty air out of her mouth onto a wilted sapling. The fishwoman squinted and turned back as a familiar sound- cannon fire. Her eyes pulled back over to the seas and through squinted lids she attempted to peer out but could see nothing. After a moment of quiet consideration she walked further into the heart of Island of Death accompanied by another "death howl". She didn't really know what to expect beyond the general warnings of danger, though at this point she would have undoubtedly come to that conclusion on her own.
The plants clung to life around her, not a single sign of fauna as far her shrewd eyes could see. It seemed this section the island was mostly in ruins, so to find anything of value she'd need to push in further- though the prior sound of cannon volley nudged her paranoia and it pleaded with her to investigate further.

--

Isolde White, cybernetic perfection. A long-legged cyborg woman in a stainless uniform and golden sunglasses strode across the deck of a marine vessel as a volley of cannonballs blasted at the ship of infamous revolutionary: Jade Belle. This was undoubtedly one of her trickiest missions to date, but as all others before it would be executed perfectly and she would assuredly climb higher up the ranks with a feat like this on record. The cannonballs from both marine ships had no effect for the time being, but those aboard The Sea Pixie weren't without stamina- they could be exhausted, and eventually... the dwarf would be captured, dead or alive. The scum aboard that ship would pay dearly for the damages done.

The enemy vessel pushed into a dark patch of waters, waters that some of Isolde's division knew rumor of- and for that reason the already slow-moving ship creeped to a halt rather than picking up speed.

"We're slowing." She asked up to the helmsman in the form of a statement. The marine soldier in question was, like all others in this division, held to unrealistic expectations even by marine standards. The man's perfect figure sheepishly gestured to indicate the other vessel was slowing too. The pristine rear-admiral gave a nasty look to the man and gave a sign to hold for a moment.
She brought out a small snail phone, golden in body but white in shell, and then dialed in to the snail aboard the marine vessel next to hers, commanded by a man outranking her. Then- when and if it should be picked up:
"Why are we delaying?" She asked in a tone that bordered closely on forgetting the chain of command. "--Sir." She added with a hint of a spite seeping into her voice. Her voice sounded pure of all emotion (think SIRI) She removed the golden sunglasses, revealing eyes of a similar warm, gold color, still made cold when involved in such a stare as Isolde's. The cybernetic enhancements to her eyes allowed her vision to function as if she had looking glass for each eye whenever she should choose.

The long-legged marine woman attempted to get a better look at the shrouded island, but from this distance and with how heavy the overcast above this island was, it seemed pointless without drawing nearer. She fought the urge to sigh until hearing Robert's response and hanging up the Den Den Mushi.

@Ziosa

 

[Ziosa]

@Einsauer
The deck of the second and slightly larger Marine ship known as The Zephyr was a hectic sea of activity, with many people running about, giving orders, or doing actions like checking the sails etc. A lot more high-tech than most World Government vessels, there were also various machines above and below deck doing things; all created by the commanding officer, some were obvious in function as they were auto-loading cannons, while others were unknown to everyone but the creator. Despite having help from some of the inventions, most of the crew were still quite exhausted as they had been chasing the small vessel in front for hours and had also been active for a while before to help set up the blockade. Quite a few had to be made to take a break or get a quick meal as they looked like they were about to collapse, but it had been long enough that even those were mostly all back on duty.

In the middle of all this chaos was a seat that was facing forward and the back touching the main mast. Sat on it with their legs crossed in a relaxed pose was a fairly tall man wearing glasses. They were somehow reading a book despite all the noise and everything going on around them. On their shoulders and slightly draped over the back of the chair was the normal Marine coat with blue epaulets that basically all Vice Admirals wore. Underneath this was a smart white tuxedo with black lapels, a dark grey shirt and a black tie. His hair and eyes were both a light brown, although the latter was slightly obscured due to the glasses. Inbetween two fingers of his left hand was a cigarette, which they occasionally put to their mouth after turning a page.

Everybody knew what they were doing so Robert was taking the opportunity to finish his book. Nothing had changed in the last 2 hours and he was just getting to a good part in the story when he felt the ship start to slow down. Looking up and having a good view of the Sea Pixie, he could see that it was only going about half as fast as it had been before which explained why they were slowing down without him giving any orders; the cannons were also not being fired anymore as the crew wasn't sure if they should keep attacking or not. Giving a signal to a nearby Marine, they come over. "Is there a reason they might be slowing down?" While he normally might have talked for longer and asked other questions, Robert wanted to quickly know if the situation had changed since they could now easily speed back up to get close and board the enemy vessel if there was nothing to stop them.

Before they even speak, the Vice Admiral could tell something was wrong by their mannerisms but waits for them to salute and answer before saying anything else "We are getting close to a uh.. island.. sir, so the currents are becoming less predictable and there might be some hidden rocks so they are trying to avoid them" As soon as they mention an island, Robert expects the Marine to say something obvious like them slowing down to prepare to disembark but there is no mention of that. In fact, the young man infront of him seems to not want to talk about the island at all. The dots then connect instantly as he remembered what part of the sea they had entered a while ago.

The island must be Ghazla... Maybe this is there base? No that doesn't make sense, they wouldn't even directly go there when there is the chance of being followed so no way they would do it when being pursued like this. It must just be an accident and they are just slowing so they can get through this section. His brain starting to think about the implications, Robert comes to the same conclusion that this Marine and rest of the crew have come to. Before he can get too deep into his own thoughts, the snail on the floor next to the seat starts to ring. Closing the book, he picks up the Transponder and dismisses the young man.

"Why are we delaying?" She asked in a tone that bordered closely on forgetting the chain of command. "--Sir." She added with a hint of a spite seeping into her voice. Her voice sounded pure of all emotion (think SIRI)

Although still not fully used to Isolde as they had only worked together a few times, he doesn't react to the way she is speaking and the fact that such a blunt question to a superior officer is technically against the rules. "It is they who need to delay as time is on our side not theirs. Now they have slowed down we can easily catch up to them and take down these scoundrels that have plagued the seas for too long. They are highly unlikely to go to the island, unless this Jade Belle is as foolhardy and impetuous as her file suggests." While speaking, Robert reaches into a pocket and pulls out what looks like another book with almost as much flair as his dramatic words; even though nobody was watching. When it opens, it has a screen rather than pages. With a few clicks, the Vice Admirals brings up the file they have on the Revolutionary Executive. As usual for such high-threat criminals, the most noticeable thing is their bounty. In bright red due to it being over a billion, he ignores the big 1,400,000,000 and quickly looks at some of the Dwarves details even though he had read them several times already, as he thought he will soon clash with her.

To the surprise of everyone on his ship, but not Robert as he was too busy looking at his device, the Revolutionary ship actually turns towards Ghazla instead of away from it. Seeing the Vice Admiral was engrossed in something and still on the transponder, the helmsman gulps and makes The Zephyr follow, hoping it was a bluff or some kind of maneuver and they aren't going to go close to the infamous island.

 

[Einsauer]

Rear-Admiral Isolde White
Level 75

Spoiler: Stat Block

Strength: 81 +14 +5 =100
Speed: 46 +35 +5 +5 = 91
- Reaction: 100 (+20=110 Kami-e (Stat Cap))
- Movement: 82 (+20=102 Soru/Kamisoru)
Vitality: 77 +14 = 91
- Durability: 82 (+20=102 Tekkai)
- Stamina: 100
Haki: 55
- Observation Haki: 29
- Armament Haki: 81
Martial Arts: 50
- Rokushiki: 100
Cyborg: 66
- Destruction: 100
- Energy: 82
- Utility: 82

After ending the call and letting loose a slight scoff, Isolde tucked the mollusk back into the proper pocket and stretched her long metallic legs out, hot steam releasing from the seams running along the sides before clasping shut again. As The Zephyr began to gain pace once more, so too did the ship under Isolde's command, The White Bird. All of the soldiers aboard the ship moved hesitantly, sparing each other unnerved glances- to an untrained eye they would all appear completely stoic; but those aboard the ship knew how fearful they truly were. All of the marines aboard this ship could be mistaken for a few groups of clones with how specific Isolde's requirements were for a "perfect division". Not one single soldier stood out amongst the sea of perfectly maintained sailors.

Rear-admiral Isolde strode confidently to the front of the forecastle deck, overlooking the front of the front of the ship. Her golden eyes tightened with mechanical precision, focusing in telescopically on the island's coast. She scanned the coast they were approaching, carefully tracing the shore and mapping proper entry- "Oh?" She quietly exclaimed upon seeing a Jolly

Roger attached to a small ship that barely clung itself together. Her eyes lightly rotated in their metal sockets as her vision adjusted to scan the ship more precisely. A white flag with a black jolly roger of a sheep of some kind, no crew she had heard of.
Her eyes rotated back to their original position as she scanned the beach further for signs of surviving pirates, this ship seemed too freshly anchored to be long abandoned.

Isolde reached for her snail phone again begrudgingly and began to reach back out to Vice-Admiral Robert. "Vice-Admiral, I've spotted signs of pirate activity on this island." She reported, in her usual emotionless tone. "Jolly Roger with a white flag; looks like a black, pointed sheep skull- are you familiar with such a crew?"

As she spoke a light murmuring of it being a 'ghost ship' started amongst some of the newer recruits once out of earshot.
With how skittish her own crew was acting, it made no sense a rookie pirate crew would choose this island as a target to pillage, at least not intentionally. She placed her golden sunglasses back on as the sea surrounding this island had becoming vicious, she turned to her crew and began speaking orders through robotic enhancement, similar to a megaphone in her mouth. Her lips tightened into an slight frown as she adjusted her glasses watching her crew work slightly less efficiently that what was expected due to terror, in a way that seemed against their usual character in-fact. Embarrassing. She thought.

Isolde White turned back to face the oncoming choppy, dark waves whilst her robotic legs opened slightly and released two hot bursts of steam and then sealing again. The time to be afraid to die was upon joining the Marines as far as Isolde was concerned, in the same way an adult understands a sheet over a head isn't a ghost, she understood this was no more than a mere island. Her division would be sternly reprimanded after the completion of this mission for their joint stupidity. The winds whipped as if there were a storm, the sky was dark- but there was no storm happening- the typical oddities of the Grand Line.

This island didn't frighten Isolde in the least, however the mere idea of failing her mission disgusted her so badly it felt something very much akin to fear for her. Therefore, Isolde would stop at nothing to bring in that little traitor, dead or alive- even if she had to destroy this entire island to make it happen.

@Ziosa​

 

[Ziosa]

@Einsauer
Every time they see the island was now much closer, the crew of the Sea Pixie gets slightly more agitated. Most were visibly sweating, despite the air around Ghazla being quite cold even without the powerful gusts of sea breeze that was currently hitting the ship and it's sails. In most crews, there would have been many who would already have jumped overboard; taking their chances with the waves over the cursed island, even though none of them are actually going ashore. The fact that the helmsman hadn't ignored orders and turned around, or that other members of the crew hadn't forced him, showed how much they trusted Jade.

The Dwarf and the high-ranking officers under her had had a quick meeting where she laid out the quick plan she came up with. None of them wanted to leave her on Ghazla for even an hour, let alone the extended amount of time she was suggesting but noone had came up with an alternative. They had tried to tell their leader about the place, but she was still unmoved; they had been to many dangerous locations before, so why was this one any different? Seeing they couldn't persuade her, a small number of very brave officers and other crewmembers tried to volunteer to go with her but she told them all no. Jade wasn't going to risk more than they had to in such a mysterious and apparently very dangerous place, especially since the Marines will also send their strongest after her on top of everything that might be on the island.

Due to them not docking, or stopping at all, the crew didn't actually have to prepare anything. But most of them did anything they could think of to help distract them from the fact they were about to be mere metres away from the island of death. The Revolutionary Executive herself was just casually standing on the starboard side of the ship, quite close to the back. She was going to make herself very obvious so the Marines knew she had jumped off and was heading further inland, Jade was very good at being hard to miss so she wasn't going to have to try that much.

When the Sea Pixie gets fairly close to the coast, the helmsman quickly turns the rudder and makes the ship turn so the starboard-side is now facing Ghazla rather than the front. Without changing how she is standing and with just one hand, Jade draws the sword that is bigger than she is from the sheath on her back. As soon as the blade is out in the open, it starts to glow. By the time she braces her legs and jumps off the ship, it is shining so bright that it is impossible to miss; especially in such dark and murky waters.

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

By the time Robert looks up from looking at his "Databook", the Sea Pixie is getting quite close to Ghazla. They are going to the island? Are they desperate or do they know something? It can't be their main base but it could be a smaller one perhaps... The World Government hasn't been here for a while and there are no patrols that come close so would be a pretty good place for the Revolutionary Army. Standing up, he makes his way to the front of The Zephyr so he can get a slightly better view of everything. Still carrying the Transponder Snail in one hand and the open book-like device in the other, they stop at the bow of the battleship. While watching the boat full of criminals and the barren island that was coming closer and closer, the creature on his right hand starts to ring again.

Isolde reached for her snail phone again begrudgingly and began to reach back out to Vice-Admiral Robert. "Vice-Admiral, I've spotted signs of pirate activity on this island." She reported, in her usual emotionless tone. "Jolly Roger with a white flag; looks like a black, pointed sheep skull- are you familiar with such a crew?"

The description didn't sound like any crew he had heard of and he couldn't see the flag yet himself, but Robert put the snail down on the nearest bit of wood and activates the Databook again. After a quick search and finding nothing, he answers "It is not in my current files and I don't think I have ever seen it in my main archive." When he became a Marine, Robert started gathering as many files on pirates and criminals as he could or creating them if they didn't exist. But since the amount had become too big years ago, he stopped bringing them all on missions and only put the relevant ones/ones that might be useful on his devices. "If the flag still looks pristine then they have probably been here less than a few days"

With this new information, the Vice Admiral starts to get lost in thought again Are the Revolutionaries here to meet these pirates...? Unlikely but not impossible... I haven't heard of them allying with any new crews recently and this would be an odd place to rendezvous, so again it is most likely a coincidence. Able to see the ship with the pirate flag as it was now in normal visual range, Robert was definitely sure he had never seen it before and had basically already decided they were unlikely to be a threat due to the state of the boat. Seeing that the Sea Pixie wasn't going around Ghazla as that had been a possibility, he suddenly starts to shout a few orders to help start making preparations to go ashore.

Reluctant but not willing to go against his orders, various Marines got busy above deck and others went below to get some of Robert's inventions as he was likely to bring them with him. Just before he is about to turn to go and check a certain device as it hadn't been used in a while but would be useful on this sort of island, they see something on the Sea Pixie. A light slowly gets brighter at the back as the ship changes to now be parallel to the coast. Recognizing it as the special weapon that Jade Belle carries, Robert watches them jump off the boat. The enemy vessel then speeds up and starts heading away from the island, leaving their leader behind.

Kind of clever, forcing us to choose to go after just one person, just the crew or split our forces... Robert brings the snail back up so he can talk into it again "The Dwarf has jumped off and we need to go after her. One of our ships should be filled with most of our men and go after the Sea Pixie. Pick a few of your best to accompany us ashore and I will the same, make sure they are prepared for anything as we have very little date on Ghazla" Giving her time to reply but hanging up if she chooses to argue with his orders as they are short on time, the Vice Admiral puts the Transponder away and starts to think about what to bring now the situation has changed so drastically. Ordering everyone to line up, he tells them the plan and ignores their looks of relief since only a few will be going to the island of death.

Spoiler: Inventions/OOC

The Databook will have a writeup in the next post/the next time it appears but just know it is has no actual combat/utility functions and is just a flavour way to have him know certain things

 

[Einsauer]

Robert brings the snail back up so he can talk into it again "The Dwarf has jumped off and we need to go after her. One of our ships should be filled with most of our men and go after the Sea Pixie. Pick a few of your best to accompany us ashore and I will the same, make sure they are prepared for anything as we have very little date on Ghazla"

Isolde thought to herself for a brief moment before responding with a crisp: "Yessir." And hanging up her snail phone. The Den Den Mushi's eyestalks tucked down while it went into a form of hibernation. The rear-admiral tucked the device back into the proper pocket before pointing to a group of marines- she knew none of them, in fact across her entire ship she only knew one marine by name aside from herself.
That marine would not be joining on shore, as she was the most trusted under Isolde and therefore would be left to captain the ship in her absence.

She gathered a group of men before her, all nearly identical in terms of height, build and uniform upkeep. She relayed the orders and they hid their fear well enough whilst looking their rear-admiral in her piercing, automated eyes. The White Bird sailed up beside The Zephyr- Isolde stood in a position destined to be first to board the allied ship, hands sternly on her hips. Her golden sunglasses reflected the crew of the other ship back at them as a blast of steam escaped from each leg. As the boats seemed at their nearest she saluted over and leapt from one boat to the other, a group of perfectly kempt soldiers in peak conditioned leapt after her after salutes of their own.

"Rear-Admiral Isolde White of the 55th Division, reporting-" She gestured back. "-with a top selection of my men."
She sharpened her salute to her superior officer and her men in perfect unison snapped to a similar attention.

--

Former Pirate Captain Sweet Einsauer
Level 90

Spoiler: Stat Block

Strength: 60 +36 +5 = 101
Speed: 87+9 +5 +5 = 106
Reaction Speed: 110 (+10 Precog -> 120)
Movement Speed: 102
Vitality: 60 +36 +5 = 101
Durability: 101
Stamina: 101
Haki: 93
Armament: 86 (Offensive)
Observation: 100 (Precognition)
Martial Arts: 100
Fishman Karate: 100
Chains: 100
Mind: 50
Navigation: 100

Linguistics (Deceit): ★★★★★
Sub-Profession: Lie-Detection: ★
Streetwise: ★★★★★

Sweet Einsauer ripped a tangled mess of brambles out from one the chains covering her arms with an exasperated groan. So far the island had proven to her to be less oriented around death- and more so heavy inconvenience. As the last of the bramble slipped from the chains, it took with it a piece of her coat's outer most layer. She sighed once more before dropping the barbed plant pieces to the ground whilst walking past a large, ruinous building of some kind. She peered in while passing by, but saw a large empty room with nothing of interest within- not so much as a marking on a wall.

As she moved through these sparse, outermost pieces of architecture it was clear that the only thing of note was that nature had seemingly conquered this place. Vines, ivy and moss and battled amongst themselves and crawled out on every available piece of stonework in sight. Eerily, not even birdsong found the fishwoman's ears in this unsettling place- it was as if nothing was alive here except the greying plant-life, but that was yet to be proven. She peered down at the rough land-map she was given, but it was already proving to be misleading. Paths that were claimed to have existed were nowhere to be seen, buildings labeled with notches and scratches were empty plots of very overgrown wildflowers...

She turned the map backwards and took out a piece of charcoal from the breast pocket on her coat, tracing the shoreline through the paper (since that seemed to the only accurate part so far). Sweet redrew the path she took and added small notches for bigger buildings she had passed. The pirate knew better than to mindlessly wander into this place without a decent idea on how to get back to the water. She withdrew into a clearing carved into the ground, sitting on a mossy stone and scribbling at her map a bit more while taking in more of the outer ruins that seemed to dot Ghazla.

@Ziosa

 

[Ziosa]

@Einsauer
As The White Bird approached their vessel, Robert was busy choosing the men to accompany him and gathering the gadgets and inventions he is going to bring. He was currently below deck in one of the special rooms that contained just a fraction of the machinery and equipment he had created. A few of the people he had already picked were helping him carry them up above and were occasionally giving recommendations of who else to take, or not take, to Ghazla.

Hearing loud sounds from the top deck, Robert assumes Isolde is getting ready to board. Leaving the Marines to finish things up with his inventions, the Vice Admiral leaves the room and walks up the stairs. Seeing that the other ship was now alongside them and he wasn't needed to help, they make their way to where they will likely board. Not needing a gangway, the Rear Admiral is the first to make her way across and is closely followed by a group of peak-condition men also leaping across.

"Rear-Admiral Isolde White of the 55th Division, reporting-" She gestured back. "-with a top selection of my men."
She sharpened her salute to her superior officer and her men in perfect unison snapped to a similar attention.

Robert gives a salute to her and the group of soldiers behind that was used to acknowledge officers of a lower rank. The Marines from his own ship that were not busy line up behind the Skypiean and give the salute for superior officers.

"Welcome aboard Rear Admiral, my men will now go over to your ship if you have no objections" The Vice Admiral turns to look at the island surrounded by fog "There is no time to lose if we want to catch up to that Executive, every minute we waste is more time for them to descend further into this place of darkness and make it that much harder to bring them to justice" Despite his handsome appearance and how intelligent he was, Robert often spoke in a dramatic way and will commonly do theatrical/exaggerated poses; which takes a while to get used to. Turning to face his men, he will give the signal for them to go over to The White Bird if she agrees or the signal to help her men board The Zephyr if she doesn't agree about everyone going on her ship.

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

Having found a small hill fairly close to the coast, Jade was standing on top so she could watch the Sea Pixie sail away and see what the Marines were doing. The chances were low but they could decide to all go after her subordinates and then come back to the island for her as she couldn't really go anywhere else. The Dwarf would probably just have to attack them from the shore if they decided not to go after her and hope it's enough to make them change target. She wasn't expecting this to happen though as they would definitely see her as a bigger threat than everyone else combined.

The Executive would also have been able to see a good amount of the island from up here, if it wasn't so dark and foggy. The only things she could make out was the top of a few ruined buildings and some tall odd looking trees. Ghazla would have been eerie even if she could see everything though, as it was very quiet and nothing was moving. There was no birdsong or insect sounds and even the wind didn't make much noise when it ruffled the leaves of the various trees and plants. Jade could also feel something despite her not actively using Observation Haki, something unnatural and strange that seems to have seeped into the very ground of the island.

 

[Einsauer]

"Welcome aboard Rear Admiral, my men will now go over to your ship if you have no objections" The Vice Admiral turns to look at the island surrounded by fog "There is no time to lose if we want to catch up to that Executive, every minute we waste is more time for them to descend further into this place of darkness and make it that much harder to bring them to justice" Despite his handsome appearance and how intelligent he was, Robert often spoke in a dramatic way and will commonly do theatrical/exaggerated poses; which takes a while to get used to. Turning to face his men, he will give the signal for them to go over to The White Bird if she agrees or the signal to help her men board The Zephyr if she doesn't agree about everyone going on her ship.

Isolde's salute sharpened further in response to the greeting, but then dropped as the Vice Admiral mentioned how scarce time was becoming. She nodded, seemingly indifferent to the theatrics of her superior. As Vice Admiral Robert's men boarded The White Bird she glanced about The Zephyr's deck, her legs robotically releasing bursts of steam without her attention.

"Yessir." Her perfect manner of speech directed to her superior before looking to her own men, her voice picking up ever so slightly in volume. "Make haste."

--

Sweet, satisfied with her work on this rudimentary map, tucked the thin piece of charcoal away then careful rolled the map up in reverse- with its prior interior now on the exterior. She tucked the map away then stood from the large mossy stone she had sat on while crafting the map. Her bare feet pressed down on squishy moss and she once again glanced around at this roughly crafted area; something like cavernous corridors mixed with building exteriors lined the walls of this slightly sunken area, only a sparse few spaced throughout the area. While light shined down effortlessly, there were large shadowy sections that were impossible to make out.

While this place didn't seem overly promising, it was as good a place as any to start searching around for any sort of "forgotten treasures" that may have been abandon here in Ghazla. She dusted her backside of any clinging moss and made for one of the passages easiest to enter without climbing or crawling. She ducked her head down and peered in suspiciously, certainly there could be dangers within the darkened passage. She sighed and glanced around. The fishwoman would need to assemble a makeshift torch or something before mindlessly wandering into wherever this ominous little passage promised to take her.
Sweet took a few steps back, then paced contemplatively for a moment- a flash dial would've been a lucky possession to have but it couldn't be helped. She walked back out of the enclosed mossy grotto she had been charting in and snapped the nearest branch of a dead tree and continued exploring the surrounding area, her heavy chains rattling lightly all the while- driving off the droning silence of this deathly island, if even just a small bit.

The pirate used the branch in her webbed hand to smack away a patch of half-living thorns she intended to walk through. Hitting something solid beneath, a heavy loose stone carved into what was once probably a perfect cube. Prickly brambles had climbed their way up this strange rock. Using a new branch now, the last one splintering upon impact with the stone, she began to clear away the sharp prickers from the smooth surface.

@Ziosa​

 

[Ziosa]

@Einsauer
Every step Jade takes makes her feel like she is getting closer to something or someone. It was currently just a small feeling in the back of her mind, but it had already become prominent enough for the Dwarf to notice and tell 'something' was somewhere on this island. She couldn't tell how she was detecting whatever it was, her Observation Haki didn't detect anything unexpected and nothing seemed to be moving on the surface of Ghazla; although the fog and darkness made the latter somewhat difficult to tell.

Having traveled down the other side of the small hill, she found herself walking through a very destroyed town. The buildings were so ruined and consumed by nature that Jade hadn't even noticed them at first as they were so unrecognizable. Looking closer, Jade could tell the houses would have probably been quite large and very sturdy/reinforced so shouldn't have collapsed like this even with the passage of time; meaning they must have been destroyed by people not nature. The Executive even tests the durability of a piece slightly bigger than her by moderately punching it, which should have easily turned it to dust due to her raw strength but instead it just breaks in half. "Wow this material is tough, I haven't been able to punch something as small as this without completely destroying it since I was like 7... What was this civilization like to be able to create a material like this and just use it for housing and what could have happened to it" Although she wasn't that interested in history and certain other subjects, Jade could still occasionally get curious about them.

Knowing the Marines were on their way, she decides she has spent enough time taking it slow and takes off running. The small girl covers the same amount of distance she had already traveled by walking in less than a minute, her body moving so fast it would be a blur to basically anyone watching. Heading deeper into the island, Jade enters a wooded area and passes under the branches of various dead trees.

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

While the two Marine ships quickly exchanged personnel and prepared for going after Jade Belle and her crew respectively, Robert was looking out at the dark and foggy island they would be heading to as soon as possible. Behind him was a lot of activity, with a lot of men running about and doing various duties.

The Vice Admiral engages Isolde in conversation while they wait "What do you know of Ghazla, Rear Admiral? I have read up on it a few times but I still regret that I didn't upload it to my Tome. I had no reason to think we would end up anywhere near here and it would be nice to look at it again to re-familiarize myself with everything we know about it" He pauses to type some instructions on his tablet device he calls the "Ultimate Tome". "It was said to be once the capital of a great empire that even the World Government at the time stayed away from but then mysteriously collapsed in less than a year, with various theories and no evidence of why"

Having finished disembarking to the White Crane until only the two high ranking Marines and the people selected to help them were aboard, the Zephyr moves away and starts heading to the island.

 

[Einsauer]

The gangly pirate woman had only just began examining the semi-cleared face of the stone. The rough face depicted some sort of crude poneglyph-like writing, carved into tough stone. Sweet had no talent deciphering ancient texts... Her eyebrows furrowed as she examined the semi-faded writing.
As Sweet straightened her back from her sleuthy hunch, she heard it:

The Executive even tests the durability of a piece slightly bigger than her by moderately punching it, which should have easily turned it to dust due to her raw strength but instead it just breaks in half.

Her back stiffened a bit more then her cruel eyes peered back at the sound's direction. Her lip curled for a moment as she turned her greying lavender skin to face the sound's source, a chill rushing down her spine. Her face quickly returned to an outwardly calm demeanor, walking towards something-- or someone. The chains wrapped 'round her arms jingled with excitement, as if they sensed their wielder's sudden adrenaline spike.

Had the cannon fire she thought she heard earlier been real after all?
Did the marines still want Sweet Einsauer dead or alive?

Sweet's ego couldn't help but savor the thoughts, knowing that the World Government still had her on their radar. However, now she needed to face this threat head on and make for the water if things start to go bad-- the piercing waves would be better than Impel Down. Her legs carried her slowly and confidently towards the sound, cracking her knuckles, preparing for her first fight in a couple years...

♪♪♪​

--
The white-haired woman quietly observed the quality of the wood in the deck of the Zephyr before her thoughts were interrupted:

"What do you know of Ghazla, Rear Admiral? I have read up on it a few times but I still regret that I didn't upload it to my Tome. I had no reason to think we would end up anywhere near here and it would be nice to look at it again to re-familiarize myself with everything we know about it" He pauses to type some instructions on his tablet device he calls the "Ultimate Tome". "It was said to be once the capital of a great empire that even the World Government at the time stayed away from but then mysteriously collapsed in less than a year, with various theories and no evidence of why"

Isolde stood stoically, onlooking the island they all swiftly approached as her superior spoke to her. She knew nothing of the island and reported as much when asked, in truth the more she heard about the island the more intrigued she was-- if this 'great empire' was so great, it must have plenty of gold somewhere hidden within the capital.

Her clone-like squad of marines moved along the ship with eerie precision in movement and with short, optimized communication. The rear-admiral looked on with wordless approval then looked back to the vice admiral. "I had never even heard of this island before my men went pale at its sight." She added.

@Ziosa

 

[Ziosa]

@Einsauer

Her clone-like squad of marines moved along the ship with eerie precision in movement and with short, optimized communication. The rear-admiral looked on with wordless approval then looked back to the vice admiral. "I had never even heard of this island before my men went pale at its sight." She added.

"Interesting, most people are at least semi-aware of it" His tone was normal and matter-of-fact "But I suppose there isn't actually any reason for it be known by everyone as it is just one island in a sea of hundreds, no matter how major it once was." Still facing towards the island, Robert was deep in thought about Ghazla and things related to it. No-one had ever come back from it so the World Government and therefore he himself had very little information on it but he still took the time to remember the data anyway just in case. "The reason why your crew paled at it just being mentioned is because in the hundreds of years since the Ghazla Empire collapsed, nobody who has gone to this island has returned or been seen again. It didn't matter how powerful someone was or how many people was part of the group, they was never heard of again if they tried to come here. Even a few Admirals and other high-ranking World Government members have disappeared after setting sail for Ghazla..."

While the Vice Admiral briefly explains the island and why it was so feared, the marines was slowly finishing up the preparations and were starting congregate on the deck while they wait for new orders or for The Zephyr to reach the shore. Robert's men were obviously quite scared but was putting on brave faces and trying to remain professional, making conversation about everything but where they were going.

The ship glides through the dark waters and fog as it slowly but surely reaches closer and closer to the coast. Unable to properly see the distance, the Marines stow the sails and start rowing in manually; the long oars often scraping across the oddly shallow water and stones/high reefs. The conversations were now quieter as nobody could ignore the fact they were now minutes away from setting foot on the Island of Death.

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

Jade jumps over a small chasm in the ground, barely slowly her speed despite being in mid-air for a few seconds. The forest of dead trees with a landscape of barren ground under them looms in front of her, showing no signs of ending anytime soon. The small girl hadn't been traveling for long and just wanted to put a bit of distance between her and the Marines, but was starting to regret it now there was no landmarks; if she turns for any reason she will have no way of knowing which way she came from even with the long range of her Observation Haki.

Starting to slow down while she thinks if she should continue or not, Jade stops just before she would've fallen into a hole only because of her immense reflexes. The ground having hidden it until she was basically over it, she looks down and sees that it was less a hole and more a carved staircase covered in moss and brambles. While very steep and going down into darkness, this was the first sign of anything but very ruined buildings so she decides to see where it leads. The Dwarf makes an arrow in the ground pointing the way she came from and leaves a 'J' under it as a sort of marking before starting to go down them. Her small footsteps make loud echoes that travels down to the bottom, easily being heard if anyone was already there.

Although it was clear nobody had been down this way in at least a century, nature having claimed all the stairs after the first dozen, she could still make them out and was able to use her small size to easily get through the vines and brambles. After going down quite far, it suddenly opens up into a larger area that had only a few beams from above lighting it. Almost as soon as Jade enters it, she realizes she isn't actually the first person here recently. If that person was still here and could see her, the first thing they will notice is the sword on her back as it was larger that the Dwarf's entire body.