high_seas | Research

Current Mood: curious

Entry tags:

Research

Who: Walt and Anyone who happens to be around
Where: Isla Empieza, Tavern
When: September 10, afternoonish
What: A man of science doing some research
Warnings: No warnings, Maybe a curse word here or there
Style: Starting prose, whatever you're comfortable with.
Status: Open

After he and his partner split up, Walt decided to take on the mission of figuring out what the words on the fountain meant. They seemed pretty straightforward once he read them again, but were they true? Considering where he was and how he got there, he really had no choice but to believe it.

Now that he was alone, he took some time to take in his surroundings. Most of the people, Walt deduced that they were the local townsfolk, seemed to ignore him. There a few others here and there that didn't seem like they lived here, and Walt wondered if they'd also arrived like he and Jesse had.

After walking for a while, Walt found himself close to what looked like the inn, with a tavern on the first floor. If there was any place to gather information, it would be a tavern. He had no idea what kind of people would be drinking this early in the afternoon, but he had to try. Walt pushed the door open and stepped inside, looking around. He found an empty table and sat down, leaning forward on his elbows. Observing for a while felt like a good choice. For now.

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It wasn't too hard to tell an outsider, especially when you were an outsider yourself. They hadn't been on Isla Empieza for newbie day in a while, so Lea was taking advantage of the situation to reach out and get to know the newest arrivals. Not out of the goodness of his heart, really, but more because he a) had a business to run and b) had recently decided that it might be a good idea to feel out the various factions forming among the groups of outsiders.

He had been sitting on the stairs leading up to the second level and keeping an eye on things, but once this guy took a seat at the table and started doing basically the same thing from a different angle, he knew he'd found his mark. Cautious and observant was good, but the sort of good that could go bad fast, and so he invited himself over, turning a chair around to sit on and folding his arms across the back before speaking.

"Welcome to beautiful Isla Empieza. Don't get used to it."

That didn't take long. Walt took a moment to study the man who was sitting across from him. He immediately determined that he was not one of the locals. He wasn't sure what to think of him just yet, but he felt like he could definitely get some useful information from him.

He leaned forward a little, watching his face. "...Sounds like you've been here for a while. It must be very obvious that I just got here," he said, laughing a little. "So much for trying to blend in..."

Lea smirked and waved a hand idly.

"It's my job to be nosy, so I see things." He left it at that. He wasn't officially on intelligence duty anymore, but it was a hard habit to break. It was kind of weird doing it for no one's agenda but his own, though. Usually he had a few to juggle.

"I've been here since December, so I'm used to this whole deal by now. Any questions you've got, I've probably got the answers."

Walt's eyes widened a little at that.

"Since December? That's quite a long time." Walt sat back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well, if you've got the answers, I've got plenty of questions. What exactly is this place? And judging from the locals, newcomers don't seem to be very welcome. My guess is that I'm going to want to get off of this island as soon as possible."

"Bingo. Empieza's where all the newbies get dropped off, so the townies are a little tired of it all. It's a little better on some of the other islands, but..."

He shrugged and pulled his journal out of a pocket and set it on the table. This guy looked like he'd benefit from a more thorough explanation and his own journal wouldn't contain as much as Lea's did.

"We've all got these journals. Everything you write in here can be seen by anyone with a journal unless you tell the journal it's supposed to be private. We're spread out all over the place here, so if you wanna keep up on what's going on, this is how you do it. We're all still kinda trying to figure out the 'where are we?' and 'how do we get back?', so it helps if you keep in touch."

He opened the book to a recent entry, something harmless from one of the Queen's Gambit girls, and tapped the page.

"Keep an eye on this stuff. Not saying you need to be obsessive about it or anything, but that's exactly what I'm saying."

At this point, Walt was beginning to believe that anything was possible. He leaned forward, looking at the other man's journal, looking over the entry that was there, then pulled out his own journal and flipped through it, blank except for the page that Jesse had already written on.

"So... if I write something here, anyone else with one of these can see it, unless I say it's private. And the same goes for anyone else." He nodded a little. "Interesting... I'll make sure to keep that in mind."

Walt closed it again, then sat back. "You mentioned other islands. I'm assuming you've seen some of them? And certainly not on your own."

"Nah, definitely not on my own. Unless you know your way around a boat, you're gonna need to find a crew to sail with. Islands you can ask just about anyone about, even the natives. Crews, though...you might want to ask an expert."

He didn't supply the information right off the bat, but the offer was hanging in the air.

Walt raised an eyebrow. It was true that he had a lot of knowledge about a lot of things, but he definitely didn't know much about boats. He'd need to make a crew of his own, or find one willing to take him on if he was going to get off this island.

"Am I right to assume that you'd be that expert?"

"Glad you noticed!"

He smirked and flipped back further through the journal, looking for good entries to illustrate his points, preferably ones made by captains.

"Some crews are too little to really worry about. Those kids on the Maharajan, some little one person sailboats...wouldn't give much thought to the Royal or those Justice guys, either. You don't even have to pay much attention to the Queen's Gambit, really, except for that Sebastian guy. He's trouble."

Lea shrugged and waved his hand dismissively. He only skimmed their entries when they came up. Small crews like that didn't have much clout and probably wouldn't be much of a factor if any big conflict came up.

"So that's boring. Anyway...the Hazmats, that's my crew. We don't have much of an agenda. Keep the crew safe, have a little fun, get home. That's pretty much it. The Katabami seems pretty much the same, 'cept their captain's ego is, like, ten times as big as anyone else's. The Howling Sabers are a smart bunch, dangerous fighters, but they keep to themselves and give the Navy hell, so that's fine by me. The Triton's Mistress has been quiet lately and that seems a bit sketchy to me. I don't know what they're up to over there. So that's mid-range. Got it?"

Walt listened closely, brow furrowed in concentration. It was very slowly coming together. If it was possible, he and Jesse would probably end up getting their own ship. It sounded like the safest, most logical decision. Nonetheless, he made sure to pay close attention and file away everything that he was being told.

"Another question. On that fountain, there was a message. About the pieces of some gem being scattered all over. Is it safe to say that most of these people are looking for it? If one finds all the pieces, could they use it to get home?"

If it was true, he and Jesse were probably going to be here for a long time.

"Hey, A+! Good job paying attention. That part's important."

He leaned back on the chair, drumming his fingers on the back of it before slipping off and turning it around so he could sit on it properly. He rested his elbows and leaned in a little closer, giving the room a quick scan to make sure there wasn't anyone he recognized before continuing.

"Between you and me, I don't trust it. Call me crazy, but some creepy all-powerful pirate ghost telling us to do his dirty work for him doesn't sound like it's going to end in rainbows and kittens. That poem says we get a wish, but who's to say he's gonna be that nice when he has his gem back? Plus," he points at Walt for emphasis, "it says 'wish.' Singular. There's at least a hundred of us. Do you see where I'm going with this?"

Walt took a deep breath, then frowned, rubbing his chin. That part hadn't even occurred to him. Even if they did find the pieces of this gem, there was no guarantee that it would work, or that this ghost wasn't going to appear and just kill them all, or that he and Jesse wouldn't get back home together.

"There's no guarantee that once it's used by someone else, that it could be used again, or for more than one person..." He shook his head, rubbing his forehead. "What a pain the ass..."

Walt fixed his glasses, then looked up again. "You know, you've given me all this information, and I don't even know your name. I'm Walter," he said, holding his hand out.

That moment when you realize you'll look dumb if you shake a guy's hand and deliver your catchphrase at the same time. Lea debated just how cool he needed to look versus how polite he needed to be to make sure he got his point across and opted to shake Walt's hand.

"Lea. Got it memorized? It's probably the easiest part to remember."

Because there was still one more important thing he needed to get across. That was the problem with trying to be dramatic sometimes.

"Last part to this pain in the ass and it's important, okay? Three more crews. The big ones. Straw Hats are harmless on their own, Bloody Roses are the opposite, but they're both closely aligned with the Spades and that's who you need to keep an eye on. They've go their own agenda and they're treating this world like it's the one they left and they have no intention of going back. Unchecked, they're gonna wreck this whole place. Me, I wouldn't even engage if I were you. Just a little advice."

Walt sat back after shaking his hand, listening closely. He had to admit, getting around this place was going to be tough. Especially after everything Lea was saying. He'd been hoping after everything he and Jesse had just been through, this wasn't going to be so bad. He was really going to need a vacation if he ever got home.

"So you're basically saying that most of these crews are dangerous, and it's easier to stay away from them. I'll take that advice. I just hope I can remember all of this, being an old man," he said, laughing a little. "Believe me, if it's anything like where I came from, I'll make sure to be cautious."

"Smart move. Take notes if you have to. Or keep in touch. You have something you need to clear up, you can always toss up something private in the journal and we can have a talk. Pretty convenient."

Lea fished around in his pockets and pulled out a small business card. Sure it was for his candy business, but it still had his name and the name of his ship on it.

"Here. You hold on to that in case you forget where to find me. Or if you ever wanna buy some candy. High quality artisan product, guaranteed."

Walt took his business card, looking it over briefly. "Candy business, huh? I might have to take you up on that. Not for myself, really, but maybe for my business partner," he said, putting the card in his pocket.

"I really can't thank you enough, Lea," he said, smiling a little. It was the truth. When he first arrived, he had absolutely no direction, but now he was confident on what he and Jesse had to do.

"And if there's anything you need, don't hesitate to ask. Not really sure what I'd be able to offer, but I'm willing to help."

"I might hold you to that. Never know what'll come up."

It sounded like a bit of a dismissal, so he unfolded himself from the chair and leaned on the table to offer a few parting shots.

"It's a lot, I know, but it's an important sort of a lot. Watch your back out there and if you manage to get your hands on a shard, I don't know if I even want to know about it."

"When you put it that way, I feel like I don't even want to find them myself."

Walt shook his head a little, then stood up too, pushing his chair in. "I should get back to my partner, I'm sure he's managed to get himself into something. But I have a feeling we'll be seeing each other again soon. I look forward to it."

Lea just gave him a little wave to see him off. One crew down, and it didn't look like there were going to be many more forming this month, so it looked like it was back to poking around the island for him.

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