A journey to a new place

 
 

A familiar, fresh breeze was blowing through Johann's silver hair as he stood at the bow of the massive steel warship, overlooking parts of the sea and the harbour in this coastal city of Ca-elum. He, or more specifically, the West Fiore Trading Company, had taken one of the fleets battleships to escort smaller transport ships after reports of pirate activity in the area, and seemingly, the large guns and the flag of the WFTC had been enough to deter any possible attackers. They would have to make sure to eliminate any pirate thread permanently at a later point in time, though. Pirates were a constant nuisance the thalassocracy of the West Fiore Trading Company had to deal with, they had even been bold enough to attack one of the settlements on Divide Island itself before being eradicated by the might of the fleet, but had dared to nonetheless. The trade routes, especially between the countries of Fiore and Ca-elum, were vital to the existence of not just the Trading Company, but all manners of trade on sea, and naturally the organisation placed great importance on keeping this trade free from criminal influences. The Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company, thus, had taken this matter into his hands, accompanying the sailors of the WFTC on their course to Ca-elum to supervise the delivery of the shipments.

Johann sighed with one short breath before turning around, his eyes going from the sea to the stacks of wooden crates beside the ship, supplies for the journey back. They had been in harbour for around a day now, and it was time to head out to sea once more, not without a few more deliveries, however. This time though, the Vice President and the crew of the ship would do it personally. His hand on the railing he made his way to the improvised wooden ramp that led off the side of the ship before slowly making his way down to the workers before, as he was used to, addressing them, asking about the wares, the shipments, supervising the work, occasionally shouting a command etc. before finally and after a good bit of work, everything had been stored away safely and the sailors had been ordered to return to their stations. He himself made sure that everything was in order and would be the last to return to the steel giant before him, making his way back to the wooden ramp when another man hurried, nay, more like limped, towards the stairs, dressed in full armor and colours much different than those of the sailors of the West Fiore trading Company. Johann was intrigued, he had never seen the man before, and naturally assumed the worst, approaching the other from behind to make his way up the wooden stairs after him, placing a hand on his shoulder, the other offering a greeting perhaps ? The tongue was wholly unfamiliar to Johann. Still, he smiled at him with friendly expression, the rune he had left behind as he took back his hand would be unnoticed. "Good day, friend." Johann continued walking up the wooden stairs behind as he gave a wave to another sailor, the command to have the ramp lowered and preparations made to get the ship ready "I haven't seen you around here before ... Oh, but of course, you must be the one the council has send ?" Johann bluffed. There was no council, and they certainly didn't send anyone, but he would see if the other would indeed identify himself as a member of this fictional council. Johann had the understandable suspicion that this man before him, the man dressed like a rag tag soldier or mercenary, would indeed be a stowaway, or perhaps even worse, a spy. "My apologies, Sir. I am Johann von Weiss, Vice President of the West Fiore Trading Company. Please, follow me to the officers quarters for some tea, if you like. The journey back to Divide Island is going to be long and we'll have much time to get better acquainted", sort of pushing the other up onto the ships deck lightly, the ramp behind them lowered as soon as they stepped off, the ships horn giving off a loud, muffled roar, the sign that the ship was about to leave harbour. From the two large smoke stacks, black smoke started slowly rising up before the ship, with one large jolt, moved forward, out towards the open sea. Johann moved towards a small metal doorway on the ships side, gesturing for the man to follow him, ready to draw his rapier in the blink of an eye at any second should the man try anything funny.

"Takenaka Haruyuki, hm ? Midi ?" Johann repeated in his head as he led the other across the deck and through the small metal doorway. The man said, be it with peculiar accent, he was a strategist and heard about the pirate attacks. Well ? Most people on the coast would have. News like these were spreading quickly these days, and so that fact wasn't too telling for Johann. In fact, the person he was now leading through a narrow hallway remained an enigma to the Vice President, for the time being. He had no ideas about his intentions, but treated this case with a lot of suspicion, there were many enemies to the West Fiore trading Company, and it wouldn't be the first time their competitors or other groups would try something to destabilize the organisation. A few metal pipes on the ceiling of this metallic hallway roared and sizzled as they walked past, and Johann finally came to a stop before another metal door, knocking twice before opening it and gesturing for the other to come in.

The other stepped inside, Johann doing the same and closing the door, locking it behind them. The officers quarters were relatively simple and scarcely decorated, and not too sizeable, but still offered relative luxury for the high seas. A bunk bed was embedded into one side of the room, two sofas and a table between were on the other, and a closet for clothing and storage on the other side. On one of the couches, a man with black hair looked up from a book briefly as the door swung open, putting down a pair of glasses when he saw the newcomer step in, followed by Johann. "Please, Sir, take a seat", Johann pointed to one side of the couches politely while moving to the other side of the room and speaking something into a lacrima, Artorias, his knight, moving over on the couch a bit before Johann, too, took a seat.

"So, Mr. Takenaka. You have introduced yourself a strategist and addressed the pirate threat in these waters ... Say, what is your business on this ship ? Who hired you ?" while the other would put away sword and helmet Johann and Artorias wouldn't even think to let go of their weapons for but one second. Then again, both The Vice President and the falcon in human form would be more than adequately equipped for a fight, even without a blade to back up their side of the argument. A small knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, he rose from his seating and went over to unlock the door, taking a small silver tablet from a sailor dressed in a blue and white uniform before closing the door once again, hurrying back to the other two before placing the silver tablet on the small table between them. On it was a glass can of freshly brewed green tea, a small string of vapor rising up from the opening on one side, sugar, milk and 3 cups. Johann took a cup and added a bit of sugar before pouring tea into it, the falcon doing the same, but adding just a sliver of milk, and Johann gestured for Haruyuki to take a cup as well. "So, let's be real here then, Mr. Takenaka", he placed down his cup of tea on the tablet after having taken a sip "We both know there is no council, and you were indeed wise to not respond to that. Still, I do not know you, you do not wear a guild uniform, I have never seen you around nor have I authorized hiring anyone, and trust me, when it comes to the safety of the West Fiore Trading Company, I am very good at remembering faces. So, I ask you one final time, and please, answer honestly, who are you, why are you on this ship, and" Johann's hand had been placed on the hilt of the rapier at his side now "if you are indeed a spy, then who are you working for ? It would be wise to answer truthfully", the Vice President's eyes were fixed on the man, watching carefully, observing his every move in detail, prepared should it come to the unthinkable.

"Oh ?" Johann gave back surprised to the others comment "Is that so ? Hired by noone, looking for work ?" Johann repeated  what the man called Haruyuki had offered him as a response "Then you're perhaps not the best strategist, good man, or a very desperate one. What did you expect would happen if you just sneaked onto a warship ? ... Perhaps you are the worst spy in history ..." Johann took the ceramic cup into his hand again, taking a sip before placing it back on the tablet "... perhaps you were willing to take a risk ?or perhaps you say all this make yourself seem less suspicious ? Perhaps you are a simple thief on the lookout for any valuables, and a stowaway in any case. Or perhaps, ...", the Vice President focussed on the other intently, his dual coloured eyes locked onto the Haruyuki's ones "... perhaps things are as you explained. I am not one to tell, nor can I know for sure, but the West Fiore Trading Company has ways to find out." Truly, the other needed only to be looked at by Ruvel to know everything about him, and especially if he was indeed telling the truth, but Ruvel was back on Divide Island, not here. For the time being, Johann had to come up with a different, more improvised solution.

"In any case, this ship is headed back for Divide Island, the headquarters of the West Fiore Trading Company, and you, Takenaka-san ..." Johann brought up what little he knew of Midi customs and language "... it seems you have no other choice than to accompany me back. Now, about your employment status" Johann now stood up, walking up and down the small room, his eyes still locked on the newcomer "as it so happens, the West Fiore Trading Company always accepts new recruits. Would you have approached me differently, I would've gladly accepted your request and tested you in accordance with the laws of the West Fiore Trading Company and Tolgalen, but as it stands, I cannot be sure about your alignment, Takenaka-san."

"But I am willing to make you an offer. You mentioned that you consider yourself a strategist. As it so happens, the West Fiore Trading Company could potentially require your services in the future. And you also mentioned the pirate threat" with that, Johann stopped where he stood before getting closer to the man that called himself Takenaka Haruyuki "Our plan was to try and find out more about that on the way back to Divide Island. If you want, you can assist me and my advisor, Artorias ..." the Vice President pointed at the man on the couch for a second "... in this matter. You seem to know about strategy, and you will get the chance to prove yourself. Or of course, you could spend the rest of the journey in a cell" Johann now stretched out his right hand and extended it towards the man before him "So, Takenaka Haruyuki-san, what will it be ? And if you take my offer, what strategy does our oh-so-smart strategist suggest ?"

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