Parley (ct)

[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

Gwendolyn sat on the edge of a fountain in Port Royal, lost in thought. Her blue eyes were cloudy as if she were far far away yet she appeared to be staring at a piece of paper. Port Royal had been recovering well since the first Heartless uprising had been put down, and a bulletin board had been created for those in need of such help. The heartless attack had attracted the attention of many pirates, and they tried to pillage Port Royal. Bringing order back into the town had come first, with making sure there were no casualties a close second. Once she had helped to sustain the population with relative ease, the civilians had gone back to their work. They’d started to rebuild the fountains and tend to the structures that had either burned away or grown wild with lawbreakers. By now, the city looked more like the original had fallen on rough times than the rebirth of what might have become a wasteland a few weeks ago.

It really was an interesting place. There were only a handful of worlds that had such unique meaning on them, and each had their own flavor of serenity to it. It was the kind of place Gwen needed to help clear her mind. Mostly because there was definitely a lot to do. She got up from the fountain and walked down the dark and somber streets of Port Royal with a confident stride. She needed to meet a woman by the name of Joanna Dock in the Cabin Pub to learn more about the job she had just accepted by herself.

Finally reaching the Pub, she entered it with a careful pace. She glanced all around the room, taking in every face. The town was filled with dangerous people, and she didn't want to be caught off guard. Gwen went up to the main counter.

"Excuse me," she said with a manner of poise and kindness in her voice,"Is there a woman by the name of Joanna Dock here? I am here in response to her request on the bulletin boards."

[Crow]

GAME MASTER

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The pub was filled with the smell of burning cigars and pipes. The guests were either in the middle of playing cards, or drinking their heart out. In a pub such as this one, rats were inevitable. However, no one seemed to mind them. They just carried on with their business. The customers were mostly nasty, bearded and loud men, pirates to be precise. Women were mostly waitresses or wenches. The reason for Joanna Dock to pick a rotten place such as this one was a mystery.

The bar tender was a large woman, with a nasty look in her face. Her voice was raspy and deep, a voice which could be easily mistaken as a man's. At the request for Joanna Dock, she pointed towards an empty corner of the pub, were a woman wearing a brown cloak was seated. Her face was uncovered. She had tied brown hair, gentle blue eyes and rosy cheeks. A very strange face for this part of town. At closer inspection you could see her shaking, but as she noticed a woman approaching, her nerves calmed down. In a soft voice she began the conversation.

"Are you here to help me?"

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[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

Gwendolyn had been absolutely disgusted at the conditions of the Pub. Her blue eyes narrowed slightly in her disapproval. It smelled horrible and there was a rat infestation nobody seemed to mind. But this was just like she had thought things to be. The only reason she felt surprised was because she hadn't expected it to be as bad as she thought. Once the large, manly looking woman behind the bar pointed her to a cloaked figure, Gwen nodded her thanks and walked over to her.

Her hood was down and she had her brown hair in a pony tail. Her face was fair with rosy cheeks. Clearly she did not belong on this side of town. She looked like she could pass off for a lady with class. Most of all, she looked terrified to be where she was. But she did relax when Gwen approached her. She sat down in front of the woman. She asked if Gwen was there to help. Gwen nodded and smiled with encouragement.

"Yes, I am. My name is Gwendolyn. Your letter in the bulletin boards caught my immediate attention. The situation is a severe case. Kidnapping a young girl for ransom? Pirates are the lowest of the low. May I ask if this girl is your daughter? Also, I am going to need details, such as how much money was requested by them. Not that we'll be giving them a penny," she smirked at her last statement. It was true. They wouldn't be giving them anything. Gwen would have to send them on a little swim to put them in their place.

[Crow]

GAME MASTER

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Joanna began to tear up and sob slightly at the woman's questions. She nodded, proving the fact that the kidnapped girl was indeed her daughter. She immediately regained her composure and proceeded to give the needed information for the job. From her brown robe she took out a map of the low town of Port Royal. The low town was the poor side, where beggars and pirates lived. On the map, circled with red ink was a small section of the nearest docks. She tapped her index finger on the spot.

"They do not want simple money, they want a deed, and this is were the exchange is going to be made. My father owns those docks, he recently died and the deed has passed down to me. They want to obtain the ownership to those docks. If they do own the docks they will have control over all trades to Port Royal. We cannot have that. However, we cannot let my innocent child die. Please you have to help me!"

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[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

Gwendolyn's face grew all the more serious as the woman spoke of the proposal the Pirates had placed upon her shoulders. She knew exactly what would happen if they owned the docks. If they owned the dock, they would be able to move in and out of Port Royal freely, and if that happened, their illegal means as well as their "trade" would have to be put up with by everyone who lived in Port Royal. Men woman and children would live in fear and constant worry about whether their belongings would be taken or not, and their families would be placed in a lot of danger. Gwen placed a hand over the woman's hand in comfort.


"I will help you. But you in return will have to give me your absolute trust. Do you trust me?"

[Crow]

GAME MASTER

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Joanna slowly looked up at the woman in front of her, pondering whether she trusted her or not. It was really hard to trust people around these parts, but something about her was different. She didn't seem to be a local.

"You must be wondering why I chose this place. Well, you see, the woman at the counter, a complete stranger to me, learned about my situation and offered to protect me in this pub."

She then looked around the room at the nasty and rotten pirates that filled the pub. At first glance it seemed as a hopeless place, full of people who will with no doubt reach hell.

"These people... They are nicer than they look. Those bandits, they threatened me. Some men offered to keep me protected in here until I get real help. Trust is very hard to find in these places, but all hope is not lost. You want my trust, you have it, please bring my daughter back!"

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[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

At least the people make up for the filth, thought Gwen.

She was glad that the people here had offered her protection. It was no wonder she seemed so out of place. But what about guards? Were they doing nothing about helping this poor woman out? How dare they. They must think themselves better than to deal with such nonsense. Gwen thought it far from that. She felt that it was her duty to help those in need of help. And she would give it wholeheartedly. Gwen gave the woman a kind smile.

"I am glad that these people offered you protection," she said, and then her face grew a little more serious, "It means that you will be safe here while I am saving your daughter. I have a plan on how to deal with those Pirates. But if you trust me to get the job done, you will have to give me the documents of ownership of the docks. I will have to give them a taste of their own medicine and trick them into believing that the dock will be theirs. Don't worry, they wont get their greedy hands on those papers, I promise you that."

Gwen felt a high sense of duty and justice and her confidence showed in her brilliant blue eyes.

[Crow]

GAME MASTER

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Trusting her was one thing, but handing a stranger the deed to all oversees trades to Port Royal was very different. She slowly took out a rolled up and sealed piece of paper from her cloak her placed it on the table. Her hand was firmly wrapped around it. An idea suddenly came to Joanna's mind.

"This deed is very precious to me. If I give this to you now, you must give me something that is dear to you. We will exchange items later, when all of this is settled."

The woman waited for a response. If she was to receive something from the woman in front of her, then giving up the deed would be much easier for her.

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[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

Gwendolyn froze for a moment. What was up with this woman? Of course, it must be the fact that she is a rich woman and was used to having her way. Is that why she was demanding a lot from the Keyblade wielder? It was a bit troublesome, especially since she was going out of her way to save her daughter and secure her future. Then again, Joanna was basically handing her future to her in the form of those papers. It was only fair. She pulled out an accessory in the shape of a blue star, except one of the star's triangles was missing and in place of that spot was what appeared to be a lightning bolt. She placed the item in the middle of the table, a bit hesitantly, too. Gwen gave the woman a weak smile.

"This is called a Star Shard," she said, her voice lowered so that nobody else would hear, "It was the first gift my grandfather ever gave to me, and it is very special, for it holds a unique form of magic that allows you to go any world you wish... if you know how to use it. I am entrusting that we will exchange our treasured items when all of this is over."

[Crow]

GAME MASTER

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A strange device was given to Joanna by the woman. This device had a beautiful and intriguing structure, which was enough to prove to Joanna that the item was very valuable. The sentimental value that was attached to it also help reassure Joanna of her trust in Gwendolyn. She handed the deed, and her trust to her.

"Here is the deed. Please come back with my daughter safely. I will be waiting for you here."

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[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

"Thank you. I will not let you down."

Gwendolyn smiled at the woman and took the deed in her hands. She then placed the deed on her clothes and nodded. With that, she walked out of the Pub and into the streets of Port Royal. From the streets she made her way down towards the docks, which were not far away at all since she was already at the Port. She scanned all of the boats and ships anchored down. There was only one very large, easily detectable ship that was sure to be the Pirate ship causing so much trouble. But it wasn't anchored at the port like the rest of them, it was a little farther off into the bay. It must have been because it was such a large ship. To get to it, she would have to take a row boat to it. Gwen pushed her glasses up with her forefinger, her eyes taking a new kind of determination.

Gwen walked up to a familiar looking man. Not in the familiar way one would know a friend or something they had met before, but familiar in the sense that she knew he was a fisherman, and therefore, also knew that he would have a rowboat. She walked up to the man and tossed him a small pouch of gil, which the man at first looked surprised at. But then he nodded and walked away. Gwen smiled at his back. She stepped into the row boat and grabbed the oars. Placing them in an appropriate position, she pushed against the waters and then she was off. There was no doubt that the pirates would see her coming. It was all a part of her plan. She would let them capture her, of course, and then she would call on a Parley, so that they did not harm her and would let her speak to the captain of the crew directly.

[Crow]

GAME MASTER

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The pirate ship was fairly large. The material used to build this contraption was a dark solid wood, mostly broken down, patched up and worn out by the many years it spent sailing on the sea. On its highest peak, the ship was sporting a union jack, a silly disguise seeing as it was so obvious to spot that is was a pirate ship. The first clue was its crew. These men were armed with guns, cutlasses, and the stink of rum and sweat. On the ship there were about a dozen of them, running around the ship and following the orders of their captain. As Gwendolyn began rowing her small wooden boat towards the sea, a member of the crew spotted her and warned the ship. The captain gave orders to throw a few ropes towards her and wait for her to board the ship. The captain tried to be as nice as possible with the ladies, unless money was involved.

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[Gwendolyn (Eri Sid)]

Gwen made her way closer and closer to the ship. She needed to prepare herself mentally and emotionally for anything that could happen. Whether if things went right or wrong, she needed to remain totally cool about everything. Gwen was already a naturally aloof individual. She was serious when she needed to be, such as now.

As the crew threw ropes down to her, she realized then that the Captain of this crew treated women as he should, like a gentleman. But Captains were ruthless creatures, and you never really knew what they would be willing to do, even harm an innocent girl like the girl they kept hostage, or even Gwen. They might have had honor, but they were prideful, stubborn, and greedy creatures, too, not to mention disgusting. Gwen boarded the ship and looked around at the crew. They were a filthy and mean looking bunch. Gwen kept her face passive, so as to not give anything away, while on the inside, she was a nervous wreck.

"I wish to speak with your Captain."