Location: Cerula Streets
Jem's eyes narrowed till they were no larger than slits, as her eyes picked out the words spoken by the strange men. So, her gut feeling hadn't been off the mark earlier, the crew had been watched. And, from the sound of it, from the very moment they had disembarked from the Coral Pearl. Jem's feet stepped about in a circular motion, as her rod swung in a wider arc, winding two more. The two collapsed onto the compact ground and were spared from the blood soaked edge of Alicia's blade. Jem ran two fingers through her hair just above her temples.
Hopefully, those two would lay low long enough for her to round them for some needed questioning.
Sliding off to the side to avoid the icy barrage, Jem swung her staff upwards, deflecting the brunt of the tide. In the process of redirecting the deadly hail, several shattered in the process and the shards grazed parts of her skin. "
Oi Ray," she yelled at her fellow pirate. "
Watch where you send those." Her harsh words and stern voice wasn't really a lecture. Rather, it was a friendly warning to someone she held in high esteem, as Jem knew she won't be as forgiving after this. The most she could tolerate was two near misses after that she'd go ballistic.
She swung round, catching a third man by his ankles. This man, however, had a lot more experience than his fallen allies. He regained his footing before Jem swept her rod backwards. Then, instead of hurrying off, he leaped over the returning staff end and grabbed the mid-section of rod. Jem took a millisecond to realize what he had planned. She reacted accordingly by gripping as much of her weapon as she could, thus engaging him in a mini tug-o-war.
"
Let go," she growled.
"Gladly," he jested, letting go suddenly.
"
What the – "Jem stumbled backwards rapidly with both hands gripping the rod parallel to her falling form. She felt the air rush out of her lungs, as she smashed through the boarded window of the bakery and ended up crashing through the glass display. Broken glass, cake and seeping blood hugged her exposed skin, as Jem sat there stunned.
That fellow sure knew what he was doing, she thought hazily as her mind struggled against the current pain overload she was experiencing.
A very clever man who knew had used the rest to mask his true skill. Jem closed her eyes and rested her sore palm against her sweaty brow. Slowly, her fingers moved towards the throbbing area above her ear. Something warm and sticky began coating them, as the pain intensified, causing Jem wince. "
And now, I have a headache," she murmured. Unable to think of a better way to alleviate the hurt and annoyance she was experiencing, Jem decided to focus her current anger on her latest target, the man responsible for her getting hurt in the first place. "
I will strangle that wretch the next time I lay my eyes on him."
She sat there with her head cradled in both hands, while she listened to the sound of retreating footsteps. The constant pitter-patter only made her even more testy and thus even more sarcastic. "
Now they run," she spoke after swallowing. "
Now they run. Should've done so earlier. Not like they'd learn enough with few worthy opponents around."
Yeah, that'd be something she'd mention to the captain later. Based solely on the information the men had gleaned, this felt like a bloody trap and they'd been silly enough to play into their enemies outstretched hands. She groaned and straightened up, as she heard the tinkling of the bell that hung from above the door. "
We should've run when the Capt'n said so."
Using her rod as a cane, Jem clambered out of the shattered case and placed one hand firmly on her hip. "
Really, Ray?" She asked, sounding really exasperated. "
Looting is as bad as murdering. Put the two together and you might as well summon the devil." She hobbled towards the door slowly. "
Don't know about you, but I've enough of the navy back at Yakone." She clutched her pounding head. "
Yeah," she paused, watching their gentleman stuff himself and leaving a huge smear of chocolate on his chin. "
I think there's better food at Nura's. Shall we be on our way?"
She ignored the fact that he had echoed her words about heading to Nura's less than five minutes after she spoke.
At least, they were on the same page. Kind of. Jem righted herself and finally stopped using her rod for support. She clapped Luro on the shoulder and gave him a wry smile. "
So Luro, seeing as you had time with your misus and lad, why don't you show us the way?"
Jem patted him on the shoulder a few more times and nudged him forward. "
We can drink, ask questions and the like once we're there," she reminded their jolly friend who oscillated between being interested in their current predicament and taking another swig from his latest bottle. Jem watched Runali catch up with the retreating Luro followed by Kadi and Ray. Jem trailed along slowly behind Alicia. "
What did you notice earlier in battle?" She asked the swordswoman softly. "
I said 'fore that you have a keen eye, lass, and I think I'd take your judgement Ray's any day. Nothing against him, but you are the more seasoned fighter."
Only Luro and occasionally Ray were boisterous during their walk towards Nura's mansion. Their voices echoed strangely in the empty streets. Jem tried her best not to shudder, but the whole setup was starting to remind her of Yakone. The few people they passed chose to huddle in tight groups, whispering and pointing at the Stardusk. Jem broke off mid-sentence and turned her head a tad to the right. A child no older than William stood on the road side with a rock clutched tightly in his hand.
"
Capt'n!" Jem called warningly, as the boy hurled the rock in Runali's direction.
The stone flew swiftly, leaving the young captain only two options – duck and let Luro get hit or pretend to be oblivious and let the stone hit her. Jem would have continued watching, but, out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the boy starting to pick up a second rock so she decided to intervene. She stepped forward. "
I won't do that if I were you," she warned, as she stabbed her rod downwards such that she narrowly missed his bony little hand that was snaking towards the half buried pebble. "
Mess with the wrong people and you may get hurt."
