The Sanguine Rose got docked in front of the massive Town of Athvan. There were other ships with no people on board, but none seemed to have been a pirate ship.
They dropped the anchor as Tim excitedly peeked over the fence. There were, opened workshops behind which people worked; a proper street for the craftspeople.
"This place is massive!" called Kou. A city hall in the frontal part of the city stood, surrounded by well-taken-care of trees. In front of it was a built statue of a powerful-looking man that was important to the city's reputation.
"I didn't expect this city to look so much more colorful." Claimed Yumiko as she looked from the deck. She saw two roads stretching behind the city hall on both sides, leading deeper into the city district. Behind the town was a hill area full of nature with three different islands separated from the main.
Tim climbed over the ship and dropped down on the wooden docks, speeding ahead into the city with a laugh. "Oh, no, you don't!" for the first time, Ayuka dropped right after him and chased him, leaving everybody else behind.
Kou sighed, relieved, and said, "For once, I am lucky not to be blamed if he gets lost." The remainder of the crew climbed down the ladder. "Ralphie. Might you know the island more than us?" questioned Codey, who walked next to others.
"I'm friends with Harry, but I'm not very familiar with the isle. I only know that this island is composed of several workshops throughout where we could ask around if anyone saw Harry."
To their surprise, the city seemed fond of the pirates' arrival. "Looks like we don't need to hide our identities or hide the ship like we had to at the Castlemania."
Ralphie agreed with Codey and continued. "This city's known for its popular weapon making. Pirates usually come here to receive their ordered weaponry. If you need to get any new weapons, ask around, but I don't know if we would be able to afford them."
Then Yumiko coughed and gained everyone's attention. "Um, about buying weapons. One of my swords was kind of broken and the second one; well, let's just say that... it didn't survive." Yumiko gently dragged out a handle of the sword, revealing to them that she had no swords to use.
Each of them looked at her. "Why didn't you tell us that beforehand?! We could've asked for some back at your home!" Yumiko's cheeks puffed as she whistled to the side. "I guess I just forgot. Come on, don't judge me too much!" she stated. Codey slapped his forehead and then crossed his arms.
"I think we should have enough money to afford at least two blades, but I don't know about the quality." Codey pressed his finger close to his jaw and began to think. "We have about $30,000 from the Castlemania and $1,000 from the Golden Wasakona. How much do swords cost here, Ralphie?"
Ralphie sighed and then looked to the side. "I had to spend some money to buy food supplies, so we have about $10,000 left." Everyone's eyes popped out of their sockets as they screamed in unison. "You're telling us that you spent $21,000 on food, even though we barely have enough to survive?! How much does food cost in this world, seriously?!"
"Hey, I'm not the one making the price. $21,000 is barely enough to buy a food supply for three days. Most of the ingredients I actually took from the Castlemania." Codey's mouth opened wide. "How much does the food cost?!" Ralphie soon became awkward. "Well... I- erm... Yeah, food for one day costs about $7,000."
Codey's body became soft and became squishy. He splattered on the ground like a splash and lifted his bottom, only to stutter. "There's no way we can afford any swords for Yumiko, then..."
"Well, one sword should be about $33,000 if it's of poor quality. The better types would probably cost about $50,000." Kou counted his fingers and grew astonished, squeaking out. "That's half Tim's bounty, which is $100,000!" Ralphie nodded and then surrendered. "I'm never going to understand how people afford food for a whole year."
Yumiko answered. "Well. Castlemania is just that expensive. Otherwise, the food isn't expensive at all, but the swords, yeah, I think they are still expensive.
Ralphie shook in his stance and nearly choked. "You're telling me that your homeland is *that* expensive?! Why didn't you tell us that before I bought the food?"
"Why am I to blame? You should've expected stuff to be expensive! You saw just how well the castle was built! The Sun Soldiers received a monthly payment of about $150,000 and citizens about $90,000, although that was before Muro came and paid not one, so they had to gather the food ingredients in nature."
"Now that you mention it. At Primal Restaurant, the customers only had to pay $30 for a whole table. How crazy is your homeland?!" Ralphie questioned while Codey hurriedly jumped to his feet. "You wasted 67% of our gainings while you could've just bought the food at Pononia Island!"
Ralphie became embarrassed. "I should've realized that something was odd about the price." The three shouted at him out loud. "Yeah, you should've!!"
Soon, Tomomi looked down at them from the top of the ship and yawned. "You're loud..." They looked at her and quickly apologized. "Sorry, Tomomi. We'll be quiet. Do you think you could guard the ship while we're in the city?"
Tomomi placed her puffy cheeks on the fence and gently waved. "Maybe..." They thanked her and then turned to the city hall. "Well, there's nothing we can do about the money now, other than a complaint. I suppose we'll have to get some of it! Luckily we're on a work-filled island, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?"
Yumiko and Kou tilted their head to the side. "We didn't come here to work for money. We came here to find Ralphie's friend." Codey shivered and bent forward, arms touching the ground. "Yeah, I know."
"Remember. Oriyana mentioned Niklas, somewhere on this island. I don't know the guy, but if he really took Harry captive, we need to abide observant." Codey agreed with Ralphie as they finally reached deeper into the town.
Tim and Ayuka entered the more vibrant area of the town, and soon noticed some of the craftspeople selling the ordered items. One of them seemed to be younger, dressed in a blue leather jacket. His haircut seemed to be covering the left side of his eyes, and some of the tips were colored blue.
"Let's see. A box, a sword, and a knife. That should cost you about $25,000 in total." The man chuckled and immediately slammed his palm on the man's table. "Come on, kid! You're selling me this garbage for this price? Come on, give me a discount. What do you say about $5,000? That should be enough, right?"
The man sighed and put his arms on his hips. "A discount? Don't be insane. I don't give discounts, it would ruin my business. I'm not selling you this stuff for that little 16% just cause you've got no money. If you order the material, you may as well pay it at a full prize."
The man's eyes grew aggressive as he shoved the money in front of the craftsman. "$7,000 is my final offer. If you don't accept it I will take it by force."
"I said, no." Then the man smashed his fist into the workshop's table and tore it apart, astonishing people around the vicinity. "If you don't give me this discount, I will break your face as well!"
Soon someone's hand tapped the man's shoulder. "Ha? Who the hell is it-" before the man could finish his sentence, Tim's fist rammed into his face and messed up his whole face. A powerful wind surged for a moment and then the man's whole body went flying over the air into the wooden boxes, causing his teeth to break.
"You idiot!" screamed Ayuka as she immediately ran close to him and turned him around. "Why are you causing problems already?!"
People's shocked eyes locked onto Tim and he immediately became frozen. "What?! He was attacking this innocent worker's workshop! I couldn't have just left it."
Ayuka covered her forehead and then rolled her eyes. She ran in front of him and placed the money in the craftsman's hand. "Sorry. This is all I took from the ship. We'll pay for the destruction in the future!" the craftsman looked into his palm, bewildered.
"But you didn't do anything." Just then, Ayuka grabbed Tim by the limb who continued to wave with his arms and legs, trying to fight the man he punched. "Let me at 'em! I'm not finished yet!" keeping a popping red vein on the side of his forehead.
"Oh, yes you are! We're going back to meet with the others!" Ayuka dragged him behind while the punched man didn't move again.
The craftsman's face became suspicious as he reached for a poster and read it.
"Tim, $100,000 - dead or alive." The craftsman raised his head and dropped the poster. "I knew it..."
To be continued...