The others charged at us, brandishing whatever makeshift weapons they could find—wooden logs, metal pipes, anything they could lay their hands on. Even in the face of these armed assailants, Mr. Norman remained unfazed, standing his ground as one of them once again lunged at him.
Frustration boiled within me. I intervened once more, delivering a heavy punch to the guy's stomach. The force of the blow sent him sprawling to the ground, clutching his belly and writhing in pain. I turned to give Mr. Norman a piece of my mind for his reckless behavior.
But before I could utter a word, the old man swiftly drew the handgun holstered on his hip and fired a shot into the air. The deafening gunshot rang through the entire town. The sudden appearance of the firearm left the others stunned, some even breaking into cold sweats due to fear. Mr. Norman pointed the gun at them and uttered something.
"Well, boys, unfortunately for you, you brought sticks to a gunfight. If you don't cooperate, well, you know what'll happen," Mr. Norman threatened the hooligans, a mischievous smile dancing on his lips.
Confused, they exchanged glances before reluctantly dropping their weapons to the ground, signaling their surrender.
One of them began to speak with a trembling voice, "Wh-what do you want from us?"
Mr. Norman leaned in with a menacing tone, his eyes locked on the trembling man. "Well, let's start with an easy question. What's the name of this town?"
"It's called Phantom Town. Why are you guys here anyway?" the guy answered, curiosity in his voice.
In response, Mr. Norman fired a shot near the man's leg. Startled, he stumbled backward, fear evident in his eyes as he fell onto his back.
"Now, now, gentlemen, I'm the one asking the questions here. Is your curiosity really worth your life?" Mr. Norman threatened the thugs once more, his mischievous grin making it clear he wasn't to be trifled with.
The old man seemed to be enjoying the situation. He appeared highly experienced in the art of intimidation and perhaps even torture. My mind couldn't help but wander, wondering what he might have done to Daniel Kim to make him talk.
As these thoughts swirled in my head, Mr. Norman continued his interrogation of the locals.
"Now that this is clear, let's continue with the questioning. A few days ago, some slave traders brought some drifters to this island. Their leader's name was Daniel Kim. Do any of you know anything about that?" Mr. Norman asked them with a curious tone.
"No, we don't know any—" Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Norman fired another shot nearby. Startled, the man recoiled, his voice stuttering as he spoke.
"W-we really don't know anything! We're just regular folks, and this town is merely a port town. If you're seeking information like that, you'll have to head to the central fort city on the island," he stammered, his expression reflecting his unease due to Mr. Norman's intimidating behavior.
Mr. Norman continued his inquiry, intrigued. "Tell me more about this fort city."
"The fort town is called Haze Town, and as the name suggests, it's enclosed by high stone walls. Gaining entry isn't easy," the man explained, providing some details about Haze Town.
Mr. Norman wore a suspicious expression as he further probed, "That's strange. We've heard that this island is experiencing a severe drought. How is it that the fort city still has people guarding it?"
"Believe it or not, that's the harsh truth. Those in the fort live in luxury while the rest of us suffer from the drought. We don't even have enough water to drink daily," he explained with an evident trace of irritation.
Mr. Norman's curiosity remained unabated. "Tell me more about the situation. If you folks are lacking even water, how have you managed to survive until now?"
"Since we're near the ocean, we can at least catch some fish for sustenance. It's much worse in the fort town. Without proper connections or money, your only options are to become a slave or serve the fort's residents. There are a few exceptions, like merchants," he briefed on the dire circumstances and continued.
"Our island might not be advanced, and we may lack resources, but we were content. It all changed when that woman showed up," he said with evident irritation.
"That woman?" Mr. Norman inquired, his curiosity piqued.
"Aye, fifteen years ago, some pirates arrived on this island and seized control. Being far from any major cities, no one came to our aid, and everything went downhill from there. That woman is one of those pirates, and she now rules over the entire island," he explained briefly.
"Tell us more about this woman," Mr. Norman pressed.
The man hesitated for a moment before responding, "Well, no one really knows much about her. She's typically holed up in the fort and rarely leaves. Most of what we know is from rumors. Her name is Mary, and she has blood-red hair. That's about it. The only other thing we've heard is her age, which, according to the rumors, is somewhere in her mid-twenties."
"I see. Then how can we gain entry to this fort town?" Mr. Norman probed further.
"Didn't you listen to what I just said? It's extremely difficult to get into the fort town. You'd either need to be a merchant or someone from the fort town itself," the man replied.
"Merchant, huh? Nolan, didn't Frankie and Lucas buy extra supplies by mistake?" Mr. Norman redirected his question toward Nolan.
"Yes, they did, but even with that, it won't be enough to fool them. It's a very small amount compared to what merchants typically carry," Nolan informed Mr. Norman.
"Hmm..." Mr. Norman pondered the situation for a moment before presenting a plan. "That's alright. We can explain that we came to this island out of necessity because our ship had an accident and got destroyed. We managed to salvage a few supplies and are now seeking a way to sell them to buy a small ship to take us back home," Mr. Norman outlined the scenario.
"That's fine, but many will find it very suspicious. How will you explain how we got through this town in the first place? If we're carrying such precious resources that this town needs, wouldn't it be common sense to think that we would have been robbed long before reaching the fort town?" I inquired, my curiosity getting the best of me.
"True, but that's where you and Nolan come into play. According to our story, you guys are the mercenaries we hired, Lucas is my servant, and I am the merchant. We'll go and pick up some heavy weapons from NS Scorpion, and we can claim that because of these weapons, no one dared to approach us," Mr. Norman explained our roles.
"But why do we have to be mercenaries, and why does Lucas have to be your servant while you're the merchant?" Nolan voiced his complaint to Mr. Norman.
"Well, when it comes to merchants, most people believe the older they are, the more experienced they are. That's why I'll be the merchant. As for Lucas being my servant, he used to work as a hotel attendant, so he can somewhat fit into that role. And I chose two mercenaries because, well, the more the merrier. Frankie, with his Neo limbs, eyepatch, and muscular build, easily fits the description," Mr. Norman explained his reasoning for assigning our roles.
"I guess that's fine. So, what should we do about them?" I inquired, glancing at the guys who had tried to ambush us.
"I've told you everything we know. Please spare our lives," the man who had been answering our questions began begging for mercy.
"Are you the leader of this group?" Mr. Norman asked him curiously.
"No, as I said, we're just ordinary people from this town. We all live in the same neighborhood," he clarified.
"Really? I have one more question. How long will it take for us to reach this fort city, and what's the usual mode of travel to get there?" Mr. Norman inquired, seeking further information.
"It's about 25 kilometers from here, heading north. Most merchants use pickup trucks to travel to the fort city," he shared details about their means of travel.
"Pick up truck huh, where can we find one of those?", Mr. Norman asked him curiously.
"Well, most merchants hire them in this town and load their goods on those trucks and travel to the fort city. As for where you can hire them I can show it to you If you promise to not harm any of us", he gave us a proposal.
" Sorry but, I can't do that you guys already know so much and because of that you are going to be with us till we leave this Island now send the others to bring one of those pickup trucks", Mr. Norman told him with a mischievous grin.