04-22-2015, 10:24 PM
Costa del Sol doesn't have an "underground" as so much as it has a loose collection of places that have paid the Empire to keep off their back. With the vast range of the, uh, Vasty Deeps and the numerous other islands that any smuggler or pirate can live off of with few visits needed, the festering hand of organized crime had little to cling to. What did was about as effective as a wart and was crushed ruthlessly by the Empire iron fist, and seemed to have largely taken its place anyway. There was no lack of scrupulous people, that I was sure, but they paid lip service to the Empire first and to their fellow criminals rarely. That may have been great in theory to the civilians of Costa del Sol, but it made it hard to track down who I was looking for. It took a bit of intimidating a few "I'm totally not a pirate" pirates to even point me in the right direction to begin with, and when I did arrive at the place in question I found myself at a pet shop rather than some seedy den on villainy I was expecting.
The door chimed as I walked into the store, announcing my presence to the owner manning the check-out. I was only briefly distracted by the animals that were on sale before I was face to face the manager. He was a balding and portly fellow who kept a smile on his face even as he broke out in a sweat standing in front of me.
"Hello, sir" his voice broke at the 'sir', his calm facade crumbling at the sight of the heavily armored space marine before him "Are you here for the mini lops?" There was a clear anxiety in his actions, you could see the wheels in his head spinning as he decided whether to stand his ground or run away screaming at the top of his lungs. I didn't help in the matter as I leaned over closer to him, the visor of my helmet nearly touching his nose.
"Do I look like I'm type of man who wants a bunny rabbit?" Well, he didn't know I did, but that would have undermined the intimidation.
"Well, no, sir. But then, what do you want?" To the man's credit, the pet shop owner still stood his grown and gave his false smile. I leaned on the counter between us, some of the cheap bobbles and pet toys jiggling as the added weight bent the whole thing.
"I think you know what I want" The stand off was about to be very short lived with the store keeper's courage continuing to falter. But as luck would have it, a door off to the side labeled "employees only" opened and a familiar sight revealed it self: the Kaptain's faithful bodyguard, Patches. Still completely covered as the last time I them. A nod of the head broke the tension with the front man, and with a hand wave I was lead down into a lower part of the building though a set of staircase. the smell of cheap bear and cigar smoke grew stronger as we reached an unmarked door, and inside was a rambunctious lot of buccaneers steeped in rum and tobacco. I quickly scanned for both my target and any danger (relative danger, anyway), and in the process my target spotted me.
"Doomy!" Kaptain Choprot bellowed out from a table in the center of the bar, a toothy grin stretching across the entire face. He looked lively for an ork who was being moved with a wheel barrel the last time I saw him.
"Come 'ere, ya zogging git!" He yells out, grabbing a nearby chair with another patron already sitting in it then ripping it out from under them. the ork pirate put the now empty cgaur right next to him and pat the seat in part as a friendly invite and a demand that I sit with him. Since he was what I was after, I couldn't refuse. I sat down next to the happy, smelly greenskin and Patches took their spot as guardian of the captain. "Tell me, what's you been doin' since I got me new legs?" a glance down confirmed that the bits he lost while half way in the gullet of a sanity-blasting monster had been replaced with new cybernetics, just as poorly made as the last ones. That he was up and about in only three days spoke a lot about how tough the ork was.
"Oh, you know, doing some independent work. Walking around the town, getting my barrings. Met some nice people. Just looking for information" I answered, mostly truthfully. Choprot kept his good humor about him, a glint in his eyes told me that he wasn't fooled.
"Dat ain't what I heard" he said, his smile turning predatory "I heard you's got yourself in with the imps" he said a bit more quietly that before, probably for my own benefit. That he knew that and still let me in this safehouse may seem stupid, but the brute was clever. The most dangerous place was to be right next to him, in the middle of his crew and fellow pirates, if he decided to off me. He was a fan of the idea to keep your friends close, and your enemies in arm's reach.
"What you heard isn't the whole truth. My situation with them in very temporary. What I want to know, if anything, will give a swift kick to the balls to those tinpot tyrants" That seemed to satisfy him, although he was still in a position to take my head off if he wasn't happy about what I asked. "What do you know about Impel Down?" the volume around us dropped a few marks, as those immediately near us had grown a sudden interest in our conversation.
That caught the captain off-guard, as he smile dropped and he tilted his head and squinted his already beady eyes as he tried to figure out my motives. He looked over to Patches to be sure he heard what he heard, and when there was no motion to disprove the thought the ork went back to staring me down.
"I know no git comes back when dey's go there. What reason do you have to know about a place like dat?"
"I'm breaking someone out" I answered
Several of the drunkards that listened in on us started to laugh at such a foolish idea, chuckled in their rum and went back to ruin their livers. Choprot, on the other hand, seriously though that over and rested his large tusked chin in his cybernetic power klaw. It seemed that something tickled his fancy, as the smile came back in force.
"Ya got a lot of guts, I'll give ya dat. Dead sneaky, too" He responds with a great guffaw, and then looks over to his bodyguard. Patches reached into the many layers of clothes hiding their identity and form it pulled a map of Costa del Sol and the waters around it. The ork kaptain smoothed it out across the table and pointed out what I thought was an island not far off the coast.
"Dis 'ere is Impel Down. Spittin' distance from da imperial base they have on the island. Ya can see it just on the horizon from da shore if you know what to look for. Or rather, the top of it. See, the prison ain't built on anything but the sea bed, whole giant tower just sticking out of the water. Each level under the top floor is subma-suber... underwater. Nothing but sea for a mile. And the place is just crawling with imp ships. Used to be looked after by the Admiral, then he zogged off to go hunting. His nob still keeps around, though. Mean git. Same as the warden. Gettin' out means getting through both of them, unless you can break through the outer walls and the inner walls, then you 'ave to deal with the monsters they got around the place. Don't ask how they keep the squiggly beasts off their ships, no one knows"
"You seem to know a lot about this place" I pointed out, and Choprot just chuckled
"I might have thought about pulling a few of me old crew out of there at one point. No luck, though. Everything past that, though, nothing but rumors. Everyone's heard that it's Hell in there that no one's escaped. If your boy is in dere, it's be hard to get them out. Assumin' dey're still kickin'"
"Been there, done that" I couldn't help but not seriously believe the claim that this prison was anything that resembled the torturous dimension that I had to fight through, something that I had not only survived but escaped. Then I guess if there's anyone who's right for this job, it was me. "Why not help me? I'm sure you can fill your crew with whatever hardened crooks they have locked in there"
That was what got Choprot to laugh. He took a swig of his grog, and after I refused a sip of it he went back to examining his map.
"Maybe ya ain't be payin' attention, oomie. Most of me crew's dead, and me ship's layin' in two pieces on a sand barge" If course I remembered, I was there when it happened. "Even if they weren't, ya haven't exactly proven you can do this job"
"Is killing a sea monster and saving your ass not enough?" While my tone of voice may have dropped in frustration at the ork's refusal, I understood. If Impel Down was as dangerous as it's reputation implied, then it wasn't a place for a small group of scavengers and pirates putting their trust on a single soldier. But at the moment, I wanted to grab the ork's face and force feed him his mug.
"Look around you, Doomy." He held his palm out to all the other pirates in the room "All these boys 'ave fought a monster at one point or another. Dey're the ones dat lived, anyway. The one you stomped might have been a real nasty squig, and you did get me out of bad spot, but it's noffin' dat any of them 'aven't done demselves. And don't fink dat favor will work 'ere, the Imps are a lot tougher than one big monster. If you can show you can fight a whole army by yourself, then I'll see what I can do" I gave an unhappy grunt in response, but it was a fair enough deal.
"I'm sure I'll find a way. Thanks for your time" I payed for the captain's next drink in thanks, only slight annoyed at the situation, but now I had something to go with. I would need some way to grab Choprot's support, and I was pulling a blank on how to do that, but I would find a way.
Once I was a fair distance from the "pet shop" that I could safely put myself back on the grid, I put the batteries back in my PDA so that I could look for something that would help me get into this supposed inescapable prison. When an annoyance reared it's ugly head and interrupted my search with his poorly light portrait. It seems Eagle Eye had been trying to contract me for some time, and I was half tempted to rip the batteries right back out to spite the man.
"I have been trying to contact you for a hour, marine. If you're going to continue avoiding communication, then-"
"Then why don't you stop wasting both our time and tell me why you need me I cut him off. Nothing since the last time I've talked the the mysterious man had endeared me to him, and I was more than happy to take verbal pot shots when I could.
"Your JOB, marine. We have a mission for you"
The door chimed as I walked into the store, announcing my presence to the owner manning the check-out. I was only briefly distracted by the animals that were on sale before I was face to face the manager. He was a balding and portly fellow who kept a smile on his face even as he broke out in a sweat standing in front of me.
"Hello, sir" his voice broke at the 'sir', his calm facade crumbling at the sight of the heavily armored space marine before him "Are you here for the mini lops?" There was a clear anxiety in his actions, you could see the wheels in his head spinning as he decided whether to stand his ground or run away screaming at the top of his lungs. I didn't help in the matter as I leaned over closer to him, the visor of my helmet nearly touching his nose.
"Do I look like I'm type of man who wants a bunny rabbit?" Well, he didn't know I did, but that would have undermined the intimidation.
"Well, no, sir. But then, what do you want?" To the man's credit, the pet shop owner still stood his grown and gave his false smile. I leaned on the counter between us, some of the cheap bobbles and pet toys jiggling as the added weight bent the whole thing.
"I think you know what I want" The stand off was about to be very short lived with the store keeper's courage continuing to falter. But as luck would have it, a door off to the side labeled "employees only" opened and a familiar sight revealed it self: the Kaptain's faithful bodyguard, Patches. Still completely covered as the last time I them. A nod of the head broke the tension with the front man, and with a hand wave I was lead down into a lower part of the building though a set of staircase. the smell of cheap bear and cigar smoke grew stronger as we reached an unmarked door, and inside was a rambunctious lot of buccaneers steeped in rum and tobacco. I quickly scanned for both my target and any danger (relative danger, anyway), and in the process my target spotted me.
"Doomy!" Kaptain Choprot bellowed out from a table in the center of the bar, a toothy grin stretching across the entire face. He looked lively for an ork who was being moved with a wheel barrel the last time I saw him.
"Come 'ere, ya zogging git!" He yells out, grabbing a nearby chair with another patron already sitting in it then ripping it out from under them. the ork pirate put the now empty cgaur right next to him and pat the seat in part as a friendly invite and a demand that I sit with him. Since he was what I was after, I couldn't refuse. I sat down next to the happy, smelly greenskin and Patches took their spot as guardian of the captain. "Tell me, what's you been doin' since I got me new legs?" a glance down confirmed that the bits he lost while half way in the gullet of a sanity-blasting monster had been replaced with new cybernetics, just as poorly made as the last ones. That he was up and about in only three days spoke a lot about how tough the ork was.
"Oh, you know, doing some independent work. Walking around the town, getting my barrings. Met some nice people. Just looking for information" I answered, mostly truthfully. Choprot kept his good humor about him, a glint in his eyes told me that he wasn't fooled.
"Dat ain't what I heard" he said, his smile turning predatory "I heard you's got yourself in with the imps" he said a bit more quietly that before, probably for my own benefit. That he knew that and still let me in this safehouse may seem stupid, but the brute was clever. The most dangerous place was to be right next to him, in the middle of his crew and fellow pirates, if he decided to off me. He was a fan of the idea to keep your friends close, and your enemies in arm's reach.
"What you heard isn't the whole truth. My situation with them in very temporary. What I want to know, if anything, will give a swift kick to the balls to those tinpot tyrants" That seemed to satisfy him, although he was still in a position to take my head off if he wasn't happy about what I asked. "What do you know about Impel Down?" the volume around us dropped a few marks, as those immediately near us had grown a sudden interest in our conversation.
That caught the captain off-guard, as he smile dropped and he tilted his head and squinted his already beady eyes as he tried to figure out my motives. He looked over to Patches to be sure he heard what he heard, and when there was no motion to disprove the thought the ork went back to staring me down.
"I know no git comes back when dey's go there. What reason do you have to know about a place like dat?"
"I'm breaking someone out" I answered
Several of the drunkards that listened in on us started to laugh at such a foolish idea, chuckled in their rum and went back to ruin their livers. Choprot, on the other hand, seriously though that over and rested his large tusked chin in his cybernetic power klaw. It seemed that something tickled his fancy, as the smile came back in force.
"Ya got a lot of guts, I'll give ya dat. Dead sneaky, too" He responds with a great guffaw, and then looks over to his bodyguard. Patches reached into the many layers of clothes hiding their identity and form it pulled a map of Costa del Sol and the waters around it. The ork kaptain smoothed it out across the table and pointed out what I thought was an island not far off the coast.
"Dis 'ere is Impel Down. Spittin' distance from da imperial base they have on the island. Ya can see it just on the horizon from da shore if you know what to look for. Or rather, the top of it. See, the prison ain't built on anything but the sea bed, whole giant tower just sticking out of the water. Each level under the top floor is subma-suber... underwater. Nothing but sea for a mile. And the place is just crawling with imp ships. Used to be looked after by the Admiral, then he zogged off to go hunting. His nob still keeps around, though. Mean git. Same as the warden. Gettin' out means getting through both of them, unless you can break through the outer walls and the inner walls, then you 'ave to deal with the monsters they got around the place. Don't ask how they keep the squiggly beasts off their ships, no one knows"
"You seem to know a lot about this place" I pointed out, and Choprot just chuckled
"I might have thought about pulling a few of me old crew out of there at one point. No luck, though. Everything past that, though, nothing but rumors. Everyone's heard that it's Hell in there that no one's escaped. If your boy is in dere, it's be hard to get them out. Assumin' dey're still kickin'"
"Been there, done that" I couldn't help but not seriously believe the claim that this prison was anything that resembled the torturous dimension that I had to fight through, something that I had not only survived but escaped. Then I guess if there's anyone who's right for this job, it was me. "Why not help me? I'm sure you can fill your crew with whatever hardened crooks they have locked in there"
That was what got Choprot to laugh. He took a swig of his grog, and after I refused a sip of it he went back to examining his map.
"Maybe ya ain't be payin' attention, oomie. Most of me crew's dead, and me ship's layin' in two pieces on a sand barge" If course I remembered, I was there when it happened. "Even if they weren't, ya haven't exactly proven you can do this job"
"Is killing a sea monster and saving your ass not enough?" While my tone of voice may have dropped in frustration at the ork's refusal, I understood. If Impel Down was as dangerous as it's reputation implied, then it wasn't a place for a small group of scavengers and pirates putting their trust on a single soldier. But at the moment, I wanted to grab the ork's face and force feed him his mug.
"Look around you, Doomy." He held his palm out to all the other pirates in the room "All these boys 'ave fought a monster at one point or another. Dey're the ones dat lived, anyway. The one you stomped might have been a real nasty squig, and you did get me out of bad spot, but it's noffin' dat any of them 'aven't done demselves. And don't fink dat favor will work 'ere, the Imps are a lot tougher than one big monster. If you can show you can fight a whole army by yourself, then I'll see what I can do" I gave an unhappy grunt in response, but it was a fair enough deal.
"I'm sure I'll find a way. Thanks for your time" I payed for the captain's next drink in thanks, only slight annoyed at the situation, but now I had something to go with. I would need some way to grab Choprot's support, and I was pulling a blank on how to do that, but I would find a way.
Once I was a fair distance from the "pet shop" that I could safely put myself back on the grid, I put the batteries back in my PDA so that I could look for something that would help me get into this supposed inescapable prison. When an annoyance reared it's ugly head and interrupted my search with his poorly light portrait. It seems Eagle Eye had been trying to contract me for some time, and I was half tempted to rip the batteries right back out to spite the man.
"I have been trying to contact you for a hour, marine. If you're going to continue avoiding communication, then-"
"Then why don't you stop wasting both our time and tell me why you need me I cut him off. Nothing since the last time I've talked the the mysterious man had endeared me to him, and I was more than happy to take verbal pot shots when I could.
"Your JOB, marine. We have a mission for you"
![[Image: oGzCtPC.png]](http://i.imgur.com/oGzCtPC.png)