Following his family dinner, not long from sunset now, Iasus sat outside upon his front porch with Stark's sword, Harpy's Claw, lain down on the porch at his side.
He was waiting for the one who would come to find the ones who managed to resolve the incident, which was the subject of the distress call that had summoned them.
He was waiting to do as his oath called him. As the head of the house Hebito, the serpents of the light, he was called to assure there could be no complications, no blockages to his children who wished to sail while assuring the continued security of the house.
No more than 20 minutes after Iasus had stepped out of his front door to take that seat, the man he was waiting for came to him.
Marines of the rank of Petty Officer or higher were allowed to customize their uniform beyond the standard issue, and those of rank Ensign or higher were permitted to wear that coat.
The Commander wore the white coat with blue topped, gold epaulets. He wore the coat draped over the shoulders with the arms not in the sleeves. It also had "Justice" written in large kanji characters on the back. The man himself wore a striped green suit, had a gun for peg leg, and a thin, curled, black mustache absent all other facial hair, with a buzzcut below his white marine cap.
"Iasus," the man called in acknowledgment.
"Good evening, Commander Barryl," Iasus greeted with notable cheer that seemed lacking when he spoke to Elaina, "May I presume this visit is in regards to the incident earlier today in Lumen?"
"Yeah," he confirmed tiredly, sighing before retrieving from his suit's breast pocket a pack of cigarettes and a lighter and lighting one up. After taking a puff he continued, "You and your family are the main big players around here in the way of bounty hunting, so I thought I'd check with you before we went on any kind of witch hunt trying to find the guy who brought the ones responsible in."
Barryl took another puff and exhaled yet more smoke before continuing, "Judging by the sword, I guess you got him?"
"Indeed," Iasus responded with cheer. Beyond the Marine's view of Iasus's expression, the man was preparing himself to lie, "An acquaintance held him for some time until I arrived and delivered the finishing blow. I owed him a favor for defending my wife from a mugging a while back, and he said he needed the money, so I let him take the pirate when we had him tied up. He'll be stopping by the base, probably sometime tomorrow, to pick up the pirate's bounty."
The Marine raised his eyebrow and asked, "I didn't know your wife was attacked. You didn't report it? Wait, no. That was a stupid question. Of course, you wouldn't think to involve the Marines for every little thing, my bad. Nevertheless, mind telling me a bit about this acquaintance?"
"He's an extraordinarily tall man with impossibly pale skin and purple hair. You couldn't miss him. As I understand, he has something of a reputation about these parts."
"Oh, Gecko Moria, right. I see. I didn't exactly take him for the bounty hunting type."
"Normally, he isn't, but when I asked, he said he was saving up for a personal project."
"That so?" the Marine concluded before turning his eyes to the blade at Iasus's side recognizing it from the file his men had brought him on the captain of the Bright Iron Pirates, "Hey, would you mind parting with the pirate's sword there beside you?"
"Hm? Oh, this," Iasus recognized. He took the sword's handle in one hand and the scabbard in the other. He slid the blade slightly out of the brown scabbard with a pattern of gray and silver flakes in a million odd places like the unfocused fury of a creature for which the blade was named, he inspected the finely polished, silvery iron blade, "No I don't think I will. It would make a good gift for one of my sons."
As Iasus fully sheathed the blade and set it again by his side. He stood up and stepped forward, putting his hand out, gesturing to Barryl and at the same time welcoming him to take it, preparing to complete his task and send the Marine away, "Now I understand your concern but you must understand mine. I appreciate the good work you and your boys do but I understand that you can't be everywhere at once and I'd appreciate it if you could find comfort in leaving things to others, locals in areas where you just can't afford to dispatch any men."
"Of course Iasus," Barryl begrudgingly responded, dropping his cigarette and grinding it beneath his boot before going to take Iasus's handshake, "Sometimes it's all we can do to investigate afterwards. The Marines just don't have the people we need to keep the peace everywhere around here. You know that. I just hope you and I can keep going without any disagreements."
They dubiously shook hands. To anyone who could even slightly read a room, one would note the examining look in Barryl's eye and the impossible cheer on Iasus's face. The family head was aware of how terrible he was at lying to people, and Barryl could see it too, but the fact that Barryl wouldn't question it directly might confuse that same kind of person.
"If that's really it then I ought to be off," Barryl said, "I'm expecting an inspector from headquarters in a few days so I need to keep an eye on my boys and make sure they're getting their cleaning done and the base is in tip-top shape before he arrives."
"Very well," Iasus responded, this time with a much more genuine sort of smile, "Then good luck with that and happy hunting to you."
As they separated Barryl turned to walk away he stopped a few steps away and turned back to ask Iasus a softball question, scrying as it were, for just that bit more information out of the man, "Wait was it you who did it or one of you kids, maybe your daughter?"
Iasus wasn't phased, not as he should've been by Barryl's estimation, at least. The Marine thought his interlocutor shouldn't have been prepared to receive such a question, that if he could bait a reaction from Iasus, he could, if not directly challenge him, have a suspicion of his own confirmed. But he didn't react strangely at all, but his suspicions were still roused by Iasus's answer.
Iasus answered instead by merely questioning him, "What are you talking about? My only daughter isn't old enough to receive my training."
At this point, it must've been slightly embarrassing for Commander Barryl. He personally knew his men and that several of his men were the type of men that would eavesdrop on the kind of conversation he had gone off alone, without an escort by his squad, to have.
After sitting in silence for a second or two, Barryl did what he does when he doesn't like a conversation. He simply walked off without a word.
After he was 20 or so meters away, without another word, Iasus went inside his home.
As Barryl was walking back the way he came, he was proven right in expecting his men to eavesdrop. A trio of his men came through the tree line and asked him what that conversation was about. They were somewhat new recruits, so they were confused about why Barryl showed a citizen so much deference. They reasoned that someone living all the way out here in such an isolated home couldn't be a noble with such economic or political sway so as to ensure that confronting him would be so detrimental.
Barryl responded by clarifying, "Men. That man and his family are heroes and friends to the Royal line of Alclara and have personally been given his protection and even have the king's permission to act as his agents."
At this, two of the Marines were satisfied and dropped the questioning.
One of Barryl's men was still confused though. The youngest of them, a seemingly thin boy with a sunken face despite his otherwise perfectly normal complexion and longer black hair hanging out of his white cap.
The young man asked, "But, sir, he told you an obvious lie there. Surely that's grounds enough to at least open an investigation, yes?"
At this Barryl scowled and, recognizing the young man, scolding him firmly and with heart in his voice, "Warrant Officer Morrow, I know you are relatively new here so perhaps you didn't get this through your thick skull, but we are not to question authority vested by the royals of allied nations unless you can catch the perpetrators in active sedition against the world government."
---
The morning after the incident at Lumen a man with long red hair woke up groggily while consistently moaning in response to the caws of morning parrots, small vibrantly colored birds that crowed like the loudest roosters at the rising of the sun and were themselves abundant on the southern shores of the Alclara Island Kingdom.
Stoker slowly got out of his creaky bed, looking over to the other, larger bed in the room to see it empty, only then remembering the past day's events.
Proceeding to retrieve a change of clothes from a dresser as he thought about the fight yesterday, he then moved to the hallway, walking to draw a bath for the morning.
When the tub was full he removed his loose pajamas and then entered the bath but as he did his train of thought came to what would happen to the pirate they had captured.
There he sat in his bath, soaking deeply and looking down dejectedly. He contemplated Stark's imprisonment, his fate should he not be rescued by his crew and began muttering to himself as he cranked his neck backwards to look up, "I know... I know, Mom, Dad. I'm sorry, I... I really didn't even think about it, but his crew was strong enough. With the right plan surely they can... they can break him out... surely. I'm sorry... I'm sorry."
He rambled madly, sorrowfully in apology for what he'd done, for the bondage he had forced upon another even if not by his own hand.
"No... no it really wasn't for nothing, I swear. I won't do it again... please I swear. We just needed the money. I... yes I know. I know what you sacrificed for me to live like this, and you know that I wouldn't wish what you had to suffer through on anyone..." and he stayed quiet contemplating those words he'd said, that reasoning. Not listening for some illusory response, but as though to comfort himself for what he had done.
And as though he realized what he was doing he stopped and again he resolved himself to move, to get up. He focused, put those thoughts out of his mind and looked forward.
Stoker got out of the bath and dressed himself in his usual finery. He then went to the living room of his and Moria's apartment, moving to collect some things on a desk situated against the wall.
On the desk lay many things, a compass, a backpack, two general utility belts, one large and one small, a cup within which lay quite a number of used and unused pens and pencils, a notepad with several sheets torn off and a list of items, labeled at the top as a shopping list, were written on the frontmost page, an atlas of the world that was missing many pieces was rolled up to the side, and several maps of many places, not just the west blue, besides the ones littering the surface of the desk, were tacked together intricately on the wall in front of the desk in a specific way.
Stoker took the smaller utility belt and spent a moment putting it on before grabbing and storing in a pouch on the belt the compass, 3 pens, and the notepad, tearing off the front note, the shopping list, and then putting the notepad back.
His shirt had a pocket which he stuffed the note inside before he turned to the door and walked to it.
Opening the door for a fairly clear morning sky to greet him, he stood in the open doorway for moment contemplating what all he should do today, 'Before I start looking for what I need, I should go tell boss I'm quitting my job. Boss'll be mad, but best not to leave without telling him,' and so he shut the door and walked out.