Post by Kiryu on Feb 19, 2020 12:27:32 GMT -8
As the strands of Primus’ vastly underrated ‘John the Fisherman’ thundered over his sound system, Kiryu finally pulled in to the dock that serviced the merchant fleet of the South City Canneries, the engine of his motorcycle rumbling like thunder.. News of the strike by the Fisherman’s Association had reached him during his journeys around the Southern Islands, and the story was just strange enough that he decided that the situation was worth his looking into.
From what Kiryu could discern, the strike had nothing to do with low wages, poor quality of life, hazardous work conditions, greedy corporate overlords, support of hate groups, or any of the myriad, relatively normal reasons for disputes between labor and management. No, in this case, they had gone on strike…
Because pirates.
Apparently, over the last few weeks, the commercial fishing boats of South City Canneries had been raided at least a half a dozen times by pirates. They didn’t harm anyone on board, though from the reports that Kiryu had heard, the pirates had certainly threatened them. They did not steal material wealth from the fisherman… they just took the fish.
From the information that Kiryu had receiver, none of the pirates had appeared like they were starving. They looked well fed and healthy, which meant that they weren’t raiding merely for food. After checking with some of the government contacts he had made after dealing with the giant Kaiju shark, Kiryu had also learned that there hadn’t been any sudden influx of fish in any odd markets either, so it did not appear that they were selling the fish, or otherwise moving them, and from everything Kiryu knew, these were normal fish.
So why the heck were pirates stealing them?
That was what had led Kiryu here. He had arrived in town yesterday, and had spoken with the manager of the Cannery. A little bit of talk, and some intuitive questioning, had led Kiryu to discover that there were some very interesting local legends, and one of them was very promising. Apparently there was a trio of islands that were surrounded by violent waters in an otherwise calm sea. This area could drag you under with sudden, unpredictable riptide and even from vortexes and maelstrom at what seemed like the drop of a hat. The locals had, for several hundred years, referred to the area as the ‘Widow’s Triangle’. According to the legend, in the distant past, a woman had lost her beloved husband to a sudden storm while he was out fishing, trying to provide for her family. Not wanting to believe he had been lost to her forever, she set sail for where she believed he had been headed, a trio of islands that were difficult to navigate but was bountiful for any who dared brave the waters. The legend goes that she found her husband’s shipwreck, and, in her grief, died of a broken heart. That placed a curse on the area; the plentiful fish departed, and the waters became even more treacherous, forevermore. To this day, the locals avoided the area. Most, apparently, did not want to openly admit why, and seem superstitious and foolish. But they avoided it all the same.
This piqued Kiryu’s interest more than a little. He, better than most, knew that this was still a world with undiscovered mysteries, supernatural entities, magic, and adventure. According to the reports of the fisherman who had been raided by the pirates, when they retreated with the fish, they had heard something… the weeping of a woman. Which of course, in this situation, meant there was only one thing to be done;
Kiryu had to make his way to the Widow’s Triangle.
Kiryu pondered how he was going to make his way there. Sure, he could just fly here... but Kiryu knew that there were certain areas of the Southern Islands where magic and ki acted strangely. Since the workers were on strike, there were not many people available to helm a ship. Thankfully, it seemed that most of the management of the Cannery consisted of locals that had been ordinary fisherman at one point in their lives, and there was just enough to crew a vessel. As Kiryu parked his motorcycle, they were going about their business on the deck of the craft, making it ready for the journey. Kiryu walked up the gangway, nodding to the men that he had met. Soon enough, the Captain announced that they were ready for their journey… the journey that would take them to the Widow’s Triangle. Unlike, Kiryu imagined, many a voyage, there was no air of excitement, nor even the simple steady feel of men merely going about their work. A pallor hung over them, and the men were dour, grim of eye, as though they had already resigned themselves to whatever dark fate awaited them.
And so, they set sail.
The initial legs of the voyage, Kiryu thought, had been rather incredible. As a child that had grown up in the villages of the Southern Lands, Kiryu was woefully inexperienced when it came to boats and the ocean. There had been enough rivers and lakes around him that he knew how to swim, of course, but something like this? A vast body of water stretching as far as the eye could see?
With depths that I could not even begin to fathom?
Kiryu’s own, silent pun amused him for quite a bit of time, but it was not without truth. Kiryu marveled at the play of sunlight as it was cracked apart and refracted to glitter on the surface of the clear blue waves, and outright laughed in delight when one of the seamen pointed out a pod of dolphins playing a few dozen yards from their vessel. That sight served to hearten the crew, and they began to be a bit more at ease, talking and laughing, sure that Kiryu, whose reputation was known to them, would help them get to the bottom of the matter and get their cannery back to business as normal.
[WC=1,021]
From what Kiryu could discern, the strike had nothing to do with low wages, poor quality of life, hazardous work conditions, greedy corporate overlords, support of hate groups, or any of the myriad, relatively normal reasons for disputes between labor and management. No, in this case, they had gone on strike…
Because pirates.
Apparently, over the last few weeks, the commercial fishing boats of South City Canneries had been raided at least a half a dozen times by pirates. They didn’t harm anyone on board, though from the reports that Kiryu had heard, the pirates had certainly threatened them. They did not steal material wealth from the fisherman… they just took the fish.
From the information that Kiryu had receiver, none of the pirates had appeared like they were starving. They looked well fed and healthy, which meant that they weren’t raiding merely for food. After checking with some of the government contacts he had made after dealing with the giant Kaiju shark, Kiryu had also learned that there hadn’t been any sudden influx of fish in any odd markets either, so it did not appear that they were selling the fish, or otherwise moving them, and from everything Kiryu knew, these were normal fish.
So why the heck were pirates stealing them?
That was what had led Kiryu here. He had arrived in town yesterday, and had spoken with the manager of the Cannery. A little bit of talk, and some intuitive questioning, had led Kiryu to discover that there were some very interesting local legends, and one of them was very promising. Apparently there was a trio of islands that were surrounded by violent waters in an otherwise calm sea. This area could drag you under with sudden, unpredictable riptide and even from vortexes and maelstrom at what seemed like the drop of a hat. The locals had, for several hundred years, referred to the area as the ‘Widow’s Triangle’. According to the legend, in the distant past, a woman had lost her beloved husband to a sudden storm while he was out fishing, trying to provide for her family. Not wanting to believe he had been lost to her forever, she set sail for where she believed he had been headed, a trio of islands that were difficult to navigate but was bountiful for any who dared brave the waters. The legend goes that she found her husband’s shipwreck, and, in her grief, died of a broken heart. That placed a curse on the area; the plentiful fish departed, and the waters became even more treacherous, forevermore. To this day, the locals avoided the area. Most, apparently, did not want to openly admit why, and seem superstitious and foolish. But they avoided it all the same.
This piqued Kiryu’s interest more than a little. He, better than most, knew that this was still a world with undiscovered mysteries, supernatural entities, magic, and adventure. According to the reports of the fisherman who had been raided by the pirates, when they retreated with the fish, they had heard something… the weeping of a woman. Which of course, in this situation, meant there was only one thing to be done;
Kiryu had to make his way to the Widow’s Triangle.
Kiryu pondered how he was going to make his way there. Sure, he could just fly here... but Kiryu knew that there were certain areas of the Southern Islands where magic and ki acted strangely. Since the workers were on strike, there were not many people available to helm a ship. Thankfully, it seemed that most of the management of the Cannery consisted of locals that had been ordinary fisherman at one point in their lives, and there was just enough to crew a vessel. As Kiryu parked his motorcycle, they were going about their business on the deck of the craft, making it ready for the journey. Kiryu walked up the gangway, nodding to the men that he had met. Soon enough, the Captain announced that they were ready for their journey… the journey that would take them to the Widow’s Triangle. Unlike, Kiryu imagined, many a voyage, there was no air of excitement, nor even the simple steady feel of men merely going about their work. A pallor hung over them, and the men were dour, grim of eye, as though they had already resigned themselves to whatever dark fate awaited them.
And so, they set sail.
The initial legs of the voyage, Kiryu thought, had been rather incredible. As a child that had grown up in the villages of the Southern Lands, Kiryu was woefully inexperienced when it came to boats and the ocean. There had been enough rivers and lakes around him that he knew how to swim, of course, but something like this? A vast body of water stretching as far as the eye could see?
With depths that I could not even begin to fathom?
Kiryu’s own, silent pun amused him for quite a bit of time, but it was not without truth. Kiryu marveled at the play of sunlight as it was cracked apart and refracted to glitter on the surface of the clear blue waves, and outright laughed in delight when one of the seamen pointed out a pod of dolphins playing a few dozen yards from their vessel. That sight served to hearten the crew, and they began to be a bit more at ease, talking and laughing, sure that Kiryu, whose reputation was known to them, would help them get to the bottom of the matter and get their cannery back to business as normal.
[WC=1,021]